#OTWT fanfic

[gretavanfleetlife]

Only Time Will Tell:

Chapter 8

AN: Hey guys, it’s sooo good to be back!😊Sorry for such a long wait for this chapter, I was on vacation. Anyway y’all are gonna need to pace yourself with this one, it’s double the usual chapter length and so much is happening!!! Love you all, thank you so much for your support, enjoy!💛🌻

Warnings: swearing

Word count: 4,700 words (lol oops)

Officially, it's been exactly one month since your best friends left Frankenmuth. You steadily raise a thick black pen up to your calendar and mark an 'X' through today's date. Your eyes skim through the rest of the month, landing on a date with a large red circle around it. You stare at it for a moment before gazing back at today's date and lifting your finger to count the number of days between today and the circled date. 12. You count again, hoping you counted one more than you should have. Still 12.

You toss the pen onto your desk and turn to skim through your record collection. Your fingers land on Bob Dylan, and you give a loose smile at the esteemed man on the album cover, who smiles back. Placing the needle carefully onto the record, you then cross your bedroom and collapse into a comfy, blue beanbag chair. You close your eyes and listen to the record spin. You remain perfectly still throughout the entire record, humming along to the dreamlike tune. You only open your eyes when you hear the record stop, the needle lifting itself upwards and returning to its resting place. You let out a heavy sigh.

"God bless Bob Dylan, a true legend," you smile, repeating Josh's timeless saying. You miss him terribly. You begin to wonder if he's been thinking about you as much as you've been thinking about him.

You lean your head back and stare mindlessly out the window. You consider sending Sam a text but quickly decide against it. Since he's left, you've been texting Sam almost every day, earning a harsh wave of guilt every time that you did.

The only other person you wanted to talk to more than Sam was Josh, but that wasn't going very smoothly either. You've tried calling Josh multiple times throughout the month, but each time the phone would loudly ring until you were eventually sent to voicemail.

You shift uncomfortably on the beanbag chair beneath you, feeling complete boredom rain over you. You've been bored all month without them, you just didn't know what to do. Only two weeks to go, less than that even. You know you'll survive for 12 more days, but their arrival seems to be taking an eternity.

You decide to try and call Josh again, dialing his number effortlessly. You listen eagerly to the phone ring against your ear. With each ring, your hope of an answer increasingly fades. The last ring chimes brightly as the phone gives a final effort to reach Josh before you're sent to his voicemail. You listen to you and Josh recite his voicemail that you recorded together years ago. A faint smile tugs at your lips, hearing Josh's joyful voice as well as your own encouraging you to leave a message at the tone. You sink further back into the chair with a sigh. He probably just doesn't have his phone with him again, as usual. Josh never likes to carry his phone with him, you recall optimistically.

You decide to try calling again in a few days, tossing your phone lazily onto the bed across your room. You try to remember a time before now that you've gone this long without talking to Josh, but you can't seem to think of one.

You miss him terribly. You miss watching the adorable pair of dimples appear on his face when you make him smile, how his eyebrows furrow when he concentrates on something, and how he always looks after you and puts you before himself.

You close your eyes, hoping with your entire heart that he's not ignoring you on purpose as you drift slowly out of consciousness.

-Sam's POV-

It's been a month since the last time I saw y/n, the last time I talked to her in person, and the last time I touched her. I'm certain that I would have gone crazy by now if it hadn't have been for our consistent texting. The one thing that keeps me from wanting to give up on the tour entirely and go back home is the promise she made me. She said she's gonna wait for me, and as long as that's true I'm willing to wait a little longer. I've been waiting for her for years, and although it still hurts, another couple weeks won't kill me.

I raise the bottle to my lips and take another long sip of beer, gazing up at my brother seated across from me. I need to know what's going on with Josh. The way he speaks to me is different now, although I can barely even explain it. He doesn't look me in the eyes as much when he talks to me, and our conversations are often much shorter than normal. When we're not recording or performing, he makes up excuses to be away from me, and they're fairly easy to see through. I've brought it up to Jake, and he seems to know much more about what's going on with Josh than I do. It's possible that Josh may have told him all about whatever's got him in this mood, although I have a pretty strong gut feeling it's just their twin telepathy thing. Either way, Jake hasn't told me why Josh is acting so weird, he's only told me not to bother him about it.

The four of us sit in our new trailer in peaceful silence. Josh and Danny share one couch while Jake and I lounge on the one opposite them. Josh is seemingly very busy writing music, scribbling down lyrics while he concentrates on the notebook gripped tightly in his hands. Jake downs the last of his beer with one swift raise of his arm. He stands up rather unsteadily from his seat beside me and announces that he's going to bed. Danny seconds Jake's actions, saying a quick goodnight and following him to the bedroom in the back of the cramped trailer. Calling it a bedroom is a stretch by any means, though, since its really only four pullout couches divided from the rest of the trailer by a thin curtain. Danny slides the curtain closed behind him and soon you hear both boys flop heavily onto their beds.

I steal a glance at my brother. Josh doesn't seem to notice that he's alone with me, or if he does he doesn't care. His focus doesn't break as he thoughtfully pours lyrics onto the busy page, his eyebrows furrowed in deep concentration. I relax backward into the soft couch, quietly taking another long sip of my beverage.

Another ten minutes go by and there hasn't been a single word exchanged between Josh and I. Normally, this is a scenario I have only ever dreamed of, causing me to feel slightly uneasy in the somewhat tense silence. I decide to let him finish writing without interruption, not wanting to distract him from writing a potential masterpiece.

Gentle snoring cuts through the silence of the trailer, coming from behind the far curtain. I can tell with complete certainty that the noise is coming from both Danny and Jake.

Looking up at Josh, I watch as he gently closes his notebook and places it on the coffee table along with his dull pencil. He leans back and sinks into the couch, lifting a hand to his mouth and softly tracing his lips in a steady contemplation. Josh's phone suddenly begins to vibrate on the small wooden table in front of him. His face falls into a frown as he leans forward to read the name of who is calling him this late at night. I watch his face fall as he reaches out, grabbing the phone and staring at it. Josh hesitates for a moment, and then slowly taps the screen. The vibrating stops and he shoves the phone quickly into his pocket. He leans further back into the couch and crosses his arms.

"Who was that?" I ask quietly, breaking through his dazed thoughts as he raises his head in attention.

"Mm?” he grunts, keeping his arms crossed while his fingers continue to gently trace over his lips.

"Who was that calling you," I repeat. Josh shakes his head and looks downwards.

"Oh just y/n, I'll call her back later," he says unconvincingly. He begins to stand up but I cut him off.

"Josh, can I talk to you for a minute?" I ask hopefully. Josh slowly descends back into his seat.

"Uh, sure I guess. What about?" he shrugs. I place my beer bottle on the coffee table next to the tattered notebook and lean forward, resting my arms on my knees.

"Well, first I wanted to know why you've been ignoring all of y/n's calls," I wonder, noticing Josh's shoulders tense in anticipation, "It's been, what, a month now? Have you talked to her once since we left home?" Josh stares steadily into my eyes, seemingly hesitant on how to answer.

"N-no, I haven't," Josh stumbles, glancing at the floor. His eyebrows furrow as his gaze returns to meet mine, "but that's really not any of your business, Sam. I strongly advise you to leave this alone." I give a small laugh, unable to prevent it from escaping my lips.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure whatever's going on is my business too. Listen, Josh, I just want to help you get over whatever this is," I say, motioning to him, "that's all."

"Get over what?" he prods, crossing his arms and leaning back.

"Well for starters, you're ignoring your best friend, avoiding your brothers, including Danny, and for a month you haven't held a conversation with me that's lasted more than five minutes. Should I keep going? Or do you have an idea of what's going on now," I ask sarcastically, frustrated at how difficult Josh is being. He knows damn well how different he's been acting. God, Josh can be so fucking annoying sometimes.

