Tyler was the biggest show off you could ever meet in your life, and Josh loved it. Tyler took pride in giving him a tour of his home, ranging from the priceless artworks and jewellery filled cabinets, to his very own organic veggie patch.
The guy was crazy, Josh learnt, after being taken to Tyler's walk-in wardrobe. The only peculiarity being that the wardrobe wasn't even in his bedroom, it was a whole room which had another number code lock on the door.
"Celebrities are rich, but there's nothing they love more than free stuff." Tyler had explained when Josh asked why his wardrobe was always locked.
"What would you like to do, Joshua? Grab a bathing suit and go for a swim?" Tyler offered with an excited smile.
This whole situation was insane to Josh but he always found himself nodding along whenever Tyler suggested something else, so of course, he agreed to swimming.
Turns out that even Tyler's swimsuit range was worth who-knows how much. In the end, Tyler wore black shorts with white stitching while Josh settled for a red pair with a golden dragon print on the sides.
Tyler decided to sit back at the edge of the oversized pool with his legs hanging into the water, watching Josh paddle around in the water.
Josh swam up to the edge, resting his arms beside Tyler. "Wha'cha thinking about?"
Tyler's heart swelled in his chest. "I haven't been in this pool for months. I like to see that you're having fun."
"I never swim anymore." Josh shrugged. "I used to take my brother to the pool in Summer. That was fun."
Tyler gagged, "Public pools are horrific. They are so unhygienic."
Josh flicked Tyler's knee. "Not everyone has a pool in their backyard, loser."
"What about the beach? I used to always go there with my family." Tyler argued.
Josh stayed quiet, shrugging again before pushing off of the ledge to swim.
Tyler tensed when the water sprayed onto him and glared at Josh who was already swimming away.
"Get in the water or I'll pull you in." Josh called from the other side of the water.
"You can't tell me what to do, it's my pool." Tyler scoffed.
"And? I'll still pull you, bitch."
Tyler gasped, touching a hand to his chest in horror. "You are so rude for a guest."
Josh pouted. "I just want you to have fun with me."
"I'm having fun here." Tyler said, turning up his nose.
Josh ducked under the water, swimming up to Tyler and grabbing his legs, pulling him under swiftly.
Tyler cried out just before he disappeared under, opening his eyes and squinting at Josh under the water, crossing his arms over his chest as he blew air bubbles out of his nose.
Josh kissed his nose quickly before going up for air. Tyler followed close behind, gasping as he resurfaced before giggling and splashing water at Josh.
"You asshole." He grinned.
Josh cried out as Tyler splashed him. "I told you I was gonna do it!"
And so an intense wrestling match began in the pool, each taking turns squealing and flicking water at the other. Tyler eventually caught hold of Josh's shoulders and held onto him, kicking his legs to stay afloat as he giggled hysterically. Tyler was a decent swimmer, but when he was laughing so hard he couldn't breath staying afloat was rather difficult.
"Let go of me!" Josh giggled, trying to push Tyler away.
"Wait, wait!" Tyler gasped through his laughter, his head dipping below the water.
"I want to be free!" Josh laughed.
"But I'm drowning.. and you're going with me!" Tyler spluttered before pulling Josh back under the water. Josh squealed, trying to swim back up but ultimately being pulled back down by Tyler.
Under the water, Tyler squinted at Josh and leaned in to steal a kiss from Josh, enjoying the way they floated in the quiet water.
Josh was stunned for a moment, staring back as if the water didn't hurt his eyes. Quickly, Josh pushed himself away and swam off.
Tyler nearly gasped in offence before he smirked and chased after Josh again, not lasting long before he had to retreat to the surface again.
Josh pulled himself out of the pool, laying with his back on the cool ground as he tried to catch his breath through laughter. Tyler swam over to him and heaved himself out of the water and sat beside Josh. He grinned silently as he looked down at Josh, dripping all over as he traced Josh's chest with his finger.
Josh smiled bashfully, closing his eyes and basking in the warmth of the sun and feeling of Tyler's finger on his skin.
