Øverturning the lies (a twenty one pilots fanfiction)

~25~

"This is going to sound crazy," Josh warns Mari.

She shrugs. "My life is crazy."

"I mean..." Josh searches for a way to express the truth. "It shouldn't...it shouldn't even be possible."

He continues. "And I've never...I've never actually told this to anyone."

"Why not?" she asks.

"I don't want to bring back painful memories for anyone," Josh says simply.

"Then why are you telling it to me?" Mari asks, wide-eyed.

"Because...well, because I know you'll listen," Josh says honestly.

"Will-" Mari begins. Then she stops herself mid-sentence and sighs. "Yes. I will. I'll listen to you, Mr. banditø leader."

Josh smiles a little bit. "You can just call me Josh, you know."

"Yes," Mari says. "I could. It's just...I was trying to ease the tension a little bit."

"Well," Josh says. "It worked. It definitely worked."

"And also..." Mari says. "I don't exactly know your last name."

Josh looks at her sadly. "Neither do I. Not anymore."

He sighs. "The bishops...they have a way of making you forget."

Mari nods, her fingers going to the black mark on her neck. "I...I know."

Johs hand goes to the yellow bandana he keeps tied around his neck, which covers up a similar mark.

"But once I left the city of Dema, I started to remember little bits and pieces," he says.

He sighs. "This is what's going to sound crazy."

Mari plays with one of the yellow flowers in her hair and nods. "I'm listening."

"Ever since I managed to escape the city, I've had trouble sleeping," Josh begins.

"That's not crazy," Mari says. "That makes perfect sense, really."

"Yes, well, on the rare occasion that I actually do manage to sleep, I find myself dreaming..." he hesitates. "I find myself dreaming about Tyler."

"Were you two close?" Mari asks.

Josh nods. "I don't remember all of it, but...yes. I know we were."

"I'm sensing a 'but' in there," Mari says.

Josh looks at her.

"We were close," he says, "so it wouldn't be all that far-fetched for me to be dreaming of him. But, the thing is..."

He looks at Mari. "They're more than just dreams."

"What do you mea-" Mari starts.

"I mean," Josh says, "When I dream of-"

"Of your fren," Mari says, laughing.

Josh looks at her.

"I'm sorry," she says. "It's-something about that word just makes me want to laugh. Carry on."

"All right, you said it," Josh says. "When I dream of my fren Tyler, I feel like part of me-"

He looks at Mari, trying to convey with his eyes that this is serious. "I feel like part of me is actually there with him, in Dema. I can actually see what's going on around him and talk to him. But lately, lately..."

He tugs at the yellow bandana he wears.

"Lately I don't even have to be asleep. I can sense, somehow, that he's in danger, and I can...I can feel myself, I don't know, being pulled to where he is."

He looks at Mari. "I told you it would sound crazy."

"All right, well," she says, "You were right about that. But, the thing is, I don't think you're crazy."

"No?" he asks.

"No," she says. "I believe you."

"You do?" he asks, surprised.

"Of course," Mari says. "Why would you make up something like that?"

Without waiting for a response, she adds, "All right, then. Do you know how he's doing right now?"

Josh bites his lip. "Yes. And that's why I'm worried."

That darn Dema, huh? Idk, I couldn't think of anything else to put 😂

Don't mind me, and please continue reading!