Hi friends! Pre-weekend update! I hope you're doing well and you're enjoying the story ♥️ I'm loving writing and updating and hearing what you all think of it! Thank you for being here, I hope to hear from you!
Can't wait for you to read this. Enjoy! ♥️
Word count: 3450
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Waking up naked next to Fred was surprising, and a little awkward and nerve wracking, it made Josh a little anxious, but Fred looked so kind and was so gentle and that's how he spoke and how he touched him too. Gently touching his curls, caressing his cheek, holding him in his arms, kissing his skin, making him feel at ease, like he was where he belonged.
"I hope that wasn't a uh... a one-night stand", Josh blushed. "Oh god, I hope not", Fred laughed gently. "I don't want it to be. I didn't intend for it to be", he said. Josh blushed as he looked up. "Me neither", he said. "Thank you for... for being so gentle and p-patient with me last night", he said softly. "Of course, I could never not be. Thank you for trusting me", Fred said.
Josh blushed. "I- I didn't expect myself to be so... so at ease and uh... willing", he blushed. "Not that soon." "I didn't expect that either", Fred said as he kissed Josh's forehead. "Which is why I'm so thankful. It was a pleasant surprise", he said, in a fake-chique voice, and Josh giggled. "Shut up", he slapped Fred's chest.
"So... I'm meeting your guys today", Josh said. "It's making me nervous." "I'm sure they're all gonna like you a lot. I know it doesn't help when someone says you don't have to be nervous, but... well, you don't have to be", Fred chuckled. "I know that that doesn't do anything though.But I'll be there, you're not alone", Fred said.
"We're not gonna, like... uhm, say something about us yet... right?" Josh asked. "Oh no, no just that we're roommates and close friends right? We don't need to rush any of the other stuff", he said. "I'd appreciate that", Josh said. "In uh... in college too, with C and Kit and Joe and all..? I just... I need some time to figure out how I'll tell them", Josh said. "Because they always... kind of hated Dustin, I guess. I just... I don't want them to get super excited about me failing a relationship y'know", he shrugged softly.
"I understand, I know", Fred said. "We don't have to tell anyone anything yet. We're still just figuring out this ourselves anyways, right? We haven't really defined what we are or how we'll go from here yet. We got time to figure that out", he said.
"Thank you for being so understanding", Josh said softly. "That really means a lot." "Of course baby", Fred smiled. "I love when you call me that", Josh muttered and Fred let out a soft laugh. "I love getting to call you that too. I'm already getting used to it", he teased, and Josh laughed softly as he gave him a playful shove.
After a few moments, Fred asked if Josh was alright with him going to take a shower real quick, which Josh was. As Fred was showering, he spent his time waiting looking around in Fred's room, getting to know even more about him. The pictures on the walls, the music collection, some of Fred's instruments that he wasn't able to take to college with him, and music demo's that were scattered around the room.
"Hey nosey", Fred walked back into the room, and Josh blushed. "S-sorry, I- I didn't mean to-" he started to apologize. "No, no don't say sorry, I was just teasing. I didn't mean that", Fred said as he walked up to Josh and he, slightly nervously, wrapped his arms around Josh's waist. Josh seemed to appreciate it a lot, though, so that made him feel better about it.
"I was just looking at- at those pictures", Josh said, pointing at several polaroids that were stuck to the wall.
"Ah, my best friends", Fred smiled as he looked at them with Josh. "Can you tell me about them?" Josh asked. He was curious, and Fred really liked that he was. "Yeah, definitely", Fred said.
"So this guy..." he started as he pointed at one of them. "That's my cousin, my nephew Finn. We started our band together", Fred said. "Together with this guy, our Jonathan", he chuckled. "Oh man, you have a Jonathan too?" Josh giggled, and Fred nodded with a soft laugh. "Our nickname for him is Jona though. Comes in handy now that we need to keep them apart", he chuckled. "This is Luca, he and I might be the closest. Used to have a crush on him several years ago but he's as straight as a ruler", Fred chuckled as he pointed at the bottom left picture where he was in with Luca, and what Fred had said made Josh laugh softly too. "And that's our drummer, stupidly enough also called Finn, but his last name is Thomas so we always just go with Tom, honestly", Fred said.
