Bandom Bingo

Interview Questions

Pairing: Tyler Joseph x Reader

Word Count: 1212

Warnings: Angst

Author's Note: Sorry that this is a little later in the day than usual! I hope you enjoy it :)

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The information isn't even public yet. You don't need to worry.

Tyler twisted his fingers together, pulling at the skin and making his knuckles pop. He repeated the phrases in his head like a mantra, hoping that they would eventually stick. This was the only interview that they had to do today. He could make it through. He was prepared.

One of the cameramen gave a thumbs up and Tyler immediately put on his interview face. He straightened out, turning to Josh one last time. Josh gave him a nod and a reassuring pat on the back. It was enough to make Tyler's smile grow a little more. At least Josh was here with him.

"Rolling in three, two..."

"Hello, everyone, and welcome back to The News with Drew. My name is Drew and today I am joined by Josh and Tyler of the American rock duo Twenty One Pilots. Thank you for joining us today, guys."

"Thank you for having us," Tyler said. He tried to covertly wipe his sweaty palms off on his jeans.

The first interview questions were a breeze. He and Josh were bouncing jokes off of one another and giving interesting answers to the questions that they had already answered a million times before. As time slipped by, Tyler found himself forgetting about all the worries that he had in the first place.

"Alright," Drew smiled, flipping to his next interview card. "This next question is for Tyler."

Tyler nodded to show he was listening.

"There have been some rumors circulating lately that you've recently split from your long-time partner Y/N. Do you care to comment on that?"

He took a deep breath, thinking back to the answer that he had carefully practiced that morning.

"I'm not sure where these rumors are coming from, but I can assure you that Y/N and I are still perfectly happy together."

A lump formed in Tyler's throat at the end of his sentence, but he managed to keep his voice steady and his expression even.

"Well, fans have recently been spreading around this video that tells a different story. Why don't we take a look?"

Drew pointed to a nearby screen. A chill ran down Tyler's spine as a video began to play. In it, one of Y/N's friends was filming Y/N as they sat on the couch, curled up in blankets with a bag of cookies balanced on their lap. The video was short, lasting only a few seconds, but the caption at the bottom of the screen said everything.

Nothing like a blanket burrito and cookies to get over a break up!

Tyler's stomach dropped.

"That video paints a pretty different picture, if you ask me."

Out of the corner of his eye, Tyler could see Josh's hands squeezed so tightly together that his knuckles were turning white. Meanwhile his room felt like it was starting to spin. He took a deep, shaking breath and turned to Drew.

"Alright, you caught me," he said, forcing a smile and holding his hands up in mock defeat. "Yes, Y/N and I did split up a few weeks ago. It was a mutual decision, although both of us are still broken up about it, as you can see. All I ask for is privacy as we both learn to rebuild our lives apart from one another."

"Well said," Drew smiled. "I'm sure the fans will be happy to have things cleared up."

Tyler smiled on the outside. On the inside, a fire was burning.

When the interview finally ended and he got the ok that the cameras were off, Tyler wasted no time in getting on his feet and storming out of the room. Normally he and Josh hung around to talk to the host and thank the crew, but he couldn't manage it today. Ever since they had asked about Y/N, he felt like he was seconds away from completely falling apart. He intended to put as much distance as he could between himself and everyone else before that happened.

Relief washed over Tyler as he realized that the tour bus was empty. He immediately went to the back, shutting the door that separated the tiny bedroom from the rest of the bus. Now that he was alone, the tears that he had so carefully been holding in finally spilled over.

He hated having to lie, especially when so many people were involved. The split from Y/N had been anything but mutual, leaving him heartbroken for the last two weeks. More than once he had come close to cancelling a show because he was having trouble dragging himself out of bed. And when he wasn't busy, Tyler was sitting in front of his phone wondering if he should call them. If he should ask for a second chance.

He never did.

Tyler wasn't sure how much time had passed when Josh finally stepped into the room. He quietly shut the door and shortly after Tyler felt the bed dip near his legs.

"I thought I was going to punch that interviewer for bringing Y/N up. Who does something like that?"

Tyler sniffled.

"I think you handled it really well, though, all things considered."

"Thanks."

"How are you doing?"

Tyler rolled onto his back so that he would actually be able to see Josh's face.

"How does it look like I'm doing?" he laughed.

Josh smiled and patted Tyler's shin. "I should have known."

"I just know that now that this information is public, it's going to be the only thing that interviewers want to ask me about. I'm not sure that I can keep lying about being over Y/N, Josh."

"I won't let them keep asking you those questions. We can talk to management about getting the breakup topic excluded from future interviews. It was just hard because that one came out of left field."

"No kidding," Tyler scoffed. "I hadn't even seen that video."

"That was probably for the best."

"Yeah."

"Also, I think we can agree never to do an interview with that guy again."

"Absolutely."

"Hey, why don't you come out and sit on the couch with me, Mark, and Brad? I think it would be a good idea for you to be with people right now."

"I don't know..."

"I think it would help cheer you up."

Tyler sighed. Josh was right, as much as he might hate to admit it.

"Alright."

Tyler slowly got up from the bed and followed Josh out towards the front of the bus, wiping at his eyes as he did so. Mark and Brad were already sitting at the table, talking while they sipped on drinks. Josh grabbed a Red Bull for Tyler from the fridge.

He got settled on the couch and tried his best to listen to the conversation that Mark and Brad, and now Josh, were having. They were talking about funny things that they had seen at the show last night, ranging from funny signs to people messing up the lyrics to the songs. Before long, Tyler found himself laughing along with the rest of them. Josh noticed and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

Little by little, Tyler could feel his heart beginning to heal.