Hi loves! Here it is, the new chapter!
I was on holiday for two weeks which is why I couldn't write and update, but I'm home again now and I can finally write again! I can't wait to get back to this properly and see your reactions and replies and your opinions ♥️
I hope summer is treating you well so far! Hope you're all doing okay and I sure as heck hope you're all still here to read this story! 'Cause I'm def not giving up and going anywhere. I love this story too much!
Let me know if you're still here? Either with a comment or a vote? Would mean a lot to me!♥️
Here's the new chapter. I hope you'll enjoy it! Thank you for sticking around and supporting. Love you all! See you at the next one ♥️
Word count: 3137
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"So you and Fred kissed."
Josh swallowed a little difficultly. "Uhm... we- uh, yeah", he softly said. Dustin hummed.
Then he shrugged. "It's fine, doesn't really bother me", he said. "...what?" Josh asked confusedly. He didn't expect that answer. "You said it was before we went on that date and such. Assuming you didn't do it again after, and just in that time where it was a bit odd, it doesn't really bother me", he repeated the last sentence.
"...are you sure?" Josh asked with a soft frown. "Yeah. It's fine, really. Just don't do it again", Dustin said, and somehow, that gave Josh slight chills. He wasn't planning on ever cheating on anyone, not at all, but somehow that still felt... nerve-wracking? ...dangerous? Josh didn't even know what to call it. It just felt a bit... unsettling.
"O-okay", Josh softly said. Dustin sent him a smile. "Good. Glad we had that talk", he said as he got up, and Josh just didn't know what to think. But he figured, now that he was there anyways, he would just continue spilling anything he hadn't yet.
"Oh uhm... by the way", Josh started. "Mhm, you made out with someone else as well?" Dustin asked. Josh frowned softly. "What- I- n-no, no", he muttered softly. Was Dustin joking, was he playing with him? ...Josh tried to tell himself that he was.
"I- I'm uh, I'm visiting Jenna during the fall break", Josh said. "With Colin." "Oh, nice. I'll come", Dustin said, and Josh panicked slightly. "B-but uh- but", he started. "Jen, she uh... She- she invited Fred, and Kit and Joe... and t-then she said there's only five spots and that's- that's it so I... we're- I- t-that", Josh stuttered.
"We... can't", he softly said then, hating that he was stumbling over his words so much. Dustin gave him a look. "So you're inviting your friends over me? The guy you made out with while you and I were already together, before me?" He asked. "N-no, no no, no Jenna invited them already before- before I even knew", Josh quickly lied, not wanting to make Jenna the bad guy in front of Dustin, but also... he was trying to protect himself from his anxiety, and Dustin's words.
"Hm. Whatever. I'm late to my buds. See you later", Dustin slammed the door shut behind him, and Josh jumped a little at the sound as he was left alone in Dustin's dorm. His heart was pounding in his throat; what just happened? Dustin said it didn't bother him, then he went ahead and blamed Josh for inviting Fred - referring to him as the guy you made out with while you and I were already together - before him, and he slammed the door shut and left him behind?
Josh had to process what just happened, and at the same time, he promised himself to not tell any of his friends about it. Josh didn't wanna hear any of them say I told you so, especially since this was just... just an odd moment. Something like this had never happened until now, and it was just... Just an exception. A weird moment. They were fine.
Josh kept repeating the last few words to himself over and over.
//
Soon enough, they were all piled into Colin's car and they were on their way to Pennsylvania to see Jenna. Josh was a nervous wreck, but oh so dang excited at the same time. He couldn't wait to see Jenna again and he couldn't wait to introduce his new friends to her as well. But Jonathon... Gosh, Jon was stressing Josh out right now. He was terrified of being confronted with Jon again.
"God I'm gonna throw up", Joe muttered. "What? Josh asked as he looked over his shoulder, his thoughts cut off because of what he said. "He gets kinda car sick", Kit said, a worried look on his face. "Wha- why didn't you say that sooner? C, pull over somewhere yeah?" Josh said and Colin nodded.
"I- I didn't wanna be a bother", Joe said. "You're not gonna be a bother by letting us know you get car sick", Josh said. "You're probably more a bother if you throw up in my car", Colin joked, and it made them laugh. "I'm sorry", Joe then said, face pale.
"Don't be, I'm gonna pull over", Colin said as they left the highway to stop at a gas station next to the road. Joe opened the door and Kit got out with him, sitting down on the grass to take some deep breaths and welcome the fresh oxygen. "You okay?" Josh asked as he gave him some water, and Joe drank from it. "Yeah, yeah I'm okay", he said. "You should sit in the front", Josh said. "I'll sit in the back. If Kit doesn't mind", Josh said with a soft smile. "No I don't, not at all", Kit gently laughed. "And I'd very much appreciate it if he could sit in the front and not throw all his guts out", he said.
"I'll- I'll sit in the front", Joe nodded. "Why didn't I just ask for that right away", he muttered as he moved back to rest his back and head on the grass as well, hoping the nausea would go away soon.
