#nic's moh challenge

[blurry-fics]

Taken By Sleep

Pairing: Tyler Joseph x Reader

Warnings: Mentions of illness/death, hospital setting

Word Count: 3588

Author’s Note: This is my second entry for @ohprettyweeper​‘s MotH Challenge! Like last time, the prompt is bolded within the fic. Requests will be back next week! (pic credit)

You grabbed your bag from the passenger seat and closed the car door with your hip. There were still a few minutes before visitation hours officially started, but you hoped that the nurses would be nice and let you slip in a few minutes early. With Tyler’s condition getting worse, you tried to get in as much time with him as possible.

Your phone buzzed as you were walking through the front doors of the hospital. Without missing a beat, you pulled it out of your pocket and read the text.

Josh: Got a late start. Will be at the hospital ASAP

You finished typing out a response just as you reached the front desk. The nurse smiled at you.

“Y/N Joseph, nice to see you again.”

“You too,” you said, trying to put on a brave face. “I’m sure you know why I’m here.”

“I do, but visitation hours don’t start for another ten minutes.”

You tried not to let the disappointment show on your face. Instead, you forced a smile and headed down the hallway that you knew led to the coffee shop. Picking up a drink for you and Tyler would help kill time and hopefully cheer him up a little bit.

You arrived back at the check-in desk at exactly 10:59, armed with two warm drinks and a smile on your face. The nurse looked up as you gently set one of the drinks on the counter.

“There’s still a minute,” she smiled.

“My husband is terminally ill, I think you can make a sixty second exception.”

“ID, please.”

You grabbed your ID and slid it across the counter to the nurse. By the time she was done checking you in, the clock read 11:00.

“Have a nice day.”

“You too.”

You grabbed the second drink from the counter and walked down the hallway towards Tyler’s room. He was already awake as you slowly pushed the door open with your forearm. His face lit up as soon as he realized that it was you and not another nurse.

“Lovely,” he grinned.

You smiled at the nickname he had given you years ago. “I brought you some coffee.”

“You did?”

You noticed that the bags under his eyes had gotten deeper since you had last seen him yesterday. His hands shook a bit as he reached out to take the coffee from you, but you tried not to pay too much attention. Tyler hated when anyone brought too much attention to his condition.

“I got here too early and the nurse wouldn’t let me come see you yet, so I thought getting you a nice warm drink might cheer you up.”

“I appreciate it. Thank you, lovely.”

You walked over and took a seat next to his hospital bed. The chair was still in the same position that you had left it yesterday. Tyler slowly brought the cup to his lips and took the tiniest of sips.

“Josh said that he got a late start this morning but he’ll be here as soon as possible.”

Tyler nodded as he pulled the lid off the top of his cup.

“It’s hot,” he explained. “Hopefully this cools it down.”

“How was last night?”

“Fine,” he shrugged. “I didn’t eat much, but I guess that isn’t really news.”

You reached out and grabbed his hand, “You should try and eat, Ty. You need to keep your strength up.”

“I know. I’m trying. I really am.”

“That’s good.”

You gave his hand a light squeeze. He managed a weak smile before bringing the cup to his lips again.

“I talked on the phone with your mom last night. She said that they’re going to try and come visit again next week.”

Tyler nodded slowly, “She told me about that. All my siblings are coming into town.”

“Are you going to be able to handle that?”

He let out a weak laugh, “It’s family, I’m not really sure that I have a choice.”

You rubbed your thumb against the back of his hand and smiled. Even when he was sick, he was still putting others before himself.

“You know, I watched a movie last night,” he continued.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. I can’t remember the name, but you would have really liked it. I wish I had waited to watch it when you were here.”

“You didn’t know I would like it,” you reassured him. “Maybe I’ll watch it at home tonight and then we can talk about it tomorrow.”

“Ok,” he smiled and gave your hand a light squeeze. “I’ll ask one of the nurses what movie it was.”

Suddenly, he pulled away his hand from yours as he started coughing yet again. You quickly took his coffee out of his hand and began to rub his back. He sounded worse than he had yesterday, if that was possible, but you tried not to worry too much. Tyler was going to be ok.

“Sorry,” he muttered once he finally calmed down.

“No, don’t apologize.” You handed his coffee back to him. “You’re ok.”

Tyler was about to say something else when the door to the room swung open. Josh stood in the doorway, holding a variety of coffee cups in his hands. His face fell when he realized that you and Tyler already had drinks.

