He's waiting.
It's been ten minutes since the last school bell had rung it's terrible ring, people had been bustling out so fast that now there was practically no one jumping excitedly down those five stone steps.
Tyler tapped his foot impatiently on the pavement, he didn't own a watch, but he kept checking the back of his wrist for the time.
People stared, they all stared actually, and Tyler pulls his jacket, Josh's jacket to be more specific, tighter around his torso, shivering slightly as the glacial wind chill slithers up his spine.
He sighs, deciding to look around instead of waiting for Josh, bored.
Turning to face the road, Tyler can see the edge of the Enchanted Forest from where he's standing.
It's not hard to see it, it's a huge vast portion of Columbus, the whole town is practically built around it in a circle, there were parts still unexplored, and Tyler wanted to be the one to explore them.
He knew where he wanted to take Josh this evening, it was the first clearing you could reach on this side of the town, and everyone on the other other half never dares to enter the Forest.
Tyler has heard the tales many times, they even fenced off that half of the forest so people can't enter, tales of beast creatures that walked on two legs, exiting the Forest in order to hunt.
It wasn't just the local farm animals they hunted, wives tales of humans shredded in their own homes, left on the streets to be discovered the next day, Tyler knew he could handle anything within that forest, and if he Josh was what he thought, then he would understand Tyler more than ever.
It's been twenty minutes now, Tyler's foot tapping has now graduated to chaotic twists and turns to try and catch a sight of Josh, within these few moments of turning and gazing about, Tyler catches sight of Zach staring at him.
He's eyeing him off, looking him up and down, Tyler stares back, tilts his head and squints.
Tyler wants to let Zach know what he could do to him, he could hurt him, and he knows he could kill him if Zach tried anything too far, Tyler smirks, he just wants to squeeze his smug face with his mind-
"Hey!"
Tyler jumps and spins midair, clutching at his chest.
"What the hell man, I've been calling your name for ages?" Josh shrugs at him in a way Tyler describes as annoyed, thumbs hooked through the straps on his backpack, he chews a piece of gum.
His breath smells mighty fresh.
"Sorry I was just, thinking..." he trails off, peeking at Zach, who's now talking to his friends, laughing.
"You looked angry, I don't think I've seen you angry?" Josh questions as they begin to walk away, heading down the school driveway, Tyler grins.
"I'm not angry, you don't know me," he bumps Josh with his shoulder, continuing off the curb and across the street. "Besides, I cant be angry with what I'm about to show you."
"Still don't like how that sounds." Josh chuckles, as they walk and talk, Tyler begins to gossip about Zach, Josh doesn't really care what he's talking about, he doesn't really hear him.
Josh is nervous, and Josh feels strangely hot when he's around Tyler.
Not in the way of attraction, Josh know what hat feels like, but an odd, primal heat physically radiates through his skin, and Tyler smells different now, everything about everyone at his school smells different.
But Tyler specifically, Josh had this odd urge to protect him, this new wave of confidence that led him to stand up against Zachary Hutchins, the worlds biggest bully-asshole-dickhead combo.
He's been avoiding this all day, he was late to lunch, late to meet Tyler, he doesn't know why he agreed to even join him this afternoon, the way Tyler made Josh's skin hot, prickly and sweaty, Josh didn't like, there was an anxious bubbling inside his stomach, he almost felt high, as if his trip was terrible, each emotion amplified by a thousand, perhaps Sparky bit a junkie before he bit him, because Josh felt withdrawals, sickness, he was doing a pretty good job at pretending nothing was wrong, but every time Tyler questioned him, and he lied, his scent would change.
It's like he knew exactly what Josh was thinking, exactly how he was feeling, and as he had stated at lunch, he didn't know whether or not he loved it, or if he wanted to rip Tyler to shreds.
Literally, tear him apart, he didn't want Tyler in his head, his head was all out of whack at the moment, he had no clue what he was doing, but his body moved no matter what, his mind didn't even register where he was going, instead, it whirred like a V8 engine on a race car, lapping itself over and over and it always came back to this one same thought.
