Chapter Text
Everything changed on November 24th.
It started like any other day. Josh woke up around nine, went for his morning jog, ate and got ready for the day. He crossed the threshold of Columbus Activities for youth and senior building — name pending — at eleven sharp. The autumnal decor was already changing for a christmassy ambience. Josh relished in the warmth of the building, he had ran from his car, the storm outside unforgiving. Some theater students from Debby’s class were running up the stairs, probably late because of the bad weather. Mark was at the door of his office in the lobby, leaning on the door.
Mark was the owner of the building, an intendant of sorts. He made sure to keep the place running, bursting with activities of all kinds. On the first floor, beside his office, was the aquabike club which was an old people's haven. Another door led to an empty classroom right across the lobby. Mark was supposed to find a new tenant for a while now. But no club ever stuck around. Debby joked the lot was cursed — it became an urban legend the kids liked to tell amongst them.
On the second floor was Debby’s theater class and Josh’s boxing studio. Both of them had been around for quite some time now – six or seven years? – Josh couldn't tell, time went by too fast. He saw kids come and go. Some of them came by to greet him, being taller than him now and having their first job. It always tugged at his heartstrings to see them so grown.
The third floor had a gym run by Mark and an art class run by a teacher Josh had never met. Some kids liked to say the teacher was actually a ghost that couldn’t leave the art room and that’s why she was never seen. When Josh had asked Mark about the mystery teacher, he only shrugged saying the payments were always on time and he never had any problems. That’s all he cared about.
The building was a very well oiled machine. They had their shifts, their paths crossed but never had problems with each other. Everyone had their own routine.
That’s how Josh knew something had changed. Because at eleven on a Thursday Mark should be holed up in his office, not out talking to a blonde woman Josh had never seen before. Some of his own students, kids around twelve, were whispering amongst themselves.
It’s probably what ticked Josh off the most. His “kids” were loud and never stood around in the lobby. If they could spend even half a second more outside or running around, they would.
He frowned, observing the strange scene in front of him. Until his eyes caught something… pink. He turned his head right on time to catch a little girl, around seven or eight, in a pink leotard entering the “cursed” room.
Which was lit. He didn’t remember the last time he saw the door open. Or even some light coming from the damn room. On instinct, he took a few steps toward it, soft music coming to his ears as he approached. Inside a bunch of elementary schoolers in leotards and tights were practicing dance moves, giggling and playing around. The old dusty “cursed” room had been turned into a makeshift dance room. Mirrors adorning one side of the room and barres had been put in the middle of the room. Some of the kids already repeating positions with dutiful focus.
Josh blinked. Surely Mark would have told him before a new tenant took root in their building. Besides, it couldn’t have happened overnight. He looked back to Mark’s office. He was now standing alone, his shoulders sagged.
“Hey,” Mark greeted with a tired look on his face.
Josh was with him in a few strides, already jerking a thumb to the “cursed turned classical dance overnight” room. He opened his mouth but Mark beat him to it.
“Yeah, I know, I know,” he groaned, pinching his nose, “if I could have told you before I would have.”
He sighed, obviously exhausted.
“What happened?” Josh asked.
“The dance studio next door flooded yesterday,” he waved his hand around, “the teachers are old friends of mine so I offered them the place during the repairs. But–” he winced, his eyes wandering to the front door.
The storm was still raging outside. It had for three whole days, winds and rains and winds again. It wasn’t stopping anytime soon.
“They don’t know when it could be repaired,” Mark finished.
Josh’s frown deepened, “O-kay? Why is that a problem? The place was free anyway.”
Mark’s eyes locked back on Josh, “‘Cause they have like eighty students.”
“Oh,” was all Josh could answer.
He only had around thirty kids overall. The classes were small, manageable for one guy. He knew Debby had only a handful of students too. Same for the art class. It was a small building after all. A quiet little activity center that didn’t look like much. Eighty new students all at once was a punch to the perfect balance of the place. And every time something changed, Mark had to deal with the unpleasant comments of the not so young people coming around.
Josh patted Mark’s back empathetically. He couldn’t do much else. Mark shrugged, a way of saying “it is what it is” and went back inside his office with a soul shattering sigh.
Josh adjusted his duffel bag over his shoulders. His kids were peeping in the dance class. Surely it would be the talk of the day. He clapped his hands, gaining their attention.
“We ready guys?”
“Yes, sir!”
They scurried to the stairs, their own bags in hands, laughing and shoving one another. It gave Josh a fleeting feeling of normalcy. Quickly wiped away when classical music swallowed the lobby.
