killjoy - joshler

deals

josh had fallen asleep to tyler's humming tonight, awaking to the exact opposite.

his room was filled with an eerie silence, darkness encasing the room. it was just josh in here, a certain emptiness creeping up his spine. he looked in the spot where tyler was supposed to be, eyes flicking back and forth between the middle of the floor and the area near the window.

"ty?" josh asked, again, hearing nothing.

he got out of bed, looking out the window towards the creamy moon. josh stared at it, swallowing thickly.

it was full tonight.

josh looked towards his closet, where he could probably be on a day like this. hr slowly pulled back the wooden closet door, revealing nothing but clothing and stray shoes.

"tyler!" josh whispered into the purple-blue hue of his room.

silence.

josh bit his bottom lip, thinking of where tyler could be. not in the bathroom, the door was open and he could see inside of it clearly. his bedroom door was shut like it had been before, but tyler couldn't leave the house without having to ask to come inside. josh checked his digital clock, seeing it was three on the dot.

he sighed.

tugging on a pair of black sweatpants and a hoodie thrown across his desk chair, he pulled on the window, opening it with ease. this told him that tyler must have gone through it, the locks had been undone. he crawled out, careful not to fall out of the tree right next to his house. he squinted in the bright moonlight, the grass crunching underneath his footsteps. he looked down the street, a shiver dragging its nails down his spine.

it was empty.

he chewed on his bottom lip again, shoving his hands in his pockets to keep out the night's chilly air as he walked down the street, passing the yellow glow of streetlamps. the house at the end of the block was coming up now, josh stopping in his tracks as soon as he heard a muffled shout emitting from the house.

it wasn't familiar, but then again, he's never heard tyler scream before.

his breath hitched, staring at the house until everything around him faded but that, waiting for something else to happen. he jumped, seeing someone burst through the front door of the old house, looking tattered and bloody. he backed up into the shadows of the dark house behind him, hoping he was hidden enough, watching as someone in a black hoodie began to run in the opposite direction from him, like there was something chasing him.

he checked the front door for anything else to pop out, holding his breath when he saw someone peek their head out, looking in the direction of where the person ran, then towards josh, their red eyes flashing at him as they closed the door. josh remembered what tyler was wearing today, kind of bummed that his black hoodie had been torn, but he ran after him anyway, afraid that he might have been hurt.

there was an empty col-de-sac at the far end of the road, so he must've been hiding behind a house or old trees. josh walked in the middle of it, where a single tree and overgrown grass were, looking around, the hair on his neck standing up. he felt haunted. he tried to see in between the cracks of each house, seeing nothing but the canal behind them. he went to turn around, covering his mouth and almost screaming his lungs out as tyler was behind him.

"josh..." tyler's voice was weak, and he sounded tired.

but not in the sleepy-type of way. josh hugged him upon hearing him, tyler hiding his face in josh's neck. he was clinging on to the fabric of josh's hoodie, josh feeling icky once something seeped into the material, a cold wetness spreading on his chest.

"ty, what's wrong?" josh asked, even though he could feel the rips in his hoodie and the blood on his fingertips.

"they...they caught up to me. tried to...tried to get me to...i didn't want to. they're...so fucking strong." he said, breathless.

he was worried. he got himself wrapped up in a deal, forced to report to the nest every full moon, to be a part of them for one night, just so josh would stay out of trouble. he hated himself for it, all he wanted to do was get away from josh tonight. now, he was scared, holding onto him like he'd die if he wasn't.

he was terrified.

"what did they do?"

"i got caught up in this...thing. i'm sorry." tyler said, hiding his face in josh's shoulder even further.

"what thing, tyler?"

"they're forcing me to...to hunt with them again. to do what they want." tyler said, his voice small.

"can't you get out of it?"

"then you'll die." tyler said, his heart aching whenever he thought about it.

"what? what did you do?" josh said, pulling back and looking at tyler.

his eyes were yellow, but dull. "i'm sorry."

"what did you do?"

"i...i killed." tyler said, his voice pained.

josh only frowned, shushing him and kissing his hair, hugging him tighter. tyler blinked, hard, trying to erase the expression of death from his memories. he could almost feel the soft skin between his fingers, nails clawing at his arms and hands, fighting for another chance to keep living. he still felt the veins pulsing under his hands, the thick blood running down his arms.

and it tasted so damn good.