Colors // Joshler

// 69. "Do That Again" //

After dinner, Tyler and Jenna went upstairs to study. Tyler's father made sure to tell Tyler to keep the door open, and he wasn't quiet about it either. Was this...pride, that he was showing? Tyler didn't understand why he would feel that way, but he felt something green knowing that his father's pride was based on something that wasn't true.

The two teenagers studied together for a few hours before Jenna had to go home. Tyler walked her out onto the porch, and he was thankful that his father didn't follow. He didn't want to be pressured to kiss her or something.

"Thanks for having me over, Tyler," Jenna said, holding onto the straps of her backpack.

"Thank you for agreeing to come," Tyler whispered quietly, not wanting to speak at full volume in case anyone else might be listening.

Jenna nodded, her clear eyes flashing with sympathy for a moment, and she put her hand on Tyler's arm briefly. "I'll see you around at school. Maybe we can do this again sometime, if you need it."

Not another word was shared between the two as Jenna disappeared down the street. Tyler waited until he couldn't see her anymore, and then he went back into the house.

"So, you think she'll be coming around again anytime soon?" Tyler's father was leaning against the hall closet; Tyler silently prayed that he hadn't heard their conversation.

"I don't know." Tyler moved past his father and up the stairs to his room. Fortunately, the man did not follow.

Within only a few minutes, Josh was on the other end of Tyler's phone. Tyler had his perfect painting--still a work in progress--set up on his easel, and he was going at it again, hands spattered with blue. His phone was pressed to his ear, smashed in between his head and his shoulder like a sandwich, so he could talk to Josh and continue to work.

It was good to hear Josh's voice while he painted; it made his vision for the artwork easier to realize. Josh seemed to know this, too, because he didn't mind when Tyler asked him if he could do much of the talking. Mostly, he talked about what he'd done that day, and how much he missed Tyler, and how he couldn't wait until they could see one another again tomorrow.

That's how Tyler knew it was love--it was ridiculously cliche, and he didn't even care.

"Thank you for talking while I do this," Tyler said eventually, after there was a pause in between topics.

Instead of saying something, Josh just hummed lowly in response, and something in Tyler jolted awake. His hands froze on his painting. "Do that again."

The blue-haired boy hummed a bit lower, and Tyler felt it again. Something...red, maybe? He didn't recognize it.

Josh then went on to hum a song, his voice a bit lighter, and the feeling went away, replaced by a soft pink. Tyler relaxed again and went back to painting, his vision getting a bit more easy to see as Josh went on.

Eventually, Josh coaxed Tyler into getting some rest, and he hummed him to sleep.