The Teacher // Josh Dun

.:føurteen:..

"No!"

Josh woke up to the sound of Devon's screams. She was having a nightmare. It was the second time that night that she had been woken up by it. Also, the second time she cried herself to sleep again.

Josh didn't want to sleep. He wanted to be there for Devon when she woke up. He didn't want her to feel as if she was alone.

He stayed up watching x-files, pausing it whenever Devon was woken up by the dreams that haunted her sleep.

"It's okay," he would tell her. "You're safe. I'm not gonna let you get hurt." He would stroke her hair and wipe her tears, all up until she fell back asleep.

Josh would count down the minutes when he thought she would wake again. He knew she would probably say it never happened, only because she was so scared of vulnerability.

Whenever Devon woke up, she would tug on his shirt as she sobbed, trying to hide her tear stained face and conceal her whines.

"You're gonna be fine," he told her. "You're stronger than what you are fighting. I promise." He would squeeze her hand.

Devon was sprawled out on the couch, her feet hanging off the arm. Her head rested on Josh. She fell asleep holding his hand each time that she woke up. She was covered by one of Josh's throws, which Josh would occasionally pull it up to cover her shoulders.

He would stroke her arm gently with his finger tips to comfort her, making sure she knew that he was there. He would push her hair from her face, assuring himself that she was actually getting sleep.

Josh couldn't help how much he cared for her. She was sarcastic and mean, but he understood where it stemmed from. He didn't mind it most of the time either. He often thought about what it would be like if they met and she was nice.

"Hey, is Devon here? Mr. Taylor?" Josh asked the woman sitting at the desk.

"That's me. It's Miss Taylor." She stood up and shook his hand.

"Oh sorry," Josh apologized. "I'm Josh. Mr. Dun to the kids."

"You're the new music teacher?" She asked.

"That'd be me." He replied, sitting on her desk.

"I'm the art teacher, as you can tell." She referred to the art work on the wall.

"Okay well," Josh began walking towards the door awkwardly. "I'll be across the hall if you need anything."

Whenever he thought about it that way, he immediately felt sad. There wasn't a bone in his body or a thought in his mind that wished he never met the fascinating woman that was Devon Taylor.

But as the sun rose and shown through the curtains, Josh knew he would have to get up at some point. He had to make the beautiful girl next to him a well deserved breakfast. Instead of waking her up so he was able to move from his spot, he carefully got up and gently laid Devon down. He pulled the blanket up, making sure she was warm and completely covered.

He made his way to his bedroom and pulled a jacket out, then went back into the living room and grabbed his keys from the table.

He knelt in front of the couch and pushed Devon's hair from her forehead. "I'll be right back, okay?" He didn't intend on waking her up, but that's what happened.

"Hmm?" She hummed as her eyes fluttered open.

"Nothing," Josh shook his head. "Go back to sleep okay?" He told her before he placed a small kiss on her forehead.