"You have no fucking clue what you're talking about Sam," Josh spits, pointing at me angrily.

"Oh yeah? Enlighten me," I respond crossing my arms and trying my best to appear relaxed. Growing up with Josh has taught me exactly how to get under his skin just enough to make him confess anything.

"Alright fine Sam, if this is what you want, then here it is," he begins, his eyes narrowing and the muscles in his jaw clenching. My tactics seem to have worked, as I notice Josh speaking faster, concentrating less on what is actually coming out of his mouth. However, what I hear next disrupts my relaxed facade.

"Before we left, y/n told me all about how she feels towards you. Obviously, she's had a rough past dating experience so I didn't want her to get hurt again. Especially by some ignorant prick who's about to leave on tour for a month and a half," Josh says firmly, his voice raising the more he proceeds. I sit unable to move, shocked at the words that come flying out his mouth. "So I told her," Josh pauses dramatically. The way Josh edges me on makes me furious, but I manage to hold back my raging emotions.

"Told her what?" I ask, knowing it's what he wanted to hear, but feeling too eager to refrain from asking.

"I told her not go after you," he admits. I feel my face turn hot with anger, "in fact I asked her to promise me that she wouldn't go near y-"

"And what did she say?" I cut him off. His face visibly saddens.

"She agreed to the promise," he remembers quietly, as my heart sinks low into my chest. Everything makes so much more sense now, but Josh isn't finished. "And she broke that promise, but you already knew that," he says, shaking his head as I lower my gaze to the floor. Josh was talking much more quietly now, the former anger replaced by sadness as he recalled what had happened. "And that isn't even the worst part," he continues, seemingly lost in the memory to care whether he was telling me too much, "what hurt the most was when she told me nothing happened with you, again, and again, and again, right to my face. It hurt me. It really did," he stares across the room at me, "is that what you wanted to hear?" I swallow hard, not wanting to meet his gaze. He runs his hands across his face with a heavy sigh. Josh attempts to stand up but I cut him off again.

"Josh wait, hear me out," he pauses briefly before returning to his seat across from me. I meet his sad eyes with my own, "listen, you know me, better than most people. Do you really think that I would treat y/n like shit?" I ask, silently hoping that he'll say no. Josh opens his mouth to speak, but no words come out. He quietly shakes his head, and I know that I've gotten through to him.

"Look, I'm sorry that had to happen. You can hate us both for being together, or try and break us apart," I continue, "but I love her, and that's all I'm really concerned about."

-Time skip: 12 days later-

-Y/N's POV-

You wake up with a start, excitedly checking your phone for the time and reading 10:53 a.m. glare brightly back. You went to bed extremely late last night, unable to fall asleep due to the anticipation of your friends coming home the next day. You throw your comforter off of you and swing your legs around to sit up on the side of your bed. You stretch happily and let out a loud yawn. You decide to make a trip to the record store to buy some 'welcome home' presents for the boys. You change quickly and hurry outside toward the black pickup truck parked in your driveway. You hop in the vehicle and back out of the driveway, turning on the radio to your favorite rock and roll station. You hear the ending of 'Sympathy for the Devil' fill the silence of your car. Once the song finishes, the upbeat voice of the radio announcer fills the car.

"Alright, Frankenmuth, up next is a new song by a local and upcoming rock and roll band, Greta Van Fleet!" You gasp loudly as a familiar guitar riff fills the air. You crank up the volume as loud as the speakers will allow, singing along loudly to 'Highway Tune' as you speed down the gravel road and enter the town. A huge smile graces your face as you pull into the driveway of Siren Records. You park the car but remain seated until the song finishes, giving an excited squeal as the song fades to silence and the radio announcer returns.

You happily hop out of your car and enter the record store with a new skip in your step. Your mind feels extremely crowded with everything that's going on, but you still know exactly what you want to get for each of the boys. You're as familiar with their individual music tastes as you are with the back of your hand. Searching through the endless bins of records, you find your gift for Josh with ease, proudly picking up Nashville Skyline by Bob Dylan and tucking it under your armpit. As you continue to skim through the dusty records, you feel a vibration in your pocket. You reach for your phone and see who's calling you.

"Oh my god," you mumble, your eyes wide with anticipation. You fumble with your phone, almost dropping it as you accept the call and raise it quickly to your ear, "hello?"

"Hey y/n, it's me," Josh answers, his voice sounding deep and raspy through the phone. You've missed the sound of his voice the most, his greeting bringing a genuine smile to your face.

"Hey, Josh-" you begin before abruptly cutting yourself off. By habit, you almost called him 'Joshie', which you know would not have gone well judging by the last conversation the two of you had. He clears his throat into the phone, pausing for a moment. You grip the phone tightly as you hear muffled mumbling in the background.

"So I just wanted to ask how it's going, uh, back home," he wonders aloud.

Placing down your record momentarily, you make your way outside of the record store so as not to bother anyone inside with your private conversation.

"Well, it was incredibly boring without you," you smile, "Frankenmuth has never been so quiet." Josh laughs into the phone, and you feel your heart begin to beat faster. The sound is like music to your ears, you've missed making him laugh. You picture familiar dimples gracing his cheeks as his mouth tugs into a wide grin.

"That sounds dreadful," he chuckles.

"It was," you agree, "so when do you think you'll be home?"

"Around another half hour or so, I'd say," he estimates, making your heart flutter at the thought of their arrival.

"Oh that's fantastic, see you then!" you smile, feeling exhilarated and over the moon with joy, "bye Joshie!" You clap a hand over your mouth as you realize what you just called him. You close your eyes, bracing yourself for his response.

"Bye y/n, see you soon," he laughs before hanging up. You let out a huge sigh of relief as you shove your phone back into your pocket, thankful that he didn't scold you for using his nickname again.

A hand taps you on the shoulder, breaking you out of your daze as you turn around to see who it is. Your eyes gaze upward to meet Ethan's, as you force a smile onto your face. You were hoping to avoid him until school started up again, not wanting to interact with him after watching him make out with another girl at Josh's party.

"Hey! It's good to see you," you lie. Being friendly seems to be the quickest way through this conversation.

"Yeah, you look great," he says, visibly checking you out as you cross your arms in front of yourself in a weak attempt to stop his wandering eyes.

"Thanks," you say, a smile tugging at the corners of your mouth. You go on to talk about what you both have been doing this summer for a while longer, as you patiently wait for your conversation to end.

"So, uh," Ethan proceeds warily, "did you happen to get my text? I sent it to you a while ago, like, a couple of days after Josh's party or something like that." You frown and shake your head.

"No, I must not have seen it. Sorry about that, I'm just never really on my phone that much," you reply apologetically. That was a total lie as well, as you had definitely noticed that you had received a few texts from him a while back, but decided not to answer.

"No worries, I just wanted to tell you that I think you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen," Ethan continues, taking a step towards you. He's standing so close to you now that you can almost feel his breath. You look down at your feet to refrain from rolling your eyes at his comment. You feel his hand lightly lift your chin up, forcing you to meet his gaze. He quickly closes the gap between you and leans in to kiss you. Before his lips can meet yours, you swiftly take a step away from him, stumbling backward. You weren't about to break another promise, the last one was bad enough. You look up at him with a look of insincere apology.

"I-I'm in a relationship," you hear yourself say. It seems like the easiest way out of the situation. His eyebrows furrow as he glares at you with confusion.

"Oh," Ethan sighs, "with who?" Your eyes widen and your heart begins to beat faster.

"Sam Kiszka," you blurt, feeling a familiar blush creep onto your cheeks as you realize what you just said out loud. You watch Ethan roll his eyes.

