No Matter What (Twenty One Pilots)

Chapter 11

The two days passed with Josh in a constant state of happiness. He had been texting Debby nonstop during every moment both of them were awake, and playing with Tyler whenever she wasn’t responding. Everything Josh said sounded brighter and happier and every step he took had a slight bounce to it. His parents thought he was just excited to be hanging out with someone again, which he was, but there was something else. Something about Debby made Josh’s insides squirm, in a good way, when he thought about her, which he did a lot of.

“Tyler, what do I wear?” Josh asked as he stood in front of his closet. Water dripped from his hair and onto his back, giving him chills while he tried to figure out an outfit. He wanted to look like he was putting an effort into caring about how he looked, but not too much.

“Mom!” Josh called after deciding that Tyler, no matter how cute he was, was useless when it came to making fashion decisions. Plus, Josh’s mom was always good at finding just the right thing to wear. There hadn’t been one year book photo where he had looked bad, well, clothing wise. The horrible case of permanent bedhead that had plagued him in the sixth grade was a totally different story.

Tyler ended up lying in a pile of clothes that had been tossed onto the bed. Josh had tied on about five different outfits until he and his mother decided on one. In Josh’s opinion, it took way too long, but he was happy in his clothes, and if he was going to be honest with himself, he was even slightly confident, something that he hadn’t been in forever.

“Thanks, Mom,” Josh said as he gave her a quick hug. He picked up Tyler’s leash from the table near the front door and soon the always growing puppy was racing towards Josh, excited to be going on a walk. Sure, he went on one almost every day, but everything smelled so amazing and there were people on the sidewalks that would pet him, and of course, there were squirrels. Showers were fun, too, but to Tyler, nothing could top the feeling of chasing some small brown colored animal into a tree. It was very satisfying.

“Alright, Ty. Let’s try not to go make fools out of ourselves,” Josh said as thy started down the sidewalk.  Tyler wove in and out of Josh’s legs, twisting the leash and tripping Josh so many times he lost count. Even if he did almost fall into the pavement and break his nose, nothing could dampen his mood. He had been waiting for this and was way more excited than he should be.

“It’s just, something about her is different,” he explained to Tyler while they made their way to the music shop. “I don’t know what it is, but I want to get to know her more. I haven’t felt like that on a while, you know? And she’s really pretty.”

Josh was rambling now, but Tyler didn’t care. Josh was happy, so he was happy. He could also smell the faint scent of Debby as they walked down the street, as if she had been here no more than a few minutes ago. Tyler began pulling, knowing that the smell was associated with belly rubs and gentle pats to the head.

“Tyler, slow down!” Josh called out as his dog tried to run down the sidewalk. The people passing by laughed as he tripped over his own feet trying to keep up with Tyler. Josh, being Josh, was more than slightly embarrassed, and he could tell his whole face was red. Finally Tyler slowed down and Josh looked up. All of his embarrassment was forgotten when he saw Debby smiling brightly at him from across the street.

He smiled back and waved. Tyler barked and surged forward, and suddenly, Josh was face to face with a pole.