It was midday, around the same time that the two boys had decided to go to New Jersey, only 24 hours later. Despite Tyler and Ryan's drunken and sleep-deprived argument about who could look after Josh better, Tyler was gone before Josh had even regained consciousness. Ryan had seen it coming so he wasn't surprised, just gave Josh whatever he needed until he was ready to head back to Brendon's. Not even by the time Ryan even finished his lunch, his phone rang and it was Tyler's number. Ryan only groaned, expecting the worst from his best friend, but he answered anyway.

"Hello?" He spoke slowly.

"Ryan! I have so much to tell you about yesterday!" Tyler spoke loudly into the phone.

"Why didn't you come back to tell me in person?" Ryan asked, Tyler never preferred phone calls over lunch.

"Well, I've got a killer hangover and Kanya, the legend, is giving me a massage."

"Hello, Mister Ross!" A voice called.

Kanya had been Tyler's number one masseuse for years. She was sweet and loyal, and Tyler was not afraid to spill any major secrets in her presence.

"She's honestly the best. So, Josh and I went to Atlantic City- my idea, and holy shit. He loved shopping so much, and he's so empathetic. For media trash, he's actually not that bad."

Ryan chuckled, nodding to himself. "So empathetic? Do tell."

"Well, we were to find a cab and he sees this homeless guy, yeah? And he made us stop, then gave him money and the blankets I bought. Then we argued about it and he called me a bad person but we won't go into that."

"Oh, I think we should go into that."

Tyler huffed. "He totally disregarded me but whatever, I'm a bad person. I know. But anyway, I ended up leaving him so I could actually a cab before we got assaulted but when I come back he's all freaking out and stuff."

"And stuff? Go on."

"A panic attack, whatever. Nothing drastic. He was fine later anyway. Raided my fucking cabinet while I was napping, the bitch."

"He said you told him where to look." Ryan hummed knowingly.

Tyler spluttered, "I didn't think he would!"

"You seem to have that effect on- people."
"Excuse me?"

"By people, I mean Josh. And the effect- Tyler, baby, he's trying to impress you. You guys had a bit of a bad first impression."

"Exactly, so why would he be trying to impress me? If anything, I should be trying to impress him- he's the one who's more likely to spill something to the media."

"He wants to be your friend, that's why he's trying so hard."

"Well, he should just stop before he hurts himself." Tyler said insensitively.

"He would stop if you stopped referring to him as 'The Media' and instead called him 'Josh'."

"Joshua." Tyler corrected him.

"You're the only one who calls him that. What's the deal?" Ryan asked, grinning to himself.

"I'm a musician who likes cocaine and alcohol, I need to be original somehow."

Ryan responded with a bellowing laugh.

Tyler gasped, "Wow, Ross. So insensitive."

"You're my favourite celebrity, Tyler Joseph." Ryan admitted.

"Awh thanks. I wish that Rolling Stone Magazine would agree." Tyler joked.

"It's not fair, you call a fan a bitch one time and they never let it go." Ryan laughed.

"Totally. She was asking it for it anyway." Tyler laughed, trailing off into thought.

"Hey, Ryan?" Tyler asked quietly.

"Yes, love of my life?" Ryan replied, nonchalant.

Tyler laughed nervously, "How did I have so much fun with Joshua yesterday? We've hated each other for so long."

"Tyler, I'm going to say something that needs to be taken very seriously and with a grain of salt, are you ready?"

Tyler nodded, then realised Ryan couldn't see him so he verbally agreed.

"The romantic and sexual tension between you two is so thick you could cut it with a knife." Ryan hummed.

Tyler spluttered, "Kanya, is this true?" He asked, Ryan must have been on speaker.

"Mister Joseph, you haven't stopped speaking about him all morning. I think Mister Ross might be on the right track." Kanya agreed.

"Thank you, Kanya my dear." Ryan smiled.

Tyler groaned in denial, "You two are hysterical."

"Think about the brunch, even when you were in his kitchen! It's immeasurable, Ty."

Tyler shook his head, covering his face with his hands. "Not true."

"Not to mention how he talks about y-" Ryan cut himself off. "Anyways, you just need to admit that you'd bone Dun and get it over with."

