Chapter Text
"Love can be something as big as fireworks, or something as small as the dilation of a pupil."
-F.O.R. Angel
They looked up at the house as they got out of their van.
It's was more of a mansion than a house Tyler thought, and to be honest the dark, vine covered walls looming over them kind of scared him.
He peeled his eyes away quickly and clasped Josh on the shoulder as he walked to the back of the van to start unpacking.
The house had belonged to Tyler's great aunt, but she had died a few months ago. For some reason she had left the house to Tyler's father instead of to her own children. Tyler suspected it was because his dad was the only one who agreed with her on everything, unlike her own kids who she often referred to as "a bunch of heathens".
The house was old and kind of beautiful in an eerie way.
But it was too far away from anything to live in and too expensive to keep for just the Holliday's. So, Tyler was assigned the fun job of keeping an eye on it until they had a buyer.
He hadn't objected too much, if he was completely honest he could kind of use some time away from his family. The only condition he had was that he could take josh with him so they could work on some music while they were there. His parents had agreed after a while but they didn't seem happy with it.
Tyler didn't care. He knew the house had some amazing acoustics and he couldn't wait to make good use of it.
It took a while before they had gotten all of their instruments, equipment and suitcases inside. As soon as they set down the last cases they nearly collapsed on the floor of the foyer.
It was cold inside, much colder than it had been out in the setting spring sun and Tyler quickly walked over to the entrance hall fire place to turn it on.
Once he got a decent fire going he turned back to Josh who was looking around at the sombre decor.
"How did your family get this place again?" He asked as he studied a tapestry hanging next to the dwindling staircase.
"We inherited it." Tyler answered as he started sorting out their bags, trying to figure out what should go where.
"Inherited it from who? The Queen of England? This place is old dude. And big." Josh said, amazement apparent in his voice.
Tyler smiled.
"I don't think anyone really knows how we got it." He said "it's just kinda always been here."
"That's creepy dude" Josh replied "that is some real horror stuff, please don't tell me it's haunted cause I will sleep in the van and after that seven hour drive I really don't wanna sleep in the van."
Tyler laughed at the concerned look on his friends face.
"It's not haunted just dusty and cold. Now help me figure out where all this stuff needs to go and then we can go figure out where to set up studio."
There were a few rooms they weren't allowed to use cause of the antiquities stored in them but a lot of the rooms were empty.
They picked the tiny attic room as bedroom cause it had two single beds with the headboards pushed together and a window with a view of the valley. One of the empty guest rooms was quickly labelled studio cause of the dense carpet and padded wallpaper. They unloaded their bags of food in the kitchen and took the master bedroom as their dressing room to save space in their own room and because they could.
As night fell the house finally started to warm up from the fires they had made in all of the rooms. They had some ramen for dinner, cause it was the fastest thing to make and they were tired, and then went to bed.
Tyler did not dream that night.
Or if he did he could not remember the next morning.
He had simply closed his eyes and opened them again eight hours later, seeing nothing but darkness in between.
Josh however did dream.
He dreamt of bright colours and sunlit valleys and trees full of blossoms and bright ribbons.
When he woke up he felt happy and refreshed.
When Tyler woke up he felt sad and tired.
It was something he had grown accustomed to lately.
In his heart he hoped it was a phase but in his mind he knew better.
Living with his family had never been easy. He felt out of place, incomplete, like a puzzle with half of the pieces missing and the other half just shoved into random slots.
But lately it had gotten worse. He started talking less, smiling less, being tired all the time.
His parents had noticed.
That was why they sent him away. So the fresh air could do him good and so they wouldn't have to deal with him.
He was old enough to take care of himself and they had three other kids to look after.
Josh on the other hand had been happy.
He was making music with his best friend and his mind was full of ideas and pretty pictures.
When Tyler had asked him to come along to the house he had immediately jumped on the opportunity. He wanted to record an album and what better way to do it than in a grand mansion somewhere in the country side.
At the moment they were polar opposites.
But Tyler still smiled at Josh, and Josh was still serious around Tyler. Cause they were best friends and that is what best friends do.
When Tyler woke up josh was still sound asleep. Tyler let him be, Josh had driven the car for the most part yesterday and could use an hour or two of extra rest.
Their dressing room was a floor down and as Tyler walked over he looked at the framed artwork on the walls and tried to remember what rooms he was allowed into and what rooms he wasn't.
When he got to the dressing room he looked around before grabbing clothes. They had simply dumped their bags there last night without really giving it much of a second thought but the room was actually beautiful. There were fresco's of angels on the ceiling and the walls were adorned with delicately painted rose vines in baby blue and gold against a solid white backdrop.
The bed in the middle of the room was big, it could easily fit four people, The sheets were red and gold, matching the heavy curtains of the canopy above it.
The room also held a large writing desk facing a wall of big windows, looking out over the garden, and some glass cabinets with antique goblets and quills.
There was a pair of big doors on the wall opposite the windows and Tyler wondered if they lead to another room or simply to a closet.
