The alarm clock went off at 7am sharp. With a grunt, Joshua rolled in bed and reached out his hand to turn it off, cursing softly under his breath. That damn thing was too loud, and his head was pounding. If the teenager boy knew what it felt like to be hangover, he would probably have regretted drinking so much last night, swearing he would ban any alcoholic beverage for the rest of his life. But Josh had never drank alcohol - except for the few gulps of wine when his mom wasn't looking - and he wasn't about to start.
Instead, and despite already feeling sick the day before, he had spent all evening and a small part of the night trying to make his Gift work like it was supposed to. He had gathered every single picture of Mark he owned - and that wasn't many - and thought of every memory, good or bad, he had had with him. He had focused, focused, focused, so much that his vision had felt blurry at some point from closing his eyes too tight for too long. Oh, he had felt things, that was for sure. But Josh suspected the smiles and feelings of joy were just the remnants of a friendship he never realized he had missed.
With his head throbbing, Josh got ready for school. He could have asked his mom to stay home again, but he didn't want her to worry too much. Moreover, he sensed that maybe a day at school, where Mark used to be every day as well, might help his research. Who knew? Maybe someone else there had something to hide, or knew something about Mark that Josh didn't. Josh just hoped he would be able to focus enough despite the migraine that was threatening his well-being.
The headache didn't disappear, though, and when he reached the school full of troubled teenagers that were just thinking too much, it only accentuated. Josh felt like an old radio buzzing with white noise, unable to reach a frequency that would give him a proper sound of what was going on around here. Automatically, Josh raised his hands to his temple, a way to ease the pain, but as he was crossing the alley towards the main entrance, he felt something.
Stopping dead in his tracks, he looked around, scrutinizing every face he would come across, until he reached a group of friends, standing in a circle on the right corner of the door. His old group of friends, Ethan the tallest of them all. The boy, usually kind of a show off, was weirdly quiet this morning, hiding behind dark sunglasses despite the cold December air. Squinting his eyes, Josh noticed the bruises on his chin, the swollen bottom lip, and suspected the shades were yet another tool to hide wounds from a fight.
As if feeling Josh's eyes on him, Ethan turned his head towards him, and Josh knew he was looking right into his eyes, despite the blackness of his glasses. Josh knew, because he felt. A massive wave of fear and pain crashed into him, pushing him back a little. While he stumbled, flashes popped behind his eyelids, puzzle pieces mixed together in the wrong order.
Darkness. Dust on feet. Abandoned warehouses. Uncomfortableness. Fear. Adrenaline rush. Boys running around, as fast as their feet could carry them, most likely to avoid something. Run. Faster, faster! Fear. Fear fear fear and Josh was back in his own skin.
Fear left his body as quickly as it entered, leaving room for a feeling just as strong and destroying: anger. Josh could feel the blood running up to his head, burning his skin under the weight of wrath coursing through his veins. Clenching his fists in an attempt to control his anger rush, Josh started walking, then jogging towards who used to be his best friends, pushing other people along the way and not even apologizing. He didn't have time for that.
Ethan saw him coming, even if he didn't know what exactly enticed Josh to do so. They weren't friends anymore. He didn't see the angry vein pumping on the side of his forehead, or the fists clenching so hard on themselves, turning Josh's knuckles as white as snow. He did see stars, though, when Josh pushed him back against the wall with such strength it whooshed the air out of his lungs.
"What did you do?" he yelled, their faces so close Josh could feel Ethan's hot breath tickling his skin. Unable to hold himself together, overcome with this anger he couldn't control, he grasped the collar of his shirt, pulled and slammed him against the wall again, reminiscing the previous year when the boy used to do that to him for fun. "ANSWER ME! What did you do to him?"
In the sudden movement, Ethan's glasses fell off, discovering what Josh had suspected and more. His right eyes was showing off a myriad of shades, from the usual purple and black to the occasional tints of yellow. The eyelid was so swollen Ethan couldn't actually open both of his eyes, but he did raise his eyebrows in a mix of surprise and fear. "What are you talking about, man?" he asked, raising both of his hands to the side of his head in surrender.
And it felt good to Josh to be in this position for once, to have the power over the guy that used to bully him. But the boy didn't have time to bathe in this glory, for his anger overpowered any other feelings he was experiencing. "Don't play with me," he spat with fury, "I know you're involved in Mark's disappearance. Where is he?" But for all answer, Ethan laid his hands on Josh's forearms that still hadn't let go of his shirt, in an attempt to push him back.
