a/n: whOO it's been a long time since I've written anything serious on here tbh, I've been focusing on my art book and stuff,, also this is in third-person and I mainly write in first-person so this'll be fun??? also I do little to no editing before publishing oops,,

if you don't know me, I'm planning on publishing a book series (which is in its worldbuilding/character-building phase now) so constructive criticism is very welcome!!

TW: abuse

stay safe loves <3

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      Josh shoved open the flimsy screen door, running out of the house, followed by calls of, "You ungrateful child!" and, "Your father would be disappointed!" He had no clue where he was going. He just knew he needed to leave. He hadn't bothered to pull on a coat, and was left wandering the streets with a white T-shirt and black skinny jeans. He was shivering, but there was no way he could go back right now.

     His feet knew where to turn. Josh found himself standing in front of the park, the low sun throwing warm colors on to the bright equipment. He sat heavily on one of the low swings, avoiding the cold metal chains. He gritted his teeth, refusing to cry. He gently put his finger under his nose. It came away bloody.

     He didn't care. No one cared.

     Footsteps sounded through the area. Josh looked up. He was surprised to see a teen turn the corner, his face in his hands. But Josh recognized him. He couldn't recall a name, but everyone knew this kid at school. He rarely came, but rumors said that he had some disorder or something. He often had fits in class, so his parents generally kept him at home.

     The brown-haired boy looked up, and Josh could see him shaking. His dark eyes widened, and he ran to Josh. "Are you okay?" The skinny teen looked concerned.

Josh didn't answer; he simply stared at the pale teen. After a second, he shook himself from his daze. "Uh, yeah, sorry."

The other boy's brow furrowed. "You're not okay, come with me right now."

"I'd rather not." Josh felt awkward under the brunette's intense gaze.

"Your nose is bleeding and your eye is all swelled up. What happened?" He sat next to Josh, kicking his slim legs after he settled on the swing.

"What's your name?" Josh didn't feel comfortable sharing anything. He didn't even know this kid.

"Tyler Joseph. Were you in a fight or something?"

"I don't want to share."

"Oh. Okay. What's your name?"

"Josh Dun."

"Josh!" someone yelled. Josh flinched, making Tyler look at him with concern. Tyler put his hand on Josh's arm uncertainly.

"Are you okay?" Tyler asked softly.

"Josh, you useless f-g!" Josh's mother stormed around the corner and to the swings, blonde hair unkempt and eyes ablaze. "Who the fuck is this?" She gestured to Tyler.

"I-I'm Ty--"

"He's no one, Ma," Josh interrupted.

"You better get home and finish the work I gave you or there'll be some trouble. Get back to the house!"

Josh nodded, shaky and nervous. He got up from the swing, letting Tyler's hand slide away. His mother grabbed his shirt and dragged him along, swearing at him the whole way. Tyler was left, staring in disbelief, sitting on the swings alone.

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     "Hey," a soft voice said from next to Josh. The red-haired teen looked up to see Tyler.

     "Hey."

     "I'm sorry about what happened last night."

     "It was nothing, it happens all the time." Josh slammed his locker shut, twisting the lock and throwing his black backpack over his shoulder.

     "That's not okay!" Tyler protested.

     Josh rubbed the bandage on his nose in irritation. "It's fine, okay? I'm fine. I don't need help. We're fine." He walked away from the skinny brunette.

     "You're not fine. I know, kind of, what you feel like. I'm pretty fucked-up, too." Tyler was walking next to him now.

     "You seriously think you know how it feels?" Josh had stopped, and was now staring angrily at Tyler. "You think you know what a belt feels like on your goddamn face? It fucking hurts. Don't say you know how it feels unless you actually do." The redhead stormed away, not listening to any of Tyler's calls.

     Tyler ran up next to him. "At least take this." He handed Josh a slip of paper before smiling and running back to where he needed to go. Numbers were scrawled on it.

     Josh scoffed, shoving the thin paper in his pocket. He could feel his shoulders sag with the weight of how he would have to walk home in such cold temperatures. He had a coat, but he couldn't protect his face from the elements very effectively.

A long, bitter walk home resulted in Josh practically crawling to his room, dumping his backpack next to his chair and falling onto his bed. His mother wouldn't be home for another two hours, and he always relished them. Half the time, "relishing" meant that he napped. He had learned his lesson on oversleeping, however.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

He was young and stupid.

His hair had been pink then, but blood was hard to wash out. He had kept it red since.

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thank y'all so much for reading! I hope to update this as much as I can. I'm excited to write more! stay safe, loves <3