Truce • Josh Dun

7

Brittney and I have finally finished putting all her valuable hair styling tools and make up bags in her luggages. It's our last day in Los Angeles, so Brittney wants to head out to the nice beach one more time. I, on the other hand, just want to stay home all day. My parents would probably kick me out of the house. I'll just go to a record shop or a bookstore. Maybe even both if I'm up to it. I google the nearest record shops and bookstores. I find a couple that are within distance. I'll just take the bus.

I walk to the bus stop around the corner. Sitting on the blue plastic chair, I see the bus from a distance. The bus stops right in front of me and I hop on. I look for a chair but there aren't any so I'm forced to stand. I hold onto one of the poles connected to the roof of the bus. The next stop is where I'm heading to. As The Record Turns. I heard some pretty good reviews about it. The bus comes to a stop and I stumble a little. I quickly walk off the bus. Everyone in that bus was staring at me. They must have watched my interview. I enter the small shop and a little bell rings.

"Hey! Welcome to As The Record Turns! If you need any assistance, feel free to ask me." A pretty cute boy standing behind a counter says.

"Okay. Thanks." I say as I walk around.

The store is really small and cramped. It's filled with all sorts of records. There's no one else here but me and the boy who works here. I need more vinyls for my player that I got for my birthday a couple years ago. As I browse through all the vinyls, I notice a couple by TØP. Why not? I grab Vessel, Blurryface, Regional At Best, and Twenty One Pilots. I take them to the counter.

"Huh. A Twenty One Pilots fan we have here?" The boy asks as he calculates the price.

"Sure."

"Okay! $20.00 will be your price."

I grab out $20 and give it to him. I grab the vinyls that he put in a bag for me and walk out. I still have some time before the next bus comes back so I'll just head to the bookstore. I walk down a couple of blocks to a bookstore called Larry Edmunds Bookshop. I step inside and the girl behind the counter looks up from her phone for a second and then looks back down to her phone. I take another step in and then she gasps. I look over to her and she's staring at me with wide eyes. Is there something on my face?

"Omg! You're that girl! You're the one who went to Disneyland with Josh Dun!" She suddenly shouts out.

"Yup."

I walk around and feel her eyes on me. Whatever. I grab two books for the flight back to New York. I've got to kill those 6 hours somehow. I walk over to the counter and the girl rings me up. She's still gawking at me and it's making me uncomfortable. I take my books and walk out. I quickly walk back to the bus stop. The bus is already there when I arrive back at the stop. I hop on and take a seat at one of the many empty seats. I take out my phone and see that I have 1 new message from Josh.

Josh: Please talk to me. Call me. Text me. I just need to talk to you. At least tell me when you're leaving LA.

Should I text him back? Why does he wanna know when I'm leaving anyway? He probably just wants to know when he's finally gotten rid of me.

Me: Why do you wanna know when I'm leaving? Trying to know when you've finally gotten rid of me, eh?

Josh: No. You know I wouldn't want to get rid of you. I just want to know how much time I have left to make this all up to you. I'm sorry.

Me: I heard you're leaving for a tour soon anyway. I'm leaving tonight so why don't you just lose this number.

I slip my phone into my pocket and get up as the bus comes to a stop in front of the bus stop. I walk to the house and unlock the door. As I step inside, I see all the luggages downstairs in the living room. Mom and dad are discussing when we should leave for the airport. I run upstairs and see that Brittney is struggling to get her luggage full of clothes closed. She must have bought a lot of stuff at the mall. I pass her room and head to mine. I close the luggage with ease, for there is barely anything in it. I grab my carry on bag and my backpack. Taking a look around the room, I check for anything I'm missing. The doorbell rings and I listen closely as my grandma goes to open it. I walk over to the top of the stairs and watch as she opens the door. Josh. Seeing him makes my heart ache. I don't want to talk to him. It'll make it easier to leave.