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

TRENCH: 0.5: chapter five

a/n: This story is really Trench for Trench, but I still hope you enjoy this. Also, Tyler and Josh's bromance is based off many others. Fell free to ship it, I don't mind. Some friends are close, you know? Others are like Monty and Percy where it's more. But here, it's platonic but cute; hope you don't mind. But Paige is canonically pansexual, in case you were wondering. 

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Tyler sat in the cell, knees drawn to his chest living off of prison scraps that were fed to him once daily for two weeks as his imprisonment. The same man that he walked past every time he left stared every time. Tyler didn't know that he counted every time he came back. Josh's silent replica stayed in Tyler's imagination, with silent conversations flowing to and from the air from Tyler's mouth and mind. The boy sitting happy and content with the situation. It was his way of understanding Josh's selectivity when it came to speaking from an outside prospective.

Something to get his mind off the present.

"Time's up." Paige said, walking down to him straight faced as she pulled out his infamous cell key. She gave it to Tyler once, and he didn't let himself out because he knew it was better for him. That's how they became friends.

"Time's up already?" He asked, She nodded, throwing to him the backpack slung over her shoulder, which was the one he brought to see Josh when he escaped.

"Maybe I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked, Tyler chuckled at the joke, she raised an eyebrow.

"That'd be a new record." he said as they walked. She shook her head, laughing.

"No, I meant to like-" She said, motioning her hands in an odd way. "L-like..." 

"A date?" Tyler questioned. Paige blushed at that.

"Not really a date per say... " She said, Tyler rolled his eyes.

"Paige, are you asking me out after storming away from me?" He asked, Paige sighed.

"Not my best gesture." She said, Tyler chuckled.

"Oh Paige, you know I have a wife right?" He asked, Paige blushed a deeper shade of mahogany.

"No. Since when?" She asked suddenly, "I thought you were in love with Josh!" She said, Tyler shook his head.

"Since ever." He declared, she sighed.

"That throws that off the table." She said, like coming up from water. Tyler smiled at this, laughing to himself.

"What's so funny?" She asked, he shrugged.

"The fact that I have a wife that you knew nothing about. You'd like her more than you'd intend." He observed, she shrugged.

"I probably would if she married you." She said, Tyler put a hand on her shoulder.

"You'll find a human, here or not you'll find love." He said, she shrugged once more.

"Love is the drug that keeps people living in here." She said, Tyler nodded.

"You're far from wrong there." He said, turning onto the familiar staircase that he eagerly awaited to run up. Paige grabbed his arm, leading him up the other one.

"Nico wants to actually speak to you today." She said, Tyler's eyes widened, freezing in his steps.

"Why?" He asked, she shrugged.

"Something about flowers?" She questioned, Tyler's cheeks flushed, she raised an eyebrow as he froze in his own silence?

"Something I should know or confidential?" She asked, Tyler shook his head, marching up the steps with his left foot in step first with the right, making the effort to march heel toe as well with his back up right. Paige looked at him oddly as he walked, her shoulders in their usual rolled form and her stomping.