CATEGORY: Fluff
FEATURING: curious!Josh and anxious!Tyler, friendship!Joshler
TRIGGER WARNINGS: None :3
PROMPT: Everyone has to wear a bracelet on their wrist (as pictured). Tyler always wears his bracelet red-side out, but one day Josh decides to talk to him.
WORD COUNT: Approximately 640 (very short, sorry)
I saw one of these bracelets on Pinterest and GOSH DARN IT I FREAKING WANT ONE. Here's a picture of the bracelet:

Josh was not one to break the bracelet rules.

He, like many others, quite liked the bracelets. The bracelets were silicone, red on the inside and green on the outside. Both sides had text on it, in big white letters. The green side read "HAPPY TO TALK", and when someone's bracelet was worn green-side out, it meant that you could talk to them as much as you wanted. The red side, on the other hand, read "PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE". When somebody wore their bracelet red-side-out, you were supposed to leave them alone.

The bracelets had become a fad a few years ago, and since then everyone wore them, including adults. Recently, it had even become law to wear one if you were a current US citizen, though it didn't change much, since everyone wore them anyway.

Josh's bracelet was almost always green-side-out. He rarely had cause to be sad or upset about anything. He did well in school, he had good friends, nice family, practically anything a 14-year-old boy could want.

Most people switched back and forth between red and green, but there was one boy in Josh's class whose bracelet was always red.

The boy's name was Tyler, and Josh had never heard him speak.

He only knew the boy's name from the teacher, who had to call on Tyler during attendance. He didn't speak, though: he just raised his hand. Since his bracelet was always red, nobody ever talked to him, and they never made him talk, either.

Besides his name and demeanor, Josh knew a few other things about Tyler. He spent much of class doodling--Josh had seen the tiny drawings he made on his notebook paper--but he got good grades anyway. He didn't seem to have any friends, since he never spoke. And he always sat alone during lunch.

When somebody has their bracelet red-side-out, you're not supposed to speak to them. Josh knew that. Last year, a boy had been bothering a girl whose bracelet was red, and he got taken to the principal's office for a lecture on respect and personal space.

Josh didn't want to get in trouble, but somehow, he knew he had to talk to Tyler.

The next day, during free period, Josh went in search of Tyler. He was able to find him in a quiet corner of the library, where the small boy was hunched over some notebook paper, pen in hand. A stack of school books sat next to him on the desk, but none of them were opened. Looking a bit closer, Josh noted that he was doodling again.

As usual, Tyler's bracelet was red-side-out. Josh stepped closer and lightly tapped the boy's shoulder. "Hey."

Looking up from his doodles, Tyler held up his arm for a moment, showing his bracelet, as if trying to prove to Josh that he wanted to be left alone. Then he put his arm back down, and went back to his doodling.

"You're Tyler, right?"

With a partly veiled, frustrated look on his face, Tyler held up his arm again. "Please leave me alone," he said in a soft voice.

It was the first time Josh had ever heard him speak. That had to count for something.

"I'm sorry, I just...I see you in class all the time, and I've never once seen your bracelet green-side-out."

Tyler lowered his eyes, fiddled with his bracelet slightly. "I get anxious easily."

"Anxious?" Josh sat on the other side of the table.

"Yeah. Talking to people, especially." Tyler shrugged.

"I'm sorry." Suddenly feeling guilty for making Tyler talk to him, Josh stood. Maybe this was a mistake.

"No, it's okay." Tyler looked up again, and Josh saw sincerity in his eyes. "I guess you can stay."

Josh sat back down, smiling at Tyler, and to his surprise, Tyler gave him a tiny smile in return.

And that was how Joshua Dun and Tyler Joseph first met.