THE RUN AND GO : JOSHLER

25 : CRYBABY

Tyler walked silently down the corridor, wiping his bloody, sweaty hands on his sweatpants. He had discarded his gloves, but the hot water and sweat had run down all the way to the tattoos on his forearms.

He continued walking, nervously tapping his thighs with his fingers as if they were a piano. He chewed on his bottom lip as he thought about what he was going to say when he finally arrived at his destination.

He suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Josh's bedroom door was open.

Tyler took a breath and walked up to the door. He lightly rapped his knuckles on the doorframe, the knock echoing through the silence.

Josh was sitting in silence on his bed, his back towards the door. He was looking up at the night sky through the only window in his room.

When he heard the knock, he turned around.

Tyler offered a small, awkward smile, but Josh's straight expression remained unchanging.

"Um..." Tyler began, awkwardly clearing his throat. "Did I...Did I make him scream too much?" He half-laughed at a lame attempt to lighten the mood.

"Yeah. I could still hear him," Josh said simply.

Tyler just nodded and twisted his mouth in thought. He leaned one shoulder against the doorframe and crossed one leg over the other, leaning his foot on the frame too.

The two simply stared at each other in an awkward, agonizing silence. The tension in the room was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

"W-Well..." Tyler began, but his voice trailed off. He chewed on the inside of his cheek as he thought of what the fuck he could say to make things better.

Josh said nothing, only stared at him with a mute, expressionless face.

Tyler shoved one hand in the pocket of his sweatpants and took a short, quiet breath.

"Do...Do you..." Tyler gestured down the hall with his thumb. "W-Wanna go..."

"I think I'll just stay here," Josh replied. Unlike Tyler's shaky words, his voice was firm and monotone, as though he felt nothing.

"Yeah..." Tyler nodded slowly. "Y'know, if you...h-have a...another...you're always...you're always w-welcome to..."

Tyler tried to finish his sentence, but all the words he wanted to say shriveled up and died on his lips.

"Night," he finally whispered, putting his head down in half shame, half embarrassment. One in the same, really.

"Mhm," Josh hummed. He looked at Tyler standing there, looking like an ashamed dog with its tail between its legs.

Then Josh turned around, his back to Tyler again, and faced the window. He squeezed his eyes shut and listened to Tyler's slow, quiet breathing as he remained standing in the doorway.

He didn't open his eyes again until he heard Tyler's soft footsteps shuffle out of his bedroom and retreat down the hall.

✗✗✗✗✗

Tyler laid in his bed, drifting in and out of sleep, his mind racing. He stared blankly up at the ceiling and fiddled with the sheets in his hands.