to all the glowing eyes ✎ joshler

june 27

in all fairness, the last time tyler had a date was... he can't remember, but it was a long time ago. it was probably with a random girl in london or a guy he met at an interview in toronto. either way, it wasn't great. none of the people he tried to date seemed to like him enough to ask for a second one. until now, he's accepted the fact that he's undesirable.

nonetheless, he's over the moon to go on a date with josh. it's a date, right? it's not just two guys being friends and going out to get dinner. this is far more than that. all day long, he's been thinking about what he'll wear or what he'll say. he doesn't even think this hard about writing his new book, and that's his only way of income.

"do you think i should wear my green jacket? is it too casual?" tyler asks spencer who isn't paying much attention to him since he's on a phone call. he isn't quite sure who could be calling spencer. by the look on his manager's face, it can't be a good phone call.

spencer mumbles a few words into his phone and then hangs up with a sad expression on his face. he throws his phone on the bed and finally pays attention to tyler. "sorry. what did you ask me?"

"should i wear my green jacket tonight?"

"for what?"

tyler doesn't blame him for not remembering. god knows the amount of things are going on inside his friend's head. besides, no one cares about his stupid little date with josh. he's probably making a big deal out of nothing. "my date? with josh? he asked me out yesterday at my signing? you were there, remember?"

"oh! right. sure, it looks good on you," spencer nods along and grabs the nearest water bottle to take a big chug out of it. somehow, he still looks lost. it only makes tyler's curiosity peak more. what was said in that call?

"is everything okay? who was that?" the older man appreciates the worry. it's clear that tyler cares about him and anything that makes him even remotely upsets him.

he thinks about his answer first. spencer's eyes meet tyler's. it's good that the poor guy is sitting down already. "grace. she asked if you have your manuscript ready." the mention of grace's name is more than enough to raise the tension in the room. knowing how strict the woman is, tyler's anxiety levels begin to rise up.

grace is his publisher, if you will. she's the one who took a chance on him and accepted his poetry book when it was in its rough drafting stages. basically, tyler owes his entire career to her. that doesn't mean the fact that she called demanding for an update on tyler's new book is anything good. his manuscript should've been sent weeks ago, but he needed more time to get it done. thankfully, grace blessed him with more time to finish it.

it seems like his time is up.

"my manus...oh god!" tyler exclaims, "damn it. i-i haven't gotten to it yet. oh god, oh god. i completely forgot about it. what else did she say?"

judging by his reaction, spencer would rather not tell every single detail of the call. he skips over the not so nice words and various threats for his client's sake. "well... she said that she wants it on her desk by july 4th."

"what?! that's next week! i can't get it done by then! i'm still missing a lot of parts and the title!" his words are accompanied by heavy breathing and spiraling thoughts. tyler cannot let his new book deal go. he's barely scrapping enough money to survive when you take into account that he's paid for his own plane ticket every single trip while keeping up with his apartment's rent back in new york. without his next paycheck, he won't be able to go back to said apartment.

things aren't looking good. spencer sits next to him and tries to coach him through breathing exercises to calm down his uneasy thoughts. "hey, remember what we practiced. breathe in for 5 seconds," he begins to speak before tyler's hyperventilation stops him dead on his tracks.