Warnings: Mentions of alcohol consumption and drunken behavior, angst

Word Count: 1873

Author's Note: First post with the new schedule!

"Y/N!" Tyler called from the living room.

You rolled over in bed, groaning to yourself. The clock on the bedside table read 11:30. That was to be expected, you had gone out again last night and stayed out way later than you should have.

"What?" you called back.

"Get up! People are going to be here in like half an hour."

"Fine, but I'm not happy about it!" you answered.

You got out bed and headed towards the bathroom. The smell of alcohol was still highly evident on your shirt, a result of forgetting to change into a proper pajama shirt when you finally stumbled home. It fell to the floor in an unceremonious heap as you stripped it off and tossed it into the corner of the bathroom.

You wondered who was coming over. Tyler hadn't mentioned having company, which he was usually pretty good about considering you were roommates. That meant that the plans had been last minute, most likely meaning that it was Josh who was coming over.

Josh.

Whenever you two were together, you always seemed to be pushing one another's buttons. It had been like that ever since Tyler had introduced the two of you a couple years ago. Things between you had been normal at first, until the one fateful day that you learned just how fun it was to see Josh mildly annoyed. Your relationship hadn't been the same ever since.

You pushed the thought from your mind and instead directed your attention to getting ready for the day. One glance in the mirror told you that you looked just about as bad as you currently felt. A shower would help you feel--and look--a little better, you hoped.

"Who's coming over today?" you asked as you arrived downstairs.

Tyler was in the kitchen, making himself some toast. You walked over and leaned against the counter.

"Josh for sure. There were a couple other people that said they might be able to hang out today, but they didn't have a definite answer."

"Great," you muttered.

"Hey, maybe you two will get along today."

"Yeah," you scoffed. "And the sun will set in the east too."

"Come on, Y/N," Tyler said as you made yourself some cereal. "I know you two could get along really well if you tried."

"But it's just so much more fun to press all his buttons! I mean, you've seen the face he makes when I sit too close to him, right?"

Tyler sighed, "Many times."

"So you get it!"

Tyler grabbed his plate of toast and moved into the dining room, "No."

"Fine, I'll try to be civil for you, Ty. But if he makes one comment that rubs me the wrong way, it's game over."

"As long as you try to be nice."

"I think your definition of nice is different than mine," you huffed as you sat down at the table.

"You know, I think you two could really get a good thing going if you weren't at each other's throats every second of the day."

You snorted, "Ty, you aren't really implying what I think you are, are you?"

"I'm just saying, there may be a deeper meaning behind why you two are always pushing the other's buttons."

"Definitely not. I could never imagine being any type of intimate with Josh."

"Sure," Tyler said before taking a bite of his toast.

You idly stirred your cereal around as you thought over Tyler's words. Thankfully, he was too busy looking at his phone to notice the color that was now in your cheeks. The relationship between you and Josh wasn't anything other than your stereotypical love-hate friendship.

Right?

"Josh is here!" Tyler called up the stairs.

"Ok!" you answered.

You grabbed a sweatshirt from the back of your desk chair and pulled it on as you headed down the stairs. The boys were already in the living room as you arrived downstairs, and Tyler had done you the honor of leaving an empty spot on the couch next to Josh. With a sigh, you made yourself comfortable at the end of the couch.

"You're awake," Josh smiled. "After how much you drank last night, I thought you would have been sleeping your hangover away."

"Trust me, that's what I wish I was doing."

Tyler shot you a look from the other end of the couch, but you ignored it. Josh, on the other hand, seemed amused by your comeback.

"Glad we're on the same page then."

Tyler sighed and ruffled his hair, "I was really fooling myself when I thought you two were going to get along today, huh?"

"Probably," Josh laughed.

You slowly began to stretch out your legs so that your feet were pressed against Josh's thigh. The second that he noticed, he pressed his tongue into his cheek and slowly turned to you. He raised an eyebrow, but you simply smiled at him.

"Y/N."

"Yes?"

"What are you doing?"

"My legs were getting tired from being bent, so I decided to stretch a little."

"And that involves touching me, why?"

"Well, you're kind of taking up the whole middle of the couch, so I don't really know how you expect me to sit here and not touch you."

"Tyler is doing it just fine."

You looked to Tyler, who simply shook his head a little. He obviously wouldn't be of any help in this situation.

"Fine," you huffed, swiveling your body so that your legs were now rested on the coffee table. "Better?"

