3126 words

tyler jolts awake to both the sound of his alarm and the watch on his wrist vibrating frantically. with a groan, he uses his watch to turn off the alarm. he sits up slowly, rubbing his eyes with the backs of his hands. his stomach is churning, a dull pain throbbing behind his eyes. he groans again at the realization that he's hungover, flopping back down into bed.

he blindly reaches towards his nightstand and retrieves the phone he forgot to plug in. it's at 16%. he has no new notifications aside from a few emails. the boy sits up with another groan, pausing for a moment to take a deep breath before he slides out of bed.

as he plugs in his phone, tyler goes to check the weather. he has to every morning. it's going to be hot again so he lets out an annoyed whine, wanting more than anything to just crawl back into bed and sleep. but there's no way he's going to miss his psychological diagnoses class. tyler spots a glass of water and some pills on his desk beside a sticky note.

gonna make eggs + bacon in the morning
love, ash

"thank god," tyler whispers, clenching his stomach. he downs the medicine, assuming it's either tylenol or ibuprofen, and chugs the entirety of the water.

tyler pulls together an outfit with his eyes only halfway open the entire time. shorts and t-shirt, again, since it will be hot, again. he can't wait til it cools down in a few weeks. as much as he doesn't want to, tyler finds the strength within him to straighten his sheets in a lame attempt to make his bed. his lips are chapped so he also puts on chapstick and deodorant.

he grabs his phone off the charger. it only charged up to 22%. good enough. the moment he opens his bedroom door, the smell of bacon overcomes him. he fast-walks downstairs, afraid any sudden movements might send him into a fit of nausea, and finds ashley in the kitchen. she's hard at work scrambling some eggs.

"morning," tyler says, gaining her attention.

"oh, ty! good morning. how're you feeling?"

"been better, but not too bad." he grabs a plate, holding it out for her as she scoops the eggs onto it and adds a few pieces of bacon. "thanks."

she hums in response, turning the oven off as she grabs her own plate and joins him at the table. "you got pretty drunk last night, huh?"

"yeah," he chuckles, practically inhaling his breakfast.

"i liked josh. he seemed nice."

tyler slaps his hand over his mouth, somehow having forgot that he spent the entire night with josh. well, more like he wished he forgot. oh gosh. did he say anything embarrassing? did he do anything embarrassing? tyler quickly racks his brain as he attempts to replay all of last night's events, but he can't piece everything together in an exact timeline.

"relax," ashley smiles. "you seemed to be handling yourself pretty well."

tyler just sighs, choosing to believe her although he doubts it. all he does know is that he was able to refrain from regressing last night and he guesses that's the most important thing. although, he does remember that josh was in his room and called his stuffies cute. his face goes red at the thought.

tyler's wrist vibrates. he looks at his watch.

josh 🧸
morning. how are you feeling?

"oh my gosh," tyler says aloud, mouth full of food. ashley raises an eyebrow at him. he totally forgot him and josh exchanged numbers. what was he on last night?? he pulls out his phone and shows ashley.

"oh my gosh," she echoes. "you got his number?"

"uh huh..."

ok, i guess. hbu?

he shows ashley before he hits send. "is this okay?"

"yes, ty, that is a very normal thing to say. don't overthink it."

but that's what he's best at. tyler hesitates a second longer before hitting send and quickly setting his phone face-down on the table. just as he stuffs the last bite in his mouth, his wrist vibrates again.

josh 🧸
ok too. can i grab lunch w you guys today?

tyler could scream. he regrets ever inviting josh to hang out with them. why did he do that? now he'll have to face the boy he can't get his mind off of. he asks ashley, secretly hoping she'll say no, but she just says, "of course he can."

kk meet you there at 12?

josh 🧸
ok see you then

tyler notices it's already 9:10. he needs to leave if he wants to get to class early! he rushes his dishes to the kitchen, scrubbing them clean as fast as he can before running upstairs. he feels a lot better after eating and the medicine is probably helping too. his belongings are all stuffed into his backpack in a rush before he's running back downstairs, saying bye to ashley, and speed-walking out the front door. he decides to send his friends a quick text.

josh is joining us for lunch pls don't be weird

tyler's first class is over before he knows it and the second class goes by just as quickly. he's excited because he's all done with classes for the day and doesn't have to work later. that means he can go back home after lunch, do his homework, then let himself regress and forget about the world. for that reason, tuesdays and thursdays are definitely his favorite days of the week this semester.

it's 11:55 by the time he gets out and he begins making his way to the dining hall. he gets there a couple minutes late but knows his friends won't mind. josh hadn't texted him which felt a bit weird, but he understands why as he spots the boy already sitting at a table with the rest of tyler's friends. gosh, he hopes they haven't said anything embarrassing.

he approaches the table timidly, greeting his friends with a smile before he allows himself to look at josh. he's got two nose rings in on either side of his nose today instead of the just one tyler had made note of previously. his curls aren't covered by a hat today, unkept black locks swirling around his head. he's wearing a blink-182 shirt today. gosh, does he wear anything other than band tees?

the five of them grab lunch—tyler's consisting of pasta, a garlic breadstick, and a teensy tiny serving of green beans. he wanted josh to know that he does eat his veggies! plus, he knew ashley would pester him if he didn't have any on his plate. he gets apple juice to drink, of course, joining ryan who is already sat at the table.

