In The Dark - {joshler au}

10. First Date (pt. 1)

Tyler woke up the next morning with butterflies in his stomach. He was telling the truth when he told Josh he had never been on an actual date, and now that he was going on one with someone he truly liked, he was nervous. After showering, he spent about an hour trying on different outfits (Josh had told him to dress comfortably; what he normally wears is fine) before finally settling on a light blue button-up shirt with black skinny jeans and powder blue Vans. He went back and forth on whether or not he wanted to wear cologne, whether or not he wanted to bring his cigarettes, whether or not he wanted to wear bracelets, and eventually he collapsed on the bed as he cursed to himself.

A single chuckle had him sitting up quickly, making eye contact with his mom's smirking face. "Something bothering you, Ty?"

The boy's face flushed gently as he played with his fingers, eyes cast down to his lap. "I can't figure out what to accessorize with," he admitted quietly.

Making a small humming noise, she walked into the room and sat next to her son on his bed. "And, uh," she started carefully, taking his hand in hers, "what are you having such a hard time deciding what to accessorize for?"

Tyler's lips quipped up gently as he turned to look at his mom, not missing the smile behind her eyes. "Josh asked me out on a date."

Now, Tyler's mom has never seemed to him like the kind of person who would've been one of the squealing types of girls in her teen years, but he was absolutely proved wrong the moment a loud shriek left her lips and she tackled him in a hug. The two of them laughed as she began to gush, wanting to know every detail of how this turn of events transpired, and squeaking in happiness every time she thought a part of it was 'cute.' At the end of it all, he let out a deep sigh. "And now I can't even decide on the smallest things! Bracelets or no bracelets? Cigarettes or no cigarettes? Should I bring my wallet? It's rude to expect him to pay for everything we're going to do, isn't it? Do I stink? Should I–"

"Ty!" She interjected, trying hard to contain her laughter. "Honey, you're overthinking this. This is Josh, sweetie. He was your friend before any of this that's happening right now. Do what you'd normally do if you were just hanging out for the day. Bring your wallet, because it's good to have your ID even if you're not paying for anything. Don't bring your cigarettes, because then you'll smell like cigarettes all day and the cologne will be for nothing. If you wear the bracelets normally, then wear them today. Don't over complicate this, baby. Josh is your friend above everything else. Remember that."

Those words eased Tyler's tension so much that when he released a breath, he felt about ten pounds lighter. "You're right, Mom," he said, letting out a small laugh as he shook his head. "I guess I'm just nervous because... Well, I really like him, Momma. I really want this to become something. Not that I'll stop being his friend if it doesn't, but... I'm really hoping it does."

Nodding gently, his mom pushed herself off of the boy's bed and took him in for another brief hug. "Everything is going to be fine, baby," she said. "You just have to trust that you two are important enough to each other to not let anything that could go wrong today mess up what you two have; friendship or more."

Giving her a shy smile, Tyler hugged back. "Thanks, Momma."

Pulling away and giving him one more reassuring pat on the knee, his mom stood up. "Alright, I'll leave you to it," she said sweetly. "Let me know when you leave, please!"

Tyler nodded and stood up to look at himself in the mirror once more. As he was checking his reflection, his phone chimed and he picked it up to see an incoming message from Brendon.

*
FOURhead 🤡: ty
FOURhead 🤡: ty
FOURhead 🤡: ty
FOURhead 🤡: ty
FOURhead 🤡: answer me you fuckhead