"I can't do that Ry! I'm not a disgrace!"

"He's such a bottom it'd be like you're- I need to take this seriously, sorry." Ryan bantered.

"Can you please shut up before I go looking for pot." Tyler muttered pathetically.

"I'm sorry Ty, but you've gotta see where I'm coming from."

"Why should I? I'm not gay." He stated surely.

Ryan sighed gently. "You're only hurting yourself, Tyler."

"Oh, you're right. Let me just go against my religion, stop doing drugs, and take up yoga." Tyler said sarcastically.

Ryan felt stuck, not knowing any possible way to get through to Tyler.

"May I say, Mister Joseph, that perhaps the way you were brought up was wrong?" Kanya dared to speak up.

Tyler looked at her, confused, but did not silence her.

"I was brought up to be encouraged to do whatever I wanted in order to be happy, as long as it did not hurt myself or those around me. I may not be rich now, and I ended up marrying a man in the end, but when I told my parents that I was bisexual they were ecstatic. They were happy that I was proud enough of myself to be happy. That's how I raise my kids too. I hope that made sense." Kanya explained without breaking pace in massaging Tyler's foot.

Knowing that Tyler would take a while to find a response, Ryan spoke up. "That's a beautiful way to live, Kanya. I'm sure they're very proud of who you are." He smiled.

"Thank you, Mister Ross. You should come on down, I'll call my friend over and you can have a massage too." She offered kindly.

"I was waiting for an invitation. I'll be there in 10 if there's no cops around."

You could be empty

And I can be right here empty with you

Or you could be hollow

And I can be right here hollow with you

-The Used, Empty With You

"I went out with Tyler." Josh hummed, nonchalant as he picked up a handful of cereal from the box.

Brendon sat up from where he lay on the couch, "On a date?"

"No. I mean, not in his eyes. But he took me to Jersey and bought me stuff- I told him not to but he did." Josh shrugged, scarfing down the handful like it was his first meal in days.

"Tyler loves doing that. Him and Ryan go on shopping trips all the time, once they spent nearly a whole week in New York." Brendon explained, laying back down.

Josh sighed wistfully, leaning on the kitchen bench. "Imagine that, a week in New York with Tyler."

"He'd take you if you ask, but I don't know who could stand him for that long." Brendon said, shaking his head.

Josh shrugged. "We went a whole day with almost no accidents."

Brendon looked over at Josh with his eyebrows raised in doubt.

"Seriously! He got a kick out of buying things for me. If anything, I'm probably the only reason we argued." Josh frowned.

"Dude, trust me. Anything that happens is Tyler's fault. The guy's mad."

"We laid on the beach and talked, he looked after me when I got drunk. He's got some redeeming qualities."

Brendon's face turned firm. "You got what?"

"Well, when someone has too much fermented fruit, their state of mind is altered. We like to call this funny thing being 'drunk'." Josh joked, making light of the situation.

Brendon sighed, unable to laugh. "Josh you've been sober for so long. What did he do or say to get you to drink? Did he blackmail you?"

Josh frowned. "It was all me, Bren. I thought if I loosened up around him he would take me seriously."

"People like Tyler would not take you seriously. Ever."

"I know." Josh frowned. "I don't wanna deal with this shit but I wanna be with him all the time."

Brendon groaned, rolling over and rubbing his face in aggravation "Don't tell me you're in love with him you flaming fuck."

"I can't help it! It was that stupid fucking concert, man. I feel like some 12 year old girl that got to meet her celebrity crush." Josh whined, stuffing his face with another handful of cereal.

"Listen to me man, on stage Tyler is not the same as real life Tyler. Don't blur the lines."

"But I want them to be the same." Josh mumbled, dejected.

"I'm sure a lot of people do. Dude, I can't even work out what Ryan sees in him, maybe they're both a bit crazy." Brendon paused. "Wait, isn't he super Christian?"

In response, Josh pushed his face against the kitchen bench. "Yes! Fuck my life!"

"Give it up. You don't have a chance and he'll probably be dead by 25."

Josh found himself distracted, not wanting to think about what Brendon said. "I want a tongue piercing, it'd be so hot."

