Mutual interests

Josh turned his attention to the area from which he'd heard the voice come, he wasn't particularly surprised to see a boy who looked around his age. The boy was looking somewhat uncomfortable whilst standing there, by the door of the room he'd just walked out of. Well either that or he'd teleported.

The boy was wearing a long-sleeved t-shirt, with darker grey and light grey stripes, along with black shorts and white ankle socks. He wasn't wearing any shoes, but he did have a pair of slippers on.

"Tom, introduce yourself. This is my friend ——, and this is her son, you could both become friends." The woman had her hands clasped together tightly as she stated this happily, as she was saying this she had lightly held her son by the shoulder and pushed him slightly toward Josh. The excitement in her eyes was evident with but one glance, this indicated that the boy probably had few or even no friends.

However, the boy called Tom didn't seem too happy to hear that, although he didn't look too upset either. It was somewhere in the middle of "I don't want to be here" and "We could be friends…' Josh could tell that this boy both wanted and didn't want to become his friend.

Joshua looked stole glances at this boy and his mother respectively, he found it somewhat amusing for two people who were related to be such opposites. Shouldn't children adopt some traits from their parents, such as how this child should've taken this woman's bright and extroverted personality from their interactions. Unless he was adopted, he might've been, who knows.

Josh adopted a slight smile and decided to introduce himself first, in hopes of calming the heart and nerves of the boy in front of him. He felt that perhaps if he took the initiative to be kind to this boy, he'd open up and they could become friends, or at the very least the boy might be able to open up to him just enough so that Josh could learn something more about him.

After all, Josh found this boy quite interesting, and he was bored, this wasn't his house and if not for playing with this boy in front of him, what else could he do. He was unable to play with toys without this boy, as he didn't bring any toys, and wouldn't be able to touch his things without permission. He also couldn't stay here and talk to these two women, he wouldn't only die of boredom, but would feel extremely out of place. He also decided to take the initiative because he could almost see the sweat pouring down the young boy's forehead and Josh wasn't the type of person to force someone into an uncomfortable position for no reason or if he could help it.

"Hello, I'm-" He opened his mouth in an attempt to begin to introduce himself, but was interrupted by the timid boy who looked as though he was too nervous to utter a word.

"You're wearing… …inside…" The short boy mumbled, his voice was so quiet that Josh was unable to make out some of the words he had spoken.

The boy looked visibly displeased when Joshua didn't respond, his eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and his eyes had narrowed slightly. These changes were barely noticeable unless you were watching closely, his mouth had also been tugged down slightly at the corners, causing a pout to now be adorned on his small and delicate face. After looking at the boy for a few seconds Josh questioned him.

"What? I didn't hear." He asked in an attempt to understand what the boy had said, although, he was quite sure that the boy wouldn't speak again and was rather sure he'd asked a question in vain. Honestly, he wouldn't be surprised if the boy turned around and left any second now.

Josh was sure the boy was about to turn and run away, especially as the boy opened his mouth and closed it with a complicated expression on his face. However, the boy proved Josh's train' of thought wrong when he opened his mouth again.

This time the boy spoke with a voice that was now clear and loud, "I- I said. You're wearing a coat inside."

One of the boys' small fists was clenched shut, and the skin covering his knuckles was beginning to turn white. Josh was sure that if he let go, cuts would be visible, covering his palm, and the cuts would be in the shape of small crescent moons.

Small cuts, the skin would've broken, but no blood would fall. Some pain might be felt, but only to a small degree, they'd be insignificant. Just like this situation. Josh took another side glance at the boys' mother, just enough to be able to tell that she'd been watching them interact since she'd told them to introduce themselves. A warm smile had never left her face, and she looked exceedingly happy. The contrast between her behaviour and her son's nature and personality was almost funny.

Joshua was surprised by his comment but realised he was right as he looked down at himself, he quickly moved his hand to unzip his jacket. Embarrassingly the zip caught on the fabric, and he had to tug at it a few times until it unsnagged. He quickly shook off his coat, and when it was off he held it between his crossed arms.

Tom raised his eyes from where they were staring, which was his grey coat, and looked back at the boy who was also looking at him. They stared at each other for a few seconds before someone broke the silence. Seeing as this boy didn't look as though he was going to speak again, Joshua tried again to introduce himself.

"I'm Joshua Wils-" yet he was interrupted once again by the boy.

"Do you watch Thomus the Bankengine too?" The boy asked with eyes that looked as though they were shining. He looked genuinely excited and his anxiousness seemed to melt off his face.

"Yeah, I do," Josh replied, his eyebrows furrowed slightly at being continually ignored and interrupted, but quickly a smile was formed on his face. He instantly got over that momentary feeling of annoyance and instead felt nothing but excitement over being able to talk about his favourite show.

The boy in front of him seemed to feel the same as his face had lit up and a genuine smile had been on his face since he'd noticed the t-shirt Josh had been wearing.

The boy then took hold of Josh's arm by his sleeve and dragged him gently into the room he'd walked out of. The room turned out to be the living room, as they walked into the living room the two mothers began laughing at whatever they were saying, and also left the hallway to go through the door at the end of the hall.