What Happened Afterwards? | Josh Dun

c/five. mondo

mon·do
/ˈmändō/
adverb & adjective

used in reference to something very striking or remarkable of its kind.

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I dumbfoundedly stare at Josh. "Wow, you used a big word!" I clap.

He rolls his eyes. "You'd be reacting differently if you knew what that word meant"

My cheeks redden. "W-what does it mean?" I nudge Josh's shoulder.

It's his turn to make fun of me, as he starts to laugh. "You'll know."

I groan. "Oh come on!" I whine at him.

"Let's go, Kay." He laughs, taking my wrist and leading me to his car.

We both get in the car and buckle up.

I stare at Josh from the passenger seat. "Well, where are we going?"

"Shh." He smirks.

I roll my eyes. "At least tell me if this is a date." I pout at Josh.

His smile disappears for a while. I pay attention to him, my mouth slightly parted. "Kay, I want to get to know you first. I take things really slow, I don't want you to expect a lot from a dumb guy like me."

I feel a pang in my stomach. "O-oh, well, that's okay!" I fake a smile. Is Josh not interested in me? Was I just not enough? What does ineffable mean?

He furrows his brows. "Are you sure?"

I don't exactly know what to reply, what exactly am I sure about?

"I mean," He continues. "I'm not an easy guy to deal with. I have some messed up thoughts and I'm messed up myself. I just want you to consider everything before getting to know me."

I groan. That's it. "Josh, are you even interested in me? Just let me know so I'm aware of what is happening right now. And what does ineffable mean?"

His lips formed a straight line as he inhaled through his nose before answering:

"I want to get to know you. I want to be your friend." He answers. I sigh. So much for getting a precise answer.

"Besides," He starts to smile at me. "I won't tell you what that word means unless you give me a cool word too."

I whine. "Just tell me."

He shakes his head. "Nope."

I sigh, finally giving in. "You're a mondo guy."

He laughs. "What does that even mean?"

"What does ethereal mean?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Touché."

-

We arrived at a park, where Josh lead me to a nearby bench. I sat on the white bench, and he took a seat next to me shortly after.

"Well then," Josh smiles at me. "How are you?"

I laugh. "Seriously?" I shake my head, a smile still on my face.

Josh laughs as well, his face turning into a frown shortly after. I look at him, a questionable look still placed on his face.

"I, um," He breathes. "I want to know about Brendon, if that's okay for me to ask."

I frown as well. "Why exactly would you like to know about him?"

He presses his lips together, before continuing. "Brendon was our close friend. Heck, we were in the same label. He just disappeared all of a sudden, then we found out he had died, but none of us knew nothing about it. We still don't." He fiddled with his thumbs. "I just wanted to know what happened, is all."

I took a deep breath. "Brendon was a very complicated guy. He had a lot of mood swings. It wasn't easy to tell what he wanted, that's for sure. But there's one thing that he was absolutely sure about. He loved Luna more than anything in this world. He actually made me believe that love in first sight was true." I paused to wipe a tear. "Luna was shot in the heart at a shooting in a carnival. She wasn't gonna make it if she didn't have a heart. So, Brendon-" I gulp, and breathe in. "Brendon committed suicide, to donate his heart to Luna."

I sniff and look at Josh, whose mouth is currently agape. "He thought he would end her pain." I sob. "But she hasn't been the same ever since."

Josh sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "The thing is," Josh continued, "Suicide doesn't end the pain, it  just passes it to someone else." He bites his lip, staring down at the ground, and then to me.

I was sobbing, still. I was never close to Brendon, but I know the impact he had on Luna, and it was mind-blowing. She was head over heels for him, too. What Josh said about Brendon's death really hit me hard.

I feel Josh's arms wrap around my waist and pull me closer. I lay my head on his chest.

"I'm sorry." He lightly squeezes my body. "I didn't want today to be sad."

I smile. "It's okay, you just wanted to know."

He smiles back at me. "Thank you for trusting me with these things." He hugs me and I gladly hug back.

"What about you?" Josh asked me.

"What do you mean?" I furrow my eyebrows.

"Are you happy?" He replies.

I exhale deeply, making a "hmm" sound. "I guess I am." I smile at him, his face showing slight confusion.

"Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It just means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections. And I believe I have." I grin at him.

He chuckles. "You have your way with words."

"Well, I am a songwriter, after all." I giggle.

He smiles at me. "Do you want to head back? It's dark."

I nod, and we start to walk back to his car, where he buckles his seatbelt, as I do. He starts his engine and proceeds to drive.

"Hey, I'm sorry today wasn't so great." He says to me, dissapointment in his voice.

"We were just getting to know eachother, Josh. I actually know a lot more about you now." I raise an eyebrow.

"Oh really?" He laughs. "What have you learned?"

"You like to take things really slow" I mock him, and he rolls his eyes.

"What else?" He asks.

"You have your way with words, too." I smile. "And you think  I'm "ethereal", which I'm not sure what it means, but I'm not gonna Google it. I'm gonna wait for you to tell me." I cross my arms.

"Fair enough." Josh smiles, pulling into our apartment.

I like him already.

What the fuck is wrong with me?

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i didn't even proofread this

jc you guys have no idea what a huge writer's block i have with this story. I need ideas from all you talented shits !!!

no but seriously, i have no clue what else to write

help

- Vi

Word Count: 1084