A/N
Hiiiiiiiiii
Do I still need to do the whole "long time no see" thing every time I come back from the abyss?
It's been almost a year. Oops!
Life be crazy !
Anyway here's a Joe Walker one shot from the Apocalyptour era because it's my fave 💞
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"You guys are so cute." Meredith said, taking the seat next to me where Joe had just been. He'd left the room only a second ago and she was already on me about it.
"Thank you?" I replied, furrowing my brows.
"Oh c'mon. You're always together and making each other laugh." I couldn't help but scoff. That was what we all did, wasn't it? "And I swear I caught you staring at his ass during the show last night."
I went red. "Okay, I will say, Walker does look good in those shorts," I admitted with a laugh. Meredith slapped my arm as she cracked up.
"Oh my god you totally like him!" she exclaimed. I covered my face to try to hide my blush.
"Shut up!" I shook my head. "I do not!"
"Oh please!" Lauren chimed in. She was smirking. "Mer, you should've seen them the other night! They were up for hours. After everyone else went to their bunks, they were out whispering to each other until, like, 4 am."
Meredith's eyes went wide. My face grew hotter by the second. "Seriously??"
"Yes!" Lauren crossed her arms over her chest. She was smiling proudly. I was thankful it was just the three of us. If anyone else heard this conversation I'd be mortified.
"I didn't know you heard that," I finally said, quietly.
"Oh don't worry, hun. You weren't being loud or anything. But it was hard not to notice," she said, nudging my shoulder.
I looked up at the two of them. "Does everyone know?"
They shared a look and I knew the answer. They didn't have to say a thing. I let my face fall into my hands.
"I'm toast."
"Aww, don't worry about it!" Mer said, changing her tune. She put an arm around me. "Everyone thinks you guys are cute! We're all rooting for you."
I sighed. I had seen the fans talking about us before, but I hadn't thought our friends had been as well.
"Can you guys promise not to poke around in it? I really like him and I don't want to mess stuff up when we're in the middle of a tour."
Mer held back a giddy squeal at the admittance of my feelings. She nodded enthusiastically. Lauren agreed as well. I was very thankful for that.
After I found out how much everyone had noticed us, I had expected to be more reserved around Joe. But it actually had the opposite effect. I didn't feel like I needed to hold back to keep anyone from noticing. I apparently hadn't been doing a great job of that anyway.
The fact that everyone was behind me actually gave me some courage. I let myself flirt with Joe more openly than I had before. One time I caught Lauren watching Joe and I with a surprised look as I complimented the way he looked in his costume. He had gotten a bit flustered and thanked me with a toothy grin. I blushed at my own forwardness.
~
The tour was almost over. We only had 5 shows left. Tonight was the night of our show in Ann Arbor. Back where it all started.
"Okay everyone! We all have to be in the theater by 3!" Nick announced, trying to be heard over everyone's chattering. "I'll see you then!"
I was excited to be off of the bus for a few hours. And to spend the time with my friends back in our college town where we made all of our best memories. It was where we became who we are. Together.
