Josh winced when he, once again, felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out, his throat constricting when he saw that Tyler had texted him.

where are you? i'm in the hospital, i just woke up. i need you.

josh??

my mom said you're going back to russia

please don't leave

i need you.

He checked the time before putting his phone on the table in front of him, face down. He took a sip of his coffee, welcoming the way it scorched down his throat.

"You okay?" Brendon asked, already knowing the answer.

Josh rubbed his eyes tiredly. "What time's our flight?"

"Eight," Brendon said. "Three more hours."

Josh groaned and rested his head on his arms. "Why did we get here so early?"

"You're the one that wanted to leave," Brendon reminded. "Which I still don't understand. Look, I support you no matter what, but Tyler needs you, and you need him. Especially after what happened."

Josh flinched at his friend's wording, remembering the ignored text from Tyler. "We can't be together. Look, I really like him, but things are going back to normal now. My dad's gonna get locked away, and I'll be able to escape the mafia. We won't have to be married anymore, and we can both be normal teenagers. If I stick around, it'll just be weird. I'll be stopping him from being happy."

"You think that being away from him is gonna stop him from being happy?" Brendon scoffed. "Joshua William Dun, I did not raise you to be such a fucking idiot. He's just gone through something majorly traumatic, and now his boyfriend's fucking abandoned him. You make him happy, and he makes you happy." He paused to lean back. "Besides, I don't wanna leave. My babe Ryan's still here."

Josh chuckled slightly. "You horny shit."

Brendon shrugged. "Of course. But I'm serious, Josh. You two are, like, made for each other. You have to go see him."

Josh sighed. "What about our plane tickets? There's no way we'll be able to get the money back. We can't waste that."

Brendon playfully punched his arm. "You're rich, дебил. Oh, by the way, now that I'm not getting paid, I'll definitely be leeching off your trust fund."

"I'm pretty sure I owe you that," Josh grinned. "Thanks, B. You're my best friend, man."

"Obviously," Brendon snorted. "Didn't we establish that, like, nine years ago?"

Josh laughed. "Yeah, but i needed to remind you. Seriously, though. Thanks. For everything."

Brendon exhaled softly. "You too. I couldn't have gotten though the shit-hole of a life without you."

Josh smiled, and they sat in a comfortable silence for a while, both swimming in the happiness of their friendship. Josh eventually sat up and heaved his bag, which had been hastily packed, over his shoulder. He motioned for Brendon to stand up and took a step back to look around.

"Guess we'll be staying," Josh shrugged.

Brendon's face split into a grin and he pulled Josh into a hug. "There's my boy. Now, come on. To the hospital!"

Josh nodded and spun on his heel. He paused when he felt Brendon's hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Brendon waving his phone around.

"Slow down, buddy," he smirked. "I gotta call Ryan to get the car back."

Josh chuckled nervously. "Sorry. I got a little excited."

Brendon winked at him as Ryan picked up the phone. Josh zoned out as they talked, fiddling with his hands anxiously the whole time. He looked around the airport, studying the people around him. There were families, rushing to catch their flight, and bored businessmen with heavy-looking suitcases weighing them down. There were couples, staring at each other lovingly and never letting the other go. Everyone seemed to be lost in their own world, not minding anyone else. Josh liked airports for that reason. It was like another plane of existence, where nobody could judge anyone and everyone was experiencing their own thing.

Brendon tugged his arm, a soft smile on his face. "Josh? We can go now."

Josh blinked, shifting out of his daze. He took a deep breath, his shoulders rising and falling as he exhaled. "Alright. Let's go see Tyler."