Colors // Joshler

// 16. "Not If They Don't Catch You" //

If Tyler didn't regret accidentally taking Brendon's seat earlier, he definitely did now.

He didn't really want friends; they'd distract him from his quest for the perfect painting, and besides, they'd probably end up leaving in the end. But, apparently, he didn't get much of a choice. "What do you want to know?"

"Name, age, sexual orientation--" Frank elbowed Brendon's side before he could continue.

Tyler ignored Brendon's hints. He stabbed one of the tomatoes in his salad, then ate it. "Tyler Joseph, sixteen, and straight."

"Damn." Brendon wolfed down his second cheeseburger. At least he didn't seem terribly crushed.

"Isn't the school really strict about homosexuality, anyway?" Tyler questioned. He'd thought his mother had mentioned it. "I mean, they're strict about everything else."

"Not if they don't catch you," Brendon said with a wide grin.

"I got a question," Pete said before Brendon could go on, leaning against the table and looking at Tyler. "Why the hell did you order a salad?"

"Maybe he's a vegetarian," Frank said, giving Pete a glare.

"Actually, I just prefer tacos to burgers."

"You sound like Josh," Pete commented. "He literally never shuts up about Taco Bell." Josh just stuck out his tongue at the other boy.

The group quickly entered an argument about which fast food joint was best. Since he'd never been a big talker, Tyler didn't join in, and soon finished his salad.

Before long, the other boys had finished eating too, and they all walked back towards school together. Tyler trailed along behind, feeling an unpleasant mix of blue and orange, maybe a little bit of red.

This was why Tyler didn't want friends; they would make things complicated. Tyler's last friend, Hayley, hadn't been too bad. She'd been a bit perky for Tyler's taste, and kind of strange. But nobody was perfect, and since Tyler was a bit strange himself, they hung out together a bit during school. Never afterward, though; once the final bell rang they went their separate ways.

The pair had bonded over their mutual love of art: Tyler loved painting, of course, and Hayley liked sketching. They would talk about art supplies and blogs about art online, but Tyler never showed her his paintings or told her what colors really meant to him.

By the time Tyler's family was ready to move, Hayley had begun to move on and make other friends. It was okay, though. Tyler's way had worked; he didn't get too attached, so it didn't matter. He was sort of a loner, anyway.

As Tyler walked, he kept his head down, staring at the sidewalk. He never stepped on the cracks or the lines of pavement if he could help it; he didn't believe in all that superstitious stuff, but it felt wrong somehow to step on broken ground.

"Hey," a voice said, breaking Tyler out of his thoughts. He lifted his head to see Josh, who was slowing his pace to walk alongside him.

Tyler should have ignored him, but he didn't. "Hey."

"Sorry about the others. They can be a little rough on new people sometimes, especially Pete and Brendon." Josh gave Tyler a slightly crooked smile.

Some feeling, he didn't know what, made Tyler do something he hadn't done in ages.

He smiled back.