BF(F?): A Josh Richards Fanfiction *completed*

3

"Um, like, tonight?" 
"Yeah. My mom made plenty, and I would love for you to meet her," I explained. His silence gave me anxiety, and the high that I had gotten from his laugh had dissipated. "You don't have to if you don't want to. I don't even know why I said that. I mean, are we at that point? No, that tries to put a label on things, and that scares people. I shouldn't do that. God, I'm babbling. Sorry."
He chuckled again. "That was babbling, but it was kind of cute. I'll be there. Do you need me to bring anything?"
It was my turn to chuckle. "No, just yourself. I'll see you in a little bit."

My mom yelled in greeting from the kitchen. "Hey, sweetie! Did you bring Josh with you?" 
I leaned against the doorframe, watching as she stirred something in a pot on the stove. "No, I didn't. We got into a little fight today, ad I thought that everything was fine, but things got a little bit weird at his house. I did invite someone, though. I hope that's okay."
"Of course! Have I met her before?" she replied, never looking up from the stove. 
I cleared my throat. "No, you haven't met him."
"Oh!" she exclaimed, turning to face me. "Is this that boy that you've been on FaceTime with every night?" 
"Mom, don't make it a big deal."
She laughed, shaking her head. "Of course not."

The doorbell rang. "That must be him. Go get it. I can't wait to meet him!"
I shook my head as I turned around. "Don't be weird, Mom."
I opened the door to Jaden holding a bouquet of flowers. "Hey, Haley."
"Hey, Jaden," I greeted him back, leaning in for a hug. 
"I'm nervous. Do I look okay? Do you think that she'll like me?"
"Now, who's babbling?" I laughed. "She'll love you, and if she doesn't, that doesn't matter because I think that you're pretty great."

We went into the kitchen, and my mom was smiling wide. "Hi! I'm Samantha. It's nice to meet you!"
"Hi, Mrs. Reynolds. It's nice to finally meet you. I've heard a lot of really great things about you," Jaden replied, handing her the bouquet. "These are for you."
"What a gentleman!" she exclaimed. "This one's a keeper."
"Mom!" I objected. 

We sat down to eat, and Mom began to ask him anything and everything that she could think of. "So, Jaden, where are you from?" 
"I'm from Texas," he replied before taking a bite of his spaghetti. 
She nodded approvingly. "I used to love going to Texas! Every part that I've ever been to is beautiful!"
"It definitely is," he agreed. 
"Okay, and how about your family? Can you tell me a little bit about them?"
"Mom! Let the boy eat his spaghetti!" I interjected. 

Jaden shook his head. "No, she's fine. I don't mind. I'm the youngest. I have two older sisters."
"That's great! I always wished that I could have given Haley a sibling or two, but that obviously didn't happen."
"Why is that, if you don't mind me asking?" Jaden asked. 
I went to interrupt, but Mom put her hand up to stop me. "Haley's dad and I tried really hard to have her. When we finally got her, we were so excited. Unfortunately, her dad and I were not meant to be married. Before we were able to get pregnant again, we got divorced. He left shortly after, and he hasn't come back."

I liked Jaden a lot, but I wasn't ready to let him in to see my childhood trauma. "Mom, can I speak with you in the living room for just a moment?" I asked, slamming my fork down.
"You're being awfully dramatic," she replied, placing her fork down and pushing her chair back. "Let's go, Haley."
"Mom, did you really have to tell him that?" I asked as we stood in front of the couch.
"What's the big deal, Haley? If you really like him, then he should know all about you, and if knowing that about you bothers him, then you don't need him."
"You know that I don't like to share that part of my life with just anyone. What do I say if he asks whether or not I've had contact with him? How do I tell the guy with perfect parents that my dad left me when I was ten and doesn't give a shit about me?" I asked, my voice catching in my throat. 
"Honey, you don't your dad. You are an amazing young woman, and you did that all without him. You did that all on your own," she replied, wrapping me in a hug as the tears began to flow freely. "Go get yourself cleaned up and join us back in the dining room. We can talk about this later if you'd like."

I sniffled, wiping my nose with my sleeve. "It's fine, Mom. Sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. I just really like this one, and I don't want to lose him."
"If he's still sitting out there at that table all by himself, then I don't think that you're going to lose him," she chuckled. 
We sat down at the table, and Jaden immediately apologized. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to overstep."
"No, you're fine," I assured him. "I struggle opening up to people sometimes," I chuckled. 
"Thank goodness," he said, letting out a sigh of relief. "Now, I do have a question for you, Mrs. Reynolds. Josh and I have been really good friends since middle school, and the only person that I know that's closer to him than me is Haley. How did that happen?" 
"Oh, that's an easy one!" she replied. "Josh's mom and I went to college together. We were sorority sisters. When we both got married, we ended up moving right next door to each other. We got pregnant at the same time, and the two of them had play dates all the time. By the time that we tried to separate them and get them involved in their own activities, they refused to be apart. They've been inseparable ever since."