1878 words

tyler's eyes flutter open, his pacifier discarded and resting on the pillow beside him. pablo is no longer nuzzled against his chest, and a terrible chill fills the room.

tyler shivers, pulling the covers around him tighter as he takes in his surroundings. the rest of his stuffies aren't on his bed either, but he must've accidentally knocked them all off in his sleep.

sleep...

he was asleep with josh. where's josh?

he pats the empty spot beside him, frowning. he slides out of bed, his bare feet hitting the cold wooden tiles below. he glances around, not finding his stuffies anywhere. the shorts and tank top covering his frame do little to protect him from the frigid air. he grabs a blanket, wrapping it around himself.

why did josh leave? maybe the bathroom?

he quietly exits his room, the door squeaking loudly and rippling through the otherwise silent house. from his door, he can tell the bathroom door is open. he frowns, approaching slowly.

it's empty.

maybe he went downstairs?

tyler slowly walks down the hall, the floor cracking beneath him. the hallway somehow seems to grow longer with each step he takes, his mouth running dry at the realization.

he's never going to reach the end.

he picks up the pace, finally getting to brendon's door and finding it shut. he goes to twist the knob, but it's locked.

weird.

without thinking, tyler's fist comes down to knock on the door, hard and loud.

"brendon!" he shouts, banging the side of his fist against the wood. the sound reverberates down the daunting hallway, echoing off the walls.

there's no answer.

cursing under his breath, tyler turns to head for ashley's room next. he reaches it quicker than he did brendon's, but it's also locked. he can't explain why, but his heart sinks into his stomach like a boulder. he begins pounding on her door with more force than the previous.

"ashley! ash! are you in there? can you hear me? please!" he shouts, goosebumps running down his arms as his voice echoes back to him from the end of the hallway.

what's going on? where have his friends gone? why did they leave him?

"josh!" he yells suddenly, looking down the rest of the hallway leading to the staircase.

it's a lot longer than he remembers, and seemingly growing more narrow by the second. tyler drops the blanket, ignoring the chill that shocks his bones as he takes off sprinting down the hall.

his bare feet pound against the floor, accompanied by loud smacking sounds with each stomp. it nearly gets lost under the sound of tyler's panting and the rapid pulse booming in his ears.

he needs to find josh.

where did everybody go?

he reaches the end of the hallway suddenly, smacking into the wall with a grunt. looking back behind him, the hallway looks normal again—no longer a mile long. he shakes his head, not wasting time to think as he starts to head downstairs.

he has to descend four flights to actually reach the bottom. it feels a bit weird but tyler can't quite place why. once on the first floor, tyler doesn't find josh in the living room. he tightens his arms around himself again, teeth clattering.

he checks the kitchen; nothing.

he checks the downstairs bathroom; nothing.

he looks through the window to the porch; nothing.

"josh!" tyler screams, feeling more frantic as tears begin to pool in his eyes. "where are you!?"

the brunette reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone. no notifications from anybody. he stares at the screen to put in his pin, suddenly not remembering the code. he attempts a few random combinations until it locks him out, and then he throws it against the wall with a frustrated yell.

why did everybody leave him? why didn't they tell him? what did he do?

tyler runs for the front door, but the knob doesn't turn. he pulls at it desperately, tears now flowing freely down his cheeks as he cries in broken sobs.

he pulls and pulls, but it doesn't budge. there's not even a lock on it.

his fingers move to the window next, trying to pull it open. that, too, doesn't move an inch. he tries unlocking, locking, unlocking, locking, unlocking over and over and over again and the damn window doesn't open.

his chest heaves as he sobs freely, cheeks completed soaked in hot tears as his heart continues pounding in his ears. he shakes both from the force of his cries and the rapidly dropping temperature.

he can't be stuck in here. no. where did everybody go?

why did they leave him alone here?

he tries the other window and meets the same fate, yelling a few choice words as he beats his open palms against the glass.

"let. me. out! let me out!" he begs, banging on the glass with all of his strength but failing to break through.

"fuck!"

his raises his hands to his head, gripping his hair and pulling tightly as ragged gasps for air rip through his chest. his skin feels like it's being pricked by thousands of tiny needles, the cold aching his bones. he swears he can see his breath.

he turns to face the living room, finding it completely void of any decorations that him or the others put up. its completely bare aside from the furniture.

