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[cornychip]

MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE (1986) dir. Stephen King on massive cocaine

[cornychip]

sweet as berries

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pairings: josh kiszka x reader

tags: fluff, friends to lovers in a mild way, making out, drinking, autumnal vibes, josh is cute, idk people

word count: 5.3k

summary: a bonfire night w the kiszka twins, except you’ve had a crush on josh for god knows how long

notes: i imagine josh in this fic exactly like the above photo 🫶🏼 sweet bonfire boy.

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“Thought I may find you here,” you yelled.

He looked up from the beer he had just popped, and his face turned quickly from one of focus to one of pleasant surprise.

“Hey!” Josh beamed and pulled you into a hug before you had time to protest. He seemed to be a few beers deep from the subtle smell of alcohol and the slight glaze in his eyes.You nuzzled into his grey and black hoodie a bit, already smelling the bonfire on him.

“You have a drink?” He looked to your empty hands, answering his own question, “Let me get you one,” he patted your forearm gently. “Whatdya want? Beer, liquor? Wine cooler?”

“Um—“ you started.

“I want you to know if you say wine cooler, I’ll get ya one, but it’ll come with a heavy dose of judgment,”

You grinned at him and his teasing. Your cheeks were flushing already; you couldn’t help it. You were just like this around him, despite your best efforts not to be.

“Liquor,” you answered, “Vodka and sprite is fine,”

“Berry’s getting wild tonight, huh?” He winked at you and you rolled your eyes, feigning annoyance.

“Something like that,” you chuckled, taking the drink from him.

Berry. You could never get over how the nickname sounded in his mouth, no matter how many times you’d heard it.

One year in high school, you’d planted a bunch of strawberry plants in your backyard at home, resulting in an abundance of strawberries by early July. You brought the Kiszkas fresh strawberries just about every week until the season ended. Somewhere along the way, Josh and Jake had given you the name, and it stuck.

It wasn’t the first time you’d heard it again this summer. The guys had been home from tour for about a month now, so you’d been in and out. But seeing Josh each and every time was dizzying, this was no different.

“Oh, wait,” his voice pulled you out of your stream of consciousness.

He leaned forward and stuck his finger into the cup, then swirled it around. You gave a small laugh in disbelief. He pulled the finger out and licked it clean, something you had to try and not stare at, with his lips pink and glossy.

He smiled, “Had to stir it.”

You nodded, trying to keep it together.

“Where’s your brother?” You shouted over the music. He raised a brow and leaned into you to hear you, his head suddenly close to your body. You repeated the question and he nodded.

“Backyard, I think,” he answered, still close to you.

You gave him a final nod and then tried to decide the least awkward way to make an exit.

Before you could say something to the effect of ‘I’ll see you around,’ Josh spoke.

“I’ll help ya find him, come on “

Then, he was grabbing your hand to lead you. Your stomach dropped at the feeling of his warm palm against yours.

He tugged you along, weaving through the small crowd of people in his living room, before you made your way to the deck.

When you walked down the stairs of the wooden deck, there was a bonfire pit with hay bale seats circling it.

Hay bales.

Jake had assured you during your visit last week that they were purely seasonal, with it being late September and all, and that they weren’t that Michigander to have the bales out year round. If you hadn’t seen the regular lawn chairs out the rest of the year, you wouldn’t have believed it.

Currently, the bales were half-filled with random friends-of-friends, and one Jake, complete with an acoustic guitar.

He smiled at you once the bonfire illuminated your face in the dark.

“Berry!” He cheered, standing up from his spot and walking toward you for a greeting hug, causing Josh to drop your hand.

You laughed at Jake’s already drunken self.

“Hey, Jakey,” you patted his back a couple times as he hugged you almost too tight. When he pulled back, he grabbed the sides of your head and gave an obnoxiously loud kiss to your forehead.

“Ugh,” you wiped the spit off your face as he grinned at his work, “Thanks.”

“No problem at all,” he turned back to sit down in his seat, picking back up the guitar. Jake’s flannel shirt hung open, just one button done at the bottom; you’d expect nothing else. He wore his favorite blue jeans—he wore them so much they nearly started becoming a comfort item to you too.

“Well,” Josh rubbed his palms on the tops of his thighs awkwardly, watching you take a place next to Jake on the bales, “I suppose I’d better go make some rounds,” he thumbed to the house, “make sure no one’s breaking mom’s decor,”

You took a half second to decide whether you should protest his departure, but you couldn’t bring yourself to. You gave a soft smile and a nod, with a high-pitched, “Okay”

He nodded back, turning on his heels to head inside.

“You’re fucking pathetic,” Jake was giggling, shoving his elbow into your side, “Okay,” he mocked you.

You rolled your eyes and kicked over his beer that was sitting near your foot.

“Hey!” He furrowed his brow, leaning down to save the beer.

“Serves you right,” you taunted.

Jake put the bottle to his lips and threw back the rest of the drink, tossing the empty bottle into the fire. He chuckled to himself at that.

“Just get it over with and make out with him already. I’m sure he’d make out with you back. He’s really lame, he doesn’t get any action otherwise,” Jake mused, starting to pluck at the acoustic.

“Ohshutup,” You breathed, cheeks flushing at the suggestion.

Jake shrugged, “What do ya wanna hear, Berry?”

“Mm,” you took a long sip of your drink, “Surprise me,”

He rolled his eyes, “You always say that, you’re so boring,”

“Cause you always play what you want anyways. Just pick something,”

He laughed, “You know me well,”

He started plucking something soothing, some vaguely memorable melody.

You’d been friends with Jake for years; back when his band was barely even such a thing. He was—dare you say—probably your best friend.

The problem: with Jake came Josh, and that was far more complicated.

While they were twins, you couldn’t feel more differently about them. Jake was boyish and silly, easygoing and familiar. The perfect person to order a pizza with and hang out in the garage until 2am. He was understanding and kind.

Josh was Josh—toothy smiles, soft hands, suggestive strip of his stomach showing when he wiped his face with his shirt, plush lips he bit so often, velvet curls, umber irises, cautious gaze, bubbling laugh—you could go on for a while. He was mesmerizing.

Jake knew, at least in some sense, about how you felt about his twin. He teased you about it rarely, given that it clearly struck a nerve. But sometimes he couldn’t help it. He swore up and down, though, that he never said anything to Josh. You believed him, maybe stupidly, but you did.

“Hey,” Jake snapped you out of your daze. You blinked at him.

“Hmm?”

“I said, what are ya drinking?” He pointed to your cup.

“Oh. Vodka and sprite,”

He cringed, “Ew, okay. Well, finish it, you’re too far behind. I’m, like, two drinks from taking some clothes off for the hell of it, and you seem sober.”

You burst into a laugh, “God, please, no, spare us all.”

He gave you the finger before resuming his playing.

“Chug,” he said, nodding at you.

“What are we, sixteen?”

“Oh, shut up and do it already.”

So you did, cringing at the way the cheap vodka stung your throat, but getting it down nonetheless.

“Atta girl,” Jake grinned, “Lemme get us some more,”

He handed you the guitar, standing up to head inside.

You took it and amused yourself, playing random strings, attempting to recall the year or so Jake tried to teach you the instrument (tried being the key word).

It was peaceful: the crackling of the fire, the chilled september air, the soft murmur of the other partygoers immersed in their own conversation. You closed your eyes briefly as you plucked, breathing deeply.

“Play me some blues, Berry,” you heard his warm voice cut through everything else.

You opened your eyes to Josh standing a few feet away.

“Ha!” He laughed with a big smile, and your heart ached, “blues, Berry—sounds like blueberry, get it?”

You rolled your eyes at the awful pun. You patted the seat next to you on the haybale. He took it.

“You’re not blueberry, though, just Berry, aren’t ya? Strawberry, if anything, huh?”

You stopped the plucking and looked at him, taking in his drunken rambling. He looked so sweet, lit up in orange and yellow highlights from the flame, the hollow of his cheek perfectly shaded, his dimple easily visible.

“How drunk are you?” You grinned.

He nodded, “I feel great,”

You giggled, “Yeah? Didn’t really answer my question, did you?”

He giggled then—the most beautiful of sounds.

“Drunk,” he said, “Perfectly so, not too drunk, not too…” he furrowed his brow, “…under-drunk.”

“Okay,” you laughed, “Can you see straight?”

He squinted at you and then, in a motion that shocked you, he grabbed either side of your face with his hands. This was not like when Jake touched your face. This was a chill-inducing, cheek-warming touch.

You waited, still, trying to understand his actions.

“Yep,” he said, examining you, “Just as I thought, you have six eyes and four noses, as usual.”

You were too stunned at the feeling of his hands on you to laugh. He giggled again and dropped his hands, but not before he gave a soft touch to the tip of your nose.

“Relax, Berry, I’m only kidding, you don’t have four noses. And I’m not that drunk. Jake’s probably more gone than I am”

You exhaled, not realizing you’d been holding your breath. You offered a weak smile.

“I wouldn’t be upset if you had four noses, for the record,” he took a sip of his beer, “It’s a very cute nose, you could handle a few more.”

Forget what you said about breathing regularly. Your breath caught in your throat. You forced yourself to inhale anyways.

“Yeah?” You grinned, “Yours isn’t too bad, either,” you reached out and bopped the tip of his. He rewarded you with a playful grin.

In that second of time, it was like there was some mutual understanding. A fragile, vulnerable moment. His tongue licked over his bottom lip, his eyes flitted over your face, and then—

“So, I put a lot of vodka in here, I just wanna let you know,” Jake yelled, shoving the drink into your hand. You silently cursed him.

“Perfect,” you murmured, “I need to be more drunk, anyways,”

You took a heavy swig of it, wiping your mouth with the back of your hand.

“Josh, grab the guitar, Berry and I have to do these shots,”

Your head turned to Jake finally, registering what he said. Josh took the guitar from your lap and just then you spotted two little cups in Jake’s hand, nearly overflowing.

“Jake, no, you’re—“

“I didn’t ask!” He handed you one of them.

“I don’t have a chaser,”

“Oh my god,” Jake groaned, “Just use your drink, come on now, don’t let me show you up,”

You rolled your eyes and he cheers-ed you. You gave him a surrendering smile before tossing the shot back. Trying not to choke, you quickly chased it with the too-strong drink.

After you swallowed, you could not help the cough that was tickling your throat, trying to get revenge from the abuse you’d just put your body through.

Josh patted your back as you coughed for a moment, but it was soft—not hitting you on the back like you’d usually do, just soft pats. The feeling startled you enough to stop coughing.

“You got it, you got it,” Josh laughed, handing the guitar back to Jake with his free hand.

You looked at Josh and gave him a playful middle finger. He smiled, letting his hand fall gently down your back, skirting down your spine. You tried to savor the touch, expecting his hand to pull away soon, but then it stayed.

It rested on the small of your back, warmth radiating from his palm. He moved it slightly, rubbing softly. Your cheeks were hot.

You cautiously looked at him, waiting for it to be a dream.

He was watching the fire, taking the occasional sip of his beer, looking mesmerized by the flame. Just when you wondered if you were imagining the touch, he would rub gently again.

He finally met your gaze. His eyes glistened, not just from the liquor, but with the unspoken thing that was passing between the two of you.

“Having a good night, Berry?” He murmured.

Get it together, you told yourself, not wanting to throw away this whole opportunity because of how nervous he was making you.

“Yeah,” you rasped out, clearing your throat, then, “Yeah,” you repeated, grinning, “S’fun.”

He nodded, offering a gentle smile back, “Good, me too. What’s your favorite part?”

You

“The air,” You smiled, closing your eyes and breathing deeply. The breath helped ground you. “So crisp and cool.”

He nodded, “Yeah, yeah, that’s a good one. I like the fire,” he nodded at it.

“I know you do, you pyro,” you laughed.

“Oh, hush,” you could swear he was blushing, “It’s so…otherworldly, but so human. Look at the flames lick the air. And the ash glowing and swirling. Isn’t that something?”

You couldn’t look at the fire, though. Just him.

The shot was hitting you, warm and bold. He looked beautiful. You just wanted to kiss him.

He must have realized you weren’t paying attention, because his head snapped back to you. Almost immediately, he seemed to understand the look you were wearing.

His eyes danced from your lips to your eyes and back. You swallowed, just waiting, watching him closely.

He hummed, then, something you could barely hear over the background noise. A soft, pondering sound.

He nodded slightly, maybe just to himself. His hand on your back moved, and your entire body stilled, waiting for what it would do. He scooted closer to you and let his hand rest on the top of your thigh near your knee. There was no stopping the smile on your face.

“This okay?” He murmured, thumbing over your skin. You bit your bottom lip and nodded, fighting a wild grin. He nodded back, and then turned his attention back to the fire, all the while rubbing his thumb softly over your skin.

“Josh, sing a little,” Jake chirped, and you realized that he was actually playing a song.

You looked to Josh and watched him find his footing with the song. Softly, he started singing along. He gave an occasional bright smile, tapped his foot on the ground, and sang as he always did, wonderously.

You couldn’t place the song, you were probably what most would consider drunk at this point, but you knew it was something Dylan.

Jake got into it and went off on some acoustic tangent, and you were left with Josh humming along, grinning at you.

You bit back a smile, a little embarrassed at the attention, but you looked back at him.

“You drunk?” He asked you quietly. You nodded.

“You?” He nodded.

“Not terribly, but yeah,” He grinned. You both watched each other carefully, afraid to say something the other wasn’t ready for.

“Wanna go inside?” He asked, eyes flitting all over your face, “Get some water?”

Get some water

You turned it over in your head, trying to disassemble it, trying to pick up on any nuances. It was too hard, you were too affected by the liquor. You settled for a nod.

He stood up, extending a hand to you.

“Where ya goin?” Jake slurred, rapping his fingers against the guitar. You turned your head to him

“Gonna go get some water,” you answered

He looked between you and Josh and nodded.

“See ya later, Berry,” Jake tipped an imaginary hat to you and turned his attention back to playing.

You stood up, taking Josh’s hand, except—shit—you hadn’t stood up since all the drinking, and your head spun. You wavered, legs feeling not all there, and nearly fell over.

Josh caught you with a hand on your hip and another grabbing your forearm, giggling at your drunken display.

“You alright?” He laughed. He was so close, you could smell the beer on his breath.

“I dunno, actually,” you laughed, gripping his hoodie, trying to settle yourself.

“C’mere,” he said, and with that, you were being lifted, scooped up in his strong arms.

“Josh!” It startled you, “What—?”

He giggled, beginning to walk inside, “What?”

“I can walk, I just was a little dizzy…”

“Maybe I just wanna carry you, huh? That okay?”

You looked at him, his face mere inches from yours, and your stomach turned in a pleasant way.

He smiled at you as you both made your way into the house. A few people tossed some concerned looks your way at the sight of you being carried, but you could care less. You could only feel his warm hand on your thigh, on your arm. He smelled of the bonfire.

You realized then, that he had walked straight past the kitchen, and you were going upstairs.

“Getting water, huh?” You grinned

He smiled back, “We will, I just figure I should get you somewhere more comfortable than the crowded couch downstairs. S’that okay, Berry?”

You blushed at the nickname—something you heard so many times before sounded so tender now.

“Yeah, Josh,” you smiled softly at him.

He took you to his bedroom; the one just past Jake’s that you’d only seen peeks of for so many years.

“Now, don’t you judge the decor, I’m hardly home anymore. This is how high school Josh left it.”

You laughed, wondering what you were going to find.

He eased the door open with his foot and carried you into the dark room, setting you down on his bed. For a moment, you had to fight the urge to just pull him by the hem of his hoodie down on top of you.

He grinned sweetly at you as his hands left you. He stood up, running his hands into his hair.

“Lemme go get us some water, okay?” He said quietly. The room seemed so silent, even his quiet voice echoed in it. You nodded, and he moved towards the door.

“No touching anyrhing,” he grinned, before finally slipping through the open door. You laughed to yourself at his warning.

You looked around, then. It was too dim and you were too intoxicated to make out the details of the posters on his wall, or the various items on the wooden desk across from the bed, but you could see enough.

The room smelled of incense, and his bedding was burnt orange. There were a couple small plants in the windowsill, a plethora of books stacked against the wall. A pair of drumsticks on the floor, random pieces of notebook paper here and there.

You decided, then, that it was a bit too hard to look at everything, and opted instead for laying back on the bed, taking deep breaths. It smelled overwhelmingly like Josh, why that was shocking you weren’t sure, but it filled your chest with a warm, adoring feeling.

“I put extra ice in yours, cause you’re weird and I know you like ice,” His voice startled you, as gentle as it was.

You sat up and looked at him. He shut the door softly behind him, something that made your heart rate pick up. He left the lights off. The moon shone through the thin curtains, casting soft white-blue light over everything.

He handed you the water, and you took small sips. He took a seat in the desk chair, swiveled to face you, and sipped his.

“Good?” He smiled.

“Mm,” you hummed, taking another drink, “refreshing.”

He giggled. “So, how many of my secrets did you unveil during your time alone in here?”

You breathed out dramatically, “Far too many, Kiszka. Far too many.”

He laughed as you played along with the joke, “Hopefully not too many, I’d like to keep ya around, Berry.”

You stilled at that, looking over his face. His grin faded slowly, and now his eyes were fixed on your face.

“You’re so pretty,” he breathed.

You blinked, wondering if you heard him correctly.

“Mm?” you squeaked.

He stood up, walking closer, “You’re pretty,” he repeated, “You’re so pretty, always.”

You were glad the lights were off, as you were sure your cheeks were violently red. You sat in stunned silence. Speak, your mind urged you.

“Josh…” you trailed off, and he was close now. He pushed his knee gently between yours. “My water,” you murmured, unsure what to do with the cup, of all things.

“Just—here,” he took the plastic cup from you and tossed it to the floor.

You grabbed his hoodie and tugged, sending him falling on top of you. The bonfire scent was comforting and warm. The heat of his body radiated against your skin.

“Can I kiss you?” His eyes watched yours, almost frantic for an answer. You nodded, shocked that you’d landed here.

He didn’t kiss you, though. He moved a hand up to your face and brushed your hair aside, thumbing over your cheek. The touch was a static spark.

“Can you talk to me? You’re really quiet, it’s making me nervous,” he giggled.

“Sorry,” you exhaled, “I’m just…” you licked your lip, collecting yourself, “I’m surprised this is happening.”

