Do you have any pieces that aren't necessarily fan fiction that you'd be willing to share? - Peachy
This was for a writing contest in 2016, and it is also the closest thing I have to a non-fanfiction piece that’s fully completed.The task was to write a small piece inspired by a song.I took first place.
Friday:
Tyler warily approached the podium at the front of his English class. His professor seemed to be disappointed already by his appearance; skinny jeans and a T-shirt. Of all the days Tyler has forgotten formal wear, it had to be the day the founder of the college was visiting, and as Tyler connected eyes with the pudgy business man he felt his knees wobble. He tried to mask his nervousness by fiddling with the microphone, but his professor saw through his phony facade.
“Jethro, this is Mr. Tyler Joseph,” His professor boomed through the crowded room. “He has prepared a special piece in anticipation of your arrival.” His professor’s cold eyes returned to where Tyler stood at the front of the hall. “Whenever you’re ready, Joseph.”
Tyler could feel his heart thumping loudly in his chest, beating in rapid unison with his breath. He swallowed hard. “My n-name is Tyler Joseph,” He paused to take a deep breath. “And I chose to write about my past and h-how it has motivated me to-to do better. T-to improve myself.”
His eyes fluttered down to his paper and he took one more shaky breath before beginning; “Trees,
“During my youth I struggled to find myself, my passions, and my mind. It was an uphill battle that only became more difficult when I broke away from my pre-made future.
"It began deep inside, rather than at the surface. Writing became a way to express my confusion and my self-doubt, and when I began playing piano everything seemed to fall into place. I gathered a few friends and we began a leisure group - if you will. We practiced covering existing songs, and soon after we began playing songs of our own. We landed a few gigs, some successful, some not so successful. But, we stuck it out and continued improving, until we reached what I thought was our breaking point. My band mates left me, and I discovered a boy.
"This boy later became my drummer and my best friend. This boy goes by the name, Joshua Dun; drummer of Twenty Øne Pilots. We clicked immediately, and after graduation we became inseparable due to our intense passions for music. And despite the self-doubt and slow climb to recognition, Josh and I found solace in creating.”
Tyler broke from his speech to look out among the audience. He searched for a familiar face, a face that could calm and encourage him. He took a deep, shaky breath and continued to scan faces, his heart dropping only momentarily before he caught sight of a supportive Brendon. His hair stuck up in several directions and he groggily gave Tyler a thumbs up.
Okay, Tyler thought, Okay.
“From our garage band in Ohio, we moved to stages across the United States. Canada, and Europe. Our voices took the world by storm and we saved lives, and created memories while doing so. Through concerts, award shows, tweets, and much more, we brought people together; we created a family. It’s crazy to think that our voices reached so far, but it quickly became reality.”
He broke from his speech again, this time to blink the surfacing tears from his eyes. He looked over the blank expressions of his fellow classmates and the disappointed eyes of his professor. In that moment Tyler felt himself falling into an anxiety attack, so he looked to Brendon again. His friend had sensed his panic and was raising his hands and lowering them slowly, signaling for Tyler to breathe.
Tyler cleared his throat. “Another reality that hit us was one that we were least expecting. One evening in our hometown, I looked at Josh and I knew. I knew that someday our voices would come to an end and the world would move on to other ones. Of course, I didn’t vocalize this thought because I decided it was best to keep to myself.
"Now, here I am four years later, reading an essay to a hall of English majors in a university; another place I never saw myself standing. Unfortunately, that means that the world has stopped hearing our voices, so we’ve stopped trying to be heard. It is a rough reality that came collapsing upon me, much too quickly for me to stop it. So now when I visit Josh’s family, we no longer discuss our success or our "fifteen seconds”, but instead we discuss the future. By doing so I have realized things; things I wouldn’t have thought about on a tour bus in Germany while eating tacos with Josh. I realized that you don’t need a microphone in your hand or a camera on your face to be heard, you just have to speak to the right people.
“I wish so badly that Joshua could be up here, at this podium with me so he could share his side of learning and growing, but his life has taken him down other paths; I still visit him often and tell stories and laugh. I’ll probably tell him about this speech too.
"There was, however, one place that I’ve refused to go without Josh. We built a tree house as teenagers, and we explored the forest, speaking to the silence in the trees, and I never found it quite fitting to go alone. Maybe we’ll meet up again sometime and visit the old tree house, because to me it wasn’t just a tree house. It was an escape; a second chance to get a hold of my life and put it to good use. It was in that tree house that Josh and I decided to produce our own albums, where I decided to share my message, where we agreed to never stray - no matter how far away life took us. Together we vowed to be strong and to help others be strong.
