a moment in time//twenty one pilots

chapter 4

Two weeks? Was I really out for that long? It only felt like an hour. I thought.

It was around 8ish in the morning, and I was still taking in what Tyler told me. I couldn't believe I survived in the first place. But on the other hand, I wasn't shot in any fatal areas.

Tyler was still on the hospital bed with me, an arm slung around my shoulders. His head was leaned back too far, his head barely touching the pillow. It made my neck hurt to think about it. Every once in a while, he would shift, or he would let out a soft snore.

Josh was still curled up on the leather couch, his hands and legs pulled up into his chest. His head was starting to fall off the pillow, and the scratchy hospital blanket was slipping off, touching the tile floor. I was tempted to get up and pull the blanket back on him, but I was stuck under Tyler's grip, and I didn't know if I would be able to get up anyways. He too, snored softly.

Josh shifted, and the blanket fell off of him, landing with a quiet thump onto the floor, the sudden cold air waking him. Josh groaned and attempted to grab the blanket, failing to do so. Once he gave up, Josh sat up, blinked for a second, then stretched his arms above his head, letting them fall into his lap with a sigh.

Josh looked at me and jumped, nearly falling off the couch.

"Jesus, you nearly gave me a heart attack." He said, his eyes wide.

"Oops?" I quietly said with a shy smile. He just laughed

"Don't worry about it, you would think that after two weeks of being here that I would know where I was." Josh said with a smile. I chuckled at his statement.

"It's good to see you awake." Josh said.

"Yeah, it feels nice to be awake." I said with a hint of humor. The room fell into a comfortable silence. I heard Josh shift on the couch.

"Lila?" He said softly.

"Yeah?" I responded.

"Thank you." He blurted.

"For what?" I said, confused.

"For saving Tyler. I guess I wouldn't know where I would be without him." Josh spoke, his gaze going to the floor.

"Oh. I'd be in the same position as you, but with both of you." I said solemnly. The corner of Josh's lips curled up into a small, sad smile. It was silent once again.

I observed the way the rays of sun shining through the blinds, the steady beep of the heart monitor, the patterns on the blanket, my gown, the wall, the ceiling. I thought about all the possibilities if I hadn't tackled the man, and thought about what would happen if Tyler, Josh, or both had d--

Suddenly, a phone sitting on the table next to the bed started to vibrate, shaking the table violently, making me jump. 'Can't Help Falling In Love' started to echo throughout the room. The caller ID was blocked by Tyler's sleeping figure.

Josh immediately got up and strode to the phone, picking it up and answering the caller.

"Hey! It's Josh, Tyler is still sleeping," Josh said into the phone. A pause. "Yeah he's ok, but he's been obsessing over this situation. This is the first time he's had a peaceful night's rest ever since the night before it happened." Another pause. "Yeah, yeah, yeah I will... Uhh I don't know, you can if you want to."

Josh turned and looked at me. I mouthed, "Who is it?" to him.

"Jenna" He mouthed back.

Without thinking, before Josh could turn away again, I once again mouthed, "Could I talk to her?"

Josh looked at me and shrugged, then continued to reassure Jenna. My hope slightly deflated, making my shoulders sink ever so slightly-- at least I thought it was.

Josh must have noticed because a second later he looks at me and says "Hey uh Jenna, the girl who we're in the hospital with wants to talk to you, is that ok?" My mouth dropped open. There was a pause, then Josh looked at me and nodded. "Ok, here she is." He said before removing the phone from his ear and giving it to me.

I grabbed the phone from Josh and pressed it against my ear, I swallowed, "H-hello?"

"Lila? Is this you?" Jenna spoke ever so tenderly.

"Yeah, that's me. It's nice to talk to you." I said with a smile, even though she couldn't see it.

"Yeah, you too." Jenna stated. There was a pause, "Lila, I-I don't even know where to begin, except for thank you." Jenna stated, her voice getting heavy. "I just can't believe that such a young girl like you, risked everything, especially your safety, to save Tyler." She sniffed.

"Jenna," I spoke with sympathy, "it would take way too long to explain why I did that. But I just need everyone to look on the bright side, Tyler is unharmed, so is Josh, I'm alive, we're all alive, and we should be thankful for that. I'm thankful for that. I'm so glad that I'm still here on this earth and next to people that, even though I don't know personally, I love." I said confidently, and I meant every word.

"You're such a smart girl, I already know it." Jenna said, sniffing again.

Tyler shifted, a sign that he was waking up. He groaned and lifted his arm from around my shoulders and stretched both of his arms out. He smiled when he realized who I was on the phone with.

"Jenna, Tyler's awake, do you want to talk to him?" I said, smiling at Tyler.

"Please, I miss him." Jenna responded.

I handed the phone over to him and let them talk. As they did, Tyler got up from the bed and paced around the room. Josh sat on the end of my bed and we made some small talk, like how they postponed the shows that they missed, and other small news.

After 20 minutes or so, Tyler hung up the phone and put it in his pocket.

"Alright," Tyler said, rubbing his hands together, "who wants breakfast?"