omegle • joshler

pancakes.

tyler feels slightly jealous as they pull up to josh's house. it looks much more put together than his, like someone actually gave a shit about it. he wishes it were like that for everybody.

"you l-live here?"

"yup." josh replies, smiling at the lot. "as of eighteen years."

"i-it's really nice." tyler says, quietly.

"thanks. i think so, too."

josh exits the truck and walks around to open tyler's door for him while tyler stays sitting, still looking up at the house.

they walk inside together, tyler still cautiously scanning everything with his eyes.

"it's so clean i-in here." he comments, noticing how every counter top and table were spotless.

"yeah, my mom's not around too much, but she likes to keep things nice and tidy when she is."

"a-and your dad?"

josh freezes, looking down at the floor with sad eyes. "he's uh, not around anymore."

"oh?"

"yeah. he passed away a few years ago." he speaks so quiet that he was afraid tyler might not hear him.

a sad expression falls over tyler's face and he blinks a few times, trying to come up with a response.

"oh. i'm... i'm s-sorry, josh."

josh shakes his head. "it's okay, really. it was forever ago, it barely crosses my mind."

tyler keeps his mouth shut, not asking any further questions. it's obviously a topic that josh doesn't want to talk about. he follows him around like a lost puppy. josh begins opening drawers and grabbing ingredients.

"don't be shy. you can sit anywhere. do you like pancakes?"

tyler hesitantly nods while taking a seat on one of the barstools next to the polished marble countertop.

"good, because it's the only thing i actually know how to make."

tyler quietly laughs and rests his chin on his knuckles, watching the purple-haired boy's every move, staring at the ingredients hungrily. he hasn't eaten since taco bell yesterday, but josh doesn't need to know that.

it stays mostly silent while josh mixes the batter together, except for the gentle humming that comes from his lips and the repetitive beat he plays on the counter his two pointer fingers. tyler watches in amusement.

after cooking the first pancake, josh sprinkles a few chocolate chips on the surface in the form of a smiley face. he slides it over to tyler, smiling proudly.

"wh-what's all this a-about?" tyler giggles, staring at the attempted face which is now starting to melt from the heat.

"i made it happy, so you'll be happy too."

tyler felt his heart melt faster than the chocolate chips ever could. it was corny as hell, but it was sure working.

"it was supposed to make you smile, and i guess it worked." josh grins, staring at him.

tyler didn't even notice the genuine smile that formed on his face. he spends so much time frowning that he almost forgot how to make a smile.

"thank you josh, really."

josh mouth gapes open slightly before he cracks another smile. "look at that, no stutter in that sentence!"

tyler blushes furiously, unable to hide his grin. "n-no stutter!"