A/N: I'm back! How are you all? Sorry for disappearing on you guys. Anyways, thanks for getting me to 100k! You might have to read the last chapter again to remember what was going on. Enjoy :)
"You're involved with street fighting?!" I hissed at Josh, raising my hand so I could slap him on the arm to get my anger across. It wasn't hard enough to hurt him, but it was enough to make a point. "You've gotten yourself involved in street fighting?" I repeated, letting my own words sink in.
"Ow, stop hitting me, woman!" Josh exclaimed, grabbing my hands so I couldn't slap him on the arm again. "I said Elijah is involved with street fighting. Me and the guys just go to watch his matches, and occasionally we'll train together."
"Oh, because that makes it so much better," I replied sarcastically, wiggling my hands out of his grasp so I could take a seat on one of the couches.
Josh had led me to a room at the end of the hall, and from what I could tell, it seemed to be a games room. There was a pool table in one corner, with two couches and a TV on the other side of the room. The room was empty, so I guess that it's off-limits to most people.
"It does, actually." He replied, plopping down beside me but at an angle so we could face each other. "Do you really think Elijah would let me inside a ring with those people? And even if he did, I'm not stupid enough to get myself killed. The people who fight in those cages either do it for the money or want to become professionals in the future. I don't fit into either of those categories."
"Then why do you travel all the way to New York just to watch your friend get his ass beat?" I asked, still not understanding Josh's involvement in all of this.
Josh let out a scoff at my words, "For one, Elijah doesn't get his ass beat because I've never seen him lose a match. Secondly, I go there to support my friend and be there if something bad happens one day. Lastly, I go to learn new techniques to use them in practice with the guys. There's nothing wrong with learning how to fight."
"Since when did you start needing to learn new fighting techniques, Josh?" I asked softly, shuffling closer towards him. My mind was racing, thinking that maybe he had got himself in trouble since moving here.
"Since I realised that fighting helped me release all that anger I felt inside." He paused, glancing away before he continued. "I was angry with everything going on in my life. I was lonely, living in a town 3000 miles away from where I called home, and my mom was only getting worse each day. My life was flipped upside down, and I had no way to let out how I was feeling, so I bottled it inside.
Elijah is used to seeing guys bottle their anger because of what he does, and he noticed it. For some reason, he decided to help me. He's been teaching me how to project my feelings onto other things, and honestly, it's been helping me."
I listened intently to his every word, and by the end of it, I found myself feeling even more glad that Josh had made these friends. I didn't know Elijah and the others, and quite frankly, I didn't care that they were involved in street fighting. They weren't my friends to worry about, but Josh is my friend. I trusted him not to put himself in danger by fighting people he wouldn't be able to take on, but I couldn't help but worry about him.
What kind of friend would I be if I didn't care about his safety?
"I trust you not to get yourself into a situation you can't get out of. You're a smart guy, Josh, and this is a healthier coping mechanism than what you could have chosen." He nodded his head at my words as we both sat in silence for a few minutes. "You could have told me how you were feeling, you know?"
His reply was instant, almost like he was waiting for me to say this. "You seemed so happy with how everything is at home. I didn't want to burden you with my problems."
I scoffed at his response. Of course, he wouldn't be a burden to me. His feelings were and are very valid. No teenager should go through the heartbreak of watching a loved one slowly pass away. Of course, he was going to feel upset and angry about it.
"Don't be such a numpty. I'll always be here for you."
"I know, doll. I'll always be here for you too. Although, I'm not worried because you have plenty of friends at home that has your back."
"Yeah, well, you're pretty high up on my close friend's list too." I wasn't lying. Caleb was clearly at the top of my list, and Xander was quickly climbing up too, but Josh was definitely one I was close to. Opening up about what happened to my dad showed how much I trusted Josh, even if we now live on opposite sides of the country.
"Oh, the honour." He replied with mockery lacing his words. "We should probably head back out there. I came here to drink, so that is what we shall do."
He stood to his feet, making me fall onto my side because I was leaning on his shoulder. He quickly reached down, helping me up.
~
"I think I'm drunk." Just as Josh finished his sentence, he started hiccupping, adding to the conclusion that he was indeed drunk. Once we left the games room, we headed straight towards the kitchen to do some shots, and not long after, his friend Connor joined us. A few more shots later, the other guys joined us, and now we were back in the games room sharing a bottle of flavoured vodka.
I was careful not to drink as much as them, and although I was feeling pretty tipsy, I was far away from being drunk.
I reached down to the floor to pick up a bottle of water I had brought with me and passed it towards him. "Sip on this and see if that helps." Josh pulled in his dark brows, making a face at me but followed my instructions anyway.
