Warnings: Slight angst, very minor self-deprecation 

Word Count: 1587

"Did you want to take any leftover pizza?" you asked Tyler.

"Nah, you can keep it," he said, waving an arm at you.

"Josh?"

"I'm good."

"Sweet," you smiled, wrapping the leftovers in tinfoil and sticking it in the fridge.

"See you guys later," Tyler said, grabbing his bag and throwing it over his shoulder.

"Later, Ty," you said, walking back over to the couch where Josh was sitting.

"Goodnight."

Tyler gave a final wave and walked out the door. You looked over at the clock near the TV, expecting it to be well past midnight. Much to your surprise, it was barely 10:30. Tyler rarely left before midnight when the three of you hung out at your place unless he had something important in the morning. As far as you knew, he had no plans for the next day.

"He left early," you said, kicking your feet up on the coffee table.

"What time is it?" Josh asked, leaning up just enough so that he could see the clock over his chest.

"10:28."

"That is early."

"Yeah."

You mentally cursed yourself for letting the conversation die so easily. Despite the fact that you had known Josh for years, your crush on him never failed to leave you tongue-tied when conversation was just the two of you. The only thing filling the silence was Josh drumming on his legs.

"I forgot to tell him to text me when he gets home," you said, initiating what would only be a dead-end conversation.

"I'm sure he still will. He always does."

"That's true."

Silence filled the room again. You could feel your heart pounding in your chest, going almost as fast as your head cycling through possible conversation topics. Your mind had settled on bringing up a random fact you had seen on Tumblr a few days ago when Josh interrupted the silence.

"Can I talk to you about something?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah," you said, having to be extra careful not to trip over your words with all the adrenaline rushing through you.

"Ok, here goes nothing," he took a deep breath. "Um, I've had feelings for you for awhile now and I've been meaning to tell you, but every time something gets in the way."

You clapped a hand over your mouth to avoid laughing out loud at him. There was no way that a man as gorgeous as Josh could be in love with you.

"That's actually why Tyler left so early, it was to give me a chance to finally tell you."

Oh yeah, this was definitely a joke. Tyler was probably on the back porch, waiting for you to confess your love right back to him and then burst inside and laugh along with Josh.

"And it's ok if you don't feel the same way, but I figured it was better to tell you and risk things being a little awkward than never telling you and missing an opportunity."

You were absolutely dumbfounded. If Josh was acting, he was doing an amazing job of it. Part of you was actually convinced that he was in love with you, but you knew that there was no way that was possible.

"Y/N?"

You hadn't even realized that you had been staring wide-eyed at him until he said your name, pulling you out of your trance. Your mind was scrambling for the right words to say to him without giving away that you felt the same.

"This is a joke, right?" you blurted. Of all the things you could have said, that was the best you managed to come up with.

"What? No! Why would I joke about something like this?"

"There's no way you could be in love with me," you said as if it were some well-known fact.

"But I am."

"There's no way."

"Why won't you believe me, Y/N?"

"It just doesn't seem possible! You look like that and I look like this and it just doesn't make any sense. There are too many amazing people that you've met for this to make sense."

"That's just not true."

"Yes it is."

"Alright, fine," Josh said, obviously irritated. He stood up from where he had been sitting and headed for the front door. "Just forget I said anything."

You watched silently as Josh pulled on his shoes and walked out the front door, all but slamming it behind him. Your heart immediately sunk, realizing what had just happened. You stood up and began to get ready for bed, barely holding back tears.

It had been a few days since Josh's confession. Tyler had texted and called you numerous times, asking for your side of the story. You ignored him entirely, even thinking about that night was still painful for you. Josh hadn't contacted you at all, which only made you feel worse.

The credits began to roll on the movie that you had been watching. You moved slightly so that you were better able to see the clock by the TV. It was close to two in the morning, so you decided that you should at least try to sleep. You hadn't been sleeping as well since your fight with Josh.

You were in the middle of brushing your teeth when you were sure that you heard something. Confused, you quickly spit the toothpaste into the sink and grabbed the baseball bat that you kept hidden under your bed. If someone had broken into your house, you were going to make sure that they knew it was a mistake.

You heard the sound again as you were moving through the kitchen. It sounded more like a knock on the door now that you were closer to the origin of the noise. You weren't sure who would be visiting you at this hour. The only logical answer was that Tyler had finally gotten fed up with you ignoring him and come to see you himself.

You made sure to take lighter steps as you got closer to the door. If whoever was on the other side of the door was someone you didn't want to see, you didn't want them to know you were awake and creeping around by the door. You leaned forward so that you could look through the peephole. Much to your surprise, it was Josh standing on the other side.

Your heart began to race and you took a couple steps back. Having seen yourself in the mirror when you were brushing your teeth, you knew you looked like a mess. There were dark circles under your eyes and your hair was currently messy since you hadn't been bothered to do it that morning.

Without giving yourself a chance to think twice about it, you reached forward and pulled the front door open. Josh looked about like you did: messy hair, dark circles, and the same shirt he had been wearing at your house a few days before. His eyes went wide when he came face to face with you, as if he hadn't really been expecting you to be awake.

"Hi," he said.

"Hey," you replied, as if he hadn't just shown up in the middle of the night after not talking to you for days.

"Do you mind if I come in?"

"Uh, sure," you said, stepping to the side so that he could come inside.

Josh stepped through the doorway and you closed the door behind him, making sure to lock it again. He stood awkwardly in the entryway, fiddling with the end of his shirt.

"So what exactly are you-" you started to ask, but he cut you off.

"Wait, can I just say what I need to say? Otherwise I'm going to chicken out."

"Uh, sure."

"Ok. After what happened the other night, I tried to forget the feelings I have for you, Y/N, I really did. I thought that being apart for a few days would help, but it only made me miss you more. And you obviously don't feel the same, but I just needed you to know that I meant it."

"Josh, I do feel the same. That's why I panicked, it seemed too good to be true."

"So, you do feel the same?"

"Yeah. And I feel awful about how I acted when you told me. I tried so hard to not let myself get embarrassed that I let what I was afraid of happen to you."

"At this point, I'm just relieved to hear that you feel the same. I've barely been able to sleep the last few nights because I couldn't stop thinking about how everything happened. There's so much I could have done differently."

You reached forward and placed a hand on Josh's cheek, stroking it lightly with your thumb, "You don't have to worry about it anymore."

Josh reached forward and wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you closer to him.

"I need you to promise me something," he said quietly.

"What?"

"Can you promise to trust me from now on?"

"I've always trusted you, Josh. My mind just undermined that the other night."

"Ok," he smiled.

The two of you stood silently, looking at one another.

"So are you going to kiss me or what?" you smirked.

"Right," Josh smiled.

He pulled you into a kiss. As cliché as it was, you felt sparks between the two of you. You were the first to pull away from the kiss.

"Tyler's not going to be able to stand us," you giggled.

"Worth it."