“Really?” He grinned, still touching your cheek, “I haven’t made it obvious enough?”

Your breathing was shaky, “What?”

He just laughed, a sound that made you so giddy you could hardly stand it.

“I like you, Berry, quite a bit,” he watched your face, waiting for some kind of recongnition in your expression. Quickly, his face fell, “Oh, fuck, please don’t tell me it’s just me—“

“No, no, no,” you cut him off, “No, it’s not, of course it’s not just you. Sorry,” you tried to catch your breath, “I’m just kind of drunk and you’re on top of me, and it’s hard to think.”

He pulled his bottom lip under his teeth and waited. “Maybe we should have done this sober,” he laughed briefly, seeming slighly regretful.

You shook your head, pushing your body up into him a bit, “No…” you searched for the words, “No, I think this feels right.”

His eyes were shiny black pools in the dark lighting, and they watched you so closely. You could see him trying to study you, trying to understand every little thought you were having.

You just wanted him, you hoped that was plain as day.

You reached a hand up and traced it over his cheek, and gently, you urged his head towards yours.

He took the touch as your permission and finally closed the space, slotting his lips with yours. He was warm, and his lips were soft.

You hummed into him, a sound of relief and desire.

He gave a soft hum back, leaning fully over you now, one hand braced on the mattress by your head and the other still thumbing over your cheek.

You touched the soft side of his head with one hand, and brought the other up to touch his hand on the mattress.

Slowly, after a long moment of his lips pressed to yours, he pulled a centimeter away, and then came back deeper, mouth just barely open, a gentle invitation. His body was the perfect weight on top of you.

You nipped his bottom lip, sucking gently on it, and he whimpered softly.

“Josh,” you breathed. He leaned up and held your face, and he was smiling. Such a full-fledged smile.

“Fuck, I’m so mad I haven’t done this before now,” he bit his lip.

You giggled and scratched the side of his head lightly.

“Come back,” you murmured.

“Yeah?” He grinned. He looked wonderfully dazed.

“Please,” you whispered.

“Oh,” he was breathless, “You don’t need to say please, Berry,” he kissed you again, over and over, at some point gently sweeping his tongue over your bottom lip, and you let him.

Your tongues met easily, soft and unobtrusive, nothing too hot and heavy, but certainly intimate.

He made a suprising amount of sounds, which was music to your ears.

“Hey,” he separated you gently, “S’it okay if we move up there?” he pointed to the top of the bed. You nodded, offering him an eager smile.

He quickly removed himself from you and climbed to the top of the bed, leaning his head back against the pillows, half laying and half sitting. You realized he probably was asking you to straddle him, which made you blush in a scandalized sort of way.

He seemed to pick up on this, as his eyes widened, and his hands went up,

“We don’t have to—I’m not trying to—“

“Josh,” you rolled your eyes, making your way to him, “It’s okay, It’s just…,” you kneeled near him. There was no reason for you to be so bashful; you knew him so well. You were comfortable. It was just so new and so close.

“I’m just processing,” you grinned, “It’s fun,” you reassured, “it’s really fun.”

He bit his lip, a nervous habit, “Yeah, it is,” he smiled back, “You wanna come here?” He pat his lap softly, looking vulnerable.

You nodded and leaned forward to kiss him again as you swung a leg over his, sitting on his thighs.

“Shit,” he breathed against you, and you could not stop the slight whimper that slipped out of you.

His lips and tongue were warm, and you never wanted to stop feeling them. His hands rested on your waist, and yours on his jaw.

It went on for a few minutes, heady and more intoxicating than the liquor. Your lips were greedy, and they slipped down to lick a kiss against his jaw. His exhale was shaky.

“Berry, Berry, Berry,” he murmured, hooking your chin with his finger and bringing your gaze to meet his, “Let’s save that for another time, okay?” He grinned, “I don’t wanna do too much when I’m not sober,”

You nodded, feeling a little embarrassed at how eager you were.

“Sorry, I—”

He cut you off with a kiss. When he drew away, he spoke before you could, “Don’t be sorry, not even for a second,” he touched your nose gently, “I want that, too, I just wanna be sober,” he giggled again. His thumb grazed your cheek, then traced over your bottom lip.

“You’re so…” he shook his head slightly, “Mm. One more, come here,” he pulled you in, another hot and wet kiss.

You started laughing into it; you couldn’t contain the wonderous feeling in your chest. He laughed, too, kissing between the giggles.

“What are we laughing at?” He pressed a kiss to your cheek.

“I have no idea,” you admitted, “I’m just happy.”

He pulled your face away slowly, thumbing over your temple. “Good. Me too,”

You took a deep breath, just looking at the way the moon shone over his features.

“You wanna go do something?” He smirked. He reached for your hand and threaded his fingers into yours.

“Like what?” You whispered.

“Mm,” he grinned, “Wanna go sit on top of my Jeep and look at the sky?”

You felt like someone squeezed the air out of your chest. He was so perfect.

“Yeah,” you replied, eagerly, “But wait, we can’t drive,”

“No, no,” he giggled, “It’s just in the driveway, but I don’t think anyone will bother us up there. Everyone’s inside or in the backyard.”

You nodded, wiggling off his lap to stand up. You steadied yourself with a hand on the bed.

“Oh, god, you need me to carry you again?” He laughed, standing up.

“No, no, I’m fine,”

You smoothed out your hair and clothes, and he did the same. You caught him adjusting his shorts a bit and were unable to hold back the giggle that bubbled up in you.

“Shut up,” he blushed, “Come on, darling,” He extended a hand to you. If the alcohol wasn’t enough to make your legs weak, the ‘darling’ sure was. You took a grounding breath and laced your hand with his. His palm pressed against yours was the sweetest feeling.

He shot you a grin before guiding you through the door, down the stairs, out the front door.

He climbed onto the hard roof of his Jeep easily, like he’d done it a million times, and to be fair, he probably had.

He extended a hand to you and you carefully climbed up, almost falling on top of him once you got to the top.

Softly, he laughed, “Careful,” he murmured.

You moved to sit next to him but then he spoke, maybe emboldened from how you’d already reacted to him this evening, maybe the liquor, maybe just a bit of bravery:

“No, come here,” he opened his legs and pat the space between them, “You can lean back on me.”

You heart thrummed. You nodded and moved, sitting between his legs, resting a careful hand on his thigh. He slid his over yours, fingers looping together. His other hand pet your hair; something that felt extremely intimate given that you’d just finally kissed him about twenty minutes ago, but you didn’t really care. It was sweet.

You turned your attention to the sky.

The moon was shockingly large, a huge glowing mass in the sky. Something transcendent.

Michigan had just enough cornfields and just few enough city lights not to drown out the stars. You could see constellations. You searched for it…

“Taurus,” you pointed out the cluster of stars way far up, grinning at your ability to find it. You were just starting to sober up.

“Smart girl,” Josh murmured, “I can only find the dippers, to be honest. And the north star,” he pointed at it, “That would be embarassing if I couldn’t, though.”

You laughed. You searched for other constellations, pointing out this one and that. He would hum in acknowledgement.

“That one looks like a strawberry,” he pointed.

“That’s cephus, it’s not a strawberry,”

“Well, I don’t care, they should have named it Berry. That’s what it looks like.”

“I like when you call me that,” you said softly. There was a beat of silence.

“Yeah?” He murmured, so near your neck it gave you chills, “Me too. You’re sweet, I think it’s fitting.”

You were glad he couldn’t see your face. He continued,

“I’ve never liked when Jake called you it. I know it’s stupid, he doesn’t mean anything by it. But I do, ya know? I just want you to be my Berry, not his,”

Sort of stunned by the implication, you only managed a soft, “Josh…”

He waited for you to finish the sentence.

“I’m not his,” you said softly.

“Mmm,” Josh hummed into your hair, “I’ll get him to stop calling you that,”

You laughed, “Okay, you try that, let me know how it goes. Jake doesn’t do anything anyone tells him to.”

“Oh, he’ll listen, I’ll beat him up if I have to.”

You laughed harder, “Sure, Josh. Just let me know when that’s happening, I’d like to watch.”

“Of course, of course.”

You sighed and leaned back fully against him.

“So this isn’t a one-night thing?” You asked softly, almost afraid of his answer.

He took a deep breath, “I hope not. Do you want it to be?”

You shook your head, “No, not at all. I hope it’s not.”

“Good,” he pressed a kiss to your temple, “Now, let’s look at the stars again. Tell me all about ‘em.”

You scanned the sky for another you knew, pointed into the cool air, let him play with your hair, and named all the stars you could.

fin.

y’all i love josh kiszka so bad

[cornychip]

Pumpkin Spice

Pairing: Josh Kiszka x f!reader

Summary: It wasn’t Halloween if you didn’t carve pumpkins. Well, that’s what your best friend, Josh insisted on every year. To you, it didn’t matter what you were doing as long as it was with him. The night had started off like any other, but quickly evolved as feelings you weren’t aware of, or willing to accept before, were suddenly brought to the surface. 

Word Count: 11k

AN: This is the first installment of our Halloween Collection. Since this is a collaboration, please make sure to also send feedback and support to the wonderful miss Allie @ageofnations . We had lots of fun putting this together and hope you all do as well 🧡

**Disclaimer: Everything written here is intended to be read as complete fiction with utmost respect for the real people these characters may be based on. We do not know the guys personally and don’t intend for this to reflect on them as real people in any way.**

Warnings: cursing, alcohol consumption, NSFW/18+ CONTENT MINORS DNI! (Sexually explicit content: unprotected penetrative sex, oral m!receiving, oral f!receiving, dirty talk, choking, praise, orgasm denial, super slight spit kink, if we missed anything please let us know!)

The faded, more-than-loved oversized flannel that made its appearance each fall brushed against your skin, wrapping your body like a familiar hug, comforting you in its simple pleasure. 

The apartment was quickly filling up with the aroma of the warm vanilla and pumpkin candle that you had recently bought on one of your shopping outings. A collection of fuzzy blankets and throws littered the small couch, giving you something to snuggle with while watching your favorite movies.

You took an incredible amount of joy decorating the modest living space with the seasonal and Halloween themed knick-knacks collected over the years. Your Friday night was starting to feel calm, peaceful even.

As comforting as your place had become, there was something that was still making you restless. You were fidgeting with the items displayed across your coffee table, trying not to look at your phone every five seconds. He wouldn’t mind if it wasn’t perfect. He had seen your place in its worst condition many times over, but you needed something to focus on so you could push the anxiety you had been feeling recently. 

He’d never admit to you that his hands were shaking as he put the car in drive, departing from his place to yours. He’d never tell you that he almost turned the car around, almost too nervous to keep his word that he’d spend time with you for the first time in what felt like ages. He’d certainly never let it show that you had begun to consume every waking thought, and live in each of his dreams at night.

When you were apart, everything reminded him of you. When you were together, he ached for you. Wishing he could tell you how he felt, but too afraid to lose you if you didn’t feel the same. He wanted to tell you how much he loved when you hummed along to music, lost in your own world and careless that anyone could hear. To let you know that the sound of your laughter played in his head whenever he thought of you. But he didn’t. He couldn’t. Where his glances lingered too long and how he craved your touch non-stop, you were simply existing in ignorant bliss. 

He had accepted that this was the way things would be. You, completely oblivious to his longing, hopeless pining as you continued to cherish his friendship and affection. Knowing he would rather have you like this than not at all, the thought of losing you terrified him. There was a point where he decided that a few weeks away might help. The break from you could bring him back to reality, to maybe see you as only a “friend”. It only seemed to make it worse. His time away from you only solidified that he cared about you more than you knew.  

You of course questioned how distant he was. It pained him not to tell you the truth when you asked if you had done something wrong. If he had been upset with you somehow. When you finally asked for him to spend time with you tonight, he couldn’t refuse. He missed you in more ways than you could imagine, and he had to make up for the time he lost. He had to show you that he was sorry for ever making you think you were the problem, that you deserved every ounce of his time. He wanted to even show you that this “break” didn’t stop the thoughts of wanting you from entering his mind. He felt guilty, selfish for them.

His brothers knew it. Hell, he was convinced everyone saw it but you. Especially Jake. It was the unspoken topic, the elephant in the room up until recently. He had always brushed off his twin’s advice, but the conversation they had shared earlier in the week changed things for him.

“Stop sulking and just fucking ask her out already.”

Josh lifted his head from the journal laid on the table in front of him, seeing his twin padding over to the fridge. He rummaged momentarily and retrieved a beer before he shut the door, a bit too harshly than intended, but he didn’t flinch.

“Huh?” He blinked at Jake.

Jake motioned to the open book that Josh had been scribbling in, a hobby that he had taken up much more often upon not seeing you as much. Jake huffed. “You’ve been pouting for two weeks. Make a move or get over it.”

“I just can’t-“

“Why?” Jake groaned, cutting off his brother’s weak excuse. 

“Because. We’re friends and I don’t want to fuck that up, okay? What if it ruins things? What if she doesn’t have those feelings? It will never be the same.”

He hummed in thought, sucking his teeth before answering, “I think you underestimate how much she likes you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it for a second. She hasn’t seriously dated anyone with you constantly attached to her at the hip for like the last five years. And I don’t know if you’re ignoring her or what, but she’s been blowing my phone up all week asking about you. Even texting Sam. Sam! Of all people. I’m telling you, she’s into you.”

Josh was in denial about the idea. He wasn’t sure he could ever build up the courage to see you again so soon if he thought that you felt the same way. “I think you’re reading too far into it.”

“Whatever. Just man the fuck up and do something about it before she comes to her senses and dates someone else for fuck’s sake” 

The interaction stewed for several days, and he replayed it in his mind as he gripped the steering wheel. Every word. Every touch, Every glance you gave had a new meaning to him. Was Jake right? Was there something more to it?

The possibility alone intensified his impulses. But by the time he had come close enough to obey them, to finally turn around and make an elaborate excuse as to why he bailed out on your plans, he was in your driveway. 

He had never been too fond of his acting skills. Sure, he had done theatre, it was something he enjoyed and had even wanted to pursue as a career at some point, but he still found it difficult to believe those that praised him for his abilities. Even after receiving leading roles in whatever production he was involved in, he never thought he was the most qualified for the job. But this… whatever this was with you… he was proud of. Every day with you, every interaction, was its own production. And he somehow managed to put up an act every time. This was a dress rehearsal, a gig that as long as he performed well, he’d be able to keep you around.  

————

“A little help here!”  A voice, broken with heavy breathing, called out into your apartment.

You had expected him, of course. You had been looking forward to seeing him for the first time in what felt like forever, tonight seemingly the only thing you had been anticipating all week. But that didn’t make his boisterous arrival any less alarming.

“Josh!” You gasped, clutching at your chest as if to keep your frantically beating heart within the walls of your sternum. “Don’t you knock anymore?!”

You made your way around the corner of the living room, shifting your view to your best friend laughing as he set the items down at your kitchen table with a heavy thud. 

“Oh I’m sorry, was I not carrying two heavy ass pumpkins and the fucking liquor up three flights of stairs?” He motioned to the two giant pumpkins, catching one as it tried to roll off the edge of the table. 

“Whatever,” you scoffed. “I could have been indecent or something.”

The tone of his voice shifted into a teasing nature, “Indecent?”

“You know, like, I could have been walking around my apartment naked.”

Just as it left your mouth, you wished you could reel it back in. He wasn’t one to let an opportunity to poke fun at you slip past him. 

“You walk around naked in your apartment?” He laughed again, with his back still facing you.

Even though he couldn’t see you roll your eyes, he could hear the attitude in your tone, “Shut up.”

And when he finally turned towards you, even though it was slight, you felt your eyes widen as you spotted it. The new patches of hair above his upper lip and chin.

Without a second thought, you reached out, “Excuse me?!” You brushed the hair with your fingertips, checking if what you were seeing was actually real or if you had just imagined it. “I don’t see you for a few weeks and this is what happens?”

Josh knew his body froze for a moment as your fingers grazed against his skin. He knew that his breathing faltered, and he knew it wouldn’t be long before he lost himself in your touch. He wanted to grab your hand, to keep it still when your fingertips brushed against his lips. 

If only you knew how every fleeting graze made his heart race wildly within his chest. He thought he had mastered covering up his feelings for you, but in recent months it had become more difficult. And right now, it was completely, utterly, entirely unavoidable. 

If you only knew that he had spent hours today passing in front of the mirror, anxiously fixating on the new growth of hair on his face. Worried that you would hate it, but maybe even more worried about if you would like it. He imagined over and over what your reaction would be.

At first, he was nervous when you gasped at the sight, but even through your teasing, he saw the small smirk break through the facade. He saw that same look of intrigue, of pure amazement, that occurred when you were engrossed in a new book. The hesitant wonder as you tried on an outfit that might have been slightly out of your comfort zone, yet still looked just as good on you as he knew it would. It was a familiar face, but he had never been this close while experiencing it. 

If this is what it took, if this was his only option in getting to have you this close, he’d do it all the time. He’d never shave, he’d grow a beard if it meant you’d react this way. He’d do anything if he knew it would be the only time he’d feel the soft tips of your fingers padding along his face.

“You don’t like it?” He took a step back, mainly so he wouldn’t get too much in his own head, and stroked the hair. 

“I hate it.” You tried to speak with sincerity, but the smirk you had tried to hide finally broke through. It certainly wasn’t your favorite look, but you definitely didn’t hate it - no matter how much you wanted to.

“Maybe you can forgive me? I did bring you a peace offering.” Josh’s smirk made you suspicious almost instantly. He turned momentarily, digging into the brown paper bag and pulling out a bottle of Fireball whiskey. It seemed as if its logo were taunting you, the iconic red demonic fire-breathing dragon tempting you with bad decisions.

“You did not.” You fought the smile that was tugging at the corner of your lips. 

“What?” He questioned defensively. “I thought it was fitting for Halloween. Ya know, the cinnamon and all that shit?”

You rolled your eyes at him, but you couldn’t help but giggle at his thought process. “I think you just like seeing me suffer.”

“Whatever,” he scoffed, throwing an elbow into your arm before he crossed the kitchen. You watched him move through the space as if it were his own, almost entranced by how he seemed to fit in so easily here. It was natural. It was domestic. Even with time apart, he melded effortlessly back into your world as if he had never left. 

Thinking about your time away made you feel downcast all over again. You loved having him around, and he seemed to enjoy it just as much as you. But you couldn’t help but feel as if something was off. Something had caused him to be distant, something he still hadn’t disclosed to you. It worried you.

