Warnings: None

Word Count: 2487

You lost track of time while you were in the car, quickly getting lost in the music and scenery of the city. The creak of the front doors snapped you out of your trance. You quickly opened the door and slid out of the backseat. Josh and Tyler were already standing at the back of the car, pulling their suitcases out of the trunk. Josh had already set yours on the ground next to the car, so you quickly pulled on your backpack and extended the handle.

Tyler glanced at you, "Ready?" he asked.

You nodded. You all fell into step as you walked into the airport. Once you were inside, Tyler quickly spotted the airline you were taking and led your small group through the large crowd to get in line.

"I can handle the talking," Josh said, turning to you.

You looked up at him, almost a bit surprised, but didn't say anything. If there was one thing you hated, it was talking to people, especially in the airport. You spent your time in line people watching. One of your favorite things to do in the airport was think of where people could possibly be going. It wasn't until Josh said your name for a third time that you snapped out of it.

"You coming?" he asked, standing a few feet away from you at the counter.

You nodded and quickly went up to stand by him. The lady behind the counter smiled tautly at you before asking Josh a few questions. You remained silent and continued to look around. Josh handed you a boarding pass and turned on his heel. You followed him to an out of the way place where you could wait for Tyler.

There were already lots of people in line for security, despite it not being the most popular flying time yet. You listened to the boys talking about how excited they were to see their family again while you waited. There wasn't much you could contribute to that conversation, not being from Ohio and all.

The sound of TSA officers calling out directions became prevalent as you neared the front. Before you knew it, you were untying your shoes and sticking them in the basket, along with various other objects you had on you.

"Josh, can you get my necklace?" you asked, turning to him.

Josh's fingers brushed against the back of your neck as he undid the clasp. You could feel your hair standing up and you hoped that he couldn't.

"Here," he said, handing it to you.

"Thanks," you said, taking it and putting it inside your shoe.

Josh lifted your suitcase onto the belt.

"Next!"

You walked through the detector. Thankfully, there were no beeps and you half-jogged to get your stuff. Josh walked over as you were putting your shoes back on. He smiled at you and grabbed his own shoes. You stood up and brushed off your jeans before grabbing your backpack and swinging it over your shoulder. Josh straightened out after he finished tying his shoes.

"Need help with the necklace?" he asked.

You pulled it out of your pocket and handed it to him before spinning around. Once again, his fingers brushed against the back of your neck.

"There," he said.

"Thanks."

You all grabbed your suitcases and headed off towards your gate.

"What time does boarding start?" you asked.

"In about half an hour," Tyler stated.

You nodded. Tyler pulled out his phone and began to respond to a text message, meanwhile Josh was fiddling with something on his shirt. You looked down at your feet as you walked, slightly mesmerized by the carpet pattern.

Josh suddenly grabbed you arm and pulled you quickly to the side. You looked up just in time to see an equally flustered man looking up from his phone.

"Sorry," you mumbled quickly before falling back into step with everyone.

"Better watch where you're going," Josh laughed, giving you a nudge in the arm.

"Shut it, Dun," you retorted.

Tyler slipped his phone back into his pocket and glanced over at the two of you, a slight smile on his face. Just as you were about to say something, you arrived at your gate. Tyler and Josh sunk into chairs, but you remained standing.

"I think I'm going to grab something to drink," you announced, grabbing your wallet from your backpack and tossing it onto a nearby chair.

"I'll go with you," Josh said, immediately standing back up.

"I'll stay here and guard our stuff," Tyler said, once again pulling his phone out of his pocket.

"Want us to grab you anything?" you asked.

He appeared to think it over for a moment, "How about a coffee?"

"Cream and cinnamon?"

"You know me too well," Tyler laughed.

You turned on your heel and started off towards the nearest Starbucks. Josh quickly fell into step with you.

"Nervous?" he asked.

You shrugged, "Not yet. I will be by the time we touch down in Ohio though. Speaking of which, how are you holding up?"

"I'd be lying if I said I was fine."

You bumped your shoulder lightly into his, "I'll be there the whole time."

