#tyler tripped on josh's drumstick

[teale-sugarcookie]

Fighting Off the Vignette

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Fandom: Twenty One Pilots

Characters: Tyler Joseph Josh Dun Clancy (Twenty One Pilots) Torchbearer (Twenty One Pilots) Blurryface | Nicolas Bourbaki

Keons (Twenty One Pilots) Mark Eshleman Ned (Twenty One Pilots)

Additional Tags: DEMA (Twenty One Pilots) Regional At Best Era (Twenty One Pilots) Blurryface Era (Twenty One Pilots) Trench Era (Twenty One Pilots) Scaled and Icy Era (Twenty One Pilots) Clancy Era (Twenty One Pilots)

Language: English

Clocks change, people change, seasons change. Nothing stays the same forever. If you ever have a moment of doubt or feel like you can’t deal with what’s happening. Wait 5 minutes. Wait an hour, a day, a week a month, a year. Just wait. Everything changes eventually.

|-/  |-/  |-/  |-/  |-/  |-/  |-/  |-/

“Joshamillion, where are you hiding man? I swear I saw you come in here.” Tyler squints, looking through the dark space. It’s not pitch black, some light is getting into the room, but a lot of it is obfuscated in gloomy shadow.

He lets out a rather undignified yelp as he literally stumbles into, after patting it a few times, what is undeniably the shape of his best friend. “Hey man, are you alright? I didn’t mean to fall on top of you like that.” He gets a noncommittal grunt in reply.

After a bit more fumbling, he finds a space to sit next to his lump of friend. “So, something is wrong clearly. You don’t have to talk but I will make up stories until I land on one that I like the best.”

The lump sighs. This isn’t the normal sigh of fond exasperation but a bone-weary sigh of mental exhaustion.

“Josh?” The name cracks with an inflection of undeniable concern, causing the one in question to sit up from his previously slumped position.

“I’m okay.” A pause. “I’ll be okay.”

“Glad to hear it. What will you be okay with? I hope it’s not tripping me in the dark. I have delicate bones.” There’s a tiny huff of a laugh.

“We broke up.” There were some missing descriptors there that lead Tyler to mental puzzle through who exactly he meant by this statement. They play around so much with the way they phrase their partnership, their duo, themselves as a band, that for a moment he genuinely thought Josh meant the two of them had broken up.

Before any true concern could creep in, Josh nudged him gently, managing to look somewhat, no matter how faintly, amused in the dim lighting of the space they were sharing at the moment. That’s when it clicked. Josh had a girlfriend. Emphasis on had apparently. That made way more sense and helped him to release the tension in his shoulders he hadn’t realized was there but had likely clued his friend in to the fact he was mentally on the wrong path at first.

“That sucks.” That was an understatement. “Do you  want to talk about what happened?” He shook his head.

“It does suck and I don’t really want to talk about it. We’re still … well friends is a strong word probably. Friendly?”

“Friendly is good. Do you think you will get back to friends?” He looks down, studying his fingers with a focus usually reserved for when said fingers are holding drumsticks in active use.

“I hope so.” He says finally, looking every bit the image of a sad puppy.

“Well, you know how you can take your mind off it?” He looks at him, head cocked questioningly. “Tag, you’re it.” With those parting words, he pats his friend on the shoulder before scrambling up and away. He wasn’t much of a runner, and Josh kind of was, so he could only hope and pray his head start would be helpful.

Josh sat dumbfounded for a moment before his brain came back online and the chase began.

|-/  |-/  |-/  |-/  |-/  |-/  |-/  |-/

The backstage area looks much the same as many of the venues the duo has performed at. This is their first time at this particular location in this particular area though and it seems this fact has caused a bit of jitters.

“This is cool. This is totally cool.” Josh can’t quite tell if Tyler is making a statement or trying to get himself to believe what he is saying.

“Totally cool.” He agrees, turning to face his friend and gauge his reaction. He’d be lying if he said he was completely free of nerves, but he was confident enough in their abilities to be able to keep most of his reaction internal. Besides, Tyler has the harder half of this deal and him being nervous makes sense.

