The Fluffy Haired Boy / Joshler

Stained Levi's

        Sixth Period Ended.

        Strutting down the hallway to my locker with a smirk across my cheeks. I'd never been happier.  I snatched my things and walked down the main hallway, towards the exit. Eyes locked on target (the door), I began to walk faster. That's when I felt a hand touch my shoulder.

        The hand was too firm to be Michael's. I looked. 

        Josh. 

        I froze. Panic rose and I felt my cheeks flush. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," Josh spoke. My lips subconsciously parted, "It's fine. I get scared easily." We began to walk again. The awkward silence began to grow. "Do you walk home...or.." Josh said trying to break the silence. "I walk home. My house is only a few blocks away," I replied quickly.

       Josh placed his hand on the back of his neck and pursed his lips. He was thinking. "Do you like Sonic?" "Sonic? You mean the game or the restaurant?" I asked. "The restaurant. In Columbus," he answered. Columbus was only a few miles out of Lewis Center; where we live. Before I could answer his question I felt something shove at my spine.

        My legs had given in and my jaw hit the ground like a punch. I slid across the hallway tile in the fetal position before I felt a foot being placed on my side. It then stepped over me only to kick me in the gut. 

        4 kicks to the stomach

        The figure bent down to my face. "Faggot is, Faggot does!" It chuckled before kicking me in the nose. I felt the blood begin to pour out of face; my nose, my mouth. The floor began to pool with blood. But I only questioned one thing.

        Where is Josh?

        I roll over and see a boy with fluffy hair straddled over another boy. The fluffy haired boy had his left hand on the other boy's shoulder, while his right hand was brutally punching the boy's jaw. This is when I realized two things:

1) There was a crowd formed around the three of us.

and

2) The fluffy haired boy was Josh.

        Josh got up and kicked the boy. The boy looked twenty times worse than I probably did. Josh yelled at the boy, "Ronnie! Get up fucker! You like to think you can fuck with people? GET UP!" Josh was breathing heavily. He craned his neck in my direction. He ran over to me. With puppy dog eyes and a hand reaching out for mine he asked, "You okay buddy?" 

        I grabbed his hand and he helped me up. We saw the boy named Ronnie try to get up. Josh was about to finish him off when I grabbed his shoulder, "He's had enough." Ronnie's friends helped him get up and run away. Josh helped support me to walk to the doors. "You can't walk home." Josh vocalized. "What do I do then?" I asked. He reached into his blood stained Levi's. He pulled out keys and smiled as he shook them in my face. I smiled back. 

        Josh helped me limp to the passenger side of his car. I fell into the seat. I looked down at my shoes. Blood began to drip out of my nose again. I quickly placed my hand over my nose to try to hide it. I knew Josh would worry. 

        The door opened and closed on the driver side. Josh plopped onto the seat while dabbing his bleeding lip, "Crazy fool tried to punch me in the mouth," Josh chuckled. I tried to laugh when I felt a sharp stabbing pain in my side. "Agghh!" I winced in pain. Josh shot a worried look at me. "Is it your ribs?" Josh asked with a crease between his eyebrows. "Yeah I think he just bruised my ribs... It's nothing to worry about." I tried to convince him. "Are you sure Tyler? I can take you to the hospital. I really care about you."  

        What? I thought, he cares about me? I could feel myself beginning to blush. I looked away so Josh wouldn't see my now bright red face, "I'm fine. Trust me. Can you just...take me home." Without words I heard a loud exhale and the car start. 

        The whole car ride was a blur. I think it was mostly because my body was over anxious and was going into shock. We pasted a sign that read, GAINER DR. I lived on that street. "Josh, we passed my house." 

        Silence.

        I turned my head toward him. He looked as if I hadn't said a word. He was calm. I couldn't figure out why. "Where are we going?" I asked. "Well, let's just say it's a surprise," Josh smiled. After a few minutes of complete silence we pulled into a driveway on Fahlander Dr.

        Josh turned the key and now the only noise being made was from our breathing. There were no other cars in the driveway. "My parents are at work," Josh began, "They wont be home for another 4 hours." Josh got out before I could respond.

        Josh's home was small, clean, and warm. "There's a bathroom down the hall, to the left." He pointed. I think he could tell I wanted to clean the blood off of my, well, everything. 

       Josh's room was adjacent to the bathroom.

        When I finished washing off I started to walk down the corridor when I saw his bedroom door was a quarter way open. I peered in and saw Josh in his boxers. He was throwing the blood stained Levi's onto the floor when he turned his head slightly. The floor creaked as I panicked to get past his room.

        The carpet in the living room was soft against my socks. The couch looked like it had come from my grandmother's house. It reminded my of Christmas though. I sat still and quite on the couch as Josh walked into the room. He turned on the television. There were 4 other seats to sit in and he sat 3 centimeters away from me. "What time is it?" Josh asked while flipping through the channels. "3:45" I replied looking at the old grandfather clock. "Ahh, I've got another hour or so to kill. I've got to be at the high school at 5," Josh said nonchalantly. 

        We watched Comedy Central for 20 minutes.

        Focused on the T.V. I felt a warmth appear just above my knee. My eyes shot and I saw Josh's hand. This is when I accidentally coughed with disbelief. Josh tightened it's grip on my thigh. I dared and ogled at him in shock. He was staring blankly at the T.V. By this point 30 seconds had past and I was starting to get worried. His grip was so tight I could barely stand it, though I didn't want it to stop. 

        "Let's go to Sonic!" Josh said excitedly and removed his hand. I still sat on the couch stunned. 

        I got into his car and again strange silence only interrupted by the car's engine. The silence was broken when Josh began to utter, "Tyler, do you love someone?" I love you Josh, is what I wanted to say but instead, "I love my mom." Josh fired another question quickly, "Do you know what love means?" I shrugged, "I guess it's when you truly feel compassionate about them. You care for their well-being. You want to be by their side no matter what. You couldn't be able to live a day without them." Josh slapped the steering wheel, "That!" I gave him a puzzled look. "Tyler. That's how I feel about you," he paused briefly, "I guess that means...I love you."

        We pulled into the Sonic Drive-through.