[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/RSPHwXo.gif?1[/img]
[u][b]Location;[/b][/u] Tyler’s House → Josh’s House → Beverly Hills High School
[u][b]Interacting With;[/b][/u] Each Other [sup][@foxygen][/sup]
[u][b]Time;[/b][/u] 6:30 A.M. - 8:15 A.M.[/center][hr][indent]Tyler half-wished he could just let Josh live at his house, because then the ever-stressful first day of school wouldn't be such a burden. Alas, the sleepover he'd begged to let go on until at least the first week was over, ended just a day before school began - that is, Josh had to go home on the fourteenth of August. If it was his choice, Tyler would just reserve the pull-out couch for his best friend, but they both had their own strict parents. It was worse for Josh, hence his concern. Blame it on his anxiety or what have you, but Tyler didn't trust Josh's safety to remain intact even a day away from him. What if he waltzed into Beverly Hills High on the fifteenth with bruises beyond Ty's counting capabilities? Tyler's parents weren't the greatest, sure, but he didn't live in that kind of fear constantly.

So, with his best friend's welfare weighing on his mind, Tyler didn't catch much sleep. He could get to Josh's early, but not too early, so as not to arouse any suspicion, so, of course, he arose at around six-thirty in the morning. He tugged a plain black hoodie over his head and stepped drowsily into some dingy old skinny jeans, not bothering with a shower since he was in such a rush but downing Listerine so he wasn't too unpleasant. Tyler shoved whatever spare pencils he could find and a basketball into his backpack before hustling downstairs, slipping sneakers on, and raiding the kitchen. It was doubtful that Josh had anything to eat over there (or if he did, he was likely giving the luxury to his siblings), so Tyler packed a handful of granola bars away before racing through the door. 

Oh, God, he hadn't thought this far ahead. The open garage granted him a few options: skateboard, car, bike... He was a terrible skater, and he couldn't drive to save his own life, but he was an alright cyclist. So Tyler pedalled all the way to the next cul-de-sac over, letting his bike fall over on the curb, before stepping up to the porch. He honestly didn't care what Josh thought of his physical appearance at this point, but when he caught sight of himself in the front window's reflection, he cringed a little and started trying to smooth out his hair. All fruitless attempts. Giving up, he spat the mouthwash still in his mouth out into the grass and knocked on the door sharply. Seven a.m. They had about an hour to spare.

Josh’s eyes snapped open as soon as he heard a small shuffle outside the door; even before the knock had come. He’d tried to sleep in his room but the never-ending nightmares that were his siblings were in the next room, and his father just across the hall from him, so the sofa became his refuge. Not like that helped him with his sleep - he simply lay there with his eyes shut, hoping that he might even get two hours of sleep this time. Jumping up, he slipped into his shirt (which was slumped across the sofa arm as a pillow, since the last one he had got pissed on by his drunken father) and raced to the door. [color=#73d6ff][b]“Wh- Ty?”[/b][/color] he exclaimed as he opened the door, to see a sleep deprived Ty in front of him. [color=#73d6ff][b]“What are you doing here? If my dad wakes up he’s gonna kill me!”[/b][/color] Josh’s words were usually blunt and rather emotionless, but this time they came out stern; the likes of which he’d only seen with his dad. An apologetic look now spreading across his face, he looked at Tyler. [color=#73d6ff][b]“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for it to come out like that…”[/b][/color] his words trailed off, his gaze slipping to the floor.

Tyler recoiled from the door as soon as it opened, a bit startled by the speed with which whoever responded appeared - and, admittedly, he half-anticipated Josh’s father to get there first - but it was just Josh himself. He breathed out an audible sigh of relief, only to suck in more breath at the tone his friend took on. He visibly settled, though, at the apology. [color=mediumaquamarine][b]“No, don’t worry,”[/b][/color] Tyler said quickly, waving his hands around uselessly. [color=mediumaquamarine][b]“I’m breaking you out, man, are you ready? We’ve got, like, an hour until eight, so…”[/b][/color] Not that he necessarily wanted to be there on time. Only the preps were there early, and they were no fun to be around. He looked behind himself a little uncertainly, realising he may have to balance Josh on his bike’s handlebars at this point. [color=mediumaquamarine][b]“Uhh. It’d be great if you had, like, a board or something, too. But y’know.”[/b][/color]

