The Forest Fic

9

"So, let me get this straight:" Josh begins, "you tried to eat the spaghetti with a spoon, called your brother a periwinkle dust mop when he tried to give you a fork, listened to your sister talk about her basketball tournament, fell off your chair when your other brother kicked you under the table, watched your dad drink a nonalcoholic beer, listened to your mom talk about your sister's basketball tournament, and burst into tears when the brother who kicked you asked why you don't go to school."

"That just about sums it up," Tyler says, nodding.

Josh raises an eyebrow at him. "And why did you even go to dinner?"

Tyler blushes. "It was sort of an accident."

Josh raises the other eyebrow. "How do you accidentally wind up eating dinner with your family?"

"I- ah..." Tyler runs a hand through his hair. "Well, I was going to ask my mom something, but, uh, I ended up asking her what was for dinner."

Josh's raised eyebrows lift even higher. "What were you going to ask her?"

Tyler feels his face flush even darker. "Nothing," he says a little too quickly.

Josh's eyebrows rise so high that they almost disappear into his mop of bright blue hair. Before Tyler can stop himself, he's reaching out and pushing Josh's eyebrows down himself.

They stare at each other for a moment before they both burst out laughing.

They end up with their foreheads pressed together and fingers intertwined, and they're both still giggling as Tyler looks down at Josh's soft, C major lips. It would be so easy just to...

"Tyler?"

Tyler snaps out of it, looking back up into Josh's mocha eyes. Their foreheads are still pressed together.

"Can I, um..." Before Tyler can think about it, he's shifting himself oh-so-slightly for their lips to touch. It's brief, but Tyler can still feel those perfect, C major lips unresponsive on his when he pulls back.

"Oh," Josh says, looking startled.

"Oh," Tyler echoes, standing up. "Oh, oh man, I'm so sorry, I- I'll..." He practically slides down the ladder.

"No, wait, Tyler-" Josh calls, but Tyler doesn't look back.