“And here I was thinking I was being original,” he sighed.

Tyler began to laugh, but it was short lived before he was bent over in another coughing fit. You grabbed his hand and began to rub his thumb.

“I got here too early and had time to kill,” you explained.

Josh nodded as he handed out the drinks that he had brought. The name brand coffee was a welcome change from the watered down drink that you had previously been sipping on. Tyler took a deep breath after recovering from his coughing fit and took his cup from Josh.

“What have I missed?” Josh asked as he pulled over a chair from the other side of the room.

“Not much,” you said. “I really didn’t get here that long ago.”

“How are you feeling, Ty?”

Josh leaned forward so that he could rest a hand on Tyler’s arm.

“I’m ok,” Tyler nodded.

You and Josh shared a knowing look. Tyler was never one to let people know if he wasn’t ok. He could have a limb missing and he would still tell people that everything was just fine.

“Have you been working on much music?” Josh asked.

“Not much,” Tyler answered. “Whenever I try to write, my hand just tires out too fast. I’ve got some good stuff up here, though.”

Tyler smiled and pointed to his temple, earning a laugh from both you and Josh. He seemed pleased by that.

“I’m excited to start working on the next album with you.”

“Don’t worry, Josh. I’ll be out of here and we’ll be working hard before you know it.”

You smiled, but couldn’t help the pang of sadness that shot through your chest. In the back of your mind, you knew there was a possibility that there wouldn’t be a next album. Tyler might never be out of the hospital again. It was hard for you to think about,

Tyler must have noticed your distress, because he reached over and grabbed your hand.

“Are you doing alright, lovely?”

“Yeah, I’m ok,” you nodded.

“Ok, good.”

Josh reached over and gave you a pat on the back as well. You took a long sip of your drink and tried to direct your mind elsewhere. There was no point in worrying about something that wasn’t even guaranteed to happen.

*     *     *

You and Josh decided to head down to the cafeteria around noon to grab something for the three of you to eat. Worries were still sitting at the back of your mind--as they seemed to be every day--but you were trying to make the most of what time you had.

“Are you sure you’re doing ok?” Josh asked as you walked. “You seem more out of it than usual today.”

“I’m just worried,” you shrugged. “He seems worse than usual and I can’t tell if it’s my imagination or not.”

“I think it’s just your imagination. Tyler seems fine to me.”

“You’re right. And the nurses seem pretty optimistic about his condition. I really shouldn’t be so stressed over this.”

“Exactly,” he said, pulling you into a side hug. “Remember what we said when he was first diagnosed?”

“No matter how much time he has, we’re going to enjoy every second together.”

“Right.”

“Right,” you repeated.

Tyler smiled as you and Josh walked into the room, now holding trays full of food. He carefully looked over his options.

“Are you going to eat?” you asked.

“I’m going to try,” he said as he reached for a sandwich. “This food looks pretty good.”

“Remind me to bring you some outside food tomorrow, Ty,” Josh said. “I’m sure you’re tired of hospital food.”

He simply shrugged, “There’s worse things to eat.”

“Like bananas.”

Tyler scrunched up his nose, “Yeah, like bananas.”

You laughed and grabbed the food that you had picked up for yourself before taking a seat back in the chair next to Tyler’s bed. He looked over at you and smiled.

“Did I tell you how nice you look today, Y/N?” Tyler said.

“I think you mentioned it,” you giggled, thinking of the numerous times that he had given you the same compliment already.

“Good,” he said. “Because you deserve to hear it.”

“You look handsome today too, Ty.”

“I do?”

“Yes, very handsome.”

He set his sandwich down for a moment and simply grinned in the direction of his legs. It was nice to still see him get so giddy over the simplest things, especially when everything around him seemed so dismal.

“What about me?” Josh chimed in with a laugh.

“You’ve never looked better,” Tyler said, still wearing the same dorky smile.

“Thank you.”

“Thanks for bringing me food, guys. This sandwich is pretty good.”

You reached out and lightly rubbed his arm, “It was no problem.”

*     *     *

“I should probably get going,” Josh announced. “Jim will be needing dinner soon.”

You checked the time, which to your surprise showed that it was already six in the evening. Time had flown by and you only had an hour left with Tyler before the nurses would finally kick you out.

“Alright, drive safe,” you said.

Josh pushed himself up out of his chair and walked over to the far side of Tyler’s bed so that he could give him a quick hug.

“Same time tomorrow?” Josh asked as he started to back out of the room.

