Empathy [Josh Dun - Twenty One Pilots]

THIRTEEN

Focus.

That's what Tyler had told Josh: focus. Focus was the main condition of their gift, and it was what could help him sharpen it, make it better, stronger. So, that's what Josh did. He focused. With the help of Tyler, he had found an old picture of Mark, and he was now concentrating on every inch, every pixel of the photograph in the hope it would teach them something about Mark's whereabouts. Sometimes, Josh would feel a weird tingle in his stomach, like his guts making knots, sign that something was wrong. Other times, he would just feel nothing at all, except maybe like a complete idiot.

"Ugh!" the boy yelled in frustration, throwing the picture back on Tyler's bed right in front of his crossed legs. "It doesn't work!" He looked up to his best friend, eyebrows furrowed, unable to control his anger. His "gift", as Tyler called it, had been making his life a living hell for the past year, and now that he had finally found some use to it, it seemed like it was gone. "Why don't you do it?" Josh finally said, taking the photograph again and handing it to Tyler in front of him.

Tyler sighed. "Think I didn't try already?" he asked, getting back up on his feet and heading towards the chest of drawers facing his bed. He opened one of the drawers and after rummaging through pairs of socks, he got what looked like a photo album out. Getting back to Josh's sides, he opened it to a page he had obviously previously turned down. The page showed only school pictures, the top right one being Mark. "It's last year's school book. I found it at the library earlier today. I spent lunch trying to get something from it but..." He shook his head in hopeless denial.

"But I thought," Josh started, more confused than ever. "I thought you were a pro now. You've been practicing for years, that's what you said right?"

Tyler raised his shoulders in apology, and Josh instantly felt bad. He was about to apologize for being so on edge - especially after all he had learned today - but Tyler beat him to it. "I know, and I'm sorry I can't help more... I've noticed that my abilities are always weaker when it's about someone I don't know. That's why I thought you should be the one trying. Because you know him better than you think and I'm sure if you concentrate enough..."

"I've been concentrating, Tyler! I've tried for over an hour, it just doesn't work!" Josh exclaimed, now on his feet, striding across the room like a locked up mad man. 

"You gotta give yourself time, Josh. You can't just... snap your fingers and boom!"

Josh stopped, desperate, and plopped himself back down on the bed, making Tyler bounce a little. He raised his hands to his head. It felt like it was about to explode. Tyler's hand found its way on its shoulder in a sympathetic squeeze. "I know it's frustrating, trust me... You just have to try harder. I'm sure if you think hard enough... Something's gonna come out, it has to! You told me you had a dream, right?"

Josh nodded. Right after Tyler's big reveal of his Gift, and the discussion that ensued, the topic had soon shifted to Mark when the boy had said he thought he was meant to help others. And who needed more help right now than Mark? Automatically, Josh had thought of that weird nightmare he had about him, and told every single detail of it to Tyler. He thought it'd be easy. He thought, somehow, that Tyler would have been able to locate his old friend in a matter of second, but the boy was no GPS, and their abilities were clearly harder to control than that. 

"Right. Dreams are subconscious. And so is the Gift." Tyler stated matter-of-factly. "Just... Just go home, get some rest and then try again. I'll try too. We'll found him, okay?"

Josh nodded again. He was suddenly feeling empty. The thought of finally having someone to confide in about everything, even his powers, had brought a gigantic amount of hope along, but Josh was suddenly realizing that this wouldn't make everything easier. Life was still kind of a bitch, and like a wise man once said, "with great powers come great responsibilities", or something like that. And that meant Josh definitely had to try and do something about Mark's disappearance.