april 2013
natalie

A lot has happened since I graduated high school. I put college on hold since I had no idea what I wanted to do yet, and I had two jobs. I was a waitress and I worked at a JCPenny at the mall. Emily and I lived in an apartment together, and she was a nurse. Together we made quite a team, at least when it came to paying for stuff. I was so grateful that I found her when I first moved to L.A. We had a really strong friendship, and it's been great knowing her.

There was one thing I missed though, and surprisingly, it was Josh. Whenever I visited him, he seemed so eager to talk to me, but I was too upset that I couldn't hang out with Emily, so I didn't really pay him much attention. I stopped visiting them after I had graduated too, and that was about seven years go. He got my phone number when I visited one time, and he would call me randomly, but those calls eventually stopped. I hoped he was doing well, because it wasn't like I ever hated him anyway. I plugged my earbuds into my iPhone and turned on some calming music. A few songs later, I slowly drifted off into a deep sleep.

-

I was woken up by my ringtone blasting through my earbuds. I ripped them out of my ears and fished around for my phone. Once I found it, I pulled out the cord and read the contact name.

'Josh Dun'

What? He hasn't called me in years. He must've hit my name on accident and he was trying to call someone else. I decided to answer anyway, even if it was a mistake.

"Hello?" I said, pulling the phone up to my ear.

"Hey Nat," he greeted cheerfully.

I rolled my eyes. "How many times have I told you not to call me that?"

"I'm not sure. I think I lost count." He chuckled.

"Alright. Anyway, why'd you decide to call me?"

"Oh I don't know. Maybe because we haven't talked in years? I miss you sometimes, dude!"

"Oh okay, thanks I guess." I didn't know why I was acting so bored. He was obviously so happy to talk to me, but I just wasn't. I didn't think he cared much though, because he was used to me being a bit hostile to him.

"So, what's new with you?" He asked.

"Just living an uneventful life. I haven't even gone to college yet." I decided to get out of bed and make myself breakfast. "I just work two jobs. You remember my friend Emily?"

"Yeah, you've mentioned her before."

"Yeah, she and I are living together now," I said as I poured Lucky Charms into a bowl, holding my phone up to my ear with my shoulder.

"Sounds fun," he replied. "I'm in a band."

"Are you now?" I asked with a monotone voice. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound uninterested. I'm just tired. Tell me more though."

"It's called Twenty One Pilots. You should really check us out. We actually released a new album a couple of months ago."

"Okay, I'll give it a listen."

"Oh, and just to let you know, it's a little bit different from what you listen to. Is that okay?"

"As long as it's not pop, but I don't think you'd go for pop."

He chuckled. "Yeah, it's not pop, don't worry."

"Alright, I'll listen to your new album later then," I said in the middle of a yawn.

"Man, you seem really tired. Did you sleep alright?"

"Oh yeah I slept fine. I just woke up though." I replied, pouring milk into my bowl of Lucky Charms.

"Oh okay. Do you have work today?"

"Yeah, but not until later."

"Alright. Listen, I have to go. I hope we can talk again soon." He said.

"Oh okay, and uh, same." And with that, he hung up.

Suddenly, Emily opened her bedroom door and I jumped. "Did I scare you?" She asked with a smirk.

"Well yeah it was just so abrupt," I replied with a chuckle.

"Who were you talking to?" She asked.

"Just an old acquaintance."

"Who?"

"It's not that important."

"Then why won't you tell me?" She folded her arms and pouted.

"Fine, it was just this guy from Ohio. His name is Josh."

"Ooh, he's a guy, huh?" She wiggled her eyebrows.

I laughed. "Oh shut up. It's not like that."

"Sure it isn't." She smirked.

"Em, you know me. I couldn't get a guy if I wanted to."

"That's true. So how do you know him?"

"My mom forced us to talk when we were younger."

"Wow, really?"

"Yeah, but I guess it worked out because he just called me after years of not talking."

"That's cool. Well I need to get ready for work. Can you make me breakfast while I shower?"

"You booked a different shift?"

"We need to get money somehow." She chuckled.

