Pretty Boy ☆ Joshler

four

Josh woke up first, 30 minutes earlier than he usually would. He rolled over to check the time on his phone and almost knocked foreheads with a sleeping Brendon. He grabbed the device and groaned, knowing he wouldn't be able to fall back asleep to claim the extra time he had. He slipped out of bed and pattered quietly down the stairs, deciding to get a jumpstart on the day. In the kitchen, he searched the fridge for breakfast items, landing on microwave pancakes.

When he closed the door, he noticed a small note stuck with a magnet.

Got called in early today, will be back later than usual. Love you, Mom.

Josh took the note in his fingers and shrugged, tossing it in the waste bin. He'd be fine without supervision for a few hours. He placed the pancakes in the microwave and set the timer. A chair scraped behind him and he turned to his yawning friend.

"Morning, Brendon."

Brendon opened his eyes and they widened before he smirked, "Sup, Red?"

Josh grinned and turned back to his pancakes, removing them from the microwave.

"So... where's my pancakes?"

Josh scoffed, "You know where the pancakes are. I'm not your babysitter."

"Dang. Grumpy much?" Brendon stuck his tongue out and moved to the fridge, ignoring Josh's follow-up comments.

The boys ate in comfortable silence, Josh finishing first and laying their plates in the sink. They stood around for a bit, just passing time before traipsing back up the stairs to prepare for the day.

Brendon borrowed an outfit from Josh's closet, the other boy's clothes fitting him well. Josh was in the bathroom, going through his regular routine. When he saw himself in the mirror, he had jumped a little; he wasn't used to his bright red curls yet. He finished up and returned to his room to grab something to wear.

When both boys were dressed and ready, they walked down the stairs together and out the door. In Brendon's car, Josh turned up the radio, blasting Circa Survive. He nodded and hummed along.

Infinite silence, rolling right in with the dawn. This is wrong, this is wrong...

"ANd I cannot sleep without the RADIOOO ON!" Brendon belted out the lyrics, causing Josh to grin to himself. The two were laughing uncontrollably by the end of the song, Brendon winning the contest of 'who can say the lyric in the weirdest voice'. Josh's smile faded when he realized they were parked in front of the high school. He watched the majority of the students file into the building before he left Brendon's car. Walking as slow as possible, he tried to carry on a conversation with his friend but Brendon was eager to get to class.

"Sorry, J. If I'm late Miss Jackson will kill me."

"That girl Sarah is in your first period, isn't she?" Josh wasn't dumb and he could read the boy like a book. He wasn't going to get all jealous and clingy now that his best friend had a crush. He'd just like it if he could get a straight answer instead of excuses. "You don't have to hide that you like her, man. I understand."

Brendon smiled, thankful that Josh wasn't like his other friends. He squeezed his arm and then sped off to his first class.

Josh continued his journey to class at snail speed, making it into his seat three seconds before the tardy bell. His teacher sure wasn't subtle with her death glares.

Maths, history, english, physics, and then lunch. Josh was almost the first one out of the classroom, moving with the sea of bodies towards the cafeteria. He cursed under his breath, realizing he had again forgotten his lunch. Oh well, he'd just mooch off of Brendon's. He sat in the same spot with Brendon and his friends and he did for the next three days.

///

It was now Friday and Josh was dead tired. No amount of sleep was helping and his energy seemed to nosedive every time he set foot in his school building. He felt like a robot when he moved in the hallways between classes. The fact that the only time he got to talk to his best best friend was for 35 minutes wasn't helping, especially now that Brendon wanted to eat lunch with Sarah also. Josh still wasn't jealous, though.

He had tried to tell Brendon most of this but he'd just told him, "You'll feel better once you have your schedule figured out. You'll be fine :)". Josh thought he sounded like every suburban mom that ever existed. Maybe he needed a hobby. Some type of distraction.

"Hellooo? Is everyone still awake?" Josh's art teacher, Mr. Way got the class' attention. The was the last period of the day and Josh wanted to run himself into the ground. He continued to examine his desk top, searching for patterns in the fake wood.

Josh almost didn't notice when someone quietly sat next to him and placed their bag down in between their chairs. He almost didn't notice the way they sat almost curled into themselves, like they felt safer that way. He almost didn't notice their deep brown eyes darting around the room, subconsciously pulling their shirt sleeves over their finger tips.

He almost didn't notice but when he did, his breath hitched and his heart beat fast and if he didn't know better he'd probably think he was dying. He was shamelessly staring, trying to remember when he'd fallen asleep. Mr. Way would wake him up soon, chiding him for falling asleep in his class for the second time.

"Josh?" There it was. He reluctantly pulled his eyes from the realistic illusion sitting silently next to him. "Are you done gawking at Mr. Joseph? We have a lesson to finish and homework to assign."

The class groaned but Josh was still trying to discern what was real and what was his imagination. He looked over again, a little more subtle this time, and couldn't hold back a tiny smile. "Mr. Joseph" was blushing, running a hand through his soft hair and keeping his eyes on the ground.

That's when Josh noticed, just about every girl was trying not to stare back at the boy next to him. Everyone else could see that this was no dream and there were no shrooms in the half of Brendon's lunch he'd eaten earlier. This was real.

Oh crap this was real.

_____

Wow this took too long to write.