Sacrificial //joshler

one

josh stands at his locker with a red bull in hand, half-asleep as he sorts through his belongings. he realizes he left his calculus book at home and curses to himself, defeatedly resting his head against the frame of his locker. a tap on his shoulder causes him to jump.

"morning, joshie."

he smiles at the sight of his best friend, tyler, clutching an armful of books against his chest.

"jeez, you scared me."

tyler's lips curl into a half-smile. he points at the red bull in his hand. "can i have the rest?"

josh swishes the liquid inside the can in an attempt to determine how much is left. it's probably only half-empty and he could really use it, but he can't say no to tyler. he takes one last sip before handing the drink over.

"thanks."

"yeah," josh sighs, turning his attention back to his locker. his teacher is going to be so pissed that he forgot his book.

"something wrong?"

"forgot my calc book at home."

tyler scoffs. "who cares? that class makes me want to stab needles through both of my eyes."

josh rolls his eyes although tyler's comment does make him smile. "miss martinez is going to be so mad."

"well, let's skip then," tyler suggests, shrugging as if it's no big deal.

to him, it's not. tyler has never been the most motivated student. it's not that he's not smart, because he is, he just hates the education system as a whole. plus, it's easy for him to bat his pretty eyelashes and get anything he wants. teachers practically bend to his will—mostly due to the fact that tyler's parents have funded like half of the school, but also because tyler is outrageously gorgeous and a great manipulator.

he's the person in school that everybody either wants to fuck, has fucked, wants to befriend, or wants to be. think regina george only less bitchy and less attention-seeking. tyler doesn't have to seek attention, he just gets it. honestly, he pretty much keeps to himself. his only real friend is josh and if he's not hanging out with josh then he's probably just with whoever he's banging at the moment.

they've been friends since they were little kids, having met in first grade on the playground. even back then josh recognized how beautiful and how powerful tyler was. kids in their grade would beg to play with him, but josh never even had to ask to be his friend. for some reason, tyler just liked him. he was the one who approached lonely little josh in the sandbox and declared their friendship.

to josh, school is a big deal. his parents aren't rich like tyler's. he isn't able to wave his magical hand to receive things in the same way. josh has to work hard; tyler doesn't. both of them recognize this but neither judges the other for it. even still, josh can't help but be persuaded by those heavenly brown eyes.

"okay, fine."

throughout the years, josh has questioned his sexuality a lot. mainly because he sometimes gets these weird feelings in his stomach when tyler looks a certain way or says certain things. he's been with a few girls and definitely enjoyed it, so he's not gay. he hasn't been with guys in the same way, but he just doesn't feel inclined to.

he's kissed two boys in his life. one was at a party and was the result of a dare from tyler. josh didn't really like it. he didn't hate it either, but he definitely liked kissing girls a lot more.

the other boy is tyler. they'd actually kissed quite a few times between the ages of twelve and sixteen, but never for any reason other than curiosity. it only confused josh more because he liked kissing tyler more than he liked kissing anybody. he thinks it's just because tyler is his best friend and he really cares about him.