“It never changes,” Tyler smiled.

“Great,” Josh grinned before turning and walking out the door.

He waved through the window before disappearing. You scooted your chair a little closer so that you didn’t have to stretch as far to reach Tyler’s hand.

“You know, I like when Josh is here, but I look forward to the hour at the end of the day that I get to spend with just you,” Tyler smiled.

You squeezed his hand, “I enjoy spending time with you, too.”

“I can’t wait until I get to come home again. I miss snuggling up with you in our bed. Especially when you fall asleep on my chest halfway through the movie we’re watching.”

“Things will be like that soon enough, Ty.”

He nodded, “I think about those moments a lot.”

“What moments?”

“Moments where the only thing that matters is you and I. Like when we got married. Or when we go on walks in the morning and the sun has just come up over the hill. Or right now.”

“Those are good moments,” you said, bringing his hand to your lips so that you could press a kiss to his knuckles.

“You know what the hardest part of all this is?” he asked.

You felt a lump form in your throat, but you swallowed it and kept talking, “What is that, Ty?”

“The thought that, if I don’t get better, I might have to leave you.”

Your eyes were brimmed with tears before he had even finished his sentence, “You’re not gone yet.”

“Not yet,” he smiled. “And I won’t be anytime soon.”

“That’s right.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

With a shaky hand, he reached up and gently brushed one of your tears away. You grabbed his hand and held it to your cheek for a moment, just enjoying being close with him. He smiled and slowly rubbed his thumb along your cheekbone.

The two of you sat and talked for the rest of the hour, reliving some of your favorite memories together or just talking about life. Aside from the occasional coughing fit, Tyler seemed to be doing pretty good. He was happy, to say the least.

Right at seven, one of the nurses popped in and told you it was time to go. You gave her a thumbs up and said you would be out in just a minute, you just wanted to say goodbye to Tyler real quick.

“I’ll be back right at eleven tomorrow, ok?”

“I think the nice nurse is working the morning shift tomorrow, so you might be able to slip in early.”

“You know I would be here fifteen minutes early, anyway,” you laughed.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, lovely.”

You bent over the edge of the bed so that you could give him a kiss. He held you close for a moment, claiming that he just wanted to admire you, before taking hold of your hand.

“I love you,” he smiled. He made a point of telling you every day before you left.

“I love you too, Ty.”

You each squeezed your hand for a moment before you let go and walked out into the hall. Tyler’s face had fallen a little as soon as you left the room, but you knew that you couldn’t stay.

*     *     *

You closed the front door with your hip and walked into the kitchen. Your arms were full of groceries that you had put off buying for weeks in hopes that Tyler would be able to go with you. Grocery shopping on your own had never exactly been a hobby of yours.

Tyler had texted you while you were driving home. Now that you were no longer occupied, you decided to take a look at it. It was a short text, but it made you smile nonetheless.

Thinking of you tonight (just like every night). I love you

You typed out a response and set your phone back on the counter. As soon as all the groceries were put away and dinner was made, you were going to watch the movie that Tyler had told you about earlier that day. It would help you take your mind off of not being by his side while also giving you a way to feel closer to him, which you were thankful for.

You hummed as you finished putting things away. It was one of the few things that made the house feel less empty.

*     *     *

The sound of your phone vibrating against the wooden coffee table woke you up. You hadn’t even realized that you had fallen asleep towards the end of the movie, but it explained why you were still on the couch in the living room at close to two in the morning. The endcard of the movie was shining on the screen.

“Phone,” you muttered as you reached forward.

You blinked your eyes a few times to clear the sleep from them. Your eyes scanned the name and your stomach immediately sank. The contact name was one simple word.

Hospital.

You hit answer call immediately and brought the phone to your ear, clearing your throat as you did so to sound less sleepy.

“Hello?”

“Is this Y/N Joseph?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Sorry to bother you so late, but we have news about your husband.”

“Is he ok?”

“Unfortunately, he passed away about an hour ago due to complications from his illness. Doctors tried to revive him, but they were unsuccessful. I’m sorry.”

You sat frozen in place, staring at the ground. Everything had seemed fine earlier today. Had Tyler even known that something was wrong?

“Is there anything that I need to do?”

“We’ll be in contact with you about steps to take from here.”

“Ok, thank you.”

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

It felt like time had stopped as you slowly reached forward and set your phone on the coffee table. All of the air from your lungs was gone, taken away in an instant. Your hands were shaking as you reached up and brushed back the hair that was stuck to your forehead.

