Øverturning the lies (a twenty one pilots fanfiction)

~30~

It had to be late, or maybe really early. Josh wasn't really sure. But this couldn't wait.

He tried to convince himself that this was neccessary, that she wouldn't-couldn't-be bothered by him coming to talk to her, but it didn't work.

He couldn't help but be worried.

He was desperate enough that he had to do this, however. He had to.

She wasn't sleeping. That in itself wasn't too surprising.

And she was talking to a couple of others. Now that was surprising.

But in a good way.

It made Josh smile when he noticed.

When she and the two others saw him, they stop talking, though.

"Everything okay, Mr. Banditø leader?" Mari asks.

Josh shakes his head.

"Oh," Mari says, getting up from her blanket. "What happened?"

"I-" Josh begins, but he doesn't know how to start.

Mari turns to the two she was talking with. "Do you mind giving us a minute?"

Josh recognizes them as Rachel and Xavier.

"Sure," Rachel says.

Xavier says nothing.

Josh feels the need to say, "If the two of you, or anyone you know, needs anything, just let me know, okay?"

They nod.

"I mean it," Josh says.

"I-okay," Xavier says, and he and Rachel walk away.

"What were you talking about?" Josh asks Mari.

"I...uh, well-" she says.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Josh says quickly.

She relaxes. "No, it's okay. We were just talking about...well, what might happen next in our lives. Since, you know, there's a lot of them left."

"But that's not really important," Mari says quickly. "You came to find me because something's wrong, didn't you?"

"Yes," Josh admits, "I did."

"Is it..." Mari hesitates. "Is it Tyler?"

Josh can only nod.

"Oh," Mari says. "All right. You look like you need to sit down."

So Josh sits down.

Mari bites her lip and looks and Josh with wide, concerned eyes.

"What happened?" she asks.

"I-" Josh can only shake his head. "They-"

"Wait," Mari says suddenly, panic in her voice [not in her disco, that wouldn't even make sense]. "Wait. He-oh, please tell me he's still-"

"Alive?" Josh guesses, and she nods.

"He is," Josh says carefully.

"But?" Mari asks.

"But..." Josh closes his eyes, trying to block out all of the gruesome details. "But the bishops, they..."

He shakes his head.

"Please," Mari says, "Please just tell me."

He takes a deep breath and gets ready to tell her.