Josh was hungry.
He looks to Tyler for a split second, that same heat washes over from his scalp to his toes, and he licks his lips.
"Did you even hear what I said?"
Oh no Tyler is annoyed, Josh shakes his head a little, blinking a few times before that blinking tic starts up.
Once it's subsided he smiles a little and shrugs.
"No not really..." he's blushing, he didn't mean to ignore Tyler.
"I said, I'm sorry that we have to walk all this way, it's going to be a hike." Tyler pulls at his saddle bag, playing with the strap.
"Oh no it's okay!" Josh's chirpy reaction throws Tyler off, he looks up confused. "I don't mind the exercise, in fact, I've been enjoying it a lot more recently," Josh frowns. "You knew about my run last night, how?"
Tyler shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly, a muse of a smile on the corner of his lips, but he looks awkward, like he's hiding something.
"I mean, we do live some what close, I saw you walking into the Forest last night."
Josh nods and let's out a soft "oh", before he looks around at the trees, unaware that Tyler was staring at him instead.
The further into the vegetation they walked, the thicker the trunks became, the greener the moss grew, but that clearing, the dead grass, it was never as magical.
"So, your arm," is Tyler blushing? "Is it okay?"
"Oh god no it hurts like hell, I think I have a fever, feel," Josh grabs one of Tyler's hands, placing the back of it against his clammy forehead. "I feel like I'm dying."
"You're not dying," Tyler chuckles. "But you should seriously go the doctors or something, I think you burnt my hand." He shakes it a little, mumbling the last of his sentence.
Josh smirks, he can't stop staring at the small frail boy beside him, he makes Josh so happy.
"We're here," Tyler sings as he steps into the first clearing, his arms are spread out by his sides as he twirls through the decaying grass. "Feels like home doesn't it?"
"It very much does," Josh inhales deeply then sighs, he wasn't lying, it smelt like home too. Something oddly familiar, oddly new but old.
The way Tyler skipped through the field, with his arms out, man, it really reminded Josh of something he wasn't sure what.
So much nostalgia today.
"Hey so uh..." Josh drops his bag by the edge of the clearing, walking further in towards the tree stump.
"What were you going to show me?"
Tyler pauses his dancing, suddenly serious as he walks right up to Josh, grabbing both his shoulders and seating him upon the stump.
"Promise you won't freak out?" He tilts his head like a small puppy.
"I promise."
"Promise you won't run?"
"I promise."
"Promise you'll still be my friend?"
"Tyler..." Josh groans, rolling his yes playfully.
"I'm serious! This may change your view of me!" He shakes Josh's shoulders. "Promise me!"
"Okay okay I promise!" Josh laughs.
"I think I'm a witch."
Josh blinks.
"A witch."
"A witch," Tyler nods in confirmation. "Like an actual one, not those stupid green ones you see on Halloween."
"Like the Salem witches from class right?" Josh asks with a hopeful lilt in his voice, he did listen sometimes.
"Exactly!" The way Tyler's eyes sparkle, Josh believes him, why would Tyler lie to him? "So, I learned that I can do this,"
Josh is just staring at Tyler's outstretched hand, he wants to laugh, it's just his hand was something meant to happen?
When he sees movement from the corner of his eyes, Josh shoots his gaze towards it to see two small twigs floating by his head, and Josh would be lying if he said he didn't jump back away from them.
"Woah woah woah hold on," he's trying to keep calm, Tyler looks excited, but Josh is unsure. "Is that... you?"
"Yeah yeah! Watch!" With a flick of his wrist, one twig is sent flying across the clearing, Josh bites back on a crazy overwhelming urge to chase it.
The other twig is softly placed back on the ground.
"Okay... what else can you do?" Josh squints, this was kind of cool.
Tyler thinks for a moment.
"Okay I can only do this sometimes, but think of a number between one and one thousand."
One thousand! Tyler would never guess-
"Sixty nine? Really Josh are you twelve?"
