We all have our masks [Twenty One Pilots]

Chapter Thirteen: Still standing

Music was blaring through the house, loud enough for everyone to hear, but not too loud in order for people to still enjoy their conversations without having to scream at each other. It was crowded, but not as much as Lena had expected, and to her relief, nobody even turned to stare at her when she passed the front door, Josh's arm still around her shoulders.

She took in her surroundings. A few people were slumped in the couches playing some video game, while others were standing across the room. The place was a little messy, and Lena couldn't quite figure out if it was the usual state of the house or if it was only a result of the party. But before she could ponder this, someone had gotten up the couch and into her arms.

"Hey girl! Glad you could make it!" Mark said enthusiastically. Lena smiled, genuinely surprised. Hell, she didn't even notice he was here too. The weirdest, though, was that they all seemed to have been expecting her. Furrowing her eyebrows, she turned to Zack, interrogating him without a word. But Zack was a sneaky little thing, and before she had the chance to say anything, he was already leading her to what seemed to be the kitchen.

"Want a drink? Coke? Redbull? Orange juice? We might also have some alcohol around but we're not really into that..."

Lena shrugged, not really bothered by what she would have to drink, and accepted the can of Coke Zack handed her. She was about to ask what this was all about when the back door opened, letting Tyler in. Those guys she had met before kept popping up so quickly that Lena didn't have the time to be surprised anymore, so instead, she greeted him with her best smile.

"Hi Tyler!" she exclaimed, but her enthusiasm was only met with a half-smile and a brief nod of the head before Tyler disappeared in the other room. What was the problem with him? One day he was all nice and hugging, the other he barely acknowledged her. As much as she didn't want to feel that way, Lena was a little pissed off by his behaviour. She turned to Zack, Josh and Mark, looking awkwardly at her, probably embarrassed by their friend's attitude. That's when she realized she still didn't have the final word about what was going on here.

"So, about that..." Josh started, his eyes darting from his own hands to Zack's face.

"Yeah, they all knew you were coming actually" Zack admitted. "Turns out Tyler is my brother." He continued, explaining how the boys had talked about her when they came home from tour, and how he recognized her right away when she started asking questions at the City Hall the next morning. Ohio - and Columbus in particular - wasn't that big after all.

As the conversation went on, Lena remembered Mark's words from a week ago, about how God had His reasons to put her on the boys' path, and although she didn't really believe in anything, she had to agree. Something up there, whether people call it God or just destiny, thought it was a good idea to make her meet these people. As far as she was concerned, she couldn't disagree. So far, the guys had been nothing but nice and helping, and she really felt at ease around them. Well, except from Tyler maybe, but she had already accepted the fact that Tyler was... different. 

Before she knew it, the sun came down, and Lena found herself sitting on a swing seat in the backyard, a burger in hand. Her anxiety had long calmed down. She was actually enjoying the night, even without taking part in the conversations. Observing suited her too well. She took a bite of her burger, inspecting her surroundings. Some people had already left, and the music was turned down to a more acceptable level at that time of the day. On the other side of the backyard, Josh was showing off his latest party trick by backflipping off a table. A few groups of people were scattered across the house, either eating, talking, or playing video games. 

Right in front of her, Tyler was talking to a cute blonde girl, drink in hand. He still hadn't talked to her, and Lena felt some kind of disappointment at this thought. She thought she had him figured out when he hugged her, the other day, but it quickly turned out Tyler Joseph wasn't that easy to understand. She wondered if there was something wrong about her that made him act like that, and she was getting herself pissed off when she realized she was staring at him. And he had noticed.