ballerina // jøshler

douze ;

Morning came like a brick to the head. Tyler awoke with a splitting headache and an annoyingly, highly-pitched ringtone going off.

"Hm?" the boy's throat wasn't cognizant yet; it was raw and sore from the dry weather.

"Hey, honey! How are you this fine morning?" Jenna's voice was excited with a hint of bubbly bronze.

"Jen, it's literally 6 here," the boy found his voice, yet it wasn't very strong. "what time is it there?"

There was a loud cheer, and then rigorous laughter.

"It's 3 here right now!" the blonde yelled through the phone, giggles escaping her lips.

"Are you drunk?" Tyler sat up from the couch slow, making sure not to disrupt his pounding head.

"Just a little!" the girl sing-songed. The boy put the puzzle pieces together and figured out Jenna was probably at a club or party with Sarah and Debby. At first, Tyler was alarmed that maybe she was in trouble, but that was soon overthrown by the conclusion that she was with friends. Jenna seemed to trust them, so why wouldn't Tyler?

"Honey, have a good time okay? Stay safe. And use the buddy system. And don't put your drink down or accept any drinks from any guys, no matter how cute they are. Oh, and do not, and I repeat, do not-"

"You're so cute when you're protective." there was a chorus of "awe"s, making Tyler aware he was definitely on speaker.

"I know. That's why I'm always protective of you." more "awe"s and some immature smooching noises followed by out of control giggles.

"Okay, okay, screw the small talk. I wanna hear more about this Joshua." her voice was playful, but the boy knew she was truly intrigued and wanted to make sure things were okay.

"Funny you should ask..."

;

By the time Tyler finished, the line was quiet. Jenna and her group had moved to a quieter part of wherever they were just to listen more intently to the boy's narrative. Tyler had even thought the girl accidentally hung up it was so quiet.

"Woah." Jenna finally spoke, her words echoing those of her friends.

"Yeah..." the boy responded.

"You should totally make out with his face." am unnamed voice was heard over the phone. there was laughter and shushing and soft disagreement.

"Wait-"

"That's actually not such a bad idea." Jenna said into the phone.

"What do you mean, of course it's a bad idea!" the boy couldn't believe his ears. Sure he thought Joshua was attractive (who wouldn't?) but he wasn't about to make a move on him. And why was Jenna encouraging him to put his dreams on the line? It started to mess with him internally.

"I'm just saying you should go for it. It doesn't sound like he'd mind either." a chorus of "ooh"s came through the speakers of the phone, the vibrations going straight from Tyler's ear to his stomach, releasing nervous butterflies to flap their wings wickedly.

"Jen, I don't think you realize how much trouble that could get us into. He could get fired. I could get kicked out," just saying the words caused a anxiety to form within the his head and his legs.

"Let loose Ty! Live a little." the words encouragement made him restless and uneasy.

"I-I gotta go." the boy hung up quickly, horrified by the blonde's reckless point of view. Did she not know what could happen if he started a relationship with one of his teachers? It would end up in a mess for everyone, and quite frankly, Tyler had had enough of cleaning up messes. He slowly rose and walked to the bathroom. He stripped himself of the damp clothes he had worn the previous night and stepped into the shower. Hot water stabbed and melted his skin, causing it to burn a firey red. Steam emerged and danced its way across mirrors and windows, transforming into condensation on the tile walls. The water dripped down the boy's body in a poetic way.