"How's it going?" Fred asked as he and Colin reached them, after parking the car in one of the parking spots a little further away. "He's okay, just waiting for his nausea to go down", Kit said. "That's good, that he's alright", he said. "Not to be weird, but I'm kind of craving some ice cream", Colin said. "Isn't that good for nausea also? Like, an ice pop?" He asked. "Oh, yeah that helps", Kit nodded.
"Fred, join my on a frozen goods quest please", Colin said, dramatically bowing as he held his hand out, making his friends laugh. "Why yes, kind sir, I will", Fred said as he grabbed his hand and they skipped away towards the gas station, making Josh giggle.
He didn't know how he got so lucky to have his friends. How he was so lucky to be Fred's roommate, how he met Colin during the intro week last year, and how Kit and Joe were such sweet, kind people to him.
He had true friends, who all matched perfectly, and he felt so dang lucky.
After several minutes, Colin and Fred returned with ice cream and pops for everyone. They all sat on the grass together until they finished their snacks and Joe was feeling better again. They climbed back in the car - this time with Joe next to Colin, and Josh between Fred and Kit - and they resumed their journey.
Josh was trying not to think of having to face Jonathon too much, and now he regretted not contacting him sooner to talk about everything, to clear the air before the trip. But it was too late now - too awkward to get in touch with him while they'd see each other in a few hours - so he tried to block it out and focus on his friends for now.
Oh how glad he was that they were all there with him.
"Yeah you're empty, you're hollow, the fakest one that I know. If you think that you're special, well there's your fucking problem!" They sang to the I Prevail song together; so far they'd been playing Tyler's music and I Prevail's music on repeat only. "When it all comes crashing down, there's no one left to save you now. You're so fake, fake, fake, fake, fake!"
"It's time for both I Prevail and Tyler to get on the road again so we can all see them together", Colin said. "Yes please, I'm dying to see them live. Especially after your stories", Fred said as he nudged Josh, who blushed softly as he rolled his eyes. "He probably forgot I even exist", he said. "I doubt that", Colin said. "Same. He literally stopped the bus for you and had your friend come get you so he could say hi! That's insane", Kit said. "I don't think anyone would just forget about that", Joe agreed.
"I just try not to get my hopes up 'cause I know I'll get extra sad when it turns out they were for nothing", Josh sighed. "That already happened when we saw him with Imagine Dragons. The hi Josh didn't happen at any of the shows and I got embarrassingly sad about it", Josh said.
"Wait... the hi Josh... I know you told me about this earlier but why does it sound so familiar all of a sudden..." Joe trailed, then he whipped his head around to look at Kit, eyes wide. "The video!" He then said. "...what video?" Josh asked. "Kit d'you remember the video? The one on Twitter? Hi Josh?" Joe pressed.
"...oh my god. Oh my god! Yes!" Kit then said, excitedly. "What?! What! What's happening!" Josh asked. "Dude, Josh, someone made a compilation video of all the times that Tyler said hi Josh on stage. And all these people on Twitter have been wondering who this Josh guy is! But it's you!" Kit nearly yelled from excitement.
"I- w-what?" Josh muttered, definitely in disbelief. "Wait!! I'm gonna look for it!" Joe said. "No you're not, you'll get sick again! I will", Kit said. "...right that's smarter", Joe chuckled. "I'll search for it too", Fred said as he grabbed his phone.
"Oh man, Josh, if someone really has a video of all the times he said that to you, we gotta download it and save it on every hard drive and cloud under the sun 'cause that's gonna be the best memory and reminder that that definitely happened", Colin said, looking at his best friend through the rearview mirror. "I don't know if I will survive that", Josh muttered, and he then felt Kit's hand on his arm. "We're here to resuscitate you", he said with a cheesy smile, and Josh let out a soft laugh. "Thank you", he said, resting his head against Kit's shoulder.
"Wait I think this might be it... is this it?" Fred asked after a few minutes of them searching for the video all over Twitter. He showed Kit the tweet and the thumbnail. "Yes! Yes, that's the one!" He said excitedly. "Okay play it already! I wanna hear it!" Colin said impatiently. "Wait I'm- I'm not ready", Josh said. "Yeah you are. You're absolutely ready to relive that", Fred nudged him gently with a smile. Josh let out a soft whine and a huff. "...okay play it", he mumbled.
He held his breath as Fred and Kit looked over Josh's shoulder while Fred held his phone in front of Josh. As the video played, Josh felt his eyes sting; there it was, hi Josh, every time Tyler said it to him on stage. Hi Josh.
"I'm gonna pass out", Josh muttered as it was over. "That was it, wasn't it?! The times Tyler said that to you!" Colin said excitedly. "Holy bowl of macaroni."
"Holy what?" Joe asked Colin with a laugh. "Dude! You got this memory forever now!" Fred told Josh as he gently nudged him again. "Ohh I can't believe it, I really can't", Josh muttered as he stared at the video that was done playing, and Kit gently squeezed his arm. "Look at the comments", he said.