"Wait... You said nephew right? Didn't you move here as a kid?" Josh asked. "Yeah, yeah we did. He was born in Germany too and came here about three or four years after my parents and I did. Most of our close family is now here in the US. Only more distant family and one of my grandparents is still in Germany."
Josh nodded. "I see. So... how did you all meet? Except for you and your nephew of course. Uh... Finn, wasn't it?" He asked, and Fred nodded. "Right. Finn and I were close because we both only started learning English when we got here. Before that, we only knew German, so when he got here we were each other's best and most supportive friends at the time. Finn started going to the same school as I did, and I had met my Jonathan right before he got here. Then us three started messing around with music as kids, and then we met Luca in school, and we figured we'd start some kind of band. We basically started off as a school band", Fred said.
"We didn't have a drummer so we hung up 'application' posters around school", he chuckled. "And no one but Tom responded, so he's been with us ever since", he smiled softly. "Now we're all doing our thing for a few years to try and come back together to actually continue this band, y'know? It's kind of on the down low now but we're all basically doing this because we all really believe in what we're doing", Fred said.
"Judging by how incredible you are at songwriting and singing and playing guitar and other instruments, I wholeheartedly agree", Josh said, and Fred smiled. "I hope so. I really want to be right. I think there's something there in our music and what we have... something that might connect with others out there", Fred said. "Already connected with me", Josh said. "My music, or me?" Fred asked with a laugh, and Josh giggled. "Both?" he said, and Fred laughed as he pressed a kiss on Josh's forehead. "We should have some breakfast and get ready to meet up with my boys", Fred said, and Josh nodded. "I still need to get dressed", he said. "Don't worry, take your time. Oh by the way, when's that new Ty song dropping today?" Fred asked as he let go of Josh, stepping away to fix his hair in the mirror.
Josh gasped as he grabbed his phone to check the time. "Now! Like, six minutes ago!" He said. "What!" Fred exclaimed, quickly moving to turn his PC on so they could listen to the song with great sound quality.
Fred sat down on the chair, moving his foot up and down as he impatiently waited for it to start, as he hadn't used it in a while, not since the last time he'd visited his family.
Josh stood next to him, nervously, biting his nails. Fred noticed, and he reached out for Josh. He gently pulled him closer and wrapped his arm around Josh's waist, making him sit down on his lap. Josh blushed as he wrapped his arms around Fred's neck and he pressed a kiss on his damp hair. Fred's arm remained around Josh's waist.
As the computer was finally ready, he quickly opened Spotify, went to Tyler's page, and saw the new song: hold my breath.
"Ready?" Fred asked. "No", Josh muttered. "Play it."
Josh held his breath - ironically - as the song started. It started off with acoustic guitar playing; soft, gentle, comforting. He tightened his arms around Fred's neck a little, and Fred pulled him even closer up on his lap, not letting go of him either.
'Talk too much, dream too much. Please don't leave, 'cause you're holding on to something special to me. It's essential to me', Tyler's voice sounded.
'Hold my breath 'til I turn green. Please don't leave, 'cause you're holding on to something special to me. It's essential to me', his voice continued.
"Gosh", Josh muttered as he wiped a tear away. He knew who had inspired the song - he just didn't know yet that it was because they'd broken up.
'My love, say that you, say that you love me. I won't waste your time', Tyler's voice continued. 'Shut me up, snuff me out. Please don't leave, 'cause you're holding on to something special to me. It's essential to me.'
The music was built beautifully, there were so many layers to the song, it was filled up to the brim, it felt like. It was slow, but not as soft as it started off. It was so powerful, to him.
'My love, say that you, say that you love me. I won't waste your time.'
As soon as that sentence was sung, the music quieted down almost fully, only the notes on the acoustic guitar left.
'I won't waste your time.'
Followed by the sound of violins, other string instruments and piano, that created an outro together. It was just instrumental, for a few more seconds - powerful ones, Josh thought - before the song ended.
