Maybe You Should Hold On To My Sweater

Chapter 1

A/N: I posted this to fuckyeahjoshandmatt.tumblr.com so don't get stressy and say I stole it. And the title's from a Hedley song. Okay.

It was three am, and Josh was hungry. He’d spent the day avoiding food again, for no reason other than being curious to see how long he could stand without food. Three days had passed and Josh hadn’t had anything but water, and now, after tossing and turning in bed for four hours, he finally gave in, deciding he was absolutely starving.

Slowly sitting up, he stretched his arms above his head. Coughing as he swung his feet off the bed, he buried his head in his hands. He peered in the mirror near the bed. His hair was raggedy, and his face was pale. But that didn’t deter Ramsay, for all he could think right now was of how ridiculously hungry he was. Fuck, it was stupid. He padded over to the kitchen, and swung open the fridge. Nothing but a pack of bottled water. He swore, and checked the cupboards. Empty. He stalked back into his room, and switched the light on, wincing slightly at the bright light. He ran a brush through his knotty hair and threw on a pair of sweatpants, because looking great was not on top of his priority list right now. Grabbing a shirt, he yanked it over his head and discarded the old one on his bedroom floor. And after he grabbed his keys and wallet, he left the apartment and jumped in his car.

He didn’t know if any stores would even be open this early. Heck, he didn’t even know if the open-all-night fast food joints would be open this early. He drove around for at least twenty minutes, fuelled by ravenous hunger, until he saw a glowing sign through the heavy rain in the distance. It wasn’t a fast food joint; it was a poky little one-off diner, on the outskirts of town. And, as Josh drove closer, he noticed it appeared to be empty. He smiled as he pulled up by the curb. Preparing himself, he dashed out of the car and across the street, trying to be quick to avoid getting drenched by the rain. Unluckily he did, and it only made him regret bringing a jacket even more.

The diner smelt of food, obviously, but it was that comforting smell, one of home. The lights were dimmed slightly, and soft music could be heard if you listened closely. And Josh was right; the place was completely empty apart from one member of staff leaning on the counter, flicking through a magazine idly. He looked up as the door shut behind Josh.

“Hey, uhm, are you still open?” Josh asked meekly.

“Sure. Did you want a menu?” The boy held a laminated sheet of paper to Josh, who crossed the room cautiously to take it. On closer inspection, he could see that the boy’s nametag read ‘Matt’, and he had deep brown eyes. He’s beautiful, thought Josh to himself.

Matt’s lips curled into a smile as he stared at the pale man in front of him. He was shivering, and soaked through to the skin. Stupid kid forgot a jacket, Matt guessed. But he was cute, really cute, and Matt could feel his cheeks burning as he handed the menu to Josh.

“I’m Matt, by the way.”

“I know, I read your nametag.” Josh smirked, pointing to Matt’s chest. Good one, Matt thought.

“Oh... right.”

“It’s okay. I’m Josh.” He sat at one of the stools at the counter, right near Matt, and he still had that smirk on his face. Matt watched him as subtly as he could while the man read through the menu. Jesus Christ, the man was beautiful. The way the bleached strips in his hair contrasted with the dark, those blue eyes... Matt felt like a teenage schoolgirl.

“Hey, can I have some fries? And a black coffee... please.” Josh didn’t want to eat like a pig in front of this cute boy. He knew his stomach couldn’t handle more than a little right now, anyway.