5750 words

"i can't do this."

tyler stands in front of his mirror, smoothing his hands across the outfit ashley helped him pick out.

"yes you can. it's not a date, remember? just two friends hanging out," ashley encourages.

"but what are you gonna do?"

it's friday night. brendon has a party and ryan is with him at the frat house. that's not unusual, and tyler and ashley usually just hang out with each other. more specifically, tyler usually spends most of his weekend in little space and ashley doesn't mind staying in with him. he feels bad at the thought of abandoning her.

"i'm going out to bars with debby, actually," she says, rolling her eyes when tyler grins at her. ashley and debby have had an on-and-off weird situationship kind of fling going on since sophomore year.

"is that why you're dressed like that?" he asks, eyeing her through the mirror.

"what? you don't like it?"

"no. but i'm sure debby will."

ashley gasps. "what don't you like about it? do i look bad?"

tyler shakes his head. "no, you look pretty. just... not like ashley, is all."

the girl is wearing a tight, black leather mini-dress that hardly covers her chest and backside. tyler only ever sees her dress so provocative when debby is involved, and he doesn't like it. he can understand wanting to impress someone, sure, but ashley is his best friend and he doesn't like that she feels she has to dress differently to get attention from a girl that so clearly doesn't care about her. he hates having to put on a facade and wishes she didn't feel like she had to either.

"whatever," she mumbles, applying a thick coat of mascara. tyler asks if it would be weird for him to wear some too, to which ashley says of course not and applies some to his lashes as well.

he blinks at himself in the mirror afterward, already sweating as his nerves get the best of him. josh had texted him earlier that they would play games and watch movies and just hang out and enjoy each other's company. it sounded a lot like a date to tyler, but he was too afraid to confirm with the boy himself so he asked ashley's opinion. she told him it wasn't a date if neither of them said it was.

josh invited him to come around eight, and it's 7:40 now. tyler has never felt as scared to be alone with someone as he does now. not in a bad way, of course, he just doesn't know what to expect and it scares him. what games would they play? what movie would they watch? what was tyler supposed to do if he started regressing? he wouldn't have his friends there to save him this time.

"ashley?"

"hm?"

"i'm scared."

"it'll be okay. i'm sure you'll have a great time. i'll have my phone on me the whole night. brendon and ryan said they'd keep their phones on them, too. we'll check in with you throughout the night. if you start regressing and you can't age yourself back up, you can call one of us."

"well... what if josh expects me to sleep with him?"

"why would he think that?" ashley asks. "you're his friend, tyler. i seriously doubt that was the reasoning behind him inviting you over. you met him before the rest of us. he probably just wants to get to be better friends with you."

tyler groans, checking the time on his watch. "but he's so cute," he whines, "and i get so nervous around him. i don't know how to not be nervous. i'm worried he'll catch on that i like him."

"so what if he does?" ashley asks, lips parting slightly as she applies a coat of lip gloss.

"i don't want him to! i... i don't want a relationship."

"bullshit," she chuckles.

"it's complicated."

"you can talk to me, tyler."

he sighs. "i just... you know how it goes. i like a guy. i try to be open and honest with them. they just want to use me. i don't want to even give josh the opportunity to be like that."

"but you're also not giving him the opportunity to be the opposite of that," ashley points out.

well, she does have a point, but nobody's been like that in the past. why should tyler assume josh is any different?

"i don't know... i'm too afraid. we're just friends."

"for now," ashley smirks, laughing when tyler playfully shoves her. "you should probably get going soon."

tyler looks at his watch again. 7:50. he gulps.

"do i have to?"

"i mean, you don't have to..."

"no, say i have to," he begs.

"you have to go, tyler. you'll be perfectly fine. i'm only a call or text away."

"fine..."

"love you!"

