Let's Recelebrate - Book 2 (a Joshler story)

♡ CCXXIII ♡

Tyler stayed on the bed for a few minutes, hopeful as he waited for Josh to come back, but his hope was gradually fading away as Josh was still not coming back. Tyler slid off the bed and he walked out the door on to the hallway. He walked to the bathroom and wanted to knock, but hesitated, and then he decided against it. He rested his back against the wall, letting his head fall back and land with a soft thump. He sighed softly, closing his eyes, but he didn't hear anything.

"...Josh?" Tyler spoke. It took a while for Josh to reply. "...yeah?" He heard the boy reply. "Uhm... did I say something wrong? Did I... make you uncomfortable?" Tyler asked. "N-no, no", Josh replied. "I- I'm not- I mean, you didn't- you didn't say anything wrong Ty, you didn't make me uncomfortable", Josh said. "I'm fine, Tyler. I- I'll be down in a minute okay", he said. Tyler frowned a little. "...down?" He asked. "Yeah, I- I'll see you downstairs", Josh replied.

Tyler's heart sank. He'd hoped he would've had some more quality time with Josh, just the both of them, but... maybe he wasn't lucky enough for that. Josh told him he'd see him downstairs. That was a very clear hint that he did not want Tyler to wait for him in Steve's room.

"...okay", Tyler replied simply. "I'll... be downstairs", Tyler said, and he waited to hear of Josh said anything else, but he didn't. Tyler sighed softly as he walked away and went downstairs.

"What's got you looking so sad all of a sudden?" Lucas asked with a frown. "I dunno, I'm not... sad, just... I said something and now Josh is... I don't know, upset or something", Tyler muttered. "...what did you say?" Steve asked. "I don't know", Tyler replied. "...c'mon, just tell us what you said so you can fix it", Lucas said. "No I genuinely do not know", Tyler said. "That's the problem. I asked if I said something wrong and he says I didn't, but... I was just tickling him and we were laughing and he was being all adorable as usual and then I just said love you like I've done so many times and he just... I don't know, his mood shifted and it felt like he got nervous and he said he was going to the bathroom and told me he'd see me downstairs", Tyler muttered.

"...do you think you saying that to him is what made him act that way?" Josh asked. Tyler lifted his shoulders. "I don't know, I really don't, I've been saying that to him all week", Tyler said. "Why suddenly it'd upset him?"

"I... I don't know, Ty", Lucas said softly. He wish he did. "I will go see if he's okay", Steve said, and Lucas and Tyler nodded. "Please tell him I'm sorry if I did something wrong", Tyler said. "I wanna tell him that in person too but... he told me I did nothing wrong and it's just kind of hard to believe, so... just let him know that okay", Tyler said. "I will baby", Steve said as he kissed Tyler's forehead before he went upstairs.

"Knock knock", Steve said as he knocked on the door. "It's me, Steve", he added. "...you okay, J?" He asked. "I- I'm fine", he heard Josh say softly. Steve hummed. "...wanna let me in, baby?" He asked. There was no answer.

But then the bathroom door unlocked and Steve didn't open it right away once it did. He then gently pushed the door open, seeing Josh sit on the ground, leaning against the sinks.

"Hi", Steve said, closing and locking the door behind him again. He sat down next to Josh on the floor, his back also against the sinks now. "What's on your mind J? What went wrong?" He asked. Josh sighed softly, shaking his head gently. "Nothing... nothing went wrong", he said. "I mean... Ty- he- he didn't do anything wrong", Josh tried to say. "I'm just... being dumb", he said as he softly shook his head at himself. "He's sorry, for whatever he did that upset you", Steve said. "No, no he- no he didn't upset me, I just- I- he didn't do something wrong at all", Josh said. "I... think it's just me", he muttered. "What do you mean?" Steve asked. "I mean that..." Josh trailed, but he didn't speak again. He remained silent.