Hutch or Peck?

We arrived to Josh’s house precisely by Sam’s estimate of time. When we reached the front door, my nerves got the better of me and I didn’t even bother knocking. Sam stared at me before speaking.

“Mel, come on!” she said encouragingly.

“I can’t. What if his friends think I’m immature?” I asked sadly.

My sister sighed and placed her hands on my shoulders.

“Look at yourself, Melanie. You’re my twin; we’re both beautiful and if he doesn’t think you’re mature enough for your age, then forget him. I mean, he’s a great guy, but he’s like waaaay older than you. It wouldn’t be right, M,” she concluded.

I pulled away from her.

“Then why am I here?” I asked nearly raising my voice.

“Because you’re supporting your best friend in the time he needs you,” she answered easily.

I avoided her eyes as I heard her heels click clack a step closer to the door and she knocked rapidly. My eyes whipped up at her actions just as the door swung open revealing Josh in a pair of jeans, sneakers, and black t-shirt. His eyes landed on Sam first and then me seeing as I stood a little distance from her.

“Hey!” he exclaimed enthusiastically as music practically poured out loudly from the inside of the house.

He hugged Sam first and then me, but it was slightly longer than he hugged Sam. She stepped over the threshold greeting other people as her shy side kicked in while Josh was at my side and placed a hand to the small of my back and led me inside.

I hadn’t been to his house in a while and since Josh recently got his own home, it was the first time since I helped him unpack during a break I had from filming a commercial for some company I couldn’t remember.

My eyes wandered to the beautiful, white staircase compared to our brown one and although our house was bigger than his, Josh’s house was still cozy enough for at least 30+ people. There were people in the living room and my eyes landed on Drake Bell.

“Twins!” Drake said happily before rushing over to Sam first whom he hugged longingly.

I thought Sam had a thing for him at one point, but she always told me that she wasn’t into guys that much older than her. Soon enough, however, I noticed some familiar faces from the TEENick family. Miranda Cosgrove, Lindsey Shaw, Daniel Curtis Lee, Amanda Bynes, the entire cast of Zoey101, All That, and Unfabulous.

I knew Sam had a HUGE crush on both Devon Werkheiser and Sean Flynn, but she knew Devon was already taken, but that didn’t stop her from flirting with Sean. I glanced in her direction as she hugged all of the cast mates one by one and when she got to Sean, he whispered something in her ear before the two walked away from the group.

“Well, they didn’t waste any time,” Josh said bringing me out of my thoughts. I shook my head at his words as a smile spread across my lips. He smiled in turn before taking me by the hand. I looked down at his hand as he moved swiftly and didn’t give me time to think.

His hair was slightly messy, but I shook the thoughts away before I greeted everyone in turn as well. I noticed there were people there that were also celebrities, but hadn’t worked in or on TV shows of TEENick. Josh took me on a tour greeting them, but it was after he was done when my voice wanted to work again.

“I’m starving!” I got out nearly shouting since we were near the loud music which was hurting my ears, but Josh knew.

“Let’s get something to eat!” he said loudly leading me to his kitchen.

There was alcohol available, but judging how sober he was and the fresh smell of his breath, I could tell Josh hadn’t drunken any yet. He went to the already set trays and grabbed a couple of slices of meat lover’s pizza and bottle of punch for me as my eyes lit up with excitement; he remembered my favorite kind of pizza.

I gratefully took the food as he led me to the semi-crowded dining room. Luckily, the people there walked out as we walked in leaving us in peace.

He handed me some napkins just as I said grace and began eating.

“Are your feet hurting?” he asked with a slight laugh.

“A little, not much,” I answered honestly earning another laugh from him.

“So, what’s next for you?” I asked like I always did whenever he was filming an episode for Drake and Josh.

“We’re going to film another movie for the show even though it’s over,” he answered nonchalantly.

“Boo!” I said jokingly.

He took a napkin and threw it lightly at me saying, “Shut up,” in a playful tone, but his blue eyes said otherwise.

“What’s wrong?” I asked in a knowing tone.

“It just sucks the show is over. I mean, what am I going to do now?” he asked running a hand through his hair.

I placed a hand on his right one and stared at him wanting to do much more than just place my hand on his to comfort him.

“You do what you can. You’re an actor, after all,” I answered gently.

He exhaled a sigh before nodding his head. Suddenly, we heard a knocking at the door, but heard Drake said he’d get it. Soon enough, another cast member from the show and a celebrity guy whom I’d seen before entered the dining room. It was Allison Scaglotti and Josh Hutcherson. He stood in jeans, a t-shirt, and sneakers, but looked as though he wanted to be socializing.

Josh moved his hand from mine and walked over to Allison as they kissed briefly. I refrained from my eyes widening at the sight seeing as I didn’t know they were actually dating again. I wiped the shock from my face just as they turned towards me.

“Mel, you remember Allison, right?” he asked with a smile on his lips.

I nodded as I plastered a fake smile to my lips.

“Mm-hmm,” I answered flashing them a smile, but Hutcherson squinted his eyes slightly at me as though he knew something.

“I’ll go find Sam. I’m starting to get worried. It was nice meeting you again,” I concluded, but Hutcherson stopped me by speaking.

“I’ll help you look. That’s OK, right?” he asked Allison who nodded. My heels click clacked as I walked on not really caring about Hutcherson’s presence.

“Why did you decide to follow me?” I asked him about an inch taller than me as I was in my heels.

“It seemed like you needed someone to come with you,” he answered simply catching me off guard.

I turned to face him as we were near the basement and surprisingly alone.

“And why do you say that?” I asked getting defensive.

“You’re the one who looked surprised about Josh and Allison dating, not me,” he retorted.

My eyes widened as he hit a weak point in me. I turned from him as I felt the tears well up in my eyes.

“I didn’t know they were dating again,” I got out with a sniff.

Josh turned to face me and did something I didn’t expect; he embraced me in a hug. It wasn’t just any type of hug; it was one that was firm and comforting.

My eyes were slightly wide with shock as my voice regained itself.

“W-what are you doing?” I asked in a slightly frantic tone, but he ignored me.

“You looked like you needed one of these,” he said in a low tone.

I closed my eyes, but didn’t wrap my arms around him as the tears fell. When he heard or possibly felt them, he pulled from me and wiped my tears away.

“Keep your head up. You’re too pretty to cry over something like that,” he said catching me off guard even further.

I sniffed as the tears slowly ceased.

“Who are you to tell me if I can or can’t cry? I’m older than you!” I teased pushing him weakly with my right hand as my left wiped the remaining tears away.

He grabbed my hand just before a chuckle escaped him.

“Let’s find your friend Sam, right?” he asked wrinkling his brows as he remembered her name.

“She’s a friend, but she’s actually my twin sister,” I answered with a slight laugh.

“Whoops, sorry,” he said quickly, but I waved my left hand at him.

“It’s cool,” I replied nonchalantly.

We headed towards the dark hallway and landed upon a door which I assumed was either a room or bathroom. I was about to knock when I heard moaning and kissing.

“Yeah, we shouldn’t-,” I began, but Josh cut across me.

“No, we shouldn’t,” he agreed.

“Wanna get some air?” he asked as we approached the back door.

I shrugged my shoulders as he opened the door and we headed outside.