And I Love Her (a Tyler Joseph fanfiction)

Down in the Forest

Chapter 8

Vanessa Costello's POV:

I got back to my apartment and walked to my bedroom. I looked at my alarm clock sitting on my dresser, the little blue numbers reading 8:54. I had awhile to get ready, but knowing me, I should probably start now. I am the queen of procrastination. I stripped from my pajamas and got into the shower. As I was washing  my hair, I heard someone singing. I pressed my ear against the cold tile wall, being able to hear the singing a little more clearly. The wall my ear was pressed to was the side that Tyler's apartment was on. I smiled upon hearing his voice, before going back to what I was doing.

I stepped out of the shower after doing all of the necessary things I had to do to get clean. I wrapped a towel around myself and walked back into my room and going over to a box. I still hadn't unpacked my clothes (remember when I said I was the queen of procrastination?). I pulled out an oversized gray sweater and a pair of black skinny jeans. I dug my black converse out of the bottom of another box and started getting dressed. I looked at my clock, seeing that it was already 11:39. I still had time, but the challenge was figuring out what to do with my hair and makeup. I don't usually go too over board with my makeup; it's always fairly simple. The only thing that I did different today was some cherry red lipstick. I made my hair look semi-presentable once it dried.

I looked at the clock and smiled as the numbers read 3:45. I pulled my shoes on and walked out of my apartment, knocking on Tyler's door lightly. I heard footsteps on the other end, followed by a loud thud. I giggled as Tyler opened the door and looked up at me while rubbing his elbow. "You okay there?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. He laughed quietly and nodded. "Yeah. I fell over." A light blush crept onto his cheeks. I laughed and looked at him. "You klutz," I shoved his shoulder gently, causing him to let out a light laugh. "Are you ready?" he asked me, stepping out into the hall with me. I nodded and walked to the elevator with him. "Of course I am. I'm excited to hear you guys play," I smiled as he pressed the button to take us downstairs. "Josh is supposed to meet us at the venue," Tyler said, his voice shaking slightly. I could tell that he was nervous. He looked up at me and smiled softly. "You look nice." I blushed softly and smiled at him in return.

 We got into the elevator and made small talk as we rode down. We walk to the parking lot and get into his car. He turned on the radio to some random alternative station. We sat in silence for a little while before something the radio DJ was saying caught my attention, causing me to turn up the volume. "What are y-" "Sh!" I listened and so did Tyler. "And here we have a new band from Columbus, Ohio. They're playing at the LC tonight if anyone is interested! Here's their song Guns For Hands, it's twenty one pilots. I know what you think in the morning..."  Tyler eyes widened as we pulled up to a red light. "I'm on the radio. Josh is on the radio. We're on the radio!!" Tyler started freaking out. I smiled and looked over at him. "This is so amazing!" I laughed softly, leaning over and kissing his cheek. He smiled widely and pulled away from the stop light.

We got to the arena a few minutes later, Tyler parking and waiting for me to get out before running inside the building, yelling for Josh. I shook my head slightly before walking in the building.

Tyler Joseph's POV:

"JOSH!!" I screamed as I ran through the currently empty venue. "WHAT?!" he shouted back, standing up from his kneeling position on the floor while he was setting up his drums. I saw Amelia come out from her place backstage. "Josh! We were on the radio!!" I said, hoisting myself up onto the stage. "What?! Really? Are you sure?" Josh asked excitedly, grabbing my shoulders once I stood up. I nodded excitedly. "Yes I'm sure! Vanessa was there, she can tell you!" I turned to Nessa, who was standing next to Amelia now.

She laughed softly and nodded, looking at the two of us. "I think he nearly died," she giggled softly again. Josh and I looked at each other and laughed. Our manager came on stage and looked at us. "Ten minutes, you guys," he said before disappearing again backstage.  I looked over at Nessa, who was now talking to Amelia. I smiled to myself before walking backstage with Josh to start getting ready for the show.

~~

Ten minutes later, the lights went down and it was time for the show to begin. Josh ran out and went to his drums as our song Ode to Sleep started playing. I grabbed the mic from our manager and took a deep breath before running out and jumping over my piano. The crowd went crazy. Playing music made me feel so alive, so appreciated. We went through about five songs before I stopped to talk to the audience for a moment.

"You guys sound amazing," I said with a smile, cheers erupting in the venue. I smiled and sat behind my piano before continuing. "Being a boy from a small town, it makes me feel so accepted to have all of you supporting my best friend Josh and I through this crazy ride of ours," I chuckled softly and looked at Josh. "This next song is a very special song to me. It's called Forest," I smiled and the track started playing. I took a deep breath and started singing.

"I don't know why I feed on emotion. There's a stomach inside my brain." I looked out to the crowd, my eyes landing on Vanessa, causing me to smile to myself before continuing. " I don't wanna be heard, I wanna be listened to. Does it bother anyone else that someone else has your name?" I stood up from my piano and walked towards the edge of the stage, mic in hand. "I scream, you scream, we all scream cause we're terrified of what's around the corner. We stay in place cause we don't wanna lose our lives, so let's think of something better." I looked out to the rest of the crowd before looking to Nessa again, letting the chorus of the song fall from my lips. "Down in the forest, we'll sing a chorus, one that everybody knows. Hands held higher, we'll be on fire, singing songs that nobody wrote." I let the rest of the sing come from my mouth, reaching the bridge as I climbed the wall on the side of the stage.

"Quickly moving towards a storm, moving forward, torn into pieces  over reasons of what these storms are for. I don't understand why everything I adore takes a different form when I squint my eyes. Have you ever done that?  When you squint your eyes and your eyelashes make it look a little not right and when just enough light comes from just the right side and you find you're not who you're supposed to be? This is not who you're supposed to see, please, remember me. I am supposed to be king of a kingdom or swinging on a swing. Something happened  to my imagination, this situation's becoming dire. My tree house is on fire and for some reason I smell gas on my hands, this is not what I had planned, this is not what I had planned." The last line came out of my throat as a scream, eliciting cheers from the arena. I climbed back down and ran to my piano.

I finished the song off strong, the crowd screaming, making me smile. "You guys are amazing." I smiled, the people cheering again. "This is our last song. And I want you to know that there's some people around you that might be going through some stuff. And I want to tell all of you here that you're never alone. And I want you to take this moment and take it home with you and try to remember it for the rest of your life. This song is called Trees." I played the soft song as the entire arena sang along with me. Josh and I went to the middle of the stage and took a bow in front of everyone. "Thank you so much!! We're twenty one pilots and so are you, stay alive and goodnight!" We took one last bow before walking off stage.

About twenty minutes after the show, we walked back out to the empty arena, where Amelia and Nessa stood, waiting for us. Nessa looked up from her phone and looked at me, smiled. "You guys were amazing!" She said, jogging over to me and giving me a tight hug. I laughed softly and hugged her tightly in return. She giggled softly and pulled back. "Amelia has school tomorrow, I gotta get her home before midnight or mom will kill me," Josh said, hugging Nessa and I before leaving with his sister. Nessa and I walked to the door, but I spotted a small sign on the floor covered by confetti that was used in the show. I knelt down and picked it up. The sigh read "T|-/ANK YOU", making me smile wide. Nessa knelt next to me and smiled softly. "You really help people, Ty," she smiled again, standing up before helping me up off of the floor.

I smiled to myself and clutched the sign to my chest and walked out to the car with Nessa.