Headlights - Joshler

aqua

tyler began to hallucinate (or according to tyler, daydream) a lot about swimming. josh watched as tyler would mumble about different kinds of fish or how he desperately wanted to go swimming.

the thing was, it was winter.

so instead of swimming, josh decided to take tyler to the aquarium. 

upon walking through the heavy doors, they were greeted with a rush of air. tyler inhaled and concentrated on the smell of rubber that met his nose. he always loved that smell.

josh pulled tyler into the line of idle people, zig-zagging around ropes with mostly children and their tired parents, hands on strollers, strollers on wheels.

josh felt unsure and misplaced with his alternative hair and slightly frightening band shirt amidst the sea of innocent children. meanwhile tyler just stood smiling and looking around them. josh soon realized that he was the parent and tyler was the excited child.

when they got to the front of the line, josh exchanged the woman money for stickers they had to wear. josh put his sticker at the bottom of his shirt, while tyler put his at the very top.

while on the escalator, tyler wore a wide smile that made josh remember why he adored this boy so much. tyler stood a step above him, anxiously looking to see where the escalator would bring them. josh watched as he stood on the tips of his toes, trying to see above the people. he looked back down at josh and smiled even more.

once they stepped off, josh had a difficult time keeping up with him. tyler walked quickly to exhibit after exhibit.

"there's no need to rush. we have all day," he would tell him, but tyler had no desire to listen to him.

soon they arrived to a separated room from the rest. josh swung the door for him and they soon entered to find that the room was extremely dark, except for the jellyfish encased in a tank built into the wall. 

it was only tyler, josh, the jellyfish, and the darkness. every few seconds the small light at the bottom would change color, changing the color that the jellyfish appeared.

"wow," tyler said in awe. he slowly walked up to the tank and placed his hand on it.

josh walked to the side to see a sight he hoped to remember forever. tyler stood with his jaw slightly dropped, hand plastered on the cold tank. it was so dark, but the light from the jellyfish hit tyler's face in just the right way. it was beautiful. it was picture-perfect. it was faultless. he was faultless... in josh's eyes, at least.

josh was surprised at how much fun the two of them were having. they discovered that josh could make the perfect puffer fish face. it made tyler laugh beyond control. josh only kept doing it so he could see tyler laugh. it was one of the happiest sights and sounds he could be exposed to.

was he doing it? was josh making tyler better? he sure seemed better, even if the marks across his wrists disagreed. 

however, this intense happiness could just be tyler falling deeper in a mentally-ill abyss. the hallucinations were taking place more often and growing more intense. 

josh knew it was probably a good idea to get tyler some help, but tyler wasn't putting himself in any danger, so josh figured it could wait.

right?

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ayy lmao sorry just had major family issues my mom tried to kill herself and my parents are getting divorced but i'm gucci

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