I know this is technically Josh's point of view but him sitting in a bathroom gets rather boring to write and I can assume to read as well so it switches to Tyler's for a split second.

Also there is use of homophobic slurs in this chapter. It's only in one sentence but Tyler opens up about his sexuality and how he was bullied for it so please skip if you need to.

The date was now May twelfth. Josh and his friends would be graduating next week. It had been two days since Josh had even looked at Tyler, let alone talk to him. Lunch had been very awkward and hanging out in their friend group in general was awkward. It's not like Tyler hasn't tried, Josh definitely noticed his constant pestering, but he just wouldn't give the brunette the time of day.

"I can't believe we're graduating in a week," Hayley decided to strike up conversation while they ate lunch.

"Everything has just flown by," Brendon commented.

"It really has," Dallon agreed.

"I just now realize we've never talked about this. What are you guys doing after high school?"

"No," Brendon snorted. "My parents refuse to help pay with college now so I'll probably just become a bum musician who smokes all day or something."

"I'm taking a gap year," Dallon offered. "I'm gonna go spend the summer with my aunt in Utah."

"What?" Josh asked, instantly invested in the conversation. "You didn't tell me this."

"I guess I forgot to," Dallon frowned. "You've been spending so much time with Tyler lately I forgot to tell you. I'm sorry."

"Well you don't have to worry about that anymore," Josh mumbled.

"Okay," Hayley slammed her hand on the table, making everyone jump a bit. "What's going on? What's your guys' problem?"

No response.

"Hello?" she asked, extremely irritated.

"I don't know!" Tyler told her, frustrated. "I don't know why he's ignoring me!"

"Josh?" she turned to him, waiting for an answer. He didn't reply. "Josh," she said, more demandingly. No reply.

"Josh...?" Brendon tried. No reply.

"Josh," Dallon said. "What's wrong?"

That was when Josh snapped. "I'm ignoring you because I like you a whole lot but I can't like you because you don't care! You've slept with so many other girls only to dump them the next day and forget about them. Tyler, I do truly like you, but I can't," he started out yelling and then his rant fizzled into a calm yet sad tone of voice.

"Josh–"

"I'm going to the bathroom," he interrupted, picking up his bag and slinging it over his shoulder before getting up and leaving.

"Josh..." Tyler said quietly, knowing he couldn't hear him.

"You really like him, don't you?" Dallon asked.

"God yes," he groaned, putting his hands over his face. "And I shouldn't, but I do."

"Go talk to him," Dallon said.

"He's mad."

"So?" he scoffed. "He might yell at you for a second but he's a sweetheart, he'll let you explain."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"Alright..." Tyler picked up his own bag, slinging it over his shoulder.

"Good luck," Hayley shouted, making him roll his eyes but smile nonetheless.

Tyler walked down the hall and stopped at the bathroom closest to the cafeteria. Taking a deep breath, he opened he door and walked in. He was about to call Josh's name when he heard sniffling from the last stall. He peered at the ground and saw Josh's beat up shoes. Walking over to him, he gently wrapped his knuckles on the stall. "Josh?"

"Go away," he mumbled.

"I wanna talk."

"I don't."

He sighed. "Please."

"No."

"Please," he repeated, more broken sounding this time.

Josh sniffled again before wiping his eyes and getting up off the ground. He opened the stall and looked at Tyler. "What?"

"I'm gay," he said quickly. "Oh my God."

Josh blinked. "What?"

"I've never said that aloud."

"What do you mean?"

Tyler looked at him, tears welling in his eyes. "I'm gay," he repeated."

"You just said that..." Josh told him, feeling worried now that he was crying. "Wait, you being gay doesn't make any sense."

"Come here," Josh watched Tyler wipe his eyes before sliding down to the ground by the sinks, patting the space next to him. "Story time."

"Okay?" Josh complied, sitting on the floor next to him.

"So y'know how I told you I got with a ton of girls because I have attachment issues after what happened with my dad?" Josh nodded. "Well that's not completely why. It's a part of it but there's a bigger picture."

"Continue..."

"Back in middle school I was a scrawny little boy. I was kinda weird too. Didn't have many friends. Anyway, I got picked on a lot. My voice was kind of squeaky and kids liked to call me names."

"What kind of names?" Josh asked, hoping they weren't what he thought they were.

"Twink, fag, gaylord– which was fucking dumb only middle schoolers could come up with gaylord."

"Oh."

"Mhm," Tyler laughed humorlessly. "It sucked. It went on like this for three years. Even into freshman year. And then," he took a shaky breath. "And then my dad died. He would always tell me not to listen to them. He would always cheer me up when I was having a rough day. And when he was gone, he couldn't do that anymore.

"I got really depressed. I didn't ever do anything harmful but I became even quieter than I was and alienated myself from everyone. My mom thought moving us into a new house on the other side of town would help, so we could get a fresh start. That's when I was enrolled here. I made it my mission to not be the little gay kid that everyone picks on. I got into the wrong crowd. Started smoking, drinking, skipping school. I started hitting on girls and going to parties and next thing I know I was sleeping with them.

"It hurt at first. Y'know, a big piece of you ripped away, but then I just felt numb. It stopped meaning something to me," Tyler paused. "The funny thing is, I don't even know who I lost my virginity to."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Tyler waved him away. "I figured if I showed everyone that I slept with girls I'd stopped being called those names. It worked, but I just kept lying to myself. And then you waltzed into my life and ruined it all," he laughed again, but this time sadly. "You made my feelings for guys resurface. And it was scary."

"You have feelings for me?" Josh asked.

"One hundred percent," Tyler replied, looking into Josh's eyes. He slowly leaned in and Josh did as well. They were about to connect when the door opened.

"Hey are you guys– oh am I ruining a moment?"

"Yes, Brendon," Tyler groaned, making Josh laugh.

"Got it," he gave a thumbs up. "We'll see you when you're ready," he left the bathroom, leaving the two alone.

"I promise you that I will never use you," Tyler told him.

"I trust you."

"Good," Tyler smiled, pulling Josh in for a kiss.