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Josh stood, in his black T-shirt and black jeans with a red Solo cup in hand, staring with glazed eyes at the mass of people in front of him. He’d been invited to this party by a friend, but he didn’t quite know why he decided to come.
It was a relatively large backyard party, with bright lights strung from trees, hanging over a pool in the ground. His friend had set up speakers on the back porch, which were blasting music that Josh considered subpar.
He looked down at the cup in his hands, filled with some drink Josh had planned on sipping throughout the night. But for some reason, he hadn’t yet. He was unusually content with standing at the edge of the backyard, watching the crowd of people in front of the speakers having fun.
Josh’s breath caught in his throat as he noticed a pretty guy with short, fluffy brown hair start to approach him. He smiled at him, trying to appear friendly.
“Hey, man!” the guy said once he was close enough to be heard.
“Hey, what’s up?” Josh greeted, trying to sound nonchalant. He didn’t know if it was coming across that way. He was immediately entranced by the person in front of him. Josh’s eyes darted around, desperately trying not to stare.
“Have we met yet?” the man asked. “I don’t think we have.”
Josh shook his head. “I don’t think so,” he said with a polite smile.
He held out his hand. “Tyler Joseph.”
Josh transferred his drink to his left hand to shake Tyler’s hand with his right. “Joshua Dun, if we’re doing full names. ‘Josh’ is fine though.”
Tyler laughed, making Josh’s heart flutter. “How’d you hear about this party, Josh?” he asked.
“Oh, I know the host,” he responded. “What about you?”
“Not too sure, actually.” Tyler laughed again. “Friends of friends, I suppose.”
Josh nodded. “I don’t really know why I came, honestly. I don’t know anyone here.”
“Well, you know me now,” Tyler said with a smile before turning his head towards the crowd of people.
It was interesting talking to Tyler. Josh didn’t feel nearly as suffocated as he usually did when talking to someone new. He couldn’t quite place why.
“This music is awful,” Tyler declared, turning back to Josh. “You wanna dance?”
Josh wasn’t sure if he heard him correctly. “Uh… what?”
“Let’s dance,” he repeated. A wide grin spread across his face.
Josh held his hand up defensively. “I don’t dance.”
“Sure you do! Come on,” Tyler said, grabbing his hand and leading him towards the music.
Josh laughed as he was being pulled by Tyler, not putting up much of a fight. “How drunk are you right now?”
Tyler glanced back at him with a glimmer in his eyes. “Not drunk at all.”
Josh felt his heart surge as they entered the crowd of people, fully aware how out of place he was. But that awareness quickly dissipated as he watched Tyler wave his arms around, supposedly “dancing”.
“Dance with me, Josh!” Tyler yelled over the blaring music, motioning with his hands to join him.
Josh couldn’t help but laugh at his terrible moves. “Are you sure you’re not drunk?” he asked teasingly.
Tyler’s smiling eyes met Josh’s. “I’ve never been more sober.”
Josh could tell that he was telling the truth. He stood, motionless, grinning like an absolute idiot, staring at Tyler.
Once he noticed, Tyler grabbed Josh’s free hand and waved his arm around in an attempt to get him to move.
Josh rolled his eyes, still smiling. “Fine, fine,” he muttered, stepping to the side to place his cup on a table.
Tyler cheered, making Josh blush. He still didn’t completely let loose, but managed to bob his head and slightly move his body to the beat of the music. He desperately hoped he didn’t look painfully awkward.
But the more he moved, the less he cared what he looked like. As long as he was focused on Tyler, no one else mattered. Josh was shocked by how easy and quickly he was able to relax in the presence of a man he just met. Under normal circumstances, Josh would’ve never stepped foot into the crowd of people without a couple drinks beforehand. But if Tyler was here, doing this sober, so could he.
“See? You can dance!” Tyler yelled.
“I don’t think I’d call this dancing,” Josh laughed.
Tyler suddenly got close enough to speak into Josh’s ear, making him freeze up. “Everybody here is drunk anyway, I don’t think they care.”
Josh admired his carelessness for whether or not people were paying attention to him. He continued to watch Tyler, oblivious to how close he had gotten to the edge of the pool until his foot slipped and his body plummeted into the water.
The world went quiet as his head was submerged. With his eyes closed, it was almost tranquil. Josh hadn’t been completely sober at a party in ages. He was rarely ever wasted, but always inebriated enough to feel the effects.