"love you too."

with that, tyler sets on his journey for josh's residence hall. it's only about a five-ish minute walk away, so he gets there a few minutes early. tyler could use his fob to unlock the door, but he feels weird doing that considering he doesn't live in this building. not only that, but he doesn't even know josh's room number. he pulls out his phone.

i'm here

josh's reply is almost instant.

josh 🧸:
be right there!

oh gosh. tyler's heart is racing. he anxiously wipes his sweaty palms against his shorts, rocking back and forth on his heels as he waits for josh. about half a minute later, the front door of the building is opened and a smiling josh peeks outside.

"hey!"

"hey."

"come on."

with his hands in his pockets, tyler follows josh inside the building. it's one of the older buildings on campus, so josh informs him that they unfortunately have to climb three flights of stairs. the stairwell doesn't have air conditioning, so tyler is sweating even more profusely by the time they reach josh's floor. thankfully, the hallway is cooler and josh says he has an ac unit in his room as well.

tyler has to admit he's a bit excited to see what josh's room looks like. it's only fair since josh has seen his.

"this one's mine," josh announces, stopping outside a door. he takes a key out of his pocket and unlocks it. "pete's at whatever party they had tonight, so it's just us."

josh flicks on the light and they enter. tyler takes in his surroundings. there's a clear distinction between josh's side of the room and pete's. josh has black bedding, pete has blue. josh has band posters hanging up, pete has flags and funny banners. josh's side is a lot more organized and cleanly than pete's. led strip lights run across the entire room but are currently turned off.

"woah," tyler says, eyeing the vinyls hanging above josh's desk. "those are sick."

"thanks. i thrifted them, actually," josh says proudly. "i have a record player at home with the rest of the vinyls that i actually listen to. these are just random ones i thought would be cool for decoration."

"they are cool," tyler agrees. he looks at the rest of josh's decor.

he has a few photos hanging on the wall of who tyler can only assume is friends and family members. there are some books and funko pops organized on a shelf. tyler reads the spines of the books carefully, noticing a few classics but also a few titles he'd never heard of. what really catches his eye is the fact that josh owns a few poetry books. walt whitman, john keats...

"robert creeley?" tyler asks, touching his fingers to the book.

"you know him?"

"i love him," tyler admits. "i didn't know you liked poetry."

"oh! i mean, i enjoy reading it. i could never write anything myself, though. i'm not great with words. you're an english major though, right?"

"yeah. funnily enough, i'm only good with words when it comes to poetry."

"oh yeah? you'll have to show me sometime."

"maybe," tyler says, knowing damn well that will never happen. his poetry is too personal, too private. he's only ever felt comfortable attaching his name to a poem when it was for his professor's eyes only.

"wanna see the game i got?"

"sure."

this isn't as bad as tyler thought. in fact, it's kind of nice.

josh opens a drawer under his bed and pulls out a small, red box. "it's this game called we're not really strangers."

oh gosh. tyler takes it back. he wants to leave. he wants to run straight out the door and not look back. he's heard of this game before. it's very deep and personal and absolutely not what he expected. he doesn't exactly know what he expected, but it sure wasn't this. tyler wouldn't even play this game with his friends.

"i figured it would be a cool way to get to know each other better," josh says, innocently. does he even know the kinds of questions those cards hold?

"oh," tyler swallows. "cool."

"have you ever played it?"

"no. i've heard of it, though."

"this is my first time too. i literally just bought it at target earlier."

tyler blushes as the thought of josh buying this game (tyler wouldn't even call it that) specifically to play with him. to get to know him better. it's a normal friend thing to do, right? maybe josh just thought it was an innocent card game to play between friends who want to get to know each other better.

josh sits on the black carpet in the middle of the floor, so tyler joins him.

"okay, so," josh starts reading the directions. "there's three levels of cards. level one is perception, level two is connection, and level three is reflection. apparently the questions get deeper with each level. i guess we can just answer however many we want before we move onto the next level. there's these "dig deeper" cards which you can use only once per level to encourage the other person to speak more on their answer. and i'm supposed to set this aside."

josh hands him a dig deeper card first before setting aside a card that says "final card." he says they're supposed to flip it over when they're done. tyler is glad they're sitting across from each other and not on top of each other like yesterday because he is hot with anxiety. josh also hands him one of the notepads and pencils that came in the box.

