Josh dropped back down in his regular spot. He laid on his stomach, head leaning up on his hands, feet up towards the bright blue sky. He laid there, overlooking his own street, his own house. He saw his little sister running out in the yard, and he smiled.
Suddenly he saw someone get closer, like really closer. Closer than anybody had for a while and Josh blushed as the boy watched him shyly. "Eh, hi", the skinny boy said, almost sounding apologizing for speaking, for breaking the silence, for being there, for excisting. Josh smiled softly. "Hey."
The boy dropped down a few feet away from Josh, watching another street, another house. It was peacefully quiet after that, both just minding their own business, but the boys appearance had Josh distracted from his normal routine. The boy was new. And Josh kinda wanted to talk to him, but he felt too shy. What was he supposed to say so out of the blue?
He glanced towards the brown haired boy a few times, gathering courage, building confidence to say something. When he peeked for about the 10th time, he noticed the boy was crying. Silent drops ran down his cheeks, one following the other. Great. Now the pink-haired boy felt like he had to say something. But he didnt want to intrude on the boys privacy.
So he didn't speak, just nodded softly when the boy after an hour or two stood up and left.
- - - -
"Hi", the boy said again the next time, as he dropped down near Josh. Both in the same spot. "Hey", Josh answered, determined to talk with the bot this time. "I'm Josh", he said, adding a little wave. The boy looked at him with a small smile, but he didn't look happy at all. "Tyler."
They watched the houses for a bit, until Josh started talking. He sat up, cross-legged, picking at the threads of fabric from the hole in his jeans. "So... are you new here?" The sun was shining bright in his face, so he needed to squint. But he saw the boy nodd softly, his cheeks again stained with tears.
"It'll get better", Josh said. "You'll get used to it." Tyler shrugged a little. "I guess it is just not really what I expected." Josh couldn't help but uncomfortably laugh at that, just because it was so relatable.
"I know right? Same for me, totally not what I expected." He smiled reassuringly.
The boy stood up again. "I guess i'll see you later, Josh?" Josh nodded. The boy walked off.
- - - -
Josh was already at his usual spot when Tyler popped up again. After a few minutes of being on their own, Tyler scooted closer and sat down next to Josh. "How long have you been here?" Josh shrugged as he thought about it. He didn't really remember. "I'm not sure... saw others come and go, seasons change..?" Tyler nodded. "Time is a bit a blurry thing since i'm here", Josh added and Tyler nodded again.
"Your family?" He asked, and Josh smiled. "Yeah. My mom and dad", he pointed towards the car leaving the driveway. "Probably going shopping. And I have two sisters and a brother." He watched Tyler looking at his house. "And yours?" Tyler pointed towards a small yellow house. "Mom, two brothers and a sister. Dad died years ago. I miss him." Josh nodded now. "I think you will see him again once." And Tyler smiled sadly. "I hoped so."
- - - -
They were sitting at their spot again, now always together in stead of alone. It was better this way. A lot better but also just a little, because nothing about being here was really right.
"So.. what happend?" Josh asked. "If you want to tell. You don't have to.." Tyler smiled softly, but there was painful look in his eyes. He sighed as he pulled up both sleeves of his hoodie. Josh gasped, hand covering his mouth, as he watched the crimson red scars on the boy's arms. Multiple small lines, with two huge ones stood out from the pale skin. "Oh no", Josh whispered, grabbing Tyler's hands and pulling him in for a hug. He didn't know if it was weird or not but it felt right.
" 'S okay", Tyler sighed. "I wasn't made for living. I tried for so long, but I couldn't do it. I just..." he looked at Josh with pink cheeks, "I just didn't expect this", gesturing to their surroundings.
"It's not gonna be like this forever you know? People come and go... So apparently there is a way to get away from here and continue the journey.. I just haven't figured out how to." Tyler seemed to think about it.
"But it isn't too bad either. Time isn't really a thing here... it's never cold and the sun always shines. You know, when it rains you won't get wet because, well, we're above the clouds here." Tyler laughed.
"So what happened to you?" The boy asked, pulling his sleeves back down, rubbing one of his slit wrists softly. Josh sighed. He pulled up his shirt, showing the two perfectly round scars. One on his stomach, one high up his chest. "Wrong place, wrong time." Tyler swallowed thickly. "You got shot?!" Josh nodded as Tyler softly tapped his finger onto the scar on Josh's chest. Josh dropped his shirt again. "Yeah. That one ended me in like two seconds." He shrugged.
"That's sad. You know. You didn't even want to leave. At least I did." Tyler spoke softly, looking back at the ground far beneath them. "Maybe... but your's sad too. You've been sad for so long. I wasn't." Tyler nodded. "I guess so."
- - - -
"So you don't know how to go on from here?" Tyler asked another time and Josh shook his head. "Hmm..." Tyler hummed as he rolled to his back, looking up towards the sun. He gently got Josh's hand into his own and even though Josh didn't mind, he observed Tyler wonderingly.
"I don't want to be alone anymore", Tyler whispered. "So maybe if one of us is supposed to go on... we can go on together?"
Josh squeezed Tyler's hand, sure to never let it go.
