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Josh shifted on the couch, blinking at the lights reflecting on his face. It wasn’t that Josh disliked interviews; he just never knew what to say. He was awkward. Words would roll off of his tongue, forming awkwardly stitched sentences. He never knew what to do with his hands—does he place them on his thighs, hold something, or use them while he’s speaking?
Half of the time, he feels as if he’s in a whole other world, nodding along to whatever it is that Tyler is saying. Josh is a bit jealous of how easy everything seems to come to the other man, but he guesses talking on stage in front of thousands of people makes an interview feel like a lap in a pool.
“Can I ask some personal questions? Are those cool with you two?” Their interviewer, a young man whose name immediately flew past Josh’s ears, asked.
“Personal is great. We love personal,” Tyler chuckled, crossing his ankles while leaning further back into the couch. Josh stifled a groan.
Tyler loves personal. Josh despises personal.
He never understood it. He loves their fans, but why should they know what cologne he uses, or the name of his first-ever girlfriend?
“Perfect. First, what would you be doing instead if you weren’t in Twenty One Pilots?”
Tyler grinned, “Is that what you call a personal question?”
“This is just a warm-up; we’ll get deeper as we move on.”
“Well,” Tyler started, eyebrows raising as he thought for a second, “I guess I’d probably be a musician in a lesser-known, more uncool band.”
Josh snorted, “We are as uncool as it gets, man.”
Tyler narrowed his eyes, head tilting to the side to face Josh. “Okay, Mr. Grumpy, what would you be doing instead?”
Josh moved a hand under his chin, stroking the stubble that lined his chin. “I dunno. Probably something epic, like a professional Fortnite streamer.”
Tyler tried to put on his best poker face, which lasted about 4 seconds before his face twisted up into a mock scowl. “What? You’d rather be playing a video game than creating music with me? Your best pal until the end of time!”
At this, Josh grinned, his tongue poking out between his teeth. “Sorry, dude. The heart wants what it wants,” Josh said, putting his hands up as if the defensive stance would protect his answer. He was only being partly serious. Yes, he loved playing in a band, but sometimes he wished he had more time for himself. Though he probably wouldn’t be playing a lot of Fortnite in his free time.
Satisfied with their answers, the interviewer moved on to the next few questions. He asked about their favorite moments on tour, if they would go back and change anything, and the biggest sacrifices they had to make to do what they do.
“I think the most challenging thing for me to give up was privacy. People talk, and word travels fast when you’re famous. When Jenna and I broke up, it took our fans only a few days to figure it out,” Tyler answered, shifting his eyes to look at his feet.
Although they broke up months ago, Josh knew it was still a fresh wound, and being reminded of it was like tearing the scab off all over again. He reached out, loosely putting an arm over Tyler’s shoulders.
Tyler and Jenna never put out a public announcement about their breakup, but it was easy for fans to put the pieces together. Tyler’s archived posts and the absence of Jenna’s face on his feed came as a shock to both their fans and Josh himself. It took Tyler weeks to face Josh about their split, and even then he didn’t receive an explanation.
Not that he really asked for one; he wouldn’t demand an answer from Tyler. Certainly not when it comes to Jenna.
“Speaking of Jenna, your fans are curious. Is there any news on the two of you?”
Obviously, this reporter has no shame. Who asks something like that?
Tyler finally pointed his gaze back up to the camera, putting on a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Look, Jenna and I love each other. We really do. But things change.” He cleared his throat. “We’ve been together for years; we’ve grown together. But we’ve also grown out of each other.” Tyler offered, shrugging his shoulders. "Sometimes that's just how it goes."
The reporter nodded, and Josh figured he could tell he pushed too far. Desperate to move on, Josh leaned forward in his seat, his arm still lying on Tyler’s shoulders. “Good news to the fans, Jenna will still be around! She continues to be a close friend of ours, and she’s always helping out behind the scenes. You aren’t getting rid of her that easily.”
That was the most Josh spoke during the entire interview.
