H O N E Y ♡ joshler

3.

  present day

Four hundred ninety-eight.

   Four hundred ninety—

   Four hundred ni—

   Four hundr—

   Tyler chucked his basketball into the yard in frustration before following suit, laying in the grass as well. The teen covered his face with his hands and groaned loudly.

   He flinched as felt the presence of another body lying at his side. Tyler removed his hands from his eyes and turned to his right, meeting the crystal blue eyes belonging to his neighbor.

   "Hey, Ty Guy."

   "Hi, Jenna."

   "How far did you get?"

   "Four hundred ninety-eight." His words laced with annoyance. He stared at the clouds as they spoke. They seemed fluffier than usual today.

   "Ty?" Jenna was standing now, reaching her arms out to help Tyler stand as well.

   He grabbed his girlfriends dainty hands and swiftly pulled himself up from the ground before Jenna passed his basketball back to him.

   "Just two more. You can do it." The blonde encouraged, smiling brightly. Tyler smiled back easily and planted a kiss on her cheek before stepping back onto the driveway.

   He knows he can do it. He's a phenomenal player. It wasn't the lack of ability that held him back, it was the lack of ambition. the lack of wanting to make five hundred shots a day, every day before his dad returned from work.

   With his girlfriend cheering from the side, Tyler quickly moved closer to the basket above the garage door and made a lay up- an easy four hundred and ninety-ninth shot.

   Jenna's cheering was suddenly interrupted by Tyler's father pulling into the driveway.

    "Hey, dad." Tyler greeted as Mr. Joseph exited his vehicle.

   "Hello, son." His greeting was directed to Tyler, though he smiled in Jenna's direction. "Finishing up?" he asked, referring to Ty's mandatory five hundreds shots.

   "Just finished, actually." Jenna answered proudly, linking arms with her boyfriend. Tyler blushed a bit.

   He was thankful for Jenna, especially when his father was around.

   Ty's father smiled again at the two teens before inviting Jenna to stay for dinner.

   "Your hair is getting pretty crazy." Jenna commented with a warm smile as she ran her fingers through her boyfriend's hair. Tyler tried to swallow the lump in his throat and forced a smile.

________

After dinner, Tyler walked Jenna home and quickly returned to his bedroom. He changed into a pair of sweatpants and put on a hoodie before he opened his window– his nightly routine.

   "Hey, bub." Josh smiled as he met Ty at the window. "Coming over?"

   Tyler playfully rolled his eyes. Josh knew that Tyler came over every night to look at the stars– a tradition that started when they first met seven years ago.

   The brunet climbed out of his window and followed his blue-haired best friend to the roof of his house.

   Tyler was always envious of his best friend's hair. Josh was allowed to grow it out and dye it crazy colors. Tyler would probably get kicked out of he tried that.

   The two sat criss-cross, their arms behind them to prop them up.

    "How was your day?" Josh asked as he searched for his favorite constellation.

   "It was okay." Tyler replied casually. "Jenna said I needed to cut my hair."

   "She said that?" Josh looked over to his friend with a shocked expression.

   "Well- not exactly." he sighed. "She said it's getting long."

   "A little," Josh nodded. "It's fluffy like a cloud. It looks cute."

   Tyler's cheeks warmed. "I need to cut it soon."

   "Why?"

   "I just have to." He sighed.

    "Well I like it." Josh shrugged as he returned his focus to the sky. "It looks pretty."

   Pretty?

   "You-you think so?"

    Josh nodded easily.

    "I think you're the prettiest, bub."

   "Thank you." He spoke so softly that he almost thought Josh didn't hear him.

   Josh put his arm around the smaller boy's shoulder and pulled him closer to himself. He pressed a feather light kiss to Tyler's temple, which made Tyler feel warm inside.

   "I don't care what Jenna or your dad say about your hair. I won't let anything bad happen to you, Tyler. Remember?"

   Tyler nodded as he recalled eight-year-old Josh promising him the same words.

   "I'll keep you safe." He promised again. Tyler never felt more okay.