Fred handed Josh his phone, then Josh scrolled down to read the tweets. Fans wondering who Josh was; was he a friend, a fan, part of the crew? Why did Tyler say it several times during shows? People even compared the locations of the shows; that they happened in California and Ohio, spread out over a certain amount of time, sometimes more often close to each other than other times. They were fully analyzing and wanting to figure out who this person was that Tyler said hi to on all of these videos, and Josh was slightly freaking out that it was him.
//
"Joshieee!" Jenna exclaimed happily as she opened the front door of the student house that she moved into at the beginning of the school year. It was kind of like a sorority house, except they didn't do all of the typical sorority things. It was more like friends sharing a house on campus, plus some extras, but they were close and cared about each other a lot and were definitely against all the dangers that fraternities and sororities came with often.
"Oh Jen, finally", Josh sighed softly as he hugged his best friend tightly. She pressed a kiss on his forehead as she held him, not letting go for quite a while. When they did, Jenna excitedly hugged Colin, before Josh and Colin introduced their friends Fred, Kit and Joe to her.
Jenna was so excited to meet Josh's friends. She was so happy that Josh made friends, that he didn't feel alone, that he had people close to him that he could talk to.
"Oh man this is gonna be the best week! I'm so excited I finally get to meet Joshie's friends. Okay come in, come in! All of our girls went home for their breaks except for Inez and myself, so let me introduce you!" Jenna said excitedly as she let everyone inside. They followed her to the living room.
"This is Inez!" Jenna said. "Hi! You're Josh right? I heard so much about you!" The girl with the very kind face said. She was a light skinned black girl, with a deep turquoise medium bob that had a lot of volume, and several piercings. Josh instantly fell in love with her, slightly jealous of how expressive she was in her style, and how he wished he had the same courage.
"Oh your hair is gorgeous", Josh said, and she smiled happily at the compliment as she gave him a hug. "Thank you! I love dyeing my hair in different, unnatural colors", she smiled. "I'm a little bit jealous", Josh said with a soft laugh. "I've always wanted to do that but definitely don't have the courage to do so."
"Oh babe we are gonna change that this week! If you want dyed hair, we'll get you dyed hair!" She said. "Wait are we gonna give Josh a make over?!" Jenna asked. "Okay okay slow down!" Josh laughed. "I'm not- not ready for that yet. Maybe never!"
"We'll give you time to think about it", Jenna grinned. "But I'm excited as hell already."
Jenna introduced the others to Inez, while Josh stepped away for a moment and he wanted to check his phone, when he heard a familiar voice.
"Hey Josh."
Josh looked up, right into Jonathon's eyes, and his heart stopped for a moment as he swallowed difficultly. "H-hi- hi Jon", he stuttered. Oh god. Josh's heart ached, the guilt flooded him from the inside out, he wanted to cry and run away from Jon but at the same time hug him and tell him he was sorry. He wanted to tell him how much he missed him and at the same time he wanted to stay quiet and avoid confrontation. But how was he gonna avoid that for a full week? There was no way he could do that. And did he even want to? ...no, he didn't. 'Cause he genuinely missed Jonathon, and he genuinely wanted to spend time with him, even though he'd treated him like shit for a long time.
"How are you?" Jonathon broke Josh's train of thoughts. "Oh uh I- I'm- I'm o-okay, I'm g-good", he stuttered. Jon sent him the softest smile. "That's good. I'm glad", he said. Josh nodded softly. "H-how are- how are y-you?" He asked. "I'm... fine", Jonathon said, smiling softly when he spoke the words - but the smile didn't make Josh any less worried about his answer.
But he just nodded softly. "O-okay", Josh spoke.
"Joshie! Exactly how jealous was your boyfriend about you bringing your friends and not him?" Jenna asked them, and Josh's heart stopped as he whipped his head over to look at her, and give her a panicked look. Jenna's eyes went wide as she realized; Jonathon didn't know yet.
"...boyfriend?" Jonathon asked. Josh's heart shattered as he heard his ex-lover speak the word, and the room was dead quiet. Josh closed his eyes for a moment before he opened them and looked at Jon. "Y-yeah..." he swallowed difficultly.
Jonathon nodded, and Josh couldn't read his face. Not even close. He had no idea what Jonathon was thinking; he just nodded.
"Cool. I'm... gonna get some drinks for everyone", he said as he pushed himself off the wall that he'd been leaning against, walking towards the kitchen, leaving Josh and his friends in the living room.
Josh wanted to strangle himself, for mistreating Jonathon, for promising him to remain his friend only for him to ignore him for months, for not telling him about his new relationship, for not reaching out before they came to see Jenna. He was angry at himself and couldn't believe how poorly he handled one of the best relationships he ever had with a person that meant the world to him. He couldn't believe how badly he had treated the person that he truly believed was one of his soulmates.
//
Ohh mannnn Joshie's not handling his relationships very welllll
What did you think? I'd love to hear!! I hope you enjoyed it & I hope you're excited for the next one too!
What're your summer plans? My break is almost over already & I need to get back to work next week 🥲 but I'm still trying to be positive and enjoy the summer either way.
Anyways, I'd love to hear what you thought of this chapter and I hope to see you at the next one ♥️ all my love to you!!