Luminous

boy

Josh's P.O.V

josh was, for lack of better word, unlucky.

He was a tragedy magnet, as one would say. First it was his parents, then it was the drugs, and now it was this, being tossed back and forth between home and the group home that he'd basically been forced into due to his reoccurring drug habits.

The seventeen year old really wasn't overly ecstatic about being placed in a group home his first time.  that wasn't until it happened for the second time a week after he'd gotten out, and then... since then it became kind of a routine for him to drop by sometimes for a few months, it was almost like the group home was..his home.

Not only did he have a few friends in there, many of them ranging between ages 18-13, but he also had some family, some being the other patients and the staff.

His favorite out of all though was Mrs.Orlean, she was a older woman, mid to late sixties with tattoos covering almost her entire body, and floppy earlobes from past gauges that'd she'd attempted to try and stretch back down in her old age.

She always wore bright blue eyeshadow and filled in her eyebrows with a soft brunette shade of eyebrow gel, surprisingly pulling off the bold choice of colors she'd cake on her face everyday.

She was momma, for josh at-least. She treated him like her baby, and was the only one out of a few in the facility that greeted him with open arms when he'd always somehow manage to make his way back to the home, which was never a bother for josh, she was the first person he'd go to and the first person he'd stay with in time of crises, she always had his back.

Regardless, that being said, josh had a pretty tough life growing up you could say, which is mainly why he'd find himself back in the group home over and over again, more so because it was safer than his actual home and he had actual family there that, gave a shit about him.

He'd just finished off his junior year of high school, having to be homeschooled majority of the time since he was always at the group home, aswell as the fact that social anxiety was very prevalent due to past events growing up and he never did well when it came to bullying. All in all, it worked out for him. He learned more in a safer setting.

It was summer though, and although he couldn't spend it outside hanging out with friends like any old teenager without it being limited, he'd usually find himself cooped up in one of his blank white sweatshirts and pants, spread out on one of the couches in the living room with a drawing pad and pencil in his face.

"Medicine time." Mrs.Orlean called from a round the corner, josh peaked up from his sketch for half a second before returning to it, placing his palm out so she could give him the pills," watcha drawing today?" She asked and sat down, unscrewing the three lids and dumping out one of each pill into his hand, his other, working furiously at the paper before he began to stop.

He thanked her and shrugged, setting the sketch pad down, "I'm not to sure yet." He said, keeping his eyes on the image, endless doodles swirled around the delicate young mans face, he'd seen this boy a million times before in his dreams but it wasn't until last night that he got a good look at his face, ever since then it had stuck and he couldn't bring himself to just forget about it.

"If I'm honest..I've seen his face before, but never this close, especially in my dreams, always the good ones, never nightmares, and if it is in nightmares he's always watching over me..? I'm not too sure really." He said, washing down the medication with some warm temperature water, his lip twinging a bit at the uncomfortable taste.

"He's kinda cute.." She smiled,"you know what they say though, dreams tell you things, like ugh..your teeth falling out for instance! That's apparently a sign that you feel out of control?" Mrs,Orlean stood up and smiled alittle bigger,"maybe it's a sign we're gonna get a new patient, you're always good with that stuff, especially predicting things with your dreams, or..possibly a soulmate or a new friend is coming your way?" She added with a smug looking grin.

Josh peered up at the elder woman and smiled softly, "possibly, I'm just really hoping it isn't something bad.." he said softly and clenched his jaw.

~

During his days in the group home josh would keep his presence on the low, that was until group discussion or dinner where, he was kind of inclined to use his voice, other than that, the kids there knew who he was, he knew who they were, he minded his business and they minded there's, and that was that.

It was peaceful almost, especially in a place like the grouphome he stayed at which was primarily geared towards kids of the teenage age who struggled with mental disorders, family problems and or behavioral issues. The last option being the most common and mental disorders being second.

They had a wide range of kids but most of them were so caught up in trying to figure out how to keep themselves on their own feet on a daily basis, that it was very seldom that things such as fights or arguments occurred.

That was different when it came to his roommate though.

Josh had never ever been paired with a roommate that he disliked, often they were intimidated due to his strong build and off putting quietness so they kept to themselves, or they simply knew who he was, his history there and respected that and his personal space.

But ally however? She gave zero fucks.

She went to bed when she thought was good enough to , then she woke up right when it was six o'clock on the dot and went on with her morning routine while the rest of the teens slept, including josh.

He absolutely hated it because she had a huge lack of remorse for anyone but herself, so especially with josh who struggled heavily with insomnia, his sleep hours would get fucked up until he'd end up dozing off at four in the morning, continue the cycle of dozing in and out for two hours and then he'd have to bury himself in his pillows and blankets to try and create a barrier between himself and ally's morning ruckus.

He'd discussed with his mom (Mrs.Orlean) when she'd first arrived but there was nothing much they could do, being that ally had servere OCD and anger issues, if they tried to mess up her flow, she'd throw a fit and really that was what they tried to get away from.

It had already happened once.

Josh had confronted her one time about it, probably the worst time of day, when she was watching tv in the living room, clearly intrigued in her jerry springer re-run, midway, he'd asked her if she could try and be quieter in the mornings and maybe do her thing at the same time as when everyone else woke up. Well, they began to argue and ally threw a big old fit, and ended up smashing the tv with the remote.

She lost tv privileges.

Ever since then they'd had a ever lasting hatred for each other, it was silent, but intense, but that wasn't until Mrs, Orlean had come to him most recently with news that evening that happened to make the situation ten times better, and would make his stay there a lot less painful.

"She's moving out next week, her times up, ever since the incident a two months ago she's kept calm and they think she's safe to return back to her foster family."

Josh felt happiness seer through his veins, it was like a ginormous weight had been lifted off his shoulders, Hey, maybe if he was feeling extra lucky once she'd move out, they wouldn't get a patient for a little while and he'd have a room all to himself, he'd get to sleep in for days without having to hear ally curse out loud when she would pluck her mustache hairs at six in the fucking morning.

"Thank god." Josh laughed and rubbed his eyes with his hands, "honestly thought id be carrying potato sacks under my eyes pretty soon, my eye bags are wild mom, look at them." He said, Orlean laughed and rolled her eyes, poking josh's nose as he stretched out his eyes for her to see. Mrs,Orlean gave him and smile and then pulled a paper out of one of her binders and pushed it over to him.

"What's this?" He laughed softly and Mrs.Orlean smiled,"the paperwork for a new patient were getting tomorrow, his names Tyler, thought you'd want to see him first and get a good look at the fresh meat coming in." She smiled and shrugged as she filled out some more stuff for ally's release, "plus...he kind of looked familiar?"

Josh went pale and felt his blood run cold, a small smile tugged at his lips, oddly enough but, the feeling he was feeling was..joy?

"Is everything okay?" Mrs, Orlean asked, utterly confused by the sudden paleness that washed over josh's face.

Josh shook a little and then looked up at her,"that's him, this is the boy that I keep seeing in my dreams.."