farm boy // joshler

13

josh's point of view

in my bed, i lay awake thinking about tyler. he's been here for a week now, which means i only have two and a half months left with him. i wonder if he'll come back next summer, or if i'll ever see him again at all. does he think about me? i know he said he liked me, but it's only been a week. maybe he just thought he did, and the longer he's here the less he'll like me.

i know i'm just being stupid, and i'm getting to caught up in the summer love phenomenon. chances are that i'll never see him after this summer and he'll be nothing but a memory in my mind and a hidden painting in the basement.

-

i wake up monday morning and sigh, not exactly excited to be getting back to work. i stand up and stretch, trudging across the hall to the bathroom.

when i eventually make it downstairs, scott is sitting at the table with a cup of coffee and a newspaper.

"good morning, josh." he smiles a little and i pour myself a cup of coffee before i sit next to him.

"how was it?" i ask, taking a sip and waiting for him to launch into a detailed story of his date.

he does just that, and tells me everything from the moment he left the house to when he kissed her goodnight.

tyler walked in sometime in the middle and sat next to me with his own cup of coffee. "that's great, scott. i'm glad you had a good time," he congratulates my uncle with a sleepy smile.

"i did." he folds his newspaper and then stands up to refill his mug. "but i'm still really tired. do you think you two can handle the work by yourselves today?"

"sure we can." tyler takes both of our now empty mugs to the sink and smiles. "no problem."

"thank you," uncle scott ruffles tyler's hair. "i'm gonna go back upstairs then. that coffee was not enough to keep me from passing out again." he walks upstairs and i groan as soon as he's out of earshot.

"tyler, what the heck? i don't want to do all that work." i stand up and stretch again. i've had the same mattress for years and it's getting a bit worn out. i'm definitely going to have back problems eventually.

"he had a long night. we'll be fine." he punches my shoulder playfully.

"my back hurts," i whine more as we walk outside, and even when we split up to do the work, i complain to just myself.

it takes us longer than normal, but that's only reasonable since its tyler's first time doing it on his own. once we finish, we meet up in the kitchen.

"you done?" i ask, running a hand through my sweaty hair.

"yep." he nods and sets a small basket of fruits and veggies on the table. "but i call first dibs on the shower," he barely finishes his sentence before he's giggling and running up the stairs two at a time.

"no, that's not fair!" i call behind him, desperately attempting to reach the shower before he does.

when i know it's a lost cause, i decide to sit at the top of the steps in an awkward position.

"ow!" i exclaim, hoping he'll buy my fake injury.

"you didn't fall, josh," tyler peeks his head out of the bathroom to make sure, but he doesn't open the door completly. "you're fine. i'll be quick."

"but i'm huuuurt," i whine more and roll over to lay on my back at the top of the stairs.

i hear faint grumbling and then footsteps as tyler comes out to check on me. he crosses his arms over his chest and stares down at me with an unimpressed expression.

"get up, dog breath," he says, not bothering to offer a hand to help me up.

i sit up a little and hold my hand out. "help me then, baby boy."

his cheeks just barely go pink at the name, but he still rolls his eyes and puts out his hand.

once i'm standing, i don't let go of his hand. "thank you," i speak quietly now, leaning forward as if to kiss him.

when his eyes flutter closed i step around him and run into the bathroom, closing the door behind me.

he bangs on it a few seconds later. "josh, that was mean. i had dibs."

i poke my head out and peck his forehead. "sorry, ty. i'll be quick."

i close the door again and lock it before i actually strip my clothes off to take my shower. i do my best to finish quickly and not use all the hot water.

when i'm done, i wrap a towel around my waist and shove my dirty clothes in the hamper before i exit the bathroom and knock on tyler's door.

"showers open," i inform him that i'm finished and then turn to go to my room. i hear his bedroom door open soon after mine closes behind me, and then i hear the water start again.

i get myself dried off and dressed again, and then i decide to go to the basement to work on tyler's painting. i know it's almost done, but i feel like i should keep adding things. every time i look at it, i think that it could be better. really i think it's just my brain's excuse to not start a new piece of art yet.

i tend to do that a lot. i start a painting and then when i'm almost finished i start to self doubt and realize all the things i could've changed or done better. i fall in love with each painting i do, whether it be a pretty boy or a bowl of fruit, and i want to make sure i do each canvas justice before i declare it finished.

i add a few final (and unnecessary) touches and then step back to look at it. i got every detail as close to perfect i could. his freckles, his long eyelashes, his fluffy hair, his never-chapped lips.

i smile and then run upstairs, excited to tell tyler that its finished. i jog upstairs and knock on his door. "tyler, tyler, tyler," i say his name three times, my smile still wide on my face.

he opens it then, with no shirt and dripping hair. "yeah?"

my smile fades a little as my eyes drop carefully to his chest. i bring them back to his eyes quickly, trying to remember what his torso looks like without staring too much. god, i'm a creep.

"oh, i, um, i finished your painting," i resist the urge to look down again and his eyebrows rise.

"really? that's awesome. let me put a shirt on and i'll come look at it." he smiles and then turns to pull a t-shirt over his head, leaving his door open as he does so.

i let myself look at him now, his oddly patterned leggings and messy hair. once his shirt is on, he steps out into the hallway and follows me down to the basement.

"it's so beautiful." he leans his head on my shoulder as we stare at it together. i smile at his compliment. he adds, "i could stare at your art all day."

"saying you could stare at it all day kind of makes you sound like a narcissist."

"maybe i am." he elbows my ribs gently.

"i would be too if i were as pretty as you."

(an: im back on my bs yall ;p no but do you guys remember when tyler would wear patterned leggings and weird ass t-shirts bc i miss that)