"who goes first?" josh asks.

"i'll ask you first," tyler answers quickly, desperate to push off having to answer as long as possible. he grabs a level one card.

"what's the first thing you noticed about me?" he reads, actually curious to hear josh's answer.

"uhhh..." josh chuckles. "i don't know. your hair, probably. i feel like that's what i notice first about everyone."

"oh." lame.

"my turn," josh says, grabbing a card. "oooh, okay. what does my instagram tell you about me?"

that you're cute!

tyler's face grows hot. "ummm i guess that you seem pretty social and have a lot of friends. you like music and nature. you play drums. you also like coffee."

"all pretty accurate," josh nods.

tyler grabs another card. "how many speeding tickets do you think i've gotten in my life?"

"probably at least one, right? hasn't everyone?"

"nope," tyler grins proudly. "never."

"wow, i'm impressed," josh chuckles, picking up a card. "do i look kind? and explain."

tyler bites his lip, considering. "yes. i don't know how to explain. you just do."

"you have to explain, that's the rule."

he has to fight the urge to roll his eyes. he doesn't know to what extent he can speak about josh without his crush becoming glaringly obvious. "fine. you just have kind eyes. and your smile. you're always smiling."

josh smiles at that.

"see?"

they share a laugh.

"okay, i guess that's true."

"my turn." tyler reads his card silently to himself first, his face most definitely turning bright red. "oh gosh. do you think i fall in love easily—why or why not?"

"wow, that's a level one? um... no, i don't think so."

"why?" tyler urges, picking at a thread on his shorts rather than meeting josh's eyes.

"you just seem pretty closed off, i don't know. plus there's what ryan said about, well, you know, and i feel like you're not the kind of guy to just sleep with anybody. like, i think you'd have to love them first. am i right?"

tyler feels so vulnerable right now and he hates it. he feels naked, completely exposed to josh. he's never had conversations like this with anybody before. he almost feels like he could cry, in a weird way. he swallows the lump in his throat. "yeah," he mumbles.

"okay. what about this one—do i intimidate you and why or why not?"

"yes," tyler blurts out, immediately regretting it. "i mean no. i mean..."

he looks up, seeing josh raising an eyebrow curiously. he sighs. "yes. you intimidate me."

"what! why? you just said you think i look kind!"

"i do. you're just..." gosh, how can tyler put this? "you're really cool and interesting. and i'm really not. so it's just intimidating."

josh slaps down a dig deeper card. tyler rolls his eyes and groans.

"i'm not good around new people, i guess. i think you're awesome and worry that you're gonna realize i'm not and then you won't wanna be my friend anymore."

that's about as close as tyler can get without saying the truth. the truth is that josh is so cute and makes tyler feel ways he's never felt before. that scares him beyond no end.

"i think you're pretty cool and interesting, too. why don't you think that?" josh frowns.

"that's not the question," tyler says, picking up a card before josh can protest. "what about me intrigues you?"

this one should be interesting.

josh thinks for a moment before he finally says, "everything."

"everything?" tyler is taken back.

"yeah, everything. i feel like there's so much more to you than you show. you're very mysterious."

tyler laughs, putting down his dig deeper card. "mysterious?"

"yes, i'm serious. you're mysterious. it kind of relates back to the question about falling in love easy. i just don't think you open up easy in general. like, i'm sure you have to ashley and them but it'll probably be a while before you get that way with me. that's just what i think, at least. maybe i'm wrong. maybe it's just that you don't like me." josh smiles, but it doesn't quite meet his eyes.

tyler is not mysterious. he's just weird and anxious and tries his best to hide that. there's no way josh actually means that.

"no, it's not that. i guess you're right. it's hard for me. it took me months with them," tyler admits, although it definitely wasn't necessary. he doesn't want josh to feel like he's doing something wrong because he's not. it's just completely tyler being his weird, anxious self.