“Hey…” you spoke gently while he had his back to you. He had been reaching for the shot glasses in your cabinet, but once he paused his actions and turned his cheek to you, you knew you grabbed his attention.

You hesitated before asking, almost afraid of the answer, but mostly feeling silly for needing the reassurance. “Are…are we okay?”

“Yeah…” He paused, and you noticed his eyes flick down to the counter as if he were avoiding making eye contact with you. He quickly tried to recover, correcting his tone with a more enthusiastic response and a soft, closed smile. “Yeah!” You knew this was an attempt to reassure you, but it didn’t even seem that he was convinced himself. There was a hint of sadness somewhere within his golden-honeyed irises. 

“...Are you sure?” You tried again, making a mental note of how quickly he had resumed his task of retrieving the glasses.

“Of course,” he said before clearing his throat, breaking his gaze to the bottle in his hand as he picked at the plastic wrapper. You had known him long enough that he was stalling for something to say. “I think I’ve just been going through some things, ya know? Stuff I needed to work out.”

Josh rarely lied to you, if ever, but you also knew he wasn’t being completely honest either. He was still holding back. You considered pressing the issue, but you decided against it.

Before you could find what you should say next, he had made his way to you at the counter, holding two too-full shot glasses of Fireball with a seemingly forced smile on his face. You took the glass that he slid to you, but you didn’t dare drink it.

“I missed you.” The small admission seemed to melt the tension from his face instantly. The once, pained smile shifted, spreading into a full, toothy grin, allowing you to spot the slight gap between his teeth. One of the small features that made Josh, Josh.

“I missed you, too.”

You leaned over the counter, placing a hand on his before continuing, “Please don’t shut me out again. You know you can talk to me, right?”

He sighed, flicking his eyes down to your hand. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“Okay, good. Because if you ghost me again, I’m hunting you down myself.” You were only halfway joking, certain that you’d at least consider the idea of searching for him in the case that he became distant again.

“I doubt you could find me,” he teased smugly.

“Please,” you waved a dismissive hand at him. “You’re usually at one of three places. One of them includes my house.”

He laughed again, the sound was lighter, more genuine than it had been since he arrived. “Oh come on, don’t pretend you don’t love it when I’m here.”

“A lady never reveals her secrets.”

He let your words linger in the air, allowing a moment of silence to fall between you. You didn’t mind, but you swore you could see the gears turning in his head while deep in thought. “So!” He cleared his throat, ”What are we celebrating?”

You hummed to yourself as you pondered the possibilities, raising your shot glass filled to the brim with whiskey into the air, “To our friendship through all these years, and not letting the small stuff get in the way. “

He clinked his glass into yours, “To friendship.” And as if he couldn’t resist the temptation, shouted out, “Bajabule!”

————

As the night progressed, and many more shots were taken, you both migrated to the kitchen table. Your respective pumpkins sat in front of you, ready to be massacred. Music played throughout the apartment as you both tackled the evening’s project. The bottle of Fireball and plastic containers from your carryout littered the table within the mix of carving supplies you had gathered earlier.

However, there seemed to be very little actual carving being done. At least on Josh’s part. Compared to him, you had taken a vastly different approach to the activity. Instead of planning and transferring a design, you had opted to scoop out the guts of the pumpkin right away. A simple Jack-o-lantern was probably going to be your safest bet with the amount whiskey running through your system. But Josh, on the other hand, was being very precise about his project. 

At first, you watched him flip through images on his phone, searching for something to inspire him. His pumpkin sat untouched in front of him while you continued cutting and popping out orange bits with your knife. But then, you noticed that he had stopped scrolling, his eyes now on you. At first, you thought nothing of it, but each time you broke your eyes from the pumpkin, you saw him watching.

“Josh.”

His eyes lifted to yours once he was able to blink away the daze he had been in. “Yeah?”

“I love you, but you’re starting to make me nervous when you stare at me like that,” you huffed as you continued to saw along the flesh of the pumpkin. 

He stalled, picking at the edges of his phone case as he searched for an excuse for his staring, finally settling on, “Just making sure you don’t hurt yourself.”

He had been watching your hands carefully, admiring how precise each cut and movement was. However, it wasn’t due to anything other than his wandering thoughts. How soft your palms looked. How warm he imagined they would be as he held them. He found himself slipping back there, not even realizing that you had started speaking again.

“I think I can handle cutting into the top of a pumpkin. Besides, I’ve seen you with a knife. Not exactly the pinnacle of safety-” you stopped yourself, bringing your full attention to him and setting down your tools. “You’re still staring.”

There was no denying it, and with the way you were looking at him right now, you had begun to notice that there was something more to his actions.

He shrugged and began scrolling again. ���Can’t help myself, mama.”

But that wasn’t it. Not entirely. Yes, he was admiring your effortless beauty. You would deny it, of course. It was the way you had your worn flannel rolled up to your elbows so you could work, that same flannel that he looked forward to seeing you wear every fall. It was one of your favorite articles of clothing, and upon seeing how comfortable you looked in it, it had quickly become one of his as well. It was the way your brows pulled together when you were deep in concentration, adamant about your craft being perfect. It was the way your nose scrunched as you wiggled the knife in your pumpkin, a small habit that you surely never noticed. The small things someone else might overlook, but he was careful to take in.

Josh sighed at the brief silence, choosing to change the subject before you could question him further. “Do you know the history of pumpkin carving?”

A breath of a laugh escaped you because of the randomness of his question. Of course, you didn’t know such a thing, but you knew that he was well on his way to explain every detail about it. Before you could shake your head in response, he had already begun his retelling of stories he’d been told, fables he had read over the years. He had gone on so long that you had gotten up from the table, taking a break from your project to clean up some of the mess in front of you. You began by taking a few carryout containers to the trash, but you continued listening to him, even glancing back at him with a smile occasionally. 

“-So here we are, continuing the tradition of scaring away the soul of poor Jack,” he finished, making you giggle softly. There was something about how he could end such a comprehensive story with a silly remark that made you love him that much more. 

“And what are you gonna carve into your pumpkin to scare him, Joshua?” You propped yourself against his side of the table and raised an eyebrow at him, poking fun at him for still not starting his carving. 

He wasn’t sure if it was your tone, how close you were to him, or just the fact that it was you, but his cheeks pinkened. Suddenly bashful, he dropped his head. “I- I don’t know yet.”

“So you were just hoping to find creative inspiration once you got the knife in your hand?”

“Well… yes actually.”

His honesty made you tilt your head back in laughter. “You are so cute,” you teased, petting his head briefly before returning to the kitchen. “I hope you carve yours soon. I’m almost done and I feel like mine is gonna rot before you even start.”

As you cleaned off the tabletop and threw away the rest of the empty carryout boxes, you watched him from afar as he finally began to draw his design onto his pumpkin. He had a firm grip on the fruit, tipping it back as he meticulously etched onto its waxy surface. You could even see the tip of his tongue poking out the side of his mouth, indicating just how focused he really was. You smiled, cherishing how seriously he took anything with an artistic element to it. 

You let Josh have the table to himself for a moment before you decided to return. It seemed as if the space between you helped him. He had been able to finally gather his thoughts to begin his design, and you didn’t want to interrupt him. You excused yourself for a water and bathroom break, taking as much time as you possibly could with such a task, but as you came back to him just now grabbing the knife for the first time, you groaned. 

“Josh-” You whined, slightly frustrated and impatient, as you sat in your respective seat.

He waved you off. “Hold on. You can’t rush perfection, mama.”

“You know they don’t have to be perfect right? I doubt anyone will even be able to see them from my balcony”

You could see him sporting an expression that was meant to mock you, and he even muttered under his breath. “...Maybe I wanted it to be perfect for you”

“Huh?” You chuckled.

“I mean… um, I uh, I just want it to be perfect for you to see.”

Josh tore into the center of his pumpkin after finally removing the top. He pulled out handfuls of slimy seeds covered in stringy pulp into the large metal bowl that sat at the center of your kitchen table.

“You just gotta make sure you get-“ Josh huffed out until the metal spoon caught the lip of the pumpkin mid-scrape of an overly enthusiastic jerk of his arm, causing the innards to fling up into the air. 

You flinched back and opened your eyes to see he was covered. Seeds and stringy pumpkin goo had splattered across his shirt, on his face, the wall behind him, and onto the kitchen floor.

“Shit!”

You stared at each other for a few seconds, processing what had just occurred. Laughter erupted from your chest. Alcohol was buzzing unapologetically through your system, and seeing him in such a state only made you laugh harder.

‘Come on!” you giggled, grabbing his arm to drag him down the hallway towards the bathroom.

His heels dug into the floor, and he pulled back from your grasp. Although it wasn’t enough to stop you. “I think a towel would be just fine-”

“Josh! You got it everywhere!”

He caught the door frame with his hand, bringing you to a halt, “I don’t think-“

“Get in here!” You gave one final tug and yanked him into the tiny bathroom, knocking him into you. The sudden collision made you stumble backward, but he caught your hips to steady you.

“Now what made you think you should wear a white shirt?”

If he told you it was because you complimented him on how good the white crew neck looked on him, you would have rolled your eyes. That’s how things were for him. Something as simple as a shirt. A thing that you probably didn’t think twice about. If it was what you liked, he made sure to wear it when he saw you just in hopes that the sweet praise would pass your lips once more. 

“I dunno. Comfortable I guess,” he mumbled, tugging the fabric away from his stomach to inspect the damages. 

“Well, it’s going to stain. Here.” You nudged his elbows, “Let’s get this off.”

You lifted Josh’s sweater, leaning up and balancing on your toes to pull it over his head. It was a simple task, nothing too daunting or out of the ordinary. But the alcohol in your system made the job much harder than necessary. You tried to keep your balance, but in doing so, most of your body ended up against his, pressing into his bare chest as he freed his arms from the long sleeves. It also made you highly aware that you had opted to not wear a bra under your flannel tonight. 

    He was warm. Soft. You could smell the Fireball that still lingered in his breath, the scent only muddling your mind a bit more. Your inebriation seemed to heighten each of the sensations you were experiencing, almost to the point that you lingered in his proximity. You almost didn’t want to break away from him. 

You had shared many moments like this before. Throughout the years of your friendship, you had been close to him. Evenings spent on the couch tangled up together watching movies, the nearly lung-crushing hugs when you greeted each other and had even seen him shirtless like this before. Now as you stood in the small bathroom of your apartment, this felt different somehow. 

    Nervous laughter broke from you as your face flushed with intense heat, the sudden feeling almost blurring your vision. You remembered just where you were and just what you were doing. You instantly shifted back, breaking the contact to create space between you.

    “I think someone’s drunk,” Josh giggled while his finger bopped the tip of your nose, bringing your focus back to him standing in front of you. 

    “I am not!” You tried to defend yourself, but the blush that spread across your cheeks made you look even more guilty. And the smirk on his face told you that he certainly noticed. You huffed at him before glancing at his messed-up hair. “Hold still.”

    He rolled his eyes as you ran your fingers through his mane of curls in an attempt to fix them, still smiling at your drunkenness, but deciding to abandon his previous teasing.

    “Just so you know, I don’t let anyone touch my hair but you,” he noted. His eyes fixed on your face, grazing over each of your features, watching you with glossy eyes. 

    “Does that mean I can take care of that squirrel on your face?” You teased back.

“You really don’t like it, do you?”

“It’s not ‘My’ Joshua. Used to your baby face,” you pouted. It probably wasn’t something you would have said sober, but you meant it. 

He cocked a brow as his tongue wet his upper lip, “‘Your’ Joshua, huh?”

“You know what I mean! It’s just-it looks good but I don’t know…” You were rambling, “…it’s different I guess.”

He hummed at the thought. “I think you’ll change your mind.”

“Yeah, yeah. I hope so. For your sake.”

You dipped your fingers deeper, brushing against his scalp this time. An unexpected, breathy sigh fluttered from his lips as his eyes closed from the sensation.  

Maybe you weren’t supposed to hear it. Maybe he hadn’t meant to make the noise in the first place. Maybe you were only imagining things, making up situations in the heat of the moment. But the idea of having such an effect on him, one that he couldn’t contain no matter how hard he tried, flustered you. 

    You didn’t realize you were staring in awe until he opened his eyes again, his breath still heavy from your fingers in his hair. His focus dropped to your lips, plump and slightly parted, before he looked back up at you. 

    His expression was calm, but he had abandoned the drunken antics you had shared before. The large, coffee-brown eyes looked over your features, as if trying to read your thoughts. 

    You forced yourself to tear your eyes away from him and resume your task of cleaning him up, clearing your throat to regain your composure. You reached behind him, pressing into him once again to grab a washcloth. The sound of the hot water running over the cloth was the only relief from the deafening silence that filled the space around you. Your concentration fell onto working the soap into a lather, but his hand on your side made your focus shift again. Every quip, every touch, every sigh seemed to be a hint at something, but you were unsure of what. And that uncertainty only made your thoughts wander, this time to the point where you completely paused your movements. 

    He leaned in closer, his breath feeling extremely warm against your neck as he broke the silence. “Really,” he prompted in regards to the washcloth. “I don't think that’s necessary.”

    You almost let yourself get embarrassed, sorry that you had even thought to make such a gesture, but you quickly realized that you had let his teasing get the best of you. You huffed in frustration at him.

    “Josh, you have a pumpkin seed on your cheek.” You pulled back to look him in the eyes. “And on your forehead, in your hair-” you continued as you motioned to each area. “I think it’s very much necessary.”

    He chuckled at your persistence and grabbed the damp cloth from you. “Sorry, mama. Guess I got a little carried away.”

“I’d say so.” You reached up to grab the stray seed from his curls after Josh began to wipe his face. The tasks were quick, and Josh finished before you, but as you finger-combed through the last portion of his hair, your fingers caught a knot, tugging the hair on accident. Josh let out what sounded like a soft moan, and quickly brought his hand to wrap around your wrist.

You froze, much too aware of the boundary you were treading on now. All night, you had worked to convince yourself that he was simply being nice, that the alcohol in both of your systems made you more reactive to his actions. That this was all in your head.

But now, you saw that you had been right all along. Something was shifting. There was… tension. 

This was new, uncharted territory.

You searched his expression to see what your next step should be, but he seemed just as stunned as you, as if he was unaware that you had even heard him in the first place. You wanted to pull away from him, yet you also wanted to see where this would go. You wanted to escape from this situation, the suspense of the unknown, yet you also wanted to see where you’d land if you took it a step further.

But the anxiety was stronger than your urges, and the desire to retreat was almost too powerful to beat. You looked to his fingers wrapped around your wrist, the only thing keeping you in your place.

“Oh…uh,” you somehow managed to say. “I’m sorry.”

He sighed at your apology, eyes flickering back and forth from your eyes to your lips. “Mmm, don’t be.” His grip loosened to where you could control where you let your hand rest, but he never let go of you. You settled on taking a step - one that could still be considered platonic - by resting your palm against the base of his neck. 

You stayed there for a while, in silence and staring at one another. You drank in his presence, rubbing your thumb absentmindedly along his jaw while he rubbed against the skin of your arm. Whatever boundary you were crossing with your friendship, he seemed to be right along with you. Holding your hand along the way, his strides in perfect timing with yours. He seemed okay with this, whatever this was. And with the way he was looking at you right now as if he were looking at one of the seven wonders of the world, you were on the same exact page. 

“Josh…” Your voice was feeble, breathy. “Can I kiss you?”

You had taken the chance, betting on your ability to read the situation unfolding before you. Even so, you almost didn’t believe the words as they broke through the silence of the room. 

You weren’t able to look into his eyes, afraid of the possibility of rejection. His voice matched yours, just as unsteady as yours had been, but his response was immediate. “Please.”

You leaned into him, closing the short distance between you. It felt as if time froze, standing still as you almost brought your lips to his. Something was holding you from just going for it completely. Your heart raced wildly within the walls of your chest, aching for the air you had forgotten to breathe. 

He waited, or maybe was frozen himself, as you hovered over his lips. Was it too late to back out now? Has everything already changed?

“Y/n…” Josh whispered. 

His fingers danced across your cheek with a feather-light touch, gentle and curious. They sank into the tresses of your hair and wrapped around the nape of your neck, guiding you into him. 

His lips brushed yours, faint and cautious. The gentle, barely-there pecks revealed his hesitation, maybe out of worry that you would suddenly change your mind. That you might shove him off you and decide to throw him out of the apartment.

You wouldn’t, of course. You were practically vibrating against him and you wondered if he had felt it. Every one of your senses was hyper-focused on Josh, cutting out the world like it was really only the two of you in existence. You were still treading, testing the shallow waters of this new feeling with him.

You might have been lost in your own head when your teeth knocked into his. For a second, you were terrified you killed the moment, souring it with your awkwardness. Instead, he just giggled into your lips between soft kisses to the corners of your mouth. But that did very little to reassure you. 

You both were panting, taken aback from what had just transpired and relishing in the warm sensation of your breath fanning on each other’s skin. He rested his forehead against yours, and a flash of worry fell upon you, afraid that the contact would make him privy to your thoughts. Your anxious habit of overthinking was bound to make itself known. 

But the smile on his face said otherwise. 

“You okay?” He whispered to you, not daring to speak too loud as if he’d scare you away. 

“Y-yeah,” you stuttered out. 

That’s when he finally caught on to the nerves evident in your voice. He seemed to tense up as his eyes widened. 

“Shit, no you’re not, Y/N. You’re shaking. I’m so sorry, I-“

“No!” You interrupted, perhaps a hint too aggressively. You took a deep breath to regain yourself, correcting your tone in the process. “No, Josh, I- I liked it a lot. Can you-“ you paused, suddenly feeling too silly to finish your question. “Can I-“

As hard as you tried, you couldn’t find it in you to push past the nerves and kiss him again like you wanted to. You couldn’t focus on anything other than the feeling of his lips on yours, and god did you need it. 

Through your stuttering and glances at his lips, he seemed to pick up on what you wanted to ask. What you needed from him. Without a word, Josh smiled at you and nodded before finally closing the distance once more. 

This kiss felt different than the first one. This kiss felt as if there were no more platonic boundaries left for you to cross. As if you both were made for this moment. As if you were finally in control over where this all led to. 

