"Promise me that you'll always love me, josh." He hooked his pinky with mine and smiled, "I pinky promise." (lowercase intended)

Tyler himself is struggling with family issues. He is also struggling with himself. He feels suffocated and like he can't escape. He needs to breathe. Josh is the air he needs:

Tyler is a very depressed kid who struggles with depression and anxiety. But then he meets Josh. And he turns his whole life upside down. In a good way. (Also I know that Tyler and Josh had brothers and sisters and a dad but that's not how I wanted to write it lol)