Fake You Out - Joshler

Chapter Six

Tyler skips work for the next couple days to spend time with Josh in the hospital. After the initial shock of the first night, Josh had reached an acceptance about the fact that he and Tyler were married. He was still full of questions, all of which Tyler was able to answer with ease. Most of Josh's questions had revolved around Brendon, Michael and Gerard. He wanted to know about them. Josh had said he doesn't remember anything but he doesn't feel like he would have had children. He said he didn't think that he was the type to want children. But then he remembers that he hadn't even remembered his own name so there was no way he could remember if he was the type of person who wanted children or even to get married.

He tried to get answers out of Tyler about his family, his childhood, his hobbies, his interests, anything to flip some kind of switch in his brain, to shift it into gear of what it is to be Josh. None of it worked and Tyler was impressed that Josh was holding together as well as he did.

Three days without work, and news that Josh would be getting out of the hospital in a day meant that Tyler needed to get into work to talk to Patrick about everything that had happened in the hospital. He needed to be able to ask Patrick what to do about Josh and his children.

Currently he's sitting in Patrick's office, staring at his best friend, who is scrolling through his phone, giggling at whatever website he's on. He knows that it's now or never to come clean about his plan on what to do with his "marriage" to Josh.

"Josh's awake," Tyler says, staring at Patrick in an attempt to gauge his reaction. "I, um, spoke to him."

"Yeah what about?"

"The nurses seem to think that I'm his husband and I just didn't bother correcting them," Tyler says with a shrug, attempting to sound casual.

"You just didn't bother to correct them?" Patrick parrots in outrage. "You thought...wait why?" Patrick looks bewildered as he stares at Tyler with his mouth half open.

"I was going to. I opened my mouth and I was ready to say that there was no way in hell we were married but he doesn't know that. He doesn't remember me and he doesn't even remember himself so what harm would it do to think I'm his husband?"

"Why would you want him to be your husband or to even think he is?" Patrick asks. "You don't even like him."

"I told you the nurses think we're married. She said they've been talking about how upsetting it is to have a husband in a coma. They thought I was his husband because they heard how much I know about him and his life. I asked one of them and she said that his doctor thought we were married but I just didn't want to say anything because we're gay and people have problems with that. The entire fucking floor thought we were married before he had even gained consciousness. And then she said it and it was like time stood still and I had a moment to think about it."

"And during that time you thought oh wow this is going to be great."

"Yeah, I did. I have three kids and it's just me. He can think we're husbands and he can come live me and I don't know, he can clean up, do the laundry or even prepare meals. I'll figure out something to do with him," Tyler says.

"Why are you doing this? He has done nothing to you."

"Cornering someone in the locker room and making them the laughing stock of the entire school for years just because they're gay isn't nothing. He's an asshole."

"So you want him near your kids?"

"He thinks they're his kids."

"So he torments you in high school and you're going to torment him in adulthood?"