He only now realized how Fred had been rubbing his back gently to try and comfort him. He hugged Fred. "Oh baby", Fred said with a gentle laugh as he wiped Josh's cheeks. "His music does a lot to you every time, huh?" He asked and Josh nodded. "He's- he's really important t-to me", he sniffled. "It's beautiful to see", Fred said, and Josh smiled softly. He moved some of Fred's damp hairs off his forehead, resting his hand on his cheek. He looked into his eyes, and gosh, he liked him so much. Why didn't he act on his feelings sooner? He liked Dustin. He did, but Josh felt like this was different. He wished he would've acted on his feelings sooner, 'cause he was scared of how much he'd missed out on so far. He connected his lips to Fred's.
//
After they'd eaten frühstück, as they called it - meaning breakfast in English - they wrapped themselves up warmly with Fred helping Josh put on the scarf he borrowed him, as Josh was still getting used to actual cold winters. It was the first time he was experiencing a true winter for several months in a row, and sometimes he still struggled a bit. Fred was more than happy to help him, though. They got in Fred's car and as they listened to Tyler's new song, they drove a few minutes to where Fred and his friends had decided to meet up; his cousin Finn's house.
As they got there, Fred was greeted by his aunt, uncle and niece, and he quickly introduced Josh to them. "Sie sind in der Garage", she told Fred as she let them past. "Danke", Fred smiled. "Ich nehme etwas zu trinken mit", he said as he motioned for Josh to follow him to the kitchen. "Natürlich!" His aunt replied, and Josh couldn't help but think it was slightly funny, but mostly interesting to hear them speak German. He was figuring out some words - the easiest ones - and he had a hunch of what was just said, but he didn't know for sure.
"You're gonna have to learn me a thing or two in German", Josh said, voice soft so the others wouldn't hear, and Fred let out a laugh. "I just told her we'd bring a drink to the garage. I don't really need to ask since we're family and it's always been like that, but usually I do let her know beforehand in case she'd rather not want me to do something", he said. "But basically, their house is my house, and our house is theirs. We're close", Fred smiled.
"I don't always know what you say in German, but I like hearing you speak it", Josh blushed with a giggle, and Fred let out a laugh. "Well I'm glad you do", he said as he handed Josh the drink with a smile.
"Fredrick?" his aunt then spoke up. "Mhm?" Fred hummed as he walked towards her. "Ist er dein Freund?" She asked. Fred rolled his eyes with a chuckle. "Nein", he said. "Josh's my roommate in college", he said. "Ach so", his aunt hummed, quirking her eyebrow at him, as if she didn't believe him. Fred shook his head with a laugh. "C'mon, let's go meet the others", Fred said and Josh nodded as he followed him.
"Did you just tell her I'm not your friend?" Josh asked. "Oh that's not what that meant", Fred chuckled. "She was asking if you were my boyfriend." Josh's cheeks tinted red. "...Oh", he blushed. "Yeah. They know I'm not straight so I get that question sometimes", he chuckled. "Especially since this is new, me bringing someone from college home to introduce to my family and friends", he said.
"But it's- you're not doing that because we- we like each other", Josh said softly. "No, I know, I already got that idea before the uh... what happened", Fred said. "Between you and Dustin." "Right", Josh nodded. "Whether my aunt believes that or not, is another question", Fred said. "But she's nice, she'll keep it to herself anyways. And maybe in a while I'll have a different answer to her question", Fred shrugged with a smile. "Oh shush", Josh gave him a soft shove, and Fred laughed. "Sorry, sorry", he chuckled. They got to the garage door, hearing music playing on the other side. Fred gave him a nod, asking for confirmation, and Josh returned it, so Fred opened the door.
"Freddieeee!" Luca was the first one to jump up and run towards him, lifting Fred in the air as he hugged him. "Oh Jesus", Fred laughed. "Hey bud", he smiled as he returned the hug when his feet were back on the floor. "Oh man I missed you", Luca said. "You're too far away!" he said. "Detroit is not that far!" Fred laughed. "Just four freaking hours", Luca replied.
"This is Josh, my roommate", Fred smiled as he introduced him to Luca . "Hi! I've heard a lot about you!" Luca said as he gave Josh a hug. "You- you did?" Josh blushed. "Yeah! You've been his best friend in college. He's told us all about your trip to Pennsylvania and all the things you guys do together. I'm glad we finally get to meet you!" Luca smiled. "You've definitely been making college much easier on Fred since you became friends", he said.
