tagged // joshler

(3)

josh woke at 6 to the sound of his alarm blaring. groaning, he rolled over and was about to press snooze, but before he could his mother called out, "josh! you better not hit snooze, you remember what happened last time!"

"whatever," josh muttered, though she did have a point. last time josh had hit the snooze button he ended up sleeping through the second alarm and missing his ride to school (which josh was totally fine with, his mom not so much).

reluctantly, josh pulled himself out of bed. he sat for a moment on the edge of his bed before getting up and dressing himself. he threw on a pair of skinny jeans and a black thrasher hoodie, pausing for a moment to look in the mirror. "disgusting," he said, when he noticed his incredible bed head. he added a red beanie to his outfit, deciding it would be too much effort to attempt to fix his hair.

josh made his way downstairs, where he found his mother making breakfast. "so you were up late last night," she said, without looking up from the stove. "who were you talking to?"

josh grinned, remembering last night's events. "mom, you'll never believe it. you know tyler joseph, the youtuber? last night he noticed my art. i've been waiting years for that to happen!" he paused, waiting for a reaction from his mother. she continued cooking, seemingly uninterested, muttering only a small 'hm'.

josh continued, hesitantly, sitting down at the kitchen table. "...i was just really excited, sorry if i was too loud. i had to call ashley."

josh's mom took the pan off the burner. "that's fine, josh." she turned to look at him, wiping her hands on her apron. "does this mean you'll get over that boy now? you know, your father and i both agree that this obsession with tyler has gone on too long." she crossed her arms over her chest. "you don't want people to start making assumptions about you now, do you?"

josh snorted, pretending he wasn't phased by his mother's clear homophobia. "i don't like tyler like that, mom," he lied. "he's just really famous, so getting noticed was a big deal. anyway, what's for breakfast? it smells delicious," he said, changing the subject before his mother could question him any further.

"well, it's not much, just some toast and eggs-"

his mom was cut off by a car horn from outside. "shit!" josh exclaimed, jumping up from the table.

"joshua, what have i told you about language!" said his mother.

"sorry mom, my ride's here. i have to go. i'll see you when i get home!" josh grabbed a piece of toast, his backpack and his shoes and quickly ran out the door. waiting for him outside was ashley.

"jesus, dun, it took you long enough," she said, touching up her makeup in a compact mirror. she snapped the mirror shut and looked at josh. "and you look like a mess. didn't anyone ever teach you how to dress yourself properly?" she backed out of josh's driveway, missing josh's mailbox by mere inches.

"didn't anyone ever teach you how to drive properly?" josh retaliated, taking a bite of his toast. ashley rolled her eyes.

"whatever, josh. can you put your shoes on? you're making my whole car smell like feet."

josh raised his eyebrows, reaching down to grab his red high top converse. "what's got you in such a bad mood this morning?"

ashley sighed, shaking her head. "sorry, josh. my mom's been on my ass all morning about my college applications and i'm just really stressing." ashley and josh were both seniors in high school, and all ashley could think about as the end of their high school careers grew nearer was college. josh, on the other hand, hadn't thought much about his future and quite frankly considered the fact that he was passing all of his classes a miracle.

"ash, you know you're a shoe in for most of those schools anyway. you'll be okay," he assured her. ashley pulled into the school parking lot.

"thanks, josh. i needed that." she parked in a spot near to the front of the school and turned to face josh, smirking. "so... anything new with big-shot tyler?"

josh rolled his eyes and chuckled. "i haven't gotten the chance to message him yet. i haven't figured out the right words to say." josh grabbed his backpack and hopped out of ashley's car.

"sure," she said, walking up next to him. "but keep putting it off and you'll chicken out of doing it altogether." josh knew she was right, he needed to message him soon. but what could he say? the clueless boy followed his best friend into the halls of their high school, trying to piece together a message in his head.

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sorry i've written three parts in one day. it's 2:16am and i have school tomorrow but alas, i can't sleep. please enjoy this chapter and let me know your thoughts in the comments c:

mik