We Are an Example of Why Not to Fall in Love

Josh's point of view:

The school day went by quite nicely. I hung out with Oli for most of the day and learned a bit about him. He's seventeen, a few months younger than me, scared of roller coasters, he's a vegan, and has a younger brother named Tom. I heard Alex and Jack call him 'Grand Master Syko' a couple times, and I caught on. He didn't seem to mind at all.

Right now Oli and I are walking to his house. He really wanted Tom to meet me, but I don't know why. I agreed to meet him because I liked the smile he wore on his face.

When we walk into his house he calls for his brother. Imidiately, I hear footsteps jogging down the stairs, and I see a boy who looks similar enough to Oli. I assume it's Tom.

"Tom, this is Josh," Oli tells his brother as I see a blush creep onto his cheeks. Tom smirks slightly at me and I return it.

"Oh, so you're the famous Josh Franceschi then," Tom says, Oli blushes even more.

"Tom," Oli whispers harshly and Tom smiles at him.

"Sorry Oli," he apologizes, but we all know he isn't really.

"Are Mom and Dad home?" Oli then asks, receiving the shake of Tom's head.

"Oh, okay. We're gonna head upstairs now," Oli says, then starts to head up. I start to follow but Tom quickly grabs my arm, stopping me. I look down at the shorter boy, waiting for whatever he has to say. It's probably that 'hurt my brother I hurt you' shit. But then I remember that we're not even dating yet, so I grow curious as to what he had to say.

"Be nice to him, okay? You're one of his very few friends," Tom says quietly.

"Hey, I will, he's a nice kid," I reassure him with a smile, which he returns. He lets my arm go and wanders into what looks like the kitchen.

Oli's already in his room, a notebook in his lap, twiddling a pencil between his fingers, biting his lip; concentrating. I smile and make my way over to him. I sit next to him but he's too busy concentrating on his writing to notice. I glance at his writing.

'Crucify me, and nail my hands to a wooden cross
There is nothing above, there is nothing below
Heaven and Hell lives in all of us
And I've been cast astray

I am an ocean, I am the sea
There is a world inside of me
Lost in the abyss, drowned in the deep
No set of lungs could salvage me'

"Those are good," I speak, making him jump. He slams his book shut and whirls around to face me. I guess he didn't want me to see them.

"You scared the shit out of me," he tells me as he starts to calm down from his fright.

"Sorry," I tell him.

"Don't worry bout it, mate," Oli smiles, and I can't help but return it. "What do you wanna do?"

"I'll let you read my lyrics if you let me read yours," I tell him. He bites his lip again.

"I...guess we can. I mean, if you want to," Oli says nervously and I chuckle at him. I pull my notebook out of my bag and hand it to him. He takes it before letting me take his. I watch as he flips to the first page and starts to read. I can't see his reaction because of the curtain of hair that he hides behind.

"I like your lyrics," he says as he flips the page. He looks up at me anxiously and bites his lip rings. I realize I've been staring instead of actually reading his. He might think I don't like them. I smile a thanks as I look to his book and read the first page. It's a song titled 'Tell Slater Not To Wash His Dick' and I can't help but chuckle at the title.

"I know, it's bad," he mumbles. I shake my head.

"No, it's just that the title is fab," I tell him as I start to read the lyrics.

"How so?" Oli asks, sounding a bit more confident. I smile.

"Tell Slater Not To Wash His Dick," is simply my answer. He chuckles. "And you have good lyrics."

"Thank you," Oli mutters and I glance up at him. I almost didn't catch the blush on his face.

"The truth, I like them. We could write a song or two together one day," I say. He smiles at the idea.

"That sounds fun, Josh. Just give me until I finish my current song, okay?"

"Sounds good."