17 years old

Josh and Tyler spent all of spring break together. They spent most of their time at Tyler's house, since Tyler's parents had taken his siblings on a trip down to South Carolina. Tyler would much rather stay home with Josh, and they let him.

Tyler was sprawled across his bed, far into a nap while Josh showered. Josh turned the water off and dried himself off with a fluffy white towel. He ruffled his newly-dyed blue hair with the towel before wrapping it around his waist and walking into Tyler's bedroom, leaving wet footprints in his wake.

He cooed at the sight of his sleeping boyfriend, whose lips were parted as light snores fell past his lips. The towel fell off his hips as he pulled on clean boxers and sweatpants, deciding against putting a shirt on.

Josh went to crawl onto the bed but paused when he heard Tyler mumble in his sleep.

"Joshie..." The boy mumbled.

Josh listened curiously, wondering if Tyler was dreaming about him.

"I wanna try," Tyler slurred as he slept.

Behind the boy's closed lids, he was having a vivid dream about him and Josh. They were swimming at a lake, vibrant green trees and glowing flowers surrounding the crystal blue water. The sun shone over the scene, giving it an almost heavenly vibe.

Josh had swung from a rope into the water below, and Tyler wanted to have a go at it. His small hands closed around the frayed rope.

"Come on!" Josh encouraged him, submerged in the surrounding water.

"I'm scared!" Tyler giggled, heart nearly pounding out of his chest.

"Tyler," Josh said in an attempt to wake the boy, and Tyler heard it in his dream.

"Tyler!" Dream Josh spoke, treading water. "I'll catch you!"

Without another thought, Tyler jumped up and swung forward. He let go of the rope when he was positioned over the water. As soon as he hit, Tyler awoke with a gasp.

His wide eyes met Josh's deep brown ones. Josh smiled down at him and leaned down to kiss his forehead.

"Were you dreaming?" Josh asked.

Tyler nodded and went on to tell Josh about his dream.

"I dream about you all the time," Tyler finished.

"Oh really?" Josh smiled in a teasing way.

Tyler nodded. "Almost every night I have a dream about you."

"It's like you just can't get me out of your head," Josh poked fun at Tyler.

"Is that a bad thing?" Tyler's eyebrows raised in accusation.

"No, not at all. I just like teasing you."

"I know, it's annoying," Tyler grumbled, rolling his eyes.

"Well, are you still tired?"

Tyler shook his head. "No, but I wouldn't want to go back to sleep even if I was. I'd rather be awake so I can spend time with you."

"You're too cute," Josh cooed, running soft hands through brown locks.

"I love you," Tyler spoke, relaxing at Josh's soft touches.

"I love you too," Josh responded, rubbing the tips of their noses together in an Eskimo kiss.

Tyler giggled and shut his eyes, long lashes resting atop his pink cheeks.

"You're so pretty, T," Josh complimented, wanting to make the boy feel good about himself.

"Pretty?" Tyler asked shyly.

"Pretty," Josh nodded, thumbs grazing Tyler's cheekbones.

"You make me feel pretty," Tyler admitted, leaning into Josh.

"That's good, T. But guess what?"

"What?"

"You have a beautiful soul."

Tyler's face quickly flushed red, not expecting Josh to make a comment like that.

"Really?"

"Yes, really. I love your heart, mind, body, and soul."

"You're too nice to me," Tyler whined. "I don't even know what to say to that."

"You deserve to be treated nicely," Josh continued. "I'm glad you've got me for that."

"Me too," Tyler agreed, lovingly gazing into Josh's dark eyes.

He couldn't believe how in love he felt in Josh. He knew he would never feel the same way about anybody else. Josh was perfect for him. They were destined to be together, like Josh had said to him before. Tyler knew this. He couldn't even begin to explain to Josh how infatuated he was with him.