Chapter Text
Hair dye was quite possibly Josh’s favorite thing to exist. He considered himself somewhat of an expert on the subject, seeing as he’d been doing it all his life. The first time Josh picked up a box dye he was about seven or eight, and despite the shitty quality of the dye, he fell in love.
From that point on, Josh had dyed his hair about every two weeks consecutively. He’d used a variety of brands, basically every one available to him, though Josh didn’t pick favorites. In his mind, each brand had its own ups and downs, and different ones were good for different desired results. When Josh wanted a color that would last for weeks, he would absolutely choose Splat, but if he needed to rejuvenate his hair he would use Manic Panic or some other conditioner dye.
Recently, Josh had just finished moving into a new apartment on the outskirts of town. He’d grown up in Columbus, but he decided to move to a more rural neighborhood for the quiet. However, this meant he didn’t have access to his original Sally’s, and was forcing him to find another hair dye store closer to him. This had brought him to a small shop just on the outside of downtown Columbus called Hairway to Hell. The outside of the shop was oddly quaint, the brick structure and stained glass windows casting rainbow shadows on the sidewalk, all of which just drew Josh in closer.
The door made a ding sound as he stepped in, being greeted with shelves and shelves of all things hair dye. There was colored shampoo and conditioner, bleach, treatments, and of course, so much hair dye. Josh took a breather, taking in the faint chemical smell that lingered over the interior. It was comforting, in an odd way, like he’d found peace after wandering for weeks.
Just as Josh had started to process his surroundings and begin to browse the options, the shuffling of footsteps at the front of the store caught his attention. He perked up, twisting around the nearby shelving unit to catch the eyes of what he could only assume to be the owner. The man was tall, probably one or two inches taller than Josh, and he had a short grown out buzz that was dyed a gentle pink. He smiled politely at Josh, putting down the box he was carrying and turning to face him.
”Hi there! Welcome in! Is there anything specific you’re looking for?”
Josh blinked a few times, taking in the man’s voice. It was soft, like the curve of his jaw, and the ruffles in his hair. He cleared his throat, standing up straight and shrugging his shoulders. “Uh, I’m not sure? I need to refresh my red.” Josh spoke, stepping forward about two feet so he could get a full view of the man. He had on a light blue polo shirt on, and black skinny jeans. Josh took note of the face he was wearing converse, humming to himself as he glanced down at his own vans.
”Well, then you’re in the right place. We have a lot of red here! If you’re looking for a specific brand, we carry most of the big ones. Stuff like manic panic, punky colors, stuff like that. I’d recommend this brand!”
The man holds up a bottle of red hair dye, a brand Josh had never heard of before. He shrugged, willing to try anything once, and took it out of the man’s hand. “Thanks..Tyler.” He said, glancing at Tyler’s name tag with a smile.
Tyler chuckled, stepping back behind the counter and ringing Josh up. It was pretty cheap, only about ten dollars, and Josh paid in the tips he got from his last shift at a nearby restaurant. “Thanks, man. I appreciate it. I will most definitely be back in the near future!” Josh said, pocketing the few coins of change that Tyler handed him and waving goodbye. “No problem..” Tyler hesitated, tilting his head. Josh smiled, pausing in his departure. “Josh. I’m Josh.” He responded, before leavimg.
He meant what he said, he absolutely would be coming back, and not just because he needed his hair dye fix. Tyler was cute, really cute, and Josh could already tell he was going to take every opportunity to see him that he could. His mind lingered on the cotton candy waves and hazelnut eyes the whole drive home, only snapping out of it when he arrived at his apartment.
Josh locked the front door behind him, kicking his shoes off as he studied the bottle of hair dye. The instructions were simple enough, the same as any typical hair dye Josh had used in the past. He padded to his bathroom, changing into his crappy designated dyeing shirt and got started. The formula felt nice on his hair, and Josh could tell it was going to become a brand he goes back to a lot. The only issue was that the bottle was…small. He was only halfway through his hair and was already scraping the sides for more dye. Defeated, Josh decided to accept his fate and head back to the store.
It was already getting sort of dark out, and Josh prayed that Tyler would at least still be there. He drove, faster than what would typically be safe, and skidded into the parking lot. He looked around, catching sight of Tyler stepping out of the store with keys in hand. “Hey! Wait!”
Josh shouted, jumping out of his car and running over to Tyler. “Are you closed? Am I too late?”
Tyler looked a little surprised for a moment, before he relaxed and eyes crinkled as he smiled. He chuckled a little at the sight in front of him. An out of breath Josh with half his hair dyed and the other half tied up loosely on top of his head. It was almost pitiful, in a way.
”Oh, dude! Guess the bottle is a little small, huh?” Josh smiled sheepishly, shrugging a little in response. “Come on, I can help you finish it.” Tyler gestured for Josh to follow him, as the two headed around the back of the building and in through the employee entrance. Tyler tossed his keys and bag down on the ground, gesturing for Josh to head to the bathroom.
Josh did as he was told, wandering into the decently sized bathroom and taking a seat on the edge of the sink. He heard some rustling from the front of the store, before Tyler appeared holding a second bottle of hair dye. Him and Josh switched places, and Tyler snapped on some gloves before beginning to work on the other hand of Josh’s hair.
It didn’t feel weird, in some odd way. Josh felt comfortable with Tyler, comfortable enough to let him dye his hair for him. “So, why have I never seen you around if you dye your hair so much?” Tyler asked, mostly trying to fill the awkward space between them. Josh hummed a little before responding, trying not to move his head so much.
“Ah, I actually just moved over on this side of town. I used to live in the city, but I needed the quiet. Plus, I’m closer to my job over here.”
Josh smiled, wishing he could see Tyler’s reaction. He could hear the man chuckle a little, and it made his ears go red a little. He hoped he could play it off as being a dye stain. “That’s cool! It’ll be nice to see you around. You seem cool as fuck.” The compliment was not helping the pink rising on his cheeks. He brushed it off, clearing his throat a little before responding.
“Thanks! So do you!! How’d you get into running a hair dye shop, anyway?”
Tyler hummed, brushing his hands through Josh’s hair in an attempt to spread the dye evenly. It felt nice, and Josh relaxed a little further. “Well, I used to be a hair dresser, but a lot of my customers came in just to get advice on dyeing their hair. I realized my real passion was doing that, and here we are.”
Josh smiled a little, picking at the skin around his fingernails. “That’s so rad, man.”
“Thanks. We can probably wash your dye out now, you honestly did most of it with the original bottle and it’s sat for at least an hour I reckon.”
Josh nodded, standing up from his crouch on the floor and heading over to the sink. The cold water was oddly refreshing, and thankfully the dye washed out fast. Tyler handed him a towel, and Josh dried his hair off enough to the point it wasn’t sopping wet. “Looks great!”
Tyler said, putting a hand on Josh’s shoulder as he inspected it in the mirror. The dye did look good, really good, and Josh couldn’t hide his smile. “Thank you so much, Tyler. Seriously, I don’t know what I would have done without your help. We should totally hang out some time.”
Tyler’s eyes widened a little at the request, breathing in slightly before cracking a smile. “Of course, here, I’ll give you my number.”
As the pair headed out the back door, they exchanged numbers with smiles. They bid each other goodbye, with a plan to meet up sometime next week. Josh climbed into his car, a massive smile on his face. Whatever this led too, he was happy to have found a new friend as he settled into his new routine.