PLATONIC🌺⌠J.T⌡

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RYAN SLIPPED SILENTLY back into the classroom, making everyone look up. The boy looked miserable, almost as though he had gone to a funeral before returning.

"Mr. Ross, can y'explain t'me why you're thirty minutes late t'my class?" the teacher sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Tyler had a fever'a a hundred and two, so I drove him home. "

Josh rose to his feet suddenly, making all eyes turn to him. Ryan's narrowed to slits, as did Jenna's, who sat in the back.

"H-how is h—"

"Wouldn't you like t'know?" Ryan spat, quickly making his way to the back of the class, next to Jenna.

Josh quickly sat back down, a weary look on his face. Whispers of confusion traveled around the classroom, Josh catching a couple conversations.

"Wait, what happened between Tyler and Josh?"

"Y'didn't hear? I thought the whole school knew by now! After Debby Ryan showed up, Tyler got jealous and tried t'get Josh jealous, but Josh didn't even care! He's been ignoring him all week, and poor Tyler's devastated. Heard there was a huge commotion in the hall earlier where Debby actually kissed Josh, made Tyler cry and everythin'."

"Really?!"

"Yeah. That's why Ryan and Jenna are so mad. They've been sticking close to Tyler all week. I can't believe Josh would leave Tyler for a bitch like Debby."

"What a jerk."

Josh felt the eyes drilling into the back of his head, he heard the whispers, saw the sour looks, and with each one he felt more and more hated. By the end of the day, he felt sure the whole school hated him.

As he drove home in the rain, he thought back on the progression of the week. Monday: Debby; Tuesday: Tyler acting weird, more Debby; Wednesday: more Debby, less Tyler; Thursday: even more Debby; Friday...

Josh swallowed, gripping the steering wheel and thinking back to the conversation he had heard.

"After Debby Ryan showed up, Tyler got jealous and tried t'get Josh jealous, but Josh didn't even care! He's been ignoring him all week, and poor Tyler's devastated."

So all this time tyler has just been trying to make him jealous; Ryan had been right! He let out a groan, hitting the wheel with a fist. How could he have been so stupid?

He guessed it was because he had been only communicating with Debby all week, who had continued to tell him Tyler didn't care about him.

Josh paused on that thought.

This whole time Debby had had a crush on him, and he didn't even know. Were there other things he didn't know about her? The more he thought about, the worse he felt.

He had spent the entire week with Debby, but they had only just met. Why did he suddenly start listening to everything she said? He didn't know anything about Debby, and he actually took her word over Tyler's? What was wrong with him?