smile. || joshler ||

Ch. 24

It was the next day and on the way to lunch, Josh was nervous about how Tyler would react about telling him Jade was going to tutor him, which he found out after their date the night before. Surely he now knew Tyler liked him when Jade kissed him. So, he may not be a big fan of Jade.

He waited until they sat down at their table, deciding to spend time alone. Tyler started eating a bit, but only a couple of grapes and chips.

"Um, so I need tutoring," Josh started off easy.

Tyler frowned, "But, you're the smartest person I know. Why would you need tutoring?"

Josh chuckled, "I guess I've been distracted, so my grades have been dropping."

He stayed silent for a few seconds and asked, looking at Josh with a guilty expression, "It's cause of me, isn't it? Am I making you fail...?"

"No, of course not baby," Josh said, grabbing Tyler's hands, "I promise, It's not because of you."

"Fine, but who's tutoring you?" Tyler questioned curiously.

Josh hesitated, and told him in a small voice, "Jade."

"Cool."

"I'm so sorry but I was des-wait, what?" Josh's eyebrow shot up, shock on his face. "You-You don't care?"

"Nope, Jade came and apologized to me. Actually, she even stood up for me when two guys were making fun of me. We're kinda friends now," Tyler grinned.

"Babe, I-I love that you have a friend now, but....be careful, okay? I won't make you stop hanging out with her, but just be cautious and try not to tell her any secrets or stuff." Josh pleaded.

Tyler nodded understandingly, "I won't, I promise."

The rest of lunch the boys chatted and then Josh found his way to a room and texted his mom saying he had to stay after.

Jade was there talking to Mariah. Mariah is a dark skinned, rather pretty girl with thick, dark brown hair and a cute nose piercing. Unlike Jade, she was less skirts and more varsity jackets.

Jade noticed Josh and whispered something to Mariah, then she left and Jade turned to Josh, "Hi! You ready to get your tutor on?!"

"I'm not deaf, lower your voice," Josh complained, sitting next to her and keeping a distance. He glanced around in confusion, "Where's the teacher?"

"She came by and I told her I was tutoring you, she said she would be back when it's time to go." Jade explained, and so the tutoring began.

It wasn't too bad, Jade was a nice person. If it wasn't for the trick kiss, he would probably be friends with her. They worked on a few questions and Jade's phone suddenly vibrated and then she said, "Um, I gotta...go to the bathroom real quick, just keep working I'll be back soon."

He nodded and continued answering the questions. Not long after Jade left he heard footsteps and asked, "So, did we have to write the tho-Mariah?"

"Hey," She smiled, taking the seat Jade was in.

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Um, what are you doing here?"

She fluttered her eyelashes, rubbing his arm, "Just looking at this really, really hot guy."

Josh practically choked on air, pushing her hand away quickly, "U-Uh, I'm gay. Don't you know that?"

Mariah laughed, giving him a cute face, "Of course, but that doesn't mean I can't change you back. Jade obviously failed, but....I am hotter, so."

Before Josh could respond, he felt a pair of lips crash onto his and a familiar voice asked sharply, "Josh? W-What the hell?!"

The redhead pushed Mariah off, turning to see Tyler glaring at him with a hurt look, books in his hands. Josh quickly rushed over, "No! Tyler, listen, I-I didn't kiss back! She kissed me, I swear!"

Tyler slammed the books on the desk, such a hateful look on his face, "It takes two people to kiss, and you were one of them! I can't believe you'd...god, I hate you so much!"

Josh's heart dripped and he felt his eyes watering, "Baby, please-"

"Don't call me t-that," Tyler said weakly, tears falling now. He rushed out of the doorway, and down the hall, ignoring Josh's calls and didn't see how the redhead yelled at Mariah. Hayley and Jade were chatting, but stopped when they saw Tyler and eyes widened.

"What happened?" Hayley gasped, noticing his tears.

The crying boy, lightly pushed past her, ripping off the bracelet Josh gave him and threw it on the ground, pushing the doors open and left the school.

Hayley slowly walked to the spot he was and picked up the necklace, immediately knowing something was wrong.