band aids ↠ joshler ✔

s i x

1 year and 11 months until

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"where's tyler?"

"at his therapy."

"oh, why's it early today? doesn't he usually have it after open?"

"yeah, but today it was pushed up. he'll be back tomorrow."

brendon nodded before sitting on the edge of a curb, josh and dallon on either side of him.

josh's day usually went like this: wake up, therapy, lunch, open (where they're allowed out in the courtyard for an hour to talk with the other patients to socialize,) tyler goes to therapy, then sleep.

today, however, tyler's therapist had to leave the building early for some reason, so all his client's appointments were moved up, meaning tyler wouldn't be there during open, leaving josh, brendon, and dallon on their own.

although there was a basketball net and a kickball area, most patients simply walked around, talking with each other. josh liked this courtyard, his old one in the criminals ward honestly scared him a bit. it was filled with huge people who looked like they could knock you out with a single punch, and there was usually a fight at least twice a day.

here, people spoke calmly (with the exception of brendon) and mainly only walked or sat while waiting to be let back inside.

josh, tyler, brendon, and dallon, however, already had their 'spot'.

right near the fence, a small dip in the concrete allowed a stream of water to flow down. next to the stream was a high curb, like one on the side of the road. every day during open, the four would meet and sit on the curb, then proceed to talk until the hour was up.

you wouldn't even be able to tell three of them were mental patients.

brendon kicked the water, making it splash up on the fence. "well then, this is weird. only you and no tyler. are you two literally ever apart?"

josh opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by brendon.

"wait- yes, you two are when you go to therapy every day, and every time before a month ago. wow, you two have been roommates for a whole month! how long are you here before you get to leave?" he asked, his words to fast and rapid that josh struggled to keep up.

"er, two years. well, 23 months now, i guess."

"hey, that's not that long, just wait- you'll blink and be out of here before you know it, man."

josh shrugged, "yeah, i guess."

brendon began to twiddle with dallon's fingers, perfectly unbothered, as more patients walked by.

one with fiery red hair talking to a man who must have been at least six inches shorter than him, a boy with wild black curls smoking a cigarette (josh wondered how he managed to sneak that in), and a boy with thick-framed glasses and sandy hair happily talking to another boy whose hair was bright pink and had tattoos down his arms.

josh crossed his ankles, his ugly, black shoes -which were ratted and torn from the last three years- just dipping in the water enough for his socks not to get wet.

he wished that they didn't have to wear such ugly clothes, grey sweater and grey sweatpants and black shoes. it was all they were allowed. would it really hurt if they could wear regular clothes?

he fiddled with the sleeve if his sweater, pulling it down so it covered his palm.

"josh?" brendon asked after a few minutes.

"yeah?"

"you're a murderer, right?"

josh nearly choked as he saw dallon's eyes go wide. "um... no- what? why would you ask that? is it the hallucinations?" he flustered.

brendon put up his hand, flicking it before speaking. "no no, and i don't hallucinate, no matter what the doctors here tell me." he declared, "but you- i remember- you were on the news a long time ago and i was like 'woah! he's my age! and killing people!' and it was awesome!"

josh wasn't sure whether to keep denying it or simply come clean. dallon simply looked surprised, and kept looking back and forth between him and brendon.

"why.. why would you think it was awesome?" josh said at last.

"because you were eighteen and already doing stuff with your life. you finished high school and already had a place to live!"

"dude, that 'place to live' was a literal prison."

"ha! so it was you!"

josh chewed on his lip, "fine, yeah, i killed those three people-"

"three? i thought it was one! dang, josh, what have you been doing?"

josh felt himself cringe. one more slip up, and he was done for.

"i- i meant one-"

"nah, it's okay, i get it. i won't tell." brendon said with a slight smile, tracing his lips with his fingers as to 'lock' them.

"uh, thanks bren, but please, out of everyone... do not tell tyler."

"tyler doesn't even know? but he's your roommate!"

"dude, i'm telling you, tyler can't know. please don't tell him."

"alright, alright." brendon said, putting his hands up. "here that, dall? don't tell tyler,"

dallon nodded, wrinkling his eyebrows a bit in a way to (sarcastically) say, 'yeah, i was totally going to tell him. talking is so easy.'

brendon's leg began to bounce uncontrollably, dipping his foot in and out of the small stream of water, before his eyes went wide. "wait, you're not gonna kill tyler right? right? i like him."

"what? no, i'm not going to kill tyler,"

"oh, okay, good. because i like him."

josh sighed. "me too."

suddenly, brendon pulled his feet out of the water, and stood up before screaming. "woah! guys, get out of the water!"

dallon looked up at him before standing, but josh just asked, "why?"

"don't you see all the spiders!?"

josh looked down at the water, which was completely bare of spiders. "there's nothing in there, man."

"there's are millions of spiders! ew! and- wait, wait, no, now they're flowers. okay dall, we can sit again." brendon said, perfectly content, before pulling dallon down and sitting next to josh.

josh rolled his eyes, figuring it must just be brendon hallucinating.

"anyway," brendon said, lightly brushing his hand over the 'flowers', "why did you kill them anyway?"

josh shrugged, "they deserved it."

"are you gonna kill someone else when you get out?"

"probably not."

"you trust that i won't tell, right?"

"um, yeah."

"okay, cool, because i can keep secrets. no need to worry."

"okay man, thanks."

"are you ever going to tell tyler?"

"dude, what's up with all the questions?"

"oh. sorry. i guess i'm being invasive again. hey, where'd the flowers go?"

as brendon looked around in the small stream for the imaginary flowers, josh, however, began to ponder what brendon asked.

would he ever tell tyler?