The Dip and the Resurface

Part 6

Josh
~ Three weeks later ~

Tyler was gonna kiss me!!! I had a huge surprise for him and I couldn't wait to tell him.

He had been down low for about a month now and I knew that I had to do something if I wanted him to resurface anytime soon. He hadn't had much appetite and even though he was still wonderful and energetic on stage, he wasn't 100 percent his old bouncy self off stage. He would stare blankly into space whenever he thought I wasn't looking at him, forcing a smile whenever he noticed my concerned gaze. I had even caught him fake-laughing at some of my more mediocre jokes.

I had kept an eye on Tyler ever since we had left England. For the first few days, I had thought that not being able to find "Margarita Girl" (as he for some reason had dubbed her) would have been the coup de grace that would send him spiralling downwards, but he had barely mentioned her. At first, I had thought that he was taking care of the downwards spiralling just fine on his own - but suddenly I had noticed that he was staring at a picture of her on his phone from time to time. Especially at night when he thought I was asleep beside him.

His mood was descending rapidly day by day and it was devastating to observe him sink into his own thoughts. I was pretty sure that Tyler would have dipped under no matter if he had met Margarita Girl or not, but I wasn't sure whether her constant wander around his mind was making it better or worse for him. I wanted my best friend back and I had to try something. Anything. So I put all my eggs in one basket and arranged a surprise for him.

I had just received the confirming call ten minutes ago, and had decided to go to our shared hotel room to tell him the good news immediately.

"TY!" I called out as I entered the hotel room, "I have a huge surprise for you!!!"

"What is it?" He called from the bathroom.

"Come out and I'll tell you."

I could hear him sigh from the other side of the door before the distinctive sound of a flushing toilet could be heard.

"What?" he asked me uninterested as he emerged from the bathroom a couple of seconds later. He was still buckling his belt.

"Hey man, are you alright?" I asked him when I saw the state he was in. His eyes were red and his voice was raspy. I hadn't seen him for a couple of hours and it came as quite a shock to me how much he had changed since I had left that morning.

He nodded, "what's the surprise, Josh?" he said in the same uninterested tone of voice as before.

"I just got off the phone with a booking agency in London - I got us a show at that arena where we attended the Brit Awards!!" I said and waited for a reaction from Tyler.

"And?" He said with a shrug.

"Well....that's it," I said, flapping my arms.

"That's the surprise? Another show?"

"...at the arena! At Wembley!" I tried again, "she works there! She's probably going to be there for the concert!"

"Is that supposed to be a big deal?" he asked me.

"I thought it would be" I said while rubbing my neck, "I thought you would be thrilled."

"I appreciate the gesture, but come on, Josh," he said while looking at me with raised eye brows, "don't you think she would've found me by now if she wanted to see me again?"

"How could she? She only knows your first name."

"...And the fact that I'm a musician - A quick google search would give away the rest."

I pulled out my phone and googled 'Tyler, musician'.

"Your name isn't even an option," I held out my phone for him to see, "Look, it says Steven Tyler, Bonnie Tyler, William Tyler, Charles Tyler, Tyler the Creator - I could go on. But you're not mentioned once."

Tyler looked up at me once more with a careless expression, "it doesn't matter anyway.. She would've given me her name or her number or something if she wanted to see me again."

"Stop being so dramatic! You're probably harder to find than what you expect - plus; we aren't even that big in Europe."

Tyler looked as if he was about to interject but for some reason, he decided against it.

I plumped down on the couch next to him

"Thanks Josh," he said without looking at me, "I know why you did it and I appreciate it. I promise that I'll try to be...happier"

"Hey, don't pretend to be anything around me. It isn't necessary 'cause I don't mind a little mood swing now and then"

Tyler smiled (genuinely) at me before I continued, "you just use your energy on what you're good at and the rest will come eventually. In the meantime, I'll take care of everything regarding this extra show - and I will definitely cross my fingers and hope for her attention."

"Yeah...fingers crossed," Tyler mumbled and held a small break before he asked me, "I was wondering if you want an ass-beating in Mario Kart?"

"As long as I can be Donkey Kong!" I grinned

"Sure - You know I'm always Toad," he smiled genuinely at me once more.