"You won't die, silly," Josh laughed.
"Whatever. I don't want-"
He raised his eyebrows but she didn't say any further, completely at loss of words. Being lost in the woods was definitely the last thing in her mind.
He sat down beside her and slung an arm across her shoulder trying to offer comfort and he was quite happy she didn't push him, out of irritation like she had been for quite sometime now.
Now that Josh thought about it, he considered this the best opportunity to ask her to come clean.
"Lea why have you been acting so strange lately?"
She sighed deeply and threw her head back, against his muscled arm and closed her eyes. Pronouncing the answer from her plush lips, was going to be an excruciatingly painful process which definitely was going to anger him.
"I haven't," she lied.
Josh took her chin in between his forefinger and thumb to make her face him as she opened her eyes. Along the course of their relationship, he had come to understand what each shade of her eye color meant. The deeper version of blue she wore now, reflected sadness and his heart pained at the thought.
"Lea, you know you can tell me everything."
Lea grasped the insides of her cheek in between her pearly whites to sustain the blank look in her face and not break down. I'm a brave girl, she pep talked herself.
"What made you think that?"
"Do you think I'm blind? That I can't see you're spacing yourself? I want to know why. I deserve to know, infact. You don't probably realise this but it hurts me to see you do that."
"I am not spacing Josh," she fumbled with her fingers.
"Then why are so walking around so irritated all the time? Why are you always frowning? Why do you keep snapping at anyone who talks to you?"
"You don't understand," she dropped her act deciding it was time he knew.
"Make me."
"It's just-" she lost her confidence unable to talk more.
He pressed her closer to himself.
"I'm afraid that one day you'll wake up and realise what a mess I really am and how you deserve someone so much better. I wouldn't be able to live that, Josh. So it's better I distance myself before you hurt me. That way, it'll pain less." She exhaled a deep breath. "I'm scared of letting myself fall for you."
He looked at her dumbfounded, unable to hear her speak something of that sort. To him, she was a strong girl who believed in herself and in what she does. This new Lea, was surprising and definitely wasn't flattering.
"Is that why?" She nodded.
"Leonarda you don't have to think that," he said as she scrunched up her face in annoyance at the mention of her name. "Ever," he stressed.
"I love everything about you. Literally, everything. And right now, I don't know where to start." He took her hands in his. "You are perfectly misperfect in your own cute little way and I find myself lucky to have you. Your hair, your eyes, your name, everything. The face you make when you taste something sour to the way you look when you just wake up. I love how you can sleep just anywhere when you're tired or how you talk in baby language to dogs. I find you super crazy when you walk around the house with your dripping wet hair making the floor slick with water or how you never make bed because you say you have to sleep in it, anyway. But it only makes me love you more. I may act stupid and stuff but please don't back out. Instead you hit me hard and yell at me to straighten me up. I love you and I need you."
She felt tears to her eyes but a weird crazy question bubbled out of her.
"Why?"
After all that he'd said, she was asking this, made Josh smile. He didn't even need to put a second thought for he knew the answer to that too well.
"Because you keep me grounded."
She truly trusted him. Always had, except the little period that made her insecure and paranoid about herself.
"You are the best, Lea. I love you and I always will." He mumbled as her love for him, that seemed to have hit a low, reached it's peak again. "I don't know what tomorrow holds for us but I know I want to face it with you. It's not going to be a 'happily ever after' but I'm willing to work at it everyday."
She felt tears press against the back of her eyes as a realisation hit her.
"You moron," she bellowed giggling now. "You stole that from The Notebook."
Josh joined her in and said," You are to blame for that. You've made me watch that damned movie a million times now."
She rolled her eyes at him.
"I love you, Josh Devine. I really do. And I'm sorry for my childish behaviour."
She hugged him and as she pulled back, he wore a pout.
"What? The poor guy doesn't even get a kiss?"
She giggled at his cheesiness and latched her hands around his neck to kiss him.
"I'm afraid we have to spend the night here," he mouthed.
"I don't mind," she flirted. "As long as I'm with you."
"Now who is cheesy, eh?"
"Come on Josh," she argued. "I am not."
And that was how the rest of the night was spent. Little fights, apologies, playful blames, jokes and stollen kisses, before they drifted off to sleep in the dark jungle.
They woke up about seven hours later when the sky wore streaks of different shades of yellow and orange marking sunrise.
She woke up before him and her movements in turn jolted him awake.
They both mumbled a good morning to each other in their raspy voice before Lea realised the extent of damage.
"How are we going to get back?"
Josh's eyes lit up with mischief.
"Oh about that," he continued. "I luckily have my cell phone in my pants."
"What? Why didn't you say that before?" She shot at him.
"I have no logical answer to that, but yeah you can say," he continued. "For fun."
Lea swore that if that second she could, she would probably have murdered him.
"You're a freak."
"But you still love me," he blew a kiss in her direction as he got his cellphone out of his jeans pocket and thankfully it had about three colored bars to show the network availability.
He called Liam, his number being on the speed dial and the brown haired hottie sounded relieved. They had actually been searching for the lost couple the whole night and everyone in the group were after Josh's life when they heard why he didn't contact them. But Josh being Josh enjoyed every second of hearing the boys and Paul yell at him and whenever Lea looked in his direction, he'd just wink at her. She, too, was subconsciously grateful to the time they spent alone as it cleared whatever that was between them and have their relationship an extremely-needed boost.
It made her look at herself in a new and confident light and, thus, her bliss was amplified.
Josh Of the Jungle (Josh Devine)
Start from the beginning