"Come on, really?" You frown and furrow your eyebrows as he shakes his head, "I'm way better looking than that guy." A sharp laugh escapes your lips as you smile up at him.

"Yeah right, have you seen Sam?" you say as Ethan's face falls, "you wish you even came close," you scoff, turning on your heel and walking back towards the record store. You swing open the door with a smirk plastered onto your face, finding where you left your Bob Dylan record and resuming your search.

After a few more minutes of skimming through the dusty bins, you settle on The Beatles' Revolver for Danny, Hot Rocks by the Rolling Stones for Jake, and none other than Van Morrison's Moondance for Sam.

After you pay, you hop back into your truck and check the time. The boys should arrive home any minute now, so you begin to drive back towards the Kiszka house. You want to see them as soon as you can, so you don't waste any time as you quickly speed down the dusty dirt road.

Pulling into their driveway, you park your car and wait for their van to drive in beside you.

Another ten minutes pass, feeling like an eternity before you see their van roll up to the house and park beside you. You jump out of your truck and run over to theirs just as Josh steps out of the passenger seat. In the moment, you forget all about your fight, immersed only in feeling ecstatic that Josh is home. You rush towards him and throw your arms around his neck. He doesn't hesitate to hug you tightly against himself in return.

"I missed you so fucking much," you say into his shirt as he grasps you tighter.

"I missed you too," he replies, pulling back while keeping his hands on your shoulders, "but don't think I'm not still pissed," he says with a smirk.

"I know, talk later, okay?" you ask hopefully. Josh smiles and nods.

"Okay," he agrees.

"What are we, chopped liver?" Jake says, causing you to tear your eyes away from Josh and walk towards him with your arms outstretched. He wraps his arms around you and pulls you in for a hug, rubbing your back gently.

"You didn't forget about me, did you?" he whispers in your ear, hugging you close to him.

"Of course not, are you kidding?" you grin. Suddenly, your hug is disrupted by Danny pushing Jake away from you.

"What the fuck," Jake chuckles, as Danny wraps his muscular arms around you tightly, forcing you into a soft hug.

"Shut up, it's my turn," he answers loudly as you laugh against his chest.

"It's good to see you, y/n," Danny beams as you hug him tighter in response.

He lets go of you and you turn towards Sam. Your heart flutters as you stare at him, admiring his seemingly flawless features. He looks even better than you remember as he closes the distance between you.

"Hey," he says awkwardly as you wrap your arms around his torso. He hugs you back, enveloping his arms around you and nuzzling his face into your neck. You close your eyes and smile into his chest in a state of total serenity.

"I missed this," he mutters quietly into your neck, too muffled for anyone but you to hear it, "I missed you." You feel butterflies swarm in your stomach and your heart skip a beat.

"I missed you too," letting out a content sigh and pulling out of the hug. You gaze at each other for a moment, both of you admiring the other. You hear Jake clear his throat, causing you to tear your eyes away from Sam and look towards the abrupt noise. The three boys were standing a few feet away, smiling at you and Sam. You blush, trying to think of a way to divert their focus from you two.

"Oh, I almost forgot, I have presents!" you say enthusiastically, heading to your car to hide your rosy cheeks. The boys exchange low murmurs of excitement in anticipation of receiving their gifts. You grab the records from your car and skip back to the group. You hand them out and smile as you watch each of their faces light up.

"No way!" Danny says as you hand him his. "Alright I've gotta hear this," he says as he gives you a quick hug and rushes inside to find a record player.

"Me too," Jake and Sam say in unison, hurrying to catch up with Danny.

"Thanks, y/n!" Sam calls while he runs into the house with Jake. You laugh at their reactions as you realize you're left alone Josh. You glance over at him, watching him study the album cover of his new record.

"You like it?" you ask as he quickly looks up at you with a wide grin, soft dimples appearing on his cheeks.

"You know I love it, thank you y/n," he says, but his smile soon fades, "can we go somewhere to talk?" You nervously scratch the back of your head.

"Of course," you reply. You follow him as he leads you to the backyard, each of you taking a seat on the porch steps overlooking the forest beyond their property. At first, neither of you speak, both of you gazing thoughtfully at each other not seeming to know where to begin. You both decide to break the silence and begin to speak at the same time. You apologize and Josh gives a small laugh.

“You can go first,” he speaks gently. You suck in a sharp breath and begin to explain yourself to him, apologizing every now and then. You tell him that although you may not deserve his trust, you are going to be nothing but honest with him from now on. Fiddling with your hands, you go on to say that you still like Sam, but you’re unsure what that would mean for everyone else.

You speak for a long time, words that you longed to say while Josh was gone pouring out of you without restraint. Josh stares attentively at you the whole time, listening to everything you have to say without interrupting. You finish speaking with a sigh and look up at him nervously. He smirks at you.

“Are you done?” he asks gently. You nod, swallowing sharply as he raises a hand to his face, tracing over his lips with his fingers softly. He gives a small sigh and looks to the ground, seemingly deciding where to begin.

“While we were gone, I talked to Sam,” he says steadily. Your heartbeat quickens and you anxiously bite your lip. “I gave it a lot of thought, and I realized that I haven’t been completely fair. I didn’t realize how much you mean to him,” he continues, your heart fluttering in your chest, “and come to think of it, if I loved someone as much as Sam loves you, I might have done the same thing.” He pauses, looking up at you with a small smile.

“And although I don’t think I’ll ever understand how you can find that freak appealing,” he says, causing both of you to laugh, “I do know that he’ll treat you right,” he smiles. You stand and move towards him, reaching down to him and hugging him tightly.

“I love you so much, thank you, Josh,” you grin, your eyes shut tightly as he accepts your embrace. He stands with you as you pull away, turning to walk with him back to the house.

“As long as you’re happy,” he grins at you, throwing his arm loosely over your shoulder. “But if you ever lie to me again-" he laughs, wagging a finger at you as you cut him off.

“I promise I won’t, under one condition,” you smirk, causing him to stop walking and look down at you with confusion.

“And what’s that?” he asks.

“I get to call you Joshie,” you say as he laughs loudly, mimicking your wide smile.

“Deal.”

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[gretavanfleetlife]

Only Time Will Tell:

Chapter 5

AN: Hey! I just wanted to thank you guys for the incredible feedback and support you’ve shown so far throughout this series. You’re the best, enjoy!😉💕

Warnings: swearing

Word count: 2,460 words

You close the door quickly behind you and flop dramatically onto your bed. You're grinning like an idiot but you can't seem to stop. You lie on your back and stare up at the ceiling of your bedroom, letting out a heavy sigh that you didn't realize you were holding in. Half an hour passes and you haven't moved, still thinking about growing up with Sam all this time and not feeling anything towards him until now. He wanted to walk you home, not because he was on his way to his aunt's house like he said, but just because he wanted to. You can't get over that.

You've eventually broken away from being immersed in your deep contemplation by the sound of your doorbell ringing throughout the house. Your dad had gone out to get groceries shortly after you came home, so you got up to answer the door. You figure it has to be one of the boys since you're so used to seeing them daily every summer. As you race down the stairs your heart flutters at the thought that it could be Sam. You reach the door and throw it open to reveal a very happy looking Josh waiting outside. You can't help but feel a little disappointed that it isn't Sam, but Josh is arguably your favorite person in the world, so you feel happy nonetheless.

"Hey Y/n, how are you holding up?" Josh asks.

"I'm actually great! Barely hungover anymore so that's a plus," you reply, still grinning like a fool. "Come on in," you say as he's already making his way inside, closing the door behind him, "what have you got there?" you question, motioning to the small bag he's being careful to hide behind his back.

"Well I decided to get you a little gift because I didn't think you'd be feeling so great after last night, but now seeing that you're exquisitely jovial I think I'll just keep it and be on my way," he says, reaching for the door handle.