Josh was stronger though, and in a second, his hands had slipped to Ethan's neck, pinning him harder against the wall in a way that he was unable to escape from his grasp. "Tell me!" the boy insisted, oblivious to the fact that Ethan was slowly turning a weird shade of red.
"Josh!"
The boy loosened his grasp at Tyler's voice, turning his head towards his friend and finally snapping back into reality. Ethan, well aware of the boy's inattention, chose this moment to duck and escape, raising a fist that would have landed on Josh's cheek if Tyler hadn't been so quick to react. With a rapidity and strength Josh didn't know he had, Tyler reached between the two boys and stopped the clenched fist with the palm of his hand, causing the bully to gasp with obvious pain like he had just punched a brick wall. "If you don't want another black eye, now is the time to stop," he said with force and confidence, "and I strongly advise you to do so."
Josh raised an eyebrow. He had always pictured Tyler as a fragile human being. But the one in front of his eyes, showing such authority and strength, was a complete stranger to him. He kinda liked it though. For a second, it truly felt like his best friend was some kind of hero, a strange mix of Spiderman and Batman. But Josh wasn't the hero kind of guy, and he would much rather do business with Tyler Joseph.
But his savior, instead of actually helping him find out about what Ethan had done to Mark, was now dragging him towards the door. "Tyler," he insisted, "what are you doing? Ethan knows something, we have to find out!" But the boy was now pushing him through the doors and inside the school. "Tyler, are you even listening to me? I FELT IT!"
"Josh, tone it down will you?" Tyler whispered, his eyes furiously bulging out of his sockets. But he clearly didn't understand what Josh was trying to say, otherwise he would have done something, anything, to help. Right? He couldn't just stand there and watch. Josh would not believe that.
"Tyler, listen, we have to go back, we have to! I saw..." Josh let out a breath, panic starting to invade his mind and body now. He raised helpless hands to his head, scratching his scalp nervously. "Man, I even have no idea what I saw..."
"Josh! Shh!" Tyler went on. But Josh didn't hear, too busy he was rambling about his vision.
"...and they were running like they had done something wrong..."
"Joshua, will you just shut your mouth now?"
"...and fear, fear everywhere! Dude I swear he's in danger, I can-"
SLAP. Josh finally stopped talking, raising a shaking hand to his now burning cheek, red marks starting to appear on the skin Tyler had just slapped. The boy opened his mouth, then closed it again like he had words he wanted to say but couldn't find. Seizing the occasion, Tyler was finally able to spoke, and his tone wasn't light.
"Dude, what are you doing? Are you out of your mind?" he asked, visibly unhappy. "We're in a school full of people who can't hear things like those you have just screamed! They'll think you're crazy!"
"But-" Josh started, not knowing what to add anyway. He was starting to understand now, and felt slightly uncomfortable. He looked around, making sure no one was eavesdropping, before continuing. "But I've felt it, Tyler! I know Mark's in danger, and I'm pretty sure Ethan has something to do with it! We have to do something!"
Tyler rolled his eyes and let out an annoyed breath. "I know, Josh, and I trust you," he said through clenched teeth, "but if you keep acting like a mad man, they'll lock you up before we have the time to find out anything!"
Josh sighed, leaning back against the lockers to collect himself. Tyler was right. Josh overreacted, but the mere thought of knowing Mark was in danger, despite them not being the best of friends, was making him furious. Especially when he was certain that Ethan was at least partly responsible. Josh didn't know for sure the implication of his old best friend in this situation, and he couldn't tell exactly what was giving him this feeling. The images he had seen were pretty blurry and didn't show exactly what happened or where it happened. Josh had just felt it. And that was how the Gift seemed to be working for him. It was not an exact science, and the boy was still relying pretty heavily on instinct.
"Listen, dude," Tyler started again, now calmer. "I know this is troubling, and I know we have to do something. And we will, trust me. There's nothing I want more than helping you find Mark. But we can't do it like that, okay? We could use some discretion."
Josh nodded, fighting the urge to hug his best friend for being the smart one. The chill one. Ethan would probably have been dead right now if it wasn't for him. But instead of letting his impulse get the best of him, Josh raised a hand with a smile, expecting a high five that Tyler was happy to give him. As their hands clapped together, Josh slipped a small "thank you, bro" that made them both laugh, and just like two normal teenagers, they hurried to class.
"Well," Tyler whispered before they reached the classroom door, "at least we have a lead now."