Bubbly - Joshler // Bryler

Without a Clue

"I'm back, Ty," Josh announced as he entered through the front door, quickly noticing half-made cookie batter and baking supplies sprawled out all over the kitchen. He was confused as to why everything was just sitting there and, more importantly, where Tyler was.

"Come on, baby, I'm eager to finish what I started," Josh smiled to himself, beginning up the stairs since there was no evidence of Tyler being downstairs.

Josh made his way down the hall when he caught sight of Tyler's room. It was almost completely destroyed with sheets and blankets scattered everywhere.

This wasn't usual. Tyler's bed was always perfectly made.

Josh decided to make his way into the room to see if there was any sign of Tyler. He could hear Tyler in the shower, which was slightly relieving until Josh took a closer look at the sheets.

There was of blood littering the almost distressed fabric in varying patches all over. Josh could feel his stomach twist in knots. Could Tyler be hurting himself again? Maybe this Bert situation was affecting Tyler more than he expected.

Josh was going to walk into the bathroom to check on Tyler, but the door was locked. "Tyler? Is everything okay?" Josh asked through the door. He heard some shuffling before he heard a faint response, almost inaudible due to the running shower.

"Y-Yeah, I'll be out in a minute," Tyler spoke back quietly.

The answer was slightly relieving, but Josh just wanted reassurance that everything was okay, and he could clearly see that it wasn't. Something was going on behind the scenes and Josh wanted to get to the bottom of it. He had so many questions and he wanted Tyler to answer them.

"Ty, can we talk once you get out?"

Josh didn't hear a response that time, but heard the shower turn off and there was a long pause. Tyler opened the door only slightly to reveal his very damp hair and flushed face.

"I'm really tired, I think I might just go to bed, if that's okay," Tyler stated, refusing to make eye contact for some reason. Josh could tell the brunette wasn't being sincere.

"What happened while I was gone?" Josh questioned, almost interrupting Tyler in the process.

Tyler finally looked up at Josh with an almost afraid look in his eyes that was quickly covered up by a sense of of fake assurance. "I was baking some cookies for you and it got a little messy, I just had to take a shower," Tyler lied, his voice was low and distraught, but he tried to hide it the best he could.

But Tyler could tell Josh wasn't fully buying it. "Seriously, I just want to sleep, Josh," Tyler said, almost defeated. He closed the door before Josh could respond, sitting in front of it and sighing deeply.

Josh could never know about Bert, about what Bert did, what he said, Tyler did not want Josh to get in the middle of it, even though he basically was without a clue.

"Tyler, I'm not done-"

"Get the fuck out of my room, I swear to fucking God!" Tyler snapped, his voice cracking as he kicked the door furiously with pent up rage. It was completely unexpected, but Tyler was fed up at this point. There were so many things he'd rather do than talk to Josh about this right now.

Josh was frustrated, and confused. There were still too many questions and Tyler's story didn't really add up. It didn't explain the sheets and the blood on them, either.

But Josh left the room since he wasn't welcome in the first place. Tyler seemed very moody lately and it was more concerning than anything. Plus, it seemed like he'd been lying about everything since the moment Bert came into the picture. What was he trying so hard to cover up? It was infuriating.

Josh figured he'd just try to talk to Tyler tomorrow since now wasn't the time. Josh was on his way to his room when he stepped on something he could feel through his shoe.

It appeared to be a silver ring that had been worn in, scratched slightly as if it had been worn for a while. Josh could almost recall seeing it somewhere before, but he couldn't quite pinpoint it. He knew it wasn't Tyler's since he only wore one ring on occasions.

'Could Tyler be sleeping with someone?', Josh thought. I mean, it seemed to add up -- the messed up sheets, the shower, the ring, maybe Tyler found someone that could give him their full attention, something Josh was unable to do.

Josh's heart hurt when he thought of any of that being possible. He thought they were finally on the right track, it seemed like they were so close to being together, just the two of them. Apparently, Tyler didn't feel the same way. Josh felt goosebumps appear on his skin when he thought back to the feeling he would have when Brendon touched Tyler, Josh couldn't imagine some other guy doing the same thing.

Josh stopped for a moment when he realized his thoughts were spiraling out of control. After all, this was all just speculation and Josh didn't know what was actually going on, but he sure as hell was determined to.

and you thought it was abandoned..