"Hey, I'm the one with ADHD." Brendon joked. "But man I'd let you give me a blowjob whenever you wanted to if you did."

"What's in it for me, huh?" Josh laughed, shaking his head. "I don't know, I'll think about it."

"You're a bottom by nature, Josh." Brendon rolled his eyes.

"Hopeless. We're hopeless." Josh sighed, tipping the remaining cereal into his mouth.

Josh folded up the empty box, going off to his room with one thing in mind. He sat cross-legged on his bed, his phone on the mattress in front of him as he listened to the dial tone ring out. Right before the boy gave up he heard a confused "Hello?" from the other side.

"Hey- Hi Tyler, I just wanted to know if you might wanna hang out later." Josh said, bouncing his leg anxiously.

Tyler didn't respond for a while. "Wait... how did you get my private phone number?"

"If I say Ryan you can't be mad at him. I'm very convincing when I want something." Josh laughed quietly.

Tyler giggled louder than he usually would. "Yes, yes you are Josh."

"Um." Josh muttered, thinking something was missing but not being able to put his finger on it. "Anyways! You answered me with a question, dummy."

Tyler hummed, "Well Ryan just left but you know how I am Josh. Too much socialising and my hair falls out."

"Wha- Oh.. okay, all good." Josh mumbled, disappointed.

Tyler let out a long sigh on the other side of the phone, "Sorry, very, very busy right now."

"Ty, are you high?" Josh asked, concerned.

"What? No, Gosh. I'm not always drunk or high, asshole." Tyler bit back viciously, speaking quickly.

"When did I say that..."

"You may as well have."

"Sorry." Josh mumbled. "I'll just- I'll let you go now, sorry."

"Thank you." Tyler said bitterly before hanging up on Josh.

Josh sat there for a moment, perplexed by the state of their call. He shook it off, getting ready to go out anyways. Josh dressed himself up in some of the clothes Tyler bought him before going out to the garage. It felt a little strange wearing the clothes that Tyler had purchased for him, especially after that phone call had proved Brendon's case that Tyler was not obsessing over Josh like Josh was enthralled by him.

He found his keys hanging up, going over to the furthest side of the room where his pride and joy laid collecting dust. The 2007 C90 Suzuki Boulevard had only been his for a little while but he really loved it. He pulled a helmet on, waiting for the garage shutter to roll up.

Josh made his way to the other side of town, riding into the parking spots underneath Ryan's apartment complex. He waited to be buzzed in before going up to Ryan's suite, holding his helmet by his side. "Hey, Ryan." Josh smiled, putting his things on the bench and going to sit on the couch.

"You're back soon. Oh yeah, get this: My mum came by while I was out and she left a basket of cookies for me." Ryan told Josh excitedly, holding up the basket as proof.

Josh smiled gently. "That's so sweet."

"Here, have one. I know you're a sucker for choc chip." Ryan offered, moving to sit next to Josh on the couch.

"C'mon, who isn't?" Josh hummed, taking one gratefully and eating it straight away.

Ryan laughed and nodded, stretching his arms over his head with a sigh. "I went to Tyler's house this morning to get a massage with him. It was so amazing- better than getting high."

"He offered a massage on the plane, I said no though." Josh shrugged. "Um- Speaking of getting high..."

Ryan frowned and scooted closer to Josh, "What's up?"

"It's not me!" Josh confirmed quickly. "But I called Tyler earlier and he was just... out of it... He denied it when I asked though, so I might just be overthinking..."

Ryan looked thoughtful, as if he were weighing his options in his head. "He... I think he was. He was pretty stressed before I left and although he'll deny it, he's been self-medicating when things get hard for years."

It might have been a dick move on Ryan's part, throwing his best friend under the bus like that, but he just wanted Tyler to get help. He didn't know what the outcome would be by telling Josh but he had faith that it could help Tyler in one way or another.

"Oh." Josh mumbled, a dull ache in his chest. "I- Well I hope he's okay." He then sighed. "I spent my whole childhood trying to escape people like that, what am I supposed to think now?"