When he opened them dozens of dresses spilled out, unfolding after god knows how long of being stuffed into a slightly too small closet.
Tyler had to admit, they were beautiful.
As he tried to shove them back his hand hit a particular fabric which sent shivers down his spine. He grabbed onto it and pulled out the dress it belonged to.
It was the deepest darkest black Tyler had ever seen, darker than his mother's funeral dress, darker than Josh's hair, darker than the darkness he saw when he closed his eyes.
The fabric was soft, almost silky, and for some reason Tyler couldn't stop touching it.
The dress itself reminded him somewhat of a nightgown, or a summers dress. It was about knee length, with elbow length sleeves that reminded Tyler of pumpkins. The neckline was oval and kind of bunched up, as if a ribbon ran trough it.
He looked at it for what seemed like hours, until he heard soft footsteps coming down the hallway. When he heard those he quickly shoved the dress back into the closet and closed it before sprinting over to his bag and grabbing out the first pair of jeans and t-shirt he could find. When Josh entered the room Tyler was just zipping up his pants and fixing his shirt.
He feared his heartbeat was so loud that Josh could hear it, or that his anxiety was so bad Josh could sense it.
But Josh just gave him a small smile and a groggy sounding 'morning' before rummaging trough his own bag in search for clean clothes.
Tyler softly muttered back a 'morning' of his own before walking out of the room and heading towards the kitchen.
He didn't know why he had reacted so strongly, to either the dress or Josh walking in, but he knew it was wrong.
He didn't know what 'it' was but he was certain his parent's wouldn't approve.
So he tucked it away like he had done so many other times with so many other things and just continued with his day.
The kitchen was big but surprisingly modern for such an old house.
It had a microwave and a coffee machine and an electric teakettle Tyler decided to make use of. He was glad they had brought their own groceries cause apart from an excessive amount of tea bags there was nothing else consumable in the kitchen.
He pulled out a bowl, some cereal and milk and tried his hardest not to think about anything.
When Josh walked in after a few minutes he eased up a bit.
When Josh started talking whilst shovelling cereal into his mouth Tyler completely forgot about the mornings events.
They had a few weeks before anyone would come to check up on them and they decided to make the most out of it. Tyler had a few pages of scribbled lyrics that were ready to go and Josh had been working on various drum beats. The goal now was to mix them together into an actual song.
So that was how they spent their day. Huddled up in the padded room, only leaving for toilet breaks and the occasional snack.
When the sun had set and the moon was high up in the sky a full song echoed trough the empty rooms and hallways of the house.
They recorded it in one take.
When they were done Tyler went to the kitchen to make them sandwiches and Josh went to take a shower.
For the first time in a while Tyler felt happy. The song had turned out great and he felt confident that this vibe would continue.
He looked out of the kitchen window and up at the stars as he waited for Josh to finish his shower and join him for their midnight dinner.
When he did they ate in comfortable silence, tired but happy.
Afterwards Josh went straight to bed. He had hit his drums more passionately than ever before and it had taken it's toll.
Tyler however did not feel tired enough yet. Instead of sleeping he explored the house. There were lots of bed rooms, a library, a couple of bathrooms, a big dining room and finally a ballroom.
The ballroom was amazing. It's hardwood floors were polished so much Tyler could see his reflection in them. The walls were decorated with scenes from what seemed to be a fairy tale, animals skipping trough the forest and pixies flying over lakes. There was a wall made out of floor to ceiling French windows that led into the garden and in the far right corner Tyler spotted a beautiful black piano.
It was big, not like his own small wooden one, but like the ones pretty ladies would sit on to sing in the movies.
As soon as Tyler saw it, a melody popped into his head and he had to play it.
It was soft and sad and it made Tyler's heart swell. He closed his eyes as he played and let his hands be guided by the music.
When he was done and he opened his eyes again Josh was standing in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed and a smile on his face.
His smile however faltered when he walked over to where Tyler was sitting.
"Tyler are you okay?" He asked with a frown.
Tyler frowned back, but realized why Josh was worried when he felt a tear rolling down his cheek and falling onto his hand.
He quickly wiped it away.
"Yeah I'm fine, don't worry Josh," he said and gave his friend a small smile " I'm just tired."
Josh patted Tyler on the back.
"Well let's go upstairs then, we could both use some rest." He said and Tyler nodded.
When he collapsed into bed he quickly closed his eyes, preferring the darkness behind his eyelids over the darkness surrounding him.
Listening to the wind outside, blowing through the trees and Josh's breathing opposite his own head quickly lulled him to sleep.
And Tyler dreamed.
He dreamed of the piano in the ballroom, he dreamed of walking through the forest in black clothes, he dreamed of looking at the sunset through the kitchen windows.
And then he dreamt of jumping over cracks in the earth with lava flowing several feet beneath him, while josh was standing on solid ground behind him.
He dreamt of his parents looking at him, angry and disapproving.
He dreamt of the dress he had held today and of his father stabbing him in it.