more than friends//joshler

chapter 12

josh watched as tyler posed his fingers above the piano, starting to tap out a heavy tune. after quite a long while of this, he sang a bit. 

i know you're not a liar,

the words rang out in the large, wooden-floored room. 

and i know you could set fire,

this day,

go ahead and make me look away,

josh was staring at tyler's intense expression. he was completely lost in the music. 

strike me down, 

i am calling your lightening,

down from your dark hiding place,

he kept going for the duration of the song. josh noticed that this one was definitely heavier on the instrumentals. 

after he was done he looked up from the old piano timidly, awaiting a reaction. josh clapped, shouting a couple of times too. 

"i loved that one! nice piano playing!" he said, stepping over the bench so he was straddling it and sitting down. 

"i guess you could call me the piano man," tyler joked, starting to mindlessly play beethoven's fur elise. josh laughed, moving his other leg over the piano to allow him to face it. 

he picked at a few keys, playing out mary had a little lamb after quite a bit longer than it would have taken tyler. he giggled, showing josh how to play the first part of fur elise, holding his hands over josh's.

"okay, and this one," tyler gently pressed down on his finger, more focused on the piano than josh himself, who was staring intently at tyler's face. no. you have a girlfriend. stop. he turned his head back to the instrument and played back what tyler had shown him. 

"nice," tyler bowed away, walking out of the room. josh popped up off the bench, quickly chasing after him. 

"where are you going?" he asked somewhat disappointedly, watching tyler's back as he turned around. 

"hm? oh, i'm going to the kitchen. it's lunchtime dude," he said, waltzing forward once again. 

josh looked at a nearby clock, confused. oh. it was 12:30, somehow. they'd been in the music room all day, tyler playing some songs and josh drumming to a few. 

josh took a seat at the island, watching tyler find some ramen noodles and setting some water in a pan carelessly on the stove. 

"want some?" he asked, reaching to grab another. josh nodded. 

"too bad," he smirked, returning to his spot and scrolling through his phone. josh was taken completely off guard. 

"what?" he asked, more to himself than to tyler. 

"you heard me," tyler said, gesturing to the cabinet. "it's not like your legs are painted on," he rolled his eyes. josh got up confusedly, grabbing his own ramen, pan, and water. he set it on the stove next to tyler's. still confused, he lifted himself on to the countertop and sat on his phone, waiting for the water. tyler's was ready a few minutes before his. he stuck out his tongue childishly as he walked over to the island, perching himself on a stool and starting to eat. when josh had his he sat down next to the younger boy, still heavily confused. 

"so why couldn't you just throw another square on for me?" he asked. tyler laughed a little. 

"dunno." was all he said as he continued on his phone. josh was still confused as he threw his bowl in the sink, checking his lit up phone.

Wanna go to dinner, J? ;) 

josh sighed. debby again. 

while he did like the girl (she was cool enough), she was definitely no tyler, and he definitely did not have a gigantic crush on her like he did his best friend. but sadly, that's all they were and all they would ever be: best friends. and he had to keep it that way. so he texted her back. 

sure, sounds fun. where?

he cringed slightly as he sent the text. all he really wanted that night was to watch a movie with tyler. he sighed as he plopped down on the couch far behind tyler. he washed the last of his tiny amount of dishes, placing them in the dishwasher and sitting next to josh. he faced the other boy, legs criss-crossed in front of him. josh would be damned if it wasn't the cutest thing he had ever seen. 

"what's up?" tyler asked gently, leaning forward onto his hand. josh sighed once more. 

"it's debby. she wants to go somewhere tonight but i just wanted to stay in with you today," he explained, mirroring tyler's sitting position. tyler nodded thoughtfully, looking off into space for a few seconds. 

"you know, you could always cancel," he smiled devilishly, looking back at josh. the entire time he had been looked away josh was still staring at his face, and he didn't have to change where he was looking even when tyler had moved back, but of course tyler hadn't noticed due to his thinking. josh shrugged. 

"i dunno. is that too rude?" he asked right as his phone buzzed. he picked it up from the couch, quickly scanning over the message. 

Chipotle, your favorite!

josh cringed once again at the long string of heart-eye emojis strung on the end. 

"what?" tyler immediately asked at his facial expression. 

"she just used a lot of emojis," he sighed in between the sentences, "but i guess i'll go."

ok. pick me up at 6?

he looked tired of trying to talk to her, which tyler took as a good sign. god, he's an awful person. he smiled once more. 

"guess that just means we'll have to do movies earlier."

josh smiled too.