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Running through the school hallways, he tried to escape the mean kids who were always bullying him.
“Hmm? What happened, Josh?” Ashley asked, looking at her friend.
“B-Brendon and Ryan and the others are picking on me,” nine-year-old Joshua said, trying to catch his breath and keep himself from crying.
“Again? Didn’t Mr. Bourbaki tell them to stop?” She watched her little friend trembling.
“Yeah, but they don’t care.” He hugged the blonde girl while still trembling.
“Come on, let’s go to my classroom. There’s still some time before class starts.” She took him by the hand.
From afar, a seven-year-old brunet boy watched the scene with some curiosity. Suddenly, he felt someone hit him.
“Ow! What's wrong?” Tyler said, bringing a hand to his head.
“Haven’t you seen Joshua around here?” Ryan asked, walking up to the youngest boy.
“No, I haven’t seen him.” He lied, trying to get away from the kids who were now surrounding him.
“Hmm, you’d better not be lying to us, okay?” With that, the group of kids left to continue looking for the curly-haired boy.
"What did you do, Josh?" Tyler wondered to himself.
Three days had passed since Tyler had last seen Joshua. He wondered where he was, what he was doing, and things like that. Not just out of curiosity, but because he genuinely worried about him.
For the past few months, Tyler had started feeling strange things whenever he saw Josh. His tummy would hurt, but not in a bad way—just a weird kind of ache. He felt his cheeks getting warm whenever Joshua smiled, and things like that. But he didn’t know why.
And asking his mom and siblings wasn't an option.
That day, Tyler was lost in his thoughts more than usual, and someone noticed.
“Tyler, what’s wrong?” His friend Dallon shook him.
“Hmm? What happened? Were you talking to me?” He looked at his friend, who seemed worried.
“What’s wrong with you? I called you earlier to play and you didn’t come, so I came looking for you and you were just like this.” He imitated the youngest boy, making him smile.
“That’s not true.” He crossed his little arms.
“Yesss, I saw you.” The eight-year-old insisted.
“Mmm, I don’t believe you.” He laughed.
“Ugh, you’re annoying.” He turned around, pretending he was going to leave.
“That’s not true. If I annoyed you, you wouldn’t be my friend.” He smiled.
“True. But why were you staring off into space?” The tallest asked.
“I was thinking about something.” Or rather, someone.
“Oh, wanna go play?” Dallon invited him.
“Let’s go.” The two of them ran toward the playground.
Joshua watched the boys’ interaction from afar. There was something about Tyler that caught his attention, but he didn’t know what it was.
“Found you.” Someone spoke behind him.
Joshua turned around with his heart in his throat, thinking it was Ryan or Brendon. When he saw who it was, he couldn’t help but sigh in relief.
“I thought you were someone else.” He hit her arm.
“Ow! That hurt.” Debby complained.
“Well, I didn’t do it to make you laugh.” He crossed his arms.
“Ugh, whatever. Are you finally going to tell him?” She asked with a playful smile.
“Don't think so. He barely pays attention to me. He’s always with that kid, Dallon?” The tapioca-eyes boy said sadly.
“So what? Tyler can have more friends. It doesn’t have to be just Dallon.” The red-haired girl encouraged him.
“But what if he doesn’t want to?” He lowered his head.
“Well, too bad. He’ll be the one missing out.” The girl said.
One of these days, he would talk to him. But he never expected that day to come sooner than he thought.
During recess, Joshua went into the bathroom to wash his hands when he heard some strange noises coming from one of the stalls.
He tried to ignore them, but when he heard a soft, almost imperceptible sob, he couldn’t help but walk closer.
He knocked on the door, and the strange noises started again. He knocked once more, and this time he heard the toilet flush. Realizing the person inside was about to come out, he stepped back.
When he saw who it was, he felt his heart break. It was Tyler, wiping his mouth with one hand and his little eyes with the other. It was more than obvious that he had thrown up, but Joshua didn’t want to make him feel bad, so he simply hugged him, which only made the youngest boy cry harder.
“What happened, princess?” The nickname slipped out just like that, without warning or anything.
Tyler froze, but he couldn't deny that the nickname made him feel special.
“I don’t feel good, Jish. I don’t like it when they pick on you.” He hugged him tighter and continued crying.
“Ty, you don’t have to worry about me.” He rubbed his back, trying to calm him down.
“Yes, I do, because I love you.” He lifted his head, revealing his little cheeks, all red and puffy.
“I love you too, princess.” He ruffled his hair, making him giggle. “Come on, it’s almost time to go home.” He took him by the hand.
Back in the classroom, everyone was already putting their things away. When the teacher saw them walking in hand in hand, she didn’t say anything. She simply smiled.
“Joshua, Tyler, stay here for a moment.” Miss Black called them over.
Tyler began to tremble, which Joshua noticed. He gave him a small hug and whispered something to calm him down.
“What happened, Miss?” Joshua asked.
“Why are you two so late? The bell rang thirty minutes ago.” She put her hands on her hips, pretending to be annoyed.
“I-I didn’t feel well, and J-Josh stayed with me.” Tyler lowered his head.
“Tyler, I’m not mad at you two. You just should’ve told me you weren’t feeling well so I could call your parents.” She took the children’s hands and crouched down to their level. “I’ve noticed something strange going on between the two of you. What’s going on?”
Tyler felt his little face getting hot, while Joshua played with his fingers, trying to ignore the question.
“It’s just that whenever I see Josh, my tummy hurts, but not in a bad way. It’s just weird. And my cheeks get all warm whenever he laughs, and he makes me smile too. I don’t know why.” The youngest boy fidgeted nervously.
“And you, Joshua? Do you feel something similar about Tyler?” She turned to look at the boy.
“I... I love Ty very much, but not like a brother. It’s like... I don’t know. I just feel weird. Like... I don’t know. It’s as if he were a princess and I had to take care of him.” The adult couldn’t help but smile at his explanation.
“Well, I think what’s happening here is that you two like each other.” She said with a smile.
The boys simply looked at each other, their cheeks turning bright red.
“But if you don’t want anyone else to know, they don’t have to. What do you think? Does this stay between the three of us?” She looked at both of them.
“Yes.” They said at the same time.
“Perfect. You can go now. Your parents must be waiting for you.” She stood up and said goodbye to the children.
“Ty, wait.” Joshua tugged on his hand to stop him.
“What’s wrong, Jish?” He asked, confused.
“So, if we like each other, can I hug you more often? A-And can I call you princess too?” He asked, blushing.
“Yes, you can, my prince.” He said excitedly, leaving a little kiss on his cheek. “Oh, look, I have to go now. Bye, Jish!” He waved goodbye and ran toward the car.
“Bye, my princess.” He said, touching his cheek.