slow // joshua t bassett

CINCUENTA Y NUEVE

Frankie sprinted into the commons, also known as the cafeteria of East High. He screamed when he saw Josephine sitting away from other students on the bottom floor, "JOSEPHINE, TELL YOUR BOYFRIEND TO STOP FOLLOWING ME!" Her head popped up from her notebook. She was startled from his cries and accidentally scribbled on her page out of fear. Josephine laughed when she saw that Joshua was close behind Frankie while Claire walked at her own pace behind the boys. Josh skipped past Frankie and tackled Jo.

"Hey, buddy. Looks like you sure missed me," Josephine jokes as he holds onto her tightly. He sat down on the seat next to her but refused to let go. "Josh, get off of me!"

He snuggled his head deeper into her neck, "no! I haven't seen you in three whole days!"

Joey ran her fingers through his hair a few times, "if you don't let go I'll scream 'rape' for everyone to hear." He immediately sat up.

Frankie sat down, out of breath. He placed down a box of chicken nuggets in front of Joey. "That's the most running I've done all year!" Frankie kept distributing the food amongst himself and Josephine, "your boyfriend wouldn't stop harassing me."

Jo chuckled, taking a sip from her McFlurry, "not my boyfriend, but what did he do this time?"

Claire came up from behind them, "he wouldn't stop asking if he could come with because you didn't answer his texts. So he chased Frankie here and I tagged along so I could meet you."

Josephine turned to smile at the younger Bassett, "Claire!" She reached to give her a small hug, "it's so nice to finally meet you!" Josh took this time to steal a few fries from Joey while she was turned away. Jo slapped his hand away as if she had eyes in the back of her head.

"It's the Psychic Mexican Third Eye," Frankie explained. Josephine nodded in agreement with a point in his direction.

While Frankie and Josephine ate their McDonalds, Josh snooped through her notebook. She didn't mind though, she takes a lot of pride in her note-taking. Every now and then, Joey would feed Josh a fry or two, simply because they're both used to doing it. It was second nature. The pair have gotten so used to being around each other that they don't even notice these kinds of things anymore. Like how when they watch a movie, and Josh wants to comment on something, Josephine will pause it so they could have a small discussion on the topic.

When the bell rang, Joey had to say goodbye. Josh, on the other hand, refused. He insisted he walk her to class, and Joey being Joey, couldn't say no. They walked side by side, Josh carrying her books for her because he claims it's "chivalrous" while Jo leads him in the right direction. He let out a yawn he was subconsciously suppressing. Joey noticed that he'd been trying to hide how much he yawned, not wanting to show Jo that he's tired. She became worried that he was working himself too much just so he could have a small amount of free time that he would spend with her. Josh denies the claim, but Joey knows better.

"J, you said you'd stop pushing yourself too much just to see me." Josh defended, "I am! I just miss you so much a lot of the times you just so happen to have a free period."

Joey glared, "Joshua!" She stooped in front of him, her face stern. He simply smiled and acted as if a confrontation wasn't about to happen. "Promise me that you'll pace yourself from now on. I don't like you like this. You get boring really fast because you're always falling asleep," she half-joked.

He begrudgingly obliged, sticking his pinky out while hers connected with his own. He kissed the back of her hand, a deep blush rising on her cheeks. Quickly, she turned around to continue her venture to her next class. Jo stopped in front of her class, Josh handing her books to her, "bye, Shuie. Have fun being famous and all that."