next door » joshler [book #1]

two » one bed

josh sits on the floor across from tyler. "are you painting?" he asks, staring at the artwork. he's not too bright, then, tyler figures, responding with a calm yes. "oh. when do you go to bed?"

"uh," tyler has to think. "six, usually." he smiles when josh's eyes nearly pop out of his head. theyre pretty. josh has pretty eyes.

"what?! that's when most people wake up!" josh answers in shock, running a hand through his blue hair worriedly. tyler watches him.

"i'm not most people," answers tyler, "i'm tyler."

josh grimaces. "yeah. i get that now." his eyes flick down to the painting. "so what is this supposed to be...?" he trails off, uncertain.

it's not a very impressive painting. just swirls of paint, and then the green vines in the corner. they swoop down and encircle the other colors. after a moment, you really start to see the creativity in it. at least, that's what josh figures, hoping it's not too rude, having never dealt with a sort-of crazy artist before.

"no idea!" tyler replies cheerfully, pulling out his paintbrush and slashing a red streak down the right side. oh, there go josh's eyes, popping out again.

"what did you do that for?" josh exclaims, believing tyler just ruined his own painting. to him, the boy is growing more bizarre by the minute. he gets another 'no idea!' and yanks at his hair. "tyler, who are you anyway, jesus christ?"

tyler laughs. "im tyler! tyler joseph! i live in apartment 21-"

"yeah, i know that- well, not your last name, now i do- but seriously, do you even have a job? what-" josh gives up, curling a blue strand around his fingers. "i dont understand. its two in the morning and youre sitting on your floor in your... uh... underwea-" he cuts himself off and blushes furiously, averting his eyes to the ceiling.

this is something that tyler notices and takes note of. "should i put clothes on?" he asks, confused. "do i bother you?" he recieves a 'no, it's okay' from josh, from between gritted teeth. "okay then. uh, no, i don't have a job. not really. sometimes i get paid for my artwork though, so that's cool? uh... usually i write though. songs. and i sing them."

this gets josh's attention. he perks up a bit and maybe even gasps. "i play drums," he says, "used to be in a band, too, they kicked me out though."

"why?"

"i don't know. they split up later anyway, so it doesnt matter."

tyler blinks at him. "i play piano."

"that's cool." josh looks around, wondering how tyler manages to fit a piano into the tiny apartment. oh, right, he probably means a keyboard.

at this, tyler goes back to staring glumly at his painting. he doubts it'll get him very much. it's not a good one. not this one.

then, josh interrupts his thoughts. "anyway, could i, you know... maybe go sleep?"

"yeah," tyler answers without paying attention, scratching his head. after a moment, he looks up at josh. "why are you just sitting there? you can go?"

josh stares back at him. "...where?"

this puzzles tyler. "uh..." then his confused look is replaced by a guilty one, a 'oh shit' kind of look. "crap, josh, i... uh... only have one bed."

"oh," josh says, biting his lip. it makes him look quite attractive, tyler notices. "so, then, where will i sleep?"

tyler shrugs. "technically, you could sleep in the bed. it's big. made for two. after my last boyfriend dumped me. i wouldn't mind."

he sees the words register in josh's head. "...boyfriend? youre gay?"

"yeah- well, no- bi, actually." to his surprise, josh accepts this readily. "um... you?"

"i'm bi too," josh confesses. "didn't think anyone else actually was. but, uh, you sure it won't get awkward, sharing a bed?"

tyler shakes his head, hiding a grin. "nah. i go to bed at six, anyway. so- very minimal contact."

this sounds alright to josh. "i think... i guess i'll go sleep now," he tells tyler, the boy nodding. "night."

"night."