The position of his hand on your neck tightened and his other resting on your hip to pull you in closer, his tongue flicked across your bottom lip, taking another stride into the unknown. You moaned unexpectedly, parting your mouth for him without realizing how much you truly wanted it. You welcomed it, yearned for him. When his tongue slipped across yours, it was reminiscent of a hot cup of cider on a chilly autumn morning, hints of cinnamon lingered in his mouth before melting into an unfamiliar sweetness, one that you would recognize as his. 

Both of his hands were now on your neck, thumbs secured along your jaw with fingers tangled in your hair as he licked into you, tasting you. It had broken the seal. You found yourself now diving headfirst into the deep end, willing to explore what this was. 

It didn’t take long for him to find his rhythm with you, falling into an effortless dance. You didn’t even notice he had you pressed up against the sink until the hard edge hit your back.

You broke from his lips to plant kisses across his cheek, along his jaw, and then farther down to his neck. There was a new hunger building inside of you as your swollen lips trailed along his body. He started to grind his hips into you in response to you flicking your tongue to taste the saltiness of his skin. 

“Fuck,” Josh whispered as your teeth grazed across the vulnerable area of his throat. His hands tugged your flannel near the small of your back, bunching the material in his fists. 

You felt his chest rise and fall rapidly against yours as he fought to catch his breath. He broke away from your lips, “I think you’re enjoying this a little too much.”

    You smirked, teasing, “Yeah? And what about you, Joshy?” 

Your fingers traveled down his stomach, feeling the muscles twitch under your touch. You took your time caressing and appreciating his body as you found your way to the waistband of his jeans. 

He probably should have fought you on leaving such a noticeable mark on his neck as you sucked the splotchy bruise on his throat. But the way he was preoccupied bucking his hips against you, told you, he was enjoying it just as much. You traced your fingertips over the trail of hair below his navel before dipping under the band, caressing the soft sensitive area for the first time. 

    His voice quivered through shaky breaths and nervous laughter before he quipped, “Fuck off…”

Of course, he didn’t mean it. He’d have you here forever if he could. He’d do anything to keep your hands on him. 

Nothing else mattered. You would have continued everything right there and then. Josh, on the other hand, had different plans. He bent down, wrapping his hands around the back of your legs to lift you up, guiding them to lock around his waist. 

You kept kissing him as he carried you out of the bathroom and down the hallway towards your bedroom, bumping into the walls as he went. 

    That’s when you really felt him. His cock was unbelievably hard, throbbing within the restrictions of his jeans as he pressed into your core. You writhed against him, grinding in need to feel more of him. Desperate for anything. 

He stalled in the middle of the hallway, breaking from your kiss as he squeezed his hold around your body, “Y/n…please.” He begged through heavy pants into your cheek.

“Josh, I need you,”

He extended an arm to brace himself against the wall. “I know. God. I know. Just wait a second. We’re almost there,” 

He stumbled into your room, carrying you until you reached the foot of your bed. You fell back onto the mattress, pulling Josh over you to bring his lips back to yours. 

The string of Halloween pumpkin lights you had strung up above your bed cast him in its soft orange light, making him glow in the amber haze. The room hadn’t started spinning yet, but you still felt as if time had slowed. 

            His hands trembled as he attempted to open your flannel, fumbling with the tiny plastic buttons. Sensing his nerves, you wrapped your hands around his, pulling his focus back to your face.

    Josh’s eyes locked onto yours, darting between them, making a smile appear as you asked, “Will you take a shot with me?”

    He nodded. You were able to look at him, really look at him since you had first kissed. The features that you had always admired before were brought to your attention in a new light. Your fingers traced along his chin, across his full lips that curled up in the corners. They followed up the bridge of his nose, spreading out to feel the warmth of his cheeks. He sighed at the touch, smiling to himself, and closed his eyes while you took all the time you needed to adore him. 

    You brushed the fallen curls from his forehead that had started to become frizzy, “You’re so pretty, Josh.”

    He smiled, blushing at the compliment. He leaned up and planted a hasty kiss on your lips before fumbling off the bed and out of the room. Stopping right at the door, he shouted back to you, “Don’t move!”

You heard the clattering of things being knocked over in your kitchen followed by Josh muttering, “Shit!” You giggled to yourself, picturing how frantic and clumsy he was in his eagerness to search for that bottle of whiskey.

The break from him left you alone with your thoughts. Josh had always been your best friend. That’s all. That’s all you ever let him be. But best friends don’t touch each other like you and Josh had tonight. Best friends don’t kiss like their lives depended on it. But isn’t that what you had always wanted deep down? 

From the very first time you saw him, there was something more. Something that had drawn you to him like a moth to a flame. 

You had learned to push away the feeling you had when his hand lingered on your leg when he was telling one of his rambling stories. Hoping that nobody would make him theirs, that he would always be there for you. 

You really couldn’t blame it on the alcohol, could you? There had been plenty of nights spent with Josh where you had too much, went way over your limit and then some more. This has never happened before. Something had changed. You couldn’t lie to yourself anymore. There was an undeniable shift, and you noticed it as soon as he entered your apartment tonight. 

Just as the thoughts started to consume you, Josh appeared in the entryway of your bedroom. The mischievous smile plastered across his face was so Josh. The bright and toothy, yet charming grin melted away any doubts that were threatening to creep into your mind.   

With the bottle in one hand, the other braced onto the door frame. He took in the silent moment to admire you sitting on the bed. 

He handed the Fireball to you as his hand went band of his jeans, “Ladies first.”

“Are you scared to take a shot all of a sudden, Joshua?” 

“This was your idea, remember?’’

You took it from his hands, screwed off the cap and brought it to your lips. You watch out of the corner of your eye as he shakes out of his pants, leaving them crumpled on the floor before crawling onto the bed.

He adjusts between your legs when you lay down, taking the whiskey bottle back from you.

You take the opportunity to make quick work of the same buttons Josh had struggled with moments prior. Just as he brought the lip of the bottle to his mouth, you opened up your shirt, revealing your naked breasts. 

His eyes widened at the sight of you beneath him. A small amount of whiskey dribbled from his lips wrapped around the bottle and dripped his chin and onto your bare chest.

He looked at you in utter shock, taking in each of the finer details as if he would never get the opportunity to see you like this again. You grazed your hand up his thigh, feeling the soft fabric of his boxers, “Clean up your mess, Joshy,”

In the love-sick trance you had put him in, he dipped down and began to lap up the liquor, flicking his tongue up the valley between your breasts. You hummed when the warmth melted across your skin. 

He peppered the supple flesh with breathy, open-mouthed kisses. You still felt him tremble slightly under your touch, shuddering when your fingers traced down his side. He sucked your nipple into his mouth, swirling over the sensitive bud. What his tongue wasn’t doing to the other, his fingers were.

He hummed into the softness of your breast as he tasted you, as you traced your fingers along his toned back, as you sank your fingers into the mess of curls on the back of his neck.

 He kissed your tummy, brushing his lips across the supple skin between your hips. He mumbled into you, “I’ve been dreaming about this for so long.”

For a moment you weren’t really sure if you were supposed to hear him as he continued to kiss your body. 

You hesitated, but decided to ask before you became too distracted, “Really?”

He tensed from the sound of your voice, pausing his lips right above your navel. You brought your finger under his chin, lifting his face to look at you. For a second, his expression showed caution, even guarded with the confession. With a brush of his curls from his face, he rested his cheek on your belly. His eyes softened when they met yours and you noticed the rosy-pink hue flushing in his cheeks.

The realization hit you hard. You thought about all the sloppy kisses planted on your cheek after those nights out drinking together. Was he always wanting something a little more? You remembered all the little gifts he gave you throughout the years. Things you talked about in passing and eventually forgot about, only for him to surprise you months later. The late-night texts where you needed to vent after a long day even if he needed to be up early the next morning. Did he always feel this way? 

“How long, Joshy?”

He blushed from the pet name, letting the giggles bounce from his chest as he laid across you, “fucking forever.” 

Your stomach flipped hearing the words and it felt like all the air had been knocked from your lungs. You stared up at the ceiling, reeling in the truth that your best friend had fallen for for you. He nipped at the thin skin covering your hip before soothing the sting with his tongue.

He felt the sudden change in your body language and mistook it for you changing your mind. “You sure you want this?”

“More than anything,” you whispered, cupping his cheek into the palm of your hand, He leaned into it, tilting his head to press a tender kiss to the inside of your wrist. 

He kissed down your belly once again, traveling between your thighs, and placed one directly over your covered clit. His tongue wet the cotton panties, making you squirm with anticipation. He was making it clear that he had no intentions of rushing this with you. 

“Josh,” you whined while lifting your hips to chase the sensation. It was the first time you had ever said his name like that and for a fleeting moment, you felt embarrassed. 

Without wasting a second he let out a pleased sigh, “You sound so beautiful saying my name.”

His fingers curled around the band of your panties and pulled them down your legs. They traced up your thighs to guide your legs, spreading them open before him. He looked over at you, smiling before biting his bottom lip between his teeth while drawing patterns with his fingertips to the inside of your thigh. 

His thumb brushed over your clit a few times, so light and delicate with his touch. He grinned to himself before dropping his head, kissing the sensitive bud as his fingers slipped down to tease your aching pussy. You clenched around nothing, waiting for them to slide into you. 

If his warm breath didn’t tickle you between gentle kisses, it was the soft hair of his mustache brushing your most sensitive spot. Soft laughter fluttered across you as you wiggled impatiently under his touch, relishing in his ability to tease you like this.

Your fingers dove into his curls when his tongue finally flicked across your clit in slow, languid strokes. 

Breathy cries and moans filled the room as the velvet softness of his wet tongue rolled over you. His arm draped across your tummy to keep you still on the bed, because as soon as he worked his mouth on you, your hips bucked into his face.

He pulled you in, dragging you across silken waves of ecstasy when he rolled your clit into the heat of his mouth. It radiated from your core, flushing through every part of your body, even to the tips of your fingers. Every inch of your bare skin was buzzing with electricity. You were chasing it. Peering right over the ledge, he was still holding you back just enough that you didn’t fall. Not yet.

His lips broke from you, his voice airy and fucked-out, “You taste even better than I imagined.”

Every time you felt yourself teeter on the edge, he pulled back just enough to keep you there. Your nails were digging into the skin of his forearm, but he didn’t seem to mind as he licked patterns of circles onto your throbbing, swollen clit. 

Your vision became out of focus. The orange string lights above your bed mimicked the streaked look of traffic lights in a heavy rainstorm. 

Your hand balled into a tight fist, tugging his hair from his scalp. You almost didn’t notice that it had happened, your body only acting out of instinct if it wasn’t for the muffled moan coming from Josh between your legs. You would have been worried it was out of pain, but he never slowed as he worked on you.

Your heart nearly skipped a beat when the sound vibrated against your heat as it pushed past his soaked lips. You pulled again.  A strangled cry was thrown into your pussy and you wished it could play in your mind forever. 

Maybe it was the liquor swirling in your belly, or maybe it was the need for the release that made you feel bold. You pushed your palm into his forehead, causing him to look up at you. “Make me cum, Josh.”

Using his hair as makeshift reigns, you pulled him into you with a new fervor. He growled in response to your demand. The fingers that had been teasing you had plunged into you, sweeping your perfect spot. The lewd sounds of your wetness pooling around his fingers filled your bedroom. 

He licked you up with a new unbridled passion than before. He wasn’t dancing with you at the peak of your climax now. He was ready to throw you into the abyss. 

His tongue that had once edged you with an expert precision was now flicking across your clit rapidly in a released, frenzied hunger. You opened your eyes, catching him grinding against the bed in search of friction, any relief. He wanted this just as badly as you did.

“Josh…I’m gonna…”

And just as you were finding the ability to finish the thought, his tongue circled on the bundle of nerves once more in unison with a perfect swipe of his fingers, in such a way that pulled you right into the crashing waves of your orgasm. You felt weightless, yet at the same time, it seemed like you had sunk into the mattress beneath you. 

You had forgotten to breathe as your heartbeat thumped loudly in your ear, the only sound you could actually focus on. 

It felt like an eternity for you to come down as you were finally able to breathe. Josh brushing his lips across your skin is what brought you back to him. He crawled up your body, slotting his knee between your legs as he continued to kiss up to your neck.

 He was breathing almost as heavy as yours was. You tasted yourself on his tongue when he kissed you, and you felt just how hard he was against your hip when he started to grind into you.

“Flip over,” you muttered against his mouth, making him pull back slightly.

He seemed almost bashful from the request, “Oh, I-I don’t expect you to-“

You shushed him with a kiss on his lips as you cupped him in your hand and whispered, “Lay back, Josh. It’s my turn.”

He obeyed, rolling onto his back and stretching out across the pillows before propping himself against the headboard. You crawled over, finding a position between his legs and ridding yourself of the opened flannel to toss it on the floor. You let your hands explore his body, tracing along the curves of his muscles that dipped beneath the one piece of clothing on his body. 

His cock was still tucked away, throbbing and leaking, creating a small wet spot of precum on the front of his boxers. You palmed over it, squeezing gently with each pass. His hands rested on his thighs, still shaking and fidgeting as his fingers drummed nervously against his leg. 

You rubbed your hands over his to help calm him, “You okay?”

He released a heavy sigh as if he had been holding his breath, “…yeah”

“Relax. It’s just me,” you reassured him as you started to pull his boxers down his legs. With a final tug, the band released his cock with a soft slap against his toned stomach. Your eyes widened at the sight of him, and you tried your best not to blush. But, oh my God. 

“I-I know it’s-it’s you,” he stuttered, sucking in a sharp breath when your hand wrapped around him, watching as you stroked him with a loose fist. His hips would buck slightly each time your thumb brushed against the tip with each pump of your wrist. 

“Just me…” you hummed between kisses to the head of his cock, “…and my Josh.”

“Fuck…”

You flicked your tongue along the underside of his length, taking him slowly into your mouth. A pitchy whine filled the room the second the warmth of your tongue enveloped him, sliding towards the back of your throat.

“Holy shit,” the hushed curse paired with him sweeping your hair back from your face to watch you, encouraged you further.

With one hand wrapped around the base, you collected your spit to stroke him with a twist of your wrist while swirling your tongue around the head of his cock.

Ragged, broken moans broke free from his heaving chest. You saw that sweat had started to coat the surface of his skin, glistening under the lights when you peeked up through your lashes. 

His legs started to fidget underneath you, letting you know he was getting closer to unraveling completely. Just as you had done moments prior, his fingers tightened around your hair that he had collected in his hand. 

You relaxed, flattening your tongue to push him farther down until he hit the back of your throat, more so than before. The tip of your nose barely brushed up against the hair while your tongue flicked underneath. You were fighting the urge to gag as you heard him groan above you. 

His hand grabbed yours that had been gripping onto his thigh, “I’m not going to last-“    

As much as you wanted to continue, you pulled him from your mouth with a sinful pop! of your lips. He felt so good in your hands that you couldn’t resist the temptation to let the spit drip from your open lips onto his cock. You looked up to see him fixated on what you were doing with your hand, brows pulled tightly together as your fingers slid around him. 

“Please. I need to be inside you.”

As reluctant as you were to stop, you wanted it just as badly. You showered him in kisses as you crawled up his body, straddling your legs over his lap. His hands found your hips instantly, pulling you against his chest. 

Your lips meet, now sloppy as they struggle to fall into their once perfect rhythm. He was needy. Almost biting at your lips before slipping his tongue along yours. 

Wrapping your fingers around him, you coat him in your wetness, brushing the tip along your clit he had taken so good care of, teasing him by rocking your hips along his shaky thighs. He was looking into your eyes, searching them for the final confirmation. There was no turning back as you guided his cock to your entrance, sinking down slowly as you braced yourself on his shoulder.

You sucked in a sharp breath through your teeth when he started to stretch you out, inch-by-inch. A faint cry from you elicited a look of concern to paint across his features. 

He was losing himself, getting high off another hit from the drug that was you. You worried he might be drifting too far away as you watched his eyes roll back behind lust-heavy lids as he pushed farther. A heavy sigh fluttered from your chest when you felt him nudge deep within you, bottoming out himself at your limit. Your arms were locked behind his head and you leaned in to nip at his ear. 

“Oh, fuck…” fell from his open mouth. His arms wrapped around your waist, fingers leaving harsh indents into the flesh in a weak attempt to keep you in place. Or maybe to keep a hold on you, making sure you didn’t disappear from him. 

“Just-just let me feel you. Please.” The whiny pleas fluttered from his pinkened kiss-swollen lips before he pressed them along your collarbone.

His breathing was strained in broken, heavy pants that fanned across your dampened skin. You stilled yourself, taking in the feeling of his cock filling you up completely. You tightened around him, bathing in the feeling of how he felt inside you. His lips began to move up, bringing the trail of lazy kisses to your neck and shoulder.  

The slight sting of him stretching you out eased into a heat of pleasure. You started to move, slowly at first to build a rhythm as you rode him. 

“You’re doing so good. Stay with me.” Your sweet praise brought his focus back to you, but a whimper fluttered in his throat. You cupped his cheek in your palm, “Talk to me.”

You rolled into him, letting his cock glide effortlessly inside your pussy. The way you had already soaked him makes his head fall against the wall, giving you access to the vulnerable expanse of his neck. Your inhibitions were long gone as you wrapped your fingers around his throat.

This time you felt the groan rumble from his chest, vibrating under your palm while his Adam's apple bobbed beneath it when you squeezed. His heartbeat pulsed under your fingertips. Seeing him so needy, on the brink of losing what little control he was holding onto already, spurred you on even more. 

When his eyes barely opened, they focused on nothing in your room. Beads of sweat collected across his forehead above his brow. You didn’t want to lose him, not yet.

You swept a piece of hair that had stuck to his face, brushing your fingertips across his cheek. Blown pupils focused back on yours through the intimate moment.

 You whispered just before licking into his mouth, “Talk to me. Tell me. What are you feeling?”

His eyes closed and he released a heavy sigh, “Fuck, you feel so good.”

“Go on, baby. Tell me more. You’re doing so good for me.”

You could see the internal battle he was struggling with, fighting between wanting to give in to his desires and struggling to keep this moment as long as he could. 

His lips tug into a weak smile as his eyes lazily, mostly hidden behind heavy lids, look back at you in the most fucked-out expression, “You’re enjoying this, huh?”

He paused to add a hint of cockiness in his voice, “-Seeing what you do to me?”

