to all the glowing eyes ✎ joshler

december 20 pt. 2

the three teens get to the house a bit early to the party. not that early, it's 9 pm when they arrive. still, there's no one there yet. parties always seem to start later than they're supposed to. it's a weird thing. spencer is finishing the last few touches while troye is putting the alcohol bottles in a neatly manner. ''you guys got here on time, i didn't expect you to,'' spencer says when he notices come in from the unlocked front door. it's probably a terrible idea to leave it unlocked, but in all honesty, the two seniors forgot to lock it in the first place.

''we miscalculated,'' brendon blurts out, his voice trembling with uneasiness. this isn't his first party, not by a long shot, but something inside him makes him feel super nervous for some reason. they put their jackets in the closet by the door, it's so warm and cozy inside the house. the smell of cookies and hot chocolate fills the air around them, along with a hint of a vanilla scented candle. ''can i have some of the chocolate?'' he asks already heading to the kitchen for it.

''i wouldn't recommend it,'' troye says sincerely, ''it has vodka in it. unless you feel like pre-gaming.''

brendon stops right on his track and comes back to the open floor living room, ''nevermind.''

his friend tilts his head in confusion, ''i thought you never turned down a drink, bren. who are you and what did you do with my best friend?''

he laughs it off very awkwardly. he can feel tyler's eyes on him, not in a mean way, more so in a 'are you actually okay?' way. ''i'm the one driving our asses home, remember? i don't wanna be drunk while doing that.''

"alright, alright. sorry for not having a license." tyler laughs at josh's joke, even though it isn't exactly a joke.

"or for not haing any knowledge about driving in the first place," brendon corrects him.

"hey! i know a little bit!" the way josh says this gets his friend to snort. how he says it makes him notice how utterly adorable josh is. tyler notices it too.

"i doubt that the dmv counts knowing how to turn the car on and open the trunk as enough knowledge to get a license, bud," spencer comments while arranging the cookies into different plates depending on the type of cookie. that does get a laugh out of everyone, except josh obviously.

troye covers his mouth to stop himself from laughing more, "c'mon, spence. i'm sure that josh does know more than that."

a red blush paints over josh's cheeks and scratches the back of his neck. "actually, that's about it."

"i'm trying to defend you over here, josh. give me something to work with." the five of them laugh again. the party hasn't started but they're all having a great time. this is the kind of parties that josh likes, only a few people around enjoying each other's company. being friends with brendon takes that and pushes it down the window of a 300 story building. not long ago they were celebrating getting to the state championship by throwing a huge party in the mansion. he puts up with it because he knows brendon's happiness is worth it. he knows that after all the people are gone, they can go to his room and play video games or talk about nothing in particular, just the way he likes it.

josh looks at his best friend, and gives him a smile. when he gets one back, his heart can't help but flutter at the thought of it. his cheeks turn red again, he tries to hide it by touching his face. it doesn't help, but it's an improvement.

„"„

they kill the time by putting up more decorations on the walls and the tables. barely 30 minutes go by when people start to arrive. neither josh nor brendon know any of these people. why would they? they've been in town for so little time, they wouldn't have a reason to know anyone. they silently watch as tyler, troye and spencer greet everyone. the guests look around the same age as them, a few 17 and 19 year olds thrown in for age diversity. it truly seems like tyler's the youngest one in the whole party. soon enough the music starts and the people start to divide into small groups. eventually, troye and spencer go to talk with their friends, leaving brendon to sit in the living room and watch as tyler and josh flirt at a long distance.