What's a Little Vertigo

"Hey Megan!" a distinctive male voice called out as I pushed the heavy glass door out of my way. I peered over my shoulder and sighed. What the hell did they want?
Ignoring the two annoyances that were now following me, I noticed Josh sitting in his car, patiently waiting for me to arrive. He had his head turned and apparently had not seen me.
"Awww. Come on Megan. I know you have better manners than that." A large hand grabbed my shoulder, spinning me around. I was met by two familiar faces, one male, one female. Gabe and Bailey.
"What the hell do you two want?" I hissed, crossing my arms over my chest defensively.
"You and that druggie have been getting pretty close lately, huh? What was his name… Justin… Jason… John?" Gabe said with a cocky smirk.
"It doesn't matter what the kid's name is Babe. It's not like he's going anywhere. Besides, she knows exactly who we are talking about." Bailey told the blonde haired boy, gazing down at her manicured nails, pretending she wasn't interested. I rolled my eyes and went to turn away, but Gabe's hand shot out once more and held me in place.
"Don't fucking touch me, you prick," I growled, shaking his hand off of my shoulder. I heard the slam of a car door closing in the distance.
"Remember your manners Ms. Webb," Gabe said under his breath. He advanced slowly towards me, his chest a mere foot aware from my own. "You wouldn't want me to get upset, would you?
"Back off Gabe."
"Why would I do that? Your lovely brother isn't here this time. I would be throwing an amazing opportunity away." I stepped back slowly, the boy's eyes were almost pitch black.
"I suggest you listen to her," Josh said darkly from behind me. I would recognize his voice anywhere, and he was fuming. "It may be the smartest decision you'll ever make." Josh smoothly shifted so that he stood in between Gabe and myself.
"Speak of the Devil and the Devil shall speak." Bailey chuckled. "We were just talking about you."
"Yeah, we thought you might be able to refer us to a good dealer. Word on the street is you have some experience." I could tell the comment cut deep. Josh had tightly clenched his fists, allowing his fingernails to dig into the skin of his palm. i comfortingly placed my hand on his lower back, and carelessly used my finger to trace designs on the fabric of his jacket. Josh moved into my touch, but kept his hands securely at his sides. Gabe laughed and shook his head at the sight.
"Good luck getting into her pants Bro. I dated her for two years, she never spread her legs once. How lame is that? Oh well. I've upgraded… and it looks like she's downgraded. Ehhh, beggars can't be choosers."
"Congratulations. You've won yourself a real good prize. Now why don't you do yourself a favor, and leave." Josh said with venom. "I'm sure you can find something better to do with your time. However, I might try doing something that isn't going to kill the few remaining brain cells you have left." He unclenched his left fist and reached back, waiting for me to intertwine my fingers with his own, before turning around. "But please, if you decide to fuck, make sure to wear protection. The world already has enough problems without you two reproducing."