Maybe Ryan was wrong. "Tyler's not like that. He's trying his best." Ryan said, placing a hand on Josh's shoulder. Even though he tried to make Tyler's situation seem brighter than what it was, it was a blatant lie. Josh nodded slowly. "I guess so. Still scares me a bit, ya know."

"My dad was an alcoholic too, I know what it's like." Ryan tried his best, regretting even telling Josh in the first place. Josh just sighed, resting his head on Ryan's shoulder. "Whatever man, I feel bad talking about him when he's not here."

"Me too." Ryan said, shaking his head. "I don't know what I was thinking."

"I'm the one who asked, it's fine." Josh shrugged. "Anyways, I came here to hang out with you."

Ryan smiled, "Anything specific in mind, Josh?"

"Not really." He grinned before gasping. "I wanna know how you do your stage makeup!"

Ryan giggled, shaking his head. "That can take hours, Josh. I'm not doing it on myself."

"Okay, there's a clean slate right-" Josh gestured to his face. "Here."

"You're serious?" Ryan asked with a challenging smirk.

"Of course." Josh grinned.

Ryan grabbed Josh's hands and pulled him towards the bathroom, "Then we have no time to waste- grab the cookies!" Josh did just that while being pulled away by Ryan, giggling.

Ryan's bathroom was large and had a comfortable stool in front of the mirror specifically for when Ryan wanted to experiment with makeup.

"Take a seat, Josh." He grinned as he collected his supplies.

Josh did so, starting to eat another cookie.

"You can't eat while we do this." Ryan laughed.

Josh glared at him. "No, I'm enjoying this." Josh stated, shoving the rest of the cookie in his mouth.

Ryan just sighed and began to prime Josh's face. "This was just an excuse for you to touch my face." Josh joked.

Ryan just laughed as he instructed Josh to close his eyes as he practically covered them in a bright blue shadow.

Once the base was done Ryan pulled out one of his favourite eyeliner pencils, lining Josh's eyelashes before getting to the most important part. "If you so much as flinch, Josh, this will all go to shit." Ryan confirmed. Josh shot him a look of fear before closing his eyes again.

For the next hour, he began to experiment with different lines leading down across Josh's cheeks like teardrops. Each line ended with a bold 'x'. His eyes were covered in grey, like smoke coating his eyelids and surrounding skin. Once he was done with his masterpiece Josh was told to open his eyes.

Josh stared at himself in awe before smiling brightly. "Shit, Ry! I look so cool!"

Ryan blushed at the compliment, "No, look- I messed up that line there."

"It's got character, Ryan." Josh grinned. "I love it."

"Thank you, can I take a photo?" He asked.

"Yeah, man, of course!" Josh smiled brightly, before focusing so he could look better for the photo.

"Lean to the side a little, look just over my shoulder, part your lips... perfect."

"I feel like a model." Josh laughed after the photo was taken.

"You are! Have you ever gotten around to those photoshoots you were offered?"

He shrugged. "I did a few smaller ones. Don't actually know where the photos ended up." Josh laughed.

Ryan's eyes lit up, "Oh, I'll find them."

Josh giggled, excited. "Great! Can we go back to the couch?"

"Sure. Want to watch some Supernatural?"

Josh nodded, getting up and going back to the living room.

"What do you think of Ruby?" Ryan asked, looking at Josh who was curled into his side.

"I don't trust her." Josh said, shaking his head.

"But she's so useful, and she's kind of hot." Ryan giggled.

Josh just rolled his eyes.

"I don't get how you like Dean more than Sam, he's so irrational." Ryan added.

"Him being 'irrational' is what saves them like, every episode. Sam is so boring."

"He's sweet!"
"Boring! Think about the ratio of Dean getting laid compared to him."

"Oh yeah, that'll be a good comeback until Dean gets diagnosed with syphilis."

"Dean is too cool for syphilis, I reckon he'd get HIV."

Ryan wheezed, "You're not helping your case, Josh." To which Josh just laughed.

The two returned to silence with Josh watching the episode while Ryan went on his phone, his arm still wrapped around Josh. "Oh shit, oh no." Ryan tensed.

Josh looked up from where he was snuggled into Ryan's side. "You good bro?"

