Warnings: Mention of sex

Word Count: 2296

You woke up before Josh the next morning, so you took the opportunity to slip into the shower. As quietly as possible, you gathered up your clothes for the day and headed into the bathroom.

You locked the door behind you to ensure Josh wouldn't come waltzing in at any given moment. The shower took a little while to warm up, and you spent your time jogging around the bathroom to keep warm. As soon as it was ready, you hopped in and let out a sigh of relief. You showered quickly, not wanting to waste the warm water for the rest of the family.

You stepped out of the shower and quickly dried off before wrapping your hair up in a towel. From what you could hear, Josh had yet to get up. You started to reach for your clothes that were still in a pile on the ground, but decided on another plan that would help convince everyone that you were dating. Stealthily, you snuck back into the bedroom and over to Josh's suitcase. A few t-shirts were tossed on the top, so you grabbed one that looked like it would fit ok before hurrying back into the bathroom before Josh woke up.

Once you were safely in the bathroom, you pulled on your jeans and Josh's oversized t-shirt. Happy with how your outfit looked, you decided to do your makeup and hair. You went with something simple since you would have to fix it up later for the rehearsal dinner, anyway.

You walked back into the bedroom, expecting Josh to be awake by now since it had taken you nearly 45 minutes to get ready. Much to your surprise, he was still fast asleep and now sprawled out across the bed. You shook your head with a smile, this was your best friend. Seeing the perfect opportunity, you walked over to the window seat and grabbed one of the small pillows. You took a second to line up your shot before lobbing it at Josh's head.

It nailed him straight in the head, causing him to sit up at lightning speeds. His gaze landed on you, immediately causing his eyes to narrow.

"So maybe it was a threat," you said innocently with a shrug.

He rolled his eyes and shook his head, "Is that my shirt?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowing.

You looked down, as if to double check whether or not you were wearing his shirt.

"Oh, yeah. I figured it would be more convincing if I was wearing one of your shirts. I'll have to change later anyway since we have the rehearsal dinner."

He nodded in understanding.

"Now would you get your lazy ass up? I'm starving."

"You can go downstairs. My mom wouldn't care."

"But I care. I'm not about to go down there alone and let all of your family members grill me."

"It should just be my mom, dad, and siblings. Everyone else won't get here until noon."

"Where are they all staying? I thought they were all staying here?"

"There's a hotel not too far from here for the people from out of town. As for the others, most of them live close, anyway."

"Huh," you said. "Anyway, we can talk later. Go get ready," you waved an arm at him.

"Whatever you say, love," he smirked as he walked into the bathroom.

You felt your heartbeat start to speed up at his words, but you pushed the feelings aside. You always had been, and would be, best friends.

While Josh was in the bathroom, you made the bed look nice again and pulled out your laptop. You sprawled out on the bed and opened up your most recent piece of writing.

Time quickly slipped away while you were writing and, before you knew it, Josh emerged from the bathroom ready for the day. You quickly closed your laptop and set it on the desk next to the bed.

"Ready to go, love?" Josh smiled.

"One more thing before we go downstairs."

"Yes?"

"If you tell anyone that we supposedly had sex last night, I will personally hunt you down and ensure you never have sex again, alright? That is not the impression I intend to make on your family, whether we're actually dating or not."

Josh's eyes widened at your statement, and you struggled to keep a straight face.

"Deal."

"Awesome, let's go get breakfast," you smiled innocently.

You headed for the door and Josh followed close behind. He shut the bedroom door behind you and then wrapped an arm around your waist.

"Remember to breathe," he said, pulling you slightly closer to him in a sideways hug.

"I try my best."

You walked down the stairs and Josh guided me to the kitchen. The house looked completely different when it wasn't packed full of various family members. Much more spacious.

In the dining room, Josh's family was already sat around the dining table, eating their food. Tons of plates were spread out on the table, each containing a different kind of food. There was toast, eggs, bacon, bagels...Laura hadn't wasted any time this morning, it seemed.

"Good morning, you two. Did you sleep well?" Laura smiled up at us.

"I slept great," you smiled.

Josh nodded and removed his arm from your waist so that you could sit. You took a spot next to Ashley, who smiled brightly at you. It was hard not to feel out of place at the table, with you being the only one not from the Dun family.

"This looks wonderful, Laura," you smiled. "Thank you for making all this."

"Oh, it was no big deal. It's like I was telling Abigail, it's nice to have everyone home to cook for again," she smiled.

You nodded and started to pile some food onto your plate. Since you arrived too late the previous night for dinner, you were starving.

Everyone made small talk during breakfast. Laura asked you some more questions since she still wanted to get to know you better. Josh eventually made her stop again, but you reassured her that it was fine and gave Josh a small kick in the shin under the table.

You were helping Laura and Abigail clean up dishes after breakfast when Ashley walked up to you. Josh and Jordan had gone off with Bill to help prepare something for later that night, while you and Josh's sisters had stayed behind to help.

"Hey, Y/N, can we take a walk?"

"Yeah, just so long as you don't need any more help, Laura?"

"Oh, no. You girls go on ahead," she smiled.

"Ok, let us know if you need anything else, Mom," Ashley smiled.

