Empathy [Josh Dun - Twenty One Pilots]

Josh always thought of high school as an anthill. Some ants were fighting to get to the top. Others were just struggling to get through. And a few of them were just praying to be left alone, invisible, in a world of their own.

Josh was obviously the last kind. So, when the bell rang, announcing the end of the working day, Josh stayed seated for a few more minutes, patiently waiting for the flow of pupils to die down, all the while pretending to search for something in his backpack. When he felt safe enough, he finally stood up and walked towards the door. As he stepped outside and into the hallway, though, he stopped and turned his head to peak through the class.

Tyler, his schoolbag on his shoulder, was ready to follow him towards the exit, like he had done for the past few weeks now. They didn't see themselves as friends yet, but Josh couldn't help but smile as they passed the lockers. Tyler seemed to act like a shield for him. He seemed to create some sort of invisible magnetic field that prevented bully from attacking Josh, and although he didn't know what caused this, Josh couldn't be happier: he hadn't been shoved into a wall for quite some time now.

In silence, they walked through the park and, as if on cue, stopped on the sidewalk where moms in SUVs were picking up their high-schoolers. The first one in line was Mrs Dun, and Josh waved discreetly at her before turning to Tyler.

"See you tomorrow?" he asked in a hopeful tone, as if Tyler could possibly disappear and never come back. But the dark-haired boy nodded.

"See you tomorrow," he repeated, pale copy of Josh's words. They both smiled, and Josh quickly stepped into his mom's car, avoiding her gaze. As he fastened his seatbelt, his eye caught Tyler's shadow, still motionless, on the sidewalk.

"Hi, honey! Who's that?" Mrs Dun asked enthusiastically. "Is that a new friend of yours? What's his name?"

Josh sighed in response, but before he could actually open his mouth to give an answer, his mom had already lowered the window and was bending over his body, almost yelling so she could be heard from the outside.

"Hello there! Do you need a ride?" she asked, her face so close to Josh's that he couldn't avoid her shiny eyes, let alone protest against her suddenly outburst of love for the unknown. So instead, he laid back and relaxed. Nothing bad could happen. This was just his mom and his... well... and Tyler.

"Would you mind?" Josh heard Tyler's voice before his mom's shout hurt his hearing.

"Not at all! Hop on!"

And that's what the boy did.

"Thank you very much, Mrs Dun," he said softly before quickly fastening his belt, then offering Josh's mum his brightest smile. Josh couldn't help but think that Tyler was probably the son of every mother's dream, and his thoughts wandered. His own mom would be so happy to have a son like him, all cheery and talkative yet mysterious. Oh, and a total math genius. Sometimes he wished he could be like him, just for his mother's happiness.

"So Josh," her voice put him out of that dark slumber, "won't you introduce me to your friend here?"

Josh shook his head slightly, suddenly realizing he had lost all sense of etiquette.

"I'm Tyler," the boy replied automatically before Josh even had the time to think. "Tyler Joseph. Nice to meet you. I would shake your hand but you're driving and I don't think that's safe for now," he added in an apologizing tone.

Much to Josh's surprise, Mrs Dun giggled, obviously delighted by Tyler's sense of humor (Josh added that to the list of his virtues), then asked for directions to his place. At these words, Tyler's cheeks seemed to color a bit, and he hesitated.

"It's uhm... Not that far, actually. You just have to turn left at the next crossroad, then second on the right. My house is at the end of that street."

Furrowing his brows, Josh slowly turned on his seat to face Tyler, glancing at his mother on the way. She was totally oblivious to the fact that good-boy-Tyler had previously lied to her son - and how could she know anyway? Surprised - and a bit disappointed - Josh silently interrogated Tyler. Josh's house was on the opposite side of the school, yet he had pretended that his house was that way when they had both walked home in the pouring rain, the other day. As only answer, the boy simply mouthed "sorry" before looking down at his hands.

"By the way, Josh," his mom interrupted his train of thoughts again, "the principal gave me a call earlier today: you have to take a decision about that homeschooling thing..."

"Mom..." Josh whispered, embarrassed at the topic. But Mrs Dun was too caught up to even hear him.

"... and you can't keep putting it off like that. He needs your decision by Friday. Do you want to be homeschooled?"

"Mom!" Josh said, higher this time. "Is it necessary to talk about this right now?" he asked, emphasizing the last word while glancing to the back of the car where Tyler was seated. He didn't want him to hear. He didn't want him to know that he was just a coward, and that he had been considering that option to avoid the dreadful high-school hallways. At a stop, Mrs Dun looked at her son. When their eyes met, Josh saw that spark of sadness he was so used to. But another thing was there too, this time, and with understanding, his mom whispered a sincere "sorry" before starting the car again.

"You know," Tyler's voice made them both jump, "I was homeschooled before."

"Really?" both mother and son asked in reply. That was it, then. The reason Josh had never seen him before. He wasn't new to the city. He was just homeschooled, and Josh may had seen him at the mall or something.

"How was it?" Mrs Dun asked, but the question that popped into Josh's head at this very moment was "why?". Why was Tyler homeschooled? He seemed like the normal type of guy. He could talk to people without getting shoved into a wall. He made the girls laugh. Why would he need to stay at home? What had he been avoiding until now?

"... and he's kind of my only friend. I wouldn't want him to be out of school right now." Tyler said, probably continuing on the conversation his mom had started. "But of course, that's selfish. I don't want that to affect your decision, Josh" he added, talking directly to him now.

But Josh couldn't possibly answer. So he just shrugged and smiled instead, while his mom was pulling over already. Tyler got off while Mrs Dun greeted him goodbye.

"I hope to see you soon, Tyler! You're welcome home anytime, honey!"

"Thanks a lot Mrs Dun. I'd love to!" he answered, blinding them with his smile. "See ya, dude!" he added to Josh before skipping away towards his house.

When his mom started the car again, Josh was still struggling to accept the words Tyler used to describe him. Friend. Tyler said they were friends. Looking up at Mrs Dun, Josh smiled, sincerely and surprised: did his mom just make him a friend?