There's A Fine Line Between Love And Hate

Chapter Twenty Six- We Are Now Just Setting Sail

Hi everyone, I'm so, so sorry that this has taken forever, work has been shit, I fell and almost broke my hand (torn ligaments) and couldn't type/write, so ended up voice recording chapters instead (There were so many blank gaps, umms, uhhs, ohs, and multiple swear words), and so I ended up with about 3 and a half hours of recordings to try to transcribe into chapters now that I can move my hand again. So thank you for your patience and again, I'm so, so sorry! Enjoy!!

Quick warning, description of early (first trimester) pregnancy, which people may not agree with. This is just Ava overreacting and spouting her mouth off and isn't intended to be offensive.

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We had been back on tour for about three weeks and Josh was as adorable as he was annoying. Don't get me wrong, I understand that he was trying to help, but it was embarrassing when he refused to let me carry anything heavy.

Josh walked past carrying a snare drum, while I was left to carry one of his many cymbals. I could hear him mutter something about "too heavy" and "be careful". I shook my head and continued to walk down the hallway to where the stage was being set up. I didn't want start any arguments. We'd been getting on so well recently, and the dating thing was great, I had definitely felt more relaxed now that we were no longer hiding from the others.

Being out in the open had its downsides too. Since we had opened up to the rest of crew that we were dating, a couple of the guys had definitely become more annoying. For example, Shap and John (Flanagan II), before entering any room Josh and I were occupying, had to knock on the door and yell "Make sure you're dressed, we're coming in!" Hilarious.

It wasn't as if we were boning at every opportunity, and certainly not while there were other people around. We soon learned that was a bad idea when Mark walked in on us in Josh's dressing room a week ago. The poor guy was still mortified. Brad tried to get Mark to laugh it off by asking how bad the experience was. The conversation played out like that pivotal scene from Sixth Sense.

Except instead of "I see dead people", Mark whispered, "I saw naked people. There was so much skin."

So while our relationship and intimate moments had become public, not everyone was aware about the third person in our relationship. Meaning that there were a lot of odd looks being thrown whenever Josh carried anything heavy for me. Again, there was even more raised eyebrows and confused frowns when I told Josh I could carry objects fine and argued back.

Josh had looked at me with the most exasperated look on his face when I began to try to 'make my case heard'. A.k.a- answering back to Josh and telling him he's wrong like the stubborn ass I am.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the others, so we could talk in private, earning  cat calls and inappropriate jokes. I silenced the boys with a middle finger held so high that Beyonce would be proud.

Once we had reached the closest and completely empty room, Josh closed the door and leaned against it sitting on the floor, to stop any interruptions. He tugged my hand gently, until I was sitting in his lap.

"I know you're trying not to draw attention to the pregnancy, but complaining every time I try to help you isn't exactly inconspicuous. Come on Ava, just let me carry a couple of things for you without a complaint." I sighed, again it was sweet of Josh to help, but no thank you. He played with my hands that sat in my lap, stroking each finger and tracing patterns over my palms.

"As lovely as it is to offer, Joshua, it is completely unnecessary and embarrassing. I mean, there is a child in me- no, a tiny, tiny bundles of cells and gastrula and whatever else. They aren't even a person yet, therefore I doubt carrying anything will harm something that is smaller than a bloody peanut! Besides, it looks like a sea monkey right now, I can understand if there was an actual baby inside of me and you had this concern-" Josh rolled his eyes hard.