band aids ↠ joshler ✔

o n e

two years until

●

if you've ever been in a mental hospital, you'd know what the patients are talking about when they complain.

after all, the place they lived in reeked of dried blood, murder, mold, dusty drywall, and sick. almost every tile was cracked, every window broken and held together by duct tape, every light flickering. the water always had a yellow-ish tint, and you never spent a second there without hearing a faint beeping sound from a heart monitor in another room.

josh, like everyone else, hated it.

but josh, unlike everyone else, understood why he was being contained there.

he didn't expect to be let out of prison and just live life like it didn't happen, so he decided that he would spend the five years in the hospital without rebelling.

so far he was on year three. he didn't resist once yet. whenever he was told he needed his weekly round of needles, he let the doctors prick him. whenever he was given a crappy meal, he ate it. all because he knew that if he didn't, he may have to spend even more time at the stupid mental hospital filled with crazies and druggies.

he didn't regret his actions, no, of course not. after all, those three people who were put to their graves at his hand did deserve it, but he knew nobody would understand.

he pulled on the sleeves of his ugly, grey sweater one more time before walking out of his room and into the blinding white hallway, following the rest of the patients in his ward to the lunchroom.

he kept his breathing quiet and his footsteps light, for he knew that one wrong move would be considered a 'threat' by any one of the guards and he would be locked back up in his room.

they piled into the cafeteria, each flinching when making contact with the freezing cold, steel tables that the staff rarely cleaned.

josh only rested his head on one of his hands as a tray of food was pushed in front of him.

as brown mush with a few pieces of carrots mixed in, the meal smelled far worse than it looked.

however, josh was hungry, and he knew he would be forced to eat it anyway.

he groaned before taking a bite, wincing with the first taste, but taking a second anyway. it wasn't like it was his first time eating, or tolerating, the disgusting food.

suddenly, a name was called throughout the room, making a few patients cover their ears,but josh to look up.

"mr. joshua dun,"

he gulped, raising his hand.

"yes?"

"this way,"

josh, after receiving an approving glance from his table's guard, stood up and followed the man who called his name out the door.

josh didn't know who he was following, or why his name was called, or even where he was being led to, but he was just relieved to be saved from lunch hour.

they came to a grey, metal door, and josh was patted down by the person before being shoved inside.

sometimes he really couldn't find many differences between this place and a prison, but he went with it anyway.

this time, he recognized the person sitting behind the desk in the room he was forced into.

he was known in the ward as 'gaspipe', thanks to rumors that he used to beat patients with said weapon as punishment, and despite the rumor being debunked by guards and gaspipe himself, it was still how he was recognized.

in reality, he was the person in charge of the entire hospital. he decided what happened, who went where, and when.

that's why josh got a little excited after laying eyes on him.

even after being there for three years, josh's experience didn't change from day one. he's been living in the same room, alone, with the same schedule, guard, activities, and therapy.

so, naturally, even the slightest hint that something was going to change got his heart to beat just a bit faster.

"mr. dun, please, take a seat."

josh looked around, before saying in the calmest voice he could muster, "sir, i'm sorry, but there are no chairs..."

without a word, gaspipe kicked forwards a small stool from under his desk.

josh sat, and the room was filled with silence again, with the exception of the buzzing of a small air conditioner in the corner.

"mr. dun, it's my understanding that it's been three years, two months, and five days since you've joined us here, right?" gaspipe asked.

josh nodded.

"well, after full scans on your papers, we've found that out of those 1,159 days, you've only had 135 incidents."

josh nodded again, despite knowing that zero of them we actually things he did, but rather things the guards accused him of because they thought he was too much of a pushover to really be innocent. josh hated them.

"there's a new patient here, mr. dun, and he needs a roommate."

josh's eyes went wide. he rarely talked to anyone unless spoken to, so he wasn't exactly sure why the news of a possible roommate made him this excited.

"we've chosen you to room with him, if me calling you to this room wasn't a give away already. we'll monitor you for a week, just to be sure you can control yourself and your... tendencies around another person, then afterwards we'll let up."

josh knew gaspipe was referencing the crime he committed that made him land in prison, then this place but he shrugged it off. it wasn't the first time it was being held against him, and he didn't expect it to be the last.

josh smiled, "thank you.. thank you, sir." he said, again in the calmest voice possible, now trying to prove he can be trusted with a roommate.

"you'll move rooms in two days. don't mess it up."

josh shook his head, "i won't, sir, i promise."

"good. any questions?"

josh bit his lip before hastily asking, "can i.. am i allowed to know his name?"

gaspipe only moved his finger in and circular motion, gesturing for josh to leave.

josh sighed, standing and placing a hand on the doorknob.

just before stepping out, however, he heard a name escape gaspipe's lips.

"tyler. tyler joseph."

any and all excitement josh previously had was suddenly lost.

of course, it had to be him.

nevertheless, josh left the room anyway, preparing to live the last two days to their fullest before meeting with tyler.

of course, it had to be a joseph.