"How in the fuck..." disbelief, Josh doesn't know all that many big words but he knew that one, and that's what his face read, his body felt, he was just a big ball of disbelief. "No way..."
Tyler beams proudly, clearly satisfied with his work.
"That's why you kept finishing my sentences you sneaky bitch!" He's excited, perhaps too excited as he grips Tyler's shoulders be shakes him. "You're a miracle Tyler Joseph! A bloody damn miracle!"
"I have one more thing," Tyler is suddenly very serious now, he motions for Josh to take another seat, so he does, and he waits patiently.
Ever so gently, so carefully, Tyler floats a nearby birds nest down into Josh's hands, he takes it, and Tyler removes a small baby bird, sending the nest back up into the tree with a soft plop as it is positioned exactly how he found it.
Josh is in awe, this tiny, sleeping creature is being hovered in front of his eyes, it's magical to say the least, it's so small, featherless, such a precious thing.
He keeps watch as Tyler lifts it higher, above their heads, and rotates it a little, and Josh realises Tyler isn't using his hands anymore, he's just staring at it.
It wobbles around, and then it opens its eyes, it looks at Josh.
Then, so quickly Josh can't even register what's happening, it's neck pops and snaps at a violent angle, and he falls to the floor.
Josh looks down, and it's dead, he looks back at Tyler who seems to have a knowing smile on his lips.
"Why did you do that?!" Josh almost screams, he's about to stand to hit Tyler. "It was only a baby! It was small! Why? Why did you kill it!"
Tyler places a soft, fresh and clean smelling finger against Josh's lips, then he kneels to the ground, Josh still frowning and fuming.
Tyler cups the baby bird gently inside the palm of his hand, and he closes his eyes.
He's there for almost a minute when...
"Is that..."
Tyler opens his hands, a fully gown bird exits with a hearty flight, clearly terrified of being held by a human, chirping wildly as it soars away.
Josh just stares at it, watching as it flies away, even when it's far out of sight, he's still watching where it used to be.
"Pretty cool right?" The whisper has a smile to it, Josh can hear it even if he's not looking at Tyler. "I've never made one grow before, I usually just bring them back, and put them back, I always check on them to make sure I haven't disturbed them forever, and that the mom hasn't abandoned it, but everything is always normal." Tyler grins proudly, Josh finally looks to him, completely stunned.
The previous excitement has seemed to calm a little, Josh's constant ADHD like spasms have relaxed, he seems at peace, he seems calm, and he and Tyler are smiling at each other like two mad men.
This is it, Josh thinks, I've got to show him.
"Tyler, there's something I didn't tell you about this," he vaguely lifts his bandaged arm as a gesture. "Promise you won't think I'm crazy?"
Tyler laughs, no, it's a chortle, a massive bellowing sarcastic snort of a thing, he gives Josh this look, this, are-you-actually-serious look.
"I just killed a bird, and brought it back to life as a fully grown adult, and you, you think I'll think you're crazy?" He's wiping fake tears, it makes Josh feel much better.
"I guess you're right, look, when my dog bit me, he went crazy, completely nuts, he shredded my arm apart and I never got it looked at, they would want to put Sparky down if they saw what he did to me, problem is, I already took care of that..." Tyler gulps a little, but nods for Josh to continue.
"It doesn't seem to be healing, I think there's something wrong, do you think... you could look at it for me?" Josh suggests, he's a little shy but he's ready to pull up his sleeve.
Tyler thinks, nods, and agrees.
"Okay, show me." He's still smiling.
Josh rolls up his sleeve, up to his elbow, then carefully unwraps the bandage.
It's oozing now, it hadn't been doing it previously, that mercury-like substance begins to roll down his arm.
"Yeah it's also been doing this." Josh chuckles, but when he looks up to Tyler, he's completely pale, shaking, and looks like he's about to cry.
Josh's smile drops.
"Lycan..." he whispers.
"What?" Josh frowns.
"You've been bit by a Lycan."