Episode 3: Tension {Joshua}

INTO THE NOTHING

LEAVE ME AT THE BOTTOM WHERE THERE'S NOTHING LEFT

Brendon exhaled a deep sigh as he pressed his hands back against the closed door behind him. His amber gaze flickered upward and instantly caught sight of his roommate lounging on his bed. But, that wasn’t the only thing that immediately caught his attention. The entire hallway of their dorm room smelled heavily of men’s shampoo and body wash. Moisture clung to the air like a blanket and the smell lingered… everywhere.

His roommate blatantly ignored him from where he was seated on his bed. Brendon didn’t hesitate to step forward and through the hallway toward the larger room. But, as he did so his nose suddenly burned and his body seized up seconds before he slowed to a stop and sneezed twice in a row. Damn, he wasn’t certain if it was the masculine scent clinging to the air or if it was the onset of an actual cold.

His first destination was his dresser where he opened up one of the drawers and searched through the shirts he had available. He had only brought one pajama outfit with him and so he pulled out a regular short sleeved t-shirt instead.

BRENDON & JOSHUA || outfit: Link

INTO THE NOTHING

LEAVE ME AT THE BOTTOM WHERE THERE'S NOTHING LEFT

Behind him Brendon could hear the sound of Joshua’s bed lightly creaking as he stood up. The noise and the knowledge that his roommate had finally come to life… instantly brought his attention to him. He paused from where he stood before his open dresser and turned his amber gaze directly toward his roommate. His eyes scanned him over and took in his features… including the fact that Joshua was now in his own set of sleepwear.

He felt… drawn… to Joshua’s features. There was something… appealing about him. But none of that was relevant. None of those aspects needed to be a part of his thoughts or reaction. He wished that the involuntary thought and feeling hadn’t even come in the first place. What a stupid and absolutely pointless thing to notice.

BRENDON & JOSHUA || outfit: Link

INTO THE NOTHING

LEAVE ME AT THE BOTTOM WHERE THERE'S NOTHING LEFT

The same tension that had been so suffocatingly thick between them prior had decided to make its return. Brendon’s whole form responded to the aggression Joshua’s body always seemed to exude. He became stiff and tense. His features hardened and his narrowed gaze followed his roommate’s every action. Joshua purposely strode forward to once again close the distance between them—and he was already reaching out to grasp onto the front of his shirt.

“Fool.”

Brendon’s own expression darkened as a fleeting smile graced his lips. “What?” He challenged in return.

BRENDON & JOSHUA || outfit: Link

INTO THE NOTHING

LEAVE ME AT THE BOTTOM WHERE THERE'S NOTHING LEFT

Silence was Joshua’s answer to him. Brendon continued to watch his roommate closely and it didn’t go unnoticed to him the way Joshua’s emerald gaze began to lower down his form. The thought from before did return… but Brendon foolishly pushed it aside. He didn’t even want to remotely entertain the possibility of that thought.

Instead, Brendon purposely used the moment to move away from Joshua and walk to his bed. While there he retrieved his neatly folded pair of pajama pants before he turned to face his roommate once more.

BRENDON & JOSHUA || outfit: Link

INTO THE NOTHING

LEAVE ME AT THE BOTTOM WHERE THERE'S NOTHING LEFT

To Brendon’s surprise, when he had turned to face his roommate once more, Joshua hadn’t moved or turned from his position. His features had darkened and while Brendon could see the anger within his form he could also sense that there was something else there as well. Reaching out, Brendon grabbed his still damp towel at the footboard of his bed and then purposely moved forward and back to the path he had been before, walking directly in front of Joshua. He paused to set his keys down atop his dresser and then turned around to face his roommate face to face again.

“Joshua?” He called to him, his voice deep. But the call had been a taunt… because he wanted to see his expression. He wanted to see his reaction. He enjoyed using his name while knowing that Joshua couldn’t do the same in return. He wanted to remind him of that.

BRENDON & JOSHUA || outfit: Link

INTO THE NOTHING

LEAVE ME AT THE BOTTOM WHERE THERE'S NOTHING LEFT

Without warning, suddenly, and inexplicably—everything changed. Brendon’s heart jolted to life within his chest as Joshua crowded his body so powerfully that he was forced backward without restraint. The hard and flat surface of the room’s wall met Brendon’s back as Joshua’s entire front body pressed intimately hard into his own—molding into him. The feeling was sharp and at the same time frightening. His heart instantly took off into a wild frenzy of beats while Brendon tried to clamp down over his emotions and not let them out. He didn’t want to show weakness. He didn’t want to show that he had been affected, that Joshua had shaken him.

His roommate gripped his chin tightly within his grasp and forced him to look up at him. Joshua had leaned forward and was mere inches from his face. His heart thundered uncontrollably within him and Joshua had officially shaken him. The bravado left him to instead be replaced with strange feelings of…

He didn’t even want to admit to it. However, there was no denying the fact that he was embarrassed. Joshua had shattered his composure and Brendon could feel his body temperature rising as his roommate’s own heat pressed into every part of him. But with the embarrassment, with the compromising position, and his shattered composure, came anger. Anger boiled up within him, shook his body, and he latched onto that emotion as though it were his only savior.

In one swift motion he attempted to shove at Joshua, shove him away, off of him.

BRENDON & JOSHUA || outfit: Link