"No no no! I'll be sadder I promise!" you laugh and he drops his hand from around the doorknob, turning back to you and handing you the bag.

"Excellent," he grins, his eyes squinting into the smile that you love so much. You laugh and peer into the plastic bag, taking out a sleek new Mumford and Sons record that you've had your eye on for months. You squeal out of excitement and immediately rush to pull Josh into a tight hug.

"Josh I've wanted this one for months! How'd you know?" you ask loudly, pulling out of the hug to look at the record again.

"Well I know your collection like the back of my hand," Josh winks, "I also know what it's missing, which is a lot if you ask me."

"Well, we can't all share a massive record collection with a music-obsessed family," you laugh, playfully hitting his shoulder.

You lead Josh upstairs to your bedroom, and he sinks into your bed as you put on your new record. You join him on the bed, lying down next to him in silence as you listen to the music echo throughout your room. This is one of your favorite things to do with Josh, listening to a record in silence and enjoying the beautiful lyricality in the music.

The record finishes playing, signaling you to flip it to the B side. You're too deeply lost in thought about Sam again that you hardly realize that the music has stopped.

"Y/n," Josh says softly.

"Yeah?"

"Are you going to flip it?"

"Oh, yeah sorry I was just thinking and I didn't even notice the music stop," you explain as you sit up.

"Well, what were you thinking about?" Josh asks curiously. You feel your heart drop in your chest. You can't lie to Josh, he notices every time.

"Nothing," you lie, nervously. How were you supposed to tell him that you were just fantasizing about his brother?

"Bullshit," he smirks, "what was it?"

"I said nothing! It isn't important," you defend.

"Sure it is, you wouldn't tune out a new record to get lost thinking about something that has no meaning." You bite your lip and walk toward the record so he doesn't see your face. You think about what you should tell him, but decide there's no way around it. That smartass will figure it out for himself eventually. You stop at the record and turn around to face Josh, who is sitting up on your bed, waiting patiently for your reply. He raises his eyebrows at you, giving you a small smile, "well?"

You sigh, let's get this over with.

"Don't freak out," you begin, "I-I think I'm in love with Sam." His smile fades.

"What?" he asks quietly.

"Don't make me say it again," you sigh.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes Josh," you knew it'd be hard for him to wrap his head around, god it was even hard for you to fully understand it.

"Y/n no," he says, shaking his head, "stop it, you cant like Sam! That's insane!" he says in disbelief.

"What do you mean? Why not?" He stands up and walks towards you.

"You know I just want to protect you, right?"

"Of course, Josh, but-"

"Then why do you make it so fucking hard?" He's speaking much louder now.

"It's only Sam! What's the worst that could happen?" you ask, silently hoping he doesn't have a legitimate answer. Josh just shakes his head.

"My younger brother, huh?" he says.

"Josh, you've got to stop this," you say softly, "nobody's going to get hurt." You hope you're right.

"And what if you do?" he says sternly, "what then?"

"Sam wouldn't hurt me!" you reply loudly. You're starting to get very annoyed at Josh. He scoffs and rolls his eyes.

"You don't even know," he spits.

"Then tell me, Josh!"

"We're going on tour!" he yells. Your eyes are wide, your lips parted slightly. "Dammit," Josh mutters, scratching the back of his head. You take a seat on your bed. "It's only for a month and a half. The band got signed and they want to see what we can do," he says more calmly. This isn't how he wanted to tell you. You shake your head slightly in disbelief, Sam's leaving.

"That's amazing," you reply, giving Josh a forced smile, "That's fantastic, really. I-I'm so proud of you," you stumble. You were telling the truth, you were proud of how far their band has come. You were just upset that you finally discovered that you have feelings for Sam, knowing you won't see him for more than a month.

"I'm sorry," Josh says, "but you can't be with Sam right now." You look up at him. "It'd just be too hard. We're leaving in two days." You nod, understandingly. He sits down next to you.

"I get it," you force another smile.

"Promise me you won't do anything with Sam, just for two days," he demands, hopeful for you to comply.

"I promise," you nod.

-time skip-

That night you can't fall asleep no matter how hard you try. All you can think about is Sam, and the boys leaving in a couple of days. You decide you want to spend as much with Sam as possible before he leaves, but only as friends. You feel incredibly guilty about thinking about breaking Josh's promise, but you can't help it. You glance at your phone, reading 2:54 a.m. shine brightly across the screen. You slip out of the covers and stand up from your bed. Walking out of your room, you close the door behind you and glance into your father's room. You see him sleeping soundly in his bed, snoring loudly. You tiptoe down the stairs and slide out the front door without a sound. You're wearing a loose pair of short shorts and a white tank top. You're barefoot as you jog quickly towards the Kiszka house, loving the feel of the soft grass beneath your feet. You reach the end of the street and walk around to the back of the house, noticing the lights are out through every window. You stand underneath the window that you know leads to Sam's room, staring up at it. You decide to proceed the old fashioned way. You bend over and search the ground for pebbles and stones. You gather a few in your hand and begin throwing them at Sam's window. You hope the tapping noise of the rocks hitting the glass doesn't wake anyone else up, especially Josh. You're relieved as you see a sleepy looking Sam appear at the window. He squints at you as you wave at him to come down. He disappears from the window and you excitedly wait for him outside in peaceful silence. After a moment, you see Sam walking quickly towards you. You blush as you notice he doesn't have a shirt on, and you're thankful that it's too dark for him to notice your rosy cheeks.

"Y/n, hey, is there something wrong?" he asks quietly in a low, raspy voice. Concern is evident in his voice as he rubs his eyes in an attempt to wake himself up. You giggle, he looks cute.

"No, nothing's wrong," you lie, thinking about Sam leaving Frankenmuth to tour all summer.

"Why are you here? It's gotta be three in the morning," he questions.

"I came to see you."

"Are you drunk?"

"No! I couldn't sleep." You see Sam smile faintly in the dark.

"Oh ok, well what do you want to do then?" he asks.

"Follow me," you reply, "that is, if you want to come, you don't have to-" you begin to ramble but Sam cuts you off by softly reaching out and taking your hand in his.

"Lead the way," he says, causing both of you to smile. Your heart flutters in your chest at Sam's gentle touch, his rough, calloused fingers laced with yours. You lead him in the opposite direction of his house, walking through the line of trees and into a small opening. The two of you walk hand in hand through the open field, the long grass tickling your ankles as you walk down the route that you've memorized without needing the clear marker of a dirt path. You walk in silence with Sam, slightly ahead of him as you listen to the gentle sound of chirping crickets. The soft summer breeze blows through the long blades of grass around you. You approach a small creek and lead Sam towards a large rock that sits perched above the rushing stream of water below. The canopy of small trees and bush surround the creek, making the setting seem almost like a room in a house. You let go of Sam's hand and take a seat on the large smooth rock that overlooks the stream. Sam silently takes a seat beside you, leaving a comfortable amount of space between the two of you.

"I come here a lot if you can't already tell," you say, breaking the silence and stealing a quick glance at Sam, who has his eyes fixed on the running water below. "Mostly to think. Being surrounded deep in nature like this seems to clear my mind, helps me focus," you shrug. Sam looks at you and you return his gentle gaze with your own. He smiles, his deep brown eyes soft as they travel across your face. He looks ethereal, illuminated by the moonlight. You turn your gaze back to the creek and you see him do the same out of the corner of your eye. You look up towards the sky and admire the stars shining brightly from the heavens above. You smile, sadly.