God, did you. You would have loved to tell him how good he felt. That you could fuck him for hours and hours and never want it to stop. That was for next time. This time, you wanted to hear every filthy thing that left his pretty lips as he unraveled just from the feel of you wrapping around him.

You stopped, holding yourself just right so the tip of his cock sat right inside the entrance your pussy. He wanted to lift his hips into you, but you managed to keep him still beneath you.

He whimpered while grabbing your waist to pull you back down onto him in an act of desperation, “Fuck, mama. Don’t stop.”

You brought your hand back to wrap around his throat once more, loving the power it was giving you. Your lips brushed against the shell of his ear, “Josh, baby. You’ve been listening so well. Just follow directions for me.”

You dragged each word out with a pronounced roll of your hips onto him, deep and full. His head rolled back, but you paused to hear his answer. Which you knew was a cruel thing to do given the borderline pathetic whines that came from him. 

“I-I, oh…fuck. You feel…so good. warm…so fucking tight. I think my cock was made for you.”

You couldn’t help but squeeze around him, dropping your forehead to his.“Hmm. It was, wasn’t it?”

“Yes…please move again. God, please,” he cried out with another desperate thrust of his hips to feel more of you. It caught you off guard to see him like this, with his eyes glassy with tears, threatening to spill over onto his flushed cheeks. 

You swept one away with your thumb while caressing his face. “My sweet, sweet boy.”

What you were both chasing was being suspended, just within your grasp of open fingers. You kept it there in the fight for balance just until the scales tipped. Just before you took the plunge into the void, together.

His breathing was past the point of ragged, harsh as he pulled air into his aching lungs. “I can’t…I can’t”

You knew what he meant, holding him close with fingers weaved tightly in his hair. “Cum for me, Josh,” 

That was what he needed from you. The words that would allow him to finally let go.

He buried his face into the crook of your neck with his fingers digging hard enough into your sides that they might leave small bruises for you to find tomorrow. A string of curses paired with your name, woven through his whiny pleas rang like a mantra in your ears. 

He shuddered beneath you, and the warm feeling of his release filling you up sent you into a second climax of the night. You rode it out with him as long as possible, in staggered, faltering movements. Slowing to the point where he started to shake from the overstimulation. 

You stayed there, basking in that moment, embraced in each other’s arms while taking as much time as you needed to collect yourselves. Your fingernails slightly dragged against his scalp as you held him to your chest.

 Everything had changed between you. It truly terrified you, but you were willing and ready to find out what that meant for you. The way you fit with him made perfect sense, like everything had fallen into place.

After a while of holding you In his arms as he softened inside you, he flipped you so that you were now on your back with his cheek resting on your breast, listening to your heart return to its normal pace. 

“Can’t believe you cried the first time we had sex.” You nudged his side, making him squirm, before going back to running your fingers across his back. 

He lifted his head, “First time?”

You smiled and wiped the stray tear that lingered on his face. “I figured you wanted to keep me around, Kiszka.”

“Of course I do.” He placed a kiss between your breasts and laid his head back down on your chest. “You’re everything.”

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[cornychip]

Something More- Chapter 3

18+

Word Count: 6.4k

Chapter Summary:It’s been so long since that night, but they’re finally returning from tour, and you’re finally going to see them again. It could be amazing and it could also be the biggest mistake ever.

Pairings: Sammy x Reader

Danny x Reader

Tropes: friends to enemies?

enemies to lovers

friends to lovers

Warnings: 18+ content only. DNI if you are under 18. Alcohol use, mentions of sexual/explicit content.

Part 2

Part 1

“Yeah, I miss you guys too,” you mumbled into the phone as your eyes struggled not to close, “it’ll just be a few more days and then we’ll all get together.”

You could hear Sam shuffle in his sheets on the other line and sigh, silence following the cacophony of noises.

It had been about a year since that fateful night. The following months after the twins’ birthday began the start of festival season and without a break they started their tour directly after.

They were scheduled to have somewhat of an extended break in the coming weeks, maybe a month or two, before jumping back into travel and performing again, as was the life of a rockstar you supposed.

During the tour they rarely had breaks, let alone time to fly back to Nashville from wherever they were. You hated to admit it to yourself but you were unfathomably nervous that it would be like the last time and you would be left behind again.

You left the decision up to them, only texting if they reached out first, only calling if they asked to. Josh and Jake reached out often enough, Josh more so as he greatly enjoyed having someone on the other side of the phone that could simply sit and listen to him rant when the other guys got tired of his long sermon-esque tangents that required a sizable portion of effort to coherently follow.

A good amount of Sam’s calls were conducted late at night and in quiet, needy whispers, and while you appreciated the punctuality and frequentness of them, you more often than not found yourself wishing for more. Not much more, something as simple as a good morning text would have been enough to suffice this craving for any semblance of emotional intimacy, but then again, you couldn’t be too disappointed with him, not when you hadn’t even heard a word from Danny since that night.

You and Danny hadn’t talked, seen each other or even breathed the same air since the birthday. The few times they were able to come home Danny had always come up with some miraculous excuse for his absence. You were unsure if any of the others realized his newfound distaste for you and maybe decided to ignore it in fear that talking about it with you would make things uncomfortable or if they were truly just clueless.

You assumed the latter.

You forced yourself not to hope for an apology, to not, even in said imaginary scenario, forgive him so easily, but you did miss him.

Cringing at the thought, you squeezed your eyes shut, trying to replay the memory on the backs of your closed lids, your brain attempting to find the image of Danny standing in your living room with his arms folded across his chest.

You did this often, anytime that heaviness began to settle on your chest, anytime you felt an urge to pick up your phone and press on his contact. You needed to remember the anger, needed to bathe yourself in it to stop yourself from forgiving him.

It was so hard, though. Danny was always the grounded one, everyone relied on him to bring the people around him back down to reality. So believing that he was in the wrong felt so unnatural, you couldn’t help but wonder if he was right- about you and about Sam.

“You still there?”

Sam’s voice mumbled tiredly from the phone.

It was one of those rare phone calls that didn’t turn into you rubbing yourself over your panties as Sam moaned deeply on the other line, telling you all the things he wished he could do to you if he wasn’t trapped on that god forsaken bus. You preferred these calls anyways, when Sam told you what was happening on tour, which brother was annoying him most that day and why. He would ask you about work and your friends, about how everything was going in Nashville and if you had had any time to stop by his house that week and water his plants.

“Yeah, Sammy.”

A scoff quietly sounded from your phone, though you knew he wore a smile, he liked it when you called him that now.

“Tomorrows going to be good, we’re gonna stop in Michigan for a bit before heading back to Nashville, go up to the lake house for a couple of days.”

You smiled fondly as memories began to flood your mind of summer weekends out at the lake house.

Owned by the Kiszka’s grandparents, the lake house was the prime summertime party spot in high school. Driving up with little else than a cooler filled with beer and backpacks filled with swimsuits and poorly stashed weed, the lake house was home to some of the most memorable nights in your high school career.

You had almost forgotten that they still had it, it had been so long you just assumed they sold it or stopped going.

“You should come, it would be fun to have everyone back there again.”

A heat blossomed under your skin at the thought. All you could think about were the late nights down by the water, when everyone else had gone to bed and it was just you and whoever else was still awake, talking about the future and the meaning of life and which stars were actually planets– often it was Danny.

You frowned and the sweet memories were sharply interrupted, you couldn’t go, not if he was there.

“I don’t know if I’d be able to get off of work, plus I don’t want to crash a guy’s trip.”

“I have been trapped inside a bus with them for a year, I would much rather see you than them. Plus some other people are coming, you wouldn’t be crashing anything.”

You sighed, your heart softening the way Sam always managed to make it.

You weren’t exactly sure what the two of you were. The topic had been broached fairly often with the two of you usually coming to the similar conclusion that you had no idea.

A year of sexting wasn’t exactly how you would define a relationship, though you were profoundly surprised that it had lasted as long as it did, and that had to count for something. Sometimes you found yourself falling into delusion, on nights like this when you would just talk, sometimes for hours until the other fell asleep.

You weren’t exclusive, you knew that much, and as much as you felt that uncomfortable knotting in your stomach on nights he didn’t call and you could only assume the worst, you knew it was for the best, that a relationship built upon the purely physical was not one that could withstand a year of long distance dating.

You started finding the old Sam, though, despite his almost comical inability to catch onto your hints that perhaps all you wanted was not just late night phone sex. He was sweet to you.

“I don’t know, I’d have to get a flight out there too, it’s all very last minute.”

You chewed on the bottom of your lip, propping yourself up on your forearm in bed, suddenly far more awake than minutes before.

“Come on, I’ll pay for your flight- there and back.”

A smile fell on your lips, maybe he just wanted sex, but having him almost begging you to come made it all the more tempting.

“Sam…”

You chuckled as he replied with a defensive, “what!?”

“Fine, I will think about it. I’ll text you tomorrow.”

You rested your head back onto your pillow, melting into the soft sheets underneath you.

“Okay, I’m taking that as you’re coming so I’m buying tickets.”

You chuckled as your eyes fluttered closed, too tired to argue any further with him.

“Alright then.”

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.

.

Sam had followed through and only four days later you found yourself on a plane and then suddenly in the driver’s seat of your mom’s old red toyota corolla, taking the same familiar route you took years before. It felt like high school again, borrowing your mom’s car and stacking the backseats with coolers and grocery bags.

You were entirely too excited to be seeing Sam and the others, you couldn’t wait to be at the house again after all these years. Unfortunately there was the sore topic of Danny to dampen all of the enthusiasm.

Your stomach churned at the thought of seeing him after all this time. You tried to be hopeful, maybe all that time had offered him a chance to mellow on the topic of you and Sam. It was hard to believe, though, and your mind continued to run in circles.

The uncomfortable concoction of excitement and dread only intensified as you turned off of the main road and onto the dirt path that led down to the lake house.

Nausea rose to your throat, you didn’t feel like you were going to be sick, but instead like your body was warning you this was an incredibly poor idea. You were sure if the dirt road wasn’t as narrow and precarious as it was you would have just turned around and booked it back home, offering some sorry excuse for why you couldn’t make it after all. You forced your foot on the gas as you willed yourself to continue forward, though, lowering your music and rounded a sharp corner, the large lakefront cabin coming into view.

Two cars were parked on the grass in front of the house, one you recognized as Josh’s old jeep and the other Karen’s minivan. You pulled up next to them, hoping no one had noticed you had arrived yet, and took a breath, bracing your forehead on the wheel and letting out a quiet grunt.

This is going to be fine, it’s going to be fun.

You tried repeating those words to yourself like one of Josh’s daily mantras as you lifted your head from the steering wheel, straightening your arms out in front of you and jostling the wheel that your hands still firmly grasped. You exhaled a long breath and let go, opening the car door and going to your backseat to start unloading the many bags and coolers of alcohol and groceries you had picked up upon Sam’s request.

Huffing out, you lined your forearms with three bags on each arm and hugged a cooler against your chest, beginning to walk up the staircase and onto the wrap-around porch clad with rocking chairs and outdoor swings. Loud music managed to find you outside the house, deep acoustic strumming and the smooth drawl of a country voice echoed from the speakers lining the interior of the home. You struggled to find the doorknob as you jostled the cooler to balance on your propped up knee, finally managing to swing open the screen door. You clunkily rammed your way into the home, the door ricocheting off of you as it swung back.

Two pairs of eyes jolted up to look at you as you set down the cooler with a loud slam. You exhaled a small breath of relief at the realization that most people were outside and that Danny was included with most people. Only Josh and Sam stood in the kitchen watching you, two smiles growing on their lips.

“What the hell, what’re you doing here?”

Josh exclaimed as he pulled you in for a hardy hug, squeezing as his hands wrapped around your back.

You chuckled nervously, that odd feeling of having the wind knocked out of you settled in your chest and your throat at the realization that no one, apart from Sam, knew you were going to be there.

Your mouth hung open slightly as Josh released you, staring with excitement crumbling into his features.

“Sam invited me,” you answered with an empty gaze as you forced the corners of your mouth into a smile, adamant not to clue either of them in on your discomfort.

Fucking Sam.

“It’s so good to see you!”

Josh continued gushing about how great of a surprise this was, that everyone was going to be so excited. You tuned him out and keened your vision onto the large windows spanning the back of the kitchen that looked out to the backyard and the lake, scanning for a possible glimpse of who else was there…for Danny.

You continued smiling and nodding as you glued your eyes to the windows.

Excusing yourself from Josh’s continuous rambling was difficult, but you managed to get yourself to the bathroom under the guise that the two hour drive left you needing the toilet.

You shouldn’t have been thrown so off guard, it was just Danny afterall. It was bizarre that he was causing you this much distress, the you from years past would be laughing at yourself over it. He might have not even still been mad, you may have been driving yourself crazy for no reason. If he was still mad, well, then so what.

Why should you care? Why ruin your time when you did nothing wrong? After all, he was the one that showed up to your house practically calling you a slut, he should be the one hoping you weren’t still mad.

You felt the heat rise to your cheeks as the nervousness swirling in the pit of your stomach turned into anger and the slightest bit of overconfidence.

In the confines of the cabin’s bathroom, so cut off from reality, it felt like a completely different world. You hoped Danny was still mad and you couldn’t wait to walk out and see his reaction.

Of course that confidence faded as you walked out of the bathroom and realized you would actually have to face Danny in real life and not just in your mind as you had been doing for the last year. You pushed through as you unpacked the groceries into the already heavily stocked fridge, repeating and convincing yourself that it was him who should be sorry, not you.

Instead you tried to worry your mind with other things, like why Sam hadn’t properly said hello yet. You’d think a year of jacking himself off to you on face time warranted at the very least a hug. You shifted your gaze onto him, staring at him out of the corner of your eye as you moved the beers from your cooler and into the fridge and he stood to the right of you, spreading cheese and crackers onto a cutting board. He looked normal, like he had no care in the world, an easy smile resting on his lips as he cut a block of sharp cheddar into bite size pieces.

His upper lip and chin were now obstructed by facial hair, something you had never seen on him before. You had seen him often enough on video calls and in photos that it was no shock to you, but seeing him here, right in front of you, had made you realize how much he changed in the last year despite how stagnant your relationship had stayed.

You finished stocking everything into the fridge and pantry, not eager to go outside yet also antsy to get away from Sam and your quickly deteriorating faith that this was, against all odds, still going to be a good time. Josh had left with the charcuterie board only a few minutes before as Sam continued puttering around the kitchen, arranging snacks and appetizers onto plates.

You stared at his back to you, squatting down to grab olive oil from the cabinet, and huffed at his nonchalance, whether or not you were official, you still expected a slight reaction upon your return, especially since he was the one practically begging you to come along. You turned and busied yourself with finding a home for your bags– you packed sparingly, bringing only a backpack and your purse.

“Where should I put these?”

You questioned with a short tone to your voice, your words tumbling into a sigh as punctuation.

Sam finally looked up and, defying the odds, seemed to recognize that something was off. He walked up to you and looked down into your eyes, soft worry down casting his features. Your hardened eyes softened and you averted your gaze from him, feeling slightly guilty for getting so upset with him.

“I was thinking in my room.”

The words came out quiet and testing, more a question than a determined answer. You perked up, shooting your gaze back to him.

“The others wouldn’t find it weird?”

You questioned and what felt like sparklers being lit in your chest warmed your body and flushed your face. You tried not to get excited, not to let yourself feel that warmth in your chest and the tension easing from your body, but Sam felt different from the last time you saw him. Kinder, sweeter– more like the old Sam, the one you fell for.

A smile stretched his lips and his cheeks engulfed his eyes as the wrinkles at the corners of his lids deepened.

“I think they’ve all caught on enough.”

You couldn’t tell if he meant that seriously, that perhaps he told them about you two, or that he simply didn’t care what they thought. Either way the prospect of sleeping next to Sam after so long was too good to let up and you allowed him to slip your backpack off of your shoulders and lead you up the stairs to his room.

It was like you remembered from high school, not much had changed. The room was relatively bare compared to his room at home in Michigan as well as Tennessee. The only signs of Sam’s living there being the few taped up posters of bands, the kinds that come all folded up in magazines that you can tear out. It was a feeble attempt at decoration that was very obviously given up on after that point years ago. The rest of the room was decorated as according to log house decor as it could get, a quilted comforter adorned with a forest pattern laying crumpled on the bed from the few nights Sam had already spent there. It smelled like him in there, the sheets looked so tempting to lay down on and just breathe in his scent after so long going without it, you hated to admit to yourself, but you missed him, really missed him.

You felt his hands wrap around your waist from behind you as he lowered his head to rest on your shoulder, nestling his face into your neck and exhaling a long breath.

You looked down at him as much as you could, his eyes were closed, like he was just basking in your presence. His arms tightened around you and you allowed yourself to melt into him, feeling the rising and falling of his breathing on your back.

“I missed you.”

He mumbled into you, placing featherlight kisses behind your ear and down the length of your neck. You sighed out, leaning more of your weight back into him.

You grabbed his forearms and gently tugged them off of you, his eyes opening at the action and staring at you with slight confusion before you turned around, wrapping your own arms under his and around his back, resting your head against his chest. He was so warm as he engulfed you in an embrace, swaying to a silent melody playing in his head.

He tightened his arms around you again, shaking you from side to side.

“I really fucking missed you!”

He grunted as he punctuated each word with a shake, earning uneven chuckles from you as you let yourself flop along with his movements. Laughing, he pushed you off of him after one final squeeze and examined your face with an easy grin on his own, tracing his eyes over each and every one of your features as if he was afraid he would never see them again.

“I don’t want to sound ungrateful or anything, but being on tour was fucking unbearable!”

Sam laughed out. You shoved him lightly as he kept that easy smile on his lips, huffing out a few chuckles.

“No way it was, you’re just trying to butter me up.”

“Okay, it was pretty cool, but once we were finished I’d just want to be back home with you in my bed.”

His smile dropped a bit, he looked… embarrassed– and nervous.

“I didn’t want to tell you, I didn’t want to make things harder or more complicated…” he trailed off.

You pushed your eyebrows up and cocked your head to the side, looking at him more intently than before.

“Tell me what?”

He looked down at his feet.

“Nothing…just that I like you, I guess, and I wanted to see you and I wanted you to visit and I thought about you all the time,” he answered out quickly, his words tumbling into each other as a blush crept up his neck and settled on the apples of his cheeks and the tips of his ears.

