Warnings: Minor angst

Word Count: 2301

Authors' Note: We hope you enjoy this chapter! :)

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July 2017 - Beginning of the Hiatus

You zipped up the suitcase that you had just finished unpacking and shoved it towards the closet to be tucked away until the next time you needed it. Josh watched as it rolled past him and then went back to folding the pile of shirts that was sitting next to his legs.

"Josh, you really don't have to sit in here and help me fold shirts. I know you have better things to do."

"I don't think any of the work stuff that Tyler is trying to get me to do could beat sitting in here and spending time with you," he smiled.

"If you insist," you said, hoping it would come across as nonchalant despite the butterflies that were currently overtaking your stomach.

"Besides, I want you to feel at home here and the sooner we get your room cleaned and organized, the sooner this might start to feel like home."

You wanted to make a comment about how it already did as long as Josh was around, but decided against it. Your breakup with Beau had only been a few short weeks ago and you weren't really looking to throw yourself into another relationship, no matter how much you cared for Josh. There was still some healing that needed to take place before you felt ready to fully love someone again.

"Here, do you want to do the honors?" you asked, handing Josh a picture of you and Beau that you had just taken out of a frame.

"You don't want to?"

"No. I always hated that picture of us."

"Why? You look nice."

"We got into a huge fight when we got home that night. He screamed at me for what felt like hours and I'm still not entirely sure what I did wrong. I just think of that every time I look at it."

Josh ripped the photo in half with no hesitation and tossed the remnants into a nearby trash bag. You, meanwhile, put a new picture of you, Tyler, and Josh from the early days of the band into the frame and set it up on the dresser.

"What do you think?" you asked.

Josh stopped folding for a moment to look at it. "I like that photo."

"Me too. That picture only has good memories attached."

"I'm glad."

You took a moment to look around the room at all the stuff you had left to unpack. Tyler and Josh had taken you over to Beau's a few days ago to collect all of your things so that you could put an end to the relationship once and for all. Josh had walked around the house with you to help you feel safe and carry things out while Tyler stood in the kitchen with Beau, staring him down. You were glad to finally have your stuff, but you were quickly realizing how much of it brought up bad memories when you looked at it.

You took a deep breath and pushed the thought aside. Beau was out of your life, Josh had offered for you to stay with him as long as you needed, and there was plenty of time ahead to make new memories. Even despite dealing with the aftermath of your breakup, this was the most hopeful you had felt in a long time.

"What is this?" Josh asked, holding up a notebook.

You recognized it instantly, but tried not to let the panic show on your face. It was one of the journals you had been keeping over the last few years, which just so happened to describe in great detail the way that you felt about Josh. You had kept it hidden away in your t-shirt drawer so that Beau would never find it, but you had evidently forgotten to take it out as you were hastily packing things up.

"Hey, give that here," you said, starting to reach for it.

Josh's eyebrows furrowed and he pulled it further away from you, "But what is it, Y/N/N?"

"None of your business," you said, trying not to let a smile replace your angry expression.

"What would happen if I took a look?"

He smirked as he began to pull open the first page. You threw all your inhibitions out the window as you lunged at him, throwing him off and knocking him back onto the ground. The notebook fell from his hands and you quickly snatched it up, though you didn't move from your position on top of him.

"Guess you'll never find out," you smiled, holding it up for emphasis.

"I think I just did," he laughed.

"Sorry." You put a hand next to his torso and pushed yourself back up to a sitting position. Once you were stable, you held a hand out and helped pull Josh back up too. "I panicked."

Josh rubbed at the back of his head, "It's ok. I shouldn't have been taunting you in the first place."

You playfully narrowed your eyes at him and nodded your head, putting your journal in a safe location. With a sigh, you stood to your feet and looked around the room with your hands resting on your hips. It was finally coming together. Moving over to the suitcase you had pushed aside earlier, you decided to grab hold of it again and finally put it away. But, just as you were about to, Josh swiftly came from behind you and took over, using his hip to bump you away slightly with a smirk.

"I've got it." He put the suitcase at the top of the closet.

With a roll of your eyes, you smirked back a bit, "My hero..."

He laughed and pointed at you, turning to face you fully as you stare at him with wide eyes for a moment.

"You better watch it, Y/N/N."

"Or what? What are you going to do?" A mischievous glint in your eyes appeared and he noticed.

Within the next few moments, you were yelling loudly as you ran down the hall to try your best to escape a giggling Josh as he tickled you from behind. Chasing you all the way into the living room, you ran around to the front side of the couch to escape him while breathing heavily. You laughed as he stared you down from behind it, resting his hands on the back of the couch to look at though he was resting, but that wasn't the case. You should have remembered just how active the man really was as he gracefully jumped over the couch and grabbed hold of you in order to tickle again. You laughed hard as he did so and tried to escape him once more, but he held on too tightly this time and fell back onto the couch with you.