"One of these stars is my mom," you whisper softly. You lean over and rest your head on Sam's shoulder, continuing to look up at the sky, "I like to think she's still watching over me." You feel Sam reach his arm around you and wrap tightly around your shoulder, pulling you closer to him as he rests his head gently on top of yours. You sit in Sam's warm embrace, listening to the peaceful sound of the running water for what you thought felt like ten minutes. Neither of you spoke, both of you enjoying sitting in the true depth of nature. The moon shines through the trees above. You could stay this way forever. You're disappointed when you feel Sam's head leave from its place on top of yours and his arm disappear from around your shoulder. You look up at him, your face very close to his as he gazes into your eyes.

"Beautiful," Sam whispers. Your heart drops in your chest, and in the moment you completely forget about the promise you made to Josh. You want him, badly. You lean in and your lips meet his. Sam reaches his hand up and cups your cheek gently. The kiss is filled with an immense sense of longing, but remains sweet and passionate. Your lips fit perfectly together like two pieces of a puzzle.

Shit, no. You suddenly remember the promise you made to Josh and your immediately filled with tremendous guilt. You can't be doing this, you need to stop. You gently pull away, opening your eyes slowly to meet Sam's. He looks at you caringly, and you feel another pang of guilt surge through your heart. You return your head back to his shoulder and close your eyes, wishing you could take back the kiss. What had you just gotten yourself into, you wonder. Before you can help it, you drift off into a peaceful sleep.

When you drowsily blink awake, you find that you're being carried by a pair of strong arms through the thick grass. You wrap your arms around his neck, confirming your suspicion that it's Sam who's carrying you by the feeling of his long hair brushing against your arms. You smile into his chest and keep your eyes closed, trusting wherever he's taking you and feeling safe in his arms. You drift in and out of consciousness. You're half-asleep as you feel him walking up what you assume to be stairs. You feel your body begin to descend as you sink into a soft mattress. You listen, but you don't hear Sam moving anymore. You open your mouth to call out to him, hazily wanting him to stay with you, but stop when you feel him sink into the bed beside you. You smile and roll over to him, placing your head on his chest as he pulls you up against him. This time it's much easier for you to fall asleep.

Taglist: @aliensforleaders @kiszkaboi @greta-gvf @rogers-wristbands @strawberry-fieldsssss @gretavanqueen @goodoldfashionedqueen @spngvf @mutantpanda54 @allons-ytomyworld @diggrycedric @sammysgirll @rogerinascigarette @thaliamessi @pazmonkey @yesmynameisbelle @a-queen-and-her-throne @grapesarepurple @cherrrywitch @edgeofdrkness @livcappolella @ohsososophisticatedd @lunautica13 @oddolive @daydreamqueenjaycee @jenjenhill @neonslushies @fruityfreddie 💗

[gretavanfleetlife]

Only Time Will Tell:

Chapter 6

AN: Sooo as you’ll see I’ve had a pretty bad week and I think it shows in this chapter... ITS OK THO cuz I love how this part turned out! Read it and weep🤧

Warnings: swearing

Word count: 2,500 words

You hazily blink awake and find yourself lying peacefully wrapped in Sam's arms. Your head lies on his bare chest, slowly rising and falling with his steady breathing. You glance at the clock glaring brightly through the dark room. 6:04 a.m. shines back at you and you breathe a heavy sigh. You lift your head to look up at Sam. He looks incredibly peaceful as he sleeps, not to mention incredibly handsome. You don't want to disturb him but you know you can't just leave without saying anything. You lean up and place a gentle kiss on Sam's jaw, making him stir and smile in his sleep.

"I should go," you whisper. Sam's eyebrows furrow but he doesn't open his eyes, seemingly still in a dreamy state.

"No beautiful, stay with me. I've waited so long," he murmurs as he hugs you closer to him. You blush and decide to stay for another hour at most. You want to be able to go home without Josh seeing you walking through his house so early in the morning, he'll definitely ask questions. You know that if he saw you, you wouldn't be able to lie to him. You close your eyes again and quickly fall back asleep.

When you wake up again, you notice the sun shining gently through the window. You look at the clock and read 9:28 a.m. shining back at you.

"Shit. Sam wake up," you gently rub Sam's chest. he grasps at your hand gently.

"Hm?" he asks groggily, his eyes still closed.

"I have to go."

"What, why?" his eyes blink open as you sit up, reluctantly leaving his warm embrace.

"I just should really get going," you whisper, you didn't want to tell him about the promise that you made to his older brother.

"But why though? It's summer, remember? Just stay a little longer," he tries to convince you, rubbing his eyes.

"No Sam I can't, I-" you're cut off by a loud knocking at the bedroom door.

"Sam, are you awake?" Josh calls through the door. You're startled as you sit still with fear.

"Yeah, why?" Sam replies.

"Can I come in?" Josh asks. Sam looks at you and you violently shake your head no.

"N-no" he stumbles. You hear Josh laugh behind the door.

"That was a rhetorical question," he chuckles.

"I'm not decent, Josh," Sam says.

"Nothing I haven't seen before," Josh states before opening the door and walking in. Josh's eyes widen in surprise, looking at you sitting up in Sam's bed while he lies, shirtless, beside you. The look of shock on his face quickly turns to a look of hurt sadness. He swallows hard.

"Breakfast is ready," he says in a low voice, glancing at you briefly before returning to the hall, closing Sam's door behind him. You put your head in your hands and shake your head, muttering profanities as you slide out of bed. You realize that you're still wearing a tank top and short shorts from the night before. You dismiss the thought, too worried about Josh seeing you to care about your appearance.

"Come on," you sigh to Sam, giving him a nervous glance as he joins you and you head down to the kitchen.

You and Sam take a seat at the kitchen counter beside Josh and begin to silently eat the pancakes he made you.

"Where's Jake?" Sam asks Josh, breaking the uneasy silence.

"He went out to get some backup guitar strings," he replies, not bothering to look up from his food.

"Oh yeah! Did Josh tell you we were going on tour?" Sam asks you excitedly. You notice Josh look up at you from the corner of your eye.

"Yeah, congratulations! I'm so proud of you all," you reply with a forced smile.

"Yeah we're all really excited," Sam says, "it's too bad we'll have to leave all summer though." You can feel Josh's eyes on you as you try hard to focus on your pancakes.

"Yeah, I'll miss you guys," you reply honestly.

"Hey, why don't you come with us?" Sam asks happily, looking from you to Josh. You glance up at Sam as a smile tugs at your lips. You open your mouth to reply but you're quickly cut off.

"No. She's not coming," Josh states, taking a bite of his pancake. Your heart drops and Sam's smile fades.

"Why not?" Sam glares at Josh and he meets his brother's gaze.

"She's not a part of this Sam," Josh says.

"Is this because you saw us in my bed together?" Sam accuses, while you look at him anxiously, "because it isn't what you think it is." Josh drops his fork and it clatters loudly against his plate.

"Oh no, I'm sure it isn't. Obviously, there isn't anything going on between the two of you. That would be insane, right?" Josh replies calmly, staring only at you while he spoke. You quickly nod.

"Of course Josh, don't be ridiculous," you say quickly before Sam could respond. Sam turns his attention to you, his eyebrows furrowed as he waits eagerly for you to continue. "There's nothing going on between us, I just needed a place to sleep for the night," you attempt to lie, although Josh clearly isn't convinced.

"Mhm," Josh slurs, picking up his fork and returning his attention to finishing his breakfast. You glance briefly at Sam and notice him looking at you, his lips parted slightly and his eyes sad. You try hard to ignore him as you focus on eating your pancakes. Nobody spoke. You finish eating and stand up with your empty plate, Josh rising from his seat as well.

"Sam, do the dishes," Josh says quietly, "I want to talk to y/n for a minute." Your stomach drops and your heart begins to race.

"Fine," Sam grumbles, taking your plate from you.

Josh leads you upstairs to his room, remaining silent the whole way. He closes his bedroom door behind you and turns to you, shoving his hands in his pockets. He looks at you for a moment, seemingly contemplating what to say.