They then turned to the others, which Fred had been greeting and hugging. "Luca's right though. You're too far away", Tom said. "Well it's not like that was my choice", Fred said. "Yeah I still can't believe both colleges did that. As great as our time there has been, they're idiots for doing that", Finn said.
"Doing what..?" Josh asked softly, and Fred turned towards him, with his ever-charming smile. "Finn and Jona are studying in Indianapolis, while Luca and Tom are in Cincinnati. We all applied to the same colleges, all four of them got accepted into both colleges, but Luca and Tom decided they wanted to be somewhere other than the city we've visited every week growing up. So they moved to Cincy, while Finn and Jona stayed here with their families to save money and have a cheaper college experience", Fred exaggerated the last word.
"But both of those schools rejected me", Fred shrugged. Josh raised his eyebrows. "They did?!" He asked. "Yep", Fred nodded. Josh had no idea that that had happened. Everyone around him had seemed to be accepted to every dang uni that they applied to, yet Josh had been the only one who had continuously been rejected. Hearing that Fred had been rejected too, that he had a similar experience, felt weird 'cause he never expected anyone to reject someone as talented as Fred, but it also made him feel a bit at ease too, knowing he wasn't the only one.
"I guess they wanted instrumentalists more than singers", Fred said. "But you're also a great instrumentalist and singer and by far the best songwriter out of all five of us. So why both of these schools rejected you is still beyond me", Luca said.
"Maybe they saw how great Fred was and didn't want other students to feel jealous of him if they'd let him in", Jona said, which made them laugh. "Probably true!" Finn chuckled. "Well it really sucked though! I was panicking so much", Fred said, turning back to Josh. "I really put all of my eggs in one basket. Well, two I guess. Two baskets. Indi and Cincy. They accepted all those fuckers and rejected me", Fred chuckled. "And I was freaking the hell out 'cause I had no back up plan. I didn't apply to enough places I guess", he shrugged.
"So then I just started sending in applications to every school in any surrounding state like a madman, hoping that someone somewhere would accept me, but they all told me I was too late. Except for Wayne State", he said.
"They invited me to come tour the campus, and invited my parents and me for a face-to-face meeting with some people there. Even though the application period was closed already, they still offered me a spot", Fred smiled.
"I had no idea that's how you got in", Josh said. "I'm glad you did", he then blushed, and Fred smiled as he wrapped his arm around Josh's neck. "Me too", he said.
"How did you get to Wayne State? Pretty sure Fred said you're not from around here?" Finn asked. "No I uh- I'm from Los Angeles", Josh said. "I... I applied to a lot of colleges and I was getting lots of rejections too until Wayne State let me know they accepted me", Josh smiled softly. "I didn't think I'd make it as I didn't have a great last year in high school... but I guess they saw something", he shrugged. "And when I'd visited several months before, the campus was one of my favorites that I visited. I met my best friend there, so when they accepted me I was really happy that I wasn't gonna be there all on my own but I had him there too", Josh said.
"Now he's my friend too! Colin's great, he's like the dad friend to us 'cause he's older", Fred laughed. "He's in his third year." "Oh you told us about him too! Ah I didn't realize that was Josh's best friend", Jona said. "You really told them a lot huh?" Josh giggled. "I... maybe?" He smiled, and Josh gave him a light shove as he laughed. "I don't mind", he said, and Fred returned the smile.
Finn kicked Luca in the leg before he nodded at Fred and Josh, and Luca wiggled his eyebrows as he smirked. They were catching on to something going on, like Fred's aunt, but they wouldn't speak it out loud. Not until Fred would come to them and tell them himself.
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What did you thiiiink? I'd love to hear! Joshie's meeting Fred's band mates woohoo! I love the idea of Fred introducing Joshie to everyone and showing him all of the things they work on together 🥺 just so cute to me haha. I hope you enjoyed it! And I hope you'll let me know your thoughts and leave a vote ♥️
Hope you'll have a good weekend! See you on Monday with a new update ♥️