an au in which tyler is on a bus and josh is extremely tired
it had been a long day.
not necessarily a bad one, just one where the minutes dragged into years and everything blurred into one massive sphere of endless drowsiness.
josh had been waiting at the damn busstop for a solid 20 minutes now, the inky sky above him embracing his covered arms and sending shivers down his spine.
a puff of breath escaped his lips as he shifted around on the bench. he hugged himself for warmth, teeth chattering slightly in protest of the cold air.
his phone had died hours ago at work so josh was left with nothing to do and nobody to talk to. the work day had ended unfathomably late; josh's shift ended at one-am, and a friend had asked josh to meet him at a cafe in the middle of town after work was over. It was now three fourty six in the morning, and with every passing blink josh felt himself growing sleepier and sleepier.
just as josh had closed his eyes for a tad longer, the grating of wheels on pavement startled him.
there the bus sat, like a beam of hope that shook josh awake and stood him up. he eagerly walked forward with his bag and stepped into the bus.
the lights were dim, radiating off the walls lazily and giving the whole bus a dark tint. surprisingly, the bus was fuller than josh had expected, although the passengers were exactly who one would expect to be on a bus at three fourty six in the morning. a goth couple sat in the back and played with eachother's hair. an african american woman sat and stared out the window and rocked back and forth to the beat that streamed through her headphones. an older man had an entire rotisserie chicken in his lap and was preparing to eat it, silver ware and all.
josh chuckled wearily and made his way to the first available seat. he plopped down next to a slight brunette boy in a yellow hoodie and distressed black jeans. he had a journal outand was tapping on it carelessly, staring at the floor like he would rather be anywhere else.
as he lowered into the seat and both men had exchanged polite 'hellos', the bus coughed and sputtered to life. the lights dimmed and off it sped.
josh looked past his seat mate's head, and peered out the window at the quickly passing city lights. while some were dimmed or turned off, most of the buildings were glowing radiantly, proud of their performances.
a yawn escaped josh's lips as he settled deeper into his seat. he shivered despite his coat and beanie.
"cold?"
josh turned his head to the boy next to him. although he had been the one who had spoke, the brunette was looking at the floor once again as if he had stayed silent.
"yeah, a little." josh cleared his throat.
the darnkened bus felt like an alternate dimension; a little sliver away from reality where the people were fantasies. if he had been a little more awake, josh wouldn't have responded. but something about the lateness, or the bus, or the boy's mysterious eyes made him say something.
"need a hug?" the brunette mumbled.
"that would help."
the entire exchange was so odd that it comforted josh. this guy could be a serial killer. he could collect dead cats. and here you are. josh smiled to himself as he shifted towards the boy next to him.
soon the yellow-sweatshirt clad arms were wrapped around josh's shoulders and josh's head rested against the boy's collar bone. it felt very familiar and loving, like this was just another night and everything was normal. even the boy seemed at ease; his head had perked up off of the floor and a slight smile had settled onto his face.
"the lights look so pretty," the boy murmered.
josh looked out the window once again and grinned in agreement. "like crystals."
"like crystals."
the boy rested his head on josh's, and hummed miniscule portions of melodies into josh's hair. the melodies didn't line up or make any sense; they were random and all over the place, stopping on one note and picking up on another. even so, they sounded so perfect together and somehow they fit together like an abstract jigsaw. josh closed his eyes peacefully and was surrounded by shards of music, as well as the arms of the stranger beside him.
✧
the feeling of emptiness surrounded josh as he jolted awake. it felt wrong and unsafe, like the covers had been ripped off of him.
josh blinked away the sleep from his eyes, confused and bewildered. he was on the bus still, but all the passengers around him were gone; he was alone.
he looked to his side, where the mysterious boy had been sitting. nobody was there. he stood up and made eye contact with the bus driver, who grimaced at the sight of him.
"this is the last stop, kid. i ain't turning around, so if you need a ride call someone now. have a nice night."
josh thanked the woman sitting behind the wheel and got off the bus, extremely relieved that he lived near the last stop on the bus' route. the bus rolled away, and josh walked hazily towards the direction of his house.
he passed a streetlight and noticed his sleeve was tugged up haphazardly. a sliver of ink was revealed next to his jacket, and he pulled the rest of the sleeve up. digits were neatly scrawled onto his skin. underneath the numbers were two words; yellow sweatshirt.
✧✧