"But back to what this had to do with self-improvement; promises. Through our music I promised myself that I would keep fighting the good fight, that "you” too can stay alive, that “ending it” isn’t worth it because this pain is temporary. So if I had to wrap this up with a single thought, I would say: Never stop creating.“
***
Sunday:
Tyler walked alongside Brendon, sipping his coffee slowly as they made their way across town. They had just left Josh’s childhood home after saying a quick ‘hello’ to his mother. The boys had left Mrs. Dun’s house in good spirits after briefly sharing current situations and discussing their plans after graduation, but now they merely walked in silence, Brendon kicking a rock every-so-often and Tyler crunching leaves.
The silence was deafening and it had been driving Brendon absolutely mad. "Hey did you grab a Red Bull?”
Tyler nodded, tapping on the can in the side-pouch of his backpack. “Yeah.”
“That’s cool. He’ll appreciate that.”
Tyler nodded again.
“How long has it been since you’ve spoken to him?” Brendon asked awkwardly, scratching at the back of his head.
“Too long,” Tyler answered. “I hope he’ll be happy to see us.”
Brendon cleared his throat nervously. “Oh. I thought-,” He looked at Tyler, who stared back with furrowed brows and confused eyes. “You know what, never mind. I’d be glad to see Josh again.” He draped an arm loosely over Tyler’s shoulders with a smug grin. “Look at us,” He sighed. “The trio is getting back together.”
Tyler smiled, nudging Brendon playfully in the ribs. “Get your own friend.”
“Really?” Brendon mused. “Because I think Sarah wanted to go out or something-you know, I’ll come back later.”
Tyler feigned hurt as Brendon spun 360 degrees and laughed loudly into the thin fall air. “I hope you wouldn’t leave us,” Tyler joked. “I’m buying Taco Bell later.”
Brendon gasped suddenly, falling dramatically into Tyler’s side and causing the smaller boy to stumble. “Food,” Brendon whined. “I’m starved.”
Tyler raised his wrist to his mouth, speaking in a deep voice to his watch, “This boy needs a taco, STAT!” He looked down into Brendon’s dramatically closing eyes. “Hang in there Brendon.”
“I-,” Brendon coughed. “I’ll never let go Tyler.”
Tyler snorted, surprising them both, and in his rush to cover his mouth, Brendon slipped from his grasp and tumbled into a pile of leaves and sticks with an ‘oof’.
A chuckling Tyler bent to help his also snickering friend, but a sharp “Hey” caused him to stiffen his back and stand upright. The boys nervously turned to see a chipper redhead carrying a cup of coffee.“You two going to see Josh?” She asked.
“We were,” Brendon interjected. “Until Tyler tried to kill me.”
“Yeah,” Tyler chuckled. “We were planning on going for food, too. Did you want to walk with us?”
“I actually can’t,” She frowned. “But can you give these to him for me?” Debby reached into her purse and produced a pair of new red drumsticks. “I kept meaning to get them to him before his birthday, but work has me so busy. Can you, maybe tell him I said hi?”
“Of course.” Tyler took the sticks from her and quickly gave Debby a hug before scurrying away, Brendon trudging along behind him.
He and Brendon made good timing, walking the last few blocks at a quicker pace. As the two finally reached the top of a grassy hill Tyler caught sight of him.
“Joshua!” He exclaimed, running to him with the unopened can of Red Bull and the drumsticks in his hands. “I brought you this,” He said through a gasp. “Debby, s-she says hi and she wanted to get you these for your birthday.”
Tyler dropped to his knees to be at eye-level, and he could feel Brendon’s hands being placed gently on his shoulders as Tyler carefully set the can and the drumsticks on the ground in front of the stone; 'Joshua William Dun, Beloved Son’.
“Hey Josh,” Brendon choked out between sobs. He rubbed comforting circles into Tyler’s back as the boy began to sob in his arms. “It’s good to see you again.”
How are you daddy-o? I've been out of data I missed you!! - Peachy
Livid. My boy’s dirty fucking slag snatched my cigarettes. I had to get one off some fucking bloke at the getty station. It’s a fucking menthol. I can’t even enjoy it
Dad no :( music doesn't help you anymore? - Peachy
Twenty One Pilots don’t help me at all anymore. In fact, it’s hard for me to listen to any of their music without getting incredibly sad which is even harder on me because they got me through a lot.Right now I’m holding on to Panic! and Arctic Monkeys because quite literally, my life depends on it.
