what if.... - a twenty one pilots fanfic

part 4: the drummer

(tyler's pov)

my mind was still reeling from what i'd done. somehow, i'd travelled back in time to when twenty one pilots weren't even a thing. jenna wouldn't know who the fuck i was- that is, if i even saw her, for that matter. none of our songs existed, not even the self-titled album. i'd never met josh, and he too would think of me as a stranger.

then i remembered. josh. 

he would still be in columbus, even now. i tried desperately to think of where he could be. it was hard to imagine josh being anywhere else apart from in the band, with me. i cast my mind back to the early days. didn't he do something else before the band?

yes. he worked at the music store in town. 

i could go to the store now and ask to see him. surely he'd remember when he'd thought about it? he didn't like to admit it, but josh was a pretty smart guy. even though he'd never been to college, he could spell a complex word without any hesitation at all, work out a complicated sum and locate any of the us states on a map. but he mostly hung around with me, being humble. that's the thing about josh. he may be the smartest- but he's always modest about it.

oh, josh. why did i do this to us?

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as i walked through town, i couldn't help noticing that this was the first time in- well, what seemed like forever- when nobody had called me out for being 'famous'. it almost felt like a joke, like this was just a big prank. well, if this was a joke, i sure as hell wasn't laughing. 

i peered into the windows of the clean street stores- a pharmacist, a mini-market, a taco bell-

mmm. taco bell. 

i heard my stomach produce a deep grumble. i looked back at the sweet-smelling restaurant, licking my lips. then i slapped myself. i was stuck in the past, with my friends having no fucking clue who i was, and all i could think about was my goddamn stomach? a 30-something man with a young daughter turned his head around and looked at me, wondering why the hell a grown man almost as old as him was slapping himself in the middle of downtown columbus. he clasped the girl to his chest, hurrying away. "great job there, tyler," i harassed myself in my head. "now everybody thinks you're an idiot."

i knocked on the door of what appeared to look like an old shack and peered in. there was nobody in there, except a few punk rockers, an elderly man and a podgy latino drinking his morning coffee. this man saw me at the door and opened it. "the sign says we're open, you know," he folded his arms, looking down at me as if i was something on the bottom of his shoe. "yeah, i know, sir," i gritted my teeth in embarrassment. i felt my cheeks go a deep scarlet. "if you please, i was wondering if i could speak to one of your employees?" the old man in the store shouted to the man something about having no jazz records. "we'll be right on to it, sir," the man smiled, then regained his focus on me. 

"look, kid. i'm the boss of this place, and one rule that i've had since i started running it is that you can't just come in and ask to see an employee. if you wanna come in, you've gotta be wanting to find something. so what do you want?"

i bit my lip. "well, technically i did come to find somethi-" i saw the look on his face. if i wanted to see josh, i had to play the part. "but if i must, have you got any rock stuff on sale?" he didn't smile, but he looked significantly more approving. "we've got the newest my chemical romance cd? also we've started selling some instruments, they're in the back," he suggested as i entered the store. my chemical romance?  i must have gone back years. 

"that sounds perfect," i said to keep him from getting mad again. "do you mind if i browse?" he gestured to a shelf full of rock cds and vinyls. "be my guest. that's what the store's for, right?" and with that, the boss pulled a krispy kreme donut out of his jean pocket, took a deep bite, and returned to the staff room. i fingered through the cds, acting casual in case the boss came out again.

"is anybody gonna help me?" the old man shouted. "i've been waiting for 5 minutes and nobody's volunteered to help me!"

then a voice called out from the staff room. "coming, sir." 

i'd recognise that voice anywhere. josh. 

my best friend, joshua dun, came out with his burly arms full of reggae cds. i thought he'd have his emo hair back from before the band. in fact, he looked exactly the same as he did now, except he was dressed in all black with a name tag saying: joshua, store apprentice. 

"what can i do for you, mr johnson?" josh addressed the old man, trying carefully not to drop the cds as he stooped down to his level. "the jazz records are all the way up there on the shelf, and i'm only a small man, what do i do?" the man pouted. josh placed the cds on the floor and grabbed the jazz records from the shelf. "here you go, mr johnson. help yourself," he smiled. damn, his smile was dazzling.

as the little man walked over to the checkout where a young brunette was collecting tips, josh picked up the reggae cds and made his way towards an empty shelf. suddenly, a big man elbowed him walking out the door, making him stumble and drop all the cds. josh sighed angrily. "goddamn it, not again," he huffed, stacking them all up again. i rushed to his aid. "josh!" i smiled happily. he looked at me in confusion. he got up and scratched his head, but still maintained his smile. "i'm sorry, have we met?" he asked, looking at me intently and trying to guess who i was. "josh, it's me, tyler. you know, your best friend?" he still didn't acknowledge me. "my best friend? sorry, but i've never seen you before, man." 

i was frozen with disbelief. "josh, we're in a band together! twenty one pilots, remember?" he still didn't believe me. "i'd love to say yes, dude, but i'm already in a band, house of heroes. ever heard of them?" josh had been in house of heroes before quitting to be in twenty one pilots. he often made jokes with me privately now about what would have happened if he'd still been in that band. well, now i knew.

"look, i play the drums. i'm not really supposed to during work hours, but i'll play you a little something, yeah?" josh checked if the boss was anywhere to be seen, and then started to play on the drum kit at the back of the store. everybody in the store turned around and looked at josh. his face looked a little shy, but for the most part he looked confident. for 15 seconds at least.

"duuuuuuuun!" the boss stormed to the back of the store. "what have i told you about playing the instruments during work?" josh sighed, standing up. the boss gave the other visitors a death stare, telling them to look away. "i know i'm not supposed to, but i just thought-"

"well stop thinking," the boss ordered. "or the next time i'll catch you playing you'll be unemployed." he rushed back to the staff room, and josh folded his arms angrily. "i'm sorry about ted," josh muttered. "he can be an asshole sometimes." i looked back at the drums josh had played on, and started to cry. "oh, don't cry, it makes me sad," josh put a hand on my back. "please, josh. just try and remember me. you're all i have left," i sobbed into his shoulder. "you don't know how sorry i am, but i honestly don't know who you are. if you want, i can get you a discount on something?" he was too kind, even now. i didn't deserve him. i didn't deserve anybody. "no, i'm fine. thank you for your time, josh," i wept, and rushed out of the store without saying a word. 

i was officially alone.