semi-automatic | joshler

6. seeking

Play the song: "No Friend" by Paramore.

•

After last night's events, Tyler slept only for 4 hours, as he had managed to doze off at 3 a.m. It's still impressing, that he actually got some sleep, because the memories of that lit-up garage were pounding inside his head since he had entered the house.

They still are. It still is weird and uncomfortable for Tyler. why couldn't he run away the moment after he had realised, who was there? Why couldn't he make himself much less suspicious, instead of letting Josh come up with a possible thought of Tyler being a creep stalking him? Because, honestly, how else could he explain his own actions that week?

Tyler is conflicted. That stone face, not showing any emotion, and, on the contrary, those big brown eyes, showing all possible emotions at once, from anger to pity, still haunt him, but he can't let them go. Instead, he starts scribbling chaotic patterns in his notebook, making himself even more nervous and even more unsteady. He feels like he's jumping on his seat, he feels like he can burst in a minute, stand up and run out from the music classroom with a scream.

To be honest, he doesn't know, if it's from anger and helplessness, or if it's just a desire to never see Josh Dun again.

Tyler almost congratulates himself inside, that they at least don't have any classes together, but before he can even finish the thought, he has to look up from his notebook at the sound of door opening.

And yes.
No.

It can't be. It's a dream. Why now? He still hasn't woken up properly. He closes his eyes tightly to forget the sight from his head. Why is he so unfortunate? Why can't it—everything—just leave him alone already? He doesn't want to see, he over-exaggerates, but he doesn't want to see.

"It's my seat," he hears a voice, which can be perfectly examined in his head since last few days. It's the voice, that haunted him at night, and couldn't leave him alone in his dreams. It's the voice, that kind of threatened him, but later told him goodnight.

Tyler wants to stand up and run out from the music classroom with a scream.

He opens his eyes, realising he's been holding his breath this whole time.

In front of him stands nobody else, but Josh Dun, with his bright hair sticking out from his snapback, of course, and his perfectly clean clothes, of course, and with these eyes looking down at Tyler and waiting for some reaction from him. But what is he supposed to do? Get up? Move? He has no idea, where to move. A teacher told him to sit here last week. Josh wasn't here that day.

Tyler fights with himself, trying to decide, if he wants to stand up and move whenever, just not to be able to see Josh's gaze, or to continue staring at him and let him murder Tyler with his eyes. There are already other people watching them. It's not good.

Before Tyler can make his decision, the teacher calls Josh from the back of the room. Josh puts his stuff on his— Tyler's? table and rushes to the teacher. By that he's probably showing Tyler, that he's not going to give up, and he owns this place. The teacher is talking to Josh for a few minutes, and Tyler zones out completely.

Unfortunately, a few moments later he feels a pair of eyes on him again. The teacher looks in Tyler's direction, and then at Josh, still talking to him. Josh turns his face to Tyler. Tyler can't stand it anymore. Josh doesn't seem like he's going to get Tyler his way, and he doesn't want to give him that satisfaction, so he gets up and moves to another table.

There's only one seat left, right behind Brendon, and next to some red-haired girl. Tyler doesn't want to sit beside anyone, because it would be too awkward for him and for the person stuck sitting with him, but right now he actually has no choice anymore.