Enamored //joshler

7. turmoil

tyler hops out of bed, looking down at the baggy clothing covering his frame. "should i change orrr?"

"oh, it's fine." josh waves his hand. "you can just give them back to me another time."

the brunette nods. "kay."

"i have an extra toothbrush, too, for you to use."

tyler takes it from josh's extended hand. the latter leads him down the hallway into the communal bathroom. there's a shelf in the bathroom where josh reaches into a shower caddy and grabs a tube of toothpaste and toothbrush.

they stand at two sinks next to each other in the empty bathroom. tyler extends his toothbrush for josh, watching as the boy squeezes a glob of toothpaste onto it for him. they exchange a smile and tyler mumbles a thank you before they fall silent, the only sounds between them being the scrubbing of teeth.

tyler feels awkward. he can't tell if josh does too. the brunette is quick to spit out the toothpaste, quickly rinsing his mouth out with water from the sink. he hates the taste of toothpaste and the way it burns his mouth. it's horrible. he stands and waits patiently for josh to finish.

once they're done, josh returns his items to the shelf. he asks, "have you ever been to main street cafe?"

"a few times," tyler says. "i like it."

"we'll go there, then."

they stop back at josh's room so josh can grab his backpack. he says he has homework he needs to do after breakfast. he also packs tyler's clothes in his bag so the boy can bring them home after breakfast. they then begin the journey to the cafe. it's a short walk, of course, and is actually closer to tyler's house than josh's dorm. tyler has only ever seen the cafe bustling with students, but only a few are scattered around the tables. it must be too early in the morning. not to mention it's a saturday—most kids are probably still sleeping or too hungover.

"what're you thinking?" josh asks while the two of them look over the chalkboard menu.

"uhhh i think ill get a strawberry banana smoothie and peanut butter jelly toast."

"that sounds good."

"what about you?"

"same thing i always get," josh says, continuing when tyler raises an eyebrow, "everything bagel with cream cheese and an almond joy iced coffee."

"almond joy? never heard of almond joy coffee before." tyler doesn't like coffee, but that doesn't sound half bad.

"it's pretty good, actually. it's like chocolate and coconut flavored, like an almond joy."

"oh."

the person in front of them finishes ordering so they step up to the counter.

"what can i get for ya?"

josh speaks first, "i'll get a medium almond joy iced coffee and a toasted everything bagel with cream cheese."

"okay, anything else?"

tyler expects josh to say no because he assumed they were paying separately, but he continues.