Well, things were changing. It happens. Nothing wrong with that.
Except when it interrupts Josh’s carefully built classes.
It was two days later, in the middle of warm-up. The class was doing burpees and some light exercises under Josh's watchful eyes when the door creaked open. Josh immediately spotted it, expecting a latecomer, he turned on his heels. A smirk on his face and ready to give them ten more push-ups than the others.
Only to find a young girl around fifteen looking utterly displeased with the sight of the boxing class. The quip on the tip of Josh’s tongue died out, his eyebrows furrowing. He heard the shuffle of the class quieting with this strange interruption.
“Can I help you?” he asked, dubiously.
He couldn’t tell if it was the tightness of her ponytail or the scowl on her face or maybe just the arms being tightly crossed over her chest that made sweat run down his back. She wore pointe shoes and tights that made it obvious where she came from.
“You’re loud,” she pointed out, her voice slicing through the room.
Everything quieted down. Josh almost chuckled in disbelief.
“Our teacher said it’s not really… polite of you. We can’t focus with how loud you’re being so,” she shrugged, “yeah you should keep it down.”
Josh blinked, unsure if he heard correctly. This little… ballerina was giving him a manners lesson? He bit his tongue and swallowed a not-so polite remark about people barging into his class.
“Did your teacher send you?” Josh asked, his fists tightening at his side.
The girl nodded, “yah, and believe me you don’t want my teacher to come over here.”
She turned, not waiting for an answer and marched herself out of the room. Immediately, his students started chit-chatting, laughing. Even Josh needed a second to gather his thoughts. How dare she? That new ballet teacher thought she had every right because… What?! She did a “classy” sport or maybe because she knew Mark. Either way, Josh wasn’t going to let that go. The building always had a great harmony. The ballet class came in and suddenly they couldn’t practice in peace.
“Yo, whatcha gonna do mister Dun? was really disrespectful to you,” one of the kids shouted over the chit-chat.
Josh turned to the eight teens who were waiting eagerly for his command.
“Should we trash their class?” Max’s eyes were glinting with mischief and Josh knew he had to nip that bud now.
“No,” he firmly said, shaking his head, “we’re going to continue the class as we always do and later I’ll talk to their teacher.” He smiled.
Max pouted but ultimately turned to the nearest punching bag. The rest did too. Josh conducted his class as always ,but inside his head the gears were turning. It wasn’t fair. Josh never had complaints and he knew they weren't that loud. But they were right above the dance class therefore—
No, that teacher shouldn’t have sent a kid instead of coming herself. That’s what stuck to him the most. He felt like an idiot who didn’t even deserve an adult conversation. A dumb boxer. Always and forever.
Josh had finally worked up the nerve to knock on the dancing class door.
Well… Finally is a big word. He had been mulling over the interaction all day. Waiting for the students to leave, for the lights to dim. He knew there was no one left except for Mark and the dancing teacher.
He was standing at the door, hand lifted over the wood panel. Not moving an inch. The ballerina’s voice echoed in his mind.
You don’t want my teacher to come over here.
He ground his teeth. Whoever that “teacher” was, she had no rights here. In his own home. In the safe space he created for himself and his kids.
His fist landed heavy on the wood. Harsher than it should have. He felt his heart in his throat. He was a fighter indeed, but still couldn’t bring himself to punch his way out of conflict. He shook his shoulders off, reigning the anger inside his veins.
The door opened swiftly, a woman appearing in its frame. Golden hair tightly pulled back and questioning glacier blue eyes, her posture immaculate. She was the perfect portrait of a ballet teacher. He recognized her as the woman who had spoken to Mark earlier.
“Yes?” she asked.
“Yes, hi,” he cleared his throat, “I just wanted to talk about what happened today.”
She frowned, her arms crossing over her chest instinctively.
“Today?”
Josh didn’t like that one bit. The least he wanted out of her was some honesty. It must have been nothing for her, while that instance shook him to his core.
“Yes,” he hammered on, holding her stare, “when you sent your student to complain about the noise. I get that you need calmness to practice, but my class deserves respect too. You can’t just send some kid to scold me, if you have something to say, say it yourself.”
He hated how venomous he sounded but the thought had turned over in his mind for too long today.
“To compl–” her frown deepened, “I didn’t–” she waved her hand around, gathering her flying thoughts, “Hold on, when was that?”