Since he turned to face the other man, he is easily able to see when his eyes dart in his direction, seemingly to gauge his reaction. There’s a brief moment of eye contact and he smiles reassuringly. He sees the other relax an infinitesimal amount but anything is better than what it was.

“Have I ever told you that if I’m ever nervous, seeing how not nervous you look helps?” Josh takes a small moment to be surprised, eyebrows raising slightly at the statement, before responding. (1)

“Not in so many words but I kind of got that idea.” Tyler stands up straighter, brushing off some imaginary dust from his shirt.

“Well, don’t let it go to your head or anything.” Josh just snorts.

“No, of course not. Only room for one giant ego and that spot is taken.” He gets the stink eye and he holds a hand in front of his mouth to cover up his snicker.

|-/  |-/  |-/  |-/  |-/  |-/  |-/  |-/

“This is both really cool and slightly overwhelming. I kind of can’t believe we have enough traction over here to be touring. The label didn’t like accidently book the wrong band or something did they?” Josh can’t help the quiet snicker that escapes him.

“Pretty sure it’d be hard to get us missed up with one of their other bands. Besides, I got this. I told you I’ve been out here before.”

“Oh yea, Josh the international expert. Alright smart guy, how do you say hello in Korean.”

“Annyeonghaseyo” Tyler holds a finger up like he wants to protest but he doesn’t actually have an argument. He probably should have asked a question he actually knew the answer to.

“You win this round sir.” Josh just grins at him as they continue their trek down the street.

|-/  |-/  |-/  |-/  |-/  |-/  |-/  |-/

“I’m going to make fun of you if you break the pen from tapping it so hard.” Josh pouts slightly and stops drumming with the pen. He hadn’t intended to starts beating it against the table but it was an unconscious action born from his nerves. Other than that, no one would have really known he was nervous as he was.

“Tyler, you make fun of me a lot of the time for a lot of things. I’m sure you’ll think of something else.”

“True, but we need the pens. What are you so anxious about?” He lets out a deep breath.

“There’s just, supposed to be a lot of people coming and I don’t want to mess it up. Usually, we preform first and that’s fine. I can do that easy. Today they’re just coming to talk to us. What if I say something dumb or what if my signature looks stupid.”

“All signatures kind of look stupid, so I think it’s okay.” Josh snorts a little bit. “You’ll be fine. If they really like us, they won’t notice if you say something weird and if they do just smile at them and distract them with your handsomeness, easy.” Josh rolls his eyes but he does relax a little.

“Thanks, sorry for being so anxious.” Tyler throws an arm around his shoulder and tugs him into a short halfway hug.

“Dude, you’re anxious like 45% of the time. If I was upset about it, you’d know by now. We’ve only been best friends for like four years. You don’t have to apologize for it. I also get anxious, just about different stuff. We gotta keep a balance. If we get anxious about the same stuff, then we’re in trouble. Jenna will have to come collect us from the service desk or something.”

“You’re right, sorry.” Tyler pinches him on the shoulder his arm is around and he jumps slightly in the chair.

“Cut it out.” Josh just looks slightly bashful but much cheerier than before.

“Thanks man, even if you do give questionable pep talks, it helped.”

“I live a questionable life style. I get paid to run around a stage jumping off of things and screaming. Most people get sent away for that kind of thing.”

“The jury is still out on the decision.”

“Wow, this is the thanks I get for helping you in the throes of crisis. I might need to consider getting a new drummer.”

“You’re gonna kick me out of the band after all that work getting me to relax?” Tyler seems to consider this for a moment.

“You know what, you’re right. You can stay for now. You’re on thin ice though, buddy.” He wags a finger at him and Josh nods, pretending to be chagrined.

