Start song: sit next to me by foster the people

Tyler spent every single lunch after that first one in Josh's office. He had been skeptical at first, because he thought it was kinda of weird to spend lunch without his friends, plus, he was worried that Josh didn't actually want him there. But every time he knocked on Josh's office door, Josh would just give him this look that made butterflies rise to his stomach.

He would smile and usher him inside and then set him up on Netflix while he did work and ate. The eating part was thanks to Tyler, he kept having to remind him to eat. He'd learnt that Josh didn't use his lunch break to actually eat lunch most of the time. So, even though Josh was an adult and perfectly capable of feeding himself, Tyler still had to remind him to eat when he got too caught up in his work.

And, between the 4 days that he ate lunch there, every day just got better and better.

On Tuesday, Josh freaking held his hand while they watched the rest of fight club (Josh had insisted on skipping some of the sexual and really gory parts when he noticed Tyler getting small)  and then he had kissed the top of his hand to reassure him that he was safe. Tyler had blushed so hard he was speechless for the rest of lunch.

Sure his friends gave him little pecks on the cheeks all the time but this was Josh, the guy he had a huge crush on, his daddy? (That part still didn't feel fully clear even though they'd talked about. He hated to admit that he was nervous to actually address Josh as his daddy, but god he was.), Josh was different, he was more than a friend.

On Wednesday Josh brought him chocolate chip cookies, a dozen of them secured inside a plastic container, plus he'd bought him some milk from the cafeteria before Tyler had even arrived to his office. They hadn't really spoken about why Tyler kept coming back to eat with him but it was like Josh knew that he would.

It just worked, Josh didn't need to ask him why he kept coming back and Tyler didn't need to ask Josh why he let him. They both knew why, even without admitting it aloud, subconsciously, they knew each-others reasons. Even though Tyler found their relationship a little confusing, it still made so much more sense to him than anything else in his life. He had never gotten along with a single person as well as he did with Josh.

By Thursday, Tyler had begun to anticipate his lunch's with Josh. They had quickly become the highlight of his days, especially because he'd googled if it was weird to eat lunch with your teacher. And it turned out, it wasn't. A lot of people did it, which was mainly why he stopped sneaking into his office suspiciously and just walked in like he was a student in need of help, because really, he was.

He started being more open around Josh too, more specifically about the fact that that he liked him. It wasn't much of a secret anymore, although he had blatantly admitted to liking Josh, he'd never specified in what way. So, he started flirting.

Flirting, he wasn't sure exactly how to go about it and he was aware that he might've been doing it previously without realizing it. Off handed compliments were common for him, he didn't even realize he was saying them until said person was saying thank you. This was different though because being aware that he was going to attempt to flirt with him was intimidating.

So he started slowly, or as slow as he knew how to go and really he wasn't sure if his attempts even counted.

As soon as his lunch had started he'd rushed to his locker, grabbed his bag and speed walked to Josh's office. Which was on the opposite end of the school. He still felt guilty about ditching his friends at lunch but they'd understand once he explained to them what was going on. If he ever did.

He didn't even bother knocking once he got there, he just walked in, it's was less suspicious that way. "Mr.Dun?" He asked, just to be cautious of the students around him. He immediately frowned though, because Josh wasn't there yet, his desk was clean and his chair was empty. He debated waiting outside but ended up going inside anyways. And instead of curling up in one of the arm chairs like he usually did, he sat down on the chair adjacent to Josh's and placed his lunchbox on the desk.

For the next five minutes he sat there awkwardly waiting for Josh and eating goldfish crackers. He was starting to get anxious about being alone in his office, if anyone asked he would say he had a meeting with him or something like that. He wasn't really sure how to go about it.

Eventually the door creaked open though and all of Tylers nerves disappeared.

"Oh," A voice said from behind him, Tyler turned his head around so he could see. He melted, his eyes widened a little and god he was blushing already and Josh hadn't even said a word. Really, his entire body heated up. Josh's hair, was gone. Shaved to his scalp in a perfect cut. Tyler gaped a little bit just from the shock and bluntly let his eyes roam. Out of all the things he expected Josh to do to his hair, shaving it all off, hadn't been one of them. And not only was his hair different, he was wearing new glasses that had pretty golden frames.

"Hey." Josh smiled, eyes crinkling and maybe Tyler's mouth was still open in shock and admiration. And maybe his eyes followed Josh as he walked around his desk to sit down and maybe he was blushing so hard it was embarrassing.

"Hi." Tyler managed, regretting his choice in seating for the day. He was way too close to him. Which shouldn't be a problem but he had a tiny issue with staring.

Josh shrugged off his sweater, pulling it over his head, a sliver of the pale skin of his stomach came into view when his shirt rode up. "How'd you get here before me?" Josh asked, voice muffled as he slid his hoodie up and over his head.

"Ty?"

"Run." Tyler's mouth was dry, he averted his eyes.

Josh looked at him, eye brows raised.

"I-uh ran." Tyler corrected, he was flustered as he usually was around Josh, but maybe he was a little more flustered than usual. Especially with Josh looking like that. He knew that in a few minutes he'd feel more comfortable though, Josh always made sure of it.

