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

11

"Joshua Kenneth! Have you lost your damn mind?" I heard her ask on the other end of the phone.
"Mom, calm down," Josh said, which only resulted in making her angrier.
"Calm down?" she yelled. "Is there a reason that I just got a phone call from your school saying that you are not in class today, and it is counted as an unexcused absence?"
Josh was quick to come up with an explanation, and I was proud of him for it. "Haley was struggling at school, so I left to take her to calm down. That's all."
"Does Samantha know about this? She's going to be pissed, Josh." His mom being best friends with mine was the only downfall of our friendship. We could never hide things from both of our parents for very long.
"Mom," Josh began, "if the school called you, then they called Sam, too."

Unfortunately for us, the waitress returned. "Are we ready to order?"
"Where the hell are you, Josh?" she exclaimed. Any progress that Josh had made in deescalating her anger was thrown out the window now.
"Mom, I'm gonna have to talk to you about this when I get home. I love you," he replied, hanging up. "Hi, yes. We're ready to order."

After she had left the table, I looked at Josh. "So, she's pretty upset, huh?"
"This is what I get for, how did you put it? 'Living a little?'" he shot back, clearly irritated.
"Whoa, you had a choice. This is not on Haley," Jaden interjected, trying to protect me from
Josh's anger.
"Buddy, I don't care if you're her boyfriend. If I'm talking to my best friend, you're gonna mind your business," Josh said through clenched teeth.
"Hey!" I interrupted. "Knock it off! You're both important people in my life, and I won't have you arguing like this. Josh, I love you, but this isn't all on me. Yes, I convinced you, but I didn't hold a gun to your head. You came pretty willingly," I said, reaching over to pat Josh's hand. "Jaden, I can take care of myself. I love that you want to protect me, but you don't have to jump at Josh's throat like that. Now, can we deal with angry moms later? Right now, I would just like to enjoy my pancakes."

Right on cue, our waitress returned, setting our plates down in front of each of us. "Can I get you anything? More syrup? Ketchup for your hash browns?" When no one spoke, she nodded. "I'll be by to check on you guys in just a little bit. Enjoy."
"I'm sorry," Josh mumbled, not really sounding like he meant it.
"I know," I replied, avoiding eye contact as I put syrup on my pancakes. "This isn't my first rodeo."

"I have to use the restroom," Nessa announced, setting her knife and fork down. "Would you go with me, Haley?"
I was a little confused at the sudden invitation, but the look in her eyes told me that I didn't really have a choice in the matter. "Sure. We'll be right back."
As soon as the door shut behind us, Nessa began to talk. "I know that you guys have been best friends for pretty much your whole lives, but I have to tell you this."
"Tell me what?" I asked.
"It makes me uncomfortable how affectionate you are with Josh!" she blurted out.
I was taken aback. "I'm sorry?"
"You're so touchy-feely with him," she explained, looking down at the ground. "I know that you guys are just friends, but it makes me insecure."

I chuckled a little, apologizing quickly. "I'm sorry. I just- I didn't realize that you didn't like that. Wow, I, uh, I'll work on that. It's gonna be a hard habit to break, but Josh really likes you, and I don't want to make things uncomfortable for you."
"Thank you, Haley. That means a lot to me, more than you could know. That being said, I do have to pee, though," she chuckled. "I'll see you back at the table."

The silence when I returned to the table was almost deafening. "Any fun conversations happen here?" I asked, trying to break down the discomfort.
"Nope," Josh stated, popping the 'p.'
"So, it's going to be like that now?" I asked. "Great."
"Great? God, you are so selfish, Haley," Josh spat back.
I shook my head in disbelief. "I'm not doing this with you, Josh. Especially not in public. You need to get your temper under control."
"My temper?" he exclaimed. "Don't act like your little boy-toy hasn't been clenching his fists at me all morning."
"That's enough," I replied sternly as Nessa sat back at the table.
"What did I miss?" she asked innocently.
"Nothing," I replied, staring cooly at Josh. "I think that it's just about time for us to leave. We may have overstayed our welcome."

Jaden flagged down the waitress, asking for our bills. We made our way up to the register, and Jaden quickly wrapped his arms around me from behind. "I'm proud of you," he whispered, his breath tickling my ear.
"For what?" I asked, looking up into his ocean blue eyes.
"For standing up for yourself, for me, for us. I know that probably wasn't easy to say to Josh," he explained, kissing the top of my head.

Josh and Nessa met us in the car, and the ride back to the school was silent. I held Jaden's hand as he drove, caressing his hand with my thumb. It had only been a day, and our relationships were tearing us apart. Josh and I were always told that we were destined to be best friends forever, but at this point, I wasn't sure if I wanted to be.
I was trying so hard to be supportive and happy for him, and he couldn't even be bothered to give me the same courtesy. What kind of friendship is all give and no take?