A few hours later, Tyler and Josh are in their shared hotel room. They are approaching the final stretch of shows before the Emotional Roadshow Tour finally reaches its end, and both of the boys are ready for a break. They love touring, Tyler especially, but it takes a lot out of them.
Following the interview, they exchanged a few back pats and a subdued "good job" between them. Tyler was oddly quiet, and Josh didn’t know how to break the silence. He decided to lay off Tyler for the night.
Well, that was his plan, until he heard Tyler snickering from his bed, just a few feet to the right of Josh.
“Dude, have you checked what Twitter is saying about today's interview?” Tyler asked, tapping away on his phone.
Josh rolled onto his side to face the other man, raising an eyebrow in his direction. “Are they making fun of me again? I told you they’d find a way to hurt my feelings.”
“No, Josh. They think I broke up with Jenna for you,” Tyler said while tossing his phone over to Josh’s bed.
Josh propped himself up with pillows as a backrest and reached for Tyler's phone. He found several tweets about their interview, many featuring screenshots of Josh's arm draped over Tyler's shoulders.
“I don’t get it; we’ve been touchy in front of the fans before. Why is me putting an arm around you any different?” Josh mumbled while zooming in on the photos.
Suddenly, he was overcome with guilt. Tyler had enough to deal with already, and the last thing Josh wanted was to fuel rumors about him and his best friend. Rumors, particularly those painting Josh as a home wrecker, were the last thing they needed.
“They think you were jealous because we were talking about Jenna. Fan logic or whatever,” Tyler giggled. Josh glanced up at him; he was sitting crisscrossed, facing Josh. He didn’t look angry, which Josh was relieved to see.
“I’m sorry, Ty. I didn’t mean anything—“ Josh started, but was cut off by Tyler waving his arms around.
“No, no! Don’t be sorry; the fans are just reaching. It’s kind of funny when you think about it,” Tyler smirked.
Josh felt his ears going red. He turned his face away from Tyler, looking back at the phone screen in his hand. “Funny?” he questioned.
“Yeah! I mean, it’s not every day you check Twitter to see news articles about a possible romance with your best friend,” Tyler responded. “Plus, if people were going to speculate about my breakup, I’d rather it be something like this than everyone thinking I cheated or something.”
Yep, Josh was definitely blushing at this point. He understood that Tyler wasn't suggesting anything, yet the notion of him being comfortable with their fans' perceptions seemed unbelievable.
“Are you sure you don’t mind the talk? We could send out a tweet or something to clear it up.” Josh offered, finally passing Tyler’s phone back to its rightful owner.
Tyler blinked at Josh, forehead wrinkling as he furrowed his eyebrows together while tilting his head to the side. “Are you bothered by this?”
Josh opened his mouth to respond but closed it almost immediately. He wasn’t really disturbed by it, and it’s not like this was an entirely new concept. He and Tyler have read fanfiction before, and he knows that there are loads of Instagram accounts dedicated to ‘Joshler’ moments.
But Tyler has never played into it like this before, and that has Josh perplexed. He feels awkward. like he just got caught telling a lie to his mom.
“No, I’m not bothered by it. It’s not like we’d actually get together or anything like that.”
Tyler nodded, still staring at Josh. He leaned back in his spot a little bit, using his arms to brace him up. “Have you ever thought about it before?”
Josh’s eyes shot open. “What do you mean?”
“Like, us being together. It’s never crossed your mind?”
Josh thought for a second. Before Tyler and Jenna started dating, he thought about the possibility of a relationship. Tyler is attractive; everyone knows that. Tan skin, wispy brown hair, and a charming smile. But beyond physical attributes, Tyler is sassy, caring, and incredibly sweet. There is nothing not to love about Tyler. But Josh always assumed Tyler was straight, so he put aside these feelings.
Not worth losing a friendship over a tiny crush, right?
"I'm only kidding, man. You look like you're on the verge of passing out," Tyler laughed, shifting his focus from Josh back to the phone in his hands.
“Oh,” Josh mumbled, embarrassment taking over his body. He had no idea how to respond to the unexpected questioning of his feelings.
"So much for burying those feelings," he thought to himself, his cheeks flush with heat.