The Broken Hearts Club [Joshler]

Let It Out, Talk To Me

"Jesus, Tyler!" Charlie gasped audibly once she opened the front door

Tyler set one foot inside and collapsed right into the girl's arms. Muddy rain droplets mixed with tears on his face. The boy tried speaking but every word came out as a broken mumble. Charlie quickly dragged the soaking boy inside and shut the door to shelter him from the storm. The brunet swallowed thickly, his Adam's apple twitching up and down unwillingly. Tyler had trouble breathing, he clutched his small sport's bag in his hands, the item was dripping with water like everything else that Tyler had on him. His boots, his jacket, his sweatpants. Everything had darkened in shade when the water soaked every fibre of the material. The boy looked like he walked in the rain for quite a long time and that was what he probably did. 

A large neon crack split the sky, forcing the lights to flicker. The lightning returned the Thunder's call. The lightning didn't even wait, it followed the sound like shark follows blood. Charlie twisted the lock as if it would protect them from thunder. Tyler slowly slid his shoes off, a large puddle collected under him and soaked into the carpet next to his feet. Charlie grabbed Tyler's boots and gestured the boy to follow her. Tyler walked behind the redhead like a shadow, swaying to the sides like a lonely ghost. He looked like one. His once rosy cheeks pale, tan gone. It was like he wasn't basking in the sun on the beach just a couple of weeks ago. Compared to his complexion, the brunet was really pale. Too pale, almost sickly.

"Take that off," Charlie pointed at the brunet's jacket "Come on, hurry up!"

Tyler slid the jacket off of him with difficulty, the wet fabric was clinging to his skin. The redhead threw the jacket on top of the radiator and urged Tyler to take the rest of his clothes off. The brunet stood in the middle of the bathroom shaking, only in his underwear while Charlie looked for the right setting for the dryer. 

The girl eyed the boy down, eyebrow raised. Tyler's forehead creased, he shook his head and covered his lower half.

"Dude-" Charlie sighed 

"I'm good," Tyler murmured clutching the hem of his wet boxers

"I have a spare pair, take them off, Jesus," Charlie rubbed her forehead "It's not like I'm into cock."

"Fine." The boy hesitantly pulled his underwear down and tossed it into the laundry basket

Charlie chucked a fresh pair of underwear Tyler's way. The boy sighed in relief when he wasn't exposed anymore. The girl rummaged through a freshly dried pile of clothing that was just waiting to be folded neatly and put into shelves. Tyler didn't object when his friend gave him a shirt dress and a pair of striped knee socks. 

"Looks good on you," The girl joked

Tyler's lips twitched into a weak smile. He followed the redhead into the kitchen where Gerard was making sandwiches. Tyler's feet stopped abruptly for a second when he noticed the boy's bald head. He glanced at Charlie wanting answers. 

"I shaved it for Frank," the boy mumbled like knowing what Tyler was itching to ask

"Did he-" Tyler felt a blunt pressure on his chest

Gerard let out a soft chuckle and shook his head. He placed a stack of sandwiches on a paper plate and handed it to Tyler.

"No, Frank's fine," Gerard smiled softly "His hair fell out because of chemo and he's really insecure about it. I wanted him to feel better about himself." 

"What did he say?" Tyler questioned

"Nothing yet," Gerard shrugged "He's upstairs but won't talk to me." 

"Why?" Tyler raised  a brow

"Well," Gerard sighed and rested his hip against the kitchen counter "He got distant because of his condition. He didn't want to hurt me in case he- You know."

"He's better now?" 

"Yeah," Gerard nodded with a dreamy smile on his lips "He still won't talk to me but at least he doesn't run away from me anymore. I think we're gonna be okay."

Tyler helped Gerard and Charlie bring the food upstairs. Frank sat clutching a plushie on his lap, the boy stared out the window, black beanie on his head. Tyler didn't know what to say so he just sat next to him silently. 

Jared walked into the room like a shadow, he smiled at Tyler softly. The brunet didn't even know that Jared was around but he was glad that all of his friends were in one place. Charlie threw a towel at Tyler's head telling him to stop getting everything wet. 

"What the fuck happened?" Charlie plopped on the floor next to Tyler "Did you talk to Josh?"

"Yeah," Tyler's teeth sunk down on his bottom lip "Kind of."

"What do you mean kind of?" Charlie shoved a handful of tiny salted pretzels into her mouth

"What did he say?" Jared leaned in wanting to know all the tea

Tyler let out a long heavy sigh, he closed his eyes for a brief moment remembering what happened. Even if he didn't want to. He didn't want to talk about it to anyone, ever. Tyler just wished it all went away, evaporated. If only there was a magic pill that melted all the bad memories away...

"I just-" Tyler's lips twitched into a frown "I wanted to talk to him but-"

"But what?" Gerard questioned

"I-" Tyler let out an empty chuckle, tears shrouded his eyes "He couldn't talk because he had Debby's tongue down his throat."

"The fuck?!" Charlie's pretzels flew in all directions, Jared somehow caught some in his mouth like a trained seal

"Can I not talk about it?" Tyler pleaded "Just... Not right now. I promise I'll tell you but I just... I can't."

"We understand, Ty." Charlie cooed "When you're ready."

"I promise, I tried-" Tyler choked up

"It's okay," Jared threw his arm around Tyler's shoulder comfortingly "We're all with you."

"I-" Tyler wiped his eyes and looked around the room "I love you, guys."

"We love you too," Frank spoke quietly after a long time being silent

Gerard looked happy that the boy was finally speaking.

"We're all so fucked up," Charlie chuckled "The emotional wreck squad."

"Doesn't sound catchy," Jared shrugged "Maybe like, the somber crew."

"That's even worse," the redhead snorted

"I have nothing," Gerard shrugged, everyone glanced at Tyler who hasn't contributed yet

The boy shrugged with a smile, he had one in mind but it didn't really fit. 

"I think that-" Tyler shrugged "It's stupid, I-."

"Can't  be more stupid than the somber crew," Gerard snickered earning a bitter glance from Jared "Come on, tell us what you think."

Tyler sighed, Gerard was right, it couldn't get worse than 'somber crew'. He chuckled with his head down and finally lifted his head up.

"The broken hearts club." 

"I think it sounds nice," Charlie hummed

"Yeah," Gerard agreed "It sounds awesome."

"So this is official now," Jared beamed "We are called the broke hearts club from now on." 

"The broke hearts club..." Tyler repeated it softly to himself, a sad smile slowly creeping on his lips