josh went downstairs to have breakfast in the next day along with the other boys from his dorm room. all of them were chatting about the match: gryffindor versus slytherin. the brown-haired boy wasn't paying attention until tyler's name was mentioned.

"there's no way gryffindor is winning! i once saw tyler catch the snitch in less than 5 minutes during practice. i bet 12 galleons slytherin's got this one!" said a short boy, tying a scarf around his neck.

the great hall was nearly empty as he arrived. a few slytherins were exiting the room, conjuring a giant green snake out of thin air.

josh looked around searching for tyler but he wasn't there. the brown-haired boy wasn't surprised; tyler was probably getting ready for the match.

josh swallowed down a big bowl of pixie puffs as fast as he could, making his way to the quidditch pitch right after that. he searched through the bleachers until he found brendon and pete, who took the highest seats. josh was very surprised to see brendon there, usually it would just be him and pete. except when slytherin would play against hufflepuff. they never watched those.

"hey!" pete waved, handing him a green flag. "it's about to start."

josh looked down, feeling nauseous already. those were really high seats.

"why did you get these seats? they're awful." he complained.

"well we thought you wanted to be closer to your boyfriend." said brendon, looking bored.

"shut up." he replied, his cheeks getting slightly tinted. he hated that.

from the top, josh could see tyler and the gryffindor's captain shake hands. he was happy to see that tyler seemed confident.

after that, the quaffle was thrown in the air and the game started. the slytherin team started to chant like usual, this time it was something like "being a slytherin is not a sin, we never let the quaffle in" and "when tyler flies to catch the snitch we will surely own the pitch".

tyler flew high, higher than the other players, looking everywhere and searching desperately for the golden snitch.

and then he locked eyes with josh. the brunette waved at him, flashing a smile. josh wasn't sure what to do, so he just frantically waved the green flag he was holding.

"see? i told you these were good seats." pete nudged his shoulder as tyler flew away quickly.

josh took a deep breath, turning around.

"hey, did you... like, did you notice anything different with him yesterday?" josh's tone was hopeful. "it almost seemed like he was flirting or something."

brendon cleared his throat. as soon as he opened his mouth to speak the entire slytherin team -including pete- jumped up, cheering and screaming as one of the chasers scored.

josh clapped for a bit, but brendon didn't even move. he hated quidditch.

"what made you think that?" asked the brunette.

"i don't know, he was acting..." he held the thought, remembering something. "wait a second. hayley actually kind of drunkenly outed me in front of him earlier that night. do you think-"

"FUCK YOU!" pete yelled, clearly referring to a gryffindor beater who had just flung a bludger straight into the chaser's leg.

brendon looked a bit surprised.

"wow, really? i had... no idea. pete!" he yelled out to his friend, who turned to face them.

"what's up?"

"josh just told me that tyler knows he's gay, that's why he was acting all weird last night." he raised his eyebrows.

"oh. OH. okay... wait, did you tell him?"

"no, it was hayley." josh explained again.

"what a bitch-"

all of a sudden, the slytherin crowd was cheering so loud that it made josh jump. he looked up, confused.

tyler had the biggest smile across his face as he held a tiny golden ball in his right hand.

josh had never seen tyler's smile look so genuine.

"the match lasted for 12 minutes, that's got to be a record!" pete shouted.

the crowd began to chant "when tyler flies to catch the snitch we will surely own the pitch" again.

the brown-haired boy looked down as the entire slytherin team hugged tyler and congratulated him. he felt a mix of jealousy and sadness engulf him. he wanted to be there to hug tyler first and tell him what a great player he was.

he wanted to be the reason tyler's heart beats fast.

"c'mon, you gotta go talk to him." brendon grabbed both of josh's shoulders and began to escort him out.

"what? no, i'm sure he just wants to spend time with people from his house." josh retorted.

"shut up. he's your friend." pete reminded him.

they walked down to the pitch while the rest of the students returned to the castle. josh felt anxiety bubble up his stomach as he approached tyler and the other slytherin players.

the brunette turned at him, looking surprised.

"hi. i just wanted to say, you were just... you were incredib-"

and tyler was hugging him. josh was speechless as he slowly wrapped his arms around his waist.

that was the first time they hugged.

"thank you, josh. thanks for coming." he took a step back and the hug was over. josh was so astonished he didn't even enjoy the moment as much as he should have.

"uhh y-yeah! no problem!" he replied a bit too loud. tyler was still smiling.

"i saw a few gryffindors crying on the way back." brendon commented. "that was fucking awesome, and i don't even like quidditch."

tyler nodded, letting out a laugh. josh could see in his eyes that he loved this. he loved having all eyes on him. and he wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"ok, so i'll see you around." josh grinned, and part of him just wanted to throw himself at tyler and hug him as tightly as possible.

pete gave tyler a pat on the back as they left the pitch, making their way back to the castle.

brendon let out a long, obnoxious sigh.

"tyler and josh sitting in a tree." he sang in a childish voice.

"oh my god, you are the worst." josh hid his face behind his hands.

"but i told you he'd be happy to see you! you would've never known if we didn't push you to go say hi." pete pointed out.

"yeah i guess you're right." the boy grinned. "thanks for helping me out."

josh's hair was bright yellow as they entered the castle again.

||-//

it's been SO long!! i'm sorry, i know i said i was going to update this ages ago but i just got a bit too caught up skjdf i hope this chapter is good enough :( please comment and vote!