"oh-oh my god," he whimpers, backing up until his back hits the wall. he slowly slides to the floor, bringing his knees into his chest as he grips his hair between clenched fists.

he can't catch his breath, rapidly inhaling and exhaling a cold fire that stings his lungs. dumbfounded, his eyes glance over the living room in its entirety as he finally realizes what's happened.

they've left him.

all of them.

brendon, ashley...

josh.

he's alone. he's so fucking alone.

what is he going to do? his friends are gone. josh is gone. he's never coming back. they're never coming back. tyler has nobody.

he has nobody.

he has nobody.

it's so cold and he's going to die here.

he's going to die alone.

"tyler!"

the boy jolts awake, his chest heaving as he chokes out a loud sob. not realizing it was a nightmare, he begins gasping for air and clutching at his chest feeling as if he can't breathe. hot, fat tears pour down his cheeks, his pulse pounding like a relentless drumbeat in his ears.

"oh-oh god," he chokes out, gripping the fabric covering his chest, "jo-josh..."

"i'm right here baby," a familiar voice sounds from beside him, pulling him out of his delirious state. his tears cease, but he still can't seem to catch his breath as his eyes slowly move around the dimly lit room.

his room.

he was asleep.

josh.

tyler now realizes a hand is on his back, and another grips his hand. glancing down, he recognizes the hand he's clutching onto for dear life to be josh's.

"josh," he whines, turning towards the man and hugging him so hard it knocks him to lay back against the bed.

a pair of strong arms close around him, rubbing soothing circles gently into his back.

"it's me. i'm here. it's okay, shhh..." josh whispers, pressing his cheek against the top of the boy's head as they embrace tightly.

"oh god," tyler repeats, his breath still stuttering as josh and himself both work to calm him down.

"it's okay, love. it's okay," josh shushes, his voice a soothing whisper into the boy's hair. "i got you. i'm right here."

tyler wills himself to take a few deep breaths, following josh's lead as he copies his actions. he settles down slowly, his body still trembling slightly as he refuses to remove himself from the man.

they're both quiet for a few minutes, other than the occasional hiccup from tyler as his breathing tries to regulate itself. josh doesn't move, and neither does tyler.

"what was it?" josh asks finally.

"everybody left me," tyler whispers. he swallows, inhaling shakily.

"everybody. brendon, ashley, you... even my stuffies! and i was trapped in here. i couldn't get out. i was stuck and you all left me alone. i was all alone, and it was so cold, and i was so scared i was gonna die in there alone. i couldn't get my phone to work. i couldn't open the door. you guys left me to die alone," he speaks quietly, his voice shaking as he quickly rambles on about the horrible dream.

"that sounds terrible, ty. i'm so sorry. it was only a bad dream, okay? it wasn't real. it will never be real," josh reassures, murmuring quietly. "i woke up because you were moving around a lot in your sleep, and then i heard you whimpering and saying my name and i could just tell it wasn't good."

"it was awful," tyler emphasizes, unmoving from his spot on top of the older.

"it was just a nightmare, my love. i'm here to stay. you can't get rid of me," josh says, and tyler can practically hear the smile in his voice.

it makes his lips twitch too. "i don't want to get rid of you."

"you sure?" josh asks.

he raises his head from its resting spot on top of tyler's, placing his finger beneath the boy's chin and forcing his head up to meet his eyes. tyler slowly lifts his head, noticing the small grin on josh's face. he frowns in confusion.

"of course i am."

"even if i tell you i'm never letting you have chocolate before bed again?"

a snort escapes tyler, his hand clamping over his mouth immediately after. josh chortles in response, his stomach shaking with laughter and jostling tyler around.

"yes, even then," he giggles, sliding off of josh and settling for cuddling back against his side.

they return to the position they were in when they first dozed off, josh's arms tight around tyler while the latter rests his head on his shoulder and tangles their legs together.

"you were right," tyler admits, almost wishing he didn't right after. "i'm sorry."

"nothing to be sorry for, dear. now i just know to say no next time."

"but aren't i so convincing?" tyler grins, draping one arm over the older's torso. he pinches the fabric from josh's onesie between his fingers and rolls it around, enjoying the fuzzy feeling.

"you really are," josh agrees.

once more, he places a finger beneath tyler's chin and urges the boy to look at him. their eyes meet, barely visible in the soft glow from the night light. josh plants a soft kiss against tyler's lips, adoration practically spilling from him.

"go to sleep, baby. i'll keep you safe from anymore nightmares."

"m'kay," tyler whispers, stealing another quick kiss before relaxing his head back on josh's shoulder. he shuts his eyes, trying to fall back asleep but his brain is plagued with a burning question. "hey, daddy?"

"yes, baby boy?"

"why do people say that cats have nine lives?"

(a/n: i'm proud of this one

hope you guys enjoyed the double upload! <3 i loveee hearing your guys' thoughts so feel free to comment & don't forget to vote!)