Singing To The Sky
She slammed the door, and made her way into her darkened living room, kicking off her shoes and dropping her purse somewhere along the way. Her destination was her comfy, overstuffed couch, into which she unceremoniously flung herself, face first.
Today. Sucked. Balls.
Since getting the 'promotion' a few months ago (in her case, being promoted meant having to work longer hours, deal with more stress and aggravation that comes with being a supervisor, and getting a minuscule raise that didn't even cover the cost of the increase in tolls and gas money she was paying due to the longer commute), Grace was having more than her fair share of ball-sucking days. Her co-workers were the most unpleasant group of gossips she had ever encountered, her boss was clueless and the amount of stress she was under while attempting to do the work of at least 3 people, was starting to get to her.
She rolled over on her back, flung an arm over her face and was prepared to stay in that position until the following morning when the suckage would begin again.
She felt her phone buzzing in her pocket. With a sigh, she fumbled to answer it without shifting positions or bothering to open her eyes.
"Hello?"
"Salutations Gracie Rae."
She laughed despite herself.
"You really need to stop stealing Josh's vocabulary." she said.
After a second or two of silence on the other end of the line, Grace sat up slowly on the couch, biting her lip to keep from laughing again.
"Salutations Tyler Joseph,"
She was rewarded with a soft chuckle, and she could easily picture her boyfriend's smile from thousands of miles away.
And just like that, the tension and frustration of her work day evaporated. Just from the sound of his laugh.
"So, how's my girl?" he asked, and Grace didn't even try to stop the goofy grin that spread across her face at the endearment. She had long since given up trying to act composed when it came to Tyler. He had a habit of making her feel (and act) like a swooning teenager. But then if anyone was worth swooning over, it was Tyler Joseph.
"Better now," she replied "I'm glad you called."
"Another bad day?"
"All my days seem to be on the sucky end of the scale these days, so yeah."
"You need a new job. Or better yet," he said and she could hear the mischievous excitement in his voice, "you need to run away with this awesome band that's on tour and taking over the world. I heard the lead singer's a pretty rad guy. And he gives really amazing hugs."
Grace smiled, but there was a hint of sadness this time. She missed Tyler so much when he was on the road. Being apart for long stretches of time was by far the hardest part to deal with, but she believed in him completely. She knew how talented he and Josh were, and had no doubts at all that one day they would in fact take over the world.
He noticed her silence, and she could hear regret in his voice when he spoke again.
"Gracie, i'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you sad."
"No, it's okay." she said quickly, trying to sound more cheerful than she felt at the moment. She was having a bad day and missed her boyfriend. Her nightly conversations with Tyler were the highlight of her days, and she wasn't going to waste time acting all emo. "So, how'd it go tonight? Did you rock their faces off?"
"Faces were literally scattered all over the club. They had to call a special clean up crew to handle it all." he responded without missing a beat.
She snorted and then covered her mouth in embarrassment, which only made her laugh harder and before she knew it, she and Tyler were both giggling like idiots.
This was how it was between them. So natural. So easy. He made her feel safe, even from thousands of miles away.
Their laughter finally died down, and they both grew quiet for a moment. She laid back on the couch, and pictured Tyler laying in a bed in some far away hotel room.
"I miss you." he said, barely above a whisper.
The sound of his voice sent a series shivers down her spine, and she closed her eyes, wishing he was there with her.
"I miss you, too." she replied, and felt a tear slide down her face. She wiped it away quickly.
"Last night," he began, his voice lowering into that soft, rasp she loved so much, "I couldn't sleep again. I started off just staring at the ceiling. But then, I started to think about you. About how much I wanted you here with me. How it would be to come offstage every night and see you standing there. If we killed it, or if we sucked and only 3 people showed up...either way, you'd be standing there smiling and...and nothing else would matter. It would be like we had played a sold out show at Madison Square Garden, because you were there."
"Tyler..."
"I want to wake up with you next to me every morning, Gracie. I want the first thing I see in the morning to be those freckles that are scattered across your nose. I want to know that no matter how much the anxiety might beat me down sometimes, that I will always have you to hold me together. I...I know I sound like a really lame Lifetime movie right now, but I want that. I want you to come out on tour with us, Gracie. Please."
She was momentarily stunned. Yes, they had joked around about her quitting her job and going out on the road with them, but she never thought he might actually be serious. Her heart began to pound faster as she struggled with what to say.
"Tyler, I have work….and responsibilities here. I can't just..."
"You have a job you hate, that makes you miserable. You can find another job, maybe even one that doesn't stress you out so much."
She had no response for that. She heard Tyler shifting around, and could picture him running his hands through his hair, pulling on the ends like he always did when he felt awkward and unsure of himself.
"If….if you don't want," he began but she cut him off.
"I want to be with you, Tyler. You know that. The distance is driving me crazy and I hate that I go weeks or months on end without seeing you. I want….all the things you want. I just, i'm not good with change. And this...this would be a huge, massive change in my life."
"Sometimes, with the right person….change can be good." he said quietly.