Ashley led you through the house out through a back door. It was the first real glimpse that you had gotten of the property, with its tall grass and trees that ringed around the edge. Blue skies were above you with only a few clouds in sight.

"Wow, Josh wasn't kidding when he said it was beautiful out here."

"Right? I love visiting home. There's just an atmosphere out here that you don't get in a big city."

"I don't blame you."

You followed the gravel path that connected the house to the driveway and extended further down the property towards the barn.

"So what did you need to talk about?"

"I was just curious about you and Josh, is all. How long has that been going on?"

You felt your stomach lurch. If anyone was going to see through your lie, it was Ashley. Josh was closest with her out of all his siblings, and she was always visiting.

"About a year now," you answered, hoping she wouldn't see right through you.

"Really? Because when I was visiting you two a few months ago, you didn't seem too lovey-dovey."

You sighed, there was no point in lying to her, "Alright, fine. I'm pretending to be Josh's girlfriend so your family would get off his case."

"I knew it!" she smiled, clapping her hands together. "So, what made you do it?"

You shrugged, "Josh and I are close and I could see how worried he was about the whole thing. It was an easy enough fix, so I figured why not?"

"Are you sure you didn't just want an excuse to act like his girlfriend for a week?"

"Of course not!"

"Alright, whatever you say. I've seen the way you look at him."

Just then, someone came jogging across the yard towards you from the barn. The mess of pink hair made him unmistakable.

"Hey," he smiled as he neared you. "I was wondering if you wanted to go down to the lake?" he asked, turning to you.

"Sure," you smiled.

"Have fun you two," Ashley smiled before walking back towards the house.

"What's her deal?" Josh asked.

"Nothing," you shook your head. "So where are we headed?"

"This way," Josh said, pointing further down the gravel path.

You quickly fell into step with him as you walked down the beaten up gravel path. The sun was shining through the tree leaves, casting small spots of light all over the ground. Birds were chirping overhead and for the first time in awhile, you felt truly relaxed.

"It's not too far from here, a couple minutes maybe," Josh explained.

"It's not a big deal, I don't mind walking."

"My cousins and I used to always go sprinting down this path in our bathing suits," he smiled. "Whoever made it into the lake last had to run back and grab towels for everyone."

"Did you ever lose?"

"Rarely. I used to run down here with Tyler and Jordan all the time as practice."

"Is the lake warm?"

This caused Josh to laugh, "Far from it, but it feels nice on a really hot day. Sadly, today is not one of those days."

Just then, the lake came into view. It wasn't huge, more of an oversized pond, but it was one of the most beautiful places you had seen. Trees ringed most of the edge of the lake, and flowers grew in the empty spaces that the light could reach. A rope was tied to a branch, and you could practically see the kids clambering onto it and swinging into the cool water. Not too far from there, a swing was tied up to a tree that looked as if it extended out over the water.

"This is beautiful," you gasped.

Josh turned to me with a huge smile on his face, "You think so?"

"Yeah. Mind if I swing?" you asked, gesturing to the small wooden plank tied to the tree.

"Have at it."

You half walked-half jogged over to the little swing and sat in it. Your legs were a bit long for the low swing, but you kicked yourself off from the dirt nonetheless. Josh walked over and took a seat on a rock.

"There are so many things that happened at this place," he smiled. "Just the smell of the dirt brings back so many memories."

"Like what?" you asked as you passed by him.

Josh once again started smiling widely, "There was this time that I bet Tyler that he wouldn't be able to run at the rope, grab it, and swing perfectly into the lake in one fluid movement. He did it, but not without belly flopping into the lake. His stomach was red for a week. My dad got pissed at me for it too."

"Poor Tyler!"

"He was fine, just a bit sore."

The conversation died after that. You continued to swing out over the lake and back again, each time being careful not to accidentally fling yourself into the water. The last thing you needed right now was to be soaking wet.

"How often do you come out here?" you asked.

"Usually once or twice a year. My siblings and I like to come together, so it's hard to coordinate a time that works for all of us."

You nodded, "It's so peaceful out here. Nothing like our apartment on the outskirts of the city."

"Yeah, I think that's part of the reason why I love it so much. It's so different from home."

There was a pause in the conversation that was filled by the distant chirping of birds and wind in the trees.

"How are you doing?" he asked.

You turned to him, his question wasn't what you had expected.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean how are you holding up so far? I know last night was pretty stressful for you, and I was just wondering how you were doing."

"I'm doing ok. I mean, people have never been my strong suit but it's not as bad when you're with me. It's like I have someone to fall back on if I say something stupid," you smiled.

"That's good," he smiled. "I was worried that with so little time to prepare it would be too overwhelming, but I also knew you would be able to handle my family since you can handle me."

"Speaking of that, why did you choose me to pretend to be your girlfriend?"

"Well, for one, you already put up with all my stupid antics on a daily basis, so I knew you wouldn't have some outrageous reaction to me if I did something questionable. Not to mention that you know me best out of anybody, besides Tyler, that is."

"Speaking of Tyler, why did he come out here with you if it's your cousin getting married?"

"We've been friends since Kindergarten, so he basically is family. They just treat him like another one of my siblings. Plus, he never passes up a chance to visit his family."

"I don't blame him."