dear tyler joseph ☼ j.d. + t.j.

2

tyler flipped the paper over expecting there to be more, an explanation at least. but all he saw were plain white strips and straight blue lines. he reached over and slid the envelope across the table so he could read the writing on it. the address of the hospital was written in thick block print across the top seal.

he wasn't exactly sure what he was doing as he stood up, grabbed his coat, wallet, keys and headed for the door. tyler was halfway to his car when he realized how stupid he was being. 'what if this is all some prank? what if this josh is some murderer out to kill me? how do i know he even lived by me?' he thought back to the night he had been crying.

tyler had just gotten the news his father was in an accident. he had a major brain injury and would probably never walk or talk again. at first tyler was angry, whether it be at the drunk driver that plowed over his 'never hurt a fly' father, or at himself for not spending more time with him when he had the chance. tyler's anger turned to sadness as the reality set in, his father was alive but his dad was gone. forever. he slid down on the floor and began to cry, first quietly trying not to wake his neighbors and draw attention to himself, then louder when he decided he didn't care anymore.

tyler had heard his neighbor moving around but wasn't sure if he could hear him cry, that was until he was pulled away from his cries by a soft, beautiful, hum. as he moved closer to the sound tyler realized it was one of his songs. 'i guess someone does pay attention.' he thought to himself and leaned his head against the wall, letting the soft sound fill his ears as he drifted off to sleep.

tyler had never told anyone about that night and probably never will, he wanted to keep that to himself as to not stain the memory with others commentary. so if this josh character was a liar, how would he know about that?

he decided that it was enough evidence to proceed and hopped in his car turning the ignition.

when tyler reached the hospital he didn't go running in to find josh and confess his undying love for him, no. he sat outside in the parking lot for fifteen minutes debating whether or not this was a good idea. he let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding and opened the car door.

"hi," tyler coughed out as he walked up to the front desk. "i'm looking for a joshua dun." he reached down and fiddled with the zipper of his coat. 'what am i doing here?'

"room 249." the dark haired woman said to him. tyler gave her a nod and followed the instructions on the wall, down the hallway to an elevator. tyler reached down and clicked the big number 2 button and waited for the doors to close. he could feel his heart beating wildly in his chest as the elevator doors opened with a ding and he stepped out.

the hallway was brightly lit by the florescent lights hanging above. tyler took a couple steps looking at the numbers plastered on the wall. '246, 247, 248,' tyler paused when he saw the numbers carved into a golden plaque. he took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"come in." a quiet voice said and he turned the door handle taking a step inside. 

the room was white with a long hospital bed in the corner. a man with bright purple hair laid on top of it. there were wires coming from his arm and tubes around his face. he was fast asleep and to tyler he looked peaceful, like he didn't have a care in the world. that was clearly untrue seeing as he was in the middle of a hospital, machines connected to him making sure he was still alive.

"who are you?" a girl with short blue hair said from a chair sat by the window.

"oh, uh, i'm tyler." he said a little quieter than he had planned.

"who?"

"um, tyler joseph." as the last syllable escaped his mouth the girl smiled, her eyes widened and she stood up. her hair bobbed up and down and she ran over and gave tyler a warm hug.

"i honestly didn't think you would come." she said letting go of tyler and taking a step back.

"why not?" he questioned feeling a little more awkward than before.

"you don't even know him." the girl gestured over to the bed with a soft smile. tyler didn't know exactly what to say, i mean he was standing in the hospital room of some stranger getting random hugs from women and wondering why he had driven 30 minutes from his apartment to see this man. but then again tyler had felt himself get drawn to josh, the way the moon draws the waves. the water unable to stop it self as it crashes against the shore.

"i guess his letter was just that convincing." tyler let out a small laugh and the smile on the girls face widened.

"i'm ashley by the way."

•••

"so what's wrong with him?" tyler asked as he took a seat down next to ashley. she laughed a little before answering.

"he has a brain tumor. the doctors are planning to operate in a couple days, they don't know for sure if it will work but there's not much else to try. that's why he sent you the letter, just thought that if this was the end he didn't want to have any regrets, you know?"

"oh." tyler looked over at josh who was still asleep, his stomach rising and falling with every breath. with the new information ashley had shared, tyler's view of josh seemed to change. he was no longer the guy with 'no care in the world' he was a guy about to have major surgery, that could kill him. he was a guy that was in love with a boy named tyler joseph.