Joshler Because I'm: Soft

Part 16

(Tyler's POV)

          After gnawing off all my nails and chewing up the entirety of my lips, the bell rang. My heart stopped for a good second before I urged myself to actually breathe. I sat there for a minute while all the other kids filtered out of my classroom, dreading the coming moments.

          Yøu deserve it, yøu brøught this tø yøurself when you tøld the principal Jøsh wasn't lying. Yøu knew this wøuld happen. Yøu deserve it.

          Slowly and nervously, I stood up from my chair and put on my backpack. I could barely walk due to my nerves, but I urged my feet to move. I dragged myself through the halls until I made it to the back of the school. I swallowed once I saw Lucas and the rest of his friends waiting for me. I dropped my backpack and slowly trudged over to them, internally panicking. Right as I made it to the group, I was greeted with an unexpected punch, which supposedly started the fight.

          I knew Lucas was going easy on me at first, considering how hard his usual punches are, but it seemed every time he hit me, he used more force. I could've tried to fight back, but I didn't want to. I doubt I could've even touched him, but even if there was the slight chance that I could hurt him, I was too afraid of what would happen after that. So, I stayed still and just took the hits, blow after blow.

          Pretty soon, I was knocked to the ground and Lucas stopped going easy on me. He started hitting me full force in the face, chest, stomach, and he started kicking me everywhere below the waist.

          It got to a point where I felt myself getting dizzy. Everything was in pain, but when I tried getting up, I fell back down to the floor. Just as I sat up again, somebody started yelling.

          "LUCAS, GET OUT OF HERE, YOU  DOUCHEBAG, BEFORE I KILL YOU!" A voice screamed as I heard loud and fast footsteps towards me.

          "Let's leave before this pussy snitches on us." One member of the group called out, walking away.

          Just before Lucas got off of me, he pushed full force on my head, making it hit the concrete from my place on the floor. I closed my eyes in pain and bit my busted lip. I didn't comprehend how bad I was hurting until I let go and realized I cut my lip from biting it too hard, trying to distract myself from the pain everywhere else. The person running towards me slid onto their knees to me and lifted my head up, resting it on their lap. They started slightly shaking me, and it wasn't until they spoke once more that I realized who it was.

          "Tyler. Tyler open your eyes for me, please. It's gonna be okay, you'll be fine. Just keep your eyes open please, it'll be okay." Josh.

          He spoke urgently and lightly as he ran his hands through my somewhat blood-soaked hair while speaking, light enough to not hurt the cuts on my head. I desperately wanted to open my eyes and hug him, but everything hurt so much that I couldn't move nor open my eyes. I tried, but I couldn't do it.

          "Oh god, Tyler, please get up. Tyler, you have to get up. You have to." Josh's voice wavered and suddenly cracked. He slowly and lightly pressed his forehead to mine and closed his eyes. "Tyler, I can't lose you. Please wake up and just tell me you're okay. Please...." Josh pleaded, sounding like he was about to cry while grasping onto me.

          Despite how much it hurt, and how easily it would've been to lay still and fall unconscious, I took a hagged breath and slowly opened my eyes.

          "J-Josh...." I mumbled with a hoarse voice, due to the pain and the amount of tears I was holding back. I slowly moved a shaky hand up to Josh's face. He looked like he was trying to hold his tears in his eyes, but the second my hand touched his skin, he closed his eyes and let his tears fall.

          "Oh my god, thank god you're okay." Josh sighed and lifted his head from mine, wiping the tears off his face with his shoulder while looking at me. He ran his hands through my hair and moved it out of my face, gasping when he saw the extent of my injuries. "Tyler.... what happened?" Josh frowned as he inspected my wounds.

I tried answering, but it hurt too much to talk, so I just decided to shut my mouth and hope that Josh understood.

"Okay, you can tell me later, right now I need to take you to- gosh, I don't even know. The nurse's office? The ER? The hospital???" Josh started panicking for a second as he talked to himself. "God, what do I do? Should I go and get help!? I can't leave you here alone, I- God, I don't know what to do!" Josh trembled, sounding frantic as he started freaking out. He urgently looked around, trying to find somebody to help him, but nobody was outside.

Josh quickly became overwhelmed with the situation, but I couldn't exactly comfort him. I couldn't get up and give him a hug and tell him that I'll be okay, despite how much I wanted to. Instead, I just lifted a weak arm and placed a soft hand on Josh's cheek. He looked into my eyes for a moment and soon closed his own, taking a deep breath. After calming himself down, he opened his eyes again and placed his hand over my own. He grabbed my hand and removed it from his cheek, lightly squeezing it for a moment before letting go. He then picked up my head and moved, softly laying it down on the concrete. He squatted down next to me and wrapped an arm around my back, and the other under my knees. He smoothly picked me up and grabbed my hand with his that was resting on my side.

"Is this okay? Are you comfortable?" Josh calmly asked, giving me a soft look. I answered by slightly smiling and nodding, trying not to hurt myself in the process. "Okay, good. Wow, you're light. Anyway, now I'm gonna take you to the nurse's office." Josh stated confidently, starting to smoothly walk me to the office.

Since I had never been carried like this before, I was expecting to feel nervous or anxious, just incase Josh dropped me, but I wasn't. I actually felt safe in his arms. I didn't fear being dropped because I trusted Josh. And knowing that I trusted and was willing to open up to this sweet, punky, adorable little dork was terrifying.