glory days ↣ joshler ✓

31. Panicking

Josh took his wrist out of Tyler's grasp and guilt filled up his whole body when he saw how sad Tyler looked. "No. I promise. I'm just stressed about a few things. It's not your fault."

Tyler didn't meet his eye. "Okay," he replied quietly before walking out of the bathroom.

If Josh wasn't fucked before, he was now.

---

Josh pulled into his driveway and turned his car off, sitting there for a few minutes. He still had no clue what was going on. He had spent the whole car ride blasting Post Malone so he didn't have to think about Tyler. It didn't work. All he managed to do was think about how hot Tyler was while Ball for Me played in the background.

He got out and took his bag and pillows and blankets inside, deciding to worry about the other stuff later. As soon as he walked inside he was met with a loud bark and he set his things down to look at an overly happy Jim. "Hey, buddy!" Josh greeted excitedly, bending down to pet him. "Were you good while I was gone?"

"He didn't pee in the house if that's what you meant," a voice said and he looked up to find his mom standing there. "He crawled up next to me on the couch while I read the whole time you were gone. I could tell he missed you. We picked a good dog."

"Hey, Momma," he smiled, standing up to hug her.

"Hi, honey. Did you have fun?" She asked, hugging him back tightly.

"Yeah," he fake smiled. "I'm gonna go unpack my stuff. I'll get the tents and stuff in a few—"

He was cut off by the sound of thunder rolling over the house. Suddenly, raindrops were falling out of the sky. It wasn't even cloudy when he was driving. Josh almost laughed to himself. This had to be a sign from the universe: you're doing a pretty shit job there, Joshua.

"You can get it tomorrow," Laura laughed softly. "Hey, I love you. I missed you."

"I love you and missed you too," Josh smiled weakly before going upstairs with his things, Jim following behind him.

Josh set his pillows and folded blanket on his bed along with his backpack. He opened it and began taking stuff out but scrunched his face up in confusion when he pulled out a shirt that didn't belong to him. It didn't belong to Tyler either. He knew Hayley had worn it on the trip but he honestly had no idea if it was hers or Ashley's. It must've ended up in his bag by accident.

Holy shit, Josh thought. Tyler and I have been acting like a couple this whole time. We have each others' shirts too.

He started panicking again, feeling his head rate pick up. Jim, who was sitting on the bed, cocked his head to the side in confusion. He knew something was wrong.

"I'm okay, Jim," Josh replied distractedly. "I just," he continued shakily. "I just gotta return this to Hayley."

Josh glanced outside and saw it was now pouring. He hated driving in the rain but he had to give Hayley her shirt back. He had to.

Grabbing his keys and phone he hurried down the stairs, his shoes still on. "Josh?" His mom called. "Where are you going?"

"I gotta to give this to Hayley really quick it's important I'll be back soon," he explained quickly.

"Okay, drive safe. Please. It's pouring out."

"I will, love you," he replied before walking out of the house. As soon as he left the part of his porch with roofing over it he was soaked. He ran out to his car and got in, sighing when the rain was beating down on him anymore.

The drive to Hayley's was quick even though Josh was driving slower than usual to avoid sliding. The whole time he drove however, his knuckles were white around the steering wheel.

Hayley. Shirt. Tyler. Couple. Crush. Like. Love.

He was still panicking.

As soon as he pulled into the driveway belonging to Hayley's aunt, he parked and hurried out, getting drenched by the rain once more.

He went up to the porch but Hayley didn't have roofing over her front door so the whole time he waited there he was getting more soaked. He froze for a second and just stood there for easily a minute before ringing the doorbell.

Hearing footsteps approaching, the door swung open and Hayley opened the door. "Josh?"

"You um," he ran a hand through his wet hair, stress radiating off of him. "Your shirt got mixed up in my bag. I came to return it."

"Oh," she took the shirt from his outstretched hand. "I could have gotten this another day when it wasn't pouring out but thank you."

"Mhm," Josh replied distractedly, feeling his throat start to tighten. He felt tears building up like water in a river, nearing the dam that occupied it.

"Are you okay?" Hayley asked in a gentle voice.

That's when the dam broke. "No," Josh choked out, shaking his head. Tears started to fall from his eyes. "I like Tyler."

A look of sympathy flashed across Hayley's face and she pulled him inside the house and into a hug. "It's okay, Josh," she soothed as he cried into her shoulder. "It's okay."