Keep Quiet // Josh Dun (completed)

chapter twenty :: a ship in shambles

trigger warning- mentions of depression.

credit to @DramaAnti and @Midnight_World_ for helping me with the ideas for this chapter because I haven't updated in over a month.

I'm just gonna apologize in advance for this chapter.

-

Nicole, being the caring girlfriend she was, wanted to help Josh as much as she was able to. She didn't like seeing him so down.

Of course she knew he couldn't help it, but it still hurt her to just see how the light from his eyes grow dimmer everyday.

How his smile became more and more forced.

His words fewer and fewer.

His meals smaller and infrequent.

The lilac bags under his eyes that grew deeper and darker.

Although the winter season was drawing closer to an end, Josh's depression didn't seem to be.

And of course that's just from what Nicole was able to see. She couldn't see his thoughts or even make him tell her about them. She knew it wasn't an easy thing to talk about so she didn't force him to speak openly about it. She wanted him to feel comfortable about it so she always waited for him to bring it up. She promised herself not to bother him to talk about it unless it was an emergency.

Lately, Josh had been in a mood. He was irritable and always had an angry look on his face. He hadn't been turning in his school work or participating in their final project for their chemistry class. This made the two distant. Between Josh's condition and the practicing for battle of the bands, they haven't been able to have a much time together as they would regularly.

Nicole was also growing distant. She knew with how Josh was, he wouldn't always want to see her.

Since the semester was nearing an end, their classes were going to be switched. This meant that Nicole and Josh were not going to end up in the same classes like they had been when she started. Their schedules both changed and the only period they had together was lunch, which wasn't even a whole period.

Nicole got herself dressed and decent to go see Josh. She was going to surprise him. It was a Saturday, which meant he was home. Nicole decided to walk to his house. It was only a few short blocks away, so it wasn't a big problem. She stuffed her hands in the pockets of her jacket, the one that she had stolen from him.

On her short walk, she contemplated what he would say to her. Since he wasn't in the best of moods, she didn't expect it to be completely positive. Hell, she barely expected him to say anything. Expecting Josh to actually talk about his feelings was like expecting Tyler to write a happy song - most likely not happening.

She knocked on the door, getting an answer from his mother. "Hey Mrs. Dun!" She greeted. "Is Josh home?"

"Yeah he's upstairs," Mrs. Dun stepped aside to let her in. Nicole gave her a warm smile before she descended up the steps to Josh's room.

When she opened the door, she saw that he had his ear buds in. He had his back pressed against the head board with his eye closed. A sour look covered his face - his eyebrows were furrowed and he had his arms folded across his chest. He had the scrapbook from Christmas in his lap. She could tell he wasn't able to hear her walk in. She could hear the tune of Sophomore slump or comeback of the year by Fall Out Boy through his earbuds. She walked in and sat on his bed. She figured he must've felt this because as soon as she sat, he took the earbuds from his ears.