Ruby -joshler-

chapter four

Josh's P.O.V:

     I didn't know why Tyler was so concerned about me. I was sure there's stuff his parents didn't know about him. I was kind of annoyed at that point, but it was kind of nice to have someone really care about me. I mean, I was worried about him too, so I couldn't really be mad at him. He'd gone through a lot lately

     After a few more movies, we decided to call it a night. It was 1:32 in the morning. Careful not to be too noisy, I grabbed a sleeping bag and a pillow from Tyler's closet and laid it on the floor beside his bed. 

     "Uh, Josh, is it cool if I keep a lamp on?" Tyler's voice was quiet as he asked to keep on the the lamp beside his bed. I nodded, but I'd forgotten he was laying on his bed, so he couldn't see me.

     "Yeah, that's fine." I replied. "I'd rather have the lights on, too." Before long, Tyler was snoring real softly. But I couldn't sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Ava. Sick in her hospital bed. Dying. In pain. It wasn't fair for her. She was looking forward to growing up and becoming the author she had always dreamed of being. 

     I was getting up to get another pillow when I heard Tyler whimpering. He was holding a pillow tightly to his chest. Tears were streaming down his face. I could see them shimmering in the light of the lamp. He was probably having another dream about Ruby. I grabbed his shoulder and shook him gently. 

     "Tyler. Tyler!" I whisper-screamed. He didn't open his eyes. "Tyler, wake up!" His eyes snapped open wildly. He grabbed my arm and clung to it. 

     "R-Ruby?" His voice was desperate and scared. "Ruby?" He repeated again, softer this time. 

     Hesitating for a second, I rustled my hand through his hair. "Ty, it's just a dream. It's me, Josh." Realization hit him like a bucket of ice water. Without speaking, he tugged on the sleeve of my shirt. I reluctantly laid down beside him. "It's okay. You'll be okay." I ruffled his hair some more.

     "No it's not." It was the first time he'd spoken since he'd freaked out about Ruby. His voice sounded sore. It broke my heart to hear him sounding so utterly depressed and beaten. I looked back over at him. He was staring up at the ceiling. His eyes looked dull and empty. They had dark bags under them. 

     "I wish I could make things better for you. I really do, Tyler." My words felt empty compared to the sadness I knew he was feeling right then. Tyler's life was falling into pieces and I couldn't do anything.

     "Just don't leave me. Don't go." I couldn't help it. Too much was going so badly in Tyler's life. The only friend he'd known had left. She'd died. I felt selfish for feeling sorry for myself when there were people who had real problems. Tyler, whose best friend just died. Ava, who was dying of cancer. Ruby's parents, who were dealing with the death of their only child. 

     I started crying right there. I tried to keep myself together. I had to be strong for Tyler. I didn't want him to see me break down. I didn't want him to worry about me. But I couldn't stop him from looking over at me. 

     "Don't cry." He pleaded. "You don't need to worry about me." I couldn't help but laughing. 

     "That's not true." I paused before saying the next part,"You're my friend, Ty." I pulled him closer to me. I held him close to my chest. It was kind of awkward, but we just sort of laid there, hugging. 

     Soon enough, he was snoring gently again. I sighed. Today had been an interesting day. I looked at the radio clock by Tyler's bed. It was 2:03 already. I had to get to sleep at some point. So I closed my eyes and tried to push away the heavy feeling settling in my stomach.

Tyler's P.O.V:

     I woke up clutched in Josh's arms. Even though nobody was watching us, I felt a pink blush creeping up my face. It was only 7:23. I didn't want to be awake yet, but I didn't want to fall asleep. So I just closed my eyes and pinched myself if I began to feel too drowsy. 

     Around 8:00, I felt Josh stirring. I sat up and looked down at him. He was a much cuter sleeper than me. But soon enough, he woke up and sat up beside me, propping himself up with his hands. "You sleep okay?" He asked drowsily.

     I shrugged. Josh rubbed his eyes and got out of the bed. I followed after him as he walked up the stairs, but not before turning off the lamp beside my bed. By the time we got upstairs my mom was already making breakfast. I smelled eggs and bacon. 

     "Good morning, boys!" Mom looked up cheerfully from the pan where she was cooking breakfast. I smiled, even though I didn't feel happy. 

     "Good morning, Mrs. Joseph." He greeted her tiredly. We joined my siblings at the table in the dining room. Not long after, my mom brought food over to the table and dished up some breakfast onto our plates. After saying grace, we dug in. Josh ate like a pack of wolves, but I didn't feel very hungry. I poked my food around a bit before putting my plate up on the counter. It was Madison's turn to do the dishes.

     Me and Josh headed back down to my room. "Uh, do you by chance have any clothes I could borrow?" He grinned sheepishly. "I forgot to stop by my house to grab clothes..."

     "Yeah, sure. Just look around my closet and see if there's anything you like." He nodded his thanks and made his way to my closet. We both looked around in there for a while. He just took a soft, black, long-sleeve shirt and some dark gray skinnies. I took a white t-shirt, black skinny jeans and my skeleton hoodie. I went into my bathroom to change and left Josh in my room. 

     After I changed I brushed my teeth and walked into my room. Luckily Josh was already dressed, because ai never knocked. I'm not used to having people over. He looked up from my bed where he was slipping on his black vans. 

     "Hey. You wanna go on a walk?" He asked. I nodded and went to put on my black combat boots. When he was ready to go we headed up the stairs. 

     "Mom, we're going on a walk!" I called as we opened the door. 

     "Okay, sweetie! I love you! Be back by 1:00!" She yelled from the living room. I closed the door behind us and we began to walk sort of aimlessly along. 

     "Where are we going?" Josh asked me. I shrugged. I hadn't looked at him the whole time. I had my hands in my pockets, and I was just looking down at the ground as we walked on the sidewalk.

     He looked over at me. I looked up to see a concerned look on his face. "Why won't you talk?" He questioned me. I shrugged again, which wasn't very smart. Josh stopped in his tracks. I stopped and stood beside him. I looked up, feeling kinda guilty for worrying Josh. He grabbed my shoulders.

     "Tyler, you need to lighten up. C'mon, let's do something fun. I know you keep thinking about Ruby. I can see it in your eyes." My initial reaction was sort of annoyed. He didn't need to worry about me. But my irritation melted away when I saw his sad expression. He really was concerned about me.

     "Okay..." I grudgingly admitted that I should loosen up a bit. "What should we do?"

     A mischievous grin lit up Josh's face. "Have you ever dyed your hair?"

||Ahahahaha this is gonna be sick as frick. Just forewarning you, Tyler's not gonna dye his hair. He's never gonna do that. Comment which color you think he would dye his hair if he decided to. Love you!(all 4 of you XD)||