keep it up ↠ joshler ✔

18

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"tyler? tyler!" josh tried his best to yell, holding the unconscious boy in his arms.

"hey, it's fine! this is good, this is normal when an episode ends, okay? just give it a few minutes, he's gonna be okay." brendon said, getting up from the chair to move closer to the pair.

"bren, sit down, don't get yourself hurt-"

"i'll be fine, honestly, man."

tyler's breathing was slow and spaced out, and his pulse was faint, but they were both there.

"should we call an ambulance just in case?" brendon asked anyhow.

"no, no, that's a really bad idea, last time we took tyler to a hospital he kind of freaked out and it caused, well, things to, um..." josh trailed off, bringing his eyes back to look at the tyler.

"okay, yeah."

the room was filled with a tension nobody wanted to break, what with tyler passed out, brendon's time out here dwindling, and josh's worriment currently stronger than any other one of his emotions.

suddenly, tyler let out a heavy breath of air. his eyes shot open and he jolted up, surprised and confused.

"josh? you- you're here? and-"

josh closed his eyes tight and lurched out, engulfing tyler in a hug and burying his head into the crook of the smaller boy's neck.

"what's going on?" tyler's voice creaked, his eyes falling on brendon, who waved politely, yet awkwardly at the same time.

josh pulled away, not removing his hands from tyler's shoulders. "i, we c-came in and you- you were, there, and on the floor, and- like, shaking, and c-crying, and-" he stuttered.

"why are you here? what made you come back?"

"you said you wanted to meet my friends, so to prove i wouldn't even think of using you, well, this is brendon. my friend."

brendon smiled sweetly, holding out a hand. "i see why josh talks about you twenty four sev- ow! okay, okay, nice to meet you, tyler."

tyler shook his hand, a small, unsure smile somehow finding its way to his lips.

he wasn't sure what to think, who this brendon was, or what was really going on. the only thing he was able to grasp was that josh came back.

but why?

tyler called him out on his plan, caught him in the act, and kicked him out. but here he was again, trying to make things better.

maybe... josh really did want to help him? maybe he wasn't being used?

no, no, that's dumb. the judge said so, thus why tyler believed it.

but it didn't matter. tyler decided earlier, being used or not, he loved josh and wanted him to stay.

he just hoped the judge wouldn't rule the opposite any time soon.

"hi..." he basically squeaked, lightly shaking the boy's hand. he was as pale as josh, maybe even more so, and was much skinnier and far more frail. he was wearing a slouch beanie and a loose-fitting t shirt which barely stayed up on his shoulders, yet his smile held the word.

tyler's eyes darted around the room, trying to comprehend what was actually going on, where he was, what was happening. his eyes didn't even fully adjust to the light yet.

then, they landed on the shattered pieces of wood strewn about, four strings, and the rest of the broken ukulele which was far beyond repair.

"tyler..." josh spoke slowly.