Together let's breathe - Josh Dun fanfic

8. Marie

I haven't seen Josh since last night. His coffee and breakfast stare at me from the counter untouched. Is that his way of sending me a message to back off? When he said "Don't tell anyone" I thought he was protecting me and my job. Now I wonder if he was included in that group of anyone.

I sit on the same couch and am wearing the same clothes to try to hold on to something from last night. I know I will see Josh again because it is literally my job to make sure he is okay. When I know where he is that is. I'm just flipping through what few channels we can get on the bus TV when Josh comes in.  My heart skips a beat. I'm still amazed it's really him every time I see him. I wonder what he thinks when he sees me.

"Hey" he says. 

I sit up straight, although I'm not sure why.

"Hey" I answer back softly, like he is a deer I'm trying not to spook.

Josh looks nervous, making me nervous. This is when I find out my fate.

"I think we need to talk about what happened with us last night. I didn't handle things right at all. I need you to know that I don't do that. I don't sleep with people that I'm not in a relationship with."

There it is. This is his regret speech. His 'your nice and all, but this can't happen again' speech. 

"I get it...you really don't need to.." Josh cuts me off.

"No hold on let me finish. This isn't coming out right. I've been having a tough time lately, I haven't been able to to hang out with Tyler as much as I need to..."

Josh pauses and shifts around where he stands. His head falls down into his hands. Without even thinking I get up from the couch and put my arms around his shoulders. I can feel him relax a little. My hand moves down to his and I interlock our fingers.

"Come here." I whisper as I lead him back over to sit on the couch.

Josh takes a few deep breaths and continues. 

"When I first saw you I knew that you were the most beautiful girl in the world. I didn't want to be apart from you, so that's why I invited you to the show. When I'm around you I don't feel lonely, and I am so tired of being lonely. Last night I got caught up in my own emotions and they exploded. But it was no excuse for what I did. I want us to start over the way we should have started. So what I'm saying is would you like to go on a date with me?"

 I flash him a big smile. 

"Of course I would love to."

                                                                                          ...

There is no show tonight so we all have a day off. Even better it means I get to sleep in a hotel. I can't wait to sleep in a real bed and shower in a real bathroom, even if it is only for one night. Josh and I have plans to spend the whole day together and to really get to know each other.

I get dressed and put on my make up the best I can in the tiny bus bathroom mirror. When I get out Josh is standing right outside waiting for me. He looks like a little kid at Christmas waiting for his parents to tell him it's okay to open presents. 

"You ready?" he asks before be bites his lip.

"Coffee first?" I ask

"Coffee first!" Josh echoes excitedly. 

We find a small local coffee shop, order and sit down at a table away from the crowd. 

"So I'm dying to know, tell me about the other twenty one pilots shows you went to." Josh says after taking a big drink of coffee.

I laugh. "You seriously want me to tell you about your band's show? I mean you were there!" 

"I was, but I didn't know you were. Tell me, how was I?"

"We're still talking about drumming right?" I joke

Josh blushes and lets out a nervous laugh. I drink in his pure adorableness. 

We talk for hours and I tell him about the first time I heard a twenty one pilots' song and how I didn't understand how anyone could like it. Then I listened a second time and my life completely changed. I tell him about my third concert when I camped out in front of the venue in hopes of seeing Josh or Tyler even for a second. If I would haven known then that someday I would be dating Josh, I could have saved myself and gotten a good night's sleep that night. He tells me the real story of how he met Tyler and how they started playing together. 

After a while our talks move away from band stuff to life stuff. He tells me about Debby and I tell him about my ex boyfriend. We have both been hurt and moved on. I've never been able to talk like this to anyone before. He is so nice and calm while listening to me, taking in every word.

After we both agree that we can't sit anymore and need to move, we find a park and walk around hand in hand. Even though it was a simple day, it was easily the best date I have ever been on.