Holding On To You (A Twenty One Pilots Fanfiction)

CHAPTER ONE

I stared back at my reflection for a long time. I twisted my long brown waves into a messy bun. My green eyes looked tired. This would, in fact, be the last time I stared into my bedroom mirror for a while. My eyes began to tear up slightly as I thought about leaving my life as I knew it. Today marked my first day of college.

"Jessica!" shouted my mom, "Are you almost ready?" I called back that I was coming. I took one final glance around my room, grabbed the last of my bags, and headed downstairs.

I had already loaded up the van last night with some small furniture and the rest of my belongings. It took a great deal of effort to shove this last suitcase in. My dad hopped in the driver's side of my BMW and I got in the passenger's side. My mom was following us in her Kia. This way I could keep my car on campus. Unlike most colleges, Penn State was large enough to allow even freshmen to have their cars. After what seemed like forever, we arrived at the campus. Once in my dorm and situated, my parents knew it was their time to leave. My mom made sure that everything had been set up to perfection. She offered a few last words of advice, like "focus on academics", "don't do drugs", "call home everday", and a bunch of other tips I've heard before. She hugged and kissed me goodbye with tears in her eyes. I reassured her that everything was going to be fine, and that I would call her to check in. My dad gave me a big hug.

"Bye, sweetie," my mom said, her voice cracking.

I smiled at them one last time, as they exited the room.

I looked around, scanning my room for the first time. It was a decent size with two beds and enough storage space for two people. I assumed that my roommate hadn't arrived yet. I finished unpacking the few things that my mom didn't help me with, and hit the shuffle button on my phone. "Trapdoor" by Twenty One Pilots played, and a smile spread across my face. Twenty One Pilots was a two-man band, featuring Tyler Joseph as the singer/rapper and Josh Dun as the drummer. I had known these two since we were little kids. Tyler lived nextdoor to me, and Josh lived across the street. They had always had a passion for music, so they started a little band in Tyler's garage. I was the audience and gave them feedback on their music. Eventually, their fame grew and they got a record label with Fueled by Ramen. As their popularity grew, I saw them less and less. Unfortunately, I haven't seen either of them in person in at least three years. Recently, I heard they were performing about a half hour away from my campus. My cousin, Julia, who is attending her second year at PSU, surprised me with tickets and backstage passes for it. It'll be nice to see them, after all this time.

As I was lost in my thoughts, the door swung open to reveal a tall, skinny blonde girl trying to fit her bags through the door.

"Shit," she swore under her breath, so I ran to help her.

After everything was settled, she introduced herself as Kara. We compared schedules and ended up having two classes together: Freshman English and Calculus.

"Want to walk around the campus?" I asked her.

"Sounds like a plan, let me just finish unpacking a bit," she replied.

We talked and got to know each other as we walked around the large campus for almost two hours. Kara said that she played volleyball. She was going to college to be a physical therapist. As for me, I really had no clue what I wanted to do. It had always been a dream of mine to become a professional dancer. But now, it was impractical, especially after I injured tendons in my right foot a few years ago. After it healed, I could still dance, but it was never the same. I've kind of given up on it. So, I decided to start by focusing on getting a science degree, and take it from there.

It was almost time for dinner, and my stomach was growling. We headed towards the cafeteria. After getting our food which consisted of chicken stir-fry and a dinner roll, we looked for a place to sit. The cafeteria was huge, with four different sections, yet it was packed. We couldn't find any empty tables, so we approached a friendly-looking group with a few seats to spare. Kara and I sat next to each other on the end. The girl at the opposite end was covered in tattoos and piercings. My mom would murder me if I came home like that. She was listening to music through big, black headphones. There were two empty seats next to her, and then another girl and two guys. The girl was the first to acknowledge our existence. Her name was Ruby, and she was a sophomore.

"This is Kyle and this is Alex," she said pointing at the two boys with her index finger.

The one called Alex was very attractive. He wore a baby blue t-shirt that brought out his beautiful eyes. He smiled charmingly at me, and I smiled back, "I'm Jess."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Alex replied, so formally that I laughed.

The other boy, Kyle, was Alex's roommate. They were both sophomores. We all got to know each other, and before I knew it, we were some the last people left in the cafeteria. Ruby suggested we all go to the creamery down the street. The boys jumped on that idea.

"You guys will love it. They make the best ice cream here than you'll have anywhere else!" Alex promised.

I was about to say that we should be getting back to our dorm, when Kara said, "Okay! We're in!"

The line was pretty long. Alex and I went to grab a table.

"So I'm sure a pretty girl like you must have a boyfriend?" Alex questioned.

"Um.. no, actually," I laughed. "I broke up with my boyfriend a little while before I left for college."

Kara, Ruby, and Kyle came over to table with our ice cream, interrupting our conversation. I didn't really want to talk about it anyway. We ended up staying out really late, too late for a Sunday night, too late for the night before my first class.