You weren’t sure how long it was before you finally got yourself to get off the couch and walk towards your bedroom. Your legs felt stiff and slow, like they weren’t moving quite right. Nothing felt right, if you really thought about it. The world felt different, now that you knew he was gone.

The bed was cold as you slid under the covers and pulled them up around your neck. You no longer felt tired. Or sad. Or anything, really. Everything just seemed empty. But it was late and now you had a whole new list of things that would have to be dealt with in the morning, so you decided to try and get some rest.

All you could think of as you fell asleep was Tyler.

*     *     *

“Hey, come on,” Josh said, pulling the covers down off of your shoulders a little bit.

“No,” you grumbled, pulling them right back up again.

“Y/N, you can’t stay in bed forever. That’s not what Tyler would want for you.”

“Don’t you dare drag him into this,” you snapped, finally turning to look at him.

You know you looked like a mess. The last few days had consisted of nothing but laying in bed sobbing. It was the only thing that you could get yourself to do.

“I didn’t mean it like-,” Josh sighed. “I’m just worried about you.”

“I’ll be fine. I just need some time.”

“Will you at least come downstairs with me? I brought stuff to make you your favorite lunch.”

You felt the bed dip with Josh’s weight. He rested a hand on your arm and gently rubbed it with his thumb.

“Do I have to get dressed?”

“Nope, you can wear exactly what you’re in right now.”

“I’ll be down in a second.”

“Ok.”

You waited until you heard the sound of the bedroom door closing before you actually got up. Slowly, you shuffled towards the bathroom, deciding that you could probably do with a quick face wash and brushing out your hair.

You took a long look at yourself as you stood at the bathroom sink, still not quite wanting to go through the motions of washing your face. Your entire face was puffy from crying, especially around your eyes. The bags under your eyes were deep from barely sleeping and Tyler’s sweatshirt that you were wearing was dotted with stains from crying. It was a wonder that Josh could even manage to look at you, really.

You took your time making yourself look somewhat decent before heading downstairs. Josh was already in the kitchen, working on making the food for the two of you. Jim, who you hadn’t realized Josh had brought along, perked up when he noticed you come down the stairs.

“Do you want to take a seat at the counter?”

“Sure,” you mumbled.

You slid into one of the stools and rested your elbows on the counter. Josh managed a small smile and you wondered how he seemed so put together despite everything that had happened.

“What’s on your mind?” he asked.

“I just don’t understand,” you said, voice already beginning to break. “He seemed like he was doing well when we went to see him a few days ago, and then I got the call that he was gone. They said that he had more time.”

“They can’t always accurately predict those things.”

“I know. I just wish that I had known it was our last day together. I could have prepared myself or said more to him.”

Josh walked around the counter and pulled you into his chest. You were surprised that there were any more tears left in you.

“I just… I wasn’t ready to say goodbye.”

“I don’t think any of us were.”

“How am I supposed to move on from this? And keep living without him?”

Josh stepped away to hold you at arm’s length.

“We’ll find little ways to make it through. Then, one day, it might not hurt as much to think about.”

You nodded slowly, “There’s so much that needs to be done. His family and the funeral and the fans. There’s too much.”

“Hey,” Josh rubbed your arm slowly. “Right now you only need to focus on today. This moment, even. Can you do that for me?”

“Yeah, I can.”

“Tyler loved you. Never forget that. He would want you to be happy.”

You wiped away a tear with the back of your hand, “You’re right.”

Josh smiled and went back to making food. You took a deep breath and leaned back in your chair. He was right, the pain wouldn’t last forever. Things would just have to be handled one at a time.

Then, one day, you and Tyler would be together again.

[beanfic]

I’d Destroy Him

Pairing: Josh x reader (Reader is Tyler’s twin sibling!)

Word count: 1140

Warnings: Language (and I think that is it?)

Author’s note: This is my submission for the Music Of The Heart writing challenge that @ohprettyweeper had created! (go follow her, hehe)

Prompt: “Why aren’t you dating him?” “Because I’d destroy him.” “He’d be into that.”

“Josh is coming over today so you better behave!” Tyler, your twin brother, yelled through your closed bedroom door. You rolled your eyes knowing that he wouldn’t be able to see it and then smiled to yourself.

