Taking Route East, Not Calling "Home" • Twenty One Pilots

TRENCH: 0.3: chapter three

a/n: just a fact check: this takes place like/ was inspired by "leave the city" so if you want context this is leave the city style/ post jumpsuit/nico/levitate mv trilogy time period. Also I should be studying for geometry but writing is way more enjoyable.

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"Josh."

Tyler ran past the barrier of cement into the moss that the Taiga biome composed of in Trench. Josh wrapped his arms around his friend solemnly, holding him for a good bit in the silence of the tunnel. The only noise was the crackling of Josh's torch.

"Josh, are you okay?" He asked, pulling away, Josh nodded, holding Tyler's face suddenly, the cut on his nose fresher than the scar that he saw the last time he saw him days before. He had opened it again.

"The scar." Josh muttered, Tyler looked at him confused, but then reached up in realization.

"Don't worry about that." Tyler said, Josh shook his head.

"No. What happened." Josh forced, rubbing his thumb over it to see if the blood was dry or not.

"I ran a little too fast on the way back to the housing complex. It's fine." Tyler confessed, Josh gave him the eyebrow but dropped it, realizing the back slung over his friend's back. He sighed at the sight, looking to Tyler sorrowfully.

"I want to go with you, and actually stay." Tyler said, Josh shook his head.

"You can't come back with me Ty, you're not ready." Josh said, Tyler shook his head.

"I'm fine." Tyler insisted.

"No, you're not." Josh said, Tyler avoided his eyes.

"Fine, I'm not. What difference does it make? I'm just going to end up back here anyway." Tyler snapped, Josh hushed him as he heard his friend's existential tone flood through the tunnel in an echo.

"You're going to waste your flower, on this." Josh started, softly. Tyler's anger had already started to take over him. Josh realized how much his mind had been eating at him right then. Knowing he was walking down the street backwards, looking at the lights that he knew why were getting smaller but didn't want to think it. say it.

"There's no point. Nico doesn't let me stay Josh. You know as well as I do he needs me for God knows what. He drags me back against my will, I have no other choice." Tyler started, Josh continuously pushed him to hush, Tyler rolling his eyes as he gave into the underlying command.

"It's not a matter of choice, It's a matter of acceptance." Josh started, Tyler shook his head, taking out his red beanie from his pocket so he wouldn't rip his hair out from clawing at his head in rage. Josh was the only one who listened, and frankly, Josh was ready to snap himself. But he couldn't, he had to keep his mouth shut until the red came out. So, his green light came on, his brow furrowing.

"It's never going to work!" Tyler exclaimed.

"It will if you actually wanted to come to Trench. Your depression has consumed you, it gives you so much closure and calmness to your anxiety that you don't really want to leave. You'd kill for it to be all okay but the problem wit that is going into the grey area that you need to get to. You don't want to get better. You do, but really you don't because you forgot how it feels, didn't you?" Josh scolded, Tyler looked at him with wide eyes, processing the words flooding out of Josh's usually clamped shut mouth. The only person Tyler would ever listen to was speaking the truth, but for some god forsaken reason, the words were barely getting through the static of denial in the younger boy's brain.

"You shouldn't even be wearing yellow if you have that hat on. You shouldn't be wearing yellow at all at this point. You're walking backwards, what's wrong Tyler? Why are you going backwards?" Josh asked, Tyler ripped his hat off, Josh shook his head, grabbing it and putting it atop his friend's head again, silencing him in a way that meant he wasn't done.