echo; adopted by twenty one pilots

-36-

i've seen the streets you're walking down.
💊
"happy seventeenth birthday!" they yell in my face. i sit up and stretch.

"what if i was beating my meat, you could have let me wake up first," i say, my mind still groggy.

i smile slightly as i hear them gasp, burying myself deeper into my blanket.

before i can fall asleep again, my blanket is pulled right off of me.

"get u- y-you're wearing a tank top?" jenna asks. i nod, confused.

"you're clean," tyler nearly whispers. "you're not doing it anymore."

suddenly feeling self conscious, i get up and put on a sweater.

"no, take it off! you deserve to be proud!" i roll my eyes and hang the sweater around my waist.

"okay, the plans are, we wake up and eat a birthday breakfast. and then i go and pick up joshua and robin. then we do presents, then cake. then i'll send you and robin shopping. then we can do whatever, okay?" jenna says, holding a list. i nod.

tyler's still gazing at my arms.

"can i help you, tyler?" i cover my arms self consciously. his eyes snap up to meet mine and he timidly shakes his head.

-

"okay, we'll be back!" tyler calls. the second the door shuts, i dump the rest of my pancakes out. fucking jenna made me eat all of the desert she made, plus six pancakes.

i sit around and do nothing for about ten minutes until someone knocks on the door.

"yes?" i answer, glancing at the-

"j-juniper?" my eyes widen and i start to cry.

"echo! it's been so long!" he hugs me.  "and i brought sky too!" a young girl comes out from behind my older brother.

"sister!" she hugs me. i cry harder, if possible.

-

"so, after they took us away, i started looking for where you could be. six months ago, i found out where you lived and decided to come on your birthday!" he finishes. i nod intently, still processing it.

-

"echo, we're ho- what the fuck?" tyler asks. i stand up, pulling juniper with me.

"this is juniper and that's sky, my brother and sister," i smile. tyler stares them down.

"how do you know they are?" he crosses his arms, stepping in front of jenna.

"w-well they look almost the exact same as three years ago."

tyler nods and turns to juniper.

"where do you live?"

"in an apartment a couple blocks away."

"who's that?"

"sky."

"how old are you guys?"

"i'm twenty and she's ten."

i glare at tyler.

"stop!" i yell at him, stamping my foot.
"jesus christ."

"echo! happy birthday!" robin runs in, hugging me. i smile and kiss her.

"is that your girlfriend?" juniper asks. i nod and he makes a sort of disgusted face.

tyler notices and speaks up.

"i think you should go. now." juniper nods, looking me up and down, before writing his number on my hand and grabbing sky's hand and leaving, her starting to cry.

-

i smile, opening the last gift from robin. it's a small, purple box. i open it.

it's a silver flower shaped ring with a dark red jewel on it. inside of the ring was carved 'r+e'

i gasp and glance at her.

"since we aren't old enough for marriage, i figured that a promise ring would do until i can fully call you mine." i smile and pull her into a kiss.

suddenly a series of claps is happening, and a bunch of 'aweeeee' s. i roll my eyes, giggling.

"who knew i could love hot topic so much?" i laugh.