Ocean Eyes [ OMHK, Book 1 ]

Guns For Hands

Nobody thinks what I think.
Nobody dreams when they blink,
Think things on the brink of blasphemy
I'm my own shrink
Think things are after me,
I'm my catastrophe.
(Kitchen Sink - Regional At Best)

T Y L E R

I finished my car ride in silence, finally returning back to being devoid of all emotions, the way I preferred it. I slowed to a stop when I saw the large black and white sign of the venue.

Columbus Concert Hall: Twenty One Pilots, 2-20, 12:00 A.M.

I crinkled my nose. They capitalized our name. I grabbed my ukulele and band bag, wincing as I slammed my car door shut a little harder than usual.

Entering through the backdoor of the venue building, I walked slowly, studying the walls. They were covered in photographs of bands and people that have played here; clippings of newspaper articles and other random papers.

I shuffled around for a few minutes, observing the large stage where I would be playing in a little over an hour, waving at the crew of people running the whole ordeal. I then entered through the backstage door where I spotted Josh tapping away at his drums.

The scent of this venue was extremely pleasant, and the room I stood in smelled woodsy and rich, reminding me of a library. Once people were let in, things would get stuffy, so I enjoyed the cool air as much as I could now.

Humming, I read the yellow paper taped to the wall.

Tyler Joseph: Enter stage right. Exit stage left.
Joshua Dun: Enter stage left. Exit stage right.

Underneath it was the set list of songs, not that I didn't already have it memorized by heart. I called out to Josh.

"Hey, big boy!"

He immediately turned around and sprinted up to hug me, almost knocking me over. He reminded me of a hyper puppy. "HEY TYJO!" He shouted into my face, making me wince.

"Someone's excited for today." I replied with a smile, still hugging him.

"You betcha! I'm trying to turn my negative emotions into positive ones, so I'm pretending the bottomless pit of anxiety in my stomach and my deathly fear of screwing up is actually excitement."

I smiled and shook my head, humored. He was so dramatic sometimes.

"You'll do great, Spooky. We always do." I said it to assure him, but partly myself, too.

"I know, but still there's a lot of people and I know that doesn't really make much of a difference but in my head there's a biiiig difference and I'm worried tha-"

He was rambling, so I cut him off, grabbing his shoulder and shaking him a little bit.

"Josh. Calm. Down. People love us," I smiled reassuringly.