oneshots 🧷 joshler

gnarly, bruh!

tyler laughed and tried to jump over the wave coming his way, missing and falling into the shallow water. he popped up, laughing again as he sat on the sand, water coming up to his torso. he watched as josh surfed over the waves, smooth and calm. tyler remembered when josh tried to teach him, and he laughed to himself, reminded of his clumsiness and how he fell off the board too many times to count.

josh and him were just friends.

that's all.

that's how it had been for... forever. they had been friends since first grade, growing up on the coast of california. it was the summer after 12th grade- they were adults. jazz hands. wooh. for the last couple of weeks, they could be found together at the beach, just hanging out. josh decided that today he would surf a little, which was fine with tyler. he loved watching him surf, always standing out with his yellow hair.

surprisingly, the beach wasn't very crowded today. there were a few people scattered around, but not as much as there usually were. the boys didn't mind at all. better for them, really.

tyler watched as josh tried to surf on the wave, successfully failing. he was tossed into the water, and josh watched as he popped back up and grabbed his board, then making his way towards tyler.

"hey, ty," he said breathlessly, a grin on his face. "did you see that monster wave? y'know, the one i couldn't make?"

tyler nodded, a smile playing at his lips. "yeah. it was totally rad."

josh shook his head violently, letting the water droplets fly off and back into the water. tyler got up out of the water and slicked josh's hair back, making him laugh. "thank you."

josh looked behind him. "should i go back out?"

tyler shrugged. "i don't know. go ahead. just don't hurt yourself," he snorted. josh rolled his eyes at his response. "i won't, mom."

that made both of them laugh before josh decided to go again. surfing was his passion. the cold water, the focus, and the fun was as amazing as the rush of adrenaline that came with it. he loved the thrill of riding the waves on a warm summer day.

almost as much as he loved tyler.

he hated admitting that to himself. tyler- tyler was a lot to him. he had gained a massive crush over the years, which tyler had been completely oblivious to. tyler didn't even know josh was gay. they just kept is very straight and simple- a friendship.

josh wanted there to be more, he wanted to hold him and lay on the beach with him and give him a soft kiss right on his forehead and hear him giggle.

but those were just fantasies.

he knew that tyler didn't like him like that. so he kept his feelings a secret. he took them and locked them deep down inside his heart and tried not to think about them. it worked most of the time, but at the simplest touch or giggle or grin, they would come back.

he looked out for a split second to look for the boy, who was in the same place, watching him. he sighed and focused back on his board, jolting as he lost his balance as was swallowed by the water.

he felt a shock of pain rush through his body, starting at his head and then running to his arms and legs and it made him unable to move, so now he was being tossed around like a rag doll underneath the water.

the next few moments were a bit blotchy and out of focus. he knew that he got our of the water at some point, and he could hear someone yelling something, and he could faintly, faintly hear tyler's voice saying things that he couldn't make out.

he tried to say tyler's name, but it hurt too much to even open his mouth, but he tired to say something anyway.

slowly, he opened his eyes and looked to tyler, who was right above him, and it looked like he was crying. "josh," he said quietly, his voice now loud in his ears. "josh, please, no-"

there was a scream, and josh gasped, jerking awake. his body wad covered in sweat, his hair damp.

there was a groan, and then an arm on his shoulder. "josh? is everything okay?"

josh looked over to tyler and nodded, swallowing thickly. "i- i think so."

"bad dream?" the boy asked, and josh nodded again, sinking into the bed. "mhmm."

tyler sighed. "is it the same one every time?"

josh hummed in response. he'd been having this dream at least once a week. he was always expecting it to change, to signify something somehow  but it never did.

tyler frowned. "do you think you can go back to sleep?" josh snorted. "sure."

"i love you, joshie."

"i love you, tyler. goodnight."