"Last time I tried to get him to drink water when he was drunk, he spat it back in my face." George piped up, reminding me that the others were still in the room with us. George was a relatively quiet guy, even when he was a little drunk. He seemed to be the responsible one out of the three.
A small laugh broke out beside me, and I knew that Josh was remembering what he had done to his friend. "You deserved it." Josh chuckled, causing his friend to throw a cushion in his direction, which only made josh laugh even harder.
"Rose just asked if she can see you?" Elijah piped up, still texting away at his phone. He had been on it since we sat down on the couches, but I gathered it was something important with how fast he was tapping the screen.
He was more sober than the rest of the guys.
He knows that Josh had told me about what he does for a living, but neither one of us brought it up, and I'm glad. I know Josh liked him, but there was something about the guy that intimidated me. Maybe it was the tattoos that littered his arms at the age of 18, or perhaps it was because I knew he fought for money. Either way, I did not want to get on his wrong side.
His eyes snapped up to mine, almost like he could tell my eyes were on him. I didn't mean to stare, I just happened to zone out while looking at him, and now I look like a weirdo with a staring problem.
"Tell her to fuck off." Both of our attention flicked over to Josh at his harsh words. He still hadn't opened up too much about this Rose girl, but from what I could gather, even his friends are on his side, which is saying something considering she is Elijah's cousin.
"I'll tell her you're busy then."
"Rose came up to me earlier with Michelle, and I told them then that it would be best if they left. I didn't think they would still be here." Connor added as he continued to run people over in GTA. He wasn't actually doing anything other than killing people on the game and trying to escape the police. It looked fun.
"Why the hell didn't you tell me that bitch was in my house?" Elijah asked angrily while I took a sip of the liquor as I listened to their conversation.
Connor shrugged as he continued to play the game. His eyes didn't even glance away from the screen. "As I said, I didn't think they would still be here."
"You still should have told me. Now I'm going to have to go find her to tell her to leave. I don't want that cheater in my house."
"While you're at it, can you tell Rose to leave too?" Josh asked with a wide smile. He quickly snatched the bottle from my hand and swallowed a big gulp before I could tell him off, and then held it out towards Connor.
"No, if you want her gone, then you can tell her." His friend replied, dropping his phone on the couch beside him before reaching over to snatch the alcohol from Connor.
"And leave my bestie to deal with you three by herself? No way." Did Josh just call me his 'bestie'?
"Take her with you then."
"Ah yes, talk about me like I'm not in the room with you," I replied sarcastically, only grabbing the attention of George, who was grinning at the entire conversation.
I ignored whatever Josh continued to say and rolled my eyes in a joking manner, causing George's smile to widen.
My attention was brought back to my drunk friend when he plopped his head onto my lap and looked at me with a grin from ear to ear. "Can I use you to make Rose jealous?" His speech was slurred from the alcohol, and I know that he would most likely regret it in the morning if he used me to make Rose jealous.
"I thought you wanted her to leave you alone, and now you want to make her jealous?" I queried. The music was still pretty loud throughout the house, so I had to raise my voice a little for him to hear me.
"Hey, I never questioned you when you wanted to make Xander jealous."
"That's because it was your idea. You'll regret it in the morning, and not only will it make the situation with Rose worse, but it'll be awkward between the two of us." Even though Josh and I had a history, it wouldn't be the same if we kissed now. We're too close as friends, and both of us clearly have feelings for other people.
"Ugh, you're so boring." He sighed, but the tone of his voice told me he was only joking. I know that when he's sober, he'll be glad I turned him down.
"Dude, you just need to get laid," Connor spoke up as he still played on his game. "In fact, when was the last time any of you got laid?" He asked the rest of his friends. George seemed bored of the direction the conversation was heading, and Elijah seemed angry, but I couldn't tell if that was his usual attitude.
I didn't have to look down at my friend to know that he was looking at me. I could feel his body shaking with laughter as I tried to hide back my own laugh. We both knew the last time either of us had done it, and it was months ago.
I tried to focus on Connor scolding Elijah, so I didn't burst out laughing. "You seriously haven't been with anyone since you broke up with Michelle?"
"Why would I? My main priority is on fighting right now. I can't let another girl make me lose focus on my priorities." All heads turned towards Josh after Elijah explained himself.
"Ask dol-" I didn't let him finish his sentence and pushed his body off me, causing him to fall to the ground with a thud. I didn't know these guys enough to talk to them about my sex life, so instead of feeding into their conversation, I stood to my feet with a wide smile.
"Who wants shots?"