omegle • joshler

life has a hopeful undertone.

why isn't he answering? maybe josh put his number in wrong. maybe tyler hates josh and never wants to see him again. maybe he's dead.

a heavy sigh escapes josh's lips as he shakes the bad thoughts out of his head. tyler is just fine, he just needs to calm down. he thought it was odd that he couldn't find tyler on omegle last night, or that he wouldn't answer any texts or calls all night and morning.

now he just sounds like a stalker.

as the phone rings for what feels like the thousandth time today, tyler finally decides to answer.

"h-hello?" his voice is small and quiet.

"tyler!" josh replies, a wave of relief washing over him. "where've you been?"

"i'm s-so sorry." he whispers.

"don't apologize, i'm just glad you finally picked up."

"n-no, you told m-me to call i-if things went wrong, a-and i-i didn't." he had obviously been crying.

"what happened?" josh asks, standing to his feet. "i can come get you, just-"

"i-i can't hang o-out anymore."

josh freezes mid-sentence. "you... w-what?"

tyler stays silent.

"did i do something wrong?"

"n-no, i promise it wasn't you." tyler replies, shakily. "y-you did n-nothing wrong. i-it's just m-my stupid mom."

"what did she do?"

he sighs. "she just d-doesn't want me t-to hang out with a b-boy."

"she doesn't want you to have friends?"

"n-not like that. she's super... r-religious."

"oh... oh! but we aren't gay." josh chuckles, awkwardly.

"i-i know..."

"let me come get you." josh argues.

"i'm sorry, i-it's too risky."

"please?" he asks, sadly.

tyler lets out another sigh. "i-i don't want you t-to see me l-like this."

"you can't get rid of me that easily." josh smiles. "i'll be right there."

...

tyler sadly looks at himself in the mirror. his hair is a mess, his eyes are red from lack of sleep and tear stained from all the crying he did in the past few hours, and his cheek is still red and swollen from the slap he received the night before. he mentally curses his mother for hitting him so hard this time. he almost made it into the shower, but he just didn't have the energy.

josh, on the other hand, is quickly moving throughout the house to leave. his mother stops him before he could reach the door.

"where are you off to in such a hurry?" she asks, grabbing her keys. he assumes she's just about to leave for work.

he stops in his tracks and faces her. "uh, just out."

"are you okay?" she asks, frowning. "i know that whole thing with debb-"

"don't talk about her." he cuts her off. "she's gone, i don't mind anymore."

"really?" his mom asks, her eyebrows raised. "what changed your mind?"

josh just blushes and shifts his eyes to the floor.

"oh," she smirks. "who changed your mind?"