More Than Friends (Lauren Cimorelli fanfic)

Friends...

Lauren's POV

He's nervous. I can tell because he's lost all color in his face. Maybe I shouldn't have pushed him. But then I noticed him thinking and getting ready to speak, so I just stayed quiet.

Josh- " Lauren I really haven't talked about this with anyone other than Natalie before. I mean people know but I don't talk about it. I don't want to tell you this and have you feeling bad for me."
Lauren- "Nothing you say is going to make me treat you any different."
I was kind of wondering if he did something. Or if he reacted badly because of something that happened.

Josh- "So a little over a year and a half ago me, Jacy, Natalie and my dad got in a car accident. We were driving back from the lake and a drunk driver hit us head on. Me and Jacy were in the back seat and Natalie and my dad were up front. My dad died on impact and Jacy got ejected from the car because she was wearing her seatbelt really loose so she could sleep. Me and Natalie were stuck in the car because of how we were hit. I was really dizzy because I hit my head on the glass, but I remember hearing Natalie crying and shaking my dad, begging him to wake up. When she realized that he wasn't going to she kept crying and asking if me and Jacy were okay. I said yeah but then that's when I looked over and I didn't see Jacy. I started to panic because I couldn't see her. Then I looked outside of the car and saw her laying in the road. She looked completely lifeless. I couldn't see her moving but me and Natalie couldn't get out to help her. Then I blacked out. Next thing I know I woke up to see my mom crying in the hallway of the hospital because her husband was dead and doctors weren't sure if they were going to be able to do anything for Jacy's leg (see pic above).... So you want to know what I'm scared of? I'm scared that one day I'll wake and the people I love won't be there anymore. That everything in my life will change because someone else screwed up."
Lauren- "I'm so sorry. I knew about your dad but not how. I don't know what to say."
Josh- "Yeah most people didn't know what to say after it happened."
Lauren- "Why haven't you talked to anyone else besides Natalie about this?"
Josh- "Because me and Natalie don't want the rest of our family to know what we saw or remember what we do. So when we get overwhelmed we just talk to each other about it. I always know she will get it."
Lauren- "I know I'm not your family. And I wasn't there so I won't get it in the way Natalie does. But the next time you get overwhelmed, call me. And I'll take you to another place that brings out your inner 5 year old like you did for me."
Josh- "I know I brought you here to cheer you up. But no ones ever really cared that much to actually ask what's going on or how I was feeling. So thank you. Seriously." He have me an appreciative smile.
I don't get how he was so positive all the time when he went through all of that. I've never seen him be rude to anyone. He's always in a good mood.

Josh- "Hey we gotta finish this game. Because once I beat you, I'm gonna brag the whole time we eat chicken wings."
Lauren- "You're only 2 strokes better then me! I can make a come back!"

Weirdly enough even though that was a super emotional thing we just talked about, I feel like the night was 10x better than it already was after we had talked about it. I saw a different side of him that I didn't ever expect to see. We went back to laughing and having a good time. I know I said I wouldn't look at him any different but I am. I have so much more admiration and respect for him. And even after we talked about him, he went straight back to wanting to make me feel better. He's the such an amazing friend to have.

Josh's POV

Shane was wrong. I didn't have feelings for Lauren. There was nothing that I was stopping myself from admitting. She was just a friend. We're still just friends...
But I'm falling so hard for her. And that's all we are. Friends.