After a while, the fan meet up finally started and the line of people that had amassed were finally allowed to come forward into the space they were waiting. It was amazing how many individuals of different backgrounds and ages had come just to see them. They signed autographs and took pictures, listening to stories of how their music helped people through tough times and good times both. Getting this opportunity to meet the people their music connected with really helped to solidify that this whole endeavor was worth it.

“Hi.” Josh cheerful greeted two guys that had just stepped up to them. There was no sign of the nerves he’d had previously.

“Hi Josh, hi Tyler. I’m so happy I was able to meet you guys today.”

“We’re happy to meet you too.” Tyler tells him genuinely smiling. He smiles back, expression wavering slightly with nerves.

“I just wanted to tell you, how much your music has helped me. It’s really given me confidence and myself and made me feel less alone. It’s even given me the confidence to come out to my family and friends.”

Tyler, was about to respond how happy he was that his music was enough to give someone the strength to do that when his eyes drifted over to the friend of the guy talking to him. At some point during his spiel, the friend’s eyes had gotten wide and his mouth was open in shock. That’s when it clicks. This was his coming out, right here in front of their eyes. Tyler glances over at Josh who looks frozen mid signature. After a moment of collective shock, he speaks up.

“I’m really happy to hear that.” He sounds sincere, if not slightly taken aback by the situation they found themselves in. “Do you guys want a picture?” (2)

|-/  |-/  |-/  |-/  |-/  |-/  |-/  |-/

“This is nice. It kind of reminds me of old times.” Josh turns his head to look at his friend and bandmate, a somewhat incredulous expression on his face, that is partially covered by the shadows of the dim light.

“What old times? The times from like two years ago? Are we calling that old now?” Tyler, ignoring the tone, nods.

“Yes, we’ve come so far. I remember it like it was yesterday.”

“It was yesterday.”

“Do you remember the time we played for that frat party and the police came?”

“Tyler please.”

“Or that time we played in a bar and the only people who were there was the staff?”

“That happened a few times.”

“Or the time_” Josh, fondly fed up with Tyler’s antics, jabs his fingers into his ribs and cackles at the near squeal the other man let’s out, the sound cracking through the quiet of the nighttime air like a whip.

“Are you quite done?” Josh asks with raised eyebrows, fingers posed to resume his attack if deemed necessary.

“I am so finished, completely done, yup. I don’t even like talking.”

“That may be the biggest lie you’ve ever told me.” He lays back down, directing his attention to the foreign sky and the constellations that fill it. “I don’t remember the stars being this bright back home.”

“Light pollution.” Is the simple response, as he settles back into a gazing position as well.

“That makes sense. Oh look, a shooting star.” He points at the astral body, streaking its way across the dark speckled sky. His eyes shut and his lips move slightly in a silent wish. After a moment, they open again and he looks over at Tyler. “Did you make a wish.”

“Yes, of course. Can’t miss out on free wishes.” He scoffs, like this is extremely obvious.

“What’d you wish for?”

“I can’t tell you; it won’t come true.” Josh ponders this a moment.

“I thought that was only blowing out birthday candles.”

“No, it’s all wishes … I think.”

“Just tell me anyway.”

“I wished we’d be together forever.” He meant for this to come out jokingly but it must have sounded too sincere because suddenly Josh is looking at him, soulful brown gaze locked on him in a mixture of mild shock and awe.

“Really?”

“I, no of course not.” He stumbled over his words slightly. “Why would I want to be stuck with you forever?” He keeps staring at him, not taking the bait and Tyler deflates a bit. “I mean, kind of.”

“How do you kind of wish to be together forever?” He asks, no judgment in his tone, only curiosity.

“I wished that we’d make it as a band and that we wouldn’t ever break up over something stupid, like some bands do, and that we’ll keep playing until our hips hurt and our kids are begging us to stop singing.” Josh smiles at him.

“Oh, that’s cool. I just wished for a pizza.” He laughs at the shove he receives. “I’m joking, obviously me too. It was my dream to play with you. I want to do that for as long as I can.”