Josh weighed the options in his mind. There wasn’t anything for the kids to get around in - just his dad’s stupid old car. Was it worth it? It had to be. Anything was better than being here, but Tyler would go mad. And his dad? God, he’d be horrible. But he had to take risks. [color=#73d6ff][b]“There is something. Grab your bike.”[/b][/color] He quickly rushed inside, fumbling around the sitting room for the car keys. Come on… where did he keep them? Josh’s half-open eyes caught a glimpse of something shining in the dim light that came from the door, and he grabbed them, trying not to make a noise. Quickly, he snatched his shoes and slipped them on, before peeking his head out of the door. [color=#73d6ff][b]“Do I need to pack anything, Ty? It might give my dad a hint, not that it’ll make him any less red.”[/b][/color]

It occurred far too late to Tyler what was going on here. Evidently, he was too tired to catch on to the fact that Josh was going to up and take his father’s car. He knew full well the repercussions, didn’t he? Tyler nearly protested, but that’d just send them into an argument likely to wake up the family inside. He drove the heel of his hand into his eye like it’d make this any less frustrating and considered the question. When he blinked both eyes again, his vision was spotty and static, but the circumstances hadn’t improved. [color=mediumaquamarine][b]“No… I’ve got school stuff, you can just share with me, or whatever.”[/b][/color] Looking particularly defeated, Tyler stepped away from the door to allow his friend a path out. [color=mediumaquamarine][b]“Are you sure? Like. Really sure. He’s not just gonna be red - it’ll be, like, red-black-yellow. Y’know?”[/b][/color] In spite of his uneasy words, Tyler was backing towards the car, prepared to bolt out of there.

The anxiety was building up inside of Josh as he saw his friend become slightly blue. He bit his bottom lip as Tyler spoke, but slowly nodded in response to his question. [color=#73d6ff][b]“It’s pretty much the best option. I just… I have to get away from this place. It’s so grey-white, I can’t-”[/b][/color] he choked on his words. [color=#73d6ff][b]“I can’t take it anymore, Ty.”[/b][/color] Josh quickly closed the door behind him, locking it and slipping the keys under the door - it had seen better days, so was slowly getting more and more warped, meaning there was a ever-growing large gap under it. [color=#73d6ff][b]“I’ll start warming up the engine and help you get your bike in the trunk.”[/b][/color] The boy jogged over to the car, relieved the door was finally closed. This was actually happening; Tyler was helping him escape. He just didn’t want to think about the consequences that may come with this decision.

Unlocking (and opening) the door, he shook away the negative thoughts as much as he could, inserting the keys and twisting. The engine let out a small splutter, before almost relaxing into a gentle hum. Josh thanked God that it didn’t decide to have one of its’ usual coughing fits; not that he had much faith in the so-called Man in the Sky. His past experiences had denied him that pleasure, therefore leaving him to do all the work of fixing his looks; his negativity. ‘Hide it all under a smile’, that’s what his parents had taught him; that the world is a place worth living in. He squinted his eyes, blinking a couple of times - he had to stop himself from drowning in his thoughts like he always did. Lately it had started to seem that one single touch of his fragile surface would send this house of cards toppling to the ground.

Sighing, he turned to his friend. [color=#73d6ff][b]“Right, the engine should be warm enough in a few. Time to get your bike in.”[/b][/color] Obediently, Tyler shoved the backseat over to make enough room for his bicycle to fit both over them and the trunk. In his haste, he didn’t bother to straighten it out or make any efforts towards neatness; rather, he swiftly clicked the trunk closed and then navigated to the front where he could sit in the passenger’s beside Josh. Tyler made no comments towards the car’s temperature; mid-August was warm enough around here, anyway. Instead, he just shot Josh a pleading look to hurry the hell up.

That silent encouragement seemed to be enough, because the drive to school was quick and quiet. Tyler himself was just contemplating how much trouble Josh would be in. Not like he’d have any implication in the matter of [i]literally stealing Mr. Nelson’s car[/i]. He brushed the thought away - people couldn’t enter Beverly Hills High looking all depressed without rumours starting or peers jumping on them questioning ‘why the long face?’ So, probably inspired by Josh’s personal motto, Tyler put on his own nervous little smile as he exited the car. He could voice how brown-blue he felt now, but that’d just dampen Josh’s mood as well. Tyler went for a vague grin directed towards his friend instead. [color=mediumaquamarine][b]“Just in time for the assembly. Check it, they’ve got cookies.”[/b][/color] Admittedly, he was a bit wary to approach the Queen Bee herself to snatch himself a snack, so he lingered behind Josh indecisively.