"Okay, I give! You win!" you exclaimed.

This caused him to finally stop and the both of you sat there for a bit and just laughed at each other and how red your faces were after it all. But after a few moments of settling down, you both just sat on the couch and relaxed after a long day of hard work. You slowly looked over to Josh and noticed that he was already looking at you, causing a dusting of a blush to appear across your cheeks. You finally looked down and started picking at a small string that was on your pants.

"So, how do you like living here so far? Is there anything more that you need to feel comfortable?"

"No, no. Everything is perfect right now. I really appreciate you helping me out with everything and giving me a place to stay. You don't know how much it means to me."

You smiled softly to him.

"Of course! You know that I'm always here for you when you need help."

You nodded to him as a comfortable silence fell over the both of you for a few moments.

"You know, I'm really glad that I finally decided to leave Beau... the decision has made my life ten times better."

"If you don't mind me asking, what took you so long? I could tell that you weren't happy for a long time."

You let a sigh escape your lips. "He had a way of making me feel low. He was a master at it. I've been trying to break up with him since a little before Christmastime."

Josh raised an eyebrow at you and turned more to face you, causing you to follow suit.

"What kind of things did he say to you? Just so I can hate him more."

A slight laugh escaped your lips as you shook your head, automatically thinking of a very specific conversation you had with Beau - the most recent.

"Well, um... whatever he could to get me to stay and feel like shit. What I just heard from him before we broke up was that..."

You trailed off and then bit your lower lip, not sure if telling him was a good idea.

"Hey. If you don't want to tell me, you really don't have to, Y/N/N..."

He gently rested his hand on your shoulder with a slight squeeze. You then looked up to him finally and let your eyes settle on his, neither one of you breaking contact.

"He thought that I was cheating on him with you, so he told me that there was no way that you could like me. That you were just in it for the chase and you would move on to someone else."

Josh stared at you for a few moments without saying a word, almost as if he wasn't sure what to say. He shook his head finally and then scooted a little bit closer to you, resting his hand on the back of the couch as he did so.

"That's not true at all. I hope you know that... you're someone that I could never replace. You're too special to me," he spoke softly.

Your heart beat heavily in your chest as he neared you, those chocolate brown eyes staring into your soul with love and admiration. No one else had ever made you feel this way and it was so intoxicating that you wanted - no, needed - more. Both of your heads slowly leaned in toward each other, anticipation growing as your lips got so close that you could feel his breath tingle over your skin. Just as you were about to finally kiss, the front door swung open and...

"Honey, I'm home! Practice time!" Tyler yelled out loudly as he stomped into the living room. Both of you shot apart with wide eyes and stared at him as he then came to realize what he had done. "O-Oh. Were you guys just about to kiss?"

Josh slowly turned around to face Tyler and gave him a look of death, eyes glaring at him as though he had just done the unthinkable. Looking uncomfortable now at the sudden awkwardness that filled the room, Tyler apologized profusely as he quickly backed out into the room to disappear down the hall.

"I'm so sorry," Josh said, burying half his face in his hand. "I totally forgot that he was coming over today."

"No, it's fine. You know, we probably shouldn't have kissed, anyway." The words were spilling out of your mouth before you had a chance to stop them. "I just got out of a really bad relationship and I don't want to make you deal with all that aftermath."

"Right, right. Yeah, that makes sense."

Josh's ears were bright red and he was avoiding all eye contact with you. Your head was still reeling from having him that close to you, close enough that you could feel his breath fanning across your lips. You swore it was the best feeling in the world.

"Does he... does he usually burst in like that?" you forced a laugh, hoping it would release some of the nervous energy that was bubbling in your chest.

"Yes, actually. I gave him a key for emergency purposes, but he seems to think that being on time for band practice is an emergency."

"Yeah, that sounds about right."

Conversation came to stop between you. Your brain was grasping for something to say, but everything you came up with never made it any further than being a mere thought in your head. What were you even supposed to say to someone after you almost kissed them?

Tyler slowly came shuffling out of the hallway, looking sheepish. You looked at him for a moment before returning to picking at a string on your pants.

"I made sure to check that I wasn't interrupting something," he said. Josh laughed and nodded, but you knew it wasn't genuine. "Did you want to head out?"

"Yeah, let's get out of here," Josh said, pushing himself up from the couch.

You watched as he crossed the room and pulled on his shoes, occasionally running a nervous hand through his hair. The only time he looked at you was right before he left, reminding you when he would be home and asking if you would wait to make dinner with him. You said you would gladly do so and wished the boys a good practice.

As soon as the door was shut, you let yourself decompress into the couch cushions. What was that... twice now that you had almost kissed Josh? You were beginning to think that it just wasn't destined to happen. Or at least, not as long as Tyler was around to burst in right in the middle of it.

At least you knew now that your feelings were shared. Even despite your failed kiss, the knowledge of that was enough to put a smile on your face.