Beside You

“I’d thought I find you here.”

Addy looked away from the screen that was currently playing Bride Wars, which one of her favorite movies, to the person who interrupted her. “Yeah, well, how else should I spend my free time?”

It was a few days into tour, and the crew finally had some free days to relax and enjoy the city that they were currently in. Addy had gotten used to the rush of running a merch booth, and barely having any personal down time, but it didn’t mean that she didn’t miss it. She missed not having to share a bathroom with four guys and some of the girls if they decided to stay. The only girl that was around now was Julia, but Addy barely saw her since she spent all of her free time with Matt and vice versa.

“We need to talk.”

Addy paused the movie, and shifted her body so she was facing Josh. “About?”

“About what happened a few days ago.”

“Oh.” Addy whispered; she didn’t want to talk about the almost kiss with Josh ‘cause that’s all it was going to be, an almost kiss. “It was nothing Josh, nothing happened, no need to worry about it.”

Josh half-smiled; that wasn’t the reaction what he wanted, he wanted her to tell him that she wanted it to happen just as much as he did. He was willing to forget about Amanda just for a split second just so he could feel her lips against his. “Okay.” Josh ran his hand through his blue and black hair, “Why do you still have it?”

Addy raised an eyebrow, “Have what?”

“The necklace.”

Addy smiled, a real genuine smile. “My best friend gave it to me, why wouldn’t I keep it?” Hearing that caused a wide grin to stretch across Josh’s face; Matt was right. If Addy didn’t care about him anymore why would she keep it? So, her keeping it must mean something, or that even after all these years, she still cared for him deeply. “Anything else you would like to say?”

“Nope.” Josh grabbed her opened Coke Zero from the table next to her. “Do you?”

Addy licked over her bottom lip, “Actually, yeah.”

Josh chuckled, “Tell me.”

“Promise not to judge?” Addy asked and her reply was Josh nodding his head. “When I was seventeen, I was completely and utterly in love with you.” Josh felt his jaw open and close a few times. He was shocked, speechless; he just didn’t know how to respond to that. Could that have been why her leaving was so dramatic? Did she leave because the love of her seventeen years of life was addicted to a horrible drug? Was that why she was so hurt? “You promised not to judge…”

“I’m not,” Josh muttered quickly, he could never judge her badly. “I’m just shocked… that you felt that way about me.”

“Yeah,” Her voice was becoming soft. “it doesn’t change anything between us though, right?” her eyes connected with his. To him, it changes everything completely since now he was starting to develop feelings for her, deeper than they were when they were younger. If he had known then, he would have probably have fallen for her too. Then he would have been dating Addy instead of Amanda, but now that she used the past tense of her being in love with him, he knew that they could never be even if he was single and had a chance. He was completely screwed.

“Of course not.”

Addy smiled before she dropped her gaze to the ground, “I know about the song.”

“You do?”

Addy’s laugh was like music to his ears, “Carly told me the story behind it.” Josh rolled his eyes, mental noting that he had to discuss what Carly had done without his knowledge. “It was really sweet, and I loved it. Thank you.”

Josh grinned when he noticed a light shade of red cover her cheeks, “What?”

“Oh, nothing.”

“Oh come on, tell me.”

Addy looked at Josh, “Will you sing it to me?”

Josh rolled his blue eyes with a smirk on his face, “You don’t even have to ask.” Standing up from his spot on the couch across from the redhead, he went to the back of the tour bus, grabbed a guitar, came back and took his original seat. Josh flashed her a quick smile before strumming a few cords before he started to sing.

“When your tears are spent on your last pretense and your tired eyes refuse to close and sleep in your defense. When it's in your spine like you've walked for miles and the only thing you want is just to be still for a while.” Addy’s heart pounded against her chest as he sang so softly, and gently to her. She honestly felt like she was seventeen years old again with the way Josh was making her feel. “If your heart wears thin, I will hold you up and I will hide you when it gets too much, I'll be right beside you, nobody will break you…” Josh set his guitar aside when Addy stood up, and moved towards him.

Leaning down, she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Thank you for singing it to me.”

“Anytime.” Josh breathed out when she placed a kiss on his cheek before disappearing out of his view and to the back of the bus, probably to her bunk. Sighing, he realize that now all he had to do was make her fall in love with him again.

If it was even possible.