"did you guys say anything about me?" tyler mumbles, nervously jabbing at his pasta with his fork.

"of course not, ty. we just talked about last night."

tyler nods, believing him. he starts eating as the rest of his friends join and josh sits directly across from him. the brunette sinks into his seat slightly, feeling anxious with the chestnut eyes watching him. there's a comfortable silence between them until ashley speaks up.

"i like your choice of veggies, ty." he just knew she would say something. "how are they?"

"um..." he looks at josh, who raises his eyebrows, then to ashley. "haven't tried them yet."

"well, try them. i wanna know if they're any good."

tyler shoots her a glare, knowing what she's doing. ashley knows dang well he doesn't actually want to eat the green beans and he only got them to make it seem like he did.

"fine." he picks one up on his fork and stuffs it in his mouth. "s'good."

"oh, really? hm, i guess you'll eat them all then, right?"

tyler is grateful brendon starts saying something to josh to get his attention away from him. he turns to glare at the girl sitting next to him and shakes his head. he knows ashley means well, but her tone is slowly sending him into little space. she leans in, keeping her voice low.

"i bet josh wants you to eat them too."

tyler almost whines before remembering the cute boy is sitting across from him. he looks to him, watching him laugh at something brendon said. he considers what ashley said and, although he knows she was just trying to get him to eat his veggies, what if she was right!? what if josh really did want him to eat them? surely he had to, then. so, he picks up the rest of the green beans on his fork and stuffs them in his mouth in one big bite.

"thank you," she whispers, patting his back.

"tyler, remember that?" brendon asks, referring to whatever him and josh were talking about. "from last night?"

"hm?" tyler acknowledges, eyes darting back and forth between the boys. his cheeks grow hot when he meet's josh's eyes.

"when pete was talking about the guy he met over the summer who..." brendon trails off, noticing the way tyler's demeanor has shifted. "you know what, never mind. josh, tell us more about you."

tyler feels a hand on his knee under the table. he looks at ashley, the girl offering him a smile. he's practically shrinking in his seat, growing smaller and smaller by the second. he resorts to staying silent and stuffing pasta in his mouth, listening to josh.

"well, originally i went to school in ohio..."

ohio! tyler's from there!

"...but i transferred here because i really wanted to get away from home."

oh my gosh! josh must be from there too!

"pennsylvania was the next best place you could think of?" brendon laughs.

"i wanted to go to a small school and it's far enough away without being too far. plus, my mom told me it was either here or michigan."

"you definitely made the right choice," ryan says.

"i think so too," he pauses, shifting his gaze to tyler who only shrunk further, nervously twisting pasta around his fork. "it's not that i don't like my family, or anything, it's just that i'm the oldest so after i moved out my mom called me every weekend asking for me to come home and help with this or that. i know she just missed me and wanted to see me, but i couldn't take it anymore."

tyler is happy to just listen to his voice.

"but my oldest sister, ashley, she's graduating high school this year so my mom was too busy helping her with college applications and visits and stuff to care enough about me going to school further away. thankfully."

he could listen to josh forever.

"i mean i feel like i don't really know much about you guys," he says, looking to tyler as if he should give some kind of response.

wide-eyed, tyler looks to ashley for help. thankfully, she gets the hint. "i'm from new jersey, about an hour from here. my mom was like that too, at first, until i told her to stop calling me because i'd only be coming home for breaks."

josh's eyes linger over tyler for a moment before he gives ashley his attention. the brunette takes it as his opportunity to quickly eat the rest of his lunch. he really, really wants to leave because he can't stand feeling small in front of so many people right now. josh included. he can't even contribute to the conversation anymore so there's no point in hanging around. he wants to run home, cuddle up with pablo, stuff a pacifier in his mouth, and watch bluey.

he tugs on ashley's shirt, not noticing she's in the middle of talking to josh now. she stops mid-sentence to look at him. 

"ash'ey," the boy whispers. "wan' go hooome."

ashley looks to josh nervously, kicking brendon under the table to motion for him to help her out.

"hey! oh, josh, uh, where in ohio are you from?"

tyler hears him says columbus and gasps excitedly. "me too!"

"what, really? no way! that's so sick," josh smiles.

ashley stands, pulling her backpack on over her shoulders. "tyler and i are gonna head out."

said boy follows her lead, unable to stop smiling at josh as he sticks his arms through the straps of his bag.

"oh, really?" josh asks. "everything okay?"

"yeah, we just-"

tyler interrupts her, again, by tugging on her shirt. ashley smiles at josh awkwardly and leans in for tyler to whisper, "joshy come wif?"

"probably not the best idea, bub."

a small whine escapes the brunette, his cheeks instantly flushing a deep scarlett color at the way josh looks at him. he whispers, "okay..."

