zap! ; joshler

gardenia

joshua pulled his beanie lower on his head as he walked into the school, anxiously waving to a few people he passed as he made his way to his locker. he kept his head hung low as he gathered his needed materials for english class, sitting in his seat right as the bell rang. he heard tyler greet him but he ignored it, focusing on the teacher as she rambled on about nonsense.

"joshua, honey, you know you're not allowed to wear hats at school," the teacher suddenly said, everyone in the classroom turning towards him as he cursed under his breath. he nodded and inhaled deeply, slowly pulling the beanie off and turning towards tyler to view his reaction. the younger brunette gasped, his hands going up to cover his mouth in shock.

once the teacher was back to her normal lesson plan and the attention was no longer on him, joshua turned to tyler and raised his eyebrows in curiosity.

"do you like it?" he whispered and tyler eagerly nodded his head, fingers going up to play with the newly dyed bright pink curls that sat atop his head.

"i-i l-l-love it-it," tyler giggled, raking his hand through the hair one last time. if joshua were to be honest, he was disappointed when tyler stopped playing with his hair.

"i thought you would," joshua chuckled, smiling widely. "i know how much you love pink."

"i-it's m-m-my fa-favorite c-color."

"now my hair and your braces elastics are matching!" joshua said, basking in tyler's angelic grin and speckled cheeks that were dusted over with a pretty shade of rose.

joshua hadn't even thought about debby all morning until he felt a light tap on his shoulder once they had been instructed to do independent work. he turned around and she was beaming brightly.

"i like your hair!" she exclaimed and jenna nodded along beside her. joshua thanked her gratefully and examined her features for a second, looking back at tyler and then at debby once again. yes, debby was gorgeous, but she had nothing on tyler. joshua was tired of denying it; tyler was beautiful, and that was the truth.

joshua began working on the grammar worksheet in front of him, stealing quick glances at the boy next to him every once in a while. joshua found the way tyler gave all of his attention to the task at hand extremely endearing. the brunette nibbled at the eraser on the end of his pencil, eyebrows furrowing as his leg bounced up and down. joshua had never noticed these small quirks about tyler but they added to the list of things he found intriguing about the small boy.

"tyler, do you wanna come over this weekend?" joshua asked, not thinking through his words before he spoke. not that he regretted it.

"r-really? o-oh g-g-goodness, i-i'd l-love to-to! i-i'll a-a-ask my-my m-mom," tyler said, voice radiating excitement laced with elation. for the rest of the class joshua thought about all the possibilities of what they could do when they hung out, whether it be watching a movie or playing with his cat, he knew they would have a good time.

⚡️

joshua decided to have lunch in the courtyard with tyler again, finding himself enjoying tyler's company more and more every day. he kept his eyes on the door leading outside, looking for the dark hair he had been expecting. and when he saw it he perked up in eagerness, waving his friend over.

tyler's expression was confused at first but was quick to turn into fear as he saw brendon approach them, instinctively clutching onto joshua as he quivered in fright.

"hi guys," he greeted, lips parted in a smile. "can i talk with you guys for a minute?"

tyler peered up at joshua, his doe eyes pleading for help as tears welled up on his waterline. joshua squeezed his hand as a way of telling him it would be okay.

"he's not gonna hurt you, ty," joshua assured, wanting to wipe, or dare he say it, kiss away the tears that slipped down tyler's face, holding back the urge as he remembered brendon was with him. "i promise."

"i want to apologize for everything i've put you through," brendon spoke. "what i did was horrible and i hate myself for it. i don't blame you if you don't forgive me, but i'm sorry."

tyler's body shook with sobs and he buried his face in joshua's shoulders, the pink haired boy mouthing 'you should probably leave' to brendon, his friend nodding in understanding as he stood up and left with a small wave.

"he's gone now, ty. it's okay," joshua mumbled, frowning because he hated seeing tyler cry like that. but brendon was gone now, and he checked his surroundings once more before he lifted tyler's head up and pressed a light kiss over a tear that was falling. tyler's face flushed a beautiful pink and he quietly giggled, joshua grinning as well.

"d-do y-y-you th-think he-he r-really m-m-meant it-it?"

"yeah, he really meant it." joshua wiped away another droplet of water with his thumb and laced his fingers with tyler's once again, the two falling into a comfortable silence for the remainder of lunch.

joshua was finally coming to terms with the one thing that terrified him the most; he like likes tyler joseph. a boy.

•••

this chapter is messy but idc bc it's cute and fluffy and i teared up writing it idk so i hope y'all enjoy
-carina