𝐈 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐈 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐚, 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰 • Jolivia

10 | Sweatpants & A Fashion Show

"Dude, if the next sentence that comes out of your mouth is 'No, Larry, Olivia doesn't like me', then I'm officially disowning you as my best friend," Larry stated sternly to Joshua over FaceTime as they recounted the previous night's events of accidentally falling asleep at Olivia's until 3am, which resulted in her parents noticing and kindly asking him to go home. He understood and obliged without hesitation, but lingered for the comfort of her body curled in his arms the moment he left.

"Actually, I was going to say something else, but similar, I guess," Joshua let out a small laugh, scratching his head.

"Oh, then by all means, go ahead," Larry leaned back in his chair, gesturing for him to continue.

Joshua sighed as he stood up and began to pace back and forth in his room, "Maybe Nini has feelings for Ricky, but Liv doesn't like me, there's no way. She just needed a friend, right? And I happened to be the one to answer her first? Like I'm sure she texted Madison or Dara before even messaging me—"

"Dude, your pacing is giving me a headache, chill," Larry began, Joshua stopping in his place and sitting back down. "Now, I'm no expert or love whisperer, but if she went to you first it means she trusts you, and if she didn't want to be close to you physically she would've said no to you asking to go over. It's simple."

"But does that mean she likes me?" Joshua blurted, quickly backtracking. "I don't know where that came from, let me back up."

Larry grinned wider than a kid in a candy store. "I think you like her."

Joshua hesitated, trying to think of a comeback for Larry to prove he didn't have a crush on Olivia. But, how could he? When Olivia comes to mind, all he can think of is her beautifully wide smile that warms his heart when he sees her, and how elegant her voice sounds when she sings to him, or anyone for that matter, and how it just feels right when they touch or hug, like it was meant to be, or how—

"Josh," Larry interrupted his thoughts. "Hello, earth to Josh? You didn't answer me."

"Man, I was trying to think of something to argue your point but I just couldn't," Joshua admitted as he shrugged. "I guess I do like her."

Larry scoffed as he crossed his arms over his chest. "It's been so obvious since practically day one between you two, I just didn't want to say anything because of Ethan, who is now out of the picture by the way, in case you forgot."

"I didn't forget, that was the whole reason I was over there, remember?" Joshua reminded him, to which he nodded. "But I'm not going to swoop in the second she gets dumped over text by some asshole. She needs time to heal, I don't want her or I to feel like I'm forcing her into a relationship when she just got out of one with someone who meant a lot to her. It wouldn't be fair to anybody."

"How did you get to be so smart?" Larry asked with his best The Cat in the Hat impression, Joshua laughing and shaking his head.

"Man, just shut up and meet me at the mall in 20, I've gotta buy some more sweatpants," Joshua replied.

"A random item to just throw out here, but okay, sure, see you there," Larry waved before hanging up the call, both on their way to the mall to unexpectedly meet up with two other girls.

•••

"Isn't this adorable?" Dara grinned as she held up a striped sweater. "I bet you'd look great in it."

"I don't need another sweater, though," Olivia replied.

"Oh, come on, girl! This is retail therapy, this is the time where you buy things you don't need," Dara pointed out as she held onto the sweater and moved onto the next rack. "Also Black Friday, but that's still like 9 months away."

Just as Olivia was about to join Dara at looking through another sweater rack, she noticed two familiar boys walk into the store, her heart stopping as her eyes locked with a certain boy's across the room.

Dara and Larry glanced over at their friends at the same time, noticing the look they both shared before exchanging a knowing one of their own. They both gave their friends a shove in each other's directions, the two letting out a small awkward laugh as they got closer.

"Josh! What a surprise, what are you doing here?" Olivia asked.

"Sweatpants," Joshua blurted, Larry internally cringing at his friend's sudden loss of speech ability. "Uh, I was here to buy some sweatpants. With Larry. What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to do some retail therapy, with Dara," Olivia said as Dara threw an arm around her. "But uh, feel free to join us, if you'd like."

"Uh—"

"Sure! We'd love to," Larry interrupted before Joshua could get anything out, but he nodded in agreement. Larry then quickly scooted closer to Dara, whispering to her, "Come with me for a sec, I want to see if they actually learn what dialogue is if we're not around."

"I was thinking the same thing," Dara whispered back before turning back to face Olivia and Joshua, "Wow, look at the time, I could use something to eat! Don't you agree, Lar?"

"Oh yeah, totally! Let's go we'll bring you two something back bye!" Larry agreed quickly before he and Dara ran out of the store giggling like two little kids, leaving Joshua and Olivia to exchange confused glances and laugh.

"Sorry, he can be... weird," Joshua said.

"Oh yeah, same with her, no worries. We can have fun here on our own," Olivia smiled as she looked into his eyes, Joshua feeling like melting that very second. But he quickly snapped out of it, reminding himself of what he said earlier.

After some time of looking around, Olivia had a handful of new clothes (mostly sweaters thanks to Dara) to try on. "Mind if I put on a little fashion show? I need someone's opinions on how I'll look in these," Olivia asked Joshua as she held up the clothes.

"Oh yeah, sure, go for it," Joshua nodded as he sat down on a chair in front of the changing areas. "I'll be waiting."

Olivia grinned before running in and shutting the door behind her, separating her clothes on the wrack and changing into the striped sweater Dara had grabbed.

She came out and modeled it, striking a few funny poses as Joshua laughed and took pictures of each outfit. Larry and Dara came back with food about halfway through the "fashion show", smiling wide at the sight of their best friends slowly falling in love.

"They're gonna end up together, aren't they?" Larry asked, not taking his eyes off the smile on Joshua's face.

"Oh yeah, they are," Dara grinned, her eyes locked on the sight of her best friend having the biggest smile on her face in a while.

•••

A/N: ᴵ'ᴹ ᴳᴼᴺᴺᴬ ˢᴬᵞ ᴵᵀ... they're adorable 🥺

also LOL my first online classes started today and video calling is so chaotic 💀 but it was really funny so hopefully online school won't be too bad 🤷🏻‍♀️

anyway i hope you enjoyed this chapter! if so please don't forget to vote comment and share because i love your feedback!

thanks, until next time ;)