"Are you okay?" Josh sat down across from him and placed his coffee and lunch down on his desk. "Are you having second thoughts about Saturday?"

He was, but not because he didn't want to go, but because he was nervous, there was no way he could think about going over to Josh's house and not feel nervous about it. "Yeah," Tyler nodded and quickly realized his mistake when Josh frowned a little. "No, I mean No. I'm okay. I'm not having second thoughts or anything like that, i'm just kind of anxious I guess." God, Josh made it hard for him to voice his thoughts sometimes. He wasn't the type of person to get flustered so easily but apparently that was quickly changing.

"It's gonna be fun." Josh smiled adoringly at him, reaching across his desk to squeeze Tyler's hand. "God, you're cute."

Tyler smile and squeezed Josh's hand back before carefully intertwining their fingers together. "I like your hair," Tyler said with a small smile and a blush high on his cheeks. "Or well, lack of hair? It looks good."

"Thank you." Josh smiled at him and took a sip of his coffee with his free hand, Tyler was glad he wasn't going to pull away from their hand holding so soon. "I wanted my natural hair back and shaving off all the dyed hair was the easiest way, plus it'll be healthy once it grows back, which is nice."

Tyler'a thumb circled along Josh's skin, softly going over the bumps of his knuckles. "Was it not healthy before? It looked......really soft."

Josh smiled at him. "Yeah, it looked, but it felt like straw. I made the mistake of bleaching it on my own. I don't recommend it."

"I have no plans to dye my hair so I don't think that's something I have to worry about." Tyler talked as he pulled out his lunch out of his lunchbox with one hand, it was a bit more difficult to open it but he was stubborn and determined to not let go of Josh.

"Good," Josh replied easily. "And not that it wouldn't suit you, but I think your hair is perfect how it is."

"Stop complimenting me," Tyler murmured, and pulled out a peanut butter sandwhich and immediately bit into it. "I don't know how to answer without being super awkward." Which was embarrassing to admit, but it was honest and being honest with him felt good.

"You're doing fine." Josh told him sincerely. He was always just as honest with him which was something Tyler liked, lying to each other wasn't a part of their relationship and he hoped it stayed that way. He trusted Josh a lot at this point.

"Can we talk about Saturday?"

"Second thoughts?" Tyler chuckled shyly, pulling some of the crust off of his sandwhich.

"Nope, more like i'm trying to figure out what we should do."

"I can bring some of my little stuff," He suggested. He didn't have very much but he had enough at he kept it in a bin underneath his bed. Tyler suddenly had a good idea and he really hoped Josh would let him do it considering it was his house. "Oh my god, can we make a fort? I know that sounds kind of lame but like, i've never made one and I actually really want to."

"That's actually a amazing idea, we can definitely make a fort." Josh replied and then he let go of Tyler's hand and Tyler frowned a little until he realized Josh was just going to start eating his food. Good, he wanted Josh to eat.

"Should we make a list of things to do?" Tyler asked. "Or is that dumb?" And then he took another bite of his sandwhich.

"Mhm, how about we make a list of foods you like first and then come back to that." Josh said. "I honestly have no idea what to feed you."

"Taco bell." Tyler suggested, it was the first thing that came to mind. And even though technically it wasn't a food, they sold food that he liked.

Josh nodded and wrote something down on a pad of paper. "How about homemade tacos instead?" Tyler blushed at the thought of Josh cooking for him, but he didn't want Josh to feel like he had to do so much to accommodate him. He didn't like being a guest at peoples houses because he felt like a burden most of the time and having Josh cook dinner for him would definitely be too much.

So he shrugged and said. "How about Chipotle instead? That's easier."

Josh laughed. "Tyler, c'mon, let me cook for you."

"But that's a lot of work." Tyler tapped his fingers on his thighs anxiously.

"It's really not." Josh grinned. "Trust me, I want to. I really like cooking."'

Tyler nodded, god Josh was cute when he was being all insistent with him. "Fine."

"Snacks?" Josh asked.

"Dry cereal, like fruit loops oh, or waffle crisp."

"How about fruit and vegetables?" And Josh started noting more things down.

"Josh," Tyler whined. He knew he was being slightly whiny, and maybe a little bit bratty but he had a good feeling that Josh liked him like this. He didn't actually care what they did or what food he ate, currently anyways, maybe when he was in little space he'd be pickier but currently all he wanted was to just be there with Josh.

"There's no way i'm just feeding you junk sweetie." Josh still smiled though, a cute teasing one and it made Tyler's stomach swirl. God, he really liked Josh.

"Can we at-least have dessert if you're going to make me eat healthy?"

"We can make cookies." Josh suggested.

"What about brownies?" Tyler sat on the edge of his chair,. "Wait, or both?"

Josh raised an eyebrow and lifted a hand as to go through his hair but then faltered when he realized he didn't have any hair to touch. "I'll think about it."

They ended up settling on most of what Josh had suggested, with a few of Tyler's unhealthy options thrown into the mix. Josh seemed to find his sweet tooth funny, because whenever he'd suggest something healthy for a snack, Tyler would counter it with a dessert or just plain junk. Really, it wasn't painting him a good image but it was friendly banter and it had Tyler laughing all throughout lunch.

