Adore // Oneshots

The Only Hope For Me Is You (Joshler)

CATEGORY: Fluff, College AU
FEATURING: bestfriends!Joshler
TRIGGER WARNINGS: My Chemical Romance, a sad Tyler Joseph
PROMPT: Josh hears his roommate Tyler blaring his music in his room, and goes to check on him.
WORD COUNT: Approximately 850 (very short, sorry)
This one is really cliche but I'm publishing it anyway

Soft rock played in Josh's ears as he scrolled through the article on his computer. It was a Sunday afternoon, and Josh was almost done (dun) writing his essay. College wasn't as hard as Josh had thought it would be--he enjoyed it, actually--but he still had to study and work hard.

Josh tended to listen to music while he worked. It helped him focus on what he was doing, and block out any otherwise distracting sounds, like the world outside of the apartment building, or its other tenants.

The pink-haired boy was just about to start on the conclusion of his essay when loud music, not his own, began blaring from somewhere in the apartment. Josh tried to push through the sound and focus, but it was just too loud. Frustrated, Josh saved his work and closed his laptop, leaving his room and following the music straight to his roommate's bedroom.

Josh knocked on the door, but there was no response. After a few moments, he knocked again, but still could hear nothing over the loud music, and so, Josh carefully opened the door just a crack. "Tyler?"

He heard the music turn down, to his relief, but it was replaced by another, more concerning one--muffled crying. "Please go away."

"Ty, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Please, go away."

However, Josh knew he couldn't leave his best friend in there alone, not when he was feeling bad. Tyler and Josh had been best friends since they were kids, and they now went to the same college together. Where college was enjoyable for Josh, it was stressful and exhausting for Tyler. A few times, Tyler had felt a little sad, and so Josh had done his best to cheer him up.

However, Tyler had never tried to shut Josh out before. He must be feeling very bad.

"I'm coming in, okay?" When he didn't hear a response, Josh cracked open the door and peeked in.

Tyler was laying on his bed, face buried in his pillows. His phone was plugged into the speaker on the bedside table, still playing the music that Josh sooned recognized as My Chemical Romance. It was Tyler's favorite band.

Tyler's shoulders shook as he cried, and it broke Josh's heart.

Quickly, Josh crossed the room and crawled onto Tyler's bed, giving his best friend a hug. Tyler didn't stop crying, but he didn't shove Josh away, or try to make him leave again.

Tyler and Josh laid there together for almost an hour, Josh stroking Tyler's back to help him calm down. Eventually, Tyler's tears slowed, then stopped.

"What's wrong?" Josh asked eventually, still soothingly rubbing Tyler's back. "If you want to talk about it."

Tyler sniffled a little. "I can't talk about it."

"Why not?"

The smaller boy didn't answer, and Josh didn't push it any further, and just laid there next to him. He found himself finally listening to the lyrics that had been playing since Josh had first heard the music from his room--

Can I be the only hope for you?
Because you're the only hope for me
And if we can't find where we belong
We'll have to make it on our own...

"I have feelings for someone," Tyler said finally.

There was a jealous, painful ache in Josh's heart at those words, but he put on a smile for Tyler. He'd had feelings for his best friend for the past two years, but never said a word about it. He didn't want to ruin their friendship.

"Hey," Josh said, "there's nothing wrong with that. Is it Jenna?" he added, remembering the girl across the hall that Tyler had been hanging out with recently.

Tyler shook his head. "No, it's not Jenna."

Josh took a moment before responding. "I'm sure that whoever, they are, they care about you, too."

With a slight sniffle, Tyler lifted his head from the pillows and looked at Josh. "How do you know?"

"Because you're a great person," Josh said with a smile. "You're smart, kind, sweet, talented. It's practically impossible for someone not to like you."

Tyler smiled back at Josh for a few seconds, but then his smile faded, and he turned his head away.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Josh frowned and stroked Tyler's back again.

Tyler face-planted into the pillows with a sigh. "It's you, okay?"

Josh's heart fluttered. Was he hearing him right? "Tyler--"

Tyler sat up. Tears were running down his face again. "Don't, okay? I'll move out tomorrow morning, and you'll never have to see me again, I--"

Before he could go on any further, Josh leaned in and kissed him, closing his eyes. Tyler's eyes were wide with shock at first, but after a few seconds he closed his eyes too, and kissed back.

After a few moments, Josh pulled back. "I like you too, Tyler," he said in a hushed voice.

Tyler giggled and kissed Josh's forehead with a smile. He and Josh spent the rest of the day cuddling together, the tears and worries of before now long forgotten.

A/N: This was the most cliche, emo thing I have ever written. Sometimes you just need fluff, I guess.