wonderstruck// Tyler Joseph

twenty four | the lingering question kept me up

i know it's crazy that i'm updating twice in a row

also, just in case, trigger warning if you don't like weapons/blood (it isn't that gory though)

please vote and comment :)

"Are we almost there?" Juliet asked, leaning forward a bit so it'd be easier for Jackie to hear her. We'd been in the car for about an hour, but it felt more like ten hours. I couldn't help but worry about Tyler the whole ride there.

"Just about," Jackie responded, rounding a corner. What looked to be hundreds of soldiers came into view. I had no idea how I'd manage to find Tyler amidst all of those people, but I knew I wouldn't give up until I did.

My hands were shaking as I waited for the car to come to a complete stop. My nerves were buzzing, and I couldn't tame the uneasy anxious feeling in my stomach. It felt like it was consuming me.

When we finally did stop, I opened the car door in an instant, jumping out. I ignored the calls telling me to get back into the car, telling me that we needed a plan before we got ourselves into anything. But I couldn't wait any longer. For all I knew, Tyler was hurt now. I couldn't shake the thought away that something might've happened to him. My mind wouldn't have been able to focus on anything until I was certain that he was okay.

"Tyler!" I called as I ran into the crowd of soldiers. The gunshots and loud yelling should've been the first red flag telling me to get out, but I ignored it. Everything was a blur, all I could hear was Tyler's soft voice in the back of my mind. "Tyler!" I screamed louder this time, to the point where my throat started stinging.

"You're looking for the prince?" A tall man had asked me, looking down at me with concern. I quickly nodded, afraid that he was going to tell me that he wasn't here. That something had happened to him. But he didn't. "Last I heard he was all the way down to the right," he said, pointing towards the end of the crowd of soldiers. It was a good distance away, but still visible.

"Thank you!" I said before quickly pushing my way out of the crowd. I figured it would be safer to run behind the army, and then squeeze my way back in whenever I happened to see Tyler.

So that's what I did. After a couple of minutes, I instantly recognized his chocolate brown hair and slender figure from a few meters away. I breathed heavily as I rushed over to him, screaming his name once again. He turned around, an obviously confused expression on his face. He'd be furious at me for following him here, but he shouldn't have expected anything less from me.

His eyes widened when he noticed me. He looked around quickly, as if to check whether or not anyone nearby could potentially hurt me. He ran towards me, grabbing my arm and involuntarily pulling me off to the side, behind the massive amount of fighting soldiers in front of us.

"What are you doing here? I told you not to come!" He exclaimed, looking at me angrily. I rolled my eyes, not even giving a care as to what he had to say. He was a hypocrite.

"And you told me that you weren't going to come either! I guess we both like to break promises, huh?" I snapped back. He looked taken aback, like somehow the words had hit him across the face. "Come on, Tyler. Let's go," I demanded, grabbing his hand and trying to pull him with me. He snatched his hand away, shaking his head.

"I can't leave! They need extra soldiers," he replied. "You go. You shouldn't be here," he said, his eyes basically pleading for me to listen to him.

"You shouldn't be here either! You're not a soldier, you're gonna get hurt! I can't leave you here," I explained. I didn't even realize that I had started crying until I felt a few tears stream down my cheeks. Tyler must've noticed, because his face softened, and he wiped them away softly with his finger.

"I'll be okay. Just please leave, before something happens to you." His honey brown eyes almost made me say yes. But I couldn't. I couldn't let myself leave knowing there was the possibility of him getting hurt.

"Tyler, the past day has felt like forever," I started, sniffling. The occasional sobs in the back of my throat made it difficult to talk, and on top of that, I was breathing heavily. "I've been worrying about you nonstop, and I just can't leave knowing you're here."

He stared at me for a few seconds before he finally sighed, giving in. "Okay. I'll come back," he said, taking my hand in his.

Just as we started walking back, I felt my body jolt backwards, Tyler hand being ripped from mine. Out of instinct, I tried to pull out of this persons grip, but to no avail. Tyler was squirming around as he was being held too by a soldier who's face was covered.

"Let us go," Tyler stated firmly, turning his head and staring menacingly into the eyes of the man keeping him hostage. Tyler's expression looked like it could kill, but the man seemed unaffected.

"Hey, what's going on here?" A female voice asked, walking up behind us. I felt a surge of relief when I noticed that the voice had belonged to Jackie. "Let them go, or I'll shoot," she threatened, taking the large gun out of her holster and holding it up.

"If you shoot, then we do too," the man holding Tyler replied in a heavy accent, aggressively placing the tip of the gun to Tyler's head. He shut his eyes tightly together as I pleaded for them to stop. Tears started building up in my eyes, clouding my vision. My heart was beating at a million miles per second and the anxiety that had dissipated a minute ago had come back.

Jackie put the gun back, waiting for the man to do the same. He did. "You can take him. Let the girl go," she commanded. The man nodded at the person who held me, and he loosened his grip. I stepped away, fearful that he'd attempt to grab me again.

"The girl doesn't matter, anyway. Useless," he stated, the two men now holding Tyler together, pulling him away. I saw him hold up the gun once again, but thought nothing of it until I felt a sharp pain in my abdomen. Within a second, I was laying on the floor, squeezing my eyes together in agony.

I heard screams from Tyler, but I was too focused on the unbearable pain to pay any attention to him. Part of me wondered if this was just a nightmare, that I'd wake up in the palace, and Tyler would be at my side, comforting me. But when I opened my eyes, all I saw was Jackie, kneeling down beside me and attempting to calm me down.

She was talking into something, calling for help from somebody. I wasn't completely sure, because her words seemed jumbled. "You're gonna be okay, December, alright? We're gonna get you help," she told me, putting a piece of cloth over the injury to stop more blood from spilling out. I bit down on my arm to refrain from screaming in pain.

"But... what about..." I tried to say, but it felt like my mind was spinning. I couldn't think straight, I couldn't even get a coherent sentence out of my mouth. "What about... Tyler..."

"Don't worry about him for now, they've sent a group to search for him," she informed me. That only made me feel a little better, I was still worried about him.

But on top of that, I was worried about myself. It just felt like things were piling up, and I wondered when it would end. When could I just go home and have Tyler by my side, without any pressure or uncertainties weighing down on our shoulders?