A couple weeks have passed since Josh and I spoke about my last encounter with Nick. We also talked about the tour, which was going to begin soon with some festivals before. Well, now we were on our way to one of the festivals.
After packing up what we needed, we left our hometown and traveled to Austin, Texas, where the festival was going to take place. Josh mentioned some of the artists that were performing there besides them. Some of them I knew, like Panic! At the Disco and Fall Out Boy, which were also some good friends of mine. Others, I've heard about them, but never met them, like Halsey or Chvrches. Honestly, I was pretty excited to go there. I've never gone to a festival with so many artists and bands, or any festival, for that matter.
When we arrived to the place, Josh and Tyler went backstage with their crew to set things up while Jenna and I took a look around the place. I could hear a DJ's music playing in the distance, but we didn't bother to check them out. Instead, we searched around the place, looking at all the stands that were selling merchandise from all of the artists.
"Man, this looks awesome. I've never gone to a festival with this many people," Jenna commented.
"I've actually never gone to a festival, but so far it seems really cool," I replied.
"Yeah. Hey, wanna get a drink?" Jenna asked. "The weather's gonna get really hot soon, so let's buy something before the line gets too long, alright?"
"Sounds good. I think the drinks were over there," I said, pointing at one of the stands.
We made our way to the stands, getting in the line and ordering some sodas. We paid for them after they handed them to us, then started made our way to where the boys were so we could talk to them. It would take us a good ten minutes, since we managed to get a big gap between us and the stage. Not to mention the fact that more and more people were arriving, which made it a bit more difficult to get through.
As we were strolling around the place, we heard a high-pitched scream that seemed to have come from a young girl, which caught our attention. "Oh, my God! I can't believe it!"
Jenna and I both turned around at the same time, looking curiously at the screaming girl who was accompanied by a few of her friends before we realized that she was looking straight at us.
When we turned our heads to look at her, the other girls recognized us, as well, and their eyes instantly widened as they all brought a hand up to cover their mouths to avoid letting their screams out.
Both Jenna and I started smiling, waving at the girls as they slowly approached us, keeping their hands over their lips. One of them built up the courage to take her hand away from her mouth and spoke in a soft, shy voice. "Oh, my God. It really is you. Hi!"
"Hey! How are you all?" I asked kindly, my smile widening.
"Uh-uh, we're, um, we're really good. Sorry for screaming, uh, I was just too excited. I'm sorry if I embarrassed you or something," she apologized.
"Don't be. We're happy you guys came here. How's everything been so far?" Jenna questioned them with a grin.
"It's been pretty great," one of the other girls answered. "A little boring, maybe, but then Allie saw you guys. We didn't believe her, until you turned around and I probably died a little on the inside. You guys are awesome, by the way."
I blushed a little, since I still haven't gotten used to the fans giving me compliments. "Thank you," I responded shyly, almost too quiet for the girls to hear.
"You are literally the cutest human being ever. After Tyler and Josh, of course. You're so pretty, too! I'm so jealous of you," another girl said to me.
"Yeah, you two are beautiful!" the girl called Allie said.
"Thanks so much, Allie." Jenna smiled.
"So how have Josh and Tyler been doing? Have they already arrived?" the second girl asked.
"Yeah! They're setting up their stuff backstage. We were actually on our way there, so..."
"Oh, oh! Yeah, okay! Sorry. It was amazing meeting you two!" Allie said.
"Yeah, thank you so much for talking to us!" the third girl said.
I chuckled. "We should be the ones thanking you. Uh, anyways, we'll see you around! Bye, guys!"
We sent them one last wave before turning around and walking away.
"Oh, my gosh, I thought I was going to explode," I admitted to Jenna.
She let out a laugh in amusement. "Why?"
"Because, I barely know how to talk to people that I'm friends with. And also they were so nice, my cheeks probably got as red as a freaking tomato," I answered.
"Oh, I remember that feeling. Don't worry about it; you'll get used to it after talking more and more to them," Jenna reassured.
"Yeah, okay. Thanks."
"No problem."
-*-
"[Nameee]!" Josh called, hugging me from behind.
"Hey, Jish. How are you doing?" I asked, giggling.
"I'm going great. Nervous, jumpy. Drank a ton of Red Bull. You?"
"I'm fine. Talked to some fans on the way here. And don't worry, you'll be fine," I attempted to reassure him, turning around to face him. I gazed into his brown eyes, which were now surrounded by red eyeshadow.
A smirk formed on Josh's lips, keeping his hands on my waist as he stared into my [e/c] orbs. "Man, I love you."
Smiling, I got on my tip-toes and lightly pecked Josh's mouth, resting my arms around his neck. "I love you more."
"Hey, lovebirds, where were you?" Tyler asked, interrupting our little moment.
"Uh- we were... here," I answered.
"Well, I'm sorry I have to do this, but I'm gonna have to borrow our boyfriend for a bit. Josh, follow me. [Name], we'll talk to you later. See ya." Tyler took a hold of Josh's tattooed arm, dragging him away from me as the red-haired boy never took his eyes off my own.