"Why are you here," he asks you quietly. You can't possibly tell him the truth, even though you know he'll be able to tell if you lie.

"Listen Josh, it's really not what you think it is. I just needed a place to sleep, nothing happened between Sam and me, I only slept in his bed," you ramble. His eyes never leave yours as he shakes his head slightly, narrowing his eyes.

"Why aren't you telling me the truth, y/n?" Josh asks softly.

"You know I wouldn't lie to you."

"I used to believe that but now I'm not so sure."

"Josh please believe me," you plead. He scoffs and a sudden wave of pain washes over his face, clearly evident in his eyes. If he was holding in his emotions before he clearly isn't anymore. Your heart breaks at the way he looks at you.

"Believe you? I know you y/n. You're lying straight to my face."

"Josh-" before you can continue Josh cuts you off, his voice low.

"what happened last night," he asks again, and you notice his eyes begin to tear up. All you want is to tell him the truth, you're heartbroken that you can't.

"Nothing happened between me and Sam," you say quietly as Josh's eyes narrow and he shakes his head at you. You look at your feet. You know you haven't convinced him but it's too late to go back. "I just got here last night and I saw a light on in his room, so I went in and asked to stay overnight, that's all."

You look back up at him and what you see makes you wish you hadn't looked up at all. A tear rolls down Josh's cheek, followed quickly by another. His watery eyes are still fixed on yours, and your heart aches.

"I thought our friendship was stronger than this," he says evenly in a deep voice. You feel your eyes water as you reach your hand up to wipe away his tears. He turns his face away from you and looks to the wall, not letting you touch him. You drop your hand and a tear escapes your eye.

"I thought you'd never lie to me," his voice wavers slightly, "I thought we were best friends."

"We are Josh, I'll always be your best friend," you say. He looks back at you with sad eyes.

"No," his voice cracks and you choke back a sob, "you can't be if you're going to make me a promise, break it, and then lie to me about it." Tears stream freely down your face now. You had never made Josh cry before now, and you've never felt worse about yourself.

"I'm so sorry," you breathe, shaking your head.

"After all of this, you're still not going to tell me what really happened?" he wonders aloud. You look quietly back at your feet and wipe away the tears that stung your cheeks. You nervously glance back up at him and watch him wipe his own tears away while he turns towards the door. He grabs the handle but you can't let him leave like this, even if it'll only put you in a worse position.

"Josh wait," you force out. His hand stays around the doorknob but he stays perfectly still, facing the door. "I-I kissed him."

He looks over his shoulder at you and you notice his face soaked with many more tears than you saw him shed moments before. He stares you right in the eyes and bites his lip in an attempt to stop himself from crying. It doesn't work, tears continuing to stain his cheeks. He swings the door open and walks out without another word. You reach out your arm in his direction but he closes it behind him. Stunned, you sink to the floor and sit with your face buried in your hands. Hurting Josh was the last thing you wanted. You hated knowing that he was crying right now because of you. You hear him walking downstairs as Sam calls out to him.

"Josh what happened?" you hear Sam ask, muffled by the door. There's no reply. Instead, you hear the front door open and slam shut as you cry into your arms. You hear footsteps ascending the stairs so you stand up and wipe away your tears, not doing a very good job as your face is still soaked. You hear a knock at the bedroom door, so you stumble over and open it, meeting Sam's eyes with your own. You can't even look at him without thinking about what you did to Josh.

"Y/n are you ok? What's wrong?" he asks, clearly extremely worried. It's not often that Josh cries. Sam takes a step towards you but you brush past him and rush downstairs.

"N-not now Sam," you say before running to the front door and throwing it open, not bothering to close it as you run outside. You jog down the driveway and see Josh sitting in his car. His arms are crossed on top of the steering wheel and his head is leaning heavily on his arms. Your heart drops in your chest, you've truly never felt lower. He doesn't see you so you continue to run down the driveway and onto the road. You hear Sam call after you but you don't stop.

You sprint until you reach your house, tears streaming down your face. You throw your door open and hurry inside. You call out to your dad but don't hear a reply, confirming your suspicion that he's gone out. You run up the stairs to your room and sit down on your bed, defeated. You gasp for breath between heavy sobs, burying your face in your hands. You can't believe that you broke your promise to Josh. For the first time, you feel like your friendship is broken. Watching Josh cry and knowing it was entirely your fault shattered your heart. Lying to his face over and over made you wish nothing had ever happened between you and Sam. You regretted sneaking out and waking him up last night. You regretted taking him to the creek and kissing him, and above all else, you regretted sleeping in his bed with him afterward.

All you wanted now was for Josh to forgive you, but you had seriously broken his trust. Your heart aches. You feel a hand touch your back gently and feel the space on the bed beside you sink. You remove your head from your hands and glance up to see Sam sitting beside you. Concern spreads in his eyes when he sees your face, although you don't need a mirror to know that you feel much worse than you look. He reaches out and pulls you into a warm hug. Without thinking, you bury your face into his chest as he rubs small circles into your back with his hands. Your tears soak into his shirt.

"Shhh," he whispers comfortingly, in an attempt to calm you down. It doesn't work. All that you can think about is knowing that Josh is crying just as hard as you are right now, with no one to comfort him. He deserves somebody to be there for him right now like Sam is here for you. But the difference is, you don't deserve Sam. You're the one who should be alone. You pull away from Sam and stand up, walking away from him as you cover your mouth with your hand to hold back a sob.

"Sam, I-I can't do this," you say shakily. You hear him stand up from the bed behind you.

"Can't do what?" he asks, his voice seeming to be afraid to hear how you might answer. You turn around to face him, hugging your arms to your stomach.

"I can't be with you right now," you say quietly as you watch his face fall, "we can't be together," you continue. Sam looks at his feet but remains silent.

"I mean, we're only friends, right? It's ok," you say, trying harder to convince yourself than Sam. He shakes his head and looks back up at you with sad eyes.

"We're not just friends and you know it," his voice deep. You shake your head, knowing that he's right but not wanting to admit it to yourself. You have to get through this, for Josh's sake.

"We have to be."

"No we don't!" his voice cracks, full of sadness. It reminds you of when you were talking to Josh. Sam takes a step towards you and you look at your feet. He takes your hands into his.

"Y/n please don't break my heart," he breathes shakily, "I don't know what I'd do." You close your eyes and let another tear fall as you let go of his hands, looking up to meet Sam's eyes.

"I'm sorry."

Taglist: @aliensforleaders @kiszkaboi @greta-gvf @rogers-wristbands @strawberry-fieldsssss @gretavanqueen @goodoldfashionedqueen @spngvf @mutantpanda54 @allons-ytomyworld @diggrycedric @sammysgirll @rogerinascigarette @thaliamessi @pazmonkey @yesmynameisbelle @a-queen-and-her-throne @grapesarepurple @cherrrywitch @edgeofdrkness @livcappolella @ohsososophisticatedd @lunautica13 @oddolive @daydreamqueenjaycee @jenjenhill @neonslushies @fruityfreddie @izmo16 @gwilsbri @safarimama @thicchardy 💗

[gretavanfleetlife]

Only Time Will Tell:

Chapter 7

AN: hey! Sorry about that last heartbreak of a chapter, I’d promise it gets better but I might have to break my promise like reader lol🤭 Anywayy i hope you like the symbolism and metaphorical sense a certain part of this chapter, a bit deeper than it may seem on the surface... lol enjoy babes!!💖💖

Warnings: swearing

Word count: 2,200 words

"I'm sorry."

Sam looks at you, his face miserable. His eyes begin to water and he fights hard to hold back tears. Your heart truly feels shattered. The way he looks at you makes you think of Josh.

