A/N: listen to slowtown
Tyler lived in the perfect neighbourhood, everything was simple. Nothing seemed to change either, it was actually quite boring for the boy who grew up playing with match box cars on his large concrete driveway. Sometimes playing basketball with his brothers would be fun, they'd play until the street lights came on and they were forced to come inside.
That was until high school came along, then everything turned stressful. Tyler never had enough time to play basketball anymore and he was too old to play with toy cars.
With the troubles of school and loneliness Tyler found himself dreaming of a better place, a place where time didn't go so fast. It was a place where Tyler could be a child again and ride his bike with his brothers down the empty streets of his neighbourhood. Tyler often found himself dreaming about this place a lot, a town where things were slower.
It was an overcast afternoon when Tyler heard the familiar sound of a basketball bouncing on the ground of the local court. Tyler would often lay down in the middle of the empty courts and day dream about his better place. The courts were always untouched so it surprised him when the sound of a basketball hit the ground to his far left, but with a brave heart Tyler continued to lay down and pretend he couldn't hear the ball approaching him.
"A-Are you alright?", someone asked the brunet who was sprawled out on the floor of the court.
Tyler kept his eyes on the clouds but they were instantly drawn to a curly haired boy's face who stared down at him with the slightest confusion. The boy's red hair fell in his face as he stared down at Tyler, he had the basketball propped up against his hip and supported it with his arm.
"Yes, I'm just thinking about a better place", Tyler mumbled and his eyes went back to the clouds that were passing by faster than ever.
The red haired boy sighed and Tyler glanced over at him when he put his ball down and laid down on the court beside him.
"I'm Josh", he said and tilted his head to look at Tyler who was now lost in the boy's brown eyes.
"Tyler", Tyler replied in almost what seemed like a gasp because the red haired boy smiled.
His smile was so genuine, the ends of his eyes crinkled and the smile revealed rows of perfectly white teeth. Tyler was already captivated by the mysterious boy who'd just joined him on the courts that hadn't been used in years. It made Tyler wonder if Josh was new to the neighbourhood, it would explain why he was using the old courts that Tyler used as an escape.
"So what's this better place like?", Josh asked with a smirk before staring up at the clouds that finally slowed.
"It's...uh...it's slower", Tyler mumbled. He couldn't take his eyes off the boy who was now concentrating on the clouds in grey sky that'd soon turn to a starry night's sky within a couple of hours.
"What do you mean?", Josh asked he seemed to be very interested in the brunet who was sat alone in the middle of the basketball court.
"Everything is too fast now, don't you ever want to wake up and be in a place where everything is slow. Where you don't have the stress of school and the people around you who don't seem to notice that the days aren't long anymore".
Josh had never thought about life in the way Tyler did, but Tyler's way of thinking was too beautiful to ignore. The redhead thought about it for a while, the scene turned into two boys laying on the courts with the clouds being their only view as they thought about a slower life.
"I want to be in slowtown", Josh smiled after an eternity of silence. Time for Tyler already seemed to slow with Josh by his side and he too smiled, a smile that was finally a real one.