He nodded, although you could still see how nervous he was. Luckily, you arrived to the Starbucks which would help him take his mind off of things. He followed you up to the counter.

"Hi, what can I get for you?" the barista asked. He was tall with sandy blond hair and bright blue eyes. You could feel your heartbeat speeding up.

"Can I get a hot chocolate?" you stuttered. "Grande."

He nodded as he wrote it down, "Can I get a name?"

"Y/N."

"That's a gorgeous name," he smiled up at you.

Almost instantly, Josh snaked an arm around your waist. He pulled you close to him, so that your hip was pressed against his. The barista almost instantly shifted his demeanor, becoming very quiet.

"Can I get you anything else?"

"A grande coffee, please."

While he was writing, you turned to Josh, "Did you want anything?"

"I'm good."

"Alright, anything else?" the barista asked.

"Can I get a slice of pumpkin bread?"

"Toasted?"

"No, thanks."

"Is that all?"

"Yeah."

"Your total is $9.50."

You shuffled through your wallet and pulled out a ten dollar bill. He took it from your hand and quickly handed you back your fifty cents. His personality had completely changed, probably because of the dirty looks Josh was no doubt giving him from behind you. You dumped the fifty cents into the tip jar and walked off towards the other side of the counter, releasing yourself from Josh's arm.

"What was that?" you asked in a hushed whisper, your arms crossed tightly across your chest as Josh sauntered over to me.

"What was what?"

"We aren't dating, Josh. Did you remember that?" you asked.

"I was just practicing!"

"Practicing my ass," you groaned. "You just don't like it when guys flirt with me. You never have, yet you flirt with girls all the time."

"Whatever, I'm sorry. It won't happen again...until we're in Ohio that is," he said.

You groaned and rolled your eyes, although a smile still formed on your face. It was impossible to stay mad at him.

"Grande hot chocolate for Y/N!" the barista called. "And a slice of pumpkin bread."

You stepped forward and grabbed your drink, quickly slipping a sleeve over it, before grabbing the small paper bag too. Josh stayed a few steps behind you. You brought the drink slowly to your lips in an attempt to gauge how hot it was, which only left you with a burnt tongue.

"Can I try a sip?" Josh asked.

"Only if you don't mind scalding your tongue," you laughed, holding it slightly towards him.

"I'll pass," he smiled.

"Grande coffee for Y/N!"

"Hold this, would you?" you asked, forcing your drink and food into his hands.

You once again stepped forward and grabbed the coffee and slipped a sleeve over it. Josh followed you as you walked over to the little station and began to pour a mixture of cinnamon and cream into Tyler's coffee.

"Can you explain to me how you have Tyler's coffee order memorized and I don't?" he asked.

"You must have forgotten how many times Tyler and I go out to coffee," you chuckled, pressing the lid of his drink back on. "Trade me?"

You turned around just in time to see Josh helping himself to your pumpkin bread. His eyes widened, but you only rolled yours in response. He handed you your drink and what was left of the pumpkin bread before taking Tyler's coffee.

"Boarding starts in twenty minutes, which means Tyler is going to be freaking out," Josh laughed.

"Guess we better pick up the pace," you smiled, lengthening your strides a bit.

Josh took one long stride and immediately caught up with you.

"I don't think I'm the one that needs to pick up the pace," he smirked.

You groaned. You and Josh didn't talk much as you walked back to the gate, only the occasional snarky comment from Josh or him making a comment about a passing stranger.

Tyler looked relieved when you returned with his coffee. You sat down across from the two guys and pulled out your pumpkin bread.

"Boarding starts in just under twenty minutes. You guys have your boarding passes?"

You reached into your backpack and pulled yours out to show Tyler. Just then, your stomach started to twist as the reality of what you had agreed to started to set in.

"Holy crap," you said quietly.

"What? Did you not have your boarding pass? Did you forget something?" Tyler started to rattle off questions.

"No. It just kind of set in that I'm going to Ohio to pretend to be Josh's girlfriend in front of his entire family. Everything has been moving so fast lately that it didn't really set in until now..."