You could only stare at him.You were always very confused about friends with benefits relationships. It made no sense to you how you could get along so great with someone and also be attracted to one another yet neither people wanted to be together. You always scoffed at movies when at the end someone reveals that they secretly had feelings for the other– obviously you had feelings for each other, you’ve just been dating without calling it that.

But this threw you off.

Of course he liked you, he’d been having sex with you for over a year- you still counted the phone sex as sex- but to hear him say it, to think it and then form the thoughts into words and tell them to you was not something you expected. It shouldn’t have meant so much, it wasn’t an “I love you,” or a “be my girlfriend,” not even a “let’s go on a date,” but for some reason, it seemed like it meant something to him. That for him to be saying it to you, it must have been important.

A smile broke onto your lips, the corners of your mouth stretching into an easy grin as you lightly cradled his jaw in your palm, bringing his face to yours and placing a kiss on his lips. You weren’t sure what it meant, if all he wanted to do was tell you- get that nagging feeling off of his chest, and continue the way you were- or if he wanted something more. You didn’t ask, you just kissed him as he sighed into your lips and moved his hand to hold the back of your neck, pulling you deeper into him, your breaths heavy and warm on each other’s cheeks.

You pulled apart, content just to look at him, examining the spots and lines on his face that were probably there before but you couldn’t remember the last time you looked at him this closely and told yourself they were new.

“We should go see everyone, I bet they’re wondering where we are- Josh probably told them you’re here already and ruined the surprise,” you nodded your head, your heart dropping slightly as you entered the real world again.

The world where it wasn’t just Sam’s lips on yours and instead it was Danny seething outside because, not only you were here, but you had also gone missing with his best friend once again. You looked up to Sam and wondered if you should tell him about that night, maybe if he did you could just leave or maybe he would confront Danny about it- defend your honor and all that shit. You bit your lip, though, and thought you’d better not. You couldn’t do that to Sam, to either of them. They rarely fought, but when they did, it was awful- Danny’s usual grounded and easy going personality morphing into stubbornness and Sam’s own unmoving decidedness only growing. Something like this would be catastrophic, especially with the added tension living and touring together for the last year had developed.

So many of the calls that weren’t the usual with Sam were instead necessary venting sessions. No matter how much love for each other they all had, living together in such close quarters for so long was bound to create its upsets. Like how angry everyone would get it if one of them accidentally fell asleep before showering after a show, stinking up the entire damn bus for at least a day or how unbearable the constant bickering between the twins was that often it turned into an all out argument about why, for the sake of everyone else, they couldn’t just get along.

So, you only followed Sam down the stairs and out the door onto the deck, greeted by a few unfamiliar faces mixed in with the familiar ones; greeted by Danny, still as stone in an old lawn chair down on the grass.

“Danny, come up and say hello!”

Sam yelled down over the deck railing. Danny turned to look up, you could see him huff out a sigh and your chest tightened.

Yeah, he was still mad

He still scaled the stairs, joining the small crowd of about six people saying their hellos and giving their introductions. Most of them were people that toured with them, people on their crew, the others were friends that you were already acquainted with from nights out and buzzing dinner parties. You were excited, and while Danny retreated back to his lawn chair to converse with anyone but you, you were relieved that no one seemed to notice and instead sat down at the large patio table and began telling stories of the last year.

The stars were beginning to peak out while the fervorous and drunken conversation trekked on over the last bits of dinner. Music was still bleeding from inside, it hadn’t stopped since you’d gotten there, and the table was scattered with empty plates and even more empty cans and bottles.

It was hot, almost unbearably so, the kind of heat that persisted after the sun tucked under the horizon and swallowed you in its wet, humid grasps. Sam’s hand rested on your thigh, he had been stuck to your side the entire day, his hands wandering more often than you thought he even noticed. No one seemed particularly thrown off by it and you wondered if he really did tell everyone about the two of you.

Plates were being cleared as Josh walked out with a deck of cards and a cooler full of beers, most likely the beers you had taken out of the cooler and put into the fridge, you sighed slightly realizing that the action was pointless.

“I think it’s about time we all get wasted,” Josh threw the deck onto the table that everyone was gathered around, including Danny who sat at the opposite end, caught up in conversation with someone to his side, as he had been almost the entire evening.

“Are we not already?”

Jake laughed out, taking a hefty swig of whiskey from his glass and earning a chorus of chuckles from around the table.

“No, we need to get skinny dipping wasted because that’s what I have planned for this evening,” Josh flashed an evil grin and everyone silently agreed, scooting in their chairs and beginning to listen to the rules of whatever ridiculous drinking game Josh had prepared for you all that night.

“No Jake, you do have to drink because-”

“I just did, you didn’t see me!”

Everyone was a mess. Jake and Josh couldn’t stop fighting about the ‘rules’, though at this point you didn’t think the game actually had many and most people only had a very loose grip on how to actually play despite the 2 hours already spent playing. Josh was right about one thing though, it did get everyone fucking wasted.

Many people had already gone to bed, stumbling into the house with flushed cheeks. The only ones still up were you, the guys and a crew member named Tilly who you were quickly becoming quite fond of as she possessed the rare ability to keep all of the guys in check, consistently yelling at them or even slapping them lightly upside the head when they weren’t playing according to her understanding of the rules. Despite your dwindling numbers, the game- and the drinking- only became more intense the longer you played.

“I’m done, Josh won’t let me fucking play,” Jake chuckled out as he threw his cards on the table and Josh stared back at him with an open mouthed and dumbfounded smile.

The two continued bickering as everyone else just watched them, amused smiles on your faces. Sam’s hand crawled up your thigh again and his head lolled onto your shoulder, his eyes fluttering closed.

“Sammy?”

You nudged him a bit, wondering if he was just resting his eyes or if he had a bit too much to drink.

He didn’t respond, instead light snores sounded from his mouth as Jake and Josh quieted down and glanced over.

“Sammy boy had a little too much to drink it seems,” Josh walked over, grabbing hold of Sam’s shoulder and shaking him a bit.

“Come on Sam, let’s get you to bed.”

Jake followed suit, offering Sam a hand as he stood up unsteadily and fell into his side, falling in and out of consciousness as Jake wrapped his arm around him.

“I want y/n to come with me,” Sam mumbled out, frowning like a child about to throw a tantrum.

“I’m coming Sammy.”

You hurried out of your seat, hoisting his other arm around your shoulder on the opposite side of Jake.

“Yeah, everyones gonna come Sam- we’re all gonna tuck you in!”

Josh offered, signaling Tilly and Danny to stand up and follow suit. You all stumbled into Sam’s room as you and Jake flopped him onto his bed. He began taking off his shirt unsuccessfully, his head getting stuck inside halfway through, Jake tugging at it to help.

“No!” Sam mumbled grumpily, the word slurring out, “I want y/n to do it, not you.”

Your cheeks flushed while everyone in the room, apart from Danny, chuckled like schoolgirls. Still, you conceded, going over to Sammy and pulling the shirt over his head, his eyes closed as he gave you a sweet and drunken smile before curling into the mattress and promptly falling asleep.

“Welp,” Josh clapped his hands and everyone tore their attention from Sam, “we still need to finish the game.”

Everyone collectively rolled their eyes but nonetheless followed him back outside, returning to the deranged game. You moved from the deck to the water as Danny threw a few logs into the fire pit with some lawn chairs ringed around it. The fire was not unwelcome even in the swampy heat as everyone leaned in, at times too close, while the game became more and more heated.

It ended without much closure, most of you just giving up when it became evident there really was no way to win or even end it. Instead you all sat around the fire, the three of them sharing ridiculous stories from tour as you sat and listened, every once in a while chiming in as if your life was anywhere as interesting as theirs. Danny seemed to either not mind your presence or was just completely ignoring the fact that you were there, enjoying his time as if you didn’t exist. Either way you couldn’t complain, it was far more pleasant than your brain allowed you to imagine it being, though you didn’t believe that Danny would make a scene around the others if he had wanted to say something to you so you were not all in the clear yet.

“I’m sticking to my word, I’m going in!”

Josh exclaimed during a short lull of silence and everyone looked over in quick confusion, Josh wasting no time as he began kicking off his pants and pulling his shirt over his head, his bare ass making quick work of disappearing into the water.

A splash sounded out as he jumped off of the janky wooden dock, a quick and involuntary screech sounding from his lips before hitting the water. After a few seconds of silence his head erupted out of the water, a clamorous laugh screeching out from his grinning mouth.

“Come on, don’t make me skinny dip alone!”

His distant voice reprimanded and you all looked at each other over the fire, a small grin crawling onto your lips.

Perhaps it was the copious amounts of alcohol you had consumed, or maybe the ghost of your reckless youth that had resided in the lakehouse for the last 7 years was possessing you, it could have also just been the muggy heat that had been aggravating you all night, but you stood up. Walking a few steps away from the fire, you stripped off your shirt then your shorts. A few more steps and you were unhooking your bra, leaving a trail of clothes in your path. Your feet hit the rotting wood of the dock and you hooked your fingers under your waistband and pulled down your underwear, kicking them off of your ankles.

Josh stared up at you, your body dimly illuminated with the distant light of the fire, a huge and drunken grin splayed on his face.

“Give me a dive mama!”

He hollered out, arms calmly treading the water around him.

Looking ahead of you at the dark lake you inhaled the warm night air, tinged with the burning scent of the bonfire. The stars and moon bore down at you, watching and waiting for your next move. The warmth of alcohol ran up your arms and flushed at your cheeks. You felt whole for the first time in a while, maybe the next morning that feeling would wear off, but for now you just stepped to the edge of the peer and bent your knees and catapulted yourself into the freezing water.

As your head reached the surface you could hear the distant hearty cheers from the fire as Josh screamed out.

“Tens all around! Perfect form, perfect execution!”

You laughed as your chest heaved with the sudden shock of the freezing water. It wasn’t even a minute before everyone else followed suit, stripping away their clothes as they ran to the dock, jumping into the water and exclaiming loud yelps followed by uneven and chilled breaths.

No one was drunk enough for naked chicken fights, you didn’t know if you could ever be drunk enough for that to happen. Instead you found yourself swimming away from the group and finding your own spot in the enormous body of water where your toes could just barely reach the bottom. You craned your head up, staring at the stars and trying to count them, losing track almost immediately.

“That one’s Saturn,” you turned your head, surprised you didn’t hear anyone swim up to you, even more surprised by who you saw next to you.

Danny stared up at the sky, his sopping wet curls swept back and away from his face by the water. The moonlight did him almost too much justice, basking his profile in pools of blue light.

“I know,” was all you said as you returned your gaze upwards, hugging your arms around your chest slightly, your spontaneous burst of boldness suddenly wearing off.

A stillness surrounded you both, silence creeping between the two of you for what could have been an hour but what was most likely only a minute or two.

“I’m sorry.”

His voice whispered out, cutting through the hush.

You looked over at him, his eyes still trained on the sky above him, his jaw tensing as the only sign of distress.

“I was upset- I’ve been upset for some time,” his voice grew a little bolder, though still barely above a whisper.

You parted your lips to speak, but all you could do was breath out a small breath you were holding in your chest.

“Today, though-” he sighed out, “seeing you two together.”

He stopped, his teeth chewing on his bottom lip as he lowered his head to focus on the inky water.

“He likes you a lot-” he paused and pressed his lips together, sucking his bottom lip in between his teeth, “I don’t know why I thought he was going to treat you like everyone else- because you aren’t everyone else- but I did, and that’s why I blew up. I thought you couldn’t see what I saw.”

He let go of a shaky breath, raising an arm out of the water and pushing the frizzing pieces of hair back and out of his face with a wet hand.

“I was completely out of line and I’m just so, so sorry.”

His gaze was stuck to the moonlit water underneath him, as if he was too scared to look at you.

You tore your eyes away from him, training them on the water just as he was, feeling as your breaths moved in and out of your body, the warm breeze kissing your shoulders and your cheeks. The weight on your chest was there, different, but there.

“I missed you Danny,” your voice came out hoarse.

You could feel his eyes on you as you cleared your throat.

“you dick.”

You matched his stare as a grin tugged at the corners of your lips, the heaviness on your chest beginning to lighten until it was all gone and you felt weightless.

He smiled back at you.

You imagined this moment so many times in your head, you rehearsed so many speeches, calculated so many different responses to possible things he could say. It didn’t matter, none of it mattered because he was there and he looked so kind and you missed him so much and you were so drunk.

You all trudged out of the water soon after, collecting and pulling on dry clothes over your dripping selves. You hated the feeling of your clothes clinging to your skin, but you still sat down in them around the fire, the heat starting to feel good on your damp and icy skin.

One after another people started trailing into the house until it was just you and Danny, just like it always was, talking about the future, the stars, and the planets.

[cornychip]

I fucked up so badly on this sudoku page no ones ever gonna wanna have sex with me

[cornychip]

Oh so he’s petty

[cornychip]

impatiently waiting for everyone to wake up so I can see all of the reactions to Hannah being an opener

[cornychip]

Something More- Chapter 2

18+

Word Count: 5.6k

Chapter Summary: The twins birthday, Josh’s guest bedroom, getting caught…what could be better?

Pairings: Sammy x Reader

Danny x Reader

Tropes: friends to enemies?

enemies to lovers

friends to lovers

Warnings: SMUT. 18+ content only. DNI if you are under 18. Alcohol use. Strong/hurtful language.

Part 1

Part 3

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.

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“I’m glad you came with me,” his voice sounded from behind you.

You flipped over onto your side to look at him, his hand falling off your back and onto the sheets.

“So am I.”

He smiled tiredly as he dropped his head against a pillow, shuffling under the sheets to get more comfortable. A hand found your hip, nudging for you to come closer to him.

“I liked you a lot in high school, you know?”

He spoke with his eyes closed, his voice slow and quiet.

“I didn’t know that.”

He chuckled softly.

“I guess I wasn’t obvious enough.”

Your stomach dropped a bit, that familiar burning rising again to your chest. You bit your lip; perhaps your body’s way of trying to tell you not to ask the question you were about to ask.

“What do you feel now?”

His eyes fluttered back open to look at you.

Your heart sank. You should have just stayed quiet.

“I’m not sure,” he chimed out, his voice clearer and more attentive now, “it’s been a long time.”

You swallowed a lump in your throat.

“Yeah, it has.”

“But I do know how jealous I get whenever I see you with Danny.”

He chuckled out and you couldn’t help but quirk the corner of your lip up.

“Some things never change, I guess,” he spoke again.

You propped yourself up on your arm in a sudden fit of amusement.

“You were jealous of Danny in high school? No way.”

Sam raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders.

“When it came to you, yeah. Although in every other aspect he was the biggest dork I’d ever met.”

You chuckled together.

“I’ll be sure to tell him that,” you answered, lowering your head onto his chest and closing your eyes.

“You will not,” Sam breathed out quietly, a grin tugging at your lips as you both drifted to sleep

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That was how it had been for the last couple of months mostly.

Giddy smiles down at your phone when you read his stupid dirty texts, showing up to his house with a bottle of wine, waking up with his arm wrapped over your side.

It felt good.

It was fun as Sam put it, just having fun.

You told yourself you were okay with fun, that being able to reap the benefits of a relationship without the responsibility of one was something to relish in. How you truly felt was not something you offered much thought to.

You checked the time, 7:40 pm, how on time did you need to be to their birthday party anyways?

You stood in front of your mirror, finishing up the last few buttons on the casual black mini dress you bought at a consignment shop mainly for the cargo short-esque pockets that adorned it. You slipped on a pair of frilly white socks and old black loafers, a pairing that Sam and Danny ruthlessly teased you for in high school, though now it seemed you were just ahead of trend.

Sam had offered to drive, but seeing that neither one of you had disclosed your recent relations to anyone, not even Danny, you had thought it best to go separately so as not to turn any heads. As Sammy always did he let it roll right off his back, not catching on that you had hoped he’d be at least slightly disappointed.

You optimistically got in your car to drive, telling yourself you would only have two or three drinks, though three out of four times you did so you ended up sleeping in one of Josh’s guest bedrooms until the next morning. This time, though, you told yourself it’d be different, you’d be responsible.

It wasn’t a big gathering or ordeal like birthdays past for the two twins, no raging house parties or cop raids while the Kizska’s parents were away visiting relatives or out to dinner and drinks with some friends, but it was still a Kiszka party. The backyard was strung with lights, and music was humming pleasantly in the background from scattered speakers. The boys had even splurged for some heaters in the brisker nights of spring. Few people you knew were there, mostly a collection of vibrant personalities the boys had met in the music scene and while living in Nashville, people you didn't know exactly how to approach or lead a conversation with the way the Kiszka boys could. You grabbed yourself a glass of champagne and found a spot farther from the main crowd and closer to a heater. It wasn’t like the rinky dink parties in high school that you found yourself missing some nights, but it was nice

“Don’t worry, the real party will start in a couple of hours.”

Sam bent and whispered into your ear before shooting back up to his full height.

You jumped slightly before realizing it was just him and offered a polite smile in response.

“I’m only staying for a few drinks, drove myself here and I’m planning on driving myself back…you know, like a responsible adult,” you straightened, trying to look as poised as possible.

“I’ve heard that one before,” he chuckled knowingly, “usually ends with Danny and Josh carrying you to bed.”

You gave him a playful glare, breaking into a coy smile quickly.

“Yeah well, we’ll see where the night takes us.”

You stood in silence for a bit, just watching as everyone else chatted and drank, a few people dancing around the yard to whatever music Josh had chosen that night. As always, Josh was the primary planner while Jake was mostly just along for the ride.

You shivered a bit as you felt Sam’s long slender fingers pinch at the hem of your dress, rubbing the fabric between his fingers before dropping his hand back to his side.

You looked up at him with an inquisitive face at his bizarre action.

“That’s a nice dress, it’s a little short don’t you think?”

Your eyes widened and your hands immediately patted down the bottom of the entire dress, trying to feel where it laid on your legs and if you’d been walking around with your ass out every time you’d worn it in the last 4 months.

Sam only stifled his laughter as he watched you, earning a shove against his arm.

“Don’t scare me like that Sam, that’s one of my biggest fears-“

“I know, I know because in ninth grade your skirt got stuck in your underwear and no one told you till 3rd period!”

Sam laughed to himself, hunching over and gasping for breaths as you continued your shoving.

“Yes,” you exclaimed, giving him one shove that almost sent him toppling over, “so why would you do something like that, how stupid are you!?” you gave him one final push as he straightened up, chuckling with him a little.