Before Ryan could answer Josh's phone began to buzz, with people retweeting and tagging him on Twitter. "You did not..." Josh groaned, opening his phone and seeing the photo of him with the makeup.

"It was an accident!" Ryan cried, panicking.

Josh laughed, not completely annoyed. "I better get a modelling gig out of this."

"You're not mad? Or stressed?" Ryan asked in disbelief.

"No?" Josh cocked an eyebrow. "It's all in good nature. Should I be mad?"

Ryan laughed, shaking his head. "Sorry, I forgot that I wasn't with Tyler."

Josh nodded, going through his notifications. "People are loving the look, Ry." Josh smiled, showing Ryan his phone.

"Really? Wow, I thought that people only complimented it cause they liked me."

"Nah, man, you're good at this shit." Josh nodded.

"I tried to do it on Brendon once before a show and he went ape shit."

"He's just self-conscious. And a dickwad." Josh nodded.

"As much as I would love to disagree, you're right." Ryan paused and moved closer. "Now, I'm telling Josh this, not Joshua Dun... but Jon wants to leave the band."

Josh took no offence to the comment, nodding gently. "I'm sorry man, what're you thinking about that?"

"Well... he told me. And he wants me to go with him."

"What're you gonna do Ry?" Josh asked gently, resting his head back on the older boy's shoulder.

Ryan liked the other boy's touch, shrugging helplessly. "I don't know. I'm not happy but I can't just leave. I've known Spencer and Brendon for so long."

Josh nodded, sighing. "I'm sorry you've gotta deal with that."

"I don't know what to do, Josh. Brendon would never speak to me again."

Josh didn't know what to say, so in return he just hugged into the boy. Ryan rathered the affection over Josh's opinion anyway, so he clung to Josh, taking in deep breaths in an effort to keep it together.

"I haven't even told Tyler, I'm a terrible friend." Ryan murmured.

"It's hard to say scary things to people you care about, Ry. He'd understand." Josh cooed.

"But still, he's got that 'Josh is the enemy' mindset implanted into his brain. He'll think I betrayed him."

Josh nodded. "I guess you're right."

Ryan suddenly sat upright, "I'm going to go cook us something. I need to clear my mind."

"I'm gonna put another show on then. Call me if you need some help." Josh smiled, laying back on the couch.

"Do you mind if I go smoke on the balcony?" Ryan asked, grabbing a pack of cigarettes and a joint.

"It's your house, man. But nah, I don't mind."

Ryan smiled before slipping out onto the balcony and closing the door behind him. Not even 20 minutes later Ryan was back inside, his moods now slightly slower than before and he had a shit-eating grin on his face.

"Man, getting high with Tyler is so much better, he has some good shit." Ryan laughed dumbly as he made his way into the kitchen. "How about fish fingers and spaghetti?"

"You know the way into a man's heart, Ryan." Josh called back in confirmation.

It wasn't Ryan's first time cooking while stoned, in fact, he believed he could cook better after smoking weed. "Can you remind me to go grocery shopping for you and Tyler tomorrow?" He asked from the kitchen.

"...Why? I can buy groceries."

Ryan's head appeared from around the fridge. "How do you think all your groceries appear in your kitchen? I know for a fact that it has been months since either you or Brendon went near a supermarket."

Josh looked down at the floor. "Can you buy cornflakes... I finished them this morning..."

Ryan grinned as he closed the fridge door so he could get to the three sets of notepads attached to the metal door. He clicked a pen on his thigh before writing cornflakes to the list labelled J+B.

"Can you grab some plates from the cupboard?"

Josh slowly stood up, getting Ryan his favourite green plates that he picked up on tour.

Ryan strained the spaghetti, coughing from the steam that shot out and into his face before serving it up onto each plate and piling fish fingers on top.

"Man I've been craving this for so long... or maybe it's the weed."

"It's the weed." Josh nodded, sitting down and eating after thanking Ryan.

"Don't thank me, man. I like the company and this isn't anything special."

"I ate half a box of cereal today with my hands, Ryan. This is special."

Ryan laughed, "Come on, eat up and then maybe I'll let you go."