Bloody Texas

Josh is a Fun Character to Write

"—eith? Keith!"

Keith felt his never ending annoyance saturate his bones once more as he was yanked from his peaceful dreams. His eyes flickered open and glared up at Josh shoving his arm.

"Get up, dude!" He huffed and spun around to his backpack. "I don't know why I even bother."

Keith slowly pushed himself up and rubbed his eyes as Josh continued his rant. The feeling of something in his fingers caught his attention, pulling his eyes down to his lap. He had fallen asleep in his clothes and on top of his blankets, Lance's pink sweater in his arms. The fluffy fabric cradled his hands and filled them with warmth—the same heat that thawed his passive heart in the first place.

"Seriously, you smell like Marlboro and shame—" Josh reached over to snatch the sweater.

Keith's heart immediately pumped adrenaline through his veins as he watched his hand get closer. In a split second of panicked jerks, he leaned over and hugged it to his chest as hard as he could. "Don't touch it! Don't you dare!"

Josh jumped back at the cracking harshness of his screams for a moment before sighing and grabbing his shoulder hard. "Dude! What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

Keith kept his arms around the sweater and violently shook his hand off and leaned away from him. Eyes of crystal violet caged a hell of pure hatred and fear. "Fuck off!"

Josh threw his book bag down and furrowed his brows, reaching for the sweater again in frustration. "You are so fucking annoying!"

Keith kept his fingers locked on the fabric as he used his boots to kick him back, fighting as they struggled for power. All that was on his mind was that he had to protect Lance with his life. To do whatever it took.

"Seriously!" Josh took ahold of one of Keith's ankles and yanked him off the bed. "All you've done is treat us like we're the scum of the Earth!" He sat down on his thighs to pin him to the ground, forcing his shoulders against the worn carpet. With a face full of exasperation he screamed back with the same intensity and bottled up anger. "What is your fucking problem with everyone?!"

Keith's body was oversaturated with adrenaline and exhaustion—too much to find the strength to fight back. All he could do in that moment was stare back at the fiery amber eyes staring down on him.

Josh's heavy breathing remained soaked in his long-awaited breaking point. His patience had finally shattered, releasing a flood of pent-up raw emotion. With a pained blink, he spoke again. "What...what do I have to do to make you stop hating me so much?"

Keith remained connected to Lance's sweater as his eyes started to fill. Tears welled up and ran down his temples, too inconvenient to be wiped away.

Josh's expression immediately shifted into worry and concern. "Hey..." he released his shoulders. "Am I hurting you?"

Keith stayed where he was on the floor and dug his nose back into the fabric he protected so faithfully. He closed his eyes for a moment to fill his lungs with purity instead of tar, tears soaking into the threads creating freckles of mourning.

"Keith...?" Josh lifted his leg off and sat down next to him.

Pathetic. That's all he was now. A puddle of sorrow and despair on the dull carpet of his dorm room. He had waved off everyone else with his pessimism but Josh always persisted. A strange breed.

Keith remained buried in the pale pink as he spoke in breathy trembles. "I had a husband."

He could hear Josh's breath hitch. "Had?"

Keith's eyes called out for mercy as he continued. "I...had...a husband..."

"What?" Josh lowered his voice to a gentle tone. "Did he leave you or something?"

Keith quickly shook his head, "No." He opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling. "He was taken from me."

Josh shifted his legs and leaned an elbow on one of his knees. "What—uh..." he fidgeted with his hair, "What was his name?"

A heartbroken smile crept across his cheeks. "Lance. His name was Lance."

"Can you..." Josh hesitated and opted out of what he was going to say, instead, pointing over at his Hello Kitty backpack. "I assume that was his?"

Keith motioned to the sweater in his arms, "This too." Silence filled the atmosphere and weighed on their shoulders. Keith gave in and admitted what he hated to hear leave his lips. "He's dead now."

Josh averted his eyes and dug his nails underneath each other, "How...how did he die?"

"Pneumonia." Keith didn't hesitate with his answers now, letting his tears guide his sorrow-filled words.

Josh cocked his head, "Pneumonia?"

"He had AIDS." Keith took another breath of the fabric. "And sickle cell."

"Oh my god." Realization and regret grappled onto his teeth as his own eyes became shaky. "Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

Josh finally turned to look at him again, "What's the story behind the blue 'N T' on your wrist?"

Keith glanced down at his tattoo that had served as an emblem of Lance's unique view of the world. An insignia of his forthcoming demise. "Lance has the other half."

"And what does his say?"

"A red C and U."

Josh's eyes thinned in confusion as he pieces together what it all meant.

Keith chuckled through his inaudible sobs and looked over at him. "Cunt."

Josh laughed and shook his head. "No, come on! I'm being serious."

"So am I." Keith nodded with a straight face. "It spells cunt."

"Well..." Josh lifted his other leg to loosely hug his knees. "Are you...gonna tell me the story or let me continue to wonder?"

A jolt of mischief and sorrow crossed over his chest. He relaxed back into the floor and let his face scrunch up with his tears. "I...I just can't..."

"Keith," Josh leaned forward to lock eyes with him. "I'm gonna help you."