Haha guess who had a panic attack while driving and can't stop crying?? This boy!!

<12:26 pm, Tuesday>

Four days until Thanksgiving. Tyler was more or less dreading it. Josh called his family, saying he wanted to spent the holiday with them. Of course, he mentioned Tyler would be tagging along. So he had no choice but to come.

They also planned on knocking out a few of their check marks from their bucket list. So Josh drove to their first location as Tyler bit his nails to the core in the passenger side.

"Welcome back to Blue Neighborhood."

The gas station, a frequent hang out from their childhood, had become rundown since they left. All that was left was a husk of the building.

Josh parked and they both walked to the pole farthest in the parking lot. Their initials stood out against the weathered concrete.

Tyler touched the marks gingerly. Nostalgia washed over him and suddenly tears flooded his visions.

The crash. The first crash. That was when this all began. The beginning of the end for them.

"I'm so sorry," Tyler whispered. Josh turned from where he set unlit firecrackers underneath the tire of a parked truck.

"What are you sorry for?" He asked.

Tyler sniffed. "I'm the reason why Ashley crashed that day. If I hadn't let her turn away, or if I hadn't left her in that burning car-"

"Hey." Josh grabbed Tyler by the shoulders, shaking him gently. "It's not your fault. You couldn't help her turning, she probably wouldn't have listened to you anyways. And you were in the right to leave. If you hadn't, you couldn't died too."

"But then we wouldn't be here," Tyler said. "I hate this. I have all of this. The pain, the mistakes, the loneliness. It's too much. If I had just died then-"

"I'm about to bitch slap if you don't stop," Josh warned.

"Right now, you're the only thing that keeps me going. Sure, that road leads to a dead end, but at least we're going to be together. I wish I could give you a reason to back out, but I can't. That doesn't mean I'm going to let your talk shit about yourself when you're the reason I'm even here."

Despite the obvious irony of saying Tyler is the only reason he's alive, Tyler nodded. "Sorry."

Josh chuckled, pulling Tyler into a hug. "Stop being sorry, you big dork."

"Sorry."

Tyler didn't let go until Josh received a call from his mother, asking if they were on their way to their house. They carved something new on the pole.

JD • TJ
goodbye

Josh left the firecrackers as "one final prank" before they left, back on the highway towards Josh's family house.

"Where did your parents move to, again?" Tyler asked, fiddling with the car door lock.

"Somewhere far away, I know that much. I have the address on my phone."

He cranked up the volume as they drove silently for another twenty minutes. A thought popped into Tyler's head, and he couldn't stop himself from blurting, "How come we always end up like this?"

Josh glanced at him from the corner of his eye.

"What do you mean?"

"Like-" Tyler sighed, rubbing his eyes. "How do we always end up in the wrong place at the wrong time together? Like when you moved on my street when I was eight, then when you showed up in the Sweet Revenge that day, and again on that website. This time two years ago, we were ready to rip out each other's throats if the opportunity showed itself. Now, we're like-"

"Suicide buddies?"

Tyler nodded. "Well, I didn't want to say it like that..."

"That's exactly what we are, though. And I guess it's fate for us to be together."

Tyler snorted. "Is that fate or bad luck?"

Josh laughed sarcastically. "Funny. Glad you lost your will to live rather than your humor."

"Seriously, though," Tyler said. "It was no coincidence that we ended up finding each other through the chat."

"Destiny. A very fucked up destiny."

"Damn straight." Tyler looked at Josh. "I tried to forget you, but the road always ends with you."

Josh smiled. "I guess it is bad luck, then."