I flashed him a small smile before he was completely out of my sight. Taking my phone out of my pocket, I checked the time and noticed there were still a couple of hours before twenty one pilots had to perform. Still, I'll leave them alone since they still have got some stuff to set up.
Technically, I wasn't actually going to take pictures of the festival; I was hired as the photographer for their tour, but me being the person I am, I still brought a small camera with me to take some pictures. In fact, it was the camera that Josh and I had gotten in [fav/European/city]. I was carrying it around with me at all times, sometimes taking pictures of the place, me and Jenna, or the artists performing.
A few minutes later, the DJ's music finally ended and he bid good-bye to his audience, telling them that he was incredibly glad to be here. After that,the music of "Pheonix" started playing and Fall Out Boy came on stage.
For a couple hours, I wandered around the whole festival, trying to be less and less shy with the fans. Jenna was nowhere to be seen, so I was forced to talk to people alone. In a way, that was a good thing, since now I had to learn on my own how to socialize with people who I don't know. I also enjoyed some of the music and talked to some of the artists, and even managed to get some selfies with Brendon and Melanie Martinez, who I just found out had also come to the festival. Now that I was less shy, I was able to talk to her a little and we even followed each other's instagram and twitter accounts.
Later on, I walked back to where Tyler and Josh were supposed to be. Looking around, I greeted some of the crew members and asked one of them if he knew where Josh was.
"Uh, I think he's over there setting up his drums," the crew member, Mark, answered, pointing at the direction where he thought Josh was.
I thanked him then jogged off to the direction Mark pointed at. Fortunately, I did find him, but he wasn't even paying attention to his drums. He was talking to one of the artists that had come here. I couldn't quite place my finger on her name, so I walked over to them, immediately catching Josh's attention.
"[Name]! Hey, I'm so glad you're here," Josh confessed. "I want you to meet a friend of mine. We've known each other for a while now, but I never got the chance to introduce you guys to each other. [Name], this is Halsey. Halsey, this is my beautiful girlfriend, [Name]."
"Hi, nice to meet you," I greeted with a friendly smile, stretching my hand out.
"Yeah! So nice to meet you, too," Halsey replied, taking my hand and shaking it once before letting go. "I swear, Josh could not stop talking about you when I got here. Seems like you two are pretty happy together."
Josh's lips turned to a smile, his hand reaching out and taking my hand in a gentle hold. I looked up at him, showing nothing but happiness and giving his hand a light squeeze.
"Anyways," Halsey interrupted. "I just came by to say hi. We haven't seen each other in, like, forever, so I had to come by and take a look at this boy's new girl. You look adorable together, by the way. See ya. Josh, we'll be in touch."
After that, she walked away, leaving Josh and I alone.
"So..."
"So..."
"When are you two gonna perform?" I asked awkwardly, not knowing what else to say.
"After Melanie, there's Halsey, then Panic!, and then us, so that'll be in, like..." He counted with his fingers. "Three hours and a half, I think. Then, the festival's over and we'll go home."
"Oh, okay," I answered.
"We're thinking of hanging out at a hotel and maybe talk to some fans, but it's all up to you and Jenna. Tyler and I don't mind and neither does the crew, so it's your choice," Josh added.
"Oh," I let out. "Yeah, that sounds fun. I don't mind. Actually, I've been talking to some more people outside."
"Really?" Josh asked, grinning. "And?"
"They were really nice. I'm slowly getting less and less nervous talking to them, so that's good. Your fans really love you, by the way."
"Yeah, I know. That's why we always give them our best. I hope they like our performance tonight," Josh said, sounding a little nervous.
"I'm sure they will," I assured. "You're going to be amazing, like always. I know it."
"Thank you, my Princess." He brought his hands up to the sides of my face and gave me a small peck on my forehead. "Thank you for being here with me."
"There's no other place that I'd rather be," I said.
Josh smiled at me, then looked back at his drums. "Um, I think I'm gonna get back to my drums. I keep getting distracted, so I better work on it now. What are you planning on doing right now?"
"To be honest, I have no idea. I'll probably go and find Tyler and try to annoy him as much as I possibly can," I answered.
"Great, you do that. I'll be here if you need anything, alright?" Josh asked.
"Yep. See ya." I sent a wave at his direction before turning away and searching for my brunet friend.
Eventually, I found Tyler -who now had his neck and hands covered in black paint- walking around with Jenna at his side. I grinned widely, making my way to them. A smile spread on their faces once they saw me.
"[Name], hey!" Jenna waved.
"So? What do you think?" Tyler asked excitedly. "This is your first festival, correct?"
"Yeah, and it's been really great! There's so many nice people," I stated, receiving small nods of agreement from the couple.
"Are you guys ready to perform?" I asked, trying to make conversation.
"This is the biggest festival we've had in a while, but I'm sure we'll do just fine," Tyler assured me. "By the way, have you talked to Josh? He said he wanted to talk to you."