"I'm gonna go make some lemonade, you can wait here if you want." Tyler said, poking Josh's nose before standing up and heading over to a healthy lemon tree. Tyler took his time examining the lemons and slowly picking the best the tree could offer, then he disappeared back inside to the kitchen which had a large window overlooking the pool.
Josh had sat up, looking over at the bushes which lined the fence while lost in thought. The roses, paired with the fence, were great for security while also looking nice. It was also obvious that by their perfect condition that Tyler put a lot of effort into growing them which Josh had not expected.
Tyler returned later with a jug of frosty lemonade and two glasses, looking straight out of a 60's romance film.
"This is so cheesy." Tyler giggled, setting the tray down on the stone edging of the pool before pouring a glass for Josh and himself
"Your idea." Josh shrugged, looking up at Tyler. "It feels like you're my middle-aged sugar daddy." He hummed, taking a sip of the lemonade.
Tyler groaned, "No, don't say that. I just like stuff."
"'Stuff.' Wow, that's interesting." Josh grinned, laying back on the ground.
"It is and you know it." Tyler remarked, sipping at his glass quietly. "Still can't believe you used to use public pools for fun."
"Jeez, Tyler. I didn't have that many options." Josh rolled his eyes.
"You came from Columbus, yeah?" Tyler asked. Josh nodded in response. "Then you could have just driven to Cleaveland, it only takes two hours."
Josh sighed quietly. "Alright, I'll go back and tell myself that."
Tyler looked at him with a frown, "You're mad. Why are you mad?"
"I'm not mad." Josh mumbled, taking a sip.
"You have that pissed off look." Tyler said knowingly. He'd seen that look countless times before and it always came prior to an argument.
"I'm just- I don't know... jealous? It's whatever." Josh said quietly.
Tyler was speechless, he hadn't expected Josh to drop his pride and be honest. Tyler then smiled and placed a hand on Josh's thigh, "I'll take you there some time, it's a lovely drive from Columbus to the beach."
Josh didn't have the heart to tell Tyler that he'd rather go anywhere but near Columbus, but knew better than that so he smiled gently. "Thank you." He then looked down at Tyler's arm. "What's up with your vein?" He asked quietly, confused.
Tyler pulled his arm away as if he'd been burnt, casually sliding his other hand over the inside of his elbow and holding it there. "Birth defect." He stated it, brushing it off.
Josh was quiet for a moment, thinking. "Are you sure?"
"It's been there my whole life, so yes I'm sure." Tyler snapped without warning.
"Then why are you so angry? Jeez." Josh mumbled, looking back at the hedges.
"Why are you always asking questions?" Tyler muttered in reply.
"It's just- I'm overthinking it. Don't worry about it."
"Thank you." Tyler scoffed, rolling his eyes. The two returned to silence and it didn't take long before Tyler felt guilty. He moved his hand away from his forearm and placed it on Josh's shoulder, "I'm sorry for snapping."
Josh seemed to ignore Tyler's voice while he stared at his arm. "Tell me those aren't track marks."
Tyler tensed and shrugged it off, "I travel a lot, that means a lot of injections."
"Fuck off, I'm not dumb." Josh mumbled, sitting up quickly. "Are those fucking track marks?"
"No." Tyler denied, his voice rising cooly. "I'm not some addict."
Josh talked calmly now, "Ty, if you've got a problem you need to tell someone."
Tyler slammed his glass down hard enough that Josh was surprised it didn't crack. "I don't have a problem, and I'm not shooting up!"
"Then why are you so mad?" He sighed.
"Because you never believe anything I say." Tyler hissed.
"Because you can't talk to me without getting pissed at me!"
Tyler rose to his feet. "Gosh, I knew you'd act like this. I let you come to my house, I show you my writing room, I have sex with you- and you still don't trust me."
"I'm worried about you!" Josh glared, getting up too.
"Well stop! There's no point because I'm fine."
"God, I'm so sorry." Josh huffed.
"You should be. Quit acting like you know everything about me, fucking journalists." Tyler scoffed.
"Stop stereotyping me whenever you don't agree with me!" Josh pouted.
"Agree? You're attacking me."
"I wouldn't be 'attacking you' if you weren't covered in fucking track marks! Tyler, we both know that doesn't come from fucking vaccines!"