"oh... okay. should we go onto the next level?"

"no."

josh laughs. "you don't like this game?"

"it's not really a game," tyler points out.

"so you don't like it?" he frowns.

tyler feels bad again. "no, i do," he lies. "let's keep going."

josh grabs a level two card and inhales sharply. "wow. starting off strong. are you lying to yourself about anything?"

literally everything.

tyler laughs nervously, a bit louder than he intends to. "oh, gosh. yeah, i am."

"about what?"

"it doesn't say i have to explain," tyler counters, silently begging for mercy as he sees josh eye his dig deeper card. he doesn't play it, thankfully, and allows them to move on. "what dating advice would you give your younger self?"

"to just simply not date in high school," josh answers immediately.

tyler nods. "i'm with you on that one."

"i feel like everyone's high school relationship turned out horrible."

"some people get married to their high school sweetheart, though."

"because they're lying to themselves," josh says. "they're probably just too scared to be alone. that's how i used to feel, anyway."

tyler wants to ask more, but decides not to pry. josh goes again.

"what could you have done better in previous relationships?"

the first thought tyler has makes him chuckle. he can't exactly tell josh that his answer is not tell them about my little space but he finds something similar to say. "to not be so naive and so trusting."

"ah, i see," josh grins. "that would explain the hesitation to open up."

"whatever... my turn. oh. this one is for both of us. it says write down the three most important things to you in a relationship and compare."

they share a look.

"are we talking like friend relationship or romantic?" josh asks.

"i don't know."

josh shrugs so casually. "i'm gonna go with romantic."

tyler purses his lips. this is totally normal. totally something two guys would discuss this deeply with each other without liking each other. "okay," he squeaks.

after about a minute of deep thinking, the two reveal their lists to each other. they both have trust as their number one, making them smile.

"trust is definitely the most important," josh says and tyler agrees.

tyler has understanding written next. he sheepishly explains, "there's a lot about me that my partner would have to be understanding with."

"that's a good one," josh nods. "i wrote comfort next. that just felt right, i don't know."

"i have that as my third," tyler says, showing his notepad again.

"oh," josh smiles softly. "my third is having fun."

tyler is definitely not fun. he tries to keep his face from falling. "oh."

"next! how would you describe the feeling of being in love with one word?"

"jeez," tyler mumbles. "that's a loaded question. um... honestly? anxious."

josh slams his dig deeper card in front of tyler. he wants to curse.

sighing, he continues. "it feels scary. having to fully put your trust in somebody and never really knowing when they'll break it. i think love inevitably leads to pain."

"here's a funny concept; maybe there is no when if someone truly loves you."

"what do you mean?" tyler frowns.

"if someone really loves you, there is no when they break your trust. they just simply wouldn't. i'm not sure where you got your idea of love from, but i think you're wrong. love and pain aren't one in the same."

"my parents are divorced so that probably has something to do with it," tyler rolls his eyes but smiles when he hears josh laugh. he asks, "have you ever been in love?"

josh raises an eyebrow. "that's not a card."

"yeah, but i'm curious. have you?"

"i thought i was in high school, but looking back i don't really think it was love. i didn't really know what love was. there's lots of people that i love and things that i love, but i don't know if i can say i've ever been in love. does that make sense?"

tyler nods.

"what about you?"

"no, i haven't."

"oh."

they sit in silence for a moment, just looking at each other. tyler wishes he could hear josh's thoughts. he's so desperate to know what the other is thinking and how exactly he's perceiving tyler. this is all a foreign concept to him—opening up like this with someone who, quite honestly, is pretty much a stranger.

"okay, moving on," tyler says finally, breaking the tension between them. "what do you crave more of?"

josh doesn't answer for a moment. he visibly gulps, looking tyler up and down before casting his glance away to look around the room. "this is embarrassing. do i have to say it?"

"that's the rule."

"intimacy."

tyler throws his dig deeper card at josh. the latter chuckles.

