Enamored //joshler

7. turmoil

3796 words

harsh light filters through the open blinds, cascading across the sleeping boy's face. tyler groans softly, covering his eyes with the back of his arm and rolling away from the window. he attempts to fall back asleep for a few seconds before he remembers where he is.

josh's bed.

his eyes open abruptly, staring at the wall in front of him. as tyler lets his mind roam to replay the events of last night, he's overcome with anxiety. he recalls his behavior and fears josh is going to have questions for him. not only does he regret regressing, but he feels a certain dread at the memory of being so vulnerable with josh.

oh gosh, he's still clutching the stuffed animal against his chest.

setting the leopard aside, tyler quietly peeks over the edge of the bed. josh is fast asleep on the floor below. he's wrapped under a thin blanket with a single pillow resting beneath his head. a twang of guilt lurches tyler's heart. he should've let josh sleep in his own bed.

the brunette reaches for his phone, finding josh had plugged it in for him. he smiles a bit at that but ultimately just feels more guilty because josh is so nice and tyler made him sleep on the floor. it's only eight in the morning but tyler knows there's no way his brain will let him get back to sleep at this point. he's worrying too much about everything.

should he wake josh up? should he just leave? should he lay here and wait? eventually, tyler decides the nicest thing to do would be to let josh sleep and wait for him to wake up. he decides to watch tiktok to help pass the time. when he opens the app, however, the audio blares from the speaker.

tyler jolts, quickly pressing the bottom volume button to silence it. why was it turned up all the way in the first place!?

he peeks at josh again, finding the boy rubbing the sleep from his eyes. tyler curses under his breath, offering josh an apologetic smile as his eyes land on him.

"sorry... i didn't mean to wake you up."

"what time is it?" josh mumbles, his voice hoarse. tyler likes the sound.

"um... like eight. sorry."

"s'okay." josh yawns loudly, sitting up and stretching. tyler hears his joints cracking and popping.

"sorry i took your bed."

"you didn't take it, i let you have it," josh grins lazily. he raises from his spot on the floor, scooping up the pillow and blanket and setting them atop the bed. "how'd you sleep?"

"good." tyler follows his gaze, leading him to stare the stuffed leopard dead in the eyes. his face involuntarily turns red. he doesn't say anything, afraid of what's sure to follow.

"what do you think his name should be?" josh asks, catching tyler off guard.

"huh?"

"him," josh urges, pointing at the stuffie. "what should i name him?"

"oh... i don't know."

"hm," josh hums, his eyes lingering over tyler for a second too long before he turns away. "are you hungry?"

"a little."

"wanna get some breakfast?"

as much as a part of tyler wants to just go home and be with his friends, there's another part of him that really doesn't want to leave josh. it feels weird to constantly battle these conflicting urges of wanting to be around josh but also wanting to run away from him at the same time.

"sure," tyler agrees. he'll get breakfast with josh and then he'll go home. that works.

"cool." josh smiles.