Tyler started to walk back to the house as if he could just avoid the conversation, but of course Josh followed him. "You're never going to believe me, this is why you're so hard to talk to." Tyler yelled as he walked through his house.
"Why do you think I'm so fucking dumb, Tyler? I spent my childhood surrounded by addicts and you're no fucking different!" Josh shouted.
Tyler whipped around and gave Josh a look which could kill, then he surged forward and took hold of Josh's wrist. "You must think you know everything, just cause you had some crackhead parents who didn't love you." Tyler seethed, pulling Josh through his house and up the stairs.
While Tyler wasn't nearly as strong as Josh, his grip was like a vice, or perhaps it was just because of the amount of shock Josh was in. But finally, they reached a door which they hadn't entered before. "If you know so much, see it for yourself." Tyler spat before opening the door and shoving Josh in.
"Fuck you." Josh finally glared in response at Tyler, looking around in confusion to the room he was in.
The room was dark, none of the lights were turned on and the curtains were drawn, but it was obvious that it was the master bedroom. It seemed only messy at first, but the more Josh's eyes wandered the room the more that he saw. Empty bottles littered the floor, snap bags of powders and pills, and bottles paired with injection equipment lay around the room like dirty laundry.
"You- You need help." Josh said quietly, staring dejectedly at his surroundings.
Tyler scoffed, "I'm not an addict. It's just a collection. Lots of people collect wine but it doesn't mean they're alcoholics."
"Are you fucking kidding? This is disgusting!" Josh raised his voice finally. "Is this a joke to you? You fucking sicko."
Tyler's heart rate was gaining speed by the second. "If it weren't for all this, Joshua. I wouldn't have been able to write all my songs of the past three years! I would be dead!"
"Go to a fucking doctor! Get some help! You don't need this shit to live, you don't need to write if it demands drugs!"
"Gosh are you listening to yourself? Who's actually sober in this business these days, and still successful?"
"Looking after yourself is more important than being famous!" Josh felt so frustrated, not knowing how to talk to Tyler about this or how to get out of this conversation.
Tyler moved closer to Josh, at least now not blocking the doorway. "Do you like the song Isle of Flightless Birds? Crowd favourite. Do you know how fucking high I was when I wrote that?" Tyler rambled, his hands trembling unsteadily at his sides.
Josh stepped back away from Tyler, narrowly avoiding the items on the ground. "Your fans would understand- They would understand if you changed your writing."
"They'd want to know why, and would you understand? Do you understand, Joshua?" Tyler dared to asked.
Josh stared up at him. "I don't think I want to understand." He said quietly.
Tyler went still as if he was thinking Josh's words through, then looked hurt. Tyler looked away and muttered something which didn't make much sense.
"What?" Josh asked, frowning.
"The address. Go call a cab, Brendon, whoever- I don't care. Just leave. I'll buzz you out." Tyler spoke, sounding defeated.
Josh took a deep breath before pushing past him lightly, going to grab his things quickly.
As Josh got into the cab he was wearing his own clothes, his face felt numb purely from how bad he felt. He wouldn't tell anyone, but he cried the whole way home.
Stepping into his own home for the first time in over two weeks felt unusual to say the least. For once Josh was thankful for the quiet house, usually finding comfort in Brendon having friends over. Josh knocked on Brendon's door before just walking in without a response.
"You were gone too long." Brendon sighed, looking over at him from his phone. "We've been over this, you need to talk to me."
"Yeah, I'm an idiot. Can we not talk about me?" Josh sniffed, crawling into bed beside Brendon.
"I went to that parlour you suggested. One of my old friends works there now." Josh smiled tiredly, grabbing Brendon's arms softly to wrap them around himself.
Brendon didn't hesitate to pull Josh close to him, smiling down at him. "Really? That's great to hear but dude, you were gone two weeks."
"I felt like I was living a new life. I got to pretend I wasn't myself and it was amazing."
Brendon couldn't help but frown, "I thought you loved your life right now?"
Josh leaned into him. "Everything kinda sucks right now." He mumbled.