“I always do,” you sang back to him. You listened as his footsteps got further and further away. You flipped close the anatomy textbook from Hell that you were briefly skimming over to study for your upcoming midterm. You sighed as you closed your eyes and laid back on your bed. The thought of Josh coming over made you uneasy.

He had been Tyler’s best friend for years now, and since you and Tyler were twins, it meant that you got to spend lots of time with Josh as well. You knew Josh had feelings for you, it was obvious, and you weren’t sure if you felt the same way or not.

You were hesitant when it came to dating, especially if it involved dating a family friend. You’ve had multiple relationships in the past, but they all ended the same, with you breaking the guy’s heart as you told him you no longer felt the same. You were notorious for leading guys on, testing the waters, and then crushing their spirits.

You hopped out of bed and threw on a pair of leggings and a sweater so you looked at least a little presentable for when Josh was over. You inspected your face in your mirror, noticing all the little pimples that were starting to form on your face from the stress of school.

You sat back down on your bed and grabbed your laptop and opened it on the essay that you was due in a few days for your history class. You decided to work on that for a few hours which ended up only being twenty minutes because you ended up getting distracted by the sound of Josh entering the house. You closed your laptop and headed downstairs to see what the boys were doing.

“What is all the ruckus down here?” you asked.

“Playing Mario Kart,” Tyler said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“I should have guessed.” You rolled your eyes as you headed to the kitchen to grab a Coca-Cola Zero from the fridge. You studied Josh as he was focusing on the last leg of the race.

“Damnit Tyler!” Josh threw the Nintendo Switch remote that he was holding at Tyler. You laughed at his outburst, making Josh flip his head around to glare at you.

“Hi Josh,” you smirked at him.

“Hey, Y/N.” Josh’s ears started to turn red, and both you and Tyler noticed.

“Can I play a round?” you asked.

“Sure, here play with Josh while I take a bathroom break. That taco bell is really hitting me.” Tyler walked out of the room holding his stomach.

“Gross, don’t go into the bathroom for a while after him,” you teased, sitting down next to Josh. You purposely sat close to him so your thigh brushed his, and you could’ve sworn you heard Josh gasp quietly.

You enjoyed flirting with Josh because his ears would turn red, and the corner of his mouth would always turn up into a half smile making his eyes crease. That was your favorite thing about him, his eye creases.

“You know I’m going to win,” Josh looked at you and raises his left eyebrow as a way to challenge you.

“Is that a challenge?” You narrowed your eyes.

The game started and you played as Princess Peach while Josh played as Luigi this round. You started out in the lead, but Josh hit you with a blue shell forcing you to 5th place.

“This is so not fair!” You screamed as you both start the last lap. Tyler had now joined you both, but he was more paying attention to you and Josh than the game. Tyler always teased you about how you guys had feelings for each other.

“Damnit!” Josh stood up and slammed the remote on the couch as you crossed the finish line first taking first place.

“I literally beat you by like two seconds!” you boasted. Tyler did some slow claps, grabbing the remote back for himself.

“Now go back up to your room and leave us alone,” he spat at you but you gave him the stink eye.

“What if I want to stay down here?” you challenged him.

“Y/N, seriously.” Tyler’s voice got serious so you started to walk back up the stairs. “Just kidding, Josh wants you to stay down here!” he yelled back up at you. You turned around smiling, looking at Josh who was smiling as well. You shifted your eyes to Tyler who looked amused but annoyed.

The rest of the night was spent playing more video games, and postmating chipotle while watching the latest episode of the Bachelor. It was Josh and Tyler’s guilty pleasure, but you really hated their gross comments about the girls.

“Well, I better get going!” Josh stood up from the couch and stretched his arms. You couldn’t help but stare, and Josh must have caught you because he smiled at you. This time it was you who was blushing.

You and Tyler said your goodbyes to Josh, and right as the door closed Tyler started interrogating you about him.

“It’s so obvious how much you both like each other, Y/N.”

You shrugged, “He’s your best friend Ty, wouldn’t that be weird for you?”

“I already explained this to you, no. I want Josh to be happy, and he really likes you.”

Hearing this made your heart flutter. You really liked Josh too, and you wanted to take it to the next step as well, but you were afraid that you were going to lose feelings and hurt him like you’ve done to the past guys.

“I guess that’s true.”

“So why aren’t you dating him then?”

“Because I’d destroy him.” You cross your arms and stared at Tyler, who didn’t really know what to say at first.

“He’d be into that,” he smirked at you.