"Oh Sammy," you sigh, your words heavy as a side effect of your broken heart. You step towards him and give him a brief hug, as if I'll apologize for what you've done. You know that you still have feelings for him, but you also know that it will only make things worse if you embrace them before he leaves. You pull away from Sam's gentle touch and gaze sadly into his eyes. Looking at him reminds you too closely of Josh, both images being enough to make your eyes water. Ever since you were younger you've absolutely hated seeing any of the boys cry. It didn't happen often, but when it did it almost always moved you to tears. Sam looks at the ground, refusing to meet your eyes.

"Look at me," you whisper. Sam does as you say, lifting his head and gazing down at you. "I-I'll wait for you, ok?" you hear yourself sniffle. Sam nods, running a hand through his long hair.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he whispers, his voice cracking. He turns, running a hand across his face and walking out of your room. Moments later, you hear him leave your house by the creaking of the front door echoing throughout your home. You sink back on your bed, lying down into the mattress as you begin to think about everything you've caused in such a short amount of time. You bury your face in your pillow and cry softly, eventually falling into a heavy dream by accident.

You dream that you are back at the creek, sitting next to Sam on the smooth rock just as you did last night. You rest your head on Sam's shoulder as his arm is wrapped around you gently. Everything seems to be happening in the same way as it had the night before. When he pulls away from you, you no longer feel disappointed at the loss of contact, because you know what's coming. You look up at him and gaze into his deep brown eyes, dreading to hear him speak.

"Beautiful," he whispers. Your heart falls, remembering what came after Sam uttered that word the night before. He leans in closer to you, but instead of pulling away like you know you should, you close the gap between the two of you and kiss him. Your lips danced sweetly with his, but unlike the night before, it was Sam who pulled away first, quickly ending the kiss. You look at him, confused and suddenly unsure about what's to happen next.

"I thought this was what you wanted," you wonder aloud to Sam. He looks straight into your eyes but doesn't reply, his face a blank canvas void of expression. He leans closer to you again and you brace yourself for another kiss, but are stunned when you feel him suddenly push you strongly into the creek. You crash into the water, the stream becoming as deep as an ocean as you sink like a stone. You swim back to the surface and you splash about the water, unable to stay afloat against the sudden heavy current. You desperately scream out to Sam for help but watch in horror as he stands up from his place atop the rock and walks away through the trees. You are left alone, thrashing about in the water. You feel exhausted from fighting against the crashing waves around you, so you tiredly let the water crash over your head, submerging you completely under the water. You reach your hand above your head as a tired final attempt of hope. You feel water begin to splash into your lungs as you feel a sudden tight grip around your hand. You are pulled strongly out of the water, crashing down onto a soft bed of grass. Sam must have come back for you, you think, coughing up seawater. You look back at the water that you just escaped from and realize that the deep ocean you had almost drowned in has turned back into the shallow stream that ran through the creek.

"You alright?" a familiar voice asks. You glance upward, expecting to see Sam but instead locking eyes with Josh, who sits in soaked clothes beside you. Sam is nowhere in sight.

You startle awake from your dream, breathing quickly as you attempt to relax into the comfortable mattress beneath you. You roll over onto your back and notice that your pillow is still damp with your tears. You rub your eyes and glance at your phone. The time reads 4:38 p.m., but that's not what catches your eye. Instead, you notice a text appear, sent to you about an hour ago.

'Sam: Josh just talked to Jake and Danny without me and convinced them to leave today instead of tomorrow :( '

Your stomach drops as you lie still on your bed, too stunned to move. You reread the message a couple of times before snapping out of your haze and rushing to reply.

'Y/n: What time?' you type. Seconds later, Sam replies.

'Sam: In like 10 mins'

'Y/n: I'll be right over'

'Sam: Hurry'

You roll out of bed and rush to change out of your pajamas, throwing on a loose pair of shorts and a large hoodie. You hurry out of your house and walk quickly over to the Kiszka house. Approaching their driveway, you see Danny and Jake loading a large van with bags and equipment. Danny sees you first, delicately placing a red snare drum into the trunk of the car.

"Y/n!" Danny yells, causing Jake to look to you as well, "I thought you weren't coming!" He pulls you into a giant bear hug, lifting you off the ground and causing you to squeal.

"I fell asleep, but I'd never miss saying goodbye!" you reply with a genuinely wide smile as Danny carefully places you back on the ground. Danny never fails to make you grin like a fool. He mimics your smile as Jake approaches you, holding his precious red guitar in one hand and a reaching out to you with the other. You hug Jake closely as he rubs your back with his free hand.

"We're gonna miss you y/n," he says softly, "don't forget about us while we're gone, ok?" Jake lets you go with a smile.

"Only if you don't forget about me."

"Deal," Jake grins, holding out his hand to shake yours as if to solidify the agreement. You shake his hand but instantly regret it.

"Ew, Jake! Why's your hand wet?" you ask with a disgusted look on your face. You carefully smell the sticky substance on your hand and recognize the scent immediately, laughing in relief.

"I dropped a case of beer when I was loading it into the van. I may have spilled a little bit," he laughs, motioning to the driveway at pieces of shattered glass and a puddle of beer. You shake your head jokingly.

"Clutz," you tease, "where are the other two?"

"Josh and Sam are inside doing who knows what," he says, waving his hand dismissively towards the house.

"Alright, I'll be right back," you declare, walking up the driveway towards the front door. You hold your breath and walk up to the door, already ajar. Just as you are about to walk inside, Josh pushes past you, giving you a short glance before quickly returning his focus to the ground ahead of him. You feel a familiar pang of disappointment return but you let him go, seeing Sam waiting just inside the house. He lets out a heavy sigh of relief when he sees you. You step inside and Sam ruffles his hair nervously while shoving his other hand in his pocket.

"Hey," you begin.

"Hey, I'm glad you made it over before we left, I was starting to get worried," Sam admits.

"Me too, I don't think I'd be able to forgive myself if you left without saying goodbye."

"Yeah well we shouldn't be leaving today anyway," he complains.

"It's alright Sam, I'm sure Josh has his reasons," you say unconvincingly.

"Pfft, I don't give a shit about his reasoning, he could've asked me," Sam rants, clearly upset.

"It's ok, don't worry about it," you try to calm him, knowing it's definitely your fault that Josh wanted to leave a day early. Sam opens his arms to you and pulls you into a hug. Your heart flutters but sadness still seeps through you. He adjusts his grip on you, pulling you tighter to himself as he buries his face in your neck.

"I'm gonna miss you so fucking much," he says, his voice muffled by your hair. You smile sadly. You rub his back in response, not wanting to speak in fear of your voice cracking unevenly. He lifts his head away from the crook of your neck and you feel his warm breath against your ear. "Promise you'll wait for me?" Sam whispers softly into your ear. You remain still for a moment, unable to avoid remembering the last time that you made a promise. You nod against his chest.

"Of course," you breath softly. He pulls away from you but you can't bring yourself to look at him. He reaches out to you and gently lifts your chin, forcing your eyes to reconnect with his.

"I need to hear you say it," he asks, "please." His eyes are still swimming with sadness, reminding you of your earlier conversation with him.

"I promise, Sammy. I'll wait for you," you whisper.

As you help Sam grab the last of the bags from the house you feel the former uneasy tension between you and Sam drift away. You load the luggage into the van, saying a quick goodbye to Sam before he hops into the car. Recapping in your head, you've hugged three of the four of them goodbye, and you know that the last will be the most difficult. You walk around to the driver's seat and knock on the car window. Josh doesn't open the door right away, and you begin to wonder if he'll even get out to say goodbye before they leave. You're put slightly at ease when the car door opens and Josh steps out, closing the door strongly behind himself and turning to face you. His eyes stare into yours, his face emotionless and impossible to interpret, although you know for certain how he's feeling on the inside.

