tyler tapped his fingers on the dashboard impatiently. he felt restless and wanted to do something out of the ordinary. something illegal, preferably.
but deep down, he knew he shouldn't do anything bad and he was just going through another one of his mood swings and it would pass eventually.
"tyler," josh spoke, breaking the brunette from his thoughts.
"huh," the boy replied, ceasing his tapping.
"are you like, okay?" josh turned towards the boy. they had been sitting in the alley for a half an hour, warming up, and josh assumed tyler was bored.
"yeah, why?" the boy replied, taking a deep breath.
"you seem a little tense," josh explained. tyler just shrugged and continued staring at the foggy windows.
josh then decided to begin driving and pulled out of the alleyway and onto the road. he didn't know where he wanted to go, he just knew he needed to leave.
so he continued driving, tyler silently sitting in the seat beside him. it bothered josh a little that tyler didn't feel comfortable talking to him. josh loved attention and sometimes thrived off of it but it was hard to do so when no one was there to give it to him. so he spoke up.
"tyler," josh whined. "talk to me, i need attention." tyler rolled his eyes at the statement before he got an idea.
"hey, josh," tyler began. "do you think maybe i could drive?" tyler leaned closer toward josh, facing him expectantly.
"hell no." josh shut the boy down.
"why not," tyler whined with a pout. "i need something to do, i'm bored."
"you can drive if i see your license," josh replied.
"um, it's," tyler dragged on the last word, thinking of an excuse seeing as he didn't even have a license to begin with. "at home." he finished.
"i bet you don't even know how to drive," the older boy argued.
"yeah i do," tyler replied, his voice loud.
"well then tell me what this is called," josh questioned, pointing to the turn signal.
"it's the clicker," tyler replied quickly. josh glanced at the other boy, a confused look on his face, before returning to the road.
"the clicker?"
"yeah, the clicker."
"cute," josh shook his head.
"ok ok, i don't know how to drive and i don't know what all these buttons and handles are for, but i can't learn if no one helps me." tyler rushed out, his voice soft and upset. "so can you at least try to teach me?"
"why?"
"i don't know, what if you get sick or something and i need to drive to the store for medicine or you're too tired to drive," tyler answered, shuffling in his seat.
josh sighed. "i guess i can teach you when we get somewhere less busy."
"sweet," tyler smiled, settling into his seat. the car was silent for a while, the two boys both caught up in their thoughts.
tyler was focused on nothing in particular but somehow his mind was full of different thoughts and ideas. josh, however, was focused on what he was going to do next. he had no idea where he was going and why tyler was still with him.
"tyler," josh started. "why aren't you like a regular teenager?"
"okay, um, rude." tyler replied.
"not like that, dumbass."
"either way, it's rude and none of your business." tyler explained.
"alrighty then," josh trailed off, deciding to allow silence to consume them both.
the ride was quiet for a while. tyler stared out the window at the passing buildings while josh thought of what to talk about. he hated when things were quiet with another person, it created an anxious tension that made him feel sick.
tyler could tell that josh was uneasy, and it made him kind of happy. it was reassuring to see someone was struggling just like he was. but it wasn't the same kind of struggle, it was a more static struggle in josh.
"tyler," josh began.
"josh," the brunette replied.
"tyler," josh repeated, but in a different tone.
"josh," the younger boy mocked.
"tyler," josh spoke again.
"josh, what are you doing," tyler asked, slightly amused at the situation.
"i'm trying to start a conversation, but you're boring." josh answered.
"i'm not boring." tyler huffed, crossing his arms.
"tell me one interesting thing about you," josh challenged. tyler sat in his seat and thought for a while.
"i am a cisgender heterosexual white male with brown hair." the boy joked, earning an eye roll from josh.
"pretty sure one of those is wrong but good one, bud," the older boy responded.
"you know what sounds really good right now," tyler suddenly asked, brushing off josh's statement and changing the subject.
"what," josh inquired.
"some nice, warm, puppies," the brunette finished, a soft smile on his face.
"eh, i'm more of a cat person," josh added.
"um, no one asked," tyler quickly replied.
"damn, you're mean." josh sighed before turning on the radio. tyler shrugged in response before returning to the window.
the brunette wasn't sure how to feel about josh. the man was needy and rude but he was growing on tyler. maybe it was because he took him in and actually cared for him. but tyler didn't really care about the reason.
josh, however, wanted to like tyler but found it difficult. he felt tyler was a closed off, bratty teen that was hard to love. every word the brunette said made josh regret taking him in even more.
not only did josh hate having to care for another person, he also hated himself for having to be a hero. if he didn't try and help the annoying teen, he wouldn't have been stuck with him and his depressing behavior.
"josh," tyler spoke in the warm car. "did i ever tell you your hair looks nice?"
"i don't think so," josh answered suspiciously.
"oh. well it looks really nice. i like the blue," the younger boy finished.
"thanks," josh blushed, the compliment giving the man some much needed validation.
sure, josh kind of hated tyler, but the boy had his good moments.