“Tyler!” You grabbed the nearest pillow to you and threw it at his face, causing him to fall off the edge of the couch he was sitting on.

“What? It’s the truth. I know you’ve had relationship issues in the past, but Josh is different. He likes the challenge.”

“I seriously can’t believe you just said that.” You groaned, covering your face with both your hands.

“C’ mon, Y/N! Just give it a try.”

“Fine. I’ll text him later and see if he wants to hang out tomorrow.” You became nervous, but you also haven’t felt like this for a guy in a while, and you just really hoped that you wouldn’t actually end up destroying him.

[ohprettyweeper-moved]

Music of the Heart

Writing Challenge Masterlist

Thank you to everyone who participated! I loved reading all the fics! 

I’d Destroy Him! by @beanfic

Glowing Eyes by @blurry-fics

Taken by Sleep by @blurry-fics

Boys Like You by @thewildthingslive

@razor-tothe-rosary @the-future-erin @adversaryproject -- when you get yours posted, tag me, I will add it to the list! 

[blurry-fics]

Glowing Eyes

Pairing: Tyler Joseph x Reader

Warnings: An argument takes place & some self-doubt from both Tyler and the reader

Word Count: 1927

Author’s Note: This is my first of two entries for @ohprettyweeper‘s Music of the Heart Challenge! This was super fun to participate in and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more writing challenges to do in the future! Also definitely give her a follow if you aren’t already! Anyway, the prompt is bolded in the fic and my second entry will be out Friday! :) (gif credit)

You idly fiddled with your sweatshirt strings as Tyler scribbled down some words in his notebook. The two of you had been in the middle of a nice conversation when he had abruptly cut you off in order to write down some idea that had popped into his head. It wasn’t anything new, ever since he had started the songwriting process for the next album, he would whip out his notebook to write down ideas anytime and anywhere.

“Did you think of anything good?” you asked, assuming that your previous conversation was old news by this point.

“No,” he grumbled as he snapped his notebook closed. “It’s just another lyric that doesn’t fit anywhere else.”

“Do you want to go on a walk or something? It might help clear your head.”

You subconsciously crossed your fingers, hoping that he would take you up on your offer. As much as you loved and supported him, it had been hard to pull his attention away from songwriting over the last few weeks.

He shook his head, “I just need to get one song done today. Or even a chorus. Something.”

It was hard to mask your disappointment, but you put on a smile. “Just don’t put too much pressure on yourself, ok? The best lyrics are the ones that come to you naturally.”

You reached out and lightly rubbed his back. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips for a brief moment before disappearing again.

“I just really want to make a career out of this, you know? It’s my dream. And in order to do that I need to be great.”

“You are great, Ty. I know you can make this work.”

He shrugged and grabbed his notebook. Rather than writing down lyrics, he began to draw in the margins of the paper. You hated to see him getting so down on himself.

“You know, Molly was telling me about how her cousin got a book deal. I think it’s a pretty big company too, but I can’t remember which one she said it was.”

Tyler stopped drawing and turned to face you. His eyebrows were furrowed, “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

You were a bit taken aback by his change of tone. Slowly, you removed your hand from his back and dropped it into your lap.

“I just thought it might give you some hope. People we know are getting successful. That could be you, Ty.”

“No, I get it. We all know somebody who knows somebody who’s doing great.”

“Ty, I didn’t mean it like-”

“Just stop, Y/N. You try to act like you know what I’m going through, but you don’t. You have a college education and a nice job all lined up for you. You could never understand.”

He opened his notebook and began to write down more lyrics. You just sat and stared the table, trying desperately to swallow the lump that had formed in your throat. Tyler had never snapped at you like that before, but he was too busy writing to even notice how upset he had made you.

“I’ll be upstairs,” you muttered.

Tyler didn’t even look up as you left the table. You wiped a tear away from your cheek as you climbed the stairs and made a beeline for the bedroom that you two shared. As soon as the door was shut behind you, you leaned against it and buried your face in your hands.

You hated that you were so upset over this. Tyler was just frustrated and you knew he didn’t mean the things that he said, but something about the tone that he had used while talking to you just set something off within you. Ever since the two of you had gotten together, you had tried your best to support him and his music in any way that you could. You had liked to think that you had at least some semblance of an idea of what he was going through, but apparently he didn’t agree.

You pushed some hair back from your face and began to walk the length of the room in some attempt to keep yourself from breaking down too much. All you needed to do was calm down a little and then you could go downstairs and talk things out with Tyler. He would feel bad as soon as you told him that he had upset you. Or at least, you hoped he would.

