Anklebiters - Joshler

3. Adoration

When Johnny Boy began to play, it was definitely set at a faster pace than Drown had been. The main reason as to why Josh noticed him was that every movement made by the fans behind him pulsed through the crowd and shoved him into the barriers again and again. Josh didn't have a problem with it, it was fun. It was just that most of the shows he had been sent to, he had been given private balcony seats above the crowd so that he could 'focus' or something like that.

But Josh found himself having a blast at this concert, bellowing the lyrics in a chorus lead by his greatest enemy.

Fall away and Blasphemy flew by too fast for Josh to process and he found himself worried that the flashing lights would make him forget the mental notes he had taken. Josh had to keep reminding himself that he was at the concert for work, and that if he came back empty-handed there would be hell to pay. But when the melody of Addict With a Pen began to vibrate through the amps and Josh's body he knew that his focus was gone.

Josh had heard the song multiple times before, but there was something about the way that Tyler presented it live which made Josh's heart strain behind his ribs. He held onto the cool metal of the barricade, gripping hard as if he would disappear if he let go.

Josh wanted to live in this moment forever, he could feel the vibrations pound through his collarbones, and he was unsure if the crackling in his ears were the sounds of the amps or his eardrums failing, he could no longer hear himself think over the waves of volume flowing forward into the stage but he wasn't scared to be heard. With his shoulders pressed to those of the people beside him Josh felt at home.

Breath left Josh's lungs as soon as it entered, along with the pain in his throat as he sang along to every lyric. Due to his heightened senses, the flood of nostalgia from a time Josh would rather forget and the pure sentiment Tyler radiated Josh felt his cheeks begin to go damp as soft tears streamed down. He was completely overcome by the music and felt no embarrassment, clinging to every word like it was Gospel.

As the song drew to a close Josh pulled up the hem of his shirt to wipe the tears from his face,  glad that he wasn't the only one half-way to a breakdown. However when he looked up, his breath was stolen once again when he saw intimate mocha eyes staring straight into his. Josh's cheeks burnt from the all too familiar embarrassment of being caught by Tyler Joseph, especially in such a bizarre scenario.

With a burst of courage, Josh reaches his hand out as far as he can just like the fans around him, desperate to touch Tyler's hand. He longed for reassurance that it was okay for him to be there. Josh's ears pounded along with his heart the moment that Tyler kneeled down.
"Can you hold these for me? I forgot to put them away." Tyler spoke for Josh's ears only, winking at him. Their fingertips graze lightly as Josh pulls the rosary beads  close to him quickly, nodding to Tyler in promise.

Tyler brushed his hand along a few others' before standing up again and grasping the mic. "For those who find comfort in chaos, we're shaking things up tonight. The setlist says this next track should be Trapdoor, but I'm really feeling Air Catcher right now." He crowed into the microphone, glancing back at Josh.

Tyler was a totally different person when he was on stage, his walls came down to reveal his raw emotions but more surprisingly he treated Josh like a friend. There was also the outstanding chanting chorused by the crowd who was swallowed by loud sounds and brilliant light displays. Man, Josh really did miss Tyler's concerts back in 2007. Josh forced that thought back out of his mind, he didn't want to think about how Tyler had treated him back at the party.

He wanted to stick with this Tyler, who whenever he didn't need his piano he would get up and close to the crowd, letting the force of their energy crash over him. Josh realised that he was wrong about how he'd seen Tyler. The Tyler that he remembered was still here, the only difference was that Josh knew him better as a stuck up singer and less of his stage persona. But maybe, just maybe, the stage persona he displayed was the real Tyler Joseph afterall.