Hometown~~||-//~~joshler

~~##~~

When josh found out, Tyler had not been prepared.

They had been sitting on the couch, Tyler working on a song, and josh staring, frozen, at his half-lit phone screen.

Tyler stood up triumphantly, his knees pushing away the coffee table. 

 "The first draft is finished! Josh, do you want to read over it? Josh?"

 Tyler turned to look at the redhead, and saw his eyes wide and still fixated on his phone. 

 "Tyler." Josh said softly, his voice shaky and liquid, resolutely not looking up. "Take your shirt off."

 Tyler's blood ran cold as he protectively wrapped his arms around his bony torso in the sweater he'd been wearing, in place of his usual muscle shirts, for the past three weeks.

 "W-why?" Tyler stuttered out.

Josh finally put down his phone and looked up at tyler, a exhausted and resigned expression glossed over his beautiful features.

 "Just do it, Tyler. I think you already know."

 shaking slightly, Tyler backed into a corner like a frightened housecat. He turned his body so his back was to Josh as a weak, terrified sob choked it's way out of his throat.

As he stood, crying in shame and fear, he felt two warm, safe, and gentle hands grasp his shoulders and softly turn him back around.

Tyler went limp and wouldn't meet josh's eyes as the taller of the two gently pulled Tyler's sweater over his bowed head.

He didn't look up when he heard the sharp intake of breath as josh saw Tyler's scarred and sunken in frame.

Tyler stiffened slightly when he felt josh's fingers gently ghost over his own name etched into the pale flesh of Tyler's ribs. 

He had worked so hard to keep his own pain and problems from affecting josh. Lord knows that the anxious boy already had enough on his plate. 

And he had failed him

His sleeve had ridden up at a concert. The fans had filmed it, they noticed. They put it out into the world.

And that was all it took to bring Tyler's world crashing down around him.