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

18

"Shit, shit, shit!" I muttered, running down the stairs, narrowly catching myself as I almost fell. 
"Language, language, language!" Mom called out behind me. I couldn't even bother to roll my eyes at it as I ran out the front door, leaving it open behind me.
"Whoa! What the hell is going on here you two?" I asked, stepping in between the two of them. 

They both avoided my question, avoiding eye contact with each other as they greeted me. "You're not wearing any shoes, babe," Jaden observed. 
"Oh, I hope you slept well, sis," Josh said. 
I shook my head. "Nope. We are not avoiding this. What the hell are you two doing out here?" 

"You weren't raised in a barn, young lady! You shut my door when you go out of it!" Mom yelled. "Oh, hello, boys! How are we doing?" 
"Just fine!" both boys yelled back in unison before turning to glare at each other. Mom shook her head, turning back to go inside the house. 
"Go get shoes on, love," Jaden instructed, sternly but somehow still soft.
I turned to go, but I shook my head again, remembering exactly why I had come out here in the first place. "I'm not going anywhere or putting any shoes on until you two explain why you look like you want to rip each other's heads off."

Josh sighed. I cracked him. Good. "I came outside to come to get you so that we could go to school, but then I see this piece of junk sitting in your driveway."
"Whoa, we don't attack people's material possessions when we're angry with them," I warned. 
"You call him your possession? I'm all for feminism, but that's a little fucked, don't you think?" Josh asked. 
"Josh!" I exclaimed. 
"You're such a douche, dude," Jaden interjected. "I just came to get my girlfriend so that I could pick her up a coffee and talk to her about how her night went last night. She didn't call me, so I was assuming that something disheartening happened after she left my house last night," he added, explaining. 

Josh shook his head again. "Whatever, man. Hales, you have to choose: who do you want to take you to school?" 
Josh and Jaden both stood there, arms crossed, staring at me as they waited for an answer. My nerves manifested themselves in sweaty palms and butterflies. "Jaden drove all the way here. He, uh, has to go past the school to get here. I'll catch a ride with him today," I finally managed to stammer out, wringing my hands anxiously. 

"Un-fucking-believable," Josh whispered, shaking his head. He stormed off, and I watched as he got into his car, slamming the door shut. I never intended on hurting anyone, but I had obviously gotten very good at hurting Josh recently. 
"Can you please go get your shoes on now?" Jaden asked. "We'll be late if we stop for coffee now, but that's okay because I would do anything for you, my love."

I groaned internally as I walked inside. He was perfect. I loved him, right?
Mom was waiting in the front hallway when I came back downstairs. "What were they fighting about? I thought that they were like best friends."
"They were fighting about me, Mom. They've been doing that a lot the last couple of days. Something about the relationship that I have with Josh makes Jaden and Nessa uncomfortable. I don't know, Mom. I'm gonna be late for school. I'll see you later," I said, hugging her quickly and kissing her cheek. 

Jaden was standing outside of my car door when I got back outside. "Your chariot awaits, m'lady," he joked, opening it and motioning for me to get inside. I giggled as I slid into the seat. I had needed a little hint on whether or not I actually loved him, and the universe had just sent it to me. 
"What are you smiling about?" he asked, turning the key in the ignition and putting his hand on the back of my headrest as he backed out of the driveway. 
I giggled again. "That shouldn't be so attractive."
He reached over, grabbing my hand. "What shouldn't be so attractive?" he asked, feigning innocence. 
"You," I giggled again, pulling his hand up to kiss it. "I love you." 

We pulled into the Starbucks parking lot, and he put the car in park. "What would you like this morning, my dear?" 
"An iced chai, please, sweetie," I asked, as he closed the door behind him and headed inside. 
I thought about everything that had brought me here. Every doubt, every nerve, every anxious thought, and even though it was hurting my longest friendship, I was happier than I had ever been in my entire life. Maybe everything was going to be going better than I thought it was going to. 

Jaden had left his phone in the car, and it buzzed in the cupholder. "Oh, I love it when I think that things could be going well, and then something funny happens," I pondered out loud.
I started to pick at my cuticles anxiously. "Do not dare to even think about looking at that text. This relationship will go absolutely nowhere if you can't trust him. Besides, he said that he loved you first. You met his family. That's got to mean something, and it definitely doesn't mean that anything wrong could possibly be on that phone. Ugh, okay, maybe just a little peek. It can't hurt, right?" I shook my head. "I cannot believe that you're talking to yourself about this. Let yourself be happy for like ten seconds. It's probably just his mom telling him that he forgot something at home."

I picked up his phone, taking a look at the name on the screen. My heart dropped in my chest. In the words of Josh, un-fucking-believable. 
Jaden opened his car door, handing me my drink. "Here you go, Hales," he said. "Hey, are you okay? You look a little upset. Did something happen while I was inside?"