My Brother's Best Friend: a Josh Richards FanFiction -complete-

Part 19: Family Dinner

"I did good," Addison said, wrapping her arms around Bryce's waist as she admired her outfit choice. 
"You look so good!" Amelie said, crossing the room to hug me. 
Avani's jaw was dropped. "Your makeup, girl. I just- wow."
I chuckled softly. "You guys are entirely too nice to me. I'm really not that special."
It was Dixie's turn to chuckle. "We are the professional Sway hype women, so you better get used to it."
Cynthia stepped away from Quinton. "It feels like I haven't seen you in weeks!" she exclaimed, wrapping me in a hug. 
"Jaden, did you find the shoes that you were looking for?" Mads inquired, coming out of the kitchen. "Holy shit. You look hot, girl."
"Alright, enough. Josh! We need to leave!" Bryce called up the stairs, obviously over the love fest that his sister was receiving. 

Josh came down the stairs quickly. "You said that we weren't leaving until six-thirty. It's six-twenty."
Bryce shrugged. "Leaving early never hurt anyone."
"You hate leaving early," Griffin chuckled. 

We split up into groups and got into our cars. Bryce, Addison, Josh, Kio, and I were in the first car. Noah, Dixie, Quinton, Cynthia, and Griffin were in the second car. Anthony, Avani, Jaden, Mads, Blake, and Amelie took the last car. 
"Bet that we beat them all there," Bryce said from the driver's seat. 
Addison shook her head. "Bet you drive the speed limit and don't do anything stupid to endanger the lives of everyone in this car."
I giggled softly. Bryce could pretend that he was big and bad, but when it came to Addison, he never questioned her. Bryce changed the subject quickly, fully aware that he showing all of us how much of a simp he was. "So, are you guys nervous?"
"Why would we be nervous?" Josh asked. 
"Um, the video that came out today?" Addison reminded him, turning around in her seat to look at us. 
"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that," Josh stated, laughing. "We'll be fine. We always are." 

I watched as Noah's car passed us. Bryce sighed in frustration but didn't dare speed up to pass him. "Everything okay up there, Bryce?" Kio asked.
Bryce answered through clenched teeth. "Everything is just fine."
Addison and I shared a look before bursting into laughter. "We're all gonna eat at the same time, bubs. Why does it matter who gets there first?"
"I hate being last. I don't care if we're late. I just care if I'm the first to be late."
His excuse was flawed, but there was too much to unpack there, and honestly, I didn't care that much. "Okay, bubs. Just stay calm, maybe?"

Somehow, we arrived just before Noah. Bryce was handing his keys to the valet as they pulled up behind us. Bryce's whole demeanor had changed, and I had never been so grateful.
Bryce, Kio, and Josh greeted Noah, Quinton, and Griffin as though they hadn't just left the house together twenty minutes prior. Dixie, Addison, Cynthia, and I watched on, confused but not questioning it. The last car pulled up, and the rest of our friends piled out of the car. 
I spotted Fletcher and quickly made my way to Josh's side. "Fletcher."
All it took was his name, and it was like Josh knew every emotion that I was feeling. "It's gonna be fine. You don't even have to talk if you don't want to."

Fletcher walked up. "The gang's all here, huh? It's been a while since I've seen you all out together."
Bryce chuckled. "You're right, man. We figured it was time for a little family dinner."
"The fans wanna know everything about all of you, but I really wanna know one thing," Fletcher began. "What's up with that video that you posted today, Josh? Yesterday, you and Bailey were just a couple of besties, and today, you guys have been together for six months. What's that all about?"
Everyone else had made their way to the entrance of BOA, so Josh and I were up close with Fletcher. "You know, man, sometimes you just have to keep things private until you're totally sure," Josh answered, pulling me close to him by my waist. "You never want to tell everyone that you're dating, and it only lasts a couple of weeks, you know what I'm saying?"
"Yeah, man. That makes sense. Why release it now, though?"
I took this as an opportunity to answer. "You know, everyone already assumed, and Josh and I talked about it, and we were comfortable with finally confirming it."
"Okay, well you guys enjoy your dinner. Thanks for talking with us."