We arrived at the house I'd recently bought, with fresh coffee in hand. Dave drove and Tyler called shotgun, so Josh and I were stuck next to each other in the backseat. I didn't know what else to say to him other than to apologise. I nudged him slightly until he looked over. I leant in and motioned for Josh to do the same.
"Look, I just want to say sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have assumed that you were mad at me. I'm not the cheeriest person to be around when I'm tired either." Josh nodded.
"It's okay, just don't do it again." He abruptly turned to look back out of his window, while I continued to stare at Josh in confusion.
"Hey Ava, it's the house just up here on the left- are you okay?" I turned my head towards Dave. He was looking at me through the rear view mirror, while Tyler had turned around fully in the passenger's seat.
"Yeah- Yeah, I'm fine, just overwhelmed. It's a lot to take in." I tried to cover myself, only stumbling over my words a little. I could hear Josh chuckle softly at my response. It really did seem like he was trying to annoy me.
Tyler began to tell me about the neighbourhood I had chose to live in. It turned out that Josh didn't live too far away, only 2 streets and Tyler was also only walking distance away. The house was a cute looking family home, grey stonework with trees and bushes in the front garden. I had truly fell in love with the house.
Dave handed me the keys. I knew he had helped to get the keys and ensure that all the boxes were delivered, ready and waiting. I turned the key in the lock, but gasped as I opened the door and walked inside. It was beautiful.
There were faint murmurs of approval as the guys followed me in. The house was big and beautiful and airy. I knew it was too big for me, but it was the first place I had found that I liked and I did only have 3 days to pick a place to live. If I still feel it's too big in 6 months time, I'll just adopt a pack of puppies or kittens.
It turned out that we wouldn't have to do too much decorating as the house had been recently painted. I fully intended to paint a space and galaxy wall in one of the spare rooms.
Tyler and Dave said they'd start unpacking the living room and kitchen, while Josh volunteered to help me paint the room upstairs that would become my studio. I pulled out an old sketch pad so I could show Josh the designs I wanted.
"Hey, is that a screenshot of The X-Files?" Josh raised an eyebrow in my direction. I nodded at him and flipped the page, showing him the quick sketch I had made on the plane ride over.
"I wanted to make the north wall galaxy themed and paint stars and planets on it, like this picture here, and the back wall could be the "I Want To Believe" homage piece." I continued pointed out photos and sketches, showing Josh exactly what I had in mind.
"Well, we had better get to work."
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I was glad that Dave and Josh had volunteered to get the buckets of paint while I began to make a start on unpacking the upstairs rooms. Tyler and I began unpacking the boxes and talking.
"So how are you finding it so far?" Tyler called out from the bathroom, while I was emptying suitcases onto the bedroom floor to sort.
"Good, everyone is friendly," I called out, before lowering my voice and muttering, "Well, almost everyone!"
"Who isn't being good to you?" I almost jumped out of my skin when Tyler's head popped around the doorframe. The little shit started laughing while I clutched my chest and tried to remember how to breathe.
"Jeeze- Tyler! Dude, not cool!" I finally managed to choke out. Tyler laughed and embraced me in a big hug, almost crushing my ribs.
"I'm sorry. You should have seen the look on your face though, it was hilarious!" Tyler then took on a serious tone and pulled back to arm's length to read my face, "But, really, who isn't treating you right?"
I sighed, not wanting to upset anyone or cause friction. "Josh. I don't know why, but it's Josh." I told Tyler everything that had happened so far between Josh and I. Tyler raised an eyebrow at me.
"Try not to worry too much, Josh can be really shy. It might take him a little bit time to warm to you, but don't take it to heart. It isn't you or anything that you've done. Once he warms up to you, you'll be great friends."
I was glad I actually had time for a little heart to heart with Tyler. I already hoped that I would be able to open up to him fully at some point. Before I could say a word to Tyler, we were interrupted by the front door opening and a yell coming from downstairs.
"We brought paint and Tacos!" Tyler and I smiled at each other, before running downstairs for the tacos.
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After our quick snack break, we returned to our housework, with Josh and I heading back to the studio room. Josh began painting his wall a dark navy blue colour, so we could paint stars on it once it was fully dry.
"Josh, can you hold the ladder steady for me please? I need to get up to the ceiling."
I began to climb the ladder as Josh crossed over to my side of the room and held the ladder tight. I had reached about three quarters of the way up the stepladder when I felt something on my ass. I turned around to see Josh grinning up at me, both hands on my butt.
"It's okay, I'm holding you steady." I was about to answer Josh when we were interrupted by Tyler yelling that Jenna was going to be here soon.
I was sure I could hear Josh sigh, as he removed his hands from my butt. He moved back to let me step down, before walking out into the upstairs hallway.
I wanted to ask Josh about what had happened on the ladder but we both became distracted when the doorbell rang.
I just hoped Josh wouldn't try to distance himself again.
YOU ARE READING
There's A Fine Line Between Love And Hate
FanfictionAva Klinsmann is a studio technician who is hoping to gain the job and experience of her dreams. Only a few small issues are holding her back. One being Josh Dun, a band member who doesn't seem to warm to Ava. What will happen when the two are force...