[color=#73d6ff][b]“B-but I don’t… I don’t want to… go over there…”[/b][/color] he looked down at the ground, shuffling his feet with a sigh. Josh turned around to face Tyler. [color=#73d6ff][b]“Do you like, [i]really[/i] want a cookie? Because I c-can get you one, i-if you want.”[/b][/color] The thought of not getting a cookie for Ty made Josh feel green-black, but when he thought about actually approaching the [i]Queen Bee[/i] made him blue and want to throw up; there was an aura of lavender and amethyst all about her. It was a constant battle in his mind and he didn’t know whether he was winning or losing. Right now, it just felt there’d be no end to it. Josh looked down at his feet again, leaving Tyler staring at messy tufts of cherry hair. [color=#73d6ff][b]“I don’t w-want you to feel b-blue, but I just…”[/b][/color] he trailed off like always, his heart heavy. He was constantly scolding himself in his mind - why let himself get so wound up over it? Tyler would be okay with it, he always was! ...Right?

[color=mediumaquamarine][b]“Hey, whoa!”[/b][/color] Tyler’s hands were quickly on Josh’s shoulders and he was closing the gap between them, looking around frantically to gauge exactly how many people they were going to be crowded by. The school was at least merciful enough to split up the freshman and sophomores away from juniors and seniors, so that each assembly was less horrific. Tyler knew that wasn’t the most comforting thought when you were as anxious as himself or Josh, though, so he bit back the thought. Even given his own proneness to panic attacks, he easily grew defensive when it seemed like someone else was close to having one. [color=mediumaquamarine][b]“Listen, it’s okay, just… we can’t exactly… skip the assembly.”[/b][/color]

With that, Tyler was inspecting the doorway, trying to find a way in that freed them from having to converse with others. Lo and behold, the Queen Bee they were so terrified of moved along to another booth inside, and Tyler rushed over to the door to hold it for Josh. He hazarded a glance through the doorway, figuring the size of the crowd wasn’t necessarily so bad yet but the colours might be overwhelming. He shut both eyes like he was willing it all to go away, but of course, it didn’t. Out of options, Tyler stuck to Josh as if he were the centre of gravity, placing a hand between his shoulders to help guide him along. [color=mediumaquamarine][b]“Signing up for anything…?”[/b][/color] he tried for conversation, trying desperately to hide the fact that he was leaning over the counter of another booth and signing himself up for basketball. Didn’t hurt to give it a shot - no pun intended.

Josh was shaking like a leaf, but Tyler’s hands on his shoulders reassured him a little. However, looking around, everything began to feel copper-burgundy and he took a sharp inhale, barely able to hear the words of his friend as the noise echoed through his ears, bouncing around his head. [color=#73d6ff][b]“Uh… I don’t really feel all up to signing up for any clubs. I guess i-if they ha-had an art club, that might be- um, c-cool.”[/b][/color] Josh’s nerves were really getting to him now, and he stumbled over nearly every word. [color=#73d6ff][b]“Tyler, I-I-I-”[/b][/color] 

Heavy breathing consumed the boy’s words; umber starting to overwhelm him. He sharply turned on his heel to look at Tyler, his face copper-azure, with a desperate plea for escape in his eyes. His lungs felt like they were collapsing, as if each breath was getting smaller and smaller, but the room around him was rapidly growing, making him shrink where he stood. Josh ended up gazing emptily at the corner; the people moving around blurring into one and the desire to bury his face into Tyler’s shirt ever-growing.

It was hard to miss anxiety attacks in general, but when you know someone for a long enough time, it becomes a sort of superpower where you can detect their onset. Tyler was pretty sure he was witnessing that right now. He shot a quick glance around the room, chest heaving for a moment, before wrapping an arm around Josh’s shoulders and leading them back the way they came. Just to avoid looking too suspicious, he halted at a booth for art club and scribbled both his and Josh’s name on a sign-up sheet (and promptly refused the pamphlet being offered to him). [color=mediumaquamarine][b]“Hey, you know, I think they’re finishing up anyway…”[/b][/color] Even though the assembly obviously wasn’t over, Tyler liked to think he sounded convincing enough. 

He led them back out into the field adjacent to the auditorium, and promptly started digging around in his bag for a granola bar. [color=mediumaquamarine][b]“You didn’t eat, did you? Here, have this.”[/b][/color]

[color=#73d6ff][b]“T-Thanks.”[/b][/color] The boy stammered, trying to resist just ravenously snatching the bar from Tyler’s hands like a wild animal. He was shaking all over; the granola bar’s foil wrapper just rustling from being held in his hand. Slowly, he peeled it off, nibbling at it. He got nearly a quarter of the way through the bar when he suddenly stopped, blinking. [color=#73d6ff][b]“Everything i-is um-umber…”[/b][/color] He murmured as his eyes rolled into the back of his head, his body falling limp onto the ground.[/indent]