You walked over to where Tyler’s keyboard was tucked into the corner of the room, thinking of the countless times that you had sat on the bed and watched him play. Your favorite moments were when he would try to come up with melodies. He would sit at his keyboard for hours, trying out different notes and writing them down as he went. There was something so fascinating about watching him write songs.

You traced your fingers over the keys for a few seconds before you started to play, hoping that it would have the same calming effect as when Tyler played. He had taught you a few of his older songs, but they never quite seemed to stick in your mind. You had just remembered the intro to Implicit Demand for Proof when there was a soft knock on the door.

You immediately stood up from the keyboard and turned to the door, hoping that Tyler hadn’t seen you playing it. He opened the door just enough that he could slide in and then closed it softly behind him. His notebook was still in his hand, but he quickly set it on top of the dresser.

“Can we talk?” he asked quietly.

You nodded and took a seat on the bed. He sat down next to you and rested a hand on your knee.

“I’m really sorry about snapping at you earlier, Y/N. I know you were just trying to help me feel a little better, but my head gets so wrapped up in comparing myself to other people that hearing about their success just makes me feel even worse. But you didn’t mean like that and I shouldn't have gotten mad at you over it.”

You rested one of your hands on top of his, “Thank you for apologizing, Tyler. I’m just worried about you and want to make sure you’re taking care of yourself.”

“Yeah, I know,” he sighed, reaching up to run his free hand through his hair. “And what I said about you not getting what I’m going though… you do get it. Better than anyone else, actually. I guess sometimes I just get so caught up in feeling like I’m alone in all of this that I forget.”

“I’m going to have your back through all of this, no matter what happens. I’ll always be your number one supporter.”

“Thank you,” he smiled, leaning forward to press a kiss to your cheek. “Speaking of supporting me, can we actually talk through some stuff? I’ve been bottling a lot of it up and I just need to talk through it.”

“Of course.”

You moved further back on the bed so that you could sit more comfortably. Tyler did the same, although he scooted a bit closer to you so that he could rest his legs against yours. He fiddled with a button on his shirt for a moment before he began to speak.

“This new album,” he started. “I just want it to be perfect, you know? The last one did decent, but decent isn’t enough to make a living out of. And now Chris and Nick are talking about having to leave the band, and I don’t think I can do this without them.”

He pulled his hand away from yours and covered his face. You reached out and rubbed his arm as you tried to think of the right thing to say.

“Ty, that was an independently produced album. All you need is a label to work under. Your music is fantastic. It speaks to people. Do you know how many times I’ve listened to it on bad nights when I just need to hear your voice?”

Tyler moved his hands away from his face and muttered a quiet, “Yeah.”

“And wasn’t Chris talking about a drummer he knew that might be able to take his place? What was his name… Jake?”

“Josh.”

“Josh, right. You haven’t even heard this guy play yet, he might be even better than Chris. This could be good for the band.”

He shook his head, “I just don’t think that I can do music anymore. This isn’t what I’m meant to do.”

“Tyler Joseph,” you reached forward and put a hand under his chin so that he would look at you. “You have something special, alright? And I know it’s hard right now because you’re trying to write an entire album and that’s a lot of pressure to be putting on yourself, but you’re doing something amazing. The melodies and little fragments of lyrics that I’ve heard will make amazing songs. I just know it.”

“You really think so?”

“I know so.”

Tyler smiled and reached forward so that he could pull you into a hug.

“I love you, Ty.”

“I love you too,” he mumbled into your shoulder. “Thank you for never giving up on me.”

*     *     *

“Listen,” Tyler whispered.

Both of you stood silently on stage, listening to the hum of conversation on the other side of the curtain. None of the fans were aware that you were standing there while they waited patiently for the start of the show.

“This is crazy,” you said quietly. “That sounds like so many people.”

Tyler reached over and laced his fingers with yours, “That’s because it is a lot of people.”

You tugged on his hand a little so that he was close enough that you could wrap an arm around him. He laughed a little and rested his head on your shoulder.

“You made it, Ty.”

He gave you a light squeeze, “We made it. I couldn’t have done this without you.”

The two of you were interrupted by Josh joining you on stage. He smiled when he saw the two of you holding on to one another.

“They want us backstage in a couple minutes,” he said.

“Tell them I’ll be there in just a second. I’m enjoying this moment for now.”

