soulmates // joshler au

three - clash

"Tyler!" His mother's shrill voice called from downstairs.

"Yes!?" Tyler shouted back, earning no reply in return and tried again, "yes!"

Aggravated, he rolled out of his bed and walked down the stairs, "mom, what the hell do you want!?"

"Language!" His mother scolded, "can you go to the store please, we're out of milk."

Tyler groaned, "why can't you go?"

"Because, I'm busy!" Kelly responded, going back to cleaning the countertop, "now go!" She shooed him out the door.

Tyler quickly put on some random shoes before starting the 10 minute trek to the nearest store.

It had been a week since the red incident and nothing else had happened, so everyone figured it was safe, and they all carried on with their lives.

It wasn't long until Tyler heard gentle laughter and talking fairly near to him, he looked around nervously but couldn't see anyone.
The road was empty and a few alleyways littered the left side of the street, where Tyler was walking, but because it was a blue neighborhood they weren't usually dangerous and often empty.

A sudden snap of a twig behind him made him freeze mid-step.
It's just your imagination, he told himself, hesitantly continuing walking.

However, a sudden "shit" behind him made his breath hitch and his steps freeze again.

Oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no

He slowly and hesitantly turned, hoping and begging that it wasn't what he thought it was.

The sudden red contrasting to the blue around him made him stumble back, almost tripping over his own feet as his eyes widened.
Holy shit.

The man in front of him was still muttering a string of curse words under his breath, running frustrated fingers through his hair before flitting his eyes up to the smaller blue boy in front of him.

Tyler's eyes suddenly filled with tears, am I going to die here? oh fuck I'm going to die aren't I fu-

"Shit, I'm sorry, just please calm down, please I didn't mean to scare you."

The red's rough, but worried voice made Tyler jump slightly, only now realising he was hyperventilating, fast breaths coming out in thick clouds of smoke in the cold, winter air.

"Please don't hurt me." Tyler almost whimpered, pressing his back into the wall behind him, the cold bricks making him shiver.

Josh's eyes widened, "no no!" He took a hurried step towards the small boy but seeing the flinch across his face he quickly stepped back, "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise."

Tyler knew he really shouldn't but he felt reassured by the man's words.

"I honestly thought there wouldn't be any blues around here," Josh scanned the abandoned street and sighed, "just please don't tell anyone you saw me here... and stop walking down these back streets, there are tons of dangerous reds hanging around. You're lucky you bumped into me and not someone else."

Tyler just nodded in response, still pressed against the wall, half wanting to cry and run into his mother's arms and half wanting to stand up to this man.

was this seriously happening?

Josh took one last look at the blue boy before spinning on his heel and disappearing around the corner, the eerie quietness of the empty street made tyler wonder if that had eve happened or if he had just imagined it.

Tyler let out a breath he didn't even know he'd been holding, wasting no time before dashing the rest of the way to the store.

***

Tyler slammed the front door closed behind him, leaning against it and letting the shopping bags fall to the floor.

After getting the stuff he needed from the store he ran all the way home, taking the main, busier streets instead of the back shortcuts.

For some reason, he wasn't afraid of the red man.
Intimidated? A little.
Confused? Definitely.
But scared? Not entirely.

He was more afraid of the fact that there were "tons" of reds near his neighborhood, not of that guy he saw before. Would it be bad if he said, he actually seemed.. nice?

His mother's worried tone snapped him out of his thoughts, "Tyler, honey are you okay?"

He hesitated slightly, "yeah, I'm just tired, I'm going to bed now."
The lie slipped out easily, for some reason he felt a need to keep this secret for the red.

"But Tyler it's only 4 pm?"

He simply ignored her and dragged himself up the stairs, leaving the groceries by the door and his mum thoroughly confused in the hall. He flopped down tiredly onto the bed, limbs falling limp as he slipped into a dream filled with rough voices and glaring red eyes.