“Maybe we do share a brain. I have more of it though, let’s be clear on that.” Josh just nods, amicable. “My half must have the part that tells you to fully dry off when I take a shower, unlike some people.”

“That’s such a waste of time tho. Air drying is fine.”

“You have to be touching the air to air dry. You get dressed and then your clothes are all wet!”

“It’s fine.” Tyler, let’s out a long-suffering sigh and they go back to watching the stars.

[bulletproofice]

Tyler Joseph - I’ll Try to Save You

Y/N - Your Name Y/EC - Your Eye Colour Y/SC - Your Skin Colour Reader: Female Warnings: Suicidal thoughts and mentions of self harm Word Count: 2846

3rd Person POV

Y/N and Tyler had known each other throughout high school and middle school. She had been there at his first ever basketball game. She had encouraged his music career and helped him practice for his talent show. She had introduced him to Josh and proposed the idea that he could join Tyler's band when the other two members had left. She had seen him through his darkest days. She had taken him on fun days out that she couldn't really afford just to see him smile. She would come to his window at night to bring him food when she knew that he hadn't been eating. She had been there at the sink when... you know. She had saved him in more ways than he could count.

Every time the other broke down crying, they would be there in an instant.

To Tyler's audience, he was best friends with Josh. But to everyone behind the scenes, Y/N and Tyler were closer.

Recently the two had drifted apart, Tyler and Josh were on tour whereas Y/N was still working in Columbus. A month had gone by and the texts that had been sent between the two could be counted on one hand. The singer yearned for contact with the girl he'd grown so close to, he didn't know why he'd let distance grow between them. He wasn't entirely dependent on her, but she was his rock. With every passing day he could feel his sanity eroding. The long hours in the tour bus drained his energy and trapped him inside his own dark thoughts with the silence. Of course, Josh was there for him. And he loved Josh. Just not as much as he loved Y/N. Not even close.

That's why it broke him so much when her number appeared on his phone screen as she tried to call him, it must've been about 3am back in Columbus so he didn't hesitate to pick up the phone. His heart instantly lurched as he listened to Y/N's frantic breathing and stifled crying.

"Y/N? What's wrong? Did something happen?" Tyler panicked immediately, praying that she wasn't hurt and that nothing had happened to her.

"I did something stupid... I couldn't help myself... I just feel so... so lost and worthless. I can't live like this Tyler!" The girl choked out.

Every ounce of colour drained from his face. Where Y/N had been there for all of Tyler's achievements and dark days, he had shared hers too; He had offered his hand out to her when he found her crying in the corridor during a lesson. He had held her as she cried for hours after being dumped by her first boyfriend. He had held her hair as she threw up all of the alcohol that she had consumed one night. He had taken all the razor blades out of her house and wrapped her arms in bandages after finding her surrounded by blood in her bathroom. He had taken her to her first ever therapy session. He had played her music to help her get to sleep. He had taken her out of her house on late night trips to sing along to the radio in his car as they sped through the city. He had gone camping with her family so that she wouldn't be stuck there alone. He had always cracked a joke wherever he could because he thought her smile was too beautiful to not exist. He had thought that he'd helped her get better.

"What did you do Y/N? Are you safe?" Tyler asked quietly, not wanting to provoke a reaction.

"There's blood everywhere... I stopped it for now... it doesn't hurt though Tyler... I thought it would hurt. Why can't I feel it Tyler? My world's crashing down around me, nothing's happening anymore. I can't do it. I want it to stop. It's been years Tyler. Nothing ever goes away." The last few sentences were whispered bitterly through shaky breaths, but just loud enough that he could hear it.

His eyes brimmed with tears as he struggled to find words to comfort her.

"We'll be in Ohio in a week, okay? A week. You only have to hold on for that much longer. Please Y/N. Stay with me here. I- We need you." His voice broke as he talked to her through the phone, cradling it to his ear as if Y/N could somehow feel it.

