tagged // joshler

(11)

after a quick 15 minute drive, the two boys pulled up at the mouth of the trail. "this is it," tyler pointed out. they got out of the car and tyler grabbed the bag containing their lunches and his camera. "ready to go?" tyler asked.

"ready." josh followed tyler into the trail and was overwhelmed by the beauty of what was before him. the light filtered through the trees just right; everything was given a sort of heavenly glow. tyler saw josh's face in awe and grinned.

"i told you, the lighting is just perfect. it gets even better at the end, because it's a more open space."

they made their way through the trees, not saying much but enjoying each other's company. each boy was completely lost in their own thoughts.

a few minutes later, tyler & josh made it to the end of the trail. "well, here it is!" tyler said. josh smiled as he took in his surroundings. "you're right, this is beautiful." the light filtered through the trees just right; flowers were blooming everywhere in the grass. he made his way over to one of the picnic tables and started setting up for lunch. tyler joined him shortly.

"uh, josh..." tyler began. josh looked up with a curious look on his face. "yeah tyler?"

"i was wondering... would you mind, maybe, having a little bit of a photoshoot? it's just, the lighting... it makes you look simply... ethereal. and i wouldn't want to pass up the opportunity to capture such beauty on camera." he motioned to the camera in his hand. josh smiled at tyler's compliment--ethereal? who even used words like that? admittedly, he wasn't totally sure what it meant. but he knew it was something good and he figured that was enough.

"that would be lovely," josh said. "where do you want me?"

tyler thought for a moment. "maybe you could sit over there, under that tree." he pointed to a small tree near their picnic table. josh nodded and walked over to that spot, sitting in the grass, which was dotted with bright white daisies. tyler noticed the daises, too. "josh, feel free to say no, but i think you would look absolutely adorable in a flower crown," he said.

josh made a face-he was certain he wouldn't look adorable, no matter what tyler dressed him up in-but he agreed anyway. "sure, ty," he said. tyler's face lit up with joy. "yay! trust me, you won't regret this. have you ever made a flower crown before?" the small boy began picking daisies while josh watched in admiration. "no, never," josh said. he picked some daisies too in an effort to help tyler out. "okay, here's what you do." tyler sat down cross-legged in front of josh. "make a small hole toward the bottom of the stem, like this." tyler showed josh what he'd just done. "then all you do is put another daisy through that hole." he pulled a daisy through the small hole and held it up to show josh. "see? easy peasy. you try."

josh tried to make a small hole in his daisy, but ended up tearing the stem in half. he looked up at tyler and grimaced. "i'm not very good at stuff like this," he said, picking up another daisy. "that's okay," tyler said. "i'll help you." he held josh's hands in his own, guiding them through the process. "you just have to be gentle, is all." together, the two boys looped together the first two daisies of josh's crown. tyler removed his hands and smiled at josh. "what'd i tell you? easy peasy." josh giggled and worked to finish the crown.

~

after a few minutes, josh's crown was finished. he set it atop his head and pulled out his phone to check his reflection. "tyler, i look ridiculous," he said once he'd seen himself. "hush, josh, you look fine," tyler said. "just sit there and look cute."

josh huffed in annoyance but did as tyler said. "what am i even supposed to do?" josh asked, clueless. "just be yourself. smile. your smile is cute." josh couldn't help smiling at that- this boy got him every time. he heard the click of tyler's camera and his face flushed bright red. "you should know this is unusual for me. usually i'm the one on camera, not behind the camera," said tyler, snapping another shot of josh. "unusual for you?" josh questioned. "i'm never on camera. and that's probably for the best." he pulled the sleeves of his sweater down over his hands.

click.

"what was that one for?" josh asked. "sweater paws," tyler said. "cute."

click.

"and that one?" josh questioned again. "just 'cuz," tyler answered, with a wink. josh rolled his eyes. "okay, okay. i think we're done with the photoshoot." josh chuckled and stood up, walking back to their picnic table.

"you're no fun, you know," tyler said when they reached the table. he began setting up the table so they could eat their lunch. josh looked around, taking in his surroundings once more. he noticed the area was getting a bit darker, and saw a rain cloud coming in from the distance. "uh, tyler...?" josh couldn't get out anything else before the rain started pouring. the two boys jumped up and hurriedly packed everything up then ran to the car to avoid being rained on as much as possible. once safely inside tyler's car, the two boys took a minute to recollect. "that rain came out of nowhere!" josh exclaimed, wringing out the sleeves of his sweatshirt. "geez. tell me about it. it was such a nice day too!" tyler started his car and blasted the heater. the rain was cold and the last thing either of them needed was a cold to ruin the week. tyler pulled out of his parking space and began driving back to his house.

the two sat for a while, not talking but listening to soft music play throughout tyler's car. they were a few miles from tyler's house when tyler's car began to shudder and slow down. "oh shit," tyler said. "shit. shit. shit." his car slowed to a stop as he pulled off to the side of the road. "did we just run out of gas?" josh asked tentatively, wary of tyler's mood. "yes, josh," tyler said, sighing. "yes we did." josh looked out the window, noticing the rain was only getting heavier, and then looked back to tyler. "well... how far are we from your house?" josh asked. "too far to walk," tyler said, "and i wouldn't want to walk in this anyway." he sighed again, shaking his head. "i guess i'll just have to call a tow company. just hang tight, i'm sorry. this is so embarrassing."

tyler dialed a tow company and worked something out with the guy on the other end. "he said it should be about ten minutes. i'm sorry, again," tyler said. "it's alright. happens to the best of us," josh said, earning a small smile from tyler. "don't worry, ty. we'll get it worked out," josh said, patting tyler's hand in reassurance. tyler looked at josh and his smile widened. "thanks josh." he placed his hand on top of josh's, sending butterflies to his stomach. the two boys stayed like this until the tow truck came-and though it might have been a good thing that the tow truck came to help them, neither of them wanted to move from their positions in tyler's small car.

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oh my gosh??? this took forever to write i h8 myself. sorry the ending of this chapter suCKS so bad, i was stuck on the ending but the rest of the chapter is decent, i think. i threw in some cute joshler fluff & i hope you enjoyed. i love you all!! 💙

mik