"Yes."

You crossed your arms and tried to mask the fact that you were disappointed you could no longer annoy Josh. Meanwhile, he had turned to Tyler and began to talk about a festival that they had played together recently. Since there wasn't much you could contribute to the conversation, you leaned back against the pillows and closed your eyes.

"Feeling alright, Y/N?" Tyler asked.

Apparently you hadn't been as well rested as you thought, considering Tyler's voice had pulled you back from the edge of being asleep. You slowly blinked your eyes open and leaned up so that you could see him.

"Still don't feel great after last night," you laughed.

"That's because you were plastered," Josh chimed in.

"You drank just as much as I did."

"At least I could walk straight at the end of the night."

"Hey! It's not my fault that the sidewalk was wobbling."

Josh mocked what you were saying, so you reached out and shoved his arm. He barely moved, which only added to your annoyance.

"You want to try that again?" Josh asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No," you huffed as you crossed your arms.

Tyler had pulled out his phone in an attempt to block out the feud between you and Josh. He looked up when he realized that you two had stopped fighting.

"Are you two done now?" he asked.

You threw an arm into the air, "I'm not the one causing the problem."

Josh's eyebrows shot straight into the air as he turned to look at you, "Are you implying that I am?"

"It's not an implication when what you're saying is fact."

"All I said was that you got really drunk last night, then you turned it into an argument."

"No, I said that we drank the same amount and then you had to make a comment about me not being able to walk."

"Because you couldn't!"

"I'm getting lunch, do you two want anything?" Tyler announced, putting a temporary end to the debate.

"Where are you going?" you asked.

"The sandwich place down the street."

"I'll just have my usual."

"Me too."

"Great," Tyler said. "I'll be back in twenty minutes."

"You're just leaving us here?" you asked.

"Aw, are you scared of not having Tyler here to back you up?" Josh teased.

"No," you retaliated, although you weren't sure how truthful it was.

"Try not to tear each other's heads off while I'm gone," Tyler said before disappearing out the front door.

The house became eerily quiet as soon as the door shut. You adjusted yourself a bit to try and get rid of the uncomfortable feeling that had formed in your stomach.

"I'm surprised it took him that long to get fed up and leave," Josh said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, that might be a record."

You and Josh shared a look and began to laugh. If there was one thing that never failed to unite the two of you, it was annoying Tyler.

"Are you actually feeling ok? You were in pretty bad shape last night."

"Yeah, I'm ok," you smiled, although you were a bit skeptical at his change in demeanor. "I just had a lot on my mind and needed a break from all of it. And everyone knows that drinking to forget is always a healthy coping mechanism."

"You making questionable decisions isn't really new information."

You shot him a look and tried to ignore how much his statement had actually hurt you.

"Not all of us are as well-adjusted as you, Josh," you retorted, adding a hint of anger to your tone.

"I'm not trying to take a dig at you, Y/N."

"Then what was the point of that statement?"

"I'm just saying you don't always take care of yourself like you should and it worries me."

You should have known that any moment of peace between you and Josh would quickly be ended by some snarky comment.

"When have you ever been concerned about me? You just like to push my buttons and laugh when I get upset. We have a love-hate relationship, Josh, that's just how it goes."

"Y/N, I-"

You cut him off, "I just don't understand why you're even pretending like you care right now. Tyler isn't here, it's not like he's going to see you being nice to me and think any more of you."

"Can I just-"

"No, I'm not done talking," you huffed. "I'm tired of you acting like you're so much better than me and know so much more about the world just because I'm a few years younger than you and Tyler. It doesn't mean that-"

"Can you just shut up and let me say what I need to say?"

"Why don't you come over here and make me?"

Josh answered by leaning forward and pulling you into a kiss. You were surprised at first, but you quickly relaxed into it and rested a hand on his chest. His heart was pounding so hard that you could feel it against your fingertips. When he finally pulled away, you couldn't think of anything to say.

"God, I'm in love with you and your attitude," he whispered.

"That's the first time I've ever heard that," you giggled.

Josh moved back to where he had previously been sitting just in time for Tyler to open the door and walk inside. He was whistling to himself, completely unaware of the entire exchange that had just occurred between you and Josh.

"It's so quiet in here," he said as he set the food on the coffee table. "I'm surprised you two aren't arguing."

"Yeah," you said, sharing a knowing look with Josh. "Me too."