When his head rose above the surface, Tyler was the first thing he saw, looking shocked and concerned at the same time. It took a couple more seconds for him to realize that everyone in the vicinity was looking at him as well. Josh’s cheeks burned with embarrassment.
“Oh my god, are you okay?” Tyler asked frantically.
Josh waded towards the edge of the pool. “Yeah, yeah, I’m good.”
Tyler outstretched his hand for Josh to take, but when Josh grabbed his arm, he smiled at Tyler mischievously. He saw Tyler’s eyes go wide with a moment of realization before Josh pulled him down into the pool. He laughed, almost maniacally, as Tyler shot up out of the water, gasping for air.
Tyler was grinning ear to ear, his hair sticking to his forehead. “Rude!” he said before splashing Josh.
Josh yelped and turned away, raising his arms to shield himself before splashing back. “Payback for making me dance.”
“You’re lucky I don’t get embarrassed easily,” Tyler said.
“Really?” Josh asked sarcastically. “I couldn’t tell.”
Tyler gave a final splash, making Josh laugh again.
He offered his hand to Tyler, who playfully scowled at him. “C’mon, I’m not gonna do anything. You’re already in the pool.”
Tyler dropped his scowl for a smile and took his hand. They slowly moved towards the steps and climbed out of the pool.
Someone handed them each a towel, to which they gratefully accepted. Wrapping the towels around themselves, they walked away from the crowd and towards a secluded dark corner of the backyard, both of them seemingly having had enough attention for the night.
Josh caught his mind wandering. He had just met Tyler, yet it felt like they’d known each other for years. He was in awe of how immediately comfortable he became around a near stranger. But he couldn’t shake the sudden fear that Tyler did this with someone at every party he went to. He seemed way too confident for this not to be a common occurrence.
An intense wave of insecurity washed over Josh. He was almost angry. Tyler could’ve spent this night with anyone else, but he chose him.
“Why me?” Josh blurted.
Tyler eyed him curiously. “What do you mean?”
“I mean…” Josh sighed, lowering himself to sit on the grass. Tyler followed suit. “Why did you approach me? Out of all people?”
Tyler pulled at a loose thread on the towel. “I don’t know, you… you just seemed so… cool. Too cool to be alone.”
Josh couldn’t help but smile a bit. “So… pity?” he asked, fully knowing that’s not what he meant.
Tyler’s eyes went wide. “No, no, that’s— that’s not—” he laughed, almost nervously.
Nervously? Was Tyler Joseph suddenly nervous?
Josh looked down. Silence fell between them, but even with the conversation they were having, it didn’t feel particularly awkward.
“I mean I find you attractive,” Tyler said suddenly.
Josh looked back up. His eyes skittered around, landing on every one of Tyler’s features except for his eyes. He noticed the slope of his nose, the curve of his eyebrows, the fullness of his pink lips. His eyes darted away as Tyler slowly leaned closer.
“Nights like these don’t happen very often, Joshua,” he said softly, slowly, almost reading Josh’s mind.
Josh swallowed. “They… they don’t?”
Tyler gently shook his head. “I promise, they don’t.”
Josh’s heart rate skyrocketed as Tyler took his hand. He forced himself to meet his eyes. They were dark in the dim light, but so deeply intense. And once he looked, he couldn’t seem to break his gaze away.
“Where do you want this night to go?” Tyler whispered, his face inches from Josh’s now.
Josh’s eyes flicked to his lips, then back up.
“What do you want?”
“I want…” Josh breathed. “I want you to kiss me.”
Tyler smiled, then closed the gap between them. Josh could taste the chlorine still on his lips. They lingered there for a moment before separating.
Josh smiled before pulling Tyler back in. He felt a hand in his wet hair as he grabbed at Tyler’s shirt, still drenched from the pool. He felt Tyler smile with their lips pressed together.
Josh couldn’t have been more glad that he left his drink. He didn’t need it tonight. Tyler gave him the same warm feeling in his chest, the same intoxicating headrush. It was suddenly unbearably obvious that he wasn’t supposed to be chasing the high of a substance at every party when he could find it just as easily in the right person. If Tyler could be with him at every party he went to, every social gathering, every waking second of his life, he’d never need to drink again.
There was one thing going through Josh’s mind as they finally pulled apart and stared into each other’s eyes.
I think I could get used to this.