Intimidation ♡ joshler

thirty

"Hey, Zack?" Tyler asks as the car slows to a stop at a red light.  The older man hums, letting his brother know that he had his attention. "If a person couldn't see yellow, would the color green look blue to them since yellow and blue make green?"

"I don't know about that, T-bro," Zack answers, smiling fondly at Tyler's question, "If I remember correctly, the most common color blindness deals with red and green, though."

"Oh, like the colors of Christmas."

"Yeah—oh, speaking of Christmas, you need to make your list," Zack reminds the younger boy as the light turns green, "Nothing too expensive; Mom and Dad still haven't sent in any money, and we have to get your cat declawed."

"Actually, I looked into that last night. Like, it's not good for cats," Tyler speaks up as they enter the Walmart parking lot, "I can lock Ruby in my room so she can, uh, only mess up my stuff."

Zack shrugs, "Whatever floats your boat."

Barely a couple minutes later, the brothers are entering the store, the older of the two grabbing a basket before the two of them head directly to the pet area.

"Can I go look at the fish?" Tyler asks as Zack stops to check out the cat food, comparing them.

"Go for it."

Tyler heads to the end of the aisle and turns to where he knows a few fish tanks are displayed, but he immediately halts when he sees a couple people already standing there; just the idea of staring at the fish with two complete strangers makes him nervous, and he wants nothing to do with that.  He's about to back out and return to Zack, but one of the strangers turns their head—it's Brendon, who's eyes light up at the sight of Tyler.

"Hi, Tyler!" Brendon greets him, and the other stranger turns to look too now—it's Pete Wentz, who's almost as intimidating as Josh (was).  Brendon beckons for Tyler, smiling widely, "Come look at these scraggly as fish."

Tyler glances to Pete again, who only watches him with a blank expression as the timid boy quickly rushes to Brendon's side.  The three continue to look at the fish in silence, until Brendon breaks it so loudly and suddenly that it startles Tyler.

"What the fuck? This fish is dead!" Brendon guffaws, pointing at a fish as it floats upside down along the top of the tank, and Pete cackles at the pathetic little fish.  Poor fish.

But Tyler, despite his nervousness, can't help but break out into a little smile—it's funny how something as trivial as a dead fish at the store amused the two to the point of explosive laughter.

But then again, Tyler tends to laugh at stupid shit too, so who is he to talk?

"So, Tyler, who are you here with?" Brendon giggles as his laughter dies down, and Pete looks to him expectantly.

"U-uh, my brother," Tyler stammers, and Pete's eyebrows shoot up.

"I seriously thought you were fucking mute," Pete imparts, surprised, and Tyler blushes, uncomfortable.

"Well, he's clearly not!" Brendon smiles, throwing an arm around Tyler's shoulder and pulling him into a side hug, the smaller boy flinching at the unexpected contact—but he relaxes into it quickly; he feeds off affection, as stated multiple times before, and will take it from anyone willing to give it to him.

"Apparently," Pete rolls his eyes at his friend's unnecessary outburst, speaking next to Tyler, "Aren't you a junior?"

Tyler nods, and Pete hums.

"I'm a senior—"

"He's supposed to have already graduated last year, though," Brendon butts in, yelping as Pete delivers a not-so-gentle punch to his arm.

"Who fucking asked, Urinal?!" Pete snaps, but Urinal only bursts out laughing again.  

Zack's voice calls out for Tyler, so he pulls out of his friend's hold and waves to the two before turning the corner, the other teens calling out their farewells behind him.

"Who were you over there talking to?" Zack asks once his younger brother is by his side again, and they head towards checkout.

"Pete and Brendon, from school."

"You have weird friends," is all Zack says in response.

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thanks guys! <3