one year later

Josh finished the last stroke of his painting, humming along to the quiet music that was playing. He bent down lower and did his signature with a flourish, smiling as he set the brush down on the table besides him and examining his newest piece.

A beautiful sunset, complete with the moon pushed off to one side in a demonstration of how day switched to night. Finally, Josh had finished his favorite piece that he had ever painted, and this was a piece that he had started a little over a year ago.

His phone buzzed, and Josh glanced over at it. It was Audrey. Josh answered quickly.

"Hey!" He grinned as he supported his phone to his ear by his shoulder, wiping the paint of the paintbrush. "How'd it go?"

"It went great." Audrey sounded like she was smiling widely.

"She didn't put her filthy rat hands on you, did she?" Josh teased, standing up to put his paintbrush in one of the tin cans.

"Ha, ha, ha. Very funny, Mr. Dun." She said, pretending to be not amused. "No, but we did kiss."

Josh dropped the paper towel into the trashcan as he walked past it, and began to clap. "Congratulations!" He exclaimed sarcastically. "Is she a good kisser?"

"Heck yeah, bro."

Josh laughed, grabbing his phone off his shoulder and holding it now with his hand. "Hey, I'm about to clean up here, so you can tell me all about the date when I get home, okay?"

"Okay. See you there."

"Bye," Josh said, ending the call. He pocketed his phone, grabbing the painting he had just finished and putting it under his arm. Josh finished cleaning up his workspace, then turned off the lights in the studio and shut the door quietly. As he passed the mirror in the main hall, he paused to run a hand through his messy, now-pink hair.

"Going home?" Troye asked as he passed Josh.

"Yeah," Josh smiled. "I'm really tired from working on this piece for so long, so I'm really glad to finish it. I'm gonna finally be able to relax."

Troye nodded. "It always feels nice when you finish a painting. Alright, see you tomorrow, then, Josh. Say hi to A for me."

"Sure thing, Troye. Bye." Josh waved as he headed out, grabbing the keys from his pocket. He went through them as he walked out of the building, taking a deep breath of the fresh, spring air. There was a slight chill to the breeze, but it was really something that felt quite nice after coming out of winter's freezing temperatures. The steady stream of people walked down the sidewalk, parting around Josh as he made his way to his car.

As Josh tried to find the key to his car, he accidentally dropped them. Just as he was about to bend down and pick them up, a brown-haired man crouched and grabbed them.

"Oh, thank you," Josh said, taking the keys from the man. He looked up at the stranger, and his smile faded.

Tyler smiled hesitantly. "You're welcome."

Josh swallowed nervously, staring at the man, clad in a black suit. The only thing heard was the chatter of people who walked past, and the occasional chirp of a bird or the breeze rustling through the trees.

"What are you doing here?" Josh asked quietly, reaching up to brush away the hair that the wind had run through from his eyes.

Tyler slipped his hands into the pockets of his slacks. His gaze darted around for a second, before shrugging. "I'm not sure."

Josh shifted his painting from his right arm to his left. "I told you to leave me alone."

That made Tyler smile again. "I know."

"Why are you back? Especially now?" Josh asked, expression shifting into one of slight exasperation and questioning.

"I missed you," Tyler responded simply.

Josh sighed deeply, biting his lower lip. "It doesn't work like that. I don't want to see you anymore."

Tyler ran his hand through his hair. "Look, Josh, I tried to stay away, okay? I really tried, my damn hardest. But I just can't."

Silence was Josh's reply. He couldn't think of anything to say, not to that statement.

The crowd of people paid no attention to them, only continuing to part around the two males as they walked by.

"Just give me a second chance," Tyler begged. Josh met his gaze, and the two stared at each other for a second. "I promise I won't mess up this time," Tyler added. "At least, I'll try not to."

Josh shook his head slightly, looking up at the blue sky. "I don't know," he said finally. "Let's just start out as friends. How about that? Let's start over."

Tyler considered this, before grinning. "Alright. Let's start over, then."

Josh nodded, and he put out his hand. "Hi. I'm Josh."

Tyler chuckled, but shook his hand. "Tyler," he responded.

"Neat name. Sounds familiar," Josh pretended to be deep in thought. He pulled his hand out of Tyler's to snap his fingers. "Oh, you're that one billionaire that owns Joseph Enterprises!"

Tyler laughed this time. He shrugged playfully. "That's me," he said in a 'what-can-ya-do?' manner.

"Cool. I just paint for a living." Josh laughed, beginning to walk to his car. Tyler followed, watching as Josh put his stuff into his car. Josh slammed the door shut, then put his hands in his hoodie's pockets. He looked around, body twisting. "You wanna go for a walk?" He proposed. "It's really nice out today."

Tyler nodded. "I like the sound of that."

The two set off down the sidewalk, beginning to ask questions you'd ask somebody who you didn't know. The day passed, and it turned into evening. By then, Josh and Tyler were sitting in a pretty park, watching the sun set.

"It's been a nice day talking to you, Tyler." Josh commented, looking over to smile at him.

"Likewise, Josh," Tyler replied, smiling back. "One thing though: I'm not really digging the pink, man."

Josh burst out laughing, eyes crinkling and wide grin appearing. Tyler laughed too, a little quieter, and then his laughter faded into a smile. He stared at Josh, to the point where Josh felt self-conscious and his laughter died off too.

"What?" Josh said. "Is there something on my face?"

Tyler shook his head. "Nah." He looked to the sunset. "You just have a beautiful laugh, Josh."

Light pink dusted on Josh's cheeks, and he looked at the ground bashfully. There was a soft smile on his face. "Shut up," Josh rolled his eyes, butting shoulders with the other.

The two fell into comfortable silence, watching as the sun dipped below the horizon.

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one chapter left, my dudes :')