"yeah, sorry." ashley turns her attention back to the table. "i forgot we had a thing, so. we'll see you later. "

they leave with that. tyler knows brendon and ryan will diffuse the situation in their absence, so he isn't worried about it. he hooks his thumbs around his backpack straps, humming a happy tune as he walks beside his friend.

"ty, i'm so sorry for making you regress. i totally didn't mean it."

"s'okay!" tyler grins. "m'happy."

"of course you are, cutie." she ruffles his hair, causing a giggle to spill out of him.

they walk slowly through the blazing heat, arriving home in about ten minutes. perks of a small campus. ashley says she can only stay for about twenty minutes, but tyler doesn't mind. he's excited for any time he gets to spend with her!

they head up to his room and tyler starts looking through his drawers for an outfit to put on while ashley plugs in his computer. the boy ends up in a winnie the pooh onesie with pablo in one hand and a pacifier in the other. he sticks the paci between his lips, humming contently.

"what do you wanna do, tiny?"

tyler points in the direction of his storage drawers where he keeps all of his little boy things: coloring books, dolls, play-dough, cars, dinos, books, and more. anything little tyler could ever want is held within the confines of those drawers. ashley chuckles.

"that could mean anything."

so, tyler approaches the drawers himself and opens the one on the top left. he grabs two coloring books—a spongebob one for ashley and a princess one for himself—and the 120 pack of crayons she got him for his birthday last year. the two lay on their tummies on the floor, coloring silently. ashley keeps her crayons in a neat row next to her whereas the ones tyler uses are spread out in every direction. he works carefully to color the princess's dress a pretty shade of pink, looking up in confusion once's ashley stands.

"i gotta go now."

tyler frowns.

"i know, i know. brendon will be home soon, okay? in, like, an hour. do you wanna watch cartoons downstairs until he gets back?"

"mhm!"

"okay, come on."

"wait!"

tyler's feet pitter-patter against the floor as he runs towards his bed. he snatches up his soft, glow-in-the-dark butterfly blanket and scoops his other stuffies into his arms. "'kay."

he follows her downstairs and plops himself on the couch. ashley helps him get situated, covering him with the blanket and tucking the sides underneath him. tyler sits with three stuffies under one arm and two under the other while ashley turns on bluey for him.

"yay!" he cheers into his paci, giggling softly. "bwuey!"

"there you go, bud. brendon will be home in an hour, okay? and i'll see you shortly after that, too. i'll make sure he knows not to bring anyone who isn't ryan back here with him. don't go inviting josh over either."

tyler just nods, entranced by the colorful dogs on the television screen. ashley leaves him alone, but the boy doesn't even care. bluey is his favorite show and his stuffies are keeping him company! he smiles around the purple pacifier places between his lips. his wrist vibrates.

ash 🍯:
i have officially left a small tyler at home

don't bring anyone to the house

bren 🍭:
YES i can't wait to hang with him

ash 🍯:
how did the josh situation go after we left?

ry 🍪:
he didn't even mention it. we just started talking ab star wars

tyler giggles.

nerds

ash 🍯:
LMAO yeah you nerds

bren 🍭:
at least we're not losers

am not!

ry 🍪:
don't listen to him

bren knows he's the most loser of us all

tyler knows he's right and brendon must too because he stops responding after that. tyler is about to put his phone down and go back to watching the show when he feels it buzz again.

josh 🧸:
how did your thing go?

tyler gasps. it's josh! he knows he shouldn't respond, but he just wants attention and nobody is around to give it to him! besides his stuffies, of course. he glances at them. they're too busy watching the show to notice.

gooooood hehe

josh 🧸:
that's goooood

i'm sad you had to leave early

why?

josh 🧸:
idk cuz i wanted to talk to you

we're talking now silly!

josh 🧸:
yeah, you're right

you don't talk much in person tho

tyler doesn't know what to say to that. he glances at the tv, getting distracted by the show before he feels his phone go off again.

josh 🧸:
not that there's anything wrong with that

i was just saying

again, tyler doesn't know what to say. he wishes josh was there to watch with him because it's hard to bring his attention away from the screen. i mean, it's bluey! tyler wonders if josh likes bluey too.

what's your favorite cartoon? :)

josh 🧸:
good question

i've always loved spongebob

what's yours?

tyler loves spongebob too! he usually watches it when he's feeling a bit bigger, but he knows every single word to the original spongebob movie.

i think bluey is my favorite

or maybe paw patrol

i like spongebob too tho!

josh 🧸:
don't think i've ever watched those honestly but i'll take your word for it :)

tyler so badly wants to invite him over to watch with him right this second. he's certain the older would love the show just as much as he does, but ashley told him he wasn't allowed to. disregarding the fact that he would be embarrassed later, he responds:

watching right now!!

josh 🧸:
what's that?

bluuueyyyyy :)

josh 🧸:
oh yeah?

sorry class is starting gtg

kk!

tyler finally puts his phone down, smiling at the thought of josh watching his favorite cartoon with him. his eyes are immediately glued to the screen, lost in thought about the cute boy.