Don't Let me be Gone //Tyler Joseph// (#Wattys2016)

He Wrote as the Sun Died

So we set out to New York in a little grey van. We had two weeks until Twenty One Pilots were to perform, but we wanted to do a lot of sightseeing. As Mark drove, Tyler, Josh, and I sorted out sleeping arrangements.

"Okay, I call back bench." Josh jumped over the three rows of car seats.

"I call middle, because it's warm." I said as I climbed into the middle row of the car. Tyler groaned.

"I get front row?" He complained.

"Sorry man." Josh called from the back.

Basically, the Van layout went like this; The very back row had the biggest windows, but was very hot and next to all of the equipment. The middle row was warm, but it was the smallest row. The front row was always cold, but you were closest to the food. The drivers seat was taken up by Mark. Tyler slumped down in the front bench. I hopped next to him.

"Are you exited?" I asked as I wrapped my hands around my knees.

"Heck yeah!" He grinned at me.

"What about you Josh?" Tyler turned his head. Josh was silent.

"Josh?" I asked. I peered over the rows of seats. Josh was lying on the bench, and had his headphones on. I rolled my eyes at him. Tyler popped up next to me.

"JoooOooOoSh?" He asked. Still no response. Tyler then picked up his pillow, and threw it in Joshes face. Josh took his headphones of.

"Whaaaaat." He groaned.

"Come up here." Tyler told him.

"Why?" He asked.
Tyler ducked down under his seat, then pulled out three pieces of paper.

"Licence plate bingo."
This causes another groan on Joshes behalf. Reluctantly, he climbed up front.

(Tyler's P.o.V)
When we had finally crossed the border to West Virginia, Emily was asleep with her head resting on my shoulder. I watched as the sun set over the bare countryside. I turned my head to Emily. She was probably the most beautiful girl in the world. She was not perfect, but she was at the same time. Her silky black hair was done up in a high ponytail, and her bright green eyes were closed. I didn't know that there was anyone like Emily in the world. I took a moment to realize how lucky I was that her bike was stolen that morning almost three months ago.

'Has it really only been three months?'

A lot of people would think that I rushed into a relationship, but I guess that I had to take that chance. Emily yawned and slowly opened her eyes. She smiled sleepily at me.

"Hi." She said, a bit dazed.

"Hello." I responded, kissing her on the forehead.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked me. I turned my head back to the sunset.

"Everything." I told her. She lifted her head.

"It's beautiful."
I saw her looking out at the sunset. The orange had slowly faded to purple, and the outline of the sun was a light shade of magenta.

"Yeah." I said. It really was something.
Quickly, I picked up my notebook from the bottom of the van.

"What are you doing?" Emily asked me.

"Writing." I told her as I grabbed a pen. She left me in silence for a bit.

"I find this the perfect time to write, when the sun is setting."
She placed her head back on my shoulder and watched me write. Eventually, I felt her head become heavier, and saw that she had fallen back asleep. Now, the sun was gone, and the moon was in the sky. I leaned my head onto the window.

"You going to sleep?" Mark asked me from the front. He was a friend of Joshes, so I didn't know him very well. He seemed kind of quiet, but I'd get to know him over the next while.

"Yeah." I nodded.

"Well, I'll wake you when we make a stop.

"Okay."
Within five minutes, I was asleep.