We all have our masks [Twenty One Pilots]

Chapter Five: Dark Cold Night

Dark cold night. Well, not that cold, actually. Tyler was lying in silence on the motel bed, wearing only his boxers, the white sheet circling his waist. He desperately wanted to take it off, feeling sweat forming on the back of his legs, but he felt uncomfortable doing so. There was a girl in this room, for God's sake, and even though he didn't really appreciate her presence, he felt that could be disrespectful to her.

Tyler didn't know exactly why he wasn't thrilled about having Lena with them. She did seem nice, and she couldn't stop thanking them profusely for what they were doing for her, back when Mark was still driving the van. But something in her seemed... off. Tyler wasn't one to judge. He had been brought up in a religious but tolerant family, and his parents always made a point to teach their children about acceptance. But he simply didn't feel it, with Lena. He didn't have that connection, that positive vibe he often had with people he just met.

Sighing as silently as he could, Tyler turned on his right side, so as to face the window. Eyes closed, he tried taking in his surroundings. It was almost silent. Almost. Even though he wasn't afraid of silence, Tyler always thought real silence didn't really exist, even in the most quiet of situations. If you focused enough, you could always find a noise of some sort, be it the sound of air making its way through your nose, or simply the brief thud of your heart pumping blood into your arteries.

Right then, his breathing wasn't the only one he could hear. He knew that Josh was sleeping on the ground, at the feet of his bed, and Mark wasn't far either. Both guys had agreed to sleep down there when the lady at the desk told them that there was only one room left. The next motel was miles away, and they all were too tired to keep on driving. They needed rest anyway, they had a show the next day.

But rest didn't come easy to Tyler. He sighed lightly again, as the sound of a car driving fast on the lane outside the motel grew louder, then stopped breathing as it faded away. Tyler wondered if it was possible for him to stop breathing until he died. Not that he wanted to die. He knew that life was a gift, and he cherished it more than he could ever say. But sometimes, his mind wandered in the dark scenery of twisted thoughts. As he sensed his heartbeat slow down, he started thinking that purposely killing himself by only holding his breath was practically impossible for a man. There was this kind of survival instinct that prevented the human body to end its own system. Tyler smiled. This mechanism was saying something to him. It was a message of hope, telling him that men weren't meant to end their own lives. They had to find a way to hold their heads higher, to find the light that would guide them through this quest for purpose. Smiling slightly, Tyler made sure to write this all down in the part of his brain that would, later, help him to write songs.

Through his eyelids, Tyler could take in the dim light of the moon peeking through the old and probably dusty curtains. Still, it was too bright for him already. He definitely couldn't sleep. Opening his eyes, he realized he could hear a soft tap-tap, what he guessed was the sound of girly fingers typing on a laptop keyboard. Lena obviously couldn't find sleep either.

Suddenly, a rather loud tone, probably coming from her laptop, on the twin bed next to Tyler's, startled the singer. He heard her whispered cuss words before the shuffling of bed sheets. After a few seconds, the sound of a zipper then shaky hands rummaging through a bag. Finally, the musical tone that Tyler recognized as a Skype call, ended as suddenly as it started, and Lena's soft voice made its way to his ears.

At first, Tyler thought he was half asleep, because he didn't understand a word she said. Then he remembered. As much as he was trying not to eavesdrop on the van earlier, he caught some parts of the conversation Lena was having with Josh. Tyler learned, then, that Lena had lived in France for a few years. She was speaking French right now. Tyler tried battling his curiosity for some time, but Lena's conversation kept on, and as much as he hated it, he was drawn to it. Slightly, eyes closed, he turned around, trying to look like someone who was moving in his sleep. The light passing through his eyelids - the glow of the computer screen - was now brighter. Astonished by his own ridiculous behaviour, Tyler tried not to smile. He didn't want Lena to know that he was awake.

He couldn't hear her voice anymore, and his heart rate accelerated at the thought of her watching him sleep, maybe to make sure he was well asleep. Tyler tried making as few eyes movements as possible, resisting the urge to open them. He couldn't. Not right now at least. After a few seconds that seemed an eternity to Tyler, she started whispering again to whoever she was talking to. Tyler took it as a sign that he could finally watch. 

It took him a few seconds to get accustomed to the darkness of the room, but he could now clearly see what was in front of him, thanks to the computer light. Lena was sitting cross-legged, facing the laptop screen. She was wearing short shorts and a tank top, and her skin looked grey in the obscurity. She had headphones in, explaining the fact that her voice was the only one Tyler could hear. From where he was lying, Tyler could even witness the screen, showing the guy having a conversation with Lena. His room was really daylight bright, meaning he had to be in another timezone - France, probably. 

Tyler couldn't understand a thing those two were saying, but from what he could grasp - especially the man's features and the tone of their voices - they were probably arguing. The guy was making strong hand gestures, and Lena's voice was shaky when she spoke again. 

" Je t'aime, Jey!" And that, Tyler understood quite well. A few seconds after her words, though, the computer screen went back to desktop. Jey had stopped the videochat. Lena didn't move, or barely. She seemed petrified, like she couldn't believe what had just happened. Then, slowly, she shut the laptop and hid her face in her hands. She was sobbing. Tyler felt pity rush into his guts. The girl did have secrets, and as much as he didn't want to admit it, he wanted to know why, in this moment, she seemed like the saddest girl in the world. 

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Sorry it's been a while guys. I swear I wrote all the way until chapter 11 but I've just been busy this week and forgot to post.

I thought I'd offer you something a bit different today, from Tyler's perspective. Would you like more of these in the future or should I stick to Lena's point of view?

Anyway, my Tyler (I say "my" when I talk about my character, not the real Tyler Joseph, let's be clear) isn't that bad of a guy, right? What do you think?