"What's the point. It's all meaningless. I'm meaningless Tyler, I'm sorry for calling you. I'm such a burden-"

"Never say that again. Not to me. Not to anyone. You're not a burden at all. You're so unbelievably amazing Y/N. Please just trust me."

Silence.

Tyler checked to make sure that he was still on the call and that she hadn't hung up. His heart stopped as the silence continued. It was violent. It was tearing into his heart and ripping each artery and vein one by one. His soul was being tormented. He just wanted to hold her. To tell her that she'd be okay. That she's loved. That she's more than what she thinks she is.

He heard a sigh through the phone.

"A week? You're coming in a week?" Her feeble voice was barely audible.

Attempting a strong voice to comfort her, he nodded, "A week. I promise."

"I'll see you soon."

She ended the call and he immediately sank to the floor and cried into his hands. He would see her soon. He could only hope that she'd keep her word and that he could see her at his Columbus concert. His mind was plagued with images of the past, vivid crimson flashbacks of high school. It only made him cry harder. But reminding himself that if she had to pick herself up, he knew that he could stay strong for the two of them. If he saw her when he was back in Ohio, he wouldn't hesitate to tell her just how much he loved her. He was going to quit avoiding the relationship topic and ask for her to stay with him. It made him sick knowing that he had to wake up everyday without her when he was on tour. He wanted her here in the crappy little beds that they had set up, he wanted to see her concentrated face smile during soundcheck. He just wanted her.

These thoughts kept him up for hours, running through his mind with a painful melody. It wasn't until his own clock hit 3am that he pulled out his notebook and sighed. He was restless and overwhelmed by emotion - the perfect conditions for a song. The graphite of his pencil touched the rough pad of paper; he knew what to write instantly.

___

The week went by quickly. Tyler did his shows with as much enthusiasm as he could muster, which wasn't a lot. Every time he was away from his phone he worried about Y/N. He was starting to trust that she wouldn't do anything whilst he was gone but he just wanted to make sure. He had spent every day since her phone call texting her and making sure she was okay. In almost no time at all he was waiting to go to the airport with Josh, wanting to get on the plane and back into Ohio. He had planned a simple day out for Y/N and himself to cheer her up before he had to perform the final concert of the tour.

He had prepared a special something as the finale for this concert, and he couldn't wait for her, along with the rest of the crowd to hear what he was going to sing. He had written a song entirely for her - then he would confess his feelings and maybe she would return them. Then he could comfort her as something more than a friend, if that's what she wanted. Because he was done hiding his feelings from her anymore.

Unfortunately, everything that could have gone wrong that day went wrong. Their car broke down on the way to the airport, meaning that they had to delay their flight, meaning that he and Josh wouldn't get back to Columbus until just before the concert. Tyler was heartbroken to say the least. He texted Y/N about the situation and sent his brother, Zack, to spend time with her instead. Zack had been checking in on her whilst he was gone, and had told him that she was doing a lot better than she had been before. Even though he couldn't be with her now, it made him happy to know that at least someone she trusted would be there to take care of her.

___

An hour before the concert started, he was pacing around the green room as josh tapped rhythmically on the arm of the couch with his drumsticks.

"Just relax man, she'll love the song okay. And she'll love you too. She already does. This will be the best finale ever, just you wait for it." Josh reassured him.

Tyler smiled gratefully but couldn't bring himself to say actual words, leaving him to nod to himself encouragingly. The adrenaline pumping through his body was loud enough to drown out most of his negative thoughts, it wasn't long until he had to go onstage.

___

Three songs in, and Tyler finally spotted Y/N in the crowd. Her Y/EC eyes had lost their vibrancy and the ghost of a smile haunted her face. She was stood next to his brother, Zack, and was still as beautiful as he remembered. The way the lights in the room danced over her Y/SC practically took his breath away. How she still managed to look so flawless he did not know. He continued to sing and play for the entire set, his confidence slowly growing for the finale song.

"Alright guys, I've written a new song to finish the set with. Is that alright for you?"

The room erupted with cheers and shouts and screams.

