tagged // joshler

(12)

"i can't believe it's turned into such a rainy day." josh sat by the window in tyler's living room. it had taken a while, but eventually the whole tow truck fiasco had been figured out. now the two boys were stuck at tyler's apartment, with nothing to do.

"i know," tyler responded, taking a seat next to josh, watching the rain. "i'm sorry that our plans for the day were ruined. there's not much we can do here.. we can watch a movie?"

josh shrugged. "yeah, i guess so. you pick." tyler got up and began searching for a good movie to watch. josh watched tyler for a little bit before returning his focus to the rain. usually he loved the rain, but today he couldn't help but hate it for ruining such a nice afternoon. he wanted to do things with tyler, not just watch movies. his mood was utterly dismal, matching the gloomy gray of the outside world--so he was thrilled when tyler came back a few minutes later, empty handed.

"i couldn't decide on anything to watch," he said, again taking a seat beside josh.

'what luck,' josh thought.

"that's okay," he said. "what else can we do? do you have any board games, or anything?"

tyler pondered on josh's question for a moment. "maybe? here, come with me."

tyler took josh by the hand and led him to a small closet in the hallway. upon opening the closet, the two found a small collection of games: clue, monopoly, uno.

"hm..." josh thought. "well, im awful at clue, and monopoly takes too long. uno it is," he reached into the closet and grabbed the deck of cards.

tyler grinned. "i hope you're prepared to lose," he said. "i'm pretty great at this game."

josh rolled his eyes and shut the closet. "sure. so what happens when i beat you, then?" he walked out into tyler's living room and sat down on the soft carpet, dealing out seven cards each for tyler and himself.

"impossible. won't happen," tyler said, as the two boys began playing.

and as it turned out, tyler actually was incredibly good at uno. they played three rounds and were beginning a fourth, and tyler had won every single one. josh couldn't believe it.

"i swear to god, tyler, if you beat me again-"

josh was cut off by a loud BOOM of thunder and the power shutting off.

"t-ty? what was that?"

"i think that was thunder, maybe some lightning too." tyler looked out the window for signs of lightning and sure enough, just seconds later, a bolt of lighting shot down from the skies. "you okay josh?"

josh was sitting in front of tyler, hugging his knees to his chest. "y-yeah," he replied, "i'm just... very afraid of thunderstorms."

tyler got up and grabbed a blanket from the couch. he sat down next to josh and wrapped the blanket around his shoulders. "i'm here for you, josh. the storm can't hurt you."

josh leaned in closer to tyler, resting his head on tyler's shoulder. tyler wrapped his arm around josh and watched as he flinched when more thunder started. he began to rub josh's shoulder slowly in an effort to calm him down.

"how long do you think the storm will be?" josh asked quietly.

"uh.." tyler looked out of the window for a second time. "im not sure, josh. the rain is coming down pretty hard." josh sighed at tyler's answer. mostly, he just wanted this storm to end so he could calm down.

'tyler must think i'm so stupid, being afraid of a thunderstorm,' josh thought. his negative thoughts, however, were interrupted by tyler's voice.

"josh, can i do anything? i feel bad just sitting here."

josh slowly sat up after thinking for a minute. he wrapped the blanket tighter around his shoulders and looked at tyler's face, lit up by the moonlight.

"some hot chocolate might be nice," josh said.

tyler smiled at his answer. "i like the way you think, josh." he lightly pinched his cheek before walking into the kitchen.

amidst the sounds of booming thunder and tyler's clattering in the kitchen, josh found a way to calm down and move from his spot on the floor. he instead sat on the couch, where tyler once again joined him not long after.

"here is your hot chocolate," tyler said, handing josh a small yellow mug which held his drink, topped with a sprinkle of mini marshmallows.

"thank you," josh said quietly, taking a sip as tyler sat down next to him. "im feeling better already."

tyler gazed at josh's perfect profile, illuminated by the moonlight. he really hadn't known this boy for very long, but he felt like he'd never known a life without him. he was just so perfect in every way.

"tyler?"

josh's voice snapped him out of his trance. "tyler, were you staring at me?"

"uhh.." tyler scrambled for a response. if he said yes, would that make him sound creepy?

"yeah. i-i mean--kind of." he felt his face flush a deep red, and he hoped josh couldnt notice that in the dim light. thankfully, josh didn't seem to notice at all.

"that's okay, tyler. although, i dont know what youd be staring at. im not much to look at."

a slight frown came across tyler's face. "not much to look at? josh, y-youre everything. youre unbelievably handsome. i think... i think youre the most beautiful thing ive ever seen."

tyler and josh locked eyes with each other. josh, surprised by tyler's words, was absolutely speechless. he stuttered, trying to find the right words to say.

"tyler, i-" josh began before he was interruped by tyler.

"shh, dont speak," tyler whispered, leaning in closer to josh. "you don't need to say anything."

josh nodded in compliance to tyler. tyler leaned in until he was just mere centimeters from josh's face. "is this okay?" he whispered. josh shuddered as he felt tyler's breath on his lips, but nodded. "good," said tyler, also with a nod.

the two sat like this for another few moments, silent except for the sounds of rain and distant thunder. tyler reached up and cupped josh's face in his hand, rubbing his thumb gently over josh's cheek. slowly, tyler used his hand to bring josh closer to him...

until the space between the two boys was closed entirely, their lips locked and moving with the other's in perfect harmony.

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hey!! i swear im still alive. here is an update, i hope it was worth the wait!

i have some GOOD NEWS. i am officially out of school for the summer! which means that ill have more time to write. lets get a big HURRAH for no more 1 month gaps between updates!

anyway... i hope you enjoyed this chapter. i love you all so much, and thank you for 7k reads!!!

mik