Barely Alive - Josh Washington x Reader

Chapter 5

I shook my head, snapping myself back into the moment, before clearing my throat and continuing.

"Who are we speaking to? Hannah...?" 

It stopped for a moment, leaving us in a tensefull atmosphere, before moving to yes. Yet again, no one knew how to respond for a few seconds. I could hear Y/n mumble to herself next to me, telling herself to calm down and that she'll be fine. That it was all fake. 

"Maybe we should stop-" 

"No." 

"Josh..." Chris gave Josh a warning look, knowing how triggered he could get when something unexpected happened. Josh shook his head and turned to me.

"I wanna know what it says." He pleaded, his eyes meeting with everyones, and lingering for a slight moment longer at Y/n's. She eyed him for a second, before turning her face towards the board.

"If this is actually Hannah, we could, you know, find out what happened." She mumbled and offered Josh another glance, who nodded eagerly at her words. Y/n really was a bit too naive for this situation.

"I can handle it." Josh argued once more, and gave me another look. But this one was different than before. It was warning, somewhat intimidating, as if he would do anything to continue this game.

"Hannah, we miss you... and we want to know what happened to you. Can you... can you tell us...what happened?" I spoke, not letting my eyes off Josh, who quickly eyed the board once I started speaking. The pointer moved again, but this time I got the feeling that somebody was moving. There was a force moving it around. It began to spell several words, each more intense than the other. 

"Betrayed? Killed?! We didn't kill them, it was just a prank!"I exclaimed as the pointer continued moving. Everybody was panicking at this point, except Josh, who seemed a little too quiet in my opinion.

"Ash calm down, we need to find out more." Chris spoke, too interested to stop at this point. But the longer we continued, the more anxious I became, and the feeling wouldn't fade.

"No, I'm done. Lets just stop this!" Y/n interrupted, voice filled with fear as she quickly removed her hand off the pointer.

"I-I'm sorry... I'm so so sorry!" There was a wave of guilt crashing onto my shoulders, and I couldn't help the tears from falling at this point. 

"Guys...Guys, what do they mean?" Josh said with a raised voice, attraction all the attention towards him.

"Ash, ask them what happened. It's the only way to know. Ask them, Ash." Chris clearly didn't care I was crying, I wouldn't blame him, at this point it was impossible to turn back. I took a deep breath and with a shaky voice I asked my next question.
"Okay, Okay, how did you die? What happened to you, Hannah?" 

The pointer then spelled the words 'Library' and 'Proof".

"M-maybe there's proof in the library?" Y/n said, who seemed to have calmed down just the slightest bit. But before I could respond to her, the board starting shaking on the table, and the pointer violently flew of the table.

"Watch out!"
Everybody jumped out of their seats in shock, and Y/n seemed just as scared as I was. Josh was the last to rise form his seat, and with a frustrated chuckle he shook his head.

"You know what? No, this is bullshit. This isn't real-"
"Josh, I don't know what's going on..." I said while putting my hands on his shoulder. He flinched away, and took a step back.
"Listen. I don't know... I don't know if you think messing with me is somehow gonna help me deal with my grief or whatever, but this is not cool." He walked away, mumbling to himself.
"N-no, Josh... you wanted to use the spirit board!" I grabbed his arm, but he forcefully pulled his arm back.
"Dude, calm down, it's not Ash' fault!" Chris said while standing in front of Josh. He pushed Chris back. Chris stumbled back and fell back into his seat.
"I don't need this right now, okay! You guys are full of it!" That was the last thing he said before stomping away.

I looked at Y/n, who stared at the table with eyes filled with fear. She seemed rather pale, and I asked her how she felt.
Chris turned around, immediately walking over to Y/n. He tried to grab her arm, but she gently pushed him away.
"P-please, I need some time to think." She mumbled then walked away just like Josh did.
"Chris if you did something, I will not hesitate to punch you." I spoke, pointing my finger up at his face as I spoke through gritted teeth.

"Seriously?! You think that little of me, screw you Ash..."
"No... I'm sorry, Chris. I'm just upset." He couldn't blame me for being so upset, this wasn't just some funny prank. Whoever did this was trying to scare us big time.

"Lets just relax for a little while."

Y/N's POV:

I was scared, frustrated but overall very confused. Whatever happened in there couldn't have been real, and someone must have pulled a prank on the 4 of us. But Chris would never let it go this far, and Josh was too vulnerable to actually think of this... was it Ashley? No, she didn't seem like that kind of person as well.

I figured I needed some time alone, and as I walked past the balcony door, some fresh air sounded like heaven. I didn't even bring my jacket, just feeling the cold air against my skin was exactly the refreshment I needed. To my surprise, I wasn't alone on the balcony. Leaning his arms on the edge, Josh stood eyeing the view in front of him. A beanie on his head and a thick jacket hanging from his shoulder.

"Mind if I join ya?" 

Josh seemed to jump at the sound of my voice, and his head snapped towards my presence. I offered him a small smile, which still contained the remaining anxiety from the ouija board. He shrugged, and turned his face back to the sight in front of him.

I slowly walked up to him, the snow crunching under my weight. I joined his side, sighing while wrapping my arms around my own frame. The view was magnificent, truly a sight you would only see in documentaries or movies. It was like a moving painting, snow glistening under the glow of the moon.

"I love the view here. It so beautiful, so peaceful... I could watch it all day." Josh didn't say anything, he just nodded. He was probably already used to the sights around here. But the longer we stood in silence, the more awkward it became. I sighed once more, before removing my arms.
"I'll let you be... I just tried to find a spot to clear my mind. I'll talk to you later." I was about to walk away, but was stopped by Josh, who grabbed my hand and spun me around. Accidentaly bumping into his chest, I couldn't help but blush at how close the two of us suddenly stood. His eyes were even more beautiful up close, and I barely could comprehend what he said as I looked into them.

"I like you, Y/n. You're not like the others... You weren't there when it happened, but you still want to understand. Chris is like you as well... I should apologize to him." 

"You should, Josh. He was trying to help you." I gave him a smile, grabbing his hands and blowing against them, trying to warm them. The smile that appeared on his face was something picture worthy, and you took a note for yourself to remember to make him smile more often.

"Everything will be okay at some point Josh. You just need to find yours." He seemed somewhat comforted by my words, and he pulled me into his side. His arm around my shoulders, and my arms wrapping around his waist in return. 

We enjoyed the moment while it lasted, the sight in front of it only adding to the feeling. It wasn't until Chris interrupted the two of us, holding a note in his hand and a panicked look on his face.

"Josh, Y/n, here you guys are." We pulled away and turned around, seeing Chris standing in the doorway of the balcony.
"Hey, Ash and I found something that you would probably like to see." He passed me a note, there was a sentence scribbled on it in red ink.

"No way..."