A Shade Darker Than Damaged (twenty one pilots)

|Chapter IV|

Next Day - Snow

"Are you hungry?" Tyler knocked, walking in with a small pizza box. Almost on cue, my stomach grumbled in response to his question.

"You have no idea. Hospital food is disgusting," I assured, greedily taking the pizza box into my hands. An adorable smile spread across his lips. That was the most beauty I've seen in a while.

Inside the small personal pizza box, were 4 slices perfectly separated into triangles.

"Do you want some?" I offered, laughing.

"Why thank you... princess," he mocked, taking a slice.

After we finished eating the rest of the pizza, Tyler just sat next to my bed, smiling at me. I noticed the small dimples that appeared now and then in his cheeks. He didn't look so sad anymore.

"What?" I chirped, trying to contain my smile.

"Nothing, just your smile. It......reminds me of Josh," his smile faded as his eyes became troubled, as if he was trying to decide on something.

"Do you want to go meet him?" he decided.

I was shocked by the question. Josh was important to him and it was almost like he wanted me to see why.

I nodded, slowly standing up, grabbing the IV pole to aid me.

I've never realized how gross I must have looked. The hospital gown wasn't exactly aesthetically pleasing, after all. My entire left side of my body was trapped in wraps.

I wore a navy blue sling on my left arm for my wrist, arm, and collar bone and then my leg was wrapped with a white cast all the way to my knee.

The nurse had said it was lucky that my bones had clean breaks. I don't call it luck though, my body should've been worse. I should've been in the drivers seat.

When we entered Josh and Austen's room, I glanced over at Austen. She was getting paler by the day, like her life was slowly be stripped from her face, but when I looked at Josh, it was worse.

"How long-" I choked. Looking at Joshua's sickly narrow cheeks, Austen wasn't doing that bad.

"Twenty-nine days. Tomorrow, a month," his voice lowered to a cold tone. I wondered if everyday he had marked off his calendar, expecting him to wake up tomorrow. I couldn't imagine going through this with Austen.

"Talk to him," he suggested,"he can hear you."

I didn't know what to say, but for the sake of Tyler I went up to him and knelt down his bed.

"Hi Josh. I'm Snow White. I know, so funny right? It's really nice to finally meet you. Tyler talks about you a lot. He really misses you so you should wake up soon. Oh and if you see my friend Austen, tell her to wake up too," I requested. It was weird to have a one-sided conversation with someone I've never met before.

I looked over at Tyler, eyeing his quiet smile. I wanted to cry, but there weren't anymore tears in me. No release for this silent hell.

"I love your hair, Josh. It's really...interesting. I heard you were in a band, or famous, or whatever. That's probably fun. You look cut out for it. Your fans probably want you to get better, so does Tyler. I want you and Austen to get better so we can all meet properly."

I stopped when I heard sniffling.

I looked over to Tyler, my heart breaking at the sight. His eyes were red, his face halfway hidden by his hands. I felt horrible.

"Tyler," I spoke softly, kneeling beside his chair.

"I'm sorry, Snow White," he sighed, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands.

I didn't say anything, I just hugged him.

It was a bit of an awkward sort of hug, with the sling in the way, but I liked it. The warmth of his arms swallowed me in his embrace and I felt safe.

It was kind of comforting to be in his arms, and not for any intimate reasons. I guess it was just reassuring to have someone there. He's practically saving my life because I'm not so sure I could handle being alone with my thoughts.

After letting go, I desperately wanted his embrace back. My skin went back to the same temperature as the cool hospital air.

"Can I ask you a question?" I asked nervously.

He nodded, locking his eyes with mine.

"What happened to him?" I motioned over to the unconscious Josh.

The sound of the machine beeping matched with my heart beat waiting for a response.

"Do you know what guilt feels like? True guilt? Because I have. I was always the reckless one in our friendship. At our concerts, I would climb up the stage trusses, which are those towers of metal to support the roof. I would do it for the excitement, but it was stupid. It was reckless. At one of our concerts, something went wrong. My foot slipped and entangled inside the truss, Josh climbed up to help, but it started to shake and he fell fifteen feet to his coma," he swallowed,"I put him here."

"I'm so sorry," I apologized, I guess mostly for asking.

His eyes became those familiar sad eyes, but he covered it with his smile.

"You should probably get back to your room, Cherry's probably wondering where you are," he advised, walking with me out the door.

It must of been horrible to be responsible for that, but it wasn't necessarily his fault. He just slipped. It was an accident.

I looked back at Austen. I wondered what she was dreaming of, or if she was afraid. She needed someone there for her.

"Hey Tyler? Did Austen's parents come yet?"

"This morning, right before you woke. They left to go do something, probably to settle wherever they're staying. Sleeping at the hospital is rough," he spoke from experience.

We were silent for a good while, just enjoying each other's company.

"You need to rest, princess. This is a lot to take in, I know. I'll visit later."

When I got back to my room, I was drained from pure exhaustion. I was more emotionally exhausted than anything. I guess in a way, things happen for a reason. If all this wouldn't have happened, I wouldn't have met Tyler and so far that's a win for me. He was like a breath of fresh air in this place.

There was a part of me that knew Tyler wasn't usually this open. He seemed sad, but not in the grief-stricken way, in the already-sad kind of way. He had depression; it was easy to tell. I was only glad he was alive and trying his best to be there for Josh, even when his thoughts were drowning him. Whether he knew it or not, he was a key part in my recovery and I'd known him for a day.

He also always referred to me as Snow White, or princess, like he was always reminding himself that I wasn't real. I didn't think I was in any position to bring it up, so I refrained. I was more real than I cared to admit.

I often wished I was actually Snow White,  because then I'd have dwarves as friends and a prince to live happily ever after with. I wouldn't have a dead best friend and another sort-of acquaintance in a coma, and a sad boy who was doing the best job at comforting me right now. Tyler would be happy because Josh would be awake.

A loud slam echoed through my room, and when I looked up I was met with familiar brown eyes, glaring at me.

"You killed our daughter."