bambi 🦌 tysh

three

▪▪▪

"tyler!!" the boy bounces to his feet upon seeing his best friend. he smiles ear to ear, but turns to a boy in all black, like tyler.

"hi joshie boy! this is brendon! he's my friend!"

"like- like i am- to you?" josh's smile fades a little when the other says, "not quite." it confuses him.

"nice place ya got here," brendon jokes, instantly regretting it as tyler kicks his shins.

"thanks! wanna see my garden?"

brendon gives a strange look, stares at his phone, then 'answers' it.

"sorry- i gotta- i gotta go!"

tyler is about to say something but his friend's callused fingertips already gently carrassed the door to its hinge.

"oh, heck him." over the passed few weeks tyler has adjusted to correcting his language. they walk to the garden, josh gets on a white bench swing. he pats by him, and tyler sits with him.

"i can't wait for fall," the brunette says, starting the conversation. the other frowns, "i can"

"why, josh?"

"my garden."

▪▪▪

"where have you been?" he hears as soon as his feet graze the front door. "i didn't see you this morning, i didn't see you all evening! are you skipping again?"

"no mom, just with my new friend," he instantly regrets saying immediately.

"oh? can i meet this friend? are they a girl? do you finally have a girlfriend?"

"no mom, just my friend. he's new. goodnight." tyler walks upstairs to his room. the wallpaper is peeling, and his skin crawls underneath his skin as he worries about himself.

he ponders why he likes this boy, they're obviously opposites.

maybe that's why he likes him.

the next morning you'll find the same melancholy boy running away with a smile on his face while he and his friend pester this old guy named herb.

"damn you kids!!! knocked over my marigolds again!!!"

tyler doesn't understand why flowers are something people care so much about. he pulls every flower he sees but josh's.

"brendon come on!" their laughs rumble the ground of which they shake from their thunderous feet.

"we have got to do this more tyler!!"

brendon feels like tyler is getting soft. his crusty interior secretly melts when with the boy.

brendon and the brunette are very alike. their clothes dark, their smiles wicked. they think dancing and nail polish and dresses are stupid.

tyler ignores when the other left josh and him alone. brendon didn't deserve josh anyway.

their feet collide with the pavement, one wrong move and they'd both be arrested again. this is the third time this year those two boys have killed poor old mr. livinicus's flowers.

"babe, get me the red hots," brendon screams as they run further. it's their code to go to tyler's house.

"sure thing, love"

they say this every time, and are only caught up with a warning not to hurt herb's flowers again. tyler's puppy dog eyes make the police feel bad for them.

▪▪▪

the melancholy boy walks into the familiar house, the pale walls comforting him.

he doesn't see the happy boy bounce to his feet at the sight of him like usual. he doesn't see the happy boy at all.

where is he?

tyler frantically searches, he searches in the garden, upstairs and finally sees a door leading to what must be a basement.

it is not a basement.

it's a small corridor. pink, frail. it's tiny, only enough to barely fit tyler, so he goes in on his hands and knees.

the room is a very strong periwinkle. it's comfort, warmth, movement. movement?

there is a figure. they twirl with a grace that can't be described. obviously the figure doesn't know they are being watched; they're incredibly talented.

their dress is flowing delicately adjusting to the moves of the dancer.

their shoes match the color of the beginning of the hall. as tyler moves closer, more features are established to his brain. similar features.

it's josh.