It was Josh’s turn to be confused. He hadn’t expected this kind of response. A half-hearted apology, maybe some dumb excuses. But the woman in front of him seemed genuinely baffled. He tried to remember the exact time. Only to remember it was the two pm course.
“Huh, around two, maybe two thirty.”
She nodded, her expression relaxing in a soft knowing smile, “Oh, okay. Yeah, that wasn’t me.”
Josh opened his mouth to ask who it was if not her. But she was already moving inside the dancing room. He stood there as she grabbed a notebook on a chair.
“We’re actually three teachers,” she explained while flipping through her notebook, “and at that time I think… I think it was Tyler’s class.” She tapped on the page, “Yes, Tyler’s class.”
She looked back at Josh. He was still by the door, the embarrassment taking over his chest. He felt like an idiot. He blew up on this woman who didn’t deserve any of it. She could have told him to piss off. She only tried to understand.
“Look, I’ll talk to him, I’m sorry for his behavior.”
Her smile was genuine. She wasn’t even mad at him. He pressed his lips together.
“Thanks,” he mumbled.
His eyes fell to the ground, “It’s just– You know–”
The woman walked back closer.
“It’s your space too, of course," she kindly finished. “Tyler is a bit– well he’s a bit stressed out.”
She chuckles. A soft melodic sound. Josh’s shoulders loosened. She shook her head, the fondness for that other teacher obvious in her voice.
“I’ll make sure he doesn’t bother you anymore um…”
She dragged out her phrase and Josh realized he hadn’t even introduced himself.
“Josh!” he snapped, a little louder than intended.
He felt the heat in his cheek.
“Josh,” she repeated, “Right, I’m Jenna.”
She shook his hand, her grip stronger than he imagined. Her kindness felt like a slap to his anger. He took a step back the second she let go of his hand. His head lowered in a mix of shame and guilt.
“Nice to meet you and uh thank you again,” he mumbled while making a quick escape to the building's front door.
The embarrassment was still warm in his stomach the next day. He climbed the stairs two by two, avoiding the dancing class's door, eyes resolutely on the floor. The boxing class was lit up. He knew Priya was already there.
She tended to come in the morning these days. His best student. She was on her way to become a pro as soon as she was out of high school in a year. If her parents let her. But that was another story.
He pushed the door open. Sure enough, Priya was warming up. She barely said hello. Josh didn’t mind. He knew how hard it was to get in the zone and even harder to get out of it. He started teaching her four years ago, now she was winning every damn competition in the area. So he let her use the boxing class even outside of class hours.
He prepared the room, the quietness soothing him. It was the 9 to 12 year olds this morning. At this age it was more fun than a real sport for them. A way to spend their energy.
The kids poured in one by one, high fiving Josh or fist bumping. But as the clock struck 10:10, he couldn’t help but notice one kid was missing. Jud. He was a little nine year old and very obviously not fond of boxing. His older brother had been in Josh’s class for three years, the parents thought putting both of them would have helped Jud to get out of his shell. No chance, it was the opposite. While twelve year old Max was thriving and making friends, Jud kept to himself and sometimes hid during class.
“Max,” Josh called, “where’s your brother?”
Max looked around quizzically like he just realized his little brother wasn’t there.
“Huh? He was with me when we got here, I swear Mr. Dun!” the boy said, flinging his arms. “Mom will be mad if I lose him.”
Josh clenched his jaw, “okay, I’m gonna look around. Everyone keeps warming up. Priya, you keep an eye on them?”
Priya nodded, already moving away from her punching bag.
Josh was out the door in a second, looking in every corner, running down the stairs.
He found him.
Easily enough. Standing at the door of the dancing class. Half-hidden, his eyes captivated by the show in front of him. Josh froze, taking in the sight of that scared little boy that had – for the first time – stars in his eyes. Something he had never seen in the months he taught him.
Oh.
He could scold the kid for missing the class and getting his brother worried. However, this exact moment was crucial. A smile etched on his lips. He let the boy observe the class for a few more minutes.
“Jud,” he finally called quietly.
The boy jumped like he had been caught doing something wrong. His expression darkened, his eyes meeting the ground.
“‘m sorry,” he mumbled.
Josh shook his head, “it’s okay, we were just worried. Come on, let’s go warm-up.”
Jud nodded, trotting toward the stairs but Josh held him up with a hand on his shoulder.
“Do you like dancing?” he asked as Jud looked up at him.
“No.”
Too fast. Too scared. He let go of him. Poor kid must think boxing was the only thing he was allowed to do. Even though it was no use without any passion.
