tyler was the first on the bus, sitting in the way front where he knew most kids would avoid. he placed his oxygen tank on the seat next to him to take up space, making it so that no one would be able to sit next to him. he plugged his earbuds in and played børns, 'overnight sensation' replacing the commotion around him.

he was startled a bit when someone lifted his tank and put it in their own lap, seating themselves with him. tyler yanked his left earbud out and was about to make a snarky comment when he rolled his eyes at who it was.

"i'm starting to get a stalker vibe from you," tyler mumbled, glaring at the yellow haired boy who was smiling brightly. "when will i get a break?"

"i'm like herpes; when you think i'm finally gone i always come back." josh smirked and watched fondly as dulcet giggles bubbled out of tyler's mouth, a sound he had decided he never wanted to stop.

"you're gross," tyler said as he regained his composure and earned a modest shrug from josh.

"so what stop is yours?" josh asked. "i get off at elm street."

tyler thought for a minute before remembering what his mom had told him that morning. "this bus stops at main street, right? because that's where i'm getting off."

"main street? yeah, that's like three stops before my own."

tyler nodded and grinned as his favorite børns song, 'past lives', came on. josh heard his small hums to the tune of the song, basking in the soft, melodic noise that emitted from the small boy.

"børns?" josh questioned with a chuckle, admiring the pretty, pink hue that dusted over tyler's cheeks.

"i was humming?" tyler suddenly became timid, worry etched across his expression.

"mhm, past lives, right?"

"you listen to børns?" tyler was suddenly curious, josh didn't strike him as the type of person to listen to him.

"my younger sister listens to him and always calls dibs on the aux cord so i've slowly gained appreciation for him," josh said, peering over tyler's shoulder to inspect their surroundings. "your stop is after this next one."

"oh, okay. thanks." tyler began to get his stuff ready, lifting his backpack onto his shoulder and grabbing his oxygen tank from josh's lap. the bus slowed to a stop and tyler stood from his spot, wiggling past josh and into the aisle (slightly nervous that he was sticking his butt in josh's face).

"see you tomorrow?" josh sounded hopeful, his words coming off as more of a question than a statement.

"yeah, see you tomorrow."

and with a small wave tyler was off of the bus, starting on his short walk to his house. it was only about a minute walk, which tyler was thankful for. it could've been longer.

he kicked small pebbles in his path, devising a plan on how he would set brendon up with josh.

"call me cupid," he whispered to himself, walking up the front steps of his new house.

•••

fun fact: all time low said the "i'm like herpes" thing when i saw them in concert a while back and it's still the funniest thing to me.
-carina