smile. || joshler ||

Ch. 17

Josh gasped, grabbing Tyler's arm and pulling him inside. He shut the door and quietly brought Tyler into the bathroom by the kitchen, turning the light on and sat him on the closed toilet.

"What happened?" He asked, frantically looking for cream to heal the bruise. Once he found it, he turned to Tyler who remained quiet and Josh glared, "Tyler, tell me. Please, who hurt you?"

Tyler quickly shook his head, muttering, "I-I can't, he told me not to tell anyone. Please don't make me tell you, please."

Josh lifted Tylers chin, examining his bruised eye with a sad face, "Don't do this, Tyler. I need to know who hurt you."

He applied the ointment and grabbed Tyler's hand, slowly making it to Josh's room, shutting the door behind them.

Tyler sat on the bed, and Josh handed him some pajamas to change into. He felt his heart drop seeing the big bruise on his stomach, and that's when Josh snapped.

"You can't stay here," He said sternly.

Tyler's eyes widened, and a look of hurt crossed his face. "W-What? Why? Please Josh, I have no where else to go. Please don't kick me out."

"Why can't you go home?" He asked in confusion, and then a realization hit him like a bus. "Oh god, Tyler...."

He pulled him into his arms, and Tyler clenched onto his shirt tightly, sobbing into his chest. Josh sat them down on the bed, and leaned against the wall, Tyler curled in his arms, crying and crying, at times hiccuping.

"He hurts you doesn't he?" Josh asked quietly, Tyler nodding quietly. Josh unknowingly tightening his grip on the brunette boy, "I'm going to fucking kill him."

"Don't," Tyler gasped, sitting up with red eyes. "Don't hurt him Josh, he's not a bad person."

"What the hell are you talking about? Look at what he did to you! He hurt you Ty, and it wasn't just once. You can't defend him, he's physically causing you harm and you shouldn't have to deal with that," Josh said, trying to keep his voice low enough so he doesn't wake up his family.

"No, he's nice and he cares about me. He only hits me when I'm bad." Tyler said, but it was more like he was convincing himself, instead of Josh.

"And what did you do today that made him hit you?" Josh questioned, trying to understand what this horrible man did to corrupt Tyler's mind.

"I left class, and the teacher called home."
He said softly, gazing off, as if memories were replaying in his mind, "He....he was so mad, and I'm use to it, but, he never hits my face. He slaps me sometimes, but not to where I have a black eye. He was yelling at me and kept telling me I was a waste of space, that I was pathetic and worthless, He went out, probably to a bar, and I...I came here, since you're my only friend. Why does he hate me so much? Am I really a waste of space? Worthless? Pathetic?"

"No, god no, Tyler you're not a waste of space. You're none of those things." Josh wrapped his arms around Tyler, holding him close and running his hands through the boys messy hair. "You're perfect, you don't deserve this, I care about you, okay?"

"But, not how I care about you," Tyler mumbled sadly.

And, Josh decided now was the time to tell Tyler how he felt. To make sure he knew how loved he was. He wiped Tyler's tear-stained cheeks and smiled, "I do like you Tyler. I like you a lot, and I mean it. I like you more than a friend, and I swear to you, Jade tricked me and she made me think she was a bad actor and wanted me to rehearse with her."

"P-Promise?" Tyler asked, not believing him fully.

Josh nodded, pressing a kiss to his nose, "Promise."

"You like me?" He asked again, making sure he heard him correctly. And when Josh nodded again, Tyler didn't even know what to say.

Josh saw a frightened look on Tyler's face, and frowned, "Are you okay?"

"I...Yeah." Tyler gave him a small, fake smile.

"Don't lie to me Tyler, what's wrong?" He rubbed his arm, reassuringly.

Tyler sighed, "It's dumb."

"Just tell me, I won't laugh," Josh smiled.

"I'm scared," He admitted with a small blush, leaning his head on Josh's shoulder.

Confused, Josh questioned, "Scared of what?"

"Like, if we dated. Because, you could get annoyed of me. You might not like me like this later on, and I'd lose my only friend. What if we fought? It's more likely to fight as a couple then friends, and I don't wanna lose you. You're all I have and I...I just don't want you to leave me," Tyler told him.

Josh grabbed his handed and entwined their fingers, pressing a kiss to the back of Tyler's hand. "I won't leave you, and I know you probably don't believe me, since everyone says this, but I haven't left now, and I won't leave later."

"How am I suppose to believe you?" Tyler looked at him with frightened brown eyes.

Josh thought about it, then told him, "I can't make you believe me. You just have to trust me. Because, I will never hurt you."

"But you already did," Tyler frowned, meaning when Josh and Jade kissed.

"And I'm so sorry," Josh whispered, caressing his cheek and seeing a blush form on his tan skin. "But, that wasn't suppose to happen. I would never hurt you on purpose, that's all I can promise. Because, I'm sure I may do something to upset you in the future, but I'll try my best not to, is that enough?"

"That's all I need."

Josh glanced at Tyler's lips, and he leaned in hesitantly, not wanting to push any boundaries. Tyler just closed his eyes, so Josh did the same and then he felt a familiar pair of soft, yet firm lips on his.

Tyler was a bit frozen, but when Josh nudged him slightly, the pair moved together slowly, Josh not wanting to be forceful. It was their second kiss, and both knew, but it still felt like their first.

When they pulled back, Josh gasped and got up, grabbing his book bag. Tyler asked with furrowed eyebrows, "Whats wrong?"

"Your present," Josh grinned, handing him a wrapped gift.

Tyler bit his lip, taking the small present and unwrapping it, noticing Josh's intense stare. When he opened it, he saw a black box, and hesitantly opened it, eyes widening. Inside was a small silver bracelet.

"The man at the store told me it was a promise bracelet, you know, like a promise ring, it can mean many things."

"Thank you, I mean it. It's...perfect."

Josh smiled, watching Tyler slip the bracelet onto his arm.

Tyler yawned, but before laying down, he hesitated and questioned, "Are we together now? Like, dating...?"

"I was kind of hoping we were," Josh smiled, and Tyler returned it.

They laid down and pulled the covers over them, Josh giving a pillow to Tyler and the brunette boy seemed to be thinking of something, then snuggled up to Josh and asked softly, "Is this okay?"

"Shut up and come here," Josh mumbled sleepily, wrapping his arms around him. They adjusted to where Josh was spooning the smaller boy, entwining their fingers. He pressed a kiss to the back of his neck, and smiled when he shivered, "Goodnight boyfriend."

"Goodnight boyfriend," Tyler replied, and Josh knew he was smiling.