"i knew you'd do that. um, i guess in all aspects. you said it seems like i have a lot of friends, and i guess i do, but they're mostly surface-level. more like acquaintances, really. in terms of a partner..."

he hesitates, looking to tyler. the brunette's stomach does a flip. josh said partner. okay, so what? that doesn't mean anything. but he didn't say girlfriend. tyler did the same earlier specifically to hint at josh that he's gay. he wasn't sure if josh caught it, but maybe he did.

"...well, i haven't been that serious with anyone since high school. i had flings, i guess, but nothing that lasted more than a few months. i miss being that close with someone. who wouldn't, you know?"

"i don't think i've ever really been that close with anyone like that," tyler admits aloud, taking himself by surprise. he doesn't know why he suddenly had the courage. maybe it's just because josh has been totally open and understanding. he hasn't judged tyler for a single thing.

"really? you seem close with your friends, though."

tyler's face flushes. "i meant romantically..."

"ohhh... never? but you've been in relationships?"

"they never lasted long," he shrugs. "and... i don't know. it sounds bad when i put it this way, but i never really actually liked any of them. i think i just wanted someone to take care for me."

he almost cringes after that last bit. was that a weird thing to say? he did mean it literally, but would josh know that?

strangely, he catches a ghost of a smile work it's way onto josh's face. "you know, when you put it like that i realize i've just been with people i wanted to take care of. maybe it was the fact that i had someone to care for rather than me actually liking them. maybe that's why they didn't last."

josh doesn't even know how much tyler is screaming in his mind over that. you can take care of me!!!!!

"anyway, i'm gonna move onto level three," josh says, grabbing a card out of the next pile. "what has this conversation taught you about yourself?"

"a lot, actually," tyler chuckles. "mostly that i'm even more anxious than i previously thought. and that my view of love is too cynical, apparently."

"it is," josh tsks.

"whatever. my turn. oh my gosh. what do you think i fear the most?" tyler facepalms. "be nice to me."

"i think you're afraid of getting hurt."

"what gave you that impression?" tyler mutters, lightening up a bit when a laugh escapes josh.

"but if i can give some unsolicited advice?" he waits, continuing after tyler nods, "not everyone is a bad person. it's obvious you've been hurt before and you're weary because of it, but you don't have to be. not around me at least."

"yeah, that's what everyone says until they hurt you," tyler points out.

josh holds his hands up defensively. "i'm just saying. here, what's this one say?" he picks up another card. "wow, this is perfect. how does one earn your vulnerability?"

"it does not say that," tyler deadpans.

"it does." josh turns the card around as proof. tyler laughs, baffled.

"um... gosh, i don't know."

josh is silent, waiting for his answer.

"i guess just by being understanding and not judging. by proving that i can be vulnerable and that they're going to be there for me no matter what."

"have i done that?" josh asks genuinely, head tilted in curiosity.

tyler looks at him, considering. "you've started to," he admits. "but you're not quite there yet."

"damn. at least i've chipped away a bit of that wall."

the younger grabs the next card. "what do you think i should know about myself that perhaps i'm unaware of?"

tyler sets the card aside and looks at josh, waiting for a response. josh holds his gaze, making the brunette's heart flutter anxiously. it's silent for way too long before josh says, "that you're worthy of love."

his jaw drops slightly, josh's answer catching him off guard. he can feel tears forming behind his eyes, but quickly blinks them away. he goes to speak, but a lump forms in his throat. swallowing it down, he manages to squeak out, "really?"

"yes," josh smiles, reaching across the cards to put his hand on tyler's knee, "really. it doesn't seem like you know that."

tyler looks at the hand resting on his knee. his stomach fills with butterflies while his mind races like crazy. is this a normal interaction between friends? tyler doesn't think he'd ever talk like this with brendon or ryan. is josh trying to imply something? is he just being nice? tyler has no idea.