“You’re fun to tease, that’s why,” he said before sighing into a small and final chuckle.

Your cheeks turned warm, the way they did almost every time Sam flirted with you. You always wondered if he did the same, you thought most likely not.

“It looks good-the dress-I like it,” he offered before taking a swig of his drink.

You went shy at the compliment despite having been sleeping with him for the past 3 months.

“Thanks,” you replied softly, looking down at the dress to inspect it one last time.

“You look even better in it,” his hand snaked under the back of the dress slightly, squeezing at your ass.

You let out a little gasp as your eyes widened, immediately slapping his hand away and looking around to see if anyone had seen.

“Sam!”

You reprimanded in a hushed tone.

“What?”

He replied in his signature laxed voice, not a worry in the world.

“No one’s watching, and even if they were, no one cares.”

“Well I care!”

You offered somewhat spitefully. He only looked down at you with a smirk and those eyes, eyes that meant trouble.

“How about,” he began, leaning into your ear and finding his way back under your dress, “we take a trip inside, I left my jacket in his guest room and it’s getting a little cold out.”

You just looked back at him, matching his mischievous grin with a glare of your own.

“At your brother’s birthday, really Sam?”

You countered, slapping his hand off of you once again.

“I’m just really, really cold y/n, I’m just asking you to come get my jacket with me.”

“Get it yourself.”

You retorted, crossing your arms against your chest.

This time he just moved his hand to the back of your neck, trailing his fingers into your hair, gripping at your roots and tugging down gently.

“I’ll get lost,” he frowned disappointedly, looking down at you.

His hand tightened around the fistful of hair he had in his hand.

You let a small gasp fall from your lips, cursing yourself for giving him any reaction. As much as you felt guilty about even the prospect of sneaking off to hook up with Sam in Josh’s house, you just couldn’t help yourself around him.

“I-I guess I could help you out.”

You managed out the words.

The corner of Sam’s mouth quirked up into a satisfied grin as he softened his grip and returned his hand to his side.

“Great.”

You ventured inside, Sam’s hand ghosting your lower back whilst leading you through the yard and inside. A few people were in the house, getting caught up in conversation while waiting for the bathroom or grabbing food and drinks, but for the most part it was quiet. You stopped in front of the bedroom door, a door you had become far too acquainted with in the last year.

“After you.”

Sam motioned to the door and you twisted the knob, entering the guest room that was mostly a place for Josh to house all of his extra plants. Every window was bombarded with long dangling vines and the corners were scattered with terracotta pots resting on the floor. The room was dimly illuminated from the warm lights lining the backyard shining through the windows. You looked down to the bed, no coat to be seen.

“Looks like I must’ve left it somewhere else.”

Sam’s voice rang out quiet and smooth as he closed the door behind him, a small click sounding out as he turned the lock.

“Well, you are so forgetful.”

You teased, moving your way towards him and resting your palms on his chest as you stared up at him. His features were being lit up with the dull warmth of outside, the sharp curves of his nose and the impressive contour of his jaw. He parted his lips and smiled, that smile made you weak.

“It seems that way.”

He brought his hand up to your face, cradling your jaw firmly in his palm.

You told yourself not to enjoy moments like this, not to make yourself believe in the fantasy that was you and Sam. It was hard, at times like these, when he touched you so softly, looked at you so sweetly, spoke to you with such phantom flattery. When it was just you and him, alone, it seemed like so much more, it seemed real.

He swept his tongue over his lips and your eyes darted down, focused intensely on the way it made his lips glisten. You let your hands wander lower until your fingers hooked over the waistband of his pants. You had learned what Sam had liked in the last few months, what he didn’t like, and what drove him absolutely wild.

He brought his face down to yours, painfully slowly, stopping as his lips sat only a centimeter away from yours, breaths warm on each other's faces. The ends of his hair fell in front of his face and tickled your nose. It was shorter now, not even reaching his shoulders.

“Should I fuck you now?”

He questioned, his voice deep and soft as his chest rose and fell.

You only matched his stare, eyes wide as you caught your bottom lip between your teeth.

“Should I fuck you hard right here while everyone else is outside?”

His other hand came up to cradle the other side of your face, his eyes were transfixed on your lips now, never glancing anywhere else.

“Hmm? Should I?”

He asked again, waiting for anything, a nod, a hum of recognition, a shift in your stance.

“Yeah, I think you should.”

You answered, tightening your grip around his jeans. His lips jumped into a satisfied grin, pulling your face towards him and kissing you. Your lips moved together quickly as they connected, you both knew each other, your lips, your bodies, the way one another moved. He tasted of whiskey and cigarettes, a pairing you would normally cringe at, but when it came to Sam, it was so perfect. You were addicted to it, how he tasted, how he felt, his skin against yours, his voice whispering your name and his teeth nipping at your neck, you couldn't get enough.

He pulled away, pushing you back and onto the bed, his chest heaving with excitement and his lips flushed pink. You fell onto your back, propping yourself up on your forearms to look at him, a satisfied smirk growing on your lips as he pulled his shirt over his head, discarding it onto the floor. He moved towards you, stopping once he stood in front of you, your hands hurriedly moving to his belt, undoing it sloppily. He grabbed at your hair again, tugging lightly to make you look up to him as your hands continued working until his pants hung open on his hips..

He liked that, when you watched him.

“Just a quick one,” he smirked, “can’t miss cake.”

He released you, shoving his pants and underwear down and releasing his hard cock as he ran his hand over himself a few times.

“Is that all for me?”

You questioned as he began to crawl on top of you.

He chuckled under his breath, “Yeah, it is. You gonna be good for me and take it all?”

His fingers worked at unbuttoning the top of your dress, snaking a hand under and squeezing at the supple flesh of your ass once your breasts were exposed in the parting of your top.

You bit your lip to stifle a whimper as his hand slipped under your underwear, fingers moistening themselves in your arousal before bringing them up and teasing your clit.

“Mhmm,” you managed out, one hand grasping at the bedsheets beside you as the other entangled itself in Sam’s hair.

“God,” he hummed out, slipping a finger inside of you, “always so wet for me, aren’t you?”

He chuckled, a cocky grin finding home on his lips. He moved his gaze from where his hand was working underneath your dress, now scrunched up and settled on your waist, to your eyes, waiting for a response.

“Y-yeah, Sammy, I am.”

You whimpered out, the nickname he once hated now sounding so sweet coming from your lips.

“That’s my good girl,” he added another finger, pumping in and out of you slowly while his thumb ghosted your clit, his hard cock pressing needily on the inside of your thigh.

Your mouth hung open in ecstasy, he was so good with his fingers. His lips trailed down your neck and to your chest, leaving a scattering of slowly fading red marks down your sternum.

“You’re so slutty, angel, so hot.”

He mumbled against your skin, taking his fingers out of you and pushing your pantied aside, quickly lining himself up with your entrance.

You shuddered as he pushed into you, he was big, and no matter how many times or how hard he fucked you, it always felt so delicious the first time he pushed into you.

He whimpered above you, small moans falling from his lips as he slowly rolled his hips into you, a hand bracing himself on the headboard above you.

His hips met yours again, burying himself completely inside of you. A hand slipped under the opening in your top, grasping at your breast as he pounded into you, faster and harder each time, slamming the bed against the wall.

“F-fuck, Sam,” you struggled out.

“Pretty girls don’t use words like that.”

He strained out, taking himself out of you completely before slamming himself back into you.

You groaned out and nodded, Sam always got what he wanted, and this was no different.

He continued a grueling pace, his fingers moving between your legs and circling your clitwith his thumb and his palm rested on your lower stomach. You gasped, trying your best to quiet the moans trapped in your throat.

“God, S-Sam..”

Your words trailed out as he moaned in response. That familiar feeling began tumbling down into the pits of your stomach and coursing down through your legs.

“D-don’t stop Sam.”

You managed out, whimpers falling deliciously from your lips. Upon those words, Sam sped his fingers up, playing with your clit as his cock managed to find that spot deep inside of you, hitting it over and over again.

You began to become undone around him, your legs shaking as your eyes tightened shut.

“Look at me while you do it, watch me as I fuck you so good you cum all over me you slut.”

He groaned out as you peeled your eyes open, staring at him. His eyebrows were drawn down and his lips were parted. His eyes were unwavering as they bore down into your own.

“It feels good, doesn’t it? I make you feel so good, don’t I?”

His voice rang out, an evil smirk crawling onto his lips.

You whimpered out, matching his stare as your eyebrows knitted together and you hurtled towards your finish.

“You look so pathetic, am I really that good?”

He chuckled out.

All you could manage was a whine as he continued unraveling you.

“Am I?”

He pushed.

“Y-yes, you are Sam, you’re so good.”

He grinned as he sped his fingers up.

“Just good?”

He asked again.

“No Sam, you’re great, you’re amazing, you feel amazing!”

You exclaimed, legs shaking and squeezing together as you came around him. His hand pressed against your mouth, muffling your moans as he shuddered inside of you, panting out expletives.

“Sam?”

An all too familiar voice sounded out as footsteps approached the door.

You and Sam just stared at one another as you shoved him off of you, springing up from the bed and pulling your dress down and buttoning up the top.

“Fuck.”

You mumbled out, a knock sounded out on the door as you hurriedly slipped your shoes back on.

You ran your fingers through your hair and wiped whatever makeup had smeared off from under your eyes, hoping to look presentable enough. Sam pulled his legs through his pants quickly, abandoning the belt and his shoes and just buttoning the jeans before throwing his wrinkled top over his head.

He opened the door and there stood Danny.

“They’re making a toast…someone said they saw you come in here-”

His voice faded out as he spotted you over Sam’s shoulder, straightening your dress.

“Sam forgot his coat.”

You blurted out.

He only nodded slowly as Sam slipped past him, offering an awkward pat on his shoulder.

You weren’t sure why you didn’t want Danny to know, after all he was the one who was constantly trying to get you together and make you feel better when Sam was off with another girl. There was this weird feeling in your chest though, an odd heaviness when he stared at you with suspicion dampening his features.

You averted your gaze, shrinking in on yourself and walking up to him.

“Did you get it?”

He asked.

“W-what?”

“The coat, did you guys get Sam’s coat?”

You looked up at him, your face going hot.

“Oh, um, no…no it wasn’t in here,” you trailed off, walking past him to rejoin the party outside, your underwear pooling with the uncomfortable wetness of Sam’s release- it made you want to cry for some reason.

You walked outside, Sam was with his brothers, arms hung around their shoulders, cheering as everyone raised their glasses and candles were blown out. That heaviness in your chest weighed down on you further watching them.

You took a deep breath turning away and getting into your car. You drove home, not even bothering to put any music on. You knew if you did, you wouldn’t have even heard it, you felt weird. A gross feeling crawled under your skin and set heavy atop your chest. You pulled into your parking lot, putting your car into park with a long sigh, resting your forehead against the steering wheel as the dim glow of street lights seeped into your car.

You checked your phone, it was only 9:30 and with a 20 minute drive from Josh’s, you had stayed at the party for a whopping one hour. As your senses came back to you, the heaviness began to disappear and was instead replaced with a nagging panic. You took your phone into your hand, typing quickly as you mumbled various curses at yourself.

To Jake, Josh:

9:31 pm

So sorry I didn’t get to wish you guys happy birthday tonight, started feeling really unwell and had to drive home. Hope you guys have a great night, have a drink for me!

You sighed as you buried your face in your hands, throwing your phone aside. You stilled for a moment, contemplating how dumb you were and why on earth you cared so much that Danny might have now known about you and Sam.

You rubbed your face with the heels of your palms, scratching at your scalp and hair with your fingers, exhaling a lone line of grunts and moans until you recoiled your hands, a mess of hair falling in front of your eyes as you did so.

Your phone dinged and you shoved it into your purse, assuming it was just Josh or Jake texting you back as you grabbed your things and walked up to your apartment.

You collapsed onto your couch, not minding to turn on any lights as you buried your face into a discarded blanket crumpled lamely in the corner of the sofa.

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*knock* *knock*

You parted your eyes lazily as they adjusted to the dark interior of your living room. As your vision cleared and the momentary fog washed from your mind, you pushed yourself up and grabbed your phone to check what time it was.

1:24 am

You wiped the line of drool peeking out of the corner of your mouth as you ran a hand through your hair and stood up, groaning as your body slumped with tiredness.

Another knock sounded out, a bit more forceful than the one that had woken you up.

Who the hell was at your door this late?

You peered out your peep hole, eyebrows jumping as you looked again to make sure you weren’t mistaken.

You undid the numerous locks lining your door that Jake had come over and installed one day after reading an article about the dangers single women face whilst living alone, and slowly opened your door.

His head shot up to you as you opened the door, his hands clenching and flexing at his side.

“Danny…”

You let the word tumble out of your mouth, more of a question than a greeting. He only nodded his head, letting himself in and pushing past you, immediately pacing your living room, bringing his thumb up to his mouth and anxiously biting at the tip of it, a habit he’s had since you’d met him.

You closed the door after him and flipped on the living room lights, that heaviness in your chest returning, but also a sense of worry and confusion.

Why was he here so late and why did he look like he was about to disclose the location of a body he had buried years past?

“Danny what’re you doing here-”

“I texted you,” he blurted out, immediately returning to chewing on the tip of his thumb, finally stilling his pacing as you walked to your purse, taking out your phone and scrolling through your notifications.

Danny: Where are you?

9:34 pm

Danny: I’m coming over once this is done.

10:17 pm

Danny: Are you asleep?

12:05 am

Danny: I’m almost here.

1:13 am

You sighed out going through the messages as he watched you, eyes like a hawk.

“Sorry, fell asleep..”

You trailed off hugging your arms around yourself awkwardly as you stood in front of Danny on opposite ends of the living room.

He forced his hand down and instead crossed his arms, shifting his weight from one foot to another.

“Danny, you’re scaring me, what’s going on!?”

You finally gave in, becoming anxious just watching him.

His mouth parted and his eyebrows drew downwards as his eyes widened. He let out a scoff, staring at you as if you were the dumbest person on the planet.

“What’s going on!?”

He repeated, a wild grin erupting onto his face as his eyebrows jumped up and he threw his arms in the air.

“What’s going on is you’ve been fucking my best friend for 3 months!”

He exclaimed, stomping up towards you and stopping in front of you, his features hardening, his chest rising and falling dramatically as he reveled in his anger. You just looked back at him, cheeks red with guilt, your stomach knotting uncomfortably with shame as you averted your gaze from him.

“H-he told you?”

Danny calmed for a moment, nodding his head as his lips pressed into a firm line.

“Yeah, he did, but God forbid anyone tells Danny anything!”

Your lips morphed into an uncomfortable frown and your eyes drifted to staring at the dripping kitchen faucet across the room that you’d been meaning to fix for the past few days, too nervous to look at him.

“I-I’m sorry Danny, I just-”

“You just what!?” Danny fixed his hands on his hip, done with the dramatics as his features fell in disappointed expectance and he stepped towards you, leaving only about two feet of distance between you two, “you just thought you’d fuck my best friend behind my back. God, y/n, are you that stupid?!”

You snapped your gaze back to him, the heaviness in your chest morphing into something closer to rage.

“No Danny, I’m not stupid,” you started, not minding whether or not your neighbors could hear the two of you, “is it so insane to think that maybe I’m a grown woman who can decide who she wants to and doesn’t want to have sex with?”

Your body heated up with that familiar feeling as your mind began to fog and your hands began to shake. Danny knew it well, how mad you could get, when your adrenaline kicked in and all your body told you was fight.

But Danny wasn’t going to back down tonight, not how he usually did when it came to you.

“Yes, it is insane because you aren’t grown, you are a kid, a stupid fucking kid that’s fucking a guy who isn’t even interested in you!”

His hands flew up past your ears as his eyes practically bulged out of their sockets. His face was red with rage as you drew your eyebrows down and your mouth hung open at his words.

“If he wasn’t interested in me than why has he been fucking me for 3 months Danny?!”

“Because you’re easy!”

Danny yelled and the room immediately went still, his face dropped a bit, anger still laced through his features, but his eyes softened, like he knew he screwed up.

Your shoulders slumped and you felt the heat drain from your body, a single scoff leaving your lips.

“I’m easy Danny? Really?”

He chewed on his bottom lip, his eyes searching the room instead of looking at you.

“I-that came out wrong,” you only offered a cold laugh in response, “for him, it’s easy for him. He already knows you, feels comfortable with you…I just don’t want him to hurt you because I know how you feel about-”

You cut him off, the warmth coursing under your skin again.

“No! You have no idea how I feel, Danny, you don’t.”

You said harshly, trying to convince him and maybe even yourself, but at that moment, you had no time to offer him any acknowledgment that he may have been right.

“And so what if it’s easy, that’s what friends with benefits are.”

“You can’t be serious?”

He scoffed, rolling his eyes in frustration.

“Why not? Why is it so mind blowing that I would want to have casual sex?! Tell me Danny, what is so awful about that idea that you cannot even comprehend it?!”

You yelled in one breath, your face getting red as you gasped for a breath, your hands and arms motioning wildly as you spoke.

“I just thought you’d have a little more respect for yourself, that’s all.”

He rubbed his forehead, sighing the last part of his sentence out as you just stared at him dumbfounded.

“And you had to come all the way here at one in the morning to tell me that, to tell me that I’m a slut for screwing your best friend, Danny?”

“That’s not what I said Y/n-”

“Yeah, well, you might as well have.”

Danny took a long breath, closing his eyes and exhaling shakily.

“All I’m saying,” he paused for a moment, opening his eyes to look at you, “is I think it’s a bad idea.”

Your face contorted in acute bewilderment.

“Then why on earth did you try and help me make him jealous? Why were you constantly pushing for us to get together? Just so you could show up to my house and berate me about it.”

“I guess I just thought you’d know better, that it was just some stupid infatuation.”

His words came out sharp as his jaw clenched and his arms crossed over his chest again and he stared at you, seething.

“I guess you thought wrong, Danny,” you relented, shaking your head, “now get the fuck out.”

You walked towards the door, opening it and holding it open for him to leave.

He looked at you, his features still hard, his mouth still pressed into that firm line, the wrinkles between his eyebrows heavy.

“Whatever,” he mumbled, walking past you and out the door, stilling for a moment in the hallway, his mouth parting as if he wanted to say something.

Instead, you beat him to it.

“And just so you know, the sex is amazing.”

