Holding On To You//Joshler

Chapter 23

AN// sorry for the lack of updates, I had to revise for eight exams this week lmao. I finished an exam like an hour early today so I was thinking about fic ideas ;)))) I have like 2 exams next week but after that I should be able to update more regularly :)))

♪Tyler♪

"No one comes here on a Sunday, it'll be okay" Josh said softly as he dragged me through the gate.

I hadn't been here in years. It was somehow different from how I had remembered it, in fact I didn't recognise it at all. The concrete path was not in a solid form, it was soft and I sunk a little as I tried to trudge through it. But Josh seemed stable enough; for some reason the ground did not want to swallow him whole. I snapped out of my daydream when I realised that it was just a path, there was nothing special to it. Nothing besides the memories that I had made here.

"Its embarrassing" I whimpered as I closed the gate behind me; I felt like a prisoner trapped in his cell.

"You said you'd teach me to play" Josh was grinning widely, smugness didn't suit him.

"Have you ever picked up a ball in your life?" I sniggered in attempt to mock him, but I didn't have the ability to offend him anymore, I didn't want to.

"Well yeah of course, I'm not completely inept"

I chucked the basketball lightly so that it would not wander too far, but apparently I had not threw it light enough. Josh's arms flailed and the ball escaped his reach.

"No fair," he folded his arms and furrowed his brow, "I wasn't ready"

"You always need to be ready, in basketball there aren't alerts that the ball is coming your way, you have to be ready for anything. Its fast paced" I jogged lightly to chase down the ball.

"Alright then Mr.Sporty," Josh slapped me as I rose up from the ground, "Show me what you can do"

"I haven't played in years" I quivered, suddenly realising how out of practice I was.

"All talk no walk then are we?" Josh raised his eyebrow and shot me a challenging look.

I focused on the net and nothing else ; I lined up the ball and tried to estimate where it would hit, I knew if it didn't go in I wouldn't hear the end of it for a while.

"Come on, basketball is fast paced" he echoed.

In the heat of the moment I span my body clockwise so that my back was facing the net, I threw the ball and prayed that my attempt to impress and quieten Josh would work. I saw him slowly clap.

"I'm guessing it went in right?"

He nodded quickly, "You have to teach me how to do that"

"I think we'll start with just getting it in facing forwards first, have you ever made a basket?"

"A what?" he shot me a look of utter confusion.

"Have you ever got the ball into the net, you know the thing up there with gaps in?"

"Alright, come on I cant be that bad" Josh eagerly snatched the ball from my hands. He comically tried to replicate my throwing preparations but he was doing nothing productive, he was practically just shaking the ball. Josh's throw was way too strong and the ball hit the backboard at an immense force, it backfired and shot off into the far distance. I clapped slowly.

"Your throw is way too strong"

"I cant help my strength" Josh winked, I could never see him as a masculine figure. He would always be the boy with baby blue hair.

"You're not macho, you know that right"

"But I have the body of a Greek God remember!" I didn't like the idea of being teased.

"You know what, I'm never saying anything nice to you again"

Josh pouted, "Aw come on don't be like that, I tell you what we'll have a bet to cheer you up. If I make a so called basket then I get to make you do anything I want"

"What's in this for me?" I shrugged.

"Nothing really, I just wanted to make a bet"

"Well, judging on your previous performance it's a bet"

"By anything I mean anything okay"

"Okay" I gulped, there was no way Josh could get the ball in the net at this current moment in time but a swarm of panic was still surrounding me.

Josh ran over to the field that was backing the basketball courts, when he returned he was panting softly, I gulped, I should not have been thinking about my friend in this way.

Miss,miss,miss I chanted under my breath, if I was any louder Josh would accuse me of being a distraction. Once again Josh shuck the ball in attempt to line it up with the net, this time his grip seemed stronger and his arms more stable. I winced and closed my eyes after I realised what was going to happen. He'd done it, he'd got it in.

"One word. How?"

"I might have lied about my inability to handle a ball. I kind of practiced the other day with my brother Jordan"

"That means the bet isn't valid, this wasn't a fair bet"

"The world isn't fair Ty" Josh radiated an air of mischief. I shook my head, I knew something seemed a little off.

"So, what are you going to make me do?"

"Ah the power I have" Josh grinned, "Well actually I didn't really think about it"

"So you made this elaborate plan to trick me, but you didn't think about what you're gonna make me do?"

"I'm more intelligent than I sound right now okay"

"mhm" I sighed, Josh nudged me playfully.

"Right that's it, for teasing me I'm gonna make it worse"

"Try me"

"Someone's cocky, I'm definitely gonna make you suffer now"

"Oh boy I'm scared" I threw up my arms in the air, Josh reached over to pull them back down, my arms were stuck to the side of my body and Josh was gripping them tightly. I looked down , I couldn't bring myself to face him. Gulping, I slowly raised my head.

"Do I make you nervous now?" he whispered, Josh was too close. I could feel his warm breath hitting my skin.

"No" I retorted.

He leaned over so that his lips were inching towards my neck, "Are you sure about that?"

I blushed intensely, "W-w-w-what are you doing Josh?"

"Nothing" He pulled away abruptly. His eyes widened in shock when he looked into the distance.

"What's wrong Josh?"

"Its Brendon"

"So? I thought we were better than him, you don't have to be scared about him touching us you know. Two's stronger than one"

"I guess" he said lightly, just loud enough so that I could hear him.

"What's got into you? What happened to you being playful?"

"Can we just leave Ty?"

"Sure yeah okay, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, just can we hurry , I don't want to talk to him"

"Has he hurt you or something Josh?"

Josh didn't reply.

"Josh?"

Josh didn't reply. I grabbed his wrist but he flinched and wriggled away. "Don't touch me okay"