Free & Flightless (Trench)

Chapter 26-Tyler

Tyler

Tyler was drowning. Not literally, but he felt like he was surrounded by water and he was desperately thrashing and grasping for nothing that really mattered. The blue..he didn't like the color blue at the moment. It was too murky and full of uncertainty. He wanted the sun to stream through the waves' currents once again and claim him as somebody who was loved and adored by people. He wanted..love..
Tyler gasped awake, the motion of gasping so jerky he ended up coughing, grasping his chest as if it would help. After the coughing decided, he shook his head. Shaking his head was a coping mechanism for when he needed to cry. He did it a lot more than he'd like to admit.
He also did it when he was disoriented. The room he was in was a strange color to him, and everything seemed a bit too doubled. He needed his eyes to focus on something but he didn't know what to have them focus on. He cleared his throat, uncertainly laying back down: he had jerked up into a painful sitting position when he had woke up. He closed his eyes again, not missing the drowning, but missing the silence. He couldn't take the pace of change, it was moving too hastily.
And then, a voice pried open his eyes by its musical and flawless sound. Tyler yearned to hear it for such a long time, it felt like.
Josh Dun.
"Ty?" Josh whispered. Tyler looked at him. His chocolatey eyes were misty, dark circles had made a home under his eyes in shades of blue and purple. His cheeks were still freckled from kisses of the sun, making little consolations in the flawless sky that was Josh's face. He was still Josh, but tired. Sad. Because of me?
"Josh..what happened?" Tyler croaked, reaching his arm up to rub his eyes, like waking from a long nap. He expected sleep to rub away from his eyes, but there was nothing but figurative clear skies in his eyes for the moment. Josh stared at Tyler silently.
"I thought you were going to die. They stabbed you, Ty." Josh's voice cracked as he stepped toward Tyler, his voice and step faltering. Tyler sat up. His muscles were brittle and exhausted, but it felt normal to move. He felt like a walking skeleton bone, as if that was all that remained for him. So frail.
"Who? Nico?" Tyler presumed, still disoriented. He didn't like not remembering.
"Yeah. W-we were just..agh...shit." Josh rubbed his forehead as he sat on the ground in front of Tyler. Tyler made a small "o" shape with his mouth, not used to hearing Josh curse.
"We were what?" Tyler asked, slightly frightened. Josh shook his head, his misty chocolate eyes meeting Tyler's, now unwavering.
"Nico possessed me, I think. And I was weak, and confused, and trying to recover. Then Nico stabbed you." Josh let out a long breath. "I never thought you would wake up again." He mused, sadness leaking out of his voice like a poorly repaired pipe leading to a kitchen sink. (;)).
Tyler looked at Josh, chewing on his lip. "I didn't mean to scare you. I didn't realize I was sleeping, I think I thought I was drowning." Tyler murmured, eyes glazing over as he remembered the murkiness of the blue water. Everything was muffled under there. Tyler never felt pain when he was underwater: it was always tainted by the scary colors and silence.
"Drowning?" Josh repeated, obviously confused. Tyler shrugged, which hurt.
"Like I couldn't get out. Muffled, stuck, trying to breathe but unable to. Mesmerized immeasurably, but wishing I wasn't. I wrote a song called Drown a bit ago. Maybe that's why?" Tyler blabbered. He looked up at Josh when he finished speaking, and to Tyler's shock, Josh burst into tears. Tyler tugged on Josh's hands and pulled him towards him. Josh hesitantly obliged, and Tyler pulled him into a hug like none the two had ever shared before. This was a hug of mourning and loss. But they didn't know what they lost. Perhaps a piece of themselves?
"I thought you were dying," Josh hiccuped. Tyler only held him tighter, stroking his hair, which was fluffier than Tyler had thought it would be. He was in love with it.
"Don't worry, Jish, I'm not." Tyler said quietly. Josh abruptly pulled away, looking Tyler square in the eye.
"Jish?" He repeated, obviously skeptical towards the nickname. Tyler snickered.
"Jishwa." Tyler confirmed, trying his best not to snort like a pig at his poor humor. To his surprise, Josh laughed lightly.
"I missed you." Josh whispered. Tyler nodded, unsure of how to answer. He'd say he missed Josh, but he was unaware of anything when he was "drowning". He only remembered the drowning. That was his only focus.
"How long was I out?" Tyler asked wistfully.
"Two weeks. It sucked." Josh mumbled. Tyler felt bad. That meant the Banditos had almost certainly moved him. Did Josh carry him?
"I'm sorry." Tyler whispered. It was Josh's turn to shrug in response. Sometimes words were hard, and actions were easier.
Josh sat beside Tyler. Tyler noticed a bit of a pang on his left side. He remembered Josh mentioning Tyler being stabbed. He knew he was fine though. He was safe. He was with Josh.
Josh laid down beside Tyler, and Tyler curled against his best friend.
"I missed you. You're so cold all the time, and my body is so hot, it's a perfect in between," Josh murmured. He sounded so content, Tyler laughed lightly, jiggling the unsteady cot.
"Fire and ice." Tyler mused, giggling. Josh laughed back, and the two cuddled in comfortable silence.
Something felt pretty odd though. Tyler could tell his mindset was a bit different.
Tyler looked at Josh's closed eyes. His eyelids were slightly tinted purple, and Tyler could make out the veins of his eyelids. Mesmerizing.
"What medicine made me wake up, Josh? I didn't wake up on my own, something pulled at me until I did." Tyler said quietly.
Josh's eyes opened, meeting Tyler's gaze.
"Oh. None of Jenna's herbs worked, then..Keons and Listo came. I trusted Keons, he was my bishop when I was in Dema. And I was desperate Ty. So desperate." Josh pauses. Tyler didn't have a clue that Josh used to be a Dema member. He did remember the FPE badge on Josh's jacket, though, and his knowing of Clancy. He'd mention that later though.
"What did they d-do?" Tyler stammered. Surely they didn't...no.
"They both placed their hand on your forehead. Then they left." Josh shrugged. "I didn't think it'd work." Josh muttered. Tyler stared at Josh, shellshocked. Josh saw Tyler's expression.
"What?" Josh asked, concerned.
"They...placed their hands on my forehead? Did they say anything?" Tyler asked.
"They mumbled something. Latin? I didn't really question it. I was so sleep deprived and depressed, delirious...I was a mess. Still am..." Josh trailed off. I stared into space.
"What?" Josh repeated. "Are you mad?"
Tyler took in a shaky breath before looking Josh dead in the eye. He could never be mad at Josh, but now he was afraid. Not afraid of Josh...afraid of himself.
"Blurryface. He's back."

A/n: I had writer's block then suddenly came up with this. big oof i guess