"I guess you're right. I'll make you some cereal."

"Thanks so much." And with that, she walked into the bathroom.

-

josh

"Who was that on the phone?" Tyler asked me.

"Oh, just a friend," I replied, keeping my eyes on my phone. I don't know why I decided to end the call with Natalie. I wanted to keep talking to her, but I didn't want to keep her from doing anything. She also didn't seem to want to talk, but hopefully that wasn't the case.

"Do I know them?"

"I don't think so. She was around before we became friends."

"Oh okay. What's her name?"

"Her name is Natalie. She used to live fairly close to me when we were kids, and our moms were friends in high school, so we hung out a lot. I don't think she really liked me though. She didn't really like talking to people."

"But you guys still talk?"

"Well, I thought I should give her a call, and see how things were with her."

"Okay, cool."

"Yeah. I told her to listen to our new album. She had no idea that I was in a band." I chuckled.

"Nice."

"Yeah, I know she's more into punk rock stuff, but I have a feeling she'll like it."

"Okay, I'm going to go to the store."

"Have fun," I replied, and he left.

I hoped that Natalie liked some songs. Maybe she would come to one of our concerts and then I could see her. I'm getting too ahead of myself. She needs to actually listen to some of our stuff first.

-

natalie

"Emily, do you know a band named Twenty One Pilots?"

"I think I've heard of them before, why?"

"That's the band that Josh is in."

"Wow, really? I think they're becoming more known, but I don't know."

"Here, I'll look them up." I hooked my phone up to our blue-tooth speaker and typed in 'twenty one pilots' on YouTube. Most of the results had the same thumbnail: two old men standing in front of a white background. Other results had a different thumbnail, but I focused on the top results. Their new album was apparently called Vessel.

"Well I don't have much time to listen. I have to leave in like five minutes."

"Okay, most of them are only two to four minutes anyway." I scrolled through the results and found a song titled 'Semi-Automatic.' It seemed interesting, so I played it.

"Ooh, I like this," Emily said halfway through the song. Is Josh the singer?"

"No, I think he plays the drums. He taught himself to play when we were in middle school, I think," I replied.

"That's awesome!"

"Yeah it's pretty impressive." I liked the song too. Josh was right when he said that it was different from what I listen to, but it wasn't so much a bad kind of different. Once Emily left, I was going to listen to more. Then I'd call Josh and tell him about it.

-

I had just finished listening to 'Truce,' and I was about ready to cry. The singer's voice was so soft, and combined with the piano, it made it even softer. The lyrics also made it feel like he was speaking to me, too. After listening to every song, I had to admit that Vessel was one of the best albums I had ever listened to. There were plenty of albums that I considered the best though, so that was just one of many.

I listened to the phone ring multiple times before he picked up.

"Hey Natalie," he greeted cheerfully.

"Hi, Josh. I just listened to Vessel."

"Oh you did? That's awesome!"

"Yeah, I really liked it."

"I'm glad. Maybe you could come to one of our concerts some time. You could bring your friend Emily too."

"Okay, I wouldn't mind that. I haven't been to a concert in a while."

"Cool, I kinda want to see you again."

"Why is that?" I asked, genuinely confused.

"Well we haven't seen each other in a long time. I miss you."

"Why do you miss me?"

"I know you didn't think of us as friends, but I did, and I still do. I was thinking we could make it a mutual friendship. Y'know, without your mom forcing us to talk or hang out, we could just talk and hang out on our own."

"Okay, that makes sense. When's your next tour?"

"I'm not sure. I'll have to ask my manager. I'll text you if we're headed to L.A., okay?"

"Alright, sounds good."

"Okay, I'll talk to you soon. Goodbye."

"Bye." I half-smiled and hung up the phone. It was nice to know that Josh still wanted to be friends with me. Maybe we could be friends without my mom breathing down my neck. I guess I'd just have to wait and see.

Hey guys so I know this chapter was boring/short and I'm really sorry, but it will be more eventful once Josh and Nat start talking in person. I hope you are all enjoying the story so far! -Avery