"oh," he says, his voice barely above a whisper. "thanks."

josh offers a smile, removing his hand and going to grab the final card. he flips it over. it tells them to use the notepad to write a message for the other player and that they can't open their message until they part ways. tyler hates this. he doesn't want to do it. he has no idea what josh could possibly write. he doesn't know what to say.

he looks at the blank sheet of paper, gnawing on his lower lip. he glances at josh and sees him scribbling away. sighing, he touches the pencil to the paper.

josh,
i lied when i said i didn't hate this game. i do hate it. it made me say things i've never really admitted out loud. weirdly enough, it felt okay admitting them to you. thank you for pushing me to open up. don't give up on me, i'll let you in eventually...maybe.

tyler decides that's good enough and folds the paper. he hands it to josh and takes his own folded up message, stuffing it in his pocket. he so desperately wants to tear it open and read it right now, but that would break the rules. he'll have to wait until he's alone.

"well, that was deeper than i expected."

"yeah." tyler finds himself smiling.

"we could watch a movie now?"

"like what?"

"i don't know. do you have any ideas?"

um, yes. tyler would love to turn on monsters inc and curl up with a stuffie more than anything right now. he feels mentally exhausted and emotionally drained and just wants to fall into little space and not worry about it anymore. he knows it's not a good idea, so he just shrugs.

"maybe a marvel movie, or something?"

"thor ragnarok?" tyler suggests.

josh grins. "i like your thinking. we dont have a tv, though, so we'll have to watch it on my laptop. we can just sit on the floor or something. is that okay?"

"my back hurts..." tyler mumbles. he stretches his legs out in front of him, rubbing his lower back. truthfully, it does, but he also kinda wants to sit close to josh in the small, twin-sized dorm bed.

"oh, we can sit on my bed then?"

"sure."

the boys position themselves on the bed horizontally, their feet hanging off the edge and their backs up against the wall. josh's laptop rests between them on top of each of their thighs. in order to keep it steady, they have to sit close enough for their thighs to be touching each other—kinda like how they sat under the blanket yesterday.

tyler doesn't know at what point in the movie he fell asleep. he's confused when he's awoken by someone shaking him gently. a small whine escapes him, the boy shutting his eyes tightly.

"tyler, the movie's over."

josh's voice is soft, barely above a whisper.

tyler groans in response, keeping his head resting on josh's shoulder. his arms snake their way around josh's bicep, hugging it tightly. he feels so sleepy and cozy. he doesn't want to wake up. he wants to snuggle and fall back asleep. josh is nice and warm. his arm, while incomparable to pablo, is comfy enough to nuzzle against.

"come on," josh urges, gently shaking his arm. "i'll take you home."

"uh-uh," tyler protests, only hugging josh's arm tighter. he feels rather small at the moment, yearning to be held and comforted. the boy inhales deeply, humming as josh's scent clouds his senses. his eyes are still shut tight.

"too tired?"

"mhm..."

"well, here, let me get up."

josh goes to move, but tyler only whines and tightens his grip. his thumb raises to his lips instinctively, but the boy stops himself and opts to chew on his fingernail.

"you can sleep here, but i still have to get up to put my computer away. did you bring a bag with you?"

"uh-uh."

"you can borrow some pajamas, then. you gotta let me get up, though."

"nooo..." tyler fusses. "comfy."

josh just chuckles. "you'd be a lot more comfy if you laid down."

"fine," tyler mutters. he releases his grip and opens his eyes just long enough to adjust himself so he's laying flat on josh's bed.

the older slides to the floor and puts his laptop away. he looks through his dresser for something that might fit tyler, but all his clothes are probably just a size too big. he settles on a pair of plaid pajama pants and one of his band tees.

"here, tyler."

said boy feels the articles of clothing get laid on top of him, but just hums in response.

"come on, put these on. you'll be a lot comfier."

tyler opens his eyes at that, half-sitting up as he examines the pajamas josh picked out for him. he smiles real wide at the sight of the t-shirt. it's the same one josh wore the very first time tyler met him.

"josh's?"

