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

16

Everyone was silent, and I thought about putting up a fight, but the look on my mom's face told me that that was not a good idea.
"Thank you for having me. It was wonderful to meet all of you," I said, pushing my chair back and slowly standing up. "I'm sure that we'll see each other again soon."
"Let me walk you guys out," Jaden suggested, also standing up from his chair.
"That's a wonderful idea. Thank you for coming," Amy replied, looking at me with concern in her eyes.

My mom had already made her way to the front door, and she stood there, tapping her foot impatiently. "I don't have all day, Haley."
"Hey, it's fine," Jaden assured me, nudging me so that I was turned to face him.
"What if it's not?" I asked, tears filling my eyes. "She's pissed."
"Haley!" Mom interjected. "Let's go!"

The car ride was silent, and I felt the anger bubbling in my chest.
We pulled into our driveway, and I slammed my car door shut angrily before storming off towards the front door.
Next door, Patti was practically dragging Josh out of the house. "I'm glad that you finally got yours home!" Patti yelled to Mom.
"It was like pulling teeth!" Mom yelled back.

I rolled my eyes as I unlocked the front door. "You should've just left me there," I mumbled.
Patti chuckled. "You know better than to mumble."
Josh and I sat down on the couch next to one another, and our moms stared at us intently. "So, what possessed the two of you to decide that you were able to skip school today?" Mom asked, breaking the silence.
"To be fair, I only skipped the morning," Josh explained defensively.
Patti hit him lightly upside the head. "Lose the smart-ass remarks."
"We're kids!" I exclaimed. "We're allowed to do risky things. Are you trying to tell me that neither one of you ever skipped a class?"

Mom and Patti shared a look, but neither one of them spoke.
Patti finally broke the silence. "It doesn't matter what we did as kids. The only thing that matters is why the two of you thought that it was okay for you to skip school early this morning, as well as what you did while you weren't where you were supposed to be today." 
"Exactly!" my mom exclaimed. "Why did you two skip school? What did you do? Where were you at? Why aren't you answering any of these questions?"
"Sam," Josh began, "with all due respect, you aren't given either of us a chance to answer any of the questions that were just asked. How are we supposed to answer questions if you're just screaming at us?"

Patti hit him lightly upside the head again. "Be respectful, you little asshole!" 
Josh instinctively reached up to grab his head where her smack had landed. "Ow! I was being respectful! That was a fair question, and everyone in this room knows it!" 
"Enough!" I interjected, causing all three of them to turn to look at me. "In this situation, Josh isn't at fault. I actively chose to skip, and Josh was worried about me being sage. That's the only reason that he tagged along. We weren't doing drugs, we didn't get pregnant or get any diseases, and we got home safely. I don't understand what the big deal is!"

"Whoa, I know that you didn't just take sole responsibility for this!" Josh yelled. Great. Now, we weren't only fighting our moms, but also each other. "You know who is actually at fault in this but you want to protect him for some stupid reason."
"Oh my, God!" I shouted back, throwing my hands up and jumping up from the couch. "Jaden suggested it! Is that what you want me to say? Jaden suggested it, I followed along, and I gave you the choice to come with us. Don't act like he forced any of us! And, if you really want to keep pointing fingers, don't forget that perfect little Nessa also tagged along!" 

Patti and my mom shared a glance before looking back at us again. "What the hell is going on between the two of you?" Patti asked, interrupting before Josh could scream at me again. 
"You don't even want to know what's wrong, Mom!" Josh replied, turning his attention away from me. "I kept a secret from my best friend for the entire summer. She fell for my other best friend. He changed her for what I can only presume is going to be the worst. I'm not actually sure if I want to be with my girlfriend or if she's just filling a void that Haley can't fill because she will never love me the way that I love her!"

An awkward and uncomfortable silence fell over the four of us, and we all watched the look on Josh's face change as he realized what he had just shouted in my living room. He looked at me, and the pure terror that graced his face moments before he stormed out of the front door, leaving us all speechless. 
"What the hell?" Mom said, finally speaking. 
"Oh, please!" I exclaimed, it finally being my turn to get up off of the couch dramatically. "You called it! You literally told me that he loved me more than just as my best friend! Don't even act like you had no idea that this was going to blow up in everyone's faces!"
"You'll talk to me with respect!" she screamed back at me. 
Patti looked uncomfortable. "Maybe, um, maybe I should leave. I should probably, um, figure out where my kid went, you know? He was kind of angry."
Mom groaned. "Oh, shut up, Patti! You didn't have to announce your departure. Just go!"

A hurt look flashed across Patti's face, but this wasn't the first time that Mom had pulled what I liked to call a 'Classic Samantha' on her, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. "Call me if you need anything, Sam. We can talk about this when everyone has had a chance to calm down."