He took a deep breath and sat down at his piano, waiting for the synth melody to start playing.

"You say things with your mouth, flies and cobwebs some out."

He looked into the crowd and met his eyes with Y/N's. They were wide and interested. Her mouth curved upwards slightly and nodded encouragingly.

"I hear a second voice behind your tongue somehow." He smiled and nodded back at her before returning his attention to the piano keys below him. Then up to Josh, who grinned at him and continued drumming.

"Luckily I can read your mind flies and cobwebs unwind, they will not take you down, they will not cast you out. Out."

The song was going well so far - if he hadn't messed up by now, he was confident he wouldn't for the rest of the song, or he hoped not anyway. He only hoped that Y/N knew it was for her. She had to, right?

"Dear friend he we are again pretending to understand how you think your world is ending, sending signals and red flags in waves, it's hard to tell the difference between blood and water these days, I'll pray that one day you see the only difference between life and dying is one is trying, that's all we're called to do so try to love me and I'll try to save you."

The crowd was loving it, that was for sure. But with all their jumping and cheering, he had completely lost sight Y/N, hopefully this wouldn't matter and that she still knew that he was singing to her. He knew she hadn't left, he could feel her in the room.

"Won't you stay alive? I'll take you on a ride I will make you believe you are lovely Won't you stay alive? I'll take you on a ride I will make you believe you are lovely!"

He stood up from the piano and started jumping, encouraging his audience to do the same. He was grinning ear to ear. He continued to search for Y/N during what was left of the short instrumental piece, but had no luck in finding her.

"Your redemption won't grow stale..."

The rest of the song went beautifully. Some of the crowd had grasped the chorus and sang along with him, but by the time the last few lines had come out of his mouth he couldn't wait to get off of the stage and straight towards his friend.

"You say things with your mouth, Cobwebs and flies come out."

The rooms was filled screams and claps, he smiled brightly at the audience before speaking into his microphone for the last time.

"Thank you for coming everyone, I hope you had a great time! Goodnight."

Josh jogged over to the front of the stage and they bowed together as the lights dimmed. As soon as they were off he darted off to the side of the stage, only to crash in to the person he'd been searching for the entire night.

"Y/N! I'm so sorry about tha- are you alright?" His arms grabbed on to the girl's to make sure she didn't fall from the impact, but his attention was immediately drawn to the tears that poured down her face.

"The song... Tyler, it was beautiful!" She cried softly. His face lit up as he pulled her into a hug, his arms wrapping around her protectively. He burrowed his face into the crook of her neck as she leant into his chest. This felt... right. So unbelievably right. The way they both melted into each other so automatically. He loved it.

"It was for you, you know?" He mumbled into her ear. Time stood still as he waited for her reply, his heavy breathing from the performance had stopped completely.

"Really? M-me?" She breathed, pulling away from him slightly so that she could stare into his eyes. God, her eyes. Tyler loved those eyes.

"Yeah... I uh... after you called me, I just couldn't stop thinking about how much you... how much you mean to me. And I got writing and I wrote it so fast because that's just how I felt, you know? And uh... I said you... you should try to love me? Because..." he took an exasperated breath at his own incompetency to form sentences, but looking down at the girl in his arms showed that she was hanging on to every word. "Because lord knows that I love you- and not the platonic type of love... like, I love love you Y/N. I want to be there for you as so much more than a friend when you're sad, and even when you're not sad. I hate it when you're away from me and when I can't hear your voice, your laugh. Everything."

He looked down at her again, only to see that she was crying again. His heart dropped at the sight and he stepped back in case he had said the wrong thing.

"Y/N-"

But before he could say anymore he felt the girl launch herself at him, wrapping her arms around him tighter than she had ever done before.

"Of course I love you, Ty!" She mumbled against him.

