Anathema

five - here we are again

He didn't bother actually practicing. He just sat on the curb and spun the basketball on his finger, just thinking. What if Josh wasn't real? What if he didn't come back? What if he did? What did he think of him?

He glanced behind him, but Clancy and Nico were nowhere in sight. What if he did get rid of them? What would be be without them? They'd been there for years, and Nico hadn't been lying when he said they were his only friends. Most of the time, even his own siblings avoided him.

Nobody would notice if I wasn't here.

The basketball fell off of his finger and bounced into the road. He watched it roll to the other side, and then he resumed staring at the ground, wondering what was so wrong with him.

"Hey," someone said softly. Tyler looked up in surprise to see Josh holding his basketball and shifting his weight slightly. "Is this yours?"

"Oh, yeah, that's mine," Tyler said slowly, standing up and accepting it.

They stood in silence for a minute before Josh took a deep breath. "I just wanted to apologize for last time," he said, rubbing his neck uncomfortably. "I'm usually not that awkward. I just...it was a rough day, and I hope I didn't embarrass you. Can - can we start over?"

It took Tyler a moment to process what he'd said. Start over? Maybe this time he'd do something right. He let his eyes flicker to his side, but he still didn't see either of his friends. "Yeah, sure."

Josh smiled, his eyes sparkling like stars and glitter. "Sweet. I'm Josh."

"Tyler," he said.

"What school do you go to? I haven't seen you around very often."

"Oh, um...I'm actually homeschooled. I'm - I'm on the basketball team though."

"Makes sense why I haven't seen you around then. That's cool. I've never been good at sports. I can play them if I want, but I'm not good." Josh laughed softly in embarrassment. "You probably noticed how awful my shot was last time."

Tyler shrugged. "You said it was a bad day. The only reason I'm good is because I spend most of my afternoon practicing." He didn't mention that he'd been coming out in the morning, too, only so he could avoid everyone else.

Josh looked around him and into the yard where the hoop was. "Could you make it from here?"

Tyler turned, half expecting to see Clancy and Nico, but they were still out of sight, though he knew they were probably watching. "I don't know. We'll find out." He took a moment to mentally prepare, and decided that this was his chance to prove he wasn't a total loser like the rest of the neighborhood thought. He readied himself and took the shot, knowing he messed up the second the ball left his hands. It hit the backboard, then the rim, and then to his surprise, slowly tipped into the basket.

Josh's eyes went wide. "Dude, that was sick!"

Tyler felt the heat rise to his cheeks. No one had ever been so impressed by one of his baskets before - or at least no one had ever verbalized it quite like Josh had. Like he really meant it. "Thanks," he mumbled.

"How long have you been playing?"

"A long time. Since I was a kid."

"Cool."

Josh stuck his hands in his jacket pockets, and Tyler noticed that he was wearing the same thing he had when they'd first met. Jeans, jacket, beanie. His heart jumped in panic as he realized it. Clancy and Nico always wore the same thing everyday, too. Half of him wanted to ask Josh if he was a real person, but he didn't want to seem rude or crazy, so he kept his mouth shut.

Josh glanced at him and noticed his sudden discomfort. "You okay?" he asked softly.

"What?" Tyler blinked as the thoughts shifted to the back of his mind. "Oh, yeah. Sorry. I just got distracted for a sec."

"Can I try?" he asked, pointing as the basketball rolled behind the house.

"Sure."

Josh retrieved the ball, and Tyler followed much slower, still thinking about imaginary friends. He found himself talking to Josh like he talked to the other two boys, and he didn't talk like that around other people. He wasn't comfortable enough to speak without emotionless mumbling, even around his family. But with Clancy and Nico, and now Josh, it seemed, he could talk without any trouble.

The basketball hit the ground next to him, scaring him back into reality. "Sorry," Josh called.

Tyler caught the ball and tossed it back. "It's okay. I wasn't paying attention." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Sorry, I'm super out of it today."

"Could you teach me how to make better shots?"

"What?" Tyler blinked in surprise. "Teach you?"

Josh shrugged. "Sure. You're really good, and I thought maybe you could help me. I mean, only if you want to."

"Oh." He glanced around once more, and this time, he caught a glimpse of Clancy peeking out from behind the back door, almost as if he was hiding. Hiding from Josh. That only made him more nervous. "Yeah, I can try."

Josh grinned, and Tyler noticed the corners of his eyes scrunched up and made his smile look wider. "Sweet. Thanks."

Tyler took the ball and showed him proper technique, like how he moved his hands to get the ball to leave exactly how he wanted, and even after only a few tries, Josh's shot began to improve. Tyler even found that he didn't mind hanging out with him - something he hadn't felt in a long time. And then a thought occurred to him.

"Wait, today's Thursday," he said slowly, and he saw Josh stiffen out of the corner of his eye. "Aren't you supposed to be in school?"

He didn't answer for a moment. "Yeah," he muttered.

"You're ditching?"

"Yeah." This time, Josh cringed slightly.

"Won't your parents notice?"

"Not unless someone tells them. You won't, right?"

"No," Tyler said quickly. "I don't even know your parents."

"Good." He breathed a sigh of relief. "I can't stand that place."

"What's so bad about it?"

Josh actually laughed out loud, startling Tyler. "The people are all fake. And recently, my girlfriend cheated, I got detention for starting a fight during lunch, and I failed my math class. Everyone hates me, even my teachers."

"Oh." Tyler shifted his weight uncomfortably. "I'm sure not everyone hates you."

"You'd be surprised." Josh looked at him and sighed. "Sorry. You didn't need to know all that."

"It makes me feel like your friend," Tyler said without thinking, and then quickly corrected himself. "We...we are friends, right? You don't think I'm weird like the rest of the neighborhood?"

Josh smiled again. "Hey, even if you are weird, I'm pretty messed up, too."

"Tyler?" his mom called suddenly, and both of them flinched in surprise. "You out there?"

"I should go," Josh said quickly.

"You can stay if you want," Tyler said. "She won't care."

"I really need to go." He flashed him an apologetic grin that lasted only a split second. "Thanks for hanging out. See you."

Tyler watched in confusion as Josh broke into a run and disappeared around the corner, gone as suddenly as he'd come. Just like Nico, when he'd first met him. "See you," he said softly.