"Did something happen while you were gone? I thought you only just got back?" Brendon questioned him, both confused and concerned for his well-being.
"I just had a fight with Tyler and I'm- I'm just overreacting, so."
Brendon tensed, "What did that creep do now?"
"We- I really like him, Brend', don't be mean." Josh mumbled. Though he was upset, Josh still wanted to defend Tyler any chance he got.
"I don't like him, Josh. You know that he came here and snooped around your room while you were gone?"
"At first I was mad... But it felt like someone cared that I was gone." Josh sniffed.
Brendon scoffed, his hold loosening on Josh as if he were repulsed by him. "What, because I don't?"
"I- Shit- I didn't mean that!" He gasped, looking back at Brendon quickly.
"I think you did. Man, I should go and ask Tyler for advice on how to care about other people. Apparently he's a pro."
Josh pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes. "Fuck, I'm sorry, ok! I said the wrong thing! I've had such a long day."
"God, probably- is that a hickey?" Brendon asked, his eyes going wide as he tugged down Josh's collar. "It is! Who gave you that? Tyler the Christian fag?"
Josh just pushed him away sluggishly. "Yeah. Don't worry about it, he hates me again."
"Why? Cause you called him gay after he made out with you?" Brendon laughed wickedly, holding no sympathy for Tyler or Josh.
Josh began to cry silently. He wasn't even that upset at the moment, just so overwhelmed by everything. He had never known how to handle his thoughts and emotions and this was just a pitiful example. "I said he had a problem and he showed me his stash." He said absently.
Brendon's smile dropped, "stash like, drug stash?" He asked seriously, leaning in closer to Josh in curiosity.
Josh grabbed at his own hair, pulling at it as a form of leverage. "I need to stop fucking talking."
"Josh, take a deep breath and tell me what happened. Did he hurt you? Threaten you?" Brendon asked with a strange amount of gentleness.
Josh just held onto his hair with a sense of urgency. "I'm not talking about this, Brendon. He already hates me enough. I always say too much I'm so- So dumb."
"What happened? Josh, what did you do?" Brendon asked, easing Josh's hands out of his hair and holding them gently but firmly.
"I- I saw marks on his arms and when- when I asked about it he got so mad... 'nd he said my parents didn't love me." Josh sniffed, squeezing Brendon's hands slightly. "They just didn't know how to take care of me! They loved me, Brend. Right?"
As much as Brendon hated Tyler, he decided not to direct every problem at him just for Josh's sake. "Josh, you know that they did. They were just trying to protect you." Brendon reassured him, but he knew that what he said held no meaning.
Josh's parents were assholes and didn't deserve the title of 'parents,' who didn't give a shit about their children, but sometimes the illusion was easier to handle than the truth. Brendon hated thinking about it, but he was friends with Ryan, and he knew that Tyler's parents didn't love him either. He knew that Tyler knew that, and Ryan always told him that the reason as to why Tyler's life had spiralled out of control was because he knew that. While Josh knew the truth, he had gotten past the point Tyler was stuck in and Brendon didn't want to see it happen again.
"We had fun." Josh mumbled, frowning. "Why'd I have to say anything?"
"It's okay that you said something, the way that he responded was his own choice. A lot of addicts I know can be shitty when they're trying to convince people they're not sick. It's like-" Brendon paused thoughtfully, stroking the back of Josh's hand. "It's like they want you to think that they're an asshole on their own accord, not because of the drugs."
Josh took every word in though staying silent. After a few moments he spoke up, "can you please let go of my hands? I need a hug."
"Of course, anytime." Brendon said in a hushed voice, pulling Josh tight against his chest and pressing kisses into his hair. Cuddling with Brendon never lasted, and Josh stood correct as Brendon's hand roamed lower.
"I think I know what will make you feel better, Josh." Brendon purred, unbuckling Josh's belt skillfully.
Josh curled his hands in Brendon's shirt, nodding gently. He was really too exhausted to think this over and knew that it would at least distract him for a while.
With Josh's conformation, Brendon slowly sunk down and eased the other boy onto his back.
On the night you left I came over
And we peeled the freckles from our shoulders.
-Death Cab For Cutie, Summer Skin