"Yeah, I talked to him," I responded. "He's a bit nervous, but like you said, you guys will do just fine."
Tyler nodded once again, looking around the place for a few moments before turning back to me. "How about you and Jenna go and enjoy the festival? [Name], you could take some pictures of the place if you want, maybe talk to some fans."
"Alright, sure. Come on, Jenna." I walked away from Tyler, soon followed by a really cheerful Jenna. I was kind of disappointed I didn't get the chance to bother him, but, oh, well. Maybe some other time when he's not so busy.
Hours passed, and if I'm honest, I did get bored from time to time. The artists had gathered a large crowd, so it was pretty hard to see them well. We could've always gone backstage and see them from there, but we prefered to walk around the place instead.
Soon enough, the day turned to night and Josh and Tyler were about to perform. Jenna and I ran backstage as quickly as we could without bringing too much attention to ourselves, eager to see the two boys play. Thankfully, we arrived just in time to wish them luck.
"I love you. Oh, and remember: you'll be great," I told Josh once again, planting a small kiss on his lips.
"Thank you, [Name]. I love you, too." That was the last thing he said before Tyler dragged him by the arm to go onstage.
Josh sat down on his stool and grabbed his drumsticks, waiting for the first song to start.
Once the music of "Heavydirtysoul" played, the crowd started screaming like crazy. Like before, there was a huge crowd, which made me feel thankful that I'll never have to be in front of a crowd that big.
Jenna and I watched the whole performance, singing along to songs sometimes, other times dancing to it playfully, or taking snapchats of Josh and Tyler. Every time they finished a song, we'd cheer as loud as we could, and sometimes, we'd catch a glimpse of either Josh or Tyler flashing a grin at the both of us.
It was now near the end, and before playing "Trees" to end the performance, Tyler took out his ukelele and started playing the notes of "Drunk in Love". The fans started screaming in excitement, and started singing along with Tyler. Jenna and I sang along to it, too.
Unexpectedly, Tyler then switched to "Can't Help Falling in Love". The crowd sang it with him soon after, so I guess he did this quite often. Jenna sang it, too. It took me a few seconds before I started singing it, as well, never taking my [e/c] eyes off Josh.
'Wise men say, "Only fools rush in"
But I can't help falling in love with you...'
As I sang, I noticed Josh gazing at me, mouthing the lyrics of the song in my direction. I smiled at him, mouthing back to him "I love you."
A smile was plastered on Josh's lips, and when the song ended, he turned his attention back to the crowd, leaving me grinning like a total idiot.
After playing "Trees", Tyler and Josh said goodbye to their fans, ending the performance with, "We're twenty one pilots and so are you. Thank you."
When they walked over to us, Jenna and I wrapped them in a big group hug, not caring about damping our clothes with their sweat from jumping around a lot.
"You guys were amazing," Jenna complimented.
"Yeah," I agreed. I turned to Josh. "Told you you were gonna be great."
In return, Josh flashed a smile at me and gave me a kiss on the forehead. I smiled back up at him, giving him another tight hug, which he quickly gave back.
"So, shall we go now?" Jenna asked, looking a little bit sleepy.
"Yep, I'm tired," Tyler answered, followed by a small "yeah" from Josh.
~*~
After the festival had finished, we took a cab to a hotel nearby. Exhausted, Josh flopped down on the bed face down, not even bothering to change into more comfortable clothes.
I rolled my eyes at him since he had taken all the space in the bed and didn't allow me to lay down. Walking over to him tiredly, I gave his shoulder a small poke. "Hey, Josh, mind moving a little bit? You're occupying all of the bed."
"No can do. Too tired," Josh responded in a muffled voice as he sank his face deeper into one of the pillows.
Rolling my eyes once again, I sat on top of him, shaking his shoulder as I did so. "Come on. If you don't change right now, I will throw you off the bed."
"But I'm tired," he whined in a childish voice, which made me groan loudly.
"I don't care. Change," I ordered in a motherly tone, crossing my arms to add to the effect.
"If you get off me," he replied.
"Alright," I said, getting up.
Moments passed before Josh gave a long, heavy sigh and lifted himself off the bed, leaving the room to take out some sweatpants and a t-shirt from his suitcase. He went inside the bathroom and locked the door while I let out a loud sigh and got my own clothes, as well. Since the bathroom was occupied, I closed the curtains and changed in the bedroom. After changing, I pulled my hair up and heard the bathroom door open, a sleepy Josh walking right into the bedroom with half-open eyes.
"Tired?" I asked, pulling off the fancy duvet and sitting down on the bed.
"Yep. Goodnight, [Name]. I'll see you tomorrow," he said, lying down beside me and pulling the blanket over his body.
I smiled at him, then lied down, too. I turned off the lamp on my nightstand and moved closer to Josh, who in response snaked an arm around my waist, holding me close to him as we both drowned in the shadows of our mind.
"I love you, Josh."
"I love you, too."