"yeah," josh grins. "because somebody didn't plan on spending the night but is too sleepy to go home."

a youthful giggle escapes tyler. "'m a sleepyhead."

"you are a sleepyhead," josh agrees. "here, i'll look away. just tell me when you're done changing. you should probably let someone know that you're staying here, too."

tyler takes his phone out of his pocket and hands it to josh. "ash'ey."

"oh, you want me to text her? well, here, your phone's locked." josh holds the phone to tyler's face, waiting for it to unlock. once it does, he turns away so tyler can change.

the little brunette lazily pulls off his shorts and slides into josh's pajama pants. he removes his shirt next, replacing it with the band tee.

"ashley sent you a few texts. want me to read them to you?"

"mhm," tyler hums, dropping his clothes on the ground. he sits criss-cross applesauce on the bed, giggling because of the fact that he's wearing josh's clothes!! they smell just like him and are just a little too big but they're super cozy!

"hey ty how's it going? everything alright? how you feeling? text me when you get a chance," josh reads.

tyler informs him he can turn around, so he does. he immediately examines tyler, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink while his lips curl into a smile. he doesn't make any comment about tyler wearing his clothes, but the boy wishes he does. doesn't he look cute!? surely, he must. maybe josh thinks so and just doesn't want to say it. why else would his face be red!?

"here, you can answer."

he goes to hand tyler back his phone but the boy shakes his head.

"oh, you want me to?"

tyler nods.

"what should i say?"

tyler shrugs.

josh thinks for a moment before he starts typing out a message. he shows it to tyler before hitting send.

hey, this is josh. tyler told me to text you. he's practically asleep in my bed as i write this. i offered to bring him back home but he said no. i think pete is staying at du tonight so he's totally okay to stay here. i'll walk him home in the morning

tyler approves the message and hits send. almost instantly, his phone starts to ring.

"it's ashley," josh chuckles.

tyler points at him.

"you want me to answer?"

he nods.

"okay." he slides the button to accept the call. "hey, it's josh."

tyler watches with hooded eyes, covering his mouth as he yawns loudly.

"she wants to talk to you," josh says, holding out the phone.

tyler whines, grabbing the phone and holding it to his ear. "hi."

"tyler! hey! you're staying there?"

"mhm."

"okay, i mean, i can come get you if you-"

"uh-uh."

"okay, okay. did you have fun tonight?"

"mhm," tyler smiles, looking to josh who eyes him curiously. "lotsa fun."

"good. you'll have to tell me all about it tomorrow. if you need anything call me, okay? i'll keep my ringer on when i go to bed tonight just in case."

"mkay."

"night, tiny."

tyler giggles at that. ashley knows him too well. "night-night."

he hangs up and hands the phone back to josh. without a word, tyler crawls under the comforter atop josh's bed, nuzzling himself into the cozy sheets. he's back asleep almost instantly, but his eyes shoot open when he feels josh tap his shoulder.

"i'm gonna make myself a bed on the floor, okay? i don't think pete would appreciate me sleeping in his bed. do you need anything?"

tyler frowns. he's kicking josh out of his own bed? maybe he should be sleeping on the floor instead! but josh's bed is so comfy...

josh offers a reassuring smile. "don't worry, i don't mind. do you need water or anything?"

"pablo," tyler says, instinctively patting the bed in search of his favorite stuffy.

"huh? who's that?"

"um..." the boy smiles sheepishly, his face growing hot. "stuffie..."

"hm? oh! a stuffed animal?" josh looks around his room. "uhhhhhh... i have this guy."

he places a stuffed leopard on the bed beside tyler. "our mascot! my mom got it for me as a gift when she helped me move in. s'cute right?"

tyler gasps softly, taking the leopard under his arm and hugging it against his chest. he hums contently, smiling at josh. "t'anks."

there's a hint of confusion and curiosity mixed on josh's face, but he returns tyler's smile. "no problem. anything else?"

tyler shakes his head, letting his eyes fall shut as he nuzzles his face into the stuffed animal. "night-night."

"goodnight, tyler."