The Right Answer

chapter 14

Tyler walked on for about half an hour until he reached Joshs house and, right on time, there he was on the porch, with a rucksack and a bottle of water. They said nothing, but Josh hurried towards him, Tyler slipping his hand into Joshs but paw hand.

Eventually they reached the bus stop, hearts thudding and fingers intwined. As soon as the bus came at an agonizingly slow pace, steam rushing out as if exhaling deeply, they stepped on, almost tripping over.

With shaking hands Josh paid for their bus tickets, using the little money they had.

The bus shuddered under their feet and slowly rattled onwards. Tyler, who sat next to Josh, felt his phone vibrating in his pocket almost constantly. He knew it would be his mum and was not going to answer it.

After a few minutes the buzzing got annoying, so Tyler took it out and switched it to silent. He could still see the messages popping up, and tried desperatley to ignore them, picking at the space themed phonecase.

Tyler rested his head against Josh's shoulder, slightly damp from his crying. They had both been told they couldnt see each other, and just the very thought upset them. Both were silent, but they felt no need to talk. That was the briliance of it; they didnt need to.

Josh put his blue hoodie around Tyler's shoulders and he fell asleep, while Josh looked peacefully out the window, a slight frown on his face. He watched the blurred trees and grey roads speed past, going further and further away from where they didn't ever want to be. He saw tears in Tyler's eyes as he looked down at him on his shoulder, so gently wiped it away with his sleeve. Tyler let out a soft sigh and snuggled down further, sliding his arms around Joshs torso. He was still slightly embarrassed about his curved hips and breasts, but knew that when he was old enough he was get the operation he always wanted. He didnt care about that now anyway- Tyler liked him like this so he wasn't in a rush.

After another hour of watching the grey roads slowly turn into green country side and eventually they were there.

Gently Josh nudged Tyler, and he woke immediately, wide eyed and fully awake. 'Are we here?'
Josh nodded and he got up, grabbing his bag.

As soon as they got out and smelt the salty air it calmed them; they were both so tense from the very thought of running away that they hadn't been able to speak.

'Its beautiful,' Josh breathed, and they got off, dropping their bags on the sand and running in the shallows of the water. It was near sunset and the water was freezing, but they warmed quickly enough by splashing each other and running the length of the beach.

Never in their lives had they felt so free as to be able to do something like this. Next year they could get jobs, make a life here in Cleveland.

The water started to get colder, so they sat on the sand and Josh lay out the towel he packed and they took off their clothes down to their underwear, Josh not even caring that Tyler could see his breasts. It didn't matter anymore.

In complete peace they watched the sun sink into the sea, feeling the water drops run off their body and the salty air on their faces. It created a beautiful orange sky, so beautifully vibrant they felt they belonged here when they had never got in before. They had always been the odd ones, the vibrant ones, but beautiful aswell.

Josh didn't get a fire going because it made Tyler nervous, but they didn't need it. Tyler had managed to sneak in a packet of Twinkies, so they snaffled them as the sea swallowed the sun and they turned to silhouettes. Once again Tyler's phone lit up with messages, so he removed the phonecase and threw it as far as he could, hearing the splash of it landing in the sea. Josh stared at the phonecase in his hand. 'Why-'

'Its a nice phonecase.'

Josh laughed at this, kissing Tylers head.

Exhausted, Josh settled down to sleep next to Tyler, on a towell with a hoodie thrown over him and sand in his hair. Tyler sat up for a while, looking at the pretty sky and thinking about what he was doing, but at the same time how happy he was right now.

He wasn't sure how long he sat there, but it was a long time. Long enough for the sunset sky to turn to a nigh sky littered with stars. He thought about everything and anything: what his family was doing right now, what Josh was dreaming about, etc. Whatever Josh was dreaming about it was good, because he had a smile on his face as he slept.

Finally, when his mind was satisfied, he lay on his back next to Josh and admired the stars.

Much better than sticker stars.