madam pomfrey came to meet them as soon as they arrived at the hospital wing.

"oh tyler, what happened to you?" she asked in a pity tone as the brunette sat in one of the beds, hands pressed on his forehead.

"the pain is getting to my eyes now." he complained.

"we were treating venomous tentacula and one of the spikes hit him in the head." josh told her.

"first patient of the school year sent by professor longbottom." she shook her head. "as per usual."

josh and tyler exchanged looks and snickered.

"very well mr. joseph, you can lie down for a moment while i prepare you an antidote. it's going to make you very sleepy, so you're missing a few of your morning classes today."

tyler groaned.

"i'm sorry." josh sighed. "it was totally my fault."

"no it wasn't. and your hair is turning gray." tyler looked up at him.

josh huffed, picking at the tips of his hair. they turned right back into their natural brown color.

"it annoys you, doesn't it?" observed the brunette.

"yeah. it's just... it makes me a bit uncomfortable that people can tell how i'm feeling just by looking at it." he blurted out.

"oh, so it's like a feeling thing?" tyler asked.

shit. shit, he wasn't supposed to know that.

"um, yeah listen, i should go. i still need to complete the task, and i'm pretty sure there's gonna be homework to do."

josh just wanted to leave before tyler started to ask questions about the colors and what they meant.

"ok. be careful with those things." he smiled.

"see you later." josh waved, walking out the door.

...

it was lunch time and the great hall was busy.

josh had just gotten back from potions class and was now eating a sandwich quietly by himself. he couldn't stop looking at the door, wondering if tyler was still asleep in the hospital wing. he couldn't see him at the slytherin table.

"oh my god, how did i manage to forget how boring professor binns is?" brendon practically collapsed in the seat next to him, pulling josh out of his trance. "can't believe i still have to take that fucking class."

"yeah, totally." josh replied, still searching through the slytherin table with his eyes.

"so, how was herbology class with ty-ty?" brendon teased. josh threw him an annoyed look. "what? that's how his girlfriend calls him!" he laughed.

"gross." he took another bite of his sandwich. "how do you know he's in my class?

"he ran into us this morning." he replied, putting a few spoons of tomato soup into an empty bowl.

"i think he's still at the hospital..." josh responded vaguely.

"wow, did you hit it that hard?"

"i fucking hate you."

brendon snickered.

"what happened?"

"he got a few spikes of tentacula in his forehead. i think he missed all of his morning classes."

"yikes. yeah, i haven't seen him anywhere actually." brendon looked at the door. "hey, there he is."

josh's heartbeat increased instantly and he shot his head upwards. it wasn't tyler.

"oh my god, you really have a crush on him!" brendon laughed histerically.

"crush? what are you, five?" the brown haired boy questioned angrily.

"josh, it's always been like this. you always fall too hard, too fast. and then you get dumped and pete and i have to be there to pick up the pieces of your broken little heart."

"what are you talking about? that happened like one time."

"uh, pretty sure it happened four times?"

"i don't have time for this. i have to be at divination in ten minutes." josh huffed, taking a final sip of pumpkin juice and standing up.

"ok, for real now." brendon pulled his arm, willing him to sit back down. "listen josh, you're my best friend. i don't want you to get hurt, ok? i'm sure he's great and all but... this isn't healthy for you, man."

josh took in a deep breath. he knew that brendon cared for him deeply. even though, as a slytherin, he didn't let it show.

"i know. i'll get over it. promise." the brown haired boy smiled gently.

brendon threw him a concerned look and let go of his arm.

"so... best friends, huh?" josh teased. "what about pete?"

"nah, we're too much alike. it freaks me out a bit." he replied, getting up while holding his soup bowl. "i'm just gonna take this to my table."

"ok. i'll see you at dinner, then." josh grabbed his books and began to walk out of the great hall, making his way into the crowded corridor.

|-/

it's been ages!! but i finally updated this fic. are y'all still into it? please let me know and i'll try to post more often :))