Those six words kickstarted a raging fire inside of his chest. Those six glorious words. His smile grew impossibly wide as he cupped her face with his hand, rubbing his thumb over her cheek to get rid of her tears. Her nose and cheeks were coated with red now, making her more adorable than she previously had been. Tyler couldn't hold back anymore. He leant in slowly until his nose was touching hers and both of them could feel the other's breath dancing over their faces. Y/N was completely stationary, waiting patiently for Tyler to do what she had been waiting for him to do for years. And slowly but surely, his chapped lips met hers, enrapturing her instantly. One hand moved to the back of her neck whilst the other stayed cupping her cheek. Their lips moved in sync slowly, savouring the moment.

It was only once Tyler had run out of air that he pulled away, gently tucking some hair behind Y/N's ear. She giggled and buried her face in his chest. She felt more at peace than she had done in a while. She finally felt like she was home.

"Y/N?"

She looked up into his beautiful brown eyes, nodding her head.

"Come with us on tour next time? Please? I don't like being away from you." Tyler mumbled into her hair, only now realising how needy the question made him sound. But as he looked down at her, he saw her face decorated with a breathtaking smile. He'd forgotten how lovely that smile was.

"You don't even need to ask."

-----

So atm I’m just uploading my least cringe imagines from Wattpad to Tumblr

[blurry-fics]

Saturday

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1369

Author’s Note: This is it! The last day of summer camp. Regardless of whatever choice you made yesterday, this is the final chapter for everyone. This week really just flew by, huh? Anyway, enjoy the final day :)

*     *     *     *     *

“I don’t want to leave!” Poppy whined. Tears were already beginning to pool in her eyes and you hadn’t even finished packing up the cabin yet.

“But think of all the fun stories you’ll get to tell when you get back home!” you said, brushing some of her hair back with your fingers.

“I don’t want to tell fun stories.” She threw her hands up in exasperation. “I want to live them.”

You turned to Jenna, who was already shaking her head as she helped another little girl roll up her sleeping bag. Your entire morning had been spent listening to kids complaining about having to go home. It’s not like you didn’t feel the same - leaving the camp was always sad - but you got the point after the first three times they said it.

“There’s always next year!”

“Will you be here next year?”

“Probably!” you lied, figuring it was best not to add any more fuel to the fire.

This seemed to please her and she went back to neatly folding up all of her shirts. You took a deep breath and continued to walk through the bunks, helping the girls with whatever they needed. All of you were supposed to be up to the top of the hill in twenty minutes and it seemed like there were still a million things to do.

“Keep moving, girls!” Jenna said. “We don’t have much time.”

“That’s the problem!” one of them said.

It was going to be a long twenty minutes.

By some miracle, you managed to get everything done and still make it to the top of the hill on time. The girls tried to slow things down by walking slowly or “dropping” things, but you and Jenna found ways to keep them moving. There was a reason you called yourselves the dream team.

“Can I go say goodbye to Vulture?” Poppy asked.

“Sure, but make it quick.”

You watched as Poppy ran over to where Tyler was standing with his cabin. He bent down to give Poppy a hug, and when she came running back over she had the biggest smile on her face.

“Did you see that, Y/C/N? He hugged me!”

“I did see,” you laughed, handing her bag back to her.

“Y/C/N!” another little girl asked. “Are you finally going to tell us who you like?”

“Yeah! I want to know if it’s Vulture or DJ Spooky!”

You bent down a little bit, “It’s…”

The girls all began to jump around, anticipating what you were about to say.

“None of your business!” you laughed, much to the dismay of the girls around you.

“One day we’ll find out,” one of the girls grumbled.

You ruffled her hair, “I’m sure you will.”

The buses rounded the corner at the end of the road and all of the kids began to boo. You had to admit, it was pretty funny to watch all of the supervisors look around in disappointment.

“Alright, kiddos! We need to get you properly loaded onto these buses, so please listen for your name and wait with that supervisor.”

You and Jenna gave each of the kids a hug before they wandered off to wait by the bus. Once all of your kids had left to stand with a supervisor, Jenna linked arms with you.

“I can’t believe it’s over,” she said as the kids started to get on the buses.

“It went by so fast.”