Unlocking the door to my house, I walked over the threshold and dragged Josh into the living room. Oddly enough, neither my parents or Matt were home.
Josh had been really sweet on our way back to my place. He continually asked if I was alright, even though his last comment had me laughing so hard, I was left in tears.
"You know I'm going to tell your brother about this, right?"
"I know, and I'm not really for it." I told him, throwing my bag onto a chair and laying across the floor. Josh sat cross-legged beside me and dragged his fingers over the carpet.
"Why?"
"Matt already has enough to worry about, and besides I only have a month of school left."
"Yes, but I don't want you getting hurt. Matt needs to know that Gabe confronted you at school, so he can make sure Gabe doesn't come near you here. If you got hurt, and Matt could have done something to prevent it, he would be devastated."
"Look, I really don't want to get into a argument over this. I know you're going to tell him regardless. There are more important things I want to talk about."
"I'm just trying to get you to see the light Megs. Sometimes you can be stubborn." he paused briefly as a smirk grew across his face. "What important things do you want to talk about?"
"Josh, you know exactly what I want to talk about."
"You're right. I was thinking of changing a few chords in that new song… don't tell the guys." he teased
"Joshua, seriously."
"I am serious. If there are other things you want to talk about, you may have to clarify."
I groaned. "The kiss Josh, what does it mean for us?" I closed my eyes, waiting for his response.
"What do you want it to mean?" He was no longer joking around, his voice was quiet and filled with a mixture of emotion.
"Honestly, I don't know." I rolled over onto my side and looked up at him. His icy blue eyes were peering down on me intensely. "I know that I care about you; and I can see us as a couple. I just… I don't know."
"What is it? Tell me," he nearly whispered.
"I don't know Josh."
"You do know Megan. Don't spare my feelings, just tell me."
"It's just… I don't want you to become a rebound; and I don't want things to end like they did with Gabe."
"Do you really think I could ever hurt you like that?" His eyes filled with pain, sadness, and disbelief. I instantly regretted speaking.
"No, no Josh. It's not like that." I reached over and laced my fingers with his. "I know you would never do what Gabe did to me."
"Then what do you mean?" I was silent for awhile, thinking of what to say. Josh waited patiently for my answer, quietly playing with my hand.
"When things ended with Gabe, my whole life fell apart. If you hadn't been there, I don't know what would have happened. I'm just afraid that things won't work out, and I'll be back in an unhealthy position."
"I don't want you to be afraid Megan. I want you to be confident, to be 100% sure that you want to be with me."
"I am 100% sure that I want to be in a relationship with you. I just… come with a lot of baggage." Josh chuckled softly and ran a hand through his hair.
"Megan, I am a guy who suffers from depression, two eating disorders, and insomnia. I am a recovering heroin addict and a high school dropout. I have never been able to hold a stable relationship with a girl. Being with me is kind of a tall order."
I squeezed his hand. "I can handle that."
"And I can handle any problems you throw my way… if you give me the chance." I sighed contently and flashed him a gentle smile. "Wait, I'm confused. Was that a 'Yes Josh, I will be your girlfriend' or a 'No Josh, you are batshit insane, better luck next time?" I rolled my eyes and laughed.
"That was a yes." I told him, only for his eyebrows to raise in shock and a wide smile to form on his face. "We'll go slow, right?" Josh laughed and wrapped his arms around my torso, pulling me into his lap.
"Of couse Megs. We'll go as slow as you want to go."

A little less than an hour later, Matt strolled in through the door, twirling his keys on his right index finger. I was working on my Psychology homework, while Josh was was watching some movie on my t.v..
"Hello children. What's up?" My brother asked looking over my shoulder and shuddering.
"The sky." Josh answered dully, flipping the channel.
"That wasn't cheesy at all Josh." I said with a laugh, throwing my pen at his head. I looked back at Matt. "Where's Mom and Dad?"
"Central Europe I believe." I tilted my head to the right.
"But… you said…"
"I lied. It was all part of my plan; and it seems to have worked." Josh turned and looked at my brother.
"What plan?"
"My final attempt at getting the two of you together… or at least talking." I laughed while Josh flipped him off.
"I should charge you gas money."
"But you won't, because my plan worked flawlessly." Matt exclaimed happily. "Damn. If this whole being a musician thing doesn't work, I might become a professional wingman."
"You're delusional." I giggled, smacking his arm. Matt smiled and patted my head.
"So young one. How was school?"
"Fine," I said quickly, hoping Josh would also decide to drop the subject. I wasn't so lucky.
"You forgot to mention the part about Gabe in the parking lot." Matt's expression instantly changed.
"For his sake, I really hope I misheard you. What happened with Gabe in the parking lot?"
"He and Bailey confronted Megan on her way out of school." Matt's hands trembled and his eyes narrowed.
"I thought I told that bastard to leave her the hell alone. I guess I'm going to have to remind that little fuck about our last encounter. Are you coming Ramsay?" I jumped off of the chair, not even caring when all of my books fell to the floor.
"Matt, please stop. Nothing happened. Josh kept it from going too far. Can we not freakout about this right now?" Matt glared at me, but relaxed his facial features.
"Fine, but don't expect me to take this lying down. I'm not done with him yet. That kid is as good as dead." Matt concluded, stalking off into the kitchen.
I really did not like the sound of that.