You Can Take It Off (When You're Ready) [Twenty One Pilots]

Chapter Thirteen: Drops of Jupiter

Author's note: I rarely do that before the chapter but I just had to this time. I promised a shout out to the person who would find a suitable title for the last chapter, and even though I ended up using none of theirs (although they were pretty good!), I still want to thank @tylerrjosphe and @blurrybishop for their contribution! Also thank you all for reading this. You have no idea how much I appreciate it!

|-/|-/|-/

"... and he told that in front of the whole class!"

Mr. Joseph chuckled, tapping his hand on the table and spilling half of his glass of wine at the same time, making his audience laugh even more. Lena had to wipe a tear from her eye. This dinner had been the most amazing she'd had in a long time, but hearing the story of how a younger Tyler admitted to his whole classroom that he was "part-lesbian" instead of Lebanese made the night even more unforgettable. Resting a hand on her aching belly, she tried to remember the last time she had laughed so hard, and nothing came to her mind.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen," Jay suddenly stood up from his seat at the other side of the table, holding his hands up in the air in a very formal way, "it is time for our usual after-dinner concert, performed by the one and only...." The boy started tapping repeatedly on the table, quickly followed by Maddy and Zack as a way of building up the tension. "... Tyleeeeeer Joseph!"

All eyes turned on Tyler expectantly, and he rolled his eyes, his cheeks taking a nice shade of red. He shook his head, slightly embarrassed but smiling nonetheless, and everyone started screaming happily at him, encouraging him to get up and play. Instead, he leaned towards Lena and whispered. "They always say it's a habit of us but honestly, I always accept just because they seem to like it..."

"Oh come on, Tyler," Maddy reacted on the other side of him, "you know you like it!" And the whole table laughed again. "Plus, there's a reason dad bought that old rusty upright piano, and it's not because it looks great, trust me..."

Tyler turned towards Lena again, as if waiting for some kind of clue, and she nodded encouragingly, raising an eyebrow. She wanted him to sing, of course. She loved it when he played music, although she had never had a personal performance, which she imagined would be even better. Or maybe not better, but different. More intimate. And wasn't that what she really wanted? At the same time, she didn't want to force him to do something he felt uncomfortable with, so ultimately, it was his choice. But she had a feeling the boy just wanted them all to plead him, so she put a shy hand on his, squeezing it softly. "Do as you want, Ty! But I'd really like it if you did."

"All right," Tyler sighed, "but it's only because Lena's here."

He stood up with conviction, a grin lightening up his face, and Lena almost wanted to punch him for being so annoyingly adorable. Everyone else followed suit, and while they were all walking towards the entrace hall, where the piano was standing against the wall, Lena heard bits of conversation from behind her. 

"So are they together or not?" Jay asked in a whisper.

"I don't know man, seems like it but..." Zack answered.

"Will you shut up? You're not being very discreet!" Maddy cut them off.

"Language, young lady!" Mr. Joseph chimed in. 

Lena was a boiling mess inside. She didn't really know what was going on inside of her ribcage, but it seemed like her heart had decided to throw a party and every other organ was invited. One thing was certain, she loved this family. In silence, she finally reached the piano, where Tyler was already sitting on a small black stool. Ultimately, everyone joined, forming a circle around the instrument and the musician, and soon, the silence was complete.