What Fresh Hell Is This? 𓅓 (Joshler One-Shots)

[33] sincerely, Tyler

Dear Josh
I wish I could tell you in person just how amazing you are

Sincerely, a friend

Josh stared blankly at the note. He then stared blankly all around him to see if someone was staring back at him. Nobody met his gaze, and he returned his attention to his near empty locker. After taking his chemistry textbook he stuffed the note into his pocket and shut his locker.

Dear Josh
Please don't try to hide the things you do in the dark. I want to be there to fix them for you, if only you'd let me

Sincerely, a friend

Josh sighed meekly and crumpled the note. There wasn't much else he could do about it. He could scream at every person in the hallway. It wouldn't help, but he could do it. It just might make him look a little more crazy than he already felt. He pulled the sleeves of his jersey a little lower until they completely covered his palm, stuffed the note into his pocket and shut the locker as he walked away.

Dear Josh
I know you think I'm crazy. I think I'm crazy too. I just want you to know that I exist, that I see you and that I care. I want you to know that I'm alive. I want you to be too.

Sincerely, a friend

Another note. Josh couldn't read them very well much longer, not without having them bring memories racing to the front of his mind, and the last thing he wanted was to think. Not here. This was his oasis, his escape. His jaw clenched uncomfortably as he crumpled the piece of paper in his hand and stuffed it into his pocket. He didn't bother wearing long sleeves today.

Dear Josh
I know you wish this wasn't the case. I know you wish that I could tell you these things in person. I know you deserve that much from me. I just can't help but worry if the words you've heard whispered about me as I passed you in the hall have already affected how you see me. I want you to know that someone cares. I might not be a good person, but that doesn't mean I don't want good things for you, Josh

Sincerely, a friend

Josh was home. He no longer read the notes at school. It just felt a little too painful to do so in the one place he could hide. He didn't want to carry his emotions around for those short lived hours. Only now, as the screaming increased to a trembling crescendo just outside his doors, he read the note. His thumb traced over the handwriting and the things they said to him. He wished he knew who this person was. It was making him a little paranoid because no matter how often he spied around his locker, not a single person had ever been caught slipping a note inside. When Josh returned to school the next day, he was wearing long sleeves again.

Dear Josh
Im sorry for the scars that trail up your skin and into your mind. I wish I could take them away from you. I'd batter and bruise my body with the weight of your emotions if I could, if I knew how. I'd let you be the blade and use me as your canvas. Im sorry you have nowhere else to paint. Please know that I am here, and I know that you deserve better.

Sincerely, a friend

Josh was in class. He'd read over the contents of the note several times today, he let them really sink into his mind so deeply that he could recite it by heart, and it filled his chest with longing. He didn't want to believe he was shallow enough to not want this person around just because of secrets that might have been whispered behind their back. He didn't believe he was that superficial. He just wished this person trusted him enough to understand that.

His English teacher was passing the recent test they did back to them, and each had to pass the tests to the person seated behind themselves. Josh saw his test results. Not great. With everything going on his work has taken a back seat. He saw the paper beneath his. Tyler Joseph. Josh felt a little guilty for not knowing who this was, but then something else caught his eye. It made his heartbeat flutter. His fingers trembled. That handwriting was all too familiar. When he turned around to the person behind him, Tyler took the test papers from him with an outstretched arm. He was wearing long sleeves.

#

The school premises was empty. It was hardly past 7 am, so only some of the faculty had arrived, and one student. Tyler walked the usual route to his locker and put in the combination. When the door opened, notes began raining out of the locker and fell to his feet. They were all the notes he'd given to Josh, every single one. Only one note remained inside his locker, attached with a piece of tape. It wasn't in his handwriting.

Dear Tyler
Thank you.
Thank you for trying to keep me alive. Now I want to do the same thing for you.

Sincerely yours, Josh.