"You're going to be fine," Josh said, leaning forward and putting a hand to your shoulder, squeezing it lightly.

You nodded and took a hesitant sip of your drink. Tyler continued to look at his phone and Josh leaned back in his chair, glancing around nonchalantly.

"This is perfect, Y/N. Thanks," Tyler smiled.

Josh turned to his friend, "Hey, I helped!"

Tyler turned to Josh and rolled his eyes.

"Barely," you scoffed before taking a long sip of your drink. Tyler smiled at your remark.

You leaned back a bit in your chair and tried to take deep breaths. Josh's absent minded drumming on his leg helped to distract you.

"Ten minutes until boarding," Tyler commented.

"I'm going to head to the bathroom real quick," you said, setting your drink down on the ground.

"Hurry back," Tyler said.

You nodded as you walked off. People were rushing through the hallways, suitcases following close behind them. They weren't too hard to dodge as you headed towards the bathroom.

Luckily, there was no line so you quickly got in and out of a stall. You stared at your reflection as you washed your hands.

Millions of questions ran through your head as you washed your hands. Would Josh's family even like you? How long was this lie going to have to continue? What if he actually develops feelings for you and you'll have to reject him? Would you reject him?

You shook your head. The scenarios you were making up were getting way out of hand. Josh had said himself that his parents would love you and there was absolutely nothing to worry about.

Tyler once again looked relieved to see you, "Five minutes until boarding."

You grabbed your bag and pulled it over your shoulder. Tyler stood up and looked between his and Josh's passes.

"It looks like you're in the middle, Y/N."

"Awesome," you sighed.

Being stuck between them on a small airplane for any amount of time, let alone a plane ride, wasn't exactly the ideal situation to be in, but it could also be a lot worse. Tyler continued to shuffle through things as you waited for boarding to start. Josh had his duffle bag in one hand and was looking around at the people around you. You noticed that he was biting his lip nervously.

"Now boarding Zone 2," crackled through the loudspeaker.

You noticed Josh tense. He was fidgeting with his boarding pass in his free hand. The three of you moved to stand in line.

"Nervous?" you turned to him.

"No," he tried to look almost offended by your comment.

You raised your eyebrow as he turned to you.

"Alright, fine, maybe a little."

"You're going to be fine," you said, lightly bumping into his shoulder with your own.

He nodded, "You're going to be with me the whole time?"

"Right between you and Tyler."

"Ok."

Tyler handed his boarding pass to the lady behind the counter. She quickly scanned it.

"Enjoy your flight."

She grabbed your boarding pass and scanned it.

Once again, "Enjoy your flight."

You started to follow Tyler towards the plane, but you stayed a few paces behind.

"Enjoy your flight."

You could hear Josh's footsteps behind you as he caught up. Tyler was already ahead, eager to get on the plane and to Ohio. He was checking every seat number as you walked past, scanning for seat 26. You, meanwhile, were trying to keep your bag from smacking everyone you walked past.

"Here," Tyler said, pointing to the next row of seats.

"Put this up there, would you?" you asked Tyler, gesturing to your bag.

He easily scooped it up and slid it into the overhead compartment.

"Tyler, you go first," you said, gesturing to the seats.

He nodded and slid into his seat. Once he was settled, you took your spot in the middle. Finally, Josh sat down.

"You're going to be fine," you reassured him.

He turned to face you, "I hope so."

You sat around while people settled in and they went over safety procedures. Josh, on the other hand, was listening attentively. He always got nervous before takeoff.

The plane started to move away from the gate and you noticed Josh visually tense up. He was holding onto the armrest so tightly that his knuckles were white. Without saying a word, you reached over and pulled his hand away from the armrest, instead replacing it with your hand. He held on tightly to your hand, as if letting go of it would cause him to fly out of the plane.

He squeezed your hand tighter as the plane began to pick up speed. By the time that you were in the air, you thought your hand was going to fall off. You kept quiet, though, you didn't want Josh to feel bad. It wasn't long until you were in the air and flying smoothly.