Tyler and the Valaholics: The Beginning

Chapter 24

Song of the chapter - 'Eraser' by Ed Sheeran

'To the next generation, inspiration's allowed,
The world may be filled with hate, but keep erasing it now, somehow.'

"Well, well, Tyler, who told you to laugh so much, eh?" Josh shakes his head as he rubs my back soothingly until I eventually stop coughing, tears running down my face.

I widen my eyes at him and run the tip of my thumb across my throat to indicate I'll kill him. He actually still looks a little psyched out by me though. He opens his mouth to sat something when we're called by a stagehand to head to the stage immediately and we follow him onto stage, where we smile at the remaining contestants who reciprocate the gesture. Josh's hand still rests on my back as he slowly rubs my back. Ah, this is definitely quite soothing!

I turn my attention back to the judges as I wipe my face clean from the tears. The judges congratulate the remaining eight contestants and announce the rules of the next themed round, where we have to each pick a theme song of a TV show to perform tomorrow. Any method of accompaniment is allowed so long as our voices are predominantly heard. We're advised to proceed cautiously as two of us will be eliminated tomorrow as well.

People begin shouting names of songs as if to claim them as the stage turns to absolute chaos. Josh pulls me to the sidewings just in time to avoid a stampede of people running to the judges to ask a million questions. Goodness, this is such a mess!

"Crazy, isn't it?" Josh's voice barely registers over all of the noise pollution.

"Certainly."

"So do you have any idea of what you're going to sing or what?"

"I guess I was thinking I could do 'I'll be there for you' if no one else picked it. If someone already did, I guess I could do the theme of 'Sonny with a Chance'. What about you?"

"Oh, I'm actually quite confused though. Ooh, but Sonny reminded me of Hannah Montana, and 'The Best of Both Worlds' is certainly a nice song," he nervously speaks.

I smile at him. That's certainly a good choice for his voice and I didn't even think of that, so we'll done on his part. His face, however, drops as his eyebrows furrow when he notices me smile.

"Hey, don't judge me, a lot of guys actually watch that show, it isn't only meant for girls or anything!" his voice becomes defensive as he glares at me.

I raise my hands and step back cautiously, saying, "I never intended to, Josh."

"Then why were you laughing? At my 'girly' choice? It's not only a girls' show!"

"Geez, I was smiling because that never even occurred to me and I'm glad it occurred to you because it's such a good fit for your voice. Great choice!" I tell him in a calm and 'reasonable' voice.

His terse expression relaxes as he almost smiles while asking me, "You really think that?"

"Absolutely 100% yes, dude!"

"So I should go with that?"

"Unless you have a better choice, which is certainly tough for ya."

His grin is so wide now that it's hard not to laugh with him as he rants about how he thought I was judging him or something and how he's glad I wasn't because he doesn't want to lose a friend like me. His face reddens a little when he finishes and he awkwardly looks away. It's quite hard not to laugh at how cute he is when he gets all flustered but I somehow manage not to laugh while changing the topic to avoid him further embarrassment.

"So you like 'Hannah Montana', huh? That's my second favourite Disney show after 'Sonny'!"

"I love 'Sonny'! I wish there were more seasons but even the spinoff was good. Then again, 'Hannah Montana' is kind of cute, so I'm a little confused," he continues talking, excitement sparkling in his eyes as he eagerly talks about his favourite aspects of the shows.

I'm a little glad he's continuously talking so I can rest my voice, having to give a couple of words of input every now and then. How come I've never heard anyone talk about TV shows in such depth? Violet does go to great depths when she talks about her favourite cartoons but even she can't match the thought he's certainly put into it and all of the research he seems to have done. He finally stops talking after what feels like hours together and apologizes for talking too much when he realizes that I haven't spoken a lot.

"Oh, don't apologize, it's kind of cute and, also, I've never heard someone go so in-depth about Disney shows so it's nice to learn so much," I chuckle.

"That's certainly a relief that you didn't find me annoying. Say, can I tell you something?" his expression relaxes as he asks me.

"Sure, go ahead!"

Poor boy, he seems so insecure and so afraid of being judged. I guess we all are in a way, but he literally seems petrified by the thought of me judging him. Considering the fact that I've never seen him hang around with any of the other contestants and no one ever seems to be here for him the way Stacie and the girls are for me, he's probably scared of driving away the one person who doesn't seem to mind hanging out with him. I actually do like his company and it's going to take a lot more than some of his habits or choices being unusual or seeming unusual for me to walk away from him.

His eyes dart around nervously as if he's checking to make sure someone isn't here before he turns to me and asks me to keep this between only us. I agree and give him a look as if to comfort him for he looks about to jump out of his skin any moment now. He still looks so nervous that I can't help patting his shoulder to calm him.

"Josh, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to right away, you know?"

"No, I have to tell you. Don't hate me for this, but my name isn't really Josh Jansen."

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Did you expect him to say that? If not, what did you expect him to say? What do you think his real name could be, and why do you think he goes by Josh Jansen? What do you think his thoughts are on 'JJ'?

Feeling iffy that they're discussing Disney shows of everything? Don't forget that  they're still kids, she's twelve and he's physically nineteen but probably five mentally. (this is the part where he'd poke me and she'd burst out laughing).

Also, I'm obsessed with ➗! Man, he's certainly a sorcerer because of how well put together and addictive the album is. If you've listened to the songs, let me know which are your favourites. Some of mine are Galway Girl, Nancy Mulligan, Eraser, Barcelona, Castle on the Hill and Bibia Be Ye Ye!

The next update is coming #SOON!

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