JOSH DUN VS THE WORLD ✓

CHAPTER NINE: JOSH DUN, THE FUNKY HOMOSEXUAL

SAVING...

SAVING...

SAVING...

SAVING COMPLETE!

Tyler sits alone against the wall, two cups in his hands. He doesn't move when Josh casually walks over to sit beside him, pretending not to see him there. When he opens his mouth, Tyler shoots him a look, something between 'shut the fuck up' and 'get the hell away from me.

Being blind to all social cues, Josh decides to speak anyways. "So, did you know that Pac-Man was originally called Puck-Man," he says, fumbling with his fingers nervously. "And the-"

"I don't know who put you up to this, but you can stop now," Tyler cuts him off.

Josh pauses. "What?"

"Tell whoever told you to lead me on that you did it, you tricked me," he snaps vehemently. "Now, fuck off before I kick your ass."

"I- what? Dude, I just wanted to flirt."

"Right, like someone as cute as you would want to flirt with me." Tyler scoffs and stands. "I've seen you watching me. You know, you had me going for a while. I actually thought you were interested in me."

"You think I'm cute?" Josh blushes at first, not realizing that Tyler is not red with embarrassment, but rage. "Wait, I'm not fucking with you. I just want to get to know you-"

"Save it, Fuck-Man." Tyler spins on his heels- correction, his heelys- and dissolves into the dense crowd by the time Josh stands. Sighing, Josh drags himself back to Young Ryan and Hayley, who haven't moved from their original spots.

"That was a long pee," Young Ryan says.

"Shut up." Josh snatches the drink from his hand and chugs it, gagging once he's finished. "What the- is this vodka?"

Young Ryan shrugs.

"Huh. I didn't know you were old enough to drink."

"Oh, I'm not," he says. "But everyone else is drinking and I would've felt awkward if I wasn't holding a drink too, so I took a cup from the kitchen and held it to look conversational."

Josh stares at Young Ryan for a moment. "Jesus, you're a weird one. Anyway, tell Hayley when she comes out of her mental murder fantasy that I'll be back. I need to track down the love of my life."

He sets off with a newfound and slightly drunken determination, searching the whole house for Tyler. This quickly proves to be impossible when he's nowhere to be found. It's like he vanished into thin air. There's no sign of him or his stupidly adorable roller skates.

"Have you seen Tyler?" He asks Brad when he bumps into him on the stairs.

"I have not, my funky homosexual," he sends him finger guns.

Josh doesn't know if he should be offended or not, so he just ignores him. He also doesn't correct him with the assumption that he's gay because at that point, who cares if he's gay or not. "I need to find him. You know everyone, where would he go?"

"You should ask Mark," Brad slurs. "I heard that they used to date when he lived in the states."

So he is gay, Josh thinks happily. "And where's Mark?"

Brad points down one of the halls and Josh walks in that direction, looking for anyone who looks like a Mark. In his search, he hears a crash and someone laugh. Josh perks up and pushes through the circling crowd to the commotion.

Tyler's on the floor with a heely on one foot and the other upside down on the corner of the carpet. He had spilled the drinks over his jacket and shirt. His smile is a mile wide and it makes Josh's heart stop beating for too many seconds.

"My shoe got stuck," he says to the crowd.

Josh holds his hand out and, without looking, Tyler takes it willingly. As he pulls the man off the floor, they lock eyes, and Tyler tightens his grip to the point that Josh is keening.

"Ow ow ow ow ow, I'm interested in you, dude, I am," Josh says before Tyler can break his hand and tell him the fuck off again. "Nobody told me to talk to you. Nobody made me do anything. I'm here because you're cute and I keep seeing you in my dreams and I don't know why. In fact, my friend Billie was telling me not to because I don't know if I'm gay but you're really cute and I just broke up with my girlfriend so I'm sad but I've like you for a lot longer than that and I don't know why I'm rambling."

Tyler watches him carefully after he stops talking, his vanished smile returning little by little. He loosens his grip, and Josh is totally not thinking about how they're holding hands now.

"I'm Tyler," he smiles. "Joseph."

CHARACTER UNLOCKED:
TYLER ROBERT JOSEPH: the new love interest
AGE: twenty-two
STRENGTHS: extremely attractive, gay, has magic, kind, selfless, can go super fast on heelys and roller skates, a pretty good song writer, can play the whole Legend Of Zelda Soundtrack on piano
WEAKNESSES: moody, doesn't trust easily, can't hold down a stable relationship, gives -7 fucks, has no fashion sense, doesn't let many people close, is super cryptic
WEAPON OF CHOICE: magic star hammer

MODE UNLOCKED:
You are now bisexual!

BONUS:  You now have the option to give TYLER JOSEPH your heart!

"Dun. Josh Dun." He wonders how stupid he looks right now. He can't find it in himself to care. "Do you want to hang out and talk? I promise I won't be weird and talk about Pac-Man."

Tyler looks down and pulls at a corner of his shirt, which is dripping wet with alcohol and punch. Josh misses his hand in his as soon as it's gone. "I would but... my shirt."

"Oh, yeah." Josh deflates slightly. "Are you going to leave now?"

He looks up with starry eyes. "Yeah, but I don't need to change alone. Mind joining me?"

Blood rushes up to his face. "Huh?"