Ode to the Affectionate Outlier

Chapter 5: Never

Upon hearing the thud hit the kitchen floor, I immediately got up and rushed to see what had happened. I was so worried that I would see the worst and I was right.

Tyler lay collapsed on the floor which was spilled with water from the broken jug which was now glass scattered across it. He lay there motionless and I carefully went down to help him.

There was a little bit of blood coming from his head. "Oh man oh man oh man" I said. I looked around and saw some paper towels near the kitchen sink and gently patted the blood off. But I was panicking because I thought he was dead. I had to check. I put my head on his chest.

He was still breathing. "Oh my gosh, okay he's alive." I thought. It appeared he was unconscious after the fall and I carefully picked him up trying not to touch any glass and carried him to his room.

His room was easy to spot since it had big letters that spelled out T Y L E R on the front of it. I opened the door and approached his little bed. I gently put him down on it and sat next to him. I started to cry.

"What would mommy say if she found out I let this happen? ...No Josh...this isn't your fault...But then again...it kind of is. You just HAD to ask didn't you?"

This was all my fault. Tyler was unconscious next to me and it was because I was dumb to ask a question. Why did I have to kill our moment we had?

At least Tyler was alive. But now I had to wait for someone to go clean up the mess in the kitchen. I couldn't do it myself. I would have to wait for his parents. What would they say?

I sat on the bed still looking at Tyler. I didn't want to move from it. I know he needed me right now. I gently put my fingers through his hair. Poor Ty. Again, this was my fault.

I sat in there looking around his room. I noticed picture frames on his wall of him and his family. I noticed he had a sibling as well. There were other books and toys around the room and it was warm in here. I decided to open up the bedroom window just a little bit. A nice breeze flowed in the room immediately and made it comfortable.

I sat back on the bed still crying. Some of my tears were falling on the bed and some on Tyler who at this point I was hugging. But about two minutes later, Tyler started to gently move. He groaned and opened his eyes. "J- Jish?"

I quickly let go and wiped my tears away. I didn't want him to see me cry. "Hey Ty, it's me Josh." "Jish?" "No no Josh. Joshua from school? We met earlier today and I walked you home and decided to stay home with you until your parents came back from work."

He rubbed his eyes and looked at me. He had trouble remembering until he looked up at my hair. He smiled. "Blue haired boy...Josh!!" He said and chuckled. "Josh!" He hugged me tight.

"Hey oh my gosh! Are you okay? Do you feel okay?" I said hugging him back. "Yeah...yeah I think so. What happened?" he said timidly.

Oh boy, do I bring up what led to this?

"Well, I asked you what those scribbles on your paper were."

Yes.

"And you looked worried and got up to get me water and next thing you know you screamed and there was a loud thud with glass shattering." I finished.

Tyler sighed deeply. "Oh right...that."

"What's the matter?" I asked him.

"We...we don't talk about those scribbles. We never will talk about them." He said.

"Wait why not? Are they bad? What do they mean?" I needed to shut up.

"Don't worry about them. They're just silly little scribbles that's all." He assured me.

I didn't believe him. There was something more to those scribbles but because I didn't wanna make things worse, I shrugged it off for now. "Look Ty, what happened back there, was my fault and I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, you didn't know about it." He said. "I know but it was dumb of me to ask you. Upon seeing you hurt on the floor, I felt guilty. I promise I won't let you get hurt again. By me or by anyone. I really appreciate you as my friend and I hope we grow up loyal to each other."

He smiled so wide. "I promise if you promise not to mention the scribbles again."

"Never again?" "Never."

I hugged him tighter and said "Okay, I promise Ty. I promise to never mention it again and to always protect you at all costs no matter what."

And so it was settled.

When his parents came home, we told them about the glass and how it was an accident since it slipped out of Tyler's hand. They were welcoming of me and said it was okay. We assured them Tyler was okay and after cleaning up, I told Tyler I was going home and we said our goodbyes for now.

I promised him to never again mention the scribbles and to always take care of him. And I was definitely keeping that promise.

As we grew up together, we learned more and more about each other. We went from 8 year olds to 10 year olds to now 12 year olds. Going through elementary school, I was always protective of Tyler. We would sit together at lunch, make jokes and laugh, and whenever someone picked on Tyler I was there to stand up for him. I made sure no one dare mess with my best friend.

Middle school was a little messier but nonetheless I continued to protect him and make sure he was alright. He always seemed happy around me and I was happy around him.

Winter break was approaching but before that, I noticed December was about to begin. I knew what that meant.

Tyler was going to turn 13 soon.

My best friend is about to be a teenager.

I had to plan something special for his 13th birthday and I knew just what to do.

Ah yes, Joshua William Dun had some tricks up his hoodie sleeve.