Pressing your lips into a condescending smile, you slammed the door, slumping over as you came down. Now that he was gone, now that the heat had dissipated and your mind cleared, that heaviness came back, weighing you down further than before. You didn’t believe the things he said, you didn’t want to at least, but his words floated in the air around you, wandering in your thoughts every time you breathed in. You peeled your feet off the floor, they felt heavy, and walked yourself to your bedroom, throwing your body onto the unmade bed covered in potential outfits from earlier in the night. Shuffling your way out of your dress, you crawled under the blankets, letting the cool air of the window you had forgotten to close earlier chill your bare shoulders. You felt a warmth spread under your cheek on your pillow and you opted to believe it was nothing, that you definitely were not crying.

In your entire time of knowing him, you had never seen Danny that angry. The only fights you had ever been in were over pointless artificial things, mostly withering down to a joke or finding amicable ends. None of them had ever been like this, you couldn’t think of a time Danny ever spoke to you like that, ever raised his voice like that. Even the way he looked, with wild eyes, tensed jaw and furrowed eyebrows, you had never seen before. You felt your body shake as the patch of warmth grew under your cheek. You wondered if Sam had ever talked about you to Danny, if that was why he was so mad, if you really were stupid. You buried your face in your hands, crying silently into them as you tried to will the tears back, you wouldn’t give either of them the further satisfaction of your tears, they didn’t deserve them.

Your phone buzzed and your heart leapt. You wondered if it was Sam, asking if you had gotten home safe and if everything was okay, or if it was Danny, apologizing and asking for your forgiveness, he would never want to lose a friend like you.

You picked up the phone, warm anticipation pooling in your chest.

Jake: Hope you’re feeling better!

2:01 am

Josh: *Image Attachment* For you!

2:02 am

You pressed your finger against the cold glass of your screen, watching as the video began, as all four of them swayed together, slightly toppling over each other, and sang a discombobulated melody.

“A drink for Y/n!”

Sammy slurred out as they all raised their glasses, chucking back what looked to be a shot of whiskey. Danny bombarded the camera man, his face uncomfortably close to the lens.

“Come back and save me from these lunatics!”

His voice rang out, you wondered when Sam told him, how he told him. Maybe it happened right after that video was taken.

You turned off your phone, tossing it to the other side of your bed, not bothering to set an alarm for the next morning, and drifted off to sleep, your chest heavy.

[cornychip]

Something More- Chapter 1

series

18+

Word Count: 3.4k

Chapter Summary: After moving to Nashville and rekindling your friendship with your hometown friends, the weight of your old high school crush comes back with force. Tired of seeing him with a new girl every night, you decide it’s time for things to change.

Pairings: SammyxReader

               Dannyxreader

Tropes: friends to enemies?

              enemies to lovers

              friends to lovers

Warnings: Alcohol consumption, Mentions and allusions to sexual activity

Part 2

Part 3

*comment if you would like to be on this series tag list!

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“He just gets this way when he’s drunk,” Danny leaned closer to you, his upper body hovering over the bar counter to look at you. You sat next to him stiffly, your eyes staring straight ahead as to avoid the situation unfolding to your left.

You only nodded your head and sipped your drink, trying your hardest not to look too pathetic next to his best friend.

“How often is he drunk then?”

You scoffed, downing your drink and rustling through your purse for your card.

“I’m closing my tab, you want anything before I go?”

Danny only pressed his lips into a disappointed frown, peering over your shoulder as Sam leaned even closer to the tall blonde he had been following around all night across the bar, his hand finding a home on her waist. He sighed, wishing he could somehow telepathically slap him upside the head and looked back at you.

“You’re not going home, you’re going to stay and get drunk with me-” Danny took the bit of plastic out of your hand, returning it to your purse, “-and then you’re gonna take off your coat, dance with Josh and I, and make Sam insanely jealous.”

“Danny, really I just want to go home.”

Danny lowered his eyebrows giving you a stern look.

“And let him ruin your night, nope, not on my watch, you’re going to have fun tonight, I’v decided right here and now!”

You mustered up a smile, finally turning your head to look back at Danny, a playful smirk smeared on his lips.

“Yeah, I guess that sounds like a plan.”

Danny silently cheered, pumping his fists up and down in celebration before calling over the bartender and ordering you both shots.

“To the hottest girl in the bar,” Danny raised his eyebrows playfully at you, “To Danny Wagner, the hottest bitch in this bar tonight!”

The two of you chuckled and clinked your glasses together before tapping them on the bar and chucking them back, a sweet burning making its way down your throats.

You sneaked a glance behind you as Danny preoccupied himself with ordering more drinks. His hands were settled on her hips now, his face nestled into the crook of her neck as she covered her mouth to stifle laughs at whatever dirty things were coming out of Sam’s lips. You let your face drop for a moment before returning the stretched smile to your lips and facing Danny’s direction.

You weren’t quite sure when the infatuation began, maybe it had always been there. Perhaps it had been sparked the day you met the two boys in high school, squeaky voices, acne scattered faces and all. Or maybe it began more recently, Sam did look especially mouth watering wearing nothing but dress pants and a bass strapped across his chest.

You were sure everyone but Sam knew about your sad little crush, though Danny was the only one you ever confided in, mostly against your will with his constant pestering and prodding. You imagined you wouldn’t still be hanging round them if it weren’t for Danny. Despite how much you loved all the others, there was only so much of Sam disappearing for hours at a time with beautiful women you could take. If it weren’t for Danny, you were sure your breaking point would have happened long ago.

“Drink up, you still look too depressed to dance!” Danny yelled over the increasingly loud bar.

The live band that had been setting up for the past half hour had finally started to play and people were beginning to stream onto the small dance floor in front of the slightly platformed stage. You took a swig of whatever drink Danny had gotten the hankering for that night and kept going until once again your cup was empty and your head began to go light and fuzzy with the sweet effects of alcohol.

“Josh! Jake!!” Danny yelled over the bar where the twins were involved in a seemingly very heated and very drunken debate.

The two stumbled over, babbling over themselves and shushing the other to get their words out first.

“Okay- shut up Jake- okay, would you rather-”, “I don’t care, take a shot with us!” Danny yelled out, stopping Josh short of continuing whatever fight the two were previously in.

Both Jake and Josh seemingly forgot whatever it was they were arguing over at the mention of shots and lined up next to you as the bartender came over with 8 shot glasses of liquor.

“Down the hatch boys and girls!” Danny exclaimed, holding one glass in each hand.

You mimicked him, finding yourself with two shots of tequila gracing your fingertips.

“1, 2 ,3!”

In unison, the four of you threw back the first shot. Your eyes squeezed shut at the burning and bitterness before forcing the other one down, patting around the bar for the bowl of limes before bringing one up to your lips and biting into it.

“One more drink and I think it’ll be dancing time!” Danny jumped his eyebrows up and down as he moved his face closer to yours, his bottom lip caught between his teeth.

“Are you trying to kill me, Wagner?!”

You chuckled, wiping the remnants of lime juice off your lips with the back of your hand. Danny’s eyes darted down quickly to watch as you did so, his gaze returning to your eyes as quickly as it left.

“Yes, I am,” He smirked, eyes never leaving yours as he grabbed another drink off the counter and shoved it in your hand.

“Drink quick, I want a good spot on the dance floor.”

Danny chugged his drink in one go as you managed a few large gulps to try and keep up with him. You slammed your glass on the counter only a few seconds after he did and shook off your jacket, revealing the sheer black top, black skirt and tights you had hidden under your bulky, old denim jacket.

“Sam’s a fucking idiot,” Danny chuckled as you threw the jacket onto the back of your stool and grabbed his hand.

“Josh, come dance!” Danny yelled as you pulled him towards the stage, knowing Jake would prefer sitting by the bar and maybe sauntering over later on his own accord.

As expected, Josh immediately hopped up, taking one last sip from his drink and jogging over to you and Danny who already made a place for yourselves in the middle of the dance floor. The band was on fire, playing hit after hit as the three of you drunkenly jumped together to whatever early 2000’s punk pop song they were covering.

“You wanna make him jealous?” Danny whispered into your ear, though it was more of a low yell as the song began to change and shift gears.

Your cheeks flushed with jealousy, remembering again the way Sam was leaning into her. You nodded up at him and he flashed a grin.

He grabbed your waist, pulling you in closer to him, sliding one hand farther down to rest low on your hip and the other on the small of your back. He pressed himself against you, the two of you swaying against each other to the music. You could feel yourself getting hot, though you weren’t sure if it was because of Danny or the fearsome anticipation of Sammy seeing you like this with his best friend.

You had almost forgotten that Josh was behind you until his hand snaked up your side, riding up the fabric of the mesh top as his hand settled on the skin of your waist. He pressed his chest to your back as you lolled your head back, resting it on Josh’s shoulder as you swayed against him and Danny.

Everything moved in slow motion, the live music had melted into the background as well as the rest of the bar. All that was certain were Josh and Danny’s hands pulling you back and forth between the two of them. You rested your hand on Danny’s hip, your fingers hooked around his belt loops as the other reached behind to hug at the back of Josh’s neck.

Josh was drunkenly giggling behind you, gyrating his hips in the most over the top manner to the bass of the song. You let an easy smile rest on your lips as you swayed back and forth with the two, your back pressed into Josh’s chest as your hips moved against Danny’s.

“I’m gonna get another drink!” Josh yelled to the both of you.

You nodded your head and his hands slipped off of your waist and the warmth behind you disappeared.

“You down for one more song?” Danny asked over the music and chatter.

“Show me what you got Wagner!” You yelled.

The side of his lip quirked up into a giddy smirk as he moved his hands up and down your sides, gripping your hips before turning you around, your back to his chest just the way it had been with Josh, only much much closer. He was pressed against you completely, his hips just meeting the small of your back as your ass pressed against his lap. His hands were steady on your hips, fingertips squeezing at your sides. You began moving together, his hips moving in sync with yours.

You could hear your heartbeat ringing in your ears as his fingers pressed deeper and deeper into your sides and your hips moved with the other. You threw your arm around his neck. His hand danced up your side and trailed up your neck, moving your hair over one shoulder and grazing his cheek up your exposed neck until his lips found themselves centimeters from your ear.

“He’s looking,” he exhaled, and for once, you didn’t remember what he was talking about.

He chuckled, realizing your confusion.

“Sam, he’s staring at you,” Danny breathed into you, resting his chin on your shoulder as his hand grazed the side of your neck.

You trailed your gaze over to the corner of the bar finding a pair of eyes glued onto you. He stood lazily holding his drink with his back leaned against the bar. His eyebrows were drawn down and his lips pressed together into that bratty frown he always wore when he didn’t get his way. You smirked, matching his stare for a moment, realizing that his tall blonde was nowhere to be seen.

The music slowed, the drummer’s symbols faded out with the song. Danny removed his grip from you as you unwrapped your arm from his neck. You turned facing him, quickly darting your gaze away from his, though you weren’t quite sure why you felt so embarrassed. You had danced with Danny plenty of times, why this time was any different you didn’t know.

His eyes fixed over your shoulder.

“I think someone’s waiting for you,” He nodded his head over towards Sam and you turned just far enough to see him out of the corner of your eye.

You looked back to Danny, a part of you wanting to just go back to the bar and chat with him and the twins. You inhaled a long breath and turned on your heel, making your way over to the other side of the bar before you could talk yourself out of it, the feeling of Danny’s hands on your hips still hot on your skin.

You shouldn’t have been so nervous. You had known Sam upwards of ten years, though after high school the time you spent with them was very few and far between. You had only started seeing them somewhat regularly again since moving to Nashville about a year ago. Still, walking up to Sam should not have warranted the nervousness settling uncomfortably in the pit of your stomach.

“Having fun?”

He asked quickly as you stood next to him, mirroring the way he leaned against the edge of the bar with his elbows resting on the counter behind him.

You nodded your head in response, letting a cheeky smirk crawl onto your lips.

“What’re you drinking?” He questioned, turning around to flag down a bartender.

You thought for a bit, wondering what it was you were drinking before Danny bombarded you with a string of random drinks designed only to get you as drunk as possible as quickly as possible.

“Moscow mule,” you turned and rested your forearms on the bar, leaning your head to the side to unashamedly gawk at Sam. His hair was pulled back into a bun, though various stray curls peeked their way out from the confines of his hair tie, and he was sporting a denim button down, a few ornate necklaces that he had most likely stolen from Josh and Jake resting on his exposed chest.

He looked down at you, an amused smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as you continued your awestruck gaze up at him, a contented grin on your lips. The alcohol had finally started to settle into your veins, now that you weren’t dancing, and you no longer felt nervous. In fact, the more you stared at him, the more you so badly wanted him to know how attractive you found him, all the things you wanted to do to him, the things you wanted him to do to you.

“A moscow mule for the lady,” Sam handed over the drink, turning his body so he hovered over you as you rested your head in the palm of your propped up arm.

You straightened up, taking the drink from his hand.

“I’m upset I wasn’t invited to the dance floor with you guys,” Sam began, leaning close to your ear so you could hear him, though the music was so much quieter this far away from the stage, it wasn’t necessary.

Just one of his many moves, you thought, remembering the way he leaned into the girl’s neck from earlier and how she laughed at whatever he whispered to her. He had never used any of them on you, and although you could already feel a growing desire between your legs, the prospect of being just another girl he used the same recycled moves on to get into his bed sent a wave of disappointment through you.

“You seemed a little preoccupied,” you attempted an unbothered tone, though the words came out far more venomous than intended.

He was taken aback, the way his eyebrows jumped slightly and the playful smirk he was sporting fell. He recovered quickly, though, pulling his lips back into a grin as he carefully leaned away from you, shuffling his weight to his other leg.

You turned your head away, catching sight of Danny and the twins. Of course Josh and Jake were gesturing and speaking wildly as Danny just overlooked, an open-mouthed and amused grin present on his face.

The thought of his lips next to your ear and his hand on your neck came rushing back to you, a warmth bloomed on your skin. You looked away quickly as the memory began to brew in your head.

“If I didn’t know any better I’d say you were jealous,” Sam’s voice snapped you back to reality and you turned to meet his eye.

You furrowed your brows together and you could feel heat rushing to your cheeks.

“Good thing you don’t know any better,” you mumbled out with a weak voice as you rolled your eyes at him, cheeks red from being caught.

His confidence came creeping back as quickly as it had left and he leaned back into you, a hand snaking behind you and resting opposite your body on the counter.

You could already feel yourself melting the way that Sam could always make you melt, no matter what he did or how awful he made you feel. You hated yourself for it, the hold he had on you, but it felt so good, his eyes on you, and only you, his fingers grazing your side, his full, undivided attention on just you and no one else, even if it just was for the moment.

His arm now wrapped around your waist as his hand found rest on your hip. You sipped on your drink as Sam casually watched the band perform across the bar and tried to ignore the huge weight that was his hand lightly squeezing at your side.

The relationship the two of you had never ventured any farther than a casual drunken flirt which, given enough liquor, wasn’t unusual for Josh or even Danny. It was never anything like this.

He tilted his head back to you and you held his stare with your own. Whether or not the thought of Sam in your bed, the bar bathroom, his studio was constant in your mind, you were the prize of the night, and you had to act like it.

“I couldn’t stop staring at you,” Sam leaned in close again, his breath hitting your cheek.

You stared up at him with slight confusion, his eyes creasing as a knowing smile crept up on his lips.

“That's why she left, I couldn’t stop watching you-” his hand trailed up and down your side, “-you screw up my game y/n.”

A sore reminder, Sammy.

You thought, because at the end of the day, it was not only you he stared at, and it was not only you his fingers danced on. In fact, the reason he had never used any of his moves on you was because he had not wanted to. Not until somebody else feigned interest in you, or until he had nobody else to use them on.

You narrowed your eyes at him, “Hasn’t seemed to be much of an issue in the past, Sammy.”

You retorted, knowing how much he hated it when you called him that.

As expected, his arrogance fell, his jaw tensed and he inhaled a sharp breath. His hand fell from your side, resting limply on the bar behind you.

Why did you even like him?

He was arrogant, selfish, seeping with conceit. You felt a burning in your chest, you felt so stupid, as if you were finally seeing him for who he was.

Your heart sank almost immediately, though, and your expression softened from its previous seething glare. You remembered the way he was, how he really was. The Sammy from high school. The Sammy that always yelled your name from across the hall with no regard for anyone else, huddling you and your embarrassment with a lanky arm around your shoulder. The Sammy that tried his hardest to visit you at college when a gig or tour brought them to your area, the first couple of years anyway.

The Sammy right here and the Sammy from the last year was a different person. You weren’t sure if he had changed truly, or if things had just become too different, too distant. Your phone calls and texts dwindled to close to nothing the following years after high school. An occasional ‘how have you been’ and annual happy birthdays and merry christmases were the extent of your relationship until you moved to Nashville.

That Sammy made you weak at the knees, that Sammy could do anything to you and you would always come crawling back for more.

“I’m gonna head home I think,” his voice finally sounded out.

You only nodded your head as you stared down at our drink, disappointment settling in your chest despite the resentment minutes before.

“You wouldn’t want to come with, would you?”

Your head shot up, he was staring down at you, acute anticipation smeared across his features.

Hook, line and sinker.

A smile tugged at the corner of your lips, you nodded your head as you felt a slight warmth settle in the apples of your cheeks. You wouldn’t allow yourself to think about the foreseeable regret right then, not when his hand fell and rested on the small of your back, guiding you through the crowd and helping you with your jacket and scarf. Not when his fingers found their place on your thigh during the car ride back, and definitely not when he closed the door to his apartment and cradled your jaw in his palm, lips melting into yours, careful and testing.

It was so hard to fathom the taste of disappointment and regret when he tasted so good. When his hips felt so sweet slamming against yours.

“Does it feel good, beautiful?”

“Show me how good I make you feel.”

Not even when he laid next to you, tracing small circles on your back and trailing feather light kisses against your shoulders.

[cornychip]

Hoping they release more East coast dates because I was not about to battle for my life in msg

[cornychip]

[cornychip]

[cornychip]

IT LOOKS SO GOOD OMG

HIS HAIR MY BABYGIRL!!!!!!

[cornychip]

Someone show me the he job (jakes bob) right now I need to see it in action

[cornychip]

This one literally made me cry, I’m spiraling

[cornychip]

HIS FACE AT THE END IS SO FUNNY HES SUCH A WEIRD LITTLE CUTE GUY