THE FOREST FIC ( Stay in place and sing a chorus )

im doing this to myself. im going to cry soon-

"What are you going to say about me?" Josh asks as he picks at a piece of splintering wood in their treehouse.

Tyler shrugs. "I dunno. There's a lot to say."

"You could tell them how pink-red-orange I am," Josh says, flashing Tyler one of those smiles that make Tyler melt. "How sexy I am, how I sound like melted marshmallows, how my lips are the key C major, how I can-"

"Oh, shut up," Tyler says, pushing him playfully.

Josh laughs, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he grins. Tyler looks away before Josh can see him staring.

"My parents think I'm crazy," Tyler says suddenly.

Josh sobers immediately, frowning. "You're not crazy."

"I know," Tyler says. "But telling them about you isn't going to convince them of that."

Josh is silent for a moment. "What are you going to do?"

"Talk to them about you anyways," Tyler says. "Fuck what they think."

Josh grins. "You're really pink-red-orange when you swear."

Tyler blushes. "No, I'm not."

Josh looks at him thoughtfully. "You're pretty pretty, Tyler."

"Pretty pretty?" Tyler says.

Josh laughs. "Not my best word choice."

"Why do we talk like this, anyways?" Tyler asks. "If we just used our words, nothing like that would happen."

"You asked me to talk 'normally,'" Josh says. "For practice."

Tyler frowns. "Why did I do that?"

Josh shrugs. "Something about better communication."

Tyler nods slowly. "Sounds like something I'd do. Back, y'know."

"Well, yeah," Josh says. "You were all-" he makes a few indiscernible hand motions, "blue-purple. Jumbled."

"Mixed up," Tyler says, nodding.

"Not exactly," Josh says. "Sort of... I can't remember the word for it. Orange-green-purple."

"Confused," Tyler translates. Josh nods.

"That's it. I keep forgetting that one," he says. "Confused. You were confused. And like the letter M. The way August smells."

"Confused, maybe," Tyler allows. "I don't know about lost, though."

"You were lost," Josh says, sounding certain.

"Maybe," Tyler says again. He watches Josh flick the lighter he always has on and off. "Why do you even have that? You don't smoke."

Josh shrugs. "You never know when you'll have to set everything on fire."

Tyler furrows his eyebrows. "What? What are you talking about?"

Josh just shrugs agains. "You'll get it some day."