midnight man (joshler)

chapter seventeen/you gonna kill me?

chapter seventeen/you gonna kill me?

"i'm sorry what?"

i can't help it. i burst out laughing. i clutch my side, i'm laughing so hard. it's only as i wipe tears from my eyes that i realize no one else is laughing.

"you're joking right?"

tyler and jenna share a glance.

"tyler tell me you're joking," i say shakily.

"well, look what you've done, tyjo. you've gone and given him a heart attack," jenna feigns pity, emphasizing a southern drawl that wouldn't be caught dead speaking for a girl like her.

"josh, it's a long story," tyler sighs.

"fuck you," i gasp. "i trusted you!"

"i'm still me, josh," his tone is pleading. "i love you, you know that."

"get away from me," i step backwards.

"josh, don't you dare leave me," his face darkens, just like it did the night i saw the man in the van.

oh god the van. it was a body in the trunk. oh my... was it kellin? had i seen kellin quinn's body in the back of some guy's honda? i feel like i'm going to be sick.

"or what?" i challenge. "you gonna kill me?"

he flinches, and i watch the hurt flash across his face. even jenna looks sympathetic at that one. it was a low blow, but then again: so is murder.

i shake my head at him in disgust, quickly turning and walking my way out of there. i hear him start to argue with jenna, but i'm too focused on getting the fuck away to catch any words. once i've turned a corner, the voices have increased and i begin to sprint. i figure i have ten, maybe fifteen, seconds before he comes running after me. and who knows what he'll do then.

my mind is reeling and my stomach is clenching, but i keep running. i check frantically for a place to hide. my eyes spot a pitch black alleyway just a few steps ahead. perfect.

i take a sharp turn and nervously press my back against the wall. i don't dare walk into the shadows behind me, for fear of a heroin junkie feeling the need to jump me in the darkness. i hear tyler running as his feet tap the ground with an alarming sound each second. i hold my breath as he nears the alleyway i cower in, and feel my heart beat quicken.

he runs straight past.

i exhale in relief. my eyes flutter shut. the tough part is over. now i just get to go home and watch my back.

"don't move josh dun," a voice snarls in my ear, and i am yanked backwards. an arm slings itself across the base of my throat and holds me against a firm body. i gasp as i realize they're holding a knife against my neck.

"I GOT HIM!" he shouts, and we both wait.

soon, tyler comes panting from around the corner, and jenna stalks into the alleyway looking annoyed. me too, bitch, me too. tyler's eyes find me quickly, and i watch the anger fill them. i scrunch them shut then, waiting for him to attack me.

the moment never comes.

"what the hell do you think you're doing, zach?!" he yells, rushing forward to shove the person behind me.

"oh well now you've done it! he knows who we all are!" the man behind me, zach, groans.

"i don't give a fuck! i'll fix it, okay? just... don't touch him okay? what the hell were you planning to do with the knife?!" tyler snaps, tugging me against him. i let him.

from the safety of tyler's arms, i glance at them all, a group of three possible murderers. i convince myself this must be some kind of joke. i can't believe this. my tyler... he loved me. loves? i'm not sure anymore. i can't make heads or tails of anything.

"tyler i want to go home," i whimper, throwing puppy dog eyes at him.

joshua dun flirts with a murderer. it's a day of firsts, it seems. he looks down at me with an intense expression in his eyes, one i can't place. but it's not scary. he isn't scary.

"we'll go home josh," he promises me.

"what? you can't take him home, he knows about everything!" jenna argues.

"yeah, and who's fault is that? you got us into this in the first place jenna and we all know who's blurry's favorite around here. so fuck you, i'm taking my goddamn boyfriend to his house," he spits at the two of them.

neither of them argue any more, so tyler and i begin the walk back to the gas station where my car is parked. he has an arm wrapped around my shoulder, but i don't lean into it. or talk to him, at all.

"we're here, j. let me drive you," he whispers, opening the passenger door for me.

"you can drive me when you tell me who the fuck you really are tyler joseph. because i'm beginning to think you're right," i snarl, slamming the passenger door shut and walking over to the other side.

"right about what?" he follows.

"you definitely aren't the guy lovely boys like me fall in love with."

and with that, i peel out of the parking lot, trying desperately to push down the rising guilt and vomit in my throat at the sight of his crumpled expression.