I Want To Believe (A Josh Dun Fanfic)

Counting Stars

Lyra sprang up defensively, squinting her eyes as the sun beamed into the bedroom. She groaned and rubbed her eyes as the man from last night, Josh, sat in a computer chair at the end of the bed staring at Lyra while sipping from a ceramic mug.

"Were you watching me sleep?" Lyra croaked out in a light sleepy voice, the words rolled off her tongue and sounded like the sweetest music as it funneled into Josh's ears. He smiled from behind the coffee cup, "Yeah, I was. I watched you all night to make sure nothing happened to you." His eyes squinted as he smiled, filling Lyra up with an unfamiliar warm feeling in her chest.

She shook her head and stretched, "Thank you for not hurting me." She said while looking down at her hands as she nervously played with her nails. She tucked her messy green hair behind her ears before settling for picking nervously at the dried blood under her nails.

"I couldn't hurt anyone, it's not what I do." Josh shrugged. "I'm just glad you're alive, I thought you were going to die." He said, concern laced through every word that lingered in the air. "Hey Lyra, what happened out there last night? What happened to you?"

Her head shot up, her eyes widened from the question. She couldn't tell him, even if she wanted to. She remembered the mission, and that she was lucky to be here and alive. She looked out of the window, her eyes brimming over with unreleased tears, "Do you mind if I use your shower? I'd like to clean up before I tell the story." She questioned.

Josh stood up slowly, not wanting to startle the upset girl as he walked over to his dresser and rummaged through it. "Yeah, of course. Let me get you some of my clothes so you have something clean to change into."  Lyra focused her attention on Josh as he walked back over, setting down a pair of boxers and a shirt. Josh flashed her a smile, his perfectly straight pearly teeth in full view from how wide he smiled.

"Thank you. This means a lot to me, Josh." Lyra shyly smiled, "Not a problem, the bathroom is through that door." He pointed to the door behind her. The tiny girl leaped out of the bed, slowly walking to the bathroom making sure the door was locked behind her.

She stretched out her sore and aching muscles before turning the water on, making it as hot as she could handle. After washing away the dirt and blood from the night before, she examined her pale skin that had already healed most of her injuries. She threw on the clothes, not bothering to dry herself off, that's what the air is for.

She stared at her reflection in the mirror, combing the collection of knots out of her hair, trying to figure out what she would tell Josh. She could always just play the trauma card and tell him it was all too fresh in her mind to talk about it just yet. She checked her reflection one more time, making sure she looked presentable before walking out of the bathroom.

Josh looked her over, smiling as he saw she was unharmed. She was so beautiful, the way the sunlight radiates off of her, accentuating her features and making her hair shine as brightly as an actual emerald stone, Josh thought to himself before snapping out of his thoughts. He cleared his throat, watching Lyra as she plopped down onto the bed, "You look much better."

"Thank you for everything you've done, Josh. I'm sorry, but I just can't bring myself to talk about what happened last night, it's still too fresh in my mind and I keep getting upset." She spoke softly, her voice cracking near the end as she let the tears flow down her cheeks.

"Its okay I understand." He said, smiling softly at her again, appreciating every small detail about her. "I'm sorry, I have to go now. I'm sure my family is worried sick about me. I need to tell them I'm okay." Lyra said as she placed the small, dirty shoes back onto her feet. She stood up and hugged Josh tightly, "Can I have your number at least?" Josh questioned, hoping he would see the beautiful girl again, his heart beat getting faster as he finished his question. "I'm sorry, I don't have a cell phone." She pursed her lips and looked away awkwardly, rocking back and forth on her heels.

"Will I ever see you again?" He asked, wanting to know everything about the peculiar girl standing in front of him. "Hmm, maybe." She smiled, and walked out of the room, quickly finding her way out of his house.