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

4

We had finished eating, and I nodded in agreement. "He's like my brother. I think that he's the only person that's ever been there for me one hundred percent of the time."
"He's a good guy," Jaden agreed. "I'm glad that you have someone like that in your life."
Mom stood up to clear the table, but Jaden stopped her. "Please, let me."
"I said it before, and I'll say it again: he's a keeper," she whispered, nudging me with her elbow.
"Mom!" I objected again. "If you don't quit, he'll stop talking to me."
"No, he won't," she laughed. "I may not be very good at my own relationships, but with the way that boy looks at you, he's not leaving unless you force him."
Uh oh. That was sure to get my hopes up. "You think so?" I asked as he came back into the dining room to grab some more dishes.
"I do. That's the look of someone that doesn't want to leave you."

Mom and I joined Jaden in the kitchen, and she began the dishes. "Where can I get a towel to give you a hand, Mrs. Reynolds?"
"Samantha, please," she replied before answering his question, "and you've already done more than you needed to."
"Are you sure?" he asked. "It's really no trouble at all."
"Your mama and daddy raised you right, sweetheart. Do you have time to stay for a movie? I know that it's a school night," she suggested.
"Of course. I'll just shoot my parents a text to let them know that I'll be out a little while longer," he said, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

Jaden and I went out to the living room, leaving my mom in the kitchen. "You know that you don't have to stay, right? I didn't expect her to be like this," I chuckled awkwardly.
"Don't worry about it," he assured me. "I like your mom. I'm glad that we did this tonight."
"You do?" I asked, shocked. I hadn't really brought people to the house, especially since my parents had gotten divorced. It had taken a long time for my mom to get back to normal after the divorce, and she still had some bad days every once in a while.
He nodded. "She's great. You have nothing to worry about."

"Did the two of you pick a movie out yet?" Mom asked, appearing in the doorway to the living room.
I shook my head. "No, we, uh, we were just talking while we waited for you."
"Well, that new movie is out on Netflix. We could watch that," she suggested.
"That sounds wonderful, Mrs. Reynolds."
As we sat to watch the movie, I couldn't stop thinking about everything that had happened with Josh today. I knew that I should just be focused on the good things that were happening at this very moment, but that was my best friend. I couldn't pretend that everything was just fine.

The credits rolled, and Jaden let out a yawn. "Well, I should get going. Dinner was wonderful, and it was great to meet you, Mrs. Reynolds. Thank you for having me. Maybe next time, Haley can come to meet my parents, and then, we can all have dinner together."
"That sounds like a great idea, Jaden! You drive safe, now, and make sure that you let us know when you make it home safely, alright?" Mom replied.
He nodded. "Of course. I'll see you tomorrow, Haley." His arms wrapped tightly around me, and I felt safe. It was almost like every single worry in my life had disappeared.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Jay," I whispered back.

I hugged my mom goodnight, heading upstairs. After I changed into an old t-shirt and shorts, I laid on my bed, getting ready to FaceTime Josh. He picked up on the first ring.
"Hey, sis."
"Hey, bubs. Can we talk for a little bit?"
"Of course," he replied. "Why would I answer if I didn't want to talk for a little bit?"
I laughed awkwardly. "Okay, sorry."

We sat in silence, and I could tell that he was preoccupied. "What, uh, did you want to talk about, Hales?"
"What has been going on with us lately?" I asked, picking at the hem on my shorts.
He was obviously not paying attention as he chuckled. "Um, yeah. I agree."
"You're not even listening to me, Josh!" I exclaimed, much louder than I intended to. "You're my best friend, and I feel like I can't even tell you anything. Well, I guess I could, and it wouldn't really matter because you're ignoring me anyway!"
"Whoa," he replied. "Can I ask why the hell you're yelling?"
"Are you going to listen to what I have to say, or am I just going to be talking to myself?" I snapped back.

He let out a sigh, and I could tell that he was getting ready to finally give me his full attention. "I'm sorry. You're right. Start over."
"I don't understand what's going on between us right now. You're my best friend."
He sighed again. "I think that we've grown apart recently. That's okay, you know?"
I felt my mouth drop open. "You're okay with that?"
"Well, no, but I don't want to push. We need room to grow sometimes. I mean, you've got Jaden, and I've got Nessa. Maybe this is okay," he shrugged, his voice trailing off.
"Oh," I whispered, fighting back tears. "You're right. I guess. Um, I'm gonna head to bed. I forgot that I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning, so I won't need a ride to school. I'll see you there."

As soon as I hung up, the tears spilled over. There was still no way in hell that I would let my best friend go, but would we ever get things back to the way that they were? Would I really ever have him back? I could have everything in the world, but if I didn't have Josh, none of it would matter.
"Calm down, Haley," I scolded myself. "Can you really lose him? Not a chance."
I was really having trouble convincing myself.