Everything Josh would say would make him laugh near the end of their hour, he was too giggly to stop. It was nice to just talk to him, even if it was about silly stuff and even if their current conversation lacked any real topic of substance.

And by the time he had to go to class, Josh's class to be specific, he was still smiling and he walked around to Josh's side of the desk and gave him a big tight hug. And maybe he took a deep breath when he hugged him because Josh smelled really good. And maybe Josh noticed but didn't say anything and in turn just squeezed him a little bit harder.

*

After school ended Brendon caught up with him, he hadn't been ignoring him but he may have been avoiding him today solely because he didn't want him to ask him too many questions about what he was doing this weekend. Tyler could lie, he did it often but out of everyone, Brendon could tell when he was lying. He just always knew and Tyler definitely wasn't in the mood for Brendon to grill him until he told him the truth.

None of his friends could know he was going over to Josh's, especially not him. Tyler had recently come to the conclusion that they wouldn't approve, as much as they all joked about hot teachers and dating older men, they were all minors, except Tyler. Tyler was the oldest, he'd been held back one year in elementary school which meant he was with 17 year olds up until January came around and everyone started turning 18. So, as much as Tyler liked to believe that his friends wouldn't care and would be okay with it, he knew they wouldn't.

They'd be worried that Josh was taking advantage, which then in turn would make Tyler worried that Josh was taking advantage of him. He knew he wasn't though, their relationship felt healthy and safe and even with their age difference and power imbalance, Tyler didn't feel below Josh. He felt equal to him. His feelings wouldn't matter if his friends found out though, they wouldn't think it was equal, which was why Tyler wasn't going to tell them what he was doing until after graduation.

They definitely couldn't know until then.

When Brendon approached him he pulled him into a hug before doing anything else.

"Want to come over this weekend?" Brendon asked, playfully elbowing him in the ribs before he leaned against the row of lockers beside him.

Tyler groaned and shut his own locker. He couldn't tell him what was going on and he was a terrible liar. "Sorry, i've got too much homework and stuff to do."

He raised an eyebrow, clearly unsure and suspicious of the lie Tyler was feeding him. "Since when has that ever been a problem?"

Tyler groaned. "Just, not this weekend okay?"

Brendon sighed but luckily, didn't ask questions and didn't try and grill him. Thank god. "Fine, but we need to hang out. It feels like I haven't seen you all week."

Tyler grinned and slid his backpack on. "How about I sleepover on Sunday?"

"Deal." Brendon offered Tyler his pinky. "Gotta swear on it dude."

Tyler rolled his eyes but hooked their pinkies together. "I promise." He tugged. "Just gotta ask my parents, not that they'd say no."

"Mhm, i'm going on a date with Dallon tonight." Brendon wiggled his eyebrows and god did Tyler wish he could talk about how he was going over to Josh's house. "I'm gonna get some dick." Brendon said, way too loud.

"Oh please shut up." Tyler groaned. "Can Dallon drive me home first?"

Brendon nodded. "For sure."

*

Friday passed faster then Thursday, even though he didn't get to eat lunch with Josh that day. Josh wasn't even in school apparently which is something he had definitely failed to tell him. Still Tyler understood, it was teacher stuff, they have meetings and sometimes have to get a sub to replace them. Which is exactly what happened. Tyler found himself disappointed when he walked in for first period english but wasn't met with Josh's pretty face.

Tyler had just wished Josh had mentioned it to him. Still that didn't really matter in the end because that didn't keep them from texting, all throughout the day. Tyler really didn't know how Josh had the time to text him so much, either his meetings were really boring or he just didn't care about them enough.

Tyler had started it in English class when he realized Josh was gone. And it had continued all day long.

so, where are you?
sent 9:01 am

Work formation thing, well I will be. It hasn't started yet.
sent 9:04 am

the extra work you gave us sucks.
sent 9:05  am

I am so sorry that you don't like vocab. sent 9:05 am

Deal with it baby boy.
sent 9:05 am

vocab makes me :)
sent 9:05  am

WAIT NO I MEANT :( ****
sent 9:05 am

Sure :)) Is anyone actually working?
sent 9:06 am

ummmmmmm, yes 100%
sent 9:06 am

Okay so no.
sent 9:07 am

BIG no
sent 9:07

Why am I not surprised? You guys barely work when i'm actually in class.
sent 9:08

I work!!!!
sent 9:08

But do you work because you're a good student or because you want to be good for me?
sent 9:08 am

Tyler had blushed profusely at that one, Josh had definitely just called him out.

! both
sent 9:11 am

im excited for tmr btw, i already packed my stuff
sent 9:11 am

You're cute.
sent 9:12

The meeting is starting, ill text you later.
sent 9:12

And by later, he ended up meaning in 5 very short minutes.

*

IM SO SORRY, I feel so bad and guilty for not updating this. So here's half of the really long chapter i promised.

ANYWAYS, '10' DAYS UNTIL TRENCH. But it could be less, if y'all haven't noticed they've been hinting at an earlier release date.