Empathy [Josh Dun - Twenty One Pilots]

SEVENTEEN

Debby was beautiful. She had always been. Josh could still remember the day he first met her. They both still were kids back then, yet Josh knew, as soon as he locked eyes with her, that he had never seen a little girl more beautiful than her. Her red hair was flowing behind her in a trail of fire as she was running around the classroom. She was humming a nice melody, and Josh was pretty sure that if Heaven had a sound, that's what it would sound like.

Josh was new to that school, but when she finally looked up at him, standing in the doorframe with his mother's hand still in his tiny grasp, she smiled and Josh knew it would be okay. Thinking about it now, Josh realized he might have let go of his mother's hand a little too quick, and he hoped his mother hadn't been hurt by the gesture. He didn't even remember saying goodbye to her, as Debby had just sat down at a table and the one next to her was still empty. Needless to say, he almost ran for the spot. 

And now there she was, almost ten years later, giving that same smile to Josh's ex-best-friend and now dearest enemy. Josh closed his eyes at the painful sight, but for some reason, it got worse. He just couldn't keep on watching that, or he would go crazy. But wasn't he already?

"Stop this!" Tyler's voice got him out of his trance. "You're not supposed to be watching this, Josh," he continued, shaking his head in reprimand, but Josh simply couldn't get this image out of his mind. In this exact moment, Debby was on the other side of town, literally flirting with Ethan, and although this was all part of Tyler's plan, Josh didn't like it very much. "You know she doesn't mean it, right? She's just acting, and she's really good at it, apparently..."

Josh shrugged. He didn't care how good she was at acting. All he cared about was her smile directed to Ethan, her small cold hand lightly grasping his forearm when she laughed, the way she got physically closer to him just to tease him and how her red hair was flowing behind her in a trail of fire as the wind blew it away and...

"Ouch!" Josh yelled as the palm of Tyler's hand was leaving his scalp after a slap that wasn't as painful as Josh made it sound. 

"Focus!" Tyler just said. "Right now, it's not about Debby. It's about Mark. So think about him. Not Debby."

Josh sighed again, rolling his eyes as Tyler turned his back on him to roam the space of his bedroom, his feet soflty tapping against the carpet. Tyler seemed to feel better that way, while Josh had to sit down and relax to actually see something worth it. Josh didn't know why Tyler still bothered though, as they both had realized Josh seemed to have the strongest connection with Mark. They were trying, again, to know more about the place where he was captive, but none of them had suceeded so far.

Josh closed his eyes, slowly breathing in and out, trying to made Debby's face disappear from behind his eyelids. He sure hoped that part of the plan would work. He didn't like the idea of having to endure this disgusting game of flirting for nothing. He was starting to get nervous about it again. But that's when he saw. And he held out his hand to let Tyler know. The boy stopped turning in circles, falling to his knees expectantly right before Josh.

"I think he's sleep-" Josh started. But he was unable to finish, as a myriad of flashes blinded him. They were so fast he didn't think he could get anything out of them, but eventually, the images slowed down as if Josh was turning the slow-mo button on his mind. 

That was unlike anything he had seen before, and Josh frowned. This didn't look like it came from Mark at all, and for a second Josh thought he had entered someone else's mind. Then, as if in a dream, he seemed to recognize the place. It was a weird feeling, like a déjà-vu, when you know you've seen something before but you just can't remember where or when. The corner of Josh's vision were blurry, and overall, he couldn't make out the sharp outlines of anything in the room.