Dema Don't Control Us (Joshler)

Flower Crowns

One month later.

Josh was in hell. He had never felt so scared, dysphoric, and controlled. Every day, they called him Josephine. Which was somewhat better than Josie but still made him flinch. Every day, he had to wear the most frilly, "proper Christian girl" clothes. Every day, he had to listen to bullshit prayers to "cure" him. Every day, he was terrified of stepping out of line.

But he was also in heaven. He had his friends, Debby and Jenna. And Tyler. Every day, they would reassure him that he would be okay. Every day, they all laughed and joked and entertained each other, reminding Josh he wasn't alone. And every day, in secret, Tyler and Josh became closer.

The thing was, they weren't even allowed to be in a "straight" relationship (they were both boys so there was nothing straight about it), because that would lead to sex before marriage, teenage pregnancy, and everything ungodly.

Did that stop them? No. They kissed whenever they could, Tyler serenaded Josh with his ukulele, they shared food when nobody was looking. For Tyler, it had been the best month in his life. Josh made him feel safe, somewhat. He had a grasp on his life again.

~

The two boys had found some wildflowers in the meadow outside of DEMA, and Tyler had insisted on making flower crowns. So they made flower crowns for each other as they sat in the long grass, enjoying the moment.

Just then, they heard Nico calling, "Come in everyone! It's time to get ready for bed!" Josh sighed. He wanted more time with Tyler. Tyler smiled. "Hey, let's leave these flower crowns on this stump. We can come back to them tomorrow. It'll be okay, Josh." Josh pouted. "But they'll wilt by then!" he whined. "Everything wilts eventually," Tyler sighed. Josh grabbed Tyler's hand. "What about us?" he asked. "We'll grow old someday," said Tyler. "Yeah... but we'll grow old together," Josh said defiantly. He couldn't imagine life without Tyler. "Of course, Josh. Of course."

They kissed passionately, then ran back to the building before Nico got suspicious and started looking for them.