routines ( joshler )

Chapter 1: Want to play?

Voices echoed through the room. All of the laughs and chatter of the lunch room were giving Josh a migraine. He sighed, pushing his food around on his plate as he listened to his best friend Debby talk about some guy she met last night.

Josh didn't have many friends. Maybe it was his introverted personality, or maybe it was his style, either way, Debby was the only person who sat with him. People at school mostly just whispered about him behind his back if they noticed him at all. Looking around the room, he made eye contact with the guys at the popular table, Tyler specifically.

Tyler was a jock in all senses of the word. He was the captain of the basketball team, hung out with the other jocks, didn't talk to "losers" like him. He also didn't seem interested in anything other than basketball. Josh broke eye contact as quickly as it started, and looked back down at his tray.

"Josh, are you even listening to me?"

"Sorry, talking about some guy you met?" Josh responded

Debby continued to talk about this guy as Josh allowed his mind to wander. Only 3 more months and he would graduate. He wasn't sure what he was going to do after graduation, but he had always been the type of guy to go with the flow.

Tyler on the other hand, had everything lined up for him. Everyone knew he had a basketball scholarship to look forward to, yet, no one knew what he would be studying. The bell rang, disrupting Josh's thoughts. He stood up to throw out his tray as Debby continued to talk. This was usually how it went. Debby would yap Josh's ear off every chance she got and he would just sit and listen. He assumed she just liked the fact someone would listen to her and not interrupt, and he wasn't much of a talker.

Josh dreaded his next class. As much as he loved music, he wasn't very musically inclined apart from his drumming skills. He usually sat in the corner, listening, observing. The class would be over before he knew it though.

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Classes passed by in a blur, and it wasn't until he was grabbing his things to go home that he realized he left his sticks in the music room. Normally, he would just wait until the next day to grab them, but he wanted to practice when he got home, so he'd have to go now. Mostly everyone had gone home besides a few of the sports kids. Practice didn't start for another hour for them, but normally he would catch them hanging out around the halls.

As Josh approached the music room he heard a voice coming from inside with a piano to accompany it. The voice sounded familiar, but Josh didn't think much of it. Unfortunately, being as introverted as he is, his body forced him to stand outside as to not interrupt. He didn't want an awkward conversation to ensue the moment he walked through the doors. He peeked through the window on the door and all he was able to make out was a sports jersey.

The idea of one of the popular jocks writing music in their free time wasn't possible to Josh, so he assumed it had to be one of the JV players. With that in mind, he pushed open the door, having a bit more confidence. What he didn't expect when he walked in, was to be met by the eyes of Tyler Joseph himself.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt, I was just grabbing my sticks I left here" Josh spoke softly, grabbing his sticks as quickly as possible.

Tyler tilted his head to the side, just watching Josh cross the room in a hurry.

"Want to play?"

"What?"

Tyler offered a soft smile to Josh and beckoned to the drums in the corner of the room.

"It's not often someone comes in here while I'm playing, I wouldn't mind if you wanted to practice with me" Tyler spoke, friendlier than Josh had expected.

Josh had never imagined any of the jocks to be friendly in any sense of the word. They typically ignored people like him, spreading rumors and whispering about him. Maybe Tyler would make fun of his playing.

"I... really gotta get home. Maybe next time" and he hurried out of the room.

Tyler was a bit disappointed. He normally spent his time alone if he wasn't practicing. Even though he was surrounded by people, he often felt lonely. Sure, he had the basketball team, but all they really had in common was basketball. Tyler had loved music for as long as he could remember, and spent most of his time writing. He had never been able to make connections with anyone else who had a passion for music, so that part of him was locked away. Tyler sighed, and continued to practice.

"Maybe next time..."