“No?,” he asked again, “Mmh okay. But you know you can ask me anything.”
“Sure, coach.”
Jud was already averting his eyes, as if he’d look too long at Josh and the truth would spill. Josh let him go with a twinge in his heart. How many kids were forced into sports they didn’t like, to the point they hated sports as adults. Sure, Josh never insisted when Jud didn’t do an exercise. But wouldn’t that be so much better to have him in a class that made his eyes sparkle? Like dancing.
He inhaled softly, filing the thought away. He’ll talk to Jud and Max’s parents later.
“Josh, right?”
It was Josh’s turn to jump slightly. He spun around in surprise, not recognizing the voice that just called him.
A man was in the frame of the door, sweatpants and tight black tank top. His mouth twisted in a strange grin that Josh couldn’t interpret.
“Right?” the guy repeated with a quirk eyebrow.
“Uh, yeah, right,” Josh answered uneasily, “you are?”
“Tyler Joseph. The one who "disrespected" you.”
The air quotes were very much implied.
“Jenna told me I should apologize for the inconvenience.”
Or how to tell you’re a dick without saying it. Josh took a step back instinctively, his frown deepening. It was clear the guy didn’t want to apologize. More than that : he thought he didn’t need to.
“I mean… I don’t mind you asking for quietness,” Josh retorted, avoiding the teacher’s intense gaze, “but the least you could do is come yourself.”
Tyler didn’t move, not a flinch, not any signs of acknowledgment towards Josh for a good minute. Then he sighed, shoved his hands in his pockets.
“Yah, sure,” he breathed out half-heartedly, “I’m sorry then.”
Josh blinked rapidly. Was this guy for real?! That was his apology?! A simple sorry then. A backhanded excuse that sunkto the bottom of his stomach. He swallowed hard, ready to blow up on this dick of a guy.
Except Tyler was already walking away, looking back at Josh with a sneer, “There won’t be a next time anyway, right?”
The door closed before Josh could answer. His nose flared up, his fists balled up. He had to fight every instinct to barge into that classroom and give that guy a piece of his mind. After all, he would never do to someone what he didn’t want done to him. That was the whole point.
He pressed his lips together firmly, repressing the frustrating scream in the corner of his mind.
He went back up the stairs, his footsteps too heavy. His brain full of static replaying the encounter. That damn guy and his nonchalance like he never did anything wrong in his life. Like Josh was stupid for even suggesting he’d apologize and respect the boxing class.
Like Josh didn’t matter enough to care.
Something lodged itself in his throatful, painful and stinging every time he tried to breathe out.
Thankfully, he didn’t meet Tyler any other day of the week. And no, it wasn’t because Josh was avoiding the lobby like the plague. Of course not! It was purely coincidental. Josh wasn’t scared of some ballet teacher that thought he was above everything. He was, after all, a big man that could defend himself.
And if you saw him speedwalking with his head down, it’s only because he wanted to get to his class right on time.
Anyway, he had bigger problems to take care of.
He had observed Jud during class. And it became painfully obvious how misplaced he felt here. Coupled with his eyes sparkling anytime someone talked about the dancing class… Well, it was clear.
“Hey kid, c’mere,” he called during the water break.
Jud, surprised, approached with huge eyes.
“What’s going on?” Josh asked.
Jud’s eyes grew bigger, he asked with a small voice, “What d’you mean coach?”
“You don’t like boxing, huh?” There was no point beating around the bush here.
Jud immediately looked guilty, he fiddled with his fingers, his eyes fixated on his shoes.
He mumbled, “No, that’s not– I mean… It’s–”
He stopped talking, like the words made him choke. Josh crouched in front of the boy, putting a hand over his shoulder.
“It’s okay if you dislike it, Jud, you know that,” he explained slowly, hoping the boy would listen, “And if you really, really don’t then there’s no point continuing.”
“But mom and dad… I asked to do something. They said I had to uh… To commit, they said,” Jud answered back, his eyes full of dread.
And yeah, Josh knew that. How many parents had to drag their kids to a sport they didn’t like anymore only because they had already paid for it. It wasn’t fair on either party. Josh got it and Jud too apparently. Maybe his parents had insisted so much so he never told them how unhappy he was here. Plus, there was Max, Jud’s brother, who was so extraverted it was hard for Jud to talk sometimes.
“Yeah, I get that…” Josh sighed, for lack of better words.
Jud kept talking, like a dam breaking, “And I can’t say I don’t like it now! It’s almost Christmas and– And they said I had to do all year.”