She took a deep breath and tried to calm her suddenly shaky nerves.
"Listen," he said, "just….just think about it, okay? Please don't say no right now."
"I'm not saying no." she whispered.
"Good. Thank you for not crushing this poor insomniac's spirit tonight, Gracie." he was joking, but she could hear the hint of sadness and disappointment in his voice.
"Sweet dreams, Gracie Rae" he said
"Sweet dreams, Tyler." she responded.
That night she joined him in his sleeplessness.
|-/
The next few days were nothing if not ordinary. She went to work, she continued to somehow resist the temptation to punch at least one co-worker in the face on a daily basis, and she would always end her long, stressful days by crawling into bed and talking to Tyler on the phone. There was never a set time when he would call her – it all depended on time zone differences, traveling and how late their shows ended. But every night, he called her.
He didn't bring up her going on tour with them again, and for that Grace was conflicted. On the one hand she appreciated the fact that he wasn't trying to pressure her, but on the other she wondered if he might have regretted asking her in the first place. Maybe he had just been over-tired and rambling. But she couldn't get the idea out of her head. She would be sitting at work and suddenly realize she was daydreaming about little things. Traveling around on the tour bus, getting to witness the Tyler & Josh show...on and off the stage….on a daily basis. But more than anything, she thought about being able to experience this incredible adventure with Tyler. Being by his side as he literally made his dreams of making music for a living, come true.
They were silly, schoolgirl-type fantasies...but they kept her going.
|-/
"This is totally not the way Sheena did it."
Grace took a deep breath and tried counting to 10.
"Well Todd, this is the way I was taught to do things. And since Sheena is no longer working here, and I am...i guess you'll just have to learn to adjust." She flashed her co-worker a forced smile, and went back to filling out the mountain of paperwork that Todd had so kindly left for her to do. He was the only other person she had working in her department, and he somehow managed to seemingly create even more work for her to do, instead of helping her in any way.
"But, Sheena always did that on Thursdays. Not on Tuesdays.", he said in a petulant voice.
Grace slammed her pencil down on her desk and looked up at the skinny man towering over her.
"I've got an idea, Todd. Why don't you get in your car and drive around and do a building by building search for Sheena until you find her? While you're gone, I might even be able to get some of this work done."
Todd, looking both incredibly aggrieved and slightly confused, was floundering for a response when there was a quiet knock on the office door.
"Hey Grace, someone's looking for you."
Still staring down Todd, Grace pushed herself away from the desk and stood up.
"Fantastic," she said with what might be described as a slightly crazed smile on her face. She made her way out of her office, mentally counting down from 1000.
She froze.
Standing in the middle of the main office, dressed in a white button down shirt and black jeans, was Tyler, ukulele in hand.
He nervously stumbled over the first few notes before finding his way.
Wise men say,
Only fools rush in.
But I can't help falling in love with you
Grace felt the tears brimming her eyes as Tyler took a few steps closer to her.
Shall I stay?
Would it be a sin?
If I can't help falling in love with you
With each word, Tyler grew in confidence until his voice began to soar throughout the space around them.
Like a river flows, surely to the sea
Darling, so it goes…
Some things were meant to be.
Through her tears, she gazed into his brown eyes, and saw only love
Take my hand
Take my whole life, too
For I can't help falling in love with you
As he closed out the song, he stood only inches from her. She was vaguely aware of someone coming over and taking the ukulele from him, and Tyler stuffed his hands in his pockets, smiling shyly at her.
"Salutations, Gracie Rae." he whispered.
"Salutations, Tyler Joseph."
He reached up and started tugging on his hair. Taking a deep breath, he started to speak.
"Look, I know you have a life here..."
"My life is with you," she interrupted. "And I want to be wherever you are." She knew as soon as she spoke those words, that she had never meant anything more in her life.
This was right.
This was her happy ending.
He closed the small distance between them, placing his hands on her face.
"Are you sure? I mean, I came here to sweep you off your feet, and I know i'm pretty irresistible right now, but I don't want to force you..." he rambled. She laughed and placed her fingers over his lips.
"Tyler, shut up." she had just managed to get the words out before his smiling lips covered hers. He kissed her as their laughter and tears mixed.
The sound of one person applauding brought them back down to earth. Grace looked over Tyler's shoulder and for the first time noticed Josh. He was making his way over to them, and he was beaming.
He pulled her out of Tyler's arms, and into a massive bear hug before leaning down and kissing her on the cheek. She may have squealed from the force of the hug. Next he turned to Tyler, and proceeded to wrap his arms around him from the side. It was adorable in the most Josh Dun way.
"Dude, that was epic!"
As he let go of his friend, Josh held up the ukulele proudly.
"I got to play roadie."
The three of them laughed as Josh brought them all in for a group hug.
"This is going to be so much fun, you guys."
Grace enjoyed the moment, and then suddenly realized all of her co-workers were standing around, watching them like an interesting if confusing TV show.
Tyler linked his fingers through hers and kissed her temple.
"You ready, Gracie?"
She nodded, and was never more certain of anything.
She was ready.
She never looked back.