ballerina // jøshler

trente ;

The beginning was unbelievably uncomfortable and awkward. For the most part, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph sat quietly, only commenting on the house, how Jenna was doing, and the weather. While the siblings were gracious enough to try and strike up normal conversation, the first words ever spoke directly toward Tyler were anything but 'normal'.

"So Tyler, how did this whole situation come about, hm? Having an affair with your teacher?"

"Chris!" the brunette's mother scolded her husband by looking at him with horror. Everyone at the table turned frozen, the question deemed inappropriate for any setting, especially a family dinner. While Tyler sat idly in his seat, Joshua cleared his throat.

"Mr. Joseph. I understand your concern with your son, but you're in my house. I invited you with good intentions and respect. I don't want to have this evening turn sour."

The room was tense as the older man took a sip of wine from his glass, eyes trained on Joshua. Everyone was anxiously waiting for Chris' angry outburst.

"Fine. I was just curious..."

"I'm sure everyone is curious. I just personally don't think that's an appropriate way to speak to your son, or me for that matter."

Jay, Tyler's youngest brother, started to quietly chuckle to himself at the "epic shutdown" while the rest of the siblings glanced at each other with secretly amused looks. Catching his eye, Tyler mouthed a small 'thank you' at the pink haired man sitting adjacent to him.

After a slight hesitation, Mr. Joseph finally looked at his son. He realized how mature he'd gotten; his hair was a darker brown than the last time he saw him. It had more volume, but was a good length. He had a bit of stubble, but nothing too serious. His son was a man who didn't need him anymore. For some reason, it made him a bit angry, at both Tyler and himself.

"I-I'm sorry. You're right." Chris said.

Once again, the table was shocked into silence. Chris wasn't the type to apologize to anyone, especially people he didn't agree with, for lack of better phrase.

Jenna smiled toward her friend, who was looking at his lover with pure adoration. His father had apologized, finally. While it was unclear if he was sorry for just the comment or for everything that Tyler and the Joseph family had endured, he still had said those empathic words.

The table resumed their meal, the silence more awkward than tense.

"This is a very good pesto, Joshua." Maddy commented.

"Please, call me Josh."

As dinner continued, conversations started to blossom. Jenna and Madison started to talk about different things surrounded the arts. Tyler sometimes joined in, commenting on how Jenna was a phenomenal writer.

"I always wanted to be a children's author." Maddy commented. She thought about adding on the fact that her parents didn't think it was a practical idea, but she didn't want to start up a new family drama.

"You should. There's nothing stopping you from writing and also having a regular job." Jenna replied, noting how the girl's posture had given in after expressing her feelings.

"I guess I never really thought about that."

"What about when she wants to publish a piece? Isn't that quite expensive?" Mrs. Joseph practically blurted after a moment's hesitation.

"Well the thing about that is that she could always self-publish. That can be relatively cheap-two hundred dollars I think? But trust me," Jenna turned towards Madison as she said this, "it's worth it."