“I know, kid. But maybe if you talk to them you can do a sport you like better. Not immediately but soon,” it was a pale offer.
Josh had to talk to Jud’s parents. He knew the kid would not. Jud kept fiddling with the hem of his shirt, deep in thoughts. Something Josh said had struck a nerve.
“What sport?” the kid asked quietly.
That’s how he knew he had been right talking to Jud.
“Like dancing,” he offered.
Jud looked up for the first time. His expression stuck between awe and offense.
“I don’t like dancing, that’s for girls,” he bit back, his voice a tad higher than before.
Josh tilted his head, “Who said that?”
The kid froze, truly stumped by the question, his eyebrows creasing in thoughts.
“Dunno.”
Josh smiled, he ruffled Jud’s hair playfully, “It’s for anyone who likes dancing, Jud. You get that? Priya loves boxing, boys can love dancing. Sports don't have gender.”
Jud blinked like the secret of life had been revealed to him. Josh wasn’t the one for big speeches. He thought small reassurances worked best with kids. Small moments of truth instead of big visionary monologues.
Jud admitted under his breath, “...I like it.” And Josh knew he had won all the gold in the world.
He patted the kid’s shoulder for good measure and with a huge smile he said, “Okay, I’ll see what I can do kid.”
He had a plan.
Well, half a plan.
Well… He had an idea that could very much not work but he needed to try. His kids were gone – except Priya but did Priya ever leave the boxing class anyway – half the lights of the building were off and only a few remaining kids were hanging out in the lobby.
He tried his best slipping his head unnoticed in the dance room, looking for someone.
“You need something?”
He jolted. His back hit the wall in a loud thunk as he turned towards the voice. And, of course, it was Tyler Joseph himself. His nose scrunched, half-disgusted, half-confused. Josh didn’t like using violence out of the boxing but oh God this man made perfect punchable faces.
He cleared his throat, “Is Jenna here?”
“No.” Tyler’s jaw clenched, his words turning venomous, “You need something?”
Josh had made sure to not see that dick of a guy the whole week and he certainly wouldn’t trust him with a soft kid like Jud. He shook his head with a huff.
“Nah it’s fine.”
He took a step forward. Tyler blocked him, an icy scowl on his face. Josh looked at him in confusion.
“What do you want from her?” Tyler snarled.
Oh. OH! Tyler had it completely backwards. Josh lifted both his hands in peace, trying to clear the air. It hadn’t even crossed his mind what it would have looked like from the outside.
“Nothing,” he exclaimed.
Tyler took another step, menacingly. He was a tad taller than him. For a second, Josh got scared he was gonna get hit in the face.
“Dude–” Tyler growled.
“I have a kid in my class who wants to dance!” Josh exclaimed, diffusing the tension.
Tyler stood unmoving. The moment the sentence hit him his expression completely changed. Gone was the arrogant ballet teacher, his eyes were curious, his mouth open in a slight O.
“A boy?” he asked softly.
Josh let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. The words flew out of his mouth without a second thought.
“Yeah, he’s not a big fan of punching bags and… The thing is I saw how he looked at the dancing class. He was, truly, obsessed with it. He’s never been like that before,” he shrugged, looking away from Tyler’s intense gaze, “I guess I wanted to ask Jenna if she could do something? I don’t know.”
The silence that followed made him squirm. He wondered if anyone had ever told Tyler how uneasy his stare made people feel.
“That’s nice of you,” Tyler said.
Josh frowned, “What is?”
“To care about this kid’s feelings.”
Josh huffed a laugh devoid of any humour, “I’m not a monster, if they don’t want to do the work I won’t push them. It’s supposed to be fun first.”
Tyler hummed.
Was that really what Tyler thought of him? That he didn’t care about his kids? That’s probably what hurt the most. Not the condescension or the arrogance, the mere idea that he could be someone who didn’t care. Tyler had it all backwards. If anything, Josh thought he cared too much at times.
“How old is he?”
“Nine,” Josh answered slowly, “why?”
“That’s Jenna’s class, you’re right. I’ll talk to her, I’m sure she’ll be happy to welcome that boy to watch the class.”
And then, he smiled. A genuine smile. It absolutely floored Josh. The swiftness in between the two moods. That guy went from trying to rip Josh’s face off to actual friendly smiling and helping.
“Is that all you needed?” Tyler said, pulling Josh out of his confusion.
“Yes?”
“Cool!”
Tyler was out and away before Josh could even fathom what just had happened.