True Colors (joshler, multi-fandom)

22 - There's No Sun

Tyler led the group inside, as he was holding Gerard up with Josh, and Frank followed.

"There you are! What on earth were you doing?" Brendon called at the back door from the "stage."

Frank flushed deep red, but not from drinking. He was clearly embarrassed,  covering his mouth as a response. Tyler spoke for the two, "They were asleep in the backyard. You should've seen them, they were kinda cute."

"Heh, heh. You wouldn't say that if you knew." Gerard mumbled, making Tyler think he saw himself and Josh outside about an hour and a half earlier. "Knew...what?"

Gerard chuckled. "You don't know. Okay. Good. But we're gonna have to fix that upstairs bedroom."

Jon winced. "Damn it, you two."

"Woah, hey, we didn't make a mess. Just need to fix the covers, that's it."

Jon muttered something under his breath.

Frank shook his head from the back to hide his embarrassment. "I'm really sorry, Jon."

"Look, it's no big deal. I just can't believe you two were- ugh."

Frank explained. "We don't talk about it, but yeah, we've kinda been together since this summer. Just kept it kinda secret."

Seriously? Did Ruby know?

"Whatever. Just go clean up."

"Aw, man, I can't even walk." Gerard mumbled.

"I can see that."

"We'll let you sit down, I'll get you some water." Tyler offered.

"You just like me 'cause I'm Ruby's best friend."

"You're my friend too. We're all friends."

"We're all fuckin' gay, that's what." Tyler can smell how drunk he was.

"Alright, let's sit you down."

It only took ten minutes before Frank was back downstairs. "Alright. I put everything back together just how we found it. Anything else you need me to do?"

"I think the rest of this we can do by ourselves. We already got this mess half cleaned up."

The floor was so trashed. It bothered Tyler especially, so he and Josh took care of that. Brendon and his band put all their equipment away, in the cars of their respective owners. Only Jon and Spencer came back inside from the front. Pretty much nothing else had to be done, other than getting rid of the alcohol.

Spencer decided to deal with that. "I'll drop it off at that dumpster behind the 7-11 on my way home. Nobody will know."

Tyler asked the two, "Why are Brendon and Ryan still outside? Are they going home?"

"Don't think so."

Tyler lifted the curtain to the window to the front and peeked outside. They're still there, doing what him and Tyler did in the backyard earlier but not the same way, with Ryan against a car in the driveway (hopefully his car) and Brendon almost on top of him. They probably waited all night to do this. Trying not to stare, Tyler turned back around and let down the curtain.

"No, they're still here."

Spencer nodded. "Brendon's not the type to leave without a goodbye."

Jon checked from the window, too. He cringed. "This party's turned into a fuckfest."

Gerard shouted from across the room, laying on the other couch with a washcloth over his eyes. "Hey, you expect anything less?"

Josh whispered to Tyler, "I think we should go home."

Tyler patted his back. "We'll be alright. Besides, we gotta take Gee home."

"I can do that." Frank declared, the much more sober of the two.

"But how are you gonna get home?" Jon asked, annoyed.

"We'll take him home." Tyler declares. "We'll follow him to drop off Gee, and we'll take him back." Josh replied, "Really? But you hate driving in the dark."

"I knew that coming down here. I got music, we can push through."

"Alright."

***

Tyler realized how dim these streetlights actually were when he had to be focused the whole time at almost midnight. He had the car radio on to stay awake, on nothing special, just the alternative music station that was airing commercials right now. Whatever. Anything is better than silence. He noticed Josh had his eyes shut and his seat leaned back a couple inches. Lucky, he gets to cat nap a few minutes before going home.

As Tyler followed Frank, he noticed Frank wasn't perfectly sober, but not dangerously drunk. It was enough to not be that noticeable.

They pulled into Gerard's driveway, a tiny house in comparison to the rest of the street, with a sticky yellow porchlight attracting a lot of moths for the end of October. Tyler watched Frank get out of the car, then Gerard slowly get out on the passenger side and try to stand up before Frank runs around the car and catches him, then gives him his keys and walks him inside. It takes about five minutes before Frank comes back outside. Tyler reaches to the back seat to unlock that door for Frank. He gets in, and Tyler takes a deep breath.

"Hey, I live at the edge of this street. I could've walked but I'm very tired."

"It's not that, I've just...hardly been in this side of the neighborhood."

"Ah. Like Ruby was."

"I think I can figure it out." Tyler started the engine and pulled out of the driveway.

Barely a minute later, Frank startled Tyler a little with "Stop, it's right here."

Tyler dropped him off at the curb by his house, then drove to the next stop sign, below street signs reading EMERALD ST and MARNE RD

"Oh boy." He whispered. He looked over to Josh, still sleeping, wondering if he somehow knew the way back to his house from here. If Tyler was more experienced at driving, he could literally use the map on his phone, but he won't risk looking away from the road for a second.

"Josh." He whispers, with no response. Tyler reaches to his face and touches his cheek with the backs of his fingers. His face was warm, that or Tyler's fingers were cold, because Josh blinked awake on contact.

"You know the way back to your house from here?" Tyler points at the sign.

"Go right, I'll tell you when to turn."

Tyler followed Josh's instructions until the streets looked familiar enough that he could stop following and go by memory. When he pulled into Josh's driveway, Tyler didn't say goodnight.

"May I walk you to your door?"

Josh smiled. "Yes, you may."

As they got out of the car, Tyler took his hand and led them up the porch before letting go and doing the handshake. When it ended with the hug, they held for a bit. Tyler can't stop smiling.

The last thing Josh says to him that night is "I love you."

"Love you too. Goodnight."

What? Tyler, what?