The first thing Tyler noticed when Josh appeared on his door step was the giant welt forming underneath his eye.

The second thing he noticed was Patrick clinging onto him, shaking and crying.

The third thing he noticed was that it was almost eight at night and they were standing in the pouring rain.

"Hey," Tyler began, instantly worried. "Come in," he pulled them both in and shut the door.

"Ty–" Josh began, choking on a sob.

"What happened?"

"They found out."

"About?"

"First they found Patrick's presents from his birthday and were already pissed at me about that so they either smashed all his stuff or threw it away, then they found out about Ditch Day and it got worse."

"Oh shit," Tyler gently ran his finger over the bump on Josh's face, pulling away when he winced. "Who did this?"

"My mom," he whispered. "My dad was a lot nicer about it. He just yelled at me."

"Are you okay, Patrick?" Tyler asked the still shaking boy.

"I'm cold, I'm scared, and I don't want to be in that house anymore."

"Trick..." Josh tried.

"At this point I don't care if we get separated," Patrick began crying. "I can't handle them anymore."

"Tyler who's at the– oh!" Kelly came into the living room, carrying a basket of folded laundry. She instantly set it down and hurried over to the two wet, shivering boys. "Honey, what happened?"

"He hit his head on a sink," Tyler told her.

"Then why'd he come here?"

"My parents can't afford to take me to the doctor and you're a nurse so I assumed you could help, but if not we can leave—"

"No, it's alright, honey," Kelly shushed him. "Why'd your bring Patrick?"

"He loves it here so much he wouldn't let me leave without him," Josh forced a laugh, wiping his tears.

"Madison!" Kelly called.

A second later, you could hear a door being opened and Madison came down the stairs. "Yes, Mommy?"

"Patrick's here. Why don't you go take him upstairs and you guys can play?"

"Patrick!" she gasped happily, running down the stairs and hugging him. "Oh, ew. You're wet," she pulled away a scrunched her nose up.

"Sorry," Patrick mumbled.

"That's okay!" Madison perked up. "You can use my Mulan blanket to cover up with if you're cold."

"Okay," Patrick responded glumly, following her upstairs.

"Let's take you to the bathroom to fix you up," Kelly said to Josh, motioning for him to follow her. Tyler saw Josh warily glance at him and he gave him a reassuring smile and walked with him.

Once they entered, Kelly rummaging through the cupboard for what Tyler assumed was the first aid kit. "Hey, honey? Can you go get me an ice pack from the freezer?"

"Sure," Tyler replied, walking into the kitchen and opened the top door of the fridge, searching around for the object. He quickly spotted it, grabbing it out and heading back to the bathroom again.

"All this happened because of a sink?" Kelly asked as she examined Josh's cheek.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Oh, don't call me ma'am. It makes me feel old," she joked, grabbing the ice pack from Tyler.

"Sorry, ma'am–oh, sorry," he replied sheepishly.

"It's okay," Kelly laughed gently. "It looks like you also have a cut by your welt. You must've scratched it on something."

"I am pretty clumsy," Josh let out another forced laugh.

"I'm gonna put some Neosporin on the cut with a bandaid and then you can hang out here for a little bit with Tyler and use this ice pack. It should be good in about an hour," she explained as she began putting the ointment on Josh.

"Thank you, Mrs. Joseph," Josh said sincerely, looking up at her with glossy eyes.

"Anytime, honey," Tyler watched her smile sadly as she carefully set the bandage on the cut. "Here you go," she handed him the ice pack. "Do you need to call your parents and let them know you'll be staying for a bit?"

"Ah, it's alright. I told them I'd probably be here awhile."

Kelly nodded. "Okay. Tyler, can you take him upstairs?"

"Yeah," he waited for Josh to hop off the counter before he lead him up the stairs and into his bedroom. "Sorry about the mess," he gestured to the unmade bed and the piles of clothes on the ground.

"It's alright," Josh assured him, sitting down on the bed. "It's still nicer than my room."

"Speaking of your house," Tyler began. "Aren't you gonna get in trouble for sneaking out with Patrick?"

"My parents left to go to a bar with their disgusting friends, they won't be back until early this morning."

"You sure?"

"Mhm," he nodded. "They do this a lot."

"How'd you get a cut on your welt?"

"My mom's ring caught it," he explained shamefully.

"God, I'm so angry."

"Why?"

"Because, Josh, they treat you two like actual garbage and you still have enough respect to call them Mom and Dad. They don't deserve you guys. I know you only have a couple more weeks but seriously, it's ridiculous. You've put up with it for so long."

"I'm used to it, it's alright."

"No it's not!" Tyler yelled, making Josh flinch. "Hey, I'm sorry," he softened his voice. "I'm not mad at you."

"I know," Josh whispered. "I'm sorry."

"Look at me," Tyler said, making Josh snap his head up instantly. "You have absolutely no reason to be sorry," he took a seat next to Josh, making him tilt his body so that they could talk easier.

"I feel like I do," Josh whispered, biting his lip.

"Stop biting your lip, it's gonna start bleeding."

"Sorry– god I'm really bad at this," he laughed sadly.

"I just don't want you to hurt yourself. You're beautiful," Tyler mumbled the last sentence. Fuck.

"What?"

"Nothing," he quickly said, hoping to cover it up.

"You just said I was beautiful," Josh cracked a smile.

"Uh," Tyler blushed and scratched the back of his neck. "No homo though."

"Mhm, sure," Josh teased.

"Josh..." Tyler sighed. "I–"

He was cut off when Josh lightly pressed his lips to Tyler's, kissing him quickly, but long enough to leave the brunette's lips tingling.

"What was that for?" Tyler asked, blushing even more.

"It was a thank you," Josh's face began heating up as well. Quickly, Tyler pinched his arm. "What was that for?" Josh laughed.

"I wanted to make sure that I wasn't dreaming. It's not everyday you get kissed by an angel."

"You're such a fuckboy," Josh joked again before going stoic. "Oh, no."

"What?"

"Um, I have to go," Josh hopped up and set the ice pack on his friend's nightstand.

"Wait, why?" Tyler repeated, standing up as well.

He watched Josh peer into Madison's room through the open door. "We gotta go, Trick."

"So soon?" Patrick pouted.

"Yes, come on," Josh said seriously. His little brother instantly got up, waving goodbye to his friend.

"Josh? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Josh replied, hurrying down the stairs. "We gotta go, Mrs. Joseph. Thanks again."

"You're welcome, honey."

"I'll see you at school tomorrow," Josh mumbled.

"Wait, Josh–" he was cut off by the door shutting. "I was just gonna ask if you wanted a ride home," Tyler mumbled sadly. "But never mind."