Death Pact ~ Joshler

Five

GRACE VANDERWAALS EP IS OUT SOON AND IM NOT READY

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"Hello?"

"Josh?" A voice squeaked through the speaker of the black haired boy's cellphone. Josh sat up in his bed, rubbing his tired brown eyes. The teen had awoken to his phone vibrating and playing an old Fall Out Boy song, letting him know that someone was calling him.

"Huh? Wha- yeah?" He mumbled sleepily, still only half awake.

"I- oh, I-I'm sorry, I woke you up, didn't I? Sorry, I'll just- I'll go, sorry." The person on the other end of the line said quickly, apologizing profusely.

Josh blinked, realizing who was calling him so early in the morning, or late at night depending on how you look at it. "What? Tyler? It's okay, really, I'm awake... What is it?"

"Nothing, I just-... This is going to sound so freaking pathetic but you're the only person I that could think to call." The teen explained.

"Are you-? Ty, are you crying?" Josh asked him, switching on the lamp beside his bed. When Tyler didn't reply, Josh spoke up again. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I-I sorta got into an argument with my boyfriend, i-it's no big deal. I'm just a big baby and-and I needed someone to talk to but now I'm realizing how pathetic I really sound and how late it is and I'm so sorry for calling." Tyler responded before promptly hanging up.

The black haired boy didn't leave it at that though. He thought about just going back to sleep and ignoring it, but he knew that there was more to Tyler's story than he was saying. Josh could hear the pain in his voice, his words dripping with fear and almost... Regret? Whatever it was, he knew that it wasn't good to leave him alone. So, he immediately called the other boy back.

"H-Hello?"

"Tyler..." Josh breathed, closing his eyes for a moment as he thought of what to say to him. "Look, you don't have to tell me what happened if you don't want to, but- don't shut me out, okay? I'm your death partner and maybe even your friend so I won't judge whatever's going on. And stop assuming that you're doing something wrong, it's okay to call me, in fact I told you to call me."

Tyler was silent for a moment, the only sounds heard being small sniffles. "Th-Thank you."

"Of course." He replied without another thought. "Now, do you want to tell me what happened?"

"N-Not really." Tyler said, his voice cracking. "I just wanna talk to someone, to-to you. About anything, really."

"Okay."

So that's just what they did. They talked about silly little things, whether it mattered or not. And maybe it was four AM on a school night when they finally hung up and went to sleep, but the two boys didn't really care.

The older boy was confused to say the least. Sure, he has a few friends, few meaning literally two, but he's never had a friend that he stayed up on the phone with that late. He's never had someone to carelessly talk about his life to. But what intrigued him the most was the fact that he fell asleep right after talking to Tyler with no other help. No pills, no breathing and counting, no laying there tossing and turning for hours. Nothing but an easy, swift closing of the eyes. Sure, he was tired, but that never changed anything before.

-

"Don't forget that you're staying with your father tomorrow for Thanksgiving." Josh's mother, Kelly, reminded the teen, making him groan.

"Why? Can't I just stay here with you?" He pleaded, and though he wasn't too fond of his mother, his father was even worse.

Josh's parents had split when he was ten, not long after his little sister, Abigail, was born. His father was having an affair with Kelly's midwife and when she found out, she immediately threw him out. And yeah, his mother was a complete bitch but Josh doesn't believe in cheating so he's never really forgiven him. Josh's father took away his mother's happiness, along with his three siblings. Why did Josh stay with his mom and not go with his father? To tell the truth, he just didn't want her to be all alone. Of course Abigail stayed with her too until she was old enough to make her own choices, deciding to move in with her dad when she was seven as well.

"No. You haven't seen you father or your brother and sisters for nearly two months now. He called and I was forced to talk to him so you have to go." She told him, giving him a stern look.

"Fine." He mumbled, knowing that he didn't really have a choice. "I'll be back."

Kelly stopped him, turning back towards him once he'd grabbed the doorknob. "Where are you going?"

"Uh... To see Tyler. School's out for the holiday." He explained. "We're going to the mall."

"Yeah? And how're you getting there? I need the car, I've got a date tonight."

"And you're driving?" He asked, looking over at his mom.

She rolled her dark eyes. "The man doesn't have to do everything, y'know. Anyway, I can't drive you."

"Don't have to. Tyler's already here to pick me up."

Kelly instantly grabbed the blinds, pulling them down a bit to peer out the window. When she saw that a boy really was sitting out in their driveway, she looked back at Josh. "You've been spending a lot of time with this Tyler kid... Is he your boyfriend now or something?"

Josh almost choked on his own spit. "N-No, he's- he's just a friend, I--"

"I was joking, Joshua." She chuckled. "Even if he were, he's kinda cute, I might have to steal him from you."

"Oh God, Mom, you're so gross." He replied, disgust covering his features at he walked out the door, leaving his mother laughing in the kitchen alone.

"Hey." Tyler smiled when Josh got in the car, a grey beanie on his head and white circle sunglasses covering his brown eyes. "How's your day so far?"

"Well, I just found out that I have to spend tomorrow night at my Dad's house. Oh, and apparently my mom thinks you're cute, but other than that, it's alright."

Tyler laughed, pulling out of the Josh's driveway. "Well, I'm flattered but I'm also gay so thanks but no thanks." He replied, changing his tone quickly. "But I'm sorry to hear about your Dad situation."

"It's fine, I just-- he's always sorta hated me but I mean who doesn't? So y'know." Josh shrugged, picking at his nails.

"I don't hate you."

"Not yet." The black haired teen sighed, his gaze going to look out of the window.

"Not ever."

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So the chapter sorta ended a little abruptly I'm sorry. I've been out Black Friday shopping since I got home from work and I'm exhausted and broke but I got presents for 15 different people all in one day. Go me. 😂