My Brother's Best Friend: a Josh Richards FanFiction -complete-

Part 1: The Move

"Bailey?"
My heart melted. I would know that voice anywhere. I turned around, spotting Josh immediately. "Hey, Josh. Long time, no see," I greeted him, closing the distance between us. "You still haven't cut this mop?" I asked, gesturing to the mess of hair on his head.
Josh pulled me in for a hug. "I missed you, too, kiddo." The scent of his cologne was intoxicating, and I breathed in deeply, hugging him back.
He took my suitcase from me, and we headed to the front of the airport, where Bryce had already pulled the car around.

"Bry!" I yelled, running up to him and giving him a hug. "I missed you, big brother."
He kissed the top of my head. "Missed you, too, little sister."
The ride to the Sway house mostly consisted of Bryce passing TikTokers' houses and telling me what beef he had with each of them that week. "So moving out here didn't stop you from pissing people off?" I joked.
"The fact that Mom thought it would is laughable," Bryce replied, turning into a driveway. "Welcome to the new house, Bailey."

My jaw dropped. "You live here? Like in this house? This isn't a joke?"
Josh laughed. "You live here, too." Bryce parked and went to the trunk to grab my bag.
"I can get it. Thanks though," I said, trying to push him out of the way. Like much of our childhood, he was stronger than me and took the suitcase right out of my hands. "Damn it," I said while Josh laughed at us.
"Come on, you guys. Let's go inside," he said, putting his hand out for me to take.

My stomach did flips as I slipped my hand into his. I was definitely reading way too far into this, but right now, I didn't care.
"We're home!" Bryce called out. The other boys came running. Bryce lined them up to introduce themselves to me.
"I'm Jaden," the first one said. He was tall, with dark hair and tattoos covering one of his arms.
The next one had tan skin and a sweet smile. "Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Kio."
"I'm Quinton," the next boy introduced himself. His black hair was messy, and his smile was kind.
"Blake Gray. It's a pleasure to meet you," he said, shaking my hand. His smile lit up his entire face.
I recognized Griffin. "Griffin, right?" I had to look up to look in his eyes.
He nodded, hugging me. "I've heard a lot of good things about you."
The last boy stood in the background. "I'm Noah," he said softly with a wink.
Bryce saw this and chastised him. "That's my sister, man. I'll beat your ass."

After the introductions, I felt my stomach growl. "You guys have anything to eat? I'm starving."
Josh led me to the kitchen, opening the fridge when we got there. "None of us can cook, so we don't really keep anything in the house."
I groaned. "Bryce! Can I borrow your car? I need to go to the store!"
Bryce walked into the kitchen, confused. "What do you need to go to the store for?"
"Um, I'm starving, and you don't have any food."
"Wait? You're gonna cook?" he asked, a look of shock on his face. I nodded. "Why didn't you say so sooner? Let's go!" He ran through the house to the front door.
I laughed at him as I turned to the boys. "Any requests?" They all shouted their requests at me. "Just text them to Bryce," I said, laughing again.

Bryce and I got in the car. "What do you think of Griffin?" he asked. "He seems to be into you."
I shrugged. "I mean, all of your friends are attractive, but I've kind of got my eye on someone else."
"Ooh, who?" Bryce asked, curious. I was kicking myself for saying anything at all.
"It doesn't matter. He has a girlfriend anyway."
Bryce patted my shoulder. "That's alright. It happens. You'll find someone. In the meantime, if you need a distraction, there's always Griffin."
I smacked him playfully. "You just think he's interested. He could just be nice."
Bryce shrugged. "I mean, he is, but he also doesn't hug just anyone."

By now, we were at Target, so I changed the subject. "How's Addison?"
His face flushed bright red. "We're taking it slow. I like her a lot, Bailey. I don't want to mess this up."
We got out of the car and headed into the store, with Bryce grabbing a cart.
As we went up and down the aisles, I pulled food off the shelves, putting it into the cart. I couldn't shake the words he had said to me in the car. "Bryce? What did you mean when you said you didn't want to mess it up with Addison? How would you mess it up?"
Bryce sighed. "She's got an image to uphold. I don't fit in to her world."
I grabbed his arm, stopping him. "If you guys are taking it slow, she wants you to fit into her world. Don't write it off so easily. I've seen the way that she looks at you."

Bryce let go of the cart suddenly, enveloping me in a hug. "God, I missed you. You always know just what to say to me."
I hugged him back tightly before pulling away. "Why don't you invite Addison to come have dinner with us tonight? I'll make your favorite."
Bryce pulled his phone from his pocket as we returned to walking down the aisles.
"Hey, Addi. My sister got in today. She's making dinner for her first night in the house, and I was wondering if you wanted to come eat with all of us. Really? Great! See you at seven. Bye."
"I take it that went well," I said, inspecting different vegetables.
"It did. Thanks for suggesting it, sis."

We made our way to the register. "Wait, are you making chicken and veggies tonight?"
"Figured I'd throw a salad in there, too, but yes." I pulled my debit card out to pay as the cashier finished ringing up our purchases. Bryce stopped me.
"I got it. It's the least I can do, especially on your first night with us."
There was no sense in arguing; once Bryce set his mind to something, there was no real way to change it.

The ride back to the house was silent except for Bryce impatiently screaming at slow-moving cars.
We pulled back into the driveway. "I hope you don't mind, but I told the boys to invite their girlfriends."
I nodded. "Of course! I would love to meet some more people!"

I walked into the house to yelling. "Bailey! I can't wait for you to meet Amelie. You're going to love her," Blake said, standing to greet me. "Need any help in there?"
I shook my head. "Unless you want to come keep me company, I think I'm good." He followed me into the kitchen, taking the grocery bags out of my hands.
"Anthony's girlfriend, Avani, is coming over, too. Cynthia's already here, upstairs with Quinton."
I got a few pans out and began making dinner. I cut the vegetables that I would be roasting while Blake told me about his family life back in Texas.

"Hey, boys! I'm here!" The voice was familiar, and hearing it put a pit deep in my stomach.
"Hey, Nessa," Blake greeted her as I looked down at the floor. I looked up to meet her gaze. I recognized the two girls with her as Amelie and Avani.
Blake turned to introduce me. "This is Bailey, Bryce's little sister. Bailey, this is Amelie, Avani, and Nessa."
"It's nice to meet you," I said, giving a little wave as I continued making dinner.
"Dixie and Mads gonna be here tonight?" Blake asked as Noah and Jaden entered the kitchen.
They both nodded and started digging through the fridge. "Hey! Dinner is literally cooking right now! Get out of there!"
They ran as I came towards them. Josh walked into the kitchen. "What the hell are they running for?" he asked, wrapping his arms around Nessa and kissing the top of her head.

Addison, Dixie, and Mads walked into the kitchen. "Bails!" Addison yelled running towards me. I turned to hug her.
"How are you? I've missed you!" I said, putting down the salad bowl I was holding. As the boys left the kitchen, the girls sat at the table.
"Do you need anything?" Nessa asked.
I shook my head.

"Boys! Dinner!" I yelled, causing the boys to stampede into the kitchen.
As we sat around eating, everyone began asking me questions.
"So, Bailey, what brings you to California?" Amelie asked, taking a bite of her salad.
"My mom thinks I'll be more successful if I spend more time with Bryce. I don't know. I don't ask questions. I just do what I'm told."
Addison chuckled. "I'm pretty sure that she wants you to live with him to give him a good influence."
Bryce protested. "Hey! I can hear you!"