Joshler Because I'm: Soft

Part 15

(Tyler's POV)

          Suddenly, the bell rang. We both shut our eyes and made frustrated grunts as we stood up together. Despite us being upset that school had started, we still smiled and held hands as Josh walked me to first period. When we got to the door, neither of us wanted to let go, so Josh grabbed both of my hands and gazed into my eyes for a few moments, glancing between them. After a bit, I held up our hands and opened them, pressing our palms and outstretched fingers together. We slowly backed away, longing for the others' touch as soon as we stopped making contact.

Once I couldn't see Josh down the hall anymore, I headed inside. I rested my chin on my arms, which were laying on my desk, and sighed. The rest of the period was filled with me daydreaming about Josh.

After 50 minutes of not being able to concentrate because Josh kept slipping into my mind and distracting me, the bell finally rang. I quickly packed up my stuff and heading out the door, practically skipping to my locker. While doing so, I had shut my eyes and smiled, humming a little tune I had made up during class when I was thinking about Josh.

"He's the tear in my heart, I'm alive. He's the tear in my heart, I'm on fire. He's the tear in my heart, take me-" I was suddenly cut off by being choked.

I opened my eyes and noticed somebody was pulling on the back of my collar, which made it press against my throat. I grabbed my neck and forced my shirt out of the person's hands, turning around to see-

"Hey Flower Bitch, what's your deal getting Lucas suspended?" A huge douchebag in Lucas' jerk-brigade spat at me.

"Uh, um, I-I.... Um, uhm, I uh...." I quickly started panicking, not able to form words, much less a sentence.

"No wonder Lucas always called you Mute Boy. You can't even talk 'cause you're such a pussy." He laughed with his other friends as they all took a step forwards.

I took a step back into a locker and continued panicking even more. My hands quickly started to shake as my anxiety went wild.

The guy took a step forward and leaned close to me. "I'm not looking for a fight, fag. But Lucas is. Go to the back of the school during lunch. Or else we'll all kick you and your boyfriend's asses. So don't even try to-" He growled quietly, making me shrink down into myself more with each spoken work. As he said each word, he sounded more dangerous and hostile, and just before I thought he'd slam me back into a locker, somebody cut him off.

"HEY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?" Josh yelled while running over to me as fast as he possibly could.

"Don't even think about telling your boyfriend about this." He muttered once more before stepping away.

"You better get the HELL away from Tyler right now." Josh growled through clenched teeth as he stepped in front of me and held out an arm to protect me.

"You're lucky I'm not looking for a fight or I would beat the shit out of you and your girlfriend here." The jerk and his buddies all turned around and left, glaring at me for a moment before doing so.

Once they all left, I slid down the locker and landed on the floor, bringing my hands up to my head. My breathing became quicker and I started shaking more as I let the words sink in. Gø tø the back øf the schøøl during lunch. Get in a fight. Døn't tell Jøsh. Døn't tell Jøsh.

"Tyler, are you okay?" Josh worriedly spoke, inspecting my face for any new cuts or bruises. "What did he do to you? Did he hurt you?" Josh grabbed my hand and pulled me up, placing one hand on my shoulder and grabbing my hand with his other.

"Y-yeah, I'm okay. He-he didn't do anything, he just s-scared me a little, that-that's all." I replied carefully, trying to decide whether or not I should tell Josh about what's going to happen at lunch.

Well, if I told him, Josh would keep me safe and do everything in his power to put a stop to this, all the while putting himself in danger. If yøu døn't tell him, yøu cøuld just gø, take the beating yøu deserve, and just tell Jøsh that yøu fell.

          The last thing I want is for Josh to get hurt, but I don't think I could lie to him, either. God, what should I do?

"Oh thank god. It's okay Tyler, I won't let anything happen to you. You poor thing, you're shaking." Josh frowned once he noticed how badly I was shaking and moved the hand on my shoulder down to my other hand. "It's okay, Ty. He didn't do anything, and I'm not gonna let him do anything if he gets any ideas. You're safe with me." Josh's voice was calming, helping sooth my nerves a little, but the dread in my stomach continued to grow as I tried not to think about lunch.

"O-okay.... Thank you...." I mumbled, trying to take deep breaths.

"Of course, Tyler. Now let's get you to class." Josh had a good hold on my hand as he kept me close and lead me through the halls to my second class. "I'll see you after this period, Ty. I'll meet you here." Josh called as he sped off to his class as to not be late.

Once the bell rang and class started, the situation played over in my head.

I can't believe I got myself into this mess. I wish Josh could help me make this decision. I wish he was with me right now. I wish he was hugging me and telling me I'd be okay. I wish I didn't have this huge feeling of dread building up in my stomach. I wish Josh was here....

My thoughts ran a million miles an hour. After what felt like 5 minutes, the bell rang for third period. I waited inside the classroom until Josh showed up, grasping my hand. He walked me to my third period class and patted my shoulder.

"I'll meet you here again, okay? I'll see ya in 50 minutes, Ty." Josh smiled at me and ran off to his class, which was across the campus.

We took an easy part 2 of the test from yesterday so, yet again, I finished the test quickly. After I was done, I simply just put my head in my hands and thought about it. What do I do, what do I do? I don't want Josh to get involved, that's for sure, but.... Maybe I just won't tell him. That's okay, right? I just don't want him to worry about me all that much. I'll be fine.... Plus, knowing him, he'd blame himself, and this is by no means his fault.

The class quickly ended, making there only one more class until lunch. Josh met me at the door, grabbed my hand, and walked me to fourth period. Once we got to the door, Josh turned to me and smiled.

"I'll see you at lunch, Ty!" He cheerily announced, about to turn away.

I quickly hugged Josh and buried my face in his chest. "Bye...." I mumbled quietly, prepping myself for the worst case scenario.

Josh hugged me back, noticeably quite confused. He's probably questioning why I suddenly hugged him so tight and said 'bye'.

          "Oh, okay. Bye, I guess." Josh chuckled and headed off to his class, leaving me alone in the last hour of peace I'd probably ever have.

As I expected, fourth period wasn't very peaceful at all. I could not stop thinking about what was to come. My thoughts ran from Josh and what he'd think, to how badly I would get beaten. I was anxious all period and I flinched anytime I heard a sound.