Introverted Hearts // Josh Dun

chapter thirty three :: nosey news

"Babe, go to the news." Josh argued with CJ as they laid in bed, late on a Monday night. He tried to navigate the mouse pad, but CJ swatted his hand away.

"We aren't gonna watch the news, stupid." CJ shot back as Josh pushed her glasses up her nose for her. She had a habit of letting them fall, if she even wore them at all.

"I just wanna see the weather." Josh whined, giving CJ his best puppy dog eyes.

"Just the weather," CJ gave in as she clicked on the live feed of the news channel. "You're not cute, y'know."

"You think I'm the cutest thing on the planet." Josh boasted, placing a kiss on the side of CJ's head without her denial.

"It's not even on yet." CJ sighed, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"It's just a few minutes, babe," Josh said. "They show the weather like, every five minutes."

A few seconds later, the topic on the news was switched from a missing persons case to another subject.

Alex Turner.

"Alex Turner, a familiar face here, is facing accusations of sexual assault once again," the reporter read as Alex's mugshot was on the screen. There was also a picture of CJ and Josh casted on the screen, right next to Alex's. CJ had recognized their picture as the one that Josh posted on his instagram of them with a simple red heart as the caption.

"The case is beginning to garner multi-media attention with many supporters saying he's been accused too many times for it to be a coincidence. Opposing opinions say that the victim, girlfriend of rising star drummer Josh Dun of twenty one pilots, Carmen Reyes, is simply looking for attention or possibly even money."

"Do we have any idea how this case will lean?" A man asked. "Seeing as it's a classic he-said-she-said case?"

"Let's, um," Josh went to stop the feed. "We don't need to watch it."

"No," CJ swatted his hand away, practically hypnotized by the screen. "Keep it on."

"To be honest with you, I think that Reyes is lying," the woman said. "I think that if it actually happened the way the report is stating, she would have reported it years ago when it happened."

"We'll see what happens when we receive the verdict of the trial, which is said to be held in the following weeks. On to your weather.."

Josh clicked the space button, stopping the feed.

CJ stared at the screen, speechless.

"CJ?" Josh stroked her arm, trying to get her attention.

"How do they know?" CJ let out an unsteady breath. "H-How do they know my name a-and how do they know I'm with you a-and why do they think I'm lying?"

"I don't know, baby," Josh moved her laptop to the side and scooped a panicking CJ into his arms. "But did you hear her talk about supporters?"

"Mhm." CJ nodded, on the verge of tears.

"You have people supporting you," Josh told her. "Which means that people believe you and know you're not lying."

"Yeah." CJ sniffled.

"The rest of them who don't believe you?" Josh shook his head. "They're all out of their minds and they just don't wanna accept the fact that somebody - some terrible, disgusting, excuse of a human being - did this to you."

CJ was silent, burying her face into her warm boyfriend's neck.

There was weeks of visits to the police station and meetings with the ADA.