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“Why don’t we go out?” Jenna called from the kitchen towards to living room.
Tyler, who was sitting cross-legged in front of the television trying to set up the new cable box to the audio system, furrowed his eyebrows at the suggestion. He looked up at the clock above the television. It was only one.
“Why?” Tyler shouted back, confused at the random suggestion. They rarely went out, in the sense of the term. Sure, they went to chipotle or the theater, but never really to a bar or club.
Jenna came into the living room carrying two plates with sandwiches and fruit on them. She sat on the sofa behind Tyler and watched him put the electronics back into the entertainment center. Tyler stood up and admired the neat arrangement.
“All done! It should work well now, even on the patio.”
Tyler sat next to Jenna, taking his plate from her. He picked up his sandwich and took a bite. Jenna ate her fruit before starting on her sandwich, a quirk that always amused Tyler.
“I don’t know,” Jenna continued their conversation. “It might be nice to go out, do something different.”
Tyler examined Jenna’s face as he chewed his sandwich. Ever since the winter break in tours, they had been cooped up in the house. He could tell she was restless, needed to get out and if he was honest with himself, he was too. They’d enjoyed their first week back home by lounging in bed, enjoying the comfort of full privacy and freedom the couple rarely get on the road, even if they did get a hotel.
“That might be nice,” Tyler admitted, finishing his plate. “Do we want to invite anyone, or just us?”
“Hmm,” Jenna thought for a moment, finishing her own plate. “Either, really. Might be more fun with everyone…” She trailed off, lost in thought of their usual crowd when doing anything.
“Josh is still in L.A.,” Tyler thought aloud, “And Zack and Tatum were visiting Grandpa, but they might be back now….”
“I’ve already texted Tatum,” Jenna explained, taking Tyler’s plate with hers back into the Kitchen. Tyler followed, waiting for her to continue. “She says they are free and wouldn’t mind a good burger or something.”
“Man, a burger sounds good,” Tyler said dreamily, even though he just ate.
“That’s what I thought.”
Later that night, Tyler and Jenna both were getting ready for their night out when Jenna’s cell phone rang. Quickly pulling the white sweater over her head the rest of the way, she headed out of the closet and towards the bed where her cell phone was lit up. Tatum’s contact information was displayed on the screen. She snatched up the phone and accepted the call.
“What’s up Tate?” Jenna asked, one hand holding her phone to her ear, the other pulling her hair out of the sweater.
“Hey,” Tatum responded, sounding out of breath. “Zack and I are running late, we’ll meet you there, kay?”
“Sure! Ty and I are just finishing getting ready, so don’t rush.”
“Great!” Tatum breathed a sigh of relief and said her goodbye, promising to not take too long.
Jenna laughed and slid her phone into the back pocket of her high waisted acid wash jeans. She looked herself over in the mirror before heading downstairs to meet Tyler in the foyer.
“Is that the sweater mom gave you?” Tyler asked, looking up from tying up his shoe laces when she descended the stairs. Before she could answer, he added, “It looks really good on you.”
“Thanks,” Jenna smiled, taking a seat next to him on the bench.
She pulled on her favorite ankle boots. Tyler kissed her temple, stood up and grabbed his black baseball cap from the coatrack on the wall above the bench. Jenna grabbed her black pea-coat and slid it on. Tyler did the same, pulling the hood of his grey hoodie over the baseball cap.
“I’ve got the car already heating,” Tyler said, pulling out the house keys from the jacket pocket. “There was some snow that actually stuck this afternoon.”
“Really?” Jenna perked up. She loved the snow. “Oh, Tate called, they’re going to be a bit late.”
They arrived at the bar at the same time as Zack and Tatum did. The roads were just slick enough from the snowfall that coming to a stop wasn’t the quickest process. The bar was a small hole in the wall that had the best pizza, but even better burgers when you were drinking.
As soon as they entered the bar, it became clear to Tyler why Jenna wanted to go out. It was karaoke night. Jenna loved karaoke and loved it even more when Tyler did karaoke. He gave her a knowing look, but didn’t say anything.
They took a table in the back of the bar and ordered their drinks. In the middle of the table was a book with a list of songs the karaoke DJ had on file. Jenna and Tatum instantly grouped up and started flipping through the pages, sipping their drinks.
“Well looks like we aren’t getting out alive tonight, huh?” Zack said to Tyler.
“I know, I wondered why Jenna wanted to go out,” Tyler responded, taking of drink himself.
“Same with me.”
Sudden realization hit the brothers. At the same time they said, “They planned this.”
After having the most delicious burger Tyler had had in a long time, they all chatted and listened to song after song, sometimes singing along, sometimes cringing at notes missed.
“Next up,” the DJ came back on the mic after a particularly rough attempt at a Whitney Houston classic. “We have Tyler Joseph himself, performing Stressed Out!”
The bar erupted in polite applause. Tyler stood up from the table, shooting Jenna a grin and headed up to the stage. He grabbed the microphone, instantly feeling at home.
“Hello, how’s everyone?” Tyler said, looking at the bar patrons. “So this next song I actually wrote…”
The familiar bass started in the bar. It was weird for a moment for Tyler to be hearing the track played in the room as opposed to in his in-ear monitor. In front of him was the monitor that displayed the lyrics. He smirked, thinking briefly of a scenario where he’d need them.
“I’ve got the lyrics right here if I don’t remember my words,” he chuckled, bobbing to the beat.
And with that he launched into the first verse. He could see the camera’s come out and was pleased as he could hear a few people singing along with him. It was so much more intimate than even The Basement.
By the time he finished, the bar was on its feet and cheering. He smiled shyly as he jumped of the raised stage. He high-fived a few people on his way back to the table.
“You’re next, babe,” Tyler joked threateningly to Jenna after kissing her.
The rest of the evening was spent listening to good and bad karaoke, daring each other to sing 90’s classics and starting a nearly dangerous drinking game involving cliché song choices. By the end of the night, Tyler was drunker that he’d been in a long time and Jenna was calling a cab. Tyler had to admit, going out every once in a while wasn’t all that bad.