an: psssst heyo so like i have a new joshler up called puppet strings and if ya don't mind dark shit and painful subjects you should check it out!
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Tyler feels very apprehensive as he walks with Pete and Brendon down the hallway after the class bell blares throughout the building. he glances over at Brendon, then at Pete, and they both seem totally okay with this—maybe he's just being dramatic.
Fuck no—Pete and Brendon are a couple of hooligans and Tyler has common goddamn sense—why is he here right now? He literally just got suspended for trespassing, now he's skipping? He must want Zack to fuck him up or something, why is he doing shit that he knows will get him into trouble? Why is he—
"Tyler, chill out," Pete warns him as he nudges his arm, totally not startling the younger boy, "We'll look suspicious with you making that face."
Tyler's face flushes. He's making a face?
He ducks his head sheepishly and watches his feet as they walk forward, left, right, left, right, and he remembers the time that girl commented to her friend about how he walks weird in middle school, and he can't help but wonder if he still does.
"There's nothing to be scared of!" Brendon reassures him as he slings his arm around his shoulders, just as they turn into the hallway at the back of the school, where a few boys are already hanging out.
He recognizes them vaguely, and he remembers Ashley, of course, and she offers him a small smile as they approach. He musters up a smile of his own.
"Who the fuck is this?" one of the guys rasps, and Tyler doesn't feel welcome here—why would he be?
"Isn't that Josh's lil boyfriend?" another boy asks as he ducks his head once again in shame.
"Yeah, his name is Tyler and he's sweet, so be nice to him," Ashley's voice speaks sternly, and he leans more into Brendon's side.
"Yeah! We'll tell Josh if you don't!" Brendon adds, giving Tyler a comforting, friendly squeeze.
"Does Josh even know he's here?"
"Tyler's his own person, he can go where the fuck he wants without telling Josh first," Pete says as he heads in Ashley's direction.
"He looks like he doesn't even wanna be here," a different guy's voice states, and he bows his head a little more.
"Because you jerks are making him uncomfortable!" Brendon fusses, guiding the awkward boy to a window ledge. Brendon sits on it and gestures for Tyler to do the same.
"So, is this a new thing that's happening now?" the first voice asks, and God, Tyler feels so unwelcome here, he could cry, "Is this kid gonna be hangin' with us now?"
"Damn it, Bob, why don't you just shut the fuck up and stop being such a dick? Maybe that should be a new thing," Pete snaps, and Tyler presses himself into Brendon's side as he wills himself not to cry. Who would've known this would turn out to be such a disaster?
"Fine, I won't say shit else!"
"Good, you're doing us all a favor!"
"Fuck this, I'm out," and Tyler watches hears him start to walk away, and jeez, he hasn't even uttered a single word but he still managed to fuck everything up and cause drama in this friend group.
No one says anything for a moment as the Bob guy leaves the hallway.
"What's been up with him lately?" Ashley asks, followed by a sigh, "Sorry about him, Tyler."
He hesitantly lifts his eyes to settle them on her nose, and she offers him a sympathetic smile.
"S'okay," he nearly whispers before averting his gaze again to his lap.
"You know, it's totally cool that you're here," the third guy says, and Tyler shyly looks his way.
"Yeah, Bob's just a dick," the second guy adds, and Tyler looks his way too—there's something strangely familiar about him in a way, "I mean, he's usually not that bad, but it's not you."
"Um," Tyler starts hesitantly, and how does he form words and use them? How do people do this so effortlessly?
"Yeah?"
"You—you—" Tyler stammers pathetically, and he desperately looks to Brendon for help, who only seems curious to what he's struggling to say.
"Oh, yeah! He's really shy," Ashley comes to the rescue and crosses the hallway. She bends over to his level as she nears him, offering him her ear. He flushes sheepishly as he reaches out to brush her blue hair out of the way, and he can't help but admire how soft it feels.
"Ahh," he whispers, leaning forward to be sure she can hear him. She smells really nice—a flowery scent, and it's honestly really comforting. "That guy, um, he, like, looks kinda familiar."
She smiles comfortingly at him as she pulls away, and he decides that he really likes Ashley—he wants to be her friend. Plus she smells like flowers, and he really likes flowers.
"She said you look kinda familiar," she says to the oddly familiar guy before turning to look back to Tyler. "You remember Gerard, right? The guy who drove us to the skating rink?"
Tyler nods, then looks back to the guy, and—ohh, they must be related.
"Yeah, I'm his younger brother," he confirms, and Tyler guesses that makes sense. "I'm Mikey."
"Tyler," he says shyly before realizing that they already know his name, and he blushes sheepishly yet again.
"He's cute, I like him," the third guy declares, and Tyler hides his face against Brendon's arm to hide his shame-stained face.
"Isn't he!" Brendon agrees loudly, wrapping both arms around the boy and rocking him—Tyler isn't sure if he likes it or not. "We're gonna turn him into one of us!"
"I'm down," the third guy says, "He's real quiet and shy, we could break him out of his shell like we did for Mikey and Ryan."
"Good luck with that," Pete says, and Tyler can't help but agree. He isn't sure his shyness is merely shyness to begin with—Josh once said something about social anxiety?
"This is gonna be awesome!" Brendon says loudly, and Tyler can't help but disagree. He's pretty sure this is gonna suck so bad.