Josh gave him a pat on the shoulder before disappearing backstage. Tyler was still leaned on your shoulder and you could just make out the smile on his face.

“Sometimes I wish I could just stand here with you forever. No worries. No responsibilities. Just you and me.”

“And all the fans,” you giggled.

“Yes, and all the fans.”

After a few minutes of you two standing in silence, Tyler finally stepped away from you. He kept your fingers intertwined as he led you backstage, away from the quiet hum that had once surrounded you.

“I should get up to my seat so that I don’t miss anything,” you said, fixing a loose strand of his hair.

“I’ll miss you,” he laughed.

You shook your head and planted a quick kiss on his lips before walking off with a security guard. As you walked, you couldn’t help but think back to the long nights spent watching Tyler sit at his piano tapping out the same melodies that he now played on stage in front of thousands of fans.

It was hard not to smile as you thought of how far he had come.

[ohprettyweeper-moved]

Music of the Heart Writing Challenge

Hello lovely people! 

I was going to wait till I hit 100 followers, but I was too excited to wait! Here’s the news (although you probably guessed from the post title): I’m holding a writing challenge! 

After discussing with my friend Ashley how few fics are out there that we want to read, I thought maybe this would be a fun way to get more fics out there for people to read. It’s open to fans of all different music genres, artists, and groups — and if you’ve never written fan fiction before, be my guest! 

Guidelines: 

Reader or “YouAU” pairing (that means you put yourself in the story). 

Pairings can be romantic, platonic, family, whatever. 

Fluff, angst, smut, flangst, smangst, smuff (flut?) … any fic genre is open. Please bear in mind that everything entered into the challenge will make the masterlist, but I generally don’t read heavy smut/kinks. To be fair to everyone, I’ve decided not to reblog fics for that reason — unless by the end of it I’m comfortable reading everything, then I’ll have a reblog day or something. Please list all warnings as necessary, and tag your trigger warnings! 

Not allowed: Rape, incest, dub-con, non-con, poly, minors involved in sexual situations. 

Sign-ups start today 31 January 19 and end at 11:59 PM on 15 February 19. 

To be included in the masterlist/potential reblog day, fic must be posted by 11:59 PM 31 May 2019. 

Choose from the prompt list below and send it to my ask box -- it’s easier to keep track that way. I will do my best to keep the list up to date when prompts 1-23 are chosen; 24 & 25 may be chosen as many times as requested. Please note the special instructions for prompts 24 & 25. 

Please tag me (@ohprettyweeper) in your fic entry along with #nic’s moh challenge in the first five tags. 

I think that’s about it! Except — please reblog and send this to your music-fan friends! Hope to see you in my inbox soon! Prompts and tags below the cut. 

“Everyone keeps telling me you’re the bad guy.”

“Why aren’t you dating him?” “Because I’d destroy him.” “He’d be into that.” @freddie-darlings

“Damn right I’m pretty.” “I said petty.”

“What have you been doing? Actually, don’t answer that, I don’t want to know. 

“Touch her again, I’ll kill you.” @razor-tothe-rosary

“I never want to look at you again.”

“Grab my hand.”

“What’s this between us?”

“I wasn’t ready to say goodbye.” @blurry-fics

“Can you two stop embarrassing me?”

“You’re a nightmare.”

“You ruined everything!”

“I’m not here actually. This is a project from … Mars … I moved there recently.” @the-future-erin

“Now that I made it weird, I’m going to make my exit.”

“And that’s how you ruin a life.” 

“I fell in love with him that day.

“I don’t like him, but he’s right.”

“Get out now. While you still can.”

“We can’t have a crisis — my schedule is already full.”

“You made your choice and I made mine. Just because you can’t live with yours doesn’t mean you should shame me for living with mine.”

“I had a flashback of something that never existed.” @adversaryproject

She didn’t realize she was becoming addicted until it was too late.”

“I never stood a chance, did I?” “That’s the sad part — you did once.” @dunjosephurieimagines

GIF/picture prompt for the musician of your choice. — If you choose this option, you must specify the musician in your ask, and have your submit box open for me to send you the GIF/picture. 

Lyrics. Send me your musician/group and I will find a lyric of theirs for your prompt. — Again, you must specify the musician/group in your ask, and have your ask open for me to return the lyric to you. 

Tagging for signal boost/potential interest: @adversaryproject @razor-tothe-rosary @blurry-fics @who-tf-stole-my-car-radio @dunjosephurieimagines @atc74