Eventually, all the kids were seated and the buses began to pull away. Most of the kids stuck their arms out the window and waved to you as they drove away. A few of them even stuck their heads out the window and tried to yell to their favorite counselors, but they were quickly chastised.

“So,” Jenna said, turning to you. “Are you going to do it this year?”

“Do what?”

“Admit your camp crush! He’s standing right over there.”

“Oh,” you said, unable to conceal your smile. “I think he already knows.”

Jenna’s eyes narrowed, “I missed something, didn’t I?”

“Maybe,” you said, biting down on your bottom lip.

“Good thing we have the entire bus ride home to talk about it.”

Your girl talk was interrupted by Tyler and Josh walking over to where you were standing. Both of them were smiling, but they still looked exhausted.

“Thank goodness I can finally stop calling you DJ Spooky,” Jenna laughed, giving Josh a light shove in the arm.

“Hey, DJ Spooky is a great camp name!”

“Josh has way less syllables though.”

“Fair enough.”

“I’m glad to see you kept our deal,” Tyler said, pointing to your wrist.

You looked down at your wrist. After wearing the two bracelets for most of the week, you had basically forgotten they were there.

“Hey, a deal is a deal!”

“Still, it was brave of you to wear that terribly made bracelet,” he laughed.

“I’ve seen worse.”

“There’s the other buses,” Josh said, looking past you towards the end of the road.

“Already?” you asked, turning to look.

Sure enough, two more buses were making their way down the dirt road.

“I can’t believe this is it,” Jenna said.

“I know,” you added, turning back to the boys. “I’ve been going here since I was a kid and now it’s all over.”

“It’s not all over,” Josh said. “We still have one another, even if the camp is gone.”

“Exactly. You’re not about to forget all the shenanigans you got into last night, are you, Y/N?”

You pursed your lips and looked to the ground, completely avoiding eye contact with anyone. Jenna eventually elbowed you in the ribs and raised her eyebrows.

“Later,” you muttered softly, still completely aware of how hard you were blushing.

“Alright, I trust all of you to get onto the right bus,” the supervisor said. “But in case you aren’t sure, come see me.”

“I guess this is it,” Josh said.

“This is it,” Jenna repeated.

Josh held out his arms and you immediately rushed into his arms, holding him tight. Your eyes were beginning to sting a little, but you were determined not to cry in front of the boys.

“Take care of yourself, Y/N,” he smiled, holding you at arm’s length.

“You too, Josh. Don’t accidentally smack yourself in the face with a drumstick or something.”

“No promises.”

Tyler and Josh traded places. You threw your arms around Tyler and hugged him just as tight as you had Josh.

“And you better get that album to me as soon as it’s done, ok?”

“I will. That’s a promise.”

You stepped away from the boys and picked up your duffle bag. People were already beginning to get on the bus and you didn’t want to miss out on a good seat.

“We’ll be in touch, ok?” Josh said.

“You better!” Jenna said.

“Have a safe trip, you two,” Tyler added.

“You two, too,” you said, laughing a bit at your word choice.

You and Jenna got onto the bus, immediately finding two seats across from one another. Jenna grabbed a sweatshirt from her backpack and used it as a makeshift pillow against the bus seat.

“I believe you have a story to tell me,” she grinned.

“I will soon,” you smiled in return. “Let’s get on the road first.”

You turned and looked out over the camp for the final time. This week had definitely given you a lot to think about and you weren’t even sure where to begin processing everything that had happened. Even though you were sad about finishing your time as a counselor, this week had definitely been one for the books.

“What are you thinking about, Y/N?” Jenna asked.

You turned back to look at her and laughed, “Everything.”

“Yeah, that’s how I feel too.”

There was still lots of summer left before you started school in the fall and now you were even more excited about the adventures that were sure to happen. Hopefully more than one of them would involve Tyler and Josh. Who knew what would happen from here on out.

But one thing was still for certain: this summer camp had been the best one yet.

*     *     *     *     *

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