"Do us both a favor and leave me alone," Josh says urgently in a deep voice. Your heart drops lower in your chest at the harshness of his tone, this is not going to be easy. You shake your head slightly, denying the possibility of meeting Josh's request.

"I know you're upset, and you have every reason to be," you begin, your voice low and desperate, "But I need you to know that I'm going to miss you with every piece of my heart. I'm sorry, you have no idea how bad I feel about this."

"Oh, I understand perfectly how terrible you must be feeling," Josh scoffs, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at you, "I'd even say I'm feeling quite similar myself."

"Right, um sorry," you stumble, feeling idiotic. Of course he knew how you were feeling, how could you say that to him. "Anyway uh, I'm gonna miss you," you stutter, feeling very unsure of yourself after Josh's last comment, "can I... can I have a hug?"

He hesitates for a moment, but eventually opens his arms towards you and you hug him tightly. You close your eyes, feeling tears begin to form and trying not to let them fall.

"Please remember that I love you, Joshie," you whisper into his ear. He pulls away from you.

"Don't call me that," he says, opening the car door and swiftly getting inside. You bite the inside of your cheek to keep yourself from crying. You gave Josh that nickname when you were seven years old. Since then, Josh has gotten mad at anyone other than you who called him it. You both know that the name is reserved for only you to call him, or at least it was until now.

"Bye y/n!" Danny calls from the back of the van, bringing you out of your daydream while the car makes its way down the driveway. You cross your arms and wave back at the car. Jake leans over to the wheel and honks the horn, waving to you and earning a serious slap from Josh. You laugh, continuing to wave as the van backs onto the road and drives away. You hear another honk and you giggle at Jake's second attempt at a goodbye. Soon, the van disappears over the horizon. Wiping a small tear from your eye, you begin to slowly walk home in the middle of the road.

Taglist: @aliensforleaders @kiszkaboi @greta-gvf @rogers-wristbands @strawberry-fieldsssss @gretavanqueen @spngvf @goodoldfashionedqueen @mutantpanda54 @allons-ytomyworld @diggrycedric @sammysgirll @rogerinascigarette @thaliamessi @pazmonkey @yesmynameisbelle @a-queen-and-her-throne @grapesarepurple @cherrrywitch @edgeofdrkness @livcappolella @ohsososophisticatedd @lunautica13 @oddolive @daydreamqueenjaycee @jenjenhill @neonslushies @fruityfreddie @izmo16 @gwilsbri @safarimama @thicchardy @mr-stank-i-dont-feel-so-dank 💗💗💗

[gretavanfleetlife]

Only Time Will Tell: Chapter One

AN: This is the first fic I’ve ever written and I’m so excited to share it with you guys!! This will be the first chapter of a gvf series so there’s much more to come. I love you all so much, thank you for the support! Hope you enjoy!!

Also an enormous thank you to @aliensforleaders for inspiring me and being a massive help, I couldn’t have done it without you!!💕💕

Warnings: swearing

You stare mindlessly at the ceiling while you lay sprawled across your best friend's bed, humming along to a record that you knew all too well. You slowly open your eyes as the record stops spinning and the music becomes silent.

"God bless Bob Dylan," Josh says, "a true legend."

"You've been saying that since you were eight years old," you reply, smiling and looking up to see him walking towards the bed and flopping down next to you.

"And I'll keep saying it because it's true and you know it," he says and looks over at you. You scrunch up your nose and he sticks his tongue out at you. You and Josh have been best friends since you were three years old and he was six. He's always felt like an older brother to you, and the two of you became inseparable despite the clear age difference. You were only four years old when your mother passed away, and Josh's family took care of you when your father couldn't. You've grown extremely close with his family and closely bonded with Josh's brothers, Jake and Sam.

"When are you gonna get a boyfriend?" Josh asks suddenly. The abrupt question brings you out of your daydream.

"When are you gonna get a girlfriend?" you smirk.

"I'm serious y/n."

"You're never serious." Josh rolls his eyes, fighting a smirk that tugs at the corner of his lips.

"Ok well, this one time I am. You haven't gone on a date in, what, two years?" Josh questions, rolling onto his side to look at you, "don't you think it's been more than long enough?"

"Give me a break Josh, I dated Cam for a year. Don't you think I deserve as much time as I need after that?" you reply, meeting his gaze as he rolls his eyes at you. The last time you were in a relationship you were cheated on after almost a year of being together, and you didn't want to have to worry about that happening again.

"That was forever ago! It's time for you to get back out there and I'm going to help you find a guy if it's the last thing I do." Josh decides as he jumps off of the bed, "and I know just how you're going to do it!" The mischievous glimmer in Josh's eyes makes you nervous to hear his idea.

"Uh oh," you mutter as you prop yourself up on the bed to face him.

"I'm gonna throw a party tomorrow night!" You groan and bury your face in a pillow. "Hey, I know your excited y/n you don't have to hide it," Josh says, crossing his arms. He was right, you did feel excited as you smiled into the pillow that you held against your face. Sometimes you feel like Josh knows you better than you know yourself.

You throw the pillow at Josh and he lets it hit his chest and fall to the floor. He laughs as he walks out of his room without explanation.

"Josh where are you going?" You call out to him.

"Follow me," he calls to you as he walks downstairs. You let a small smile tug at your lips before quickly getting up and jogging after him. You get downstairs as Josh is putting on his shoes. "Sam! Let's go we're going out."

"Do I get a choice?" Sam asks as he gets up from his seat in the living room. You slide on your shoes as Josh opens the door, motioning you outside.

"Nope, hurry up," Josh responds.

As the three of you huddle into Josh's messy car, you ask him where you're going. Josh ignores you and turns on the radio, giving you a smirk before turning his attention back to the road. You cross your arms and share a smile with Sam, both of you impatient to know where Josh is taking you. After about ten minutes of you and Sam eagerly guessing your unknown destination, Josh parks the car in front of a clothing store.

"Oh no..." you mumble, looking nervously at Josh, who has a large grin on his face.

"Oh yes!" He replies, energetically hopping out of the car.

"Aw, I thought we were getting food! Why did I have to come?" Sam complains as the three of you walk towards the shop.

"I wanted a second opinion," Josh shrugs, earning an eye roll from Sam.

Walking inside the vibrant store, Josh and Sam make their way towards a small velvet couch beside the fitting rooms as Josh hurriedly shoos you away to look around. You leave the boys and turn your attention to the endless rows of shelves and hangers. As you flip through the dresses, you feel hesitant to take any off the rack. It's not that you don't want to catch a guy's attention, but you don't want to appear to be trying too hard. With a small sigh, your eyes land on a small black skirt. Picking it up and tucking it under your shoulder, you head over towards the back of the store where Josh and Sam are sitting. You pass the boys and walk into a fitting room, overhearing them discuss their band as you change into the light skirt. You smile and giggle quietly to yourself as you hear them bicker about their songs. They always talk about music extremely passionately, and you imagine Josh's elaborate hand motions as they discuss the newest song that they had written.

"Highway Tune is ridiculous!" Josh exclaims as you push the curtain aside and step out of your room to stand in front of the boys. Josh and Sam's conversation stops immediately and they turn their attention towards you.

"I like it," Sam says giving you a warm smile, which you happily return.

"What the fuck are you wearing?" Josh asks loudly, giving you a very confused expression.

"What does it look like?" you reply sarcastically.

Josh shakes his head in response, "It looks like you're not even trying. The whole purpose of the party is to get you a boyfriend can you please make my job a little easier y/n?" Sam's eyes widen and his shoulders tense as he stares at his brother. You groan and plop down beside Sam and he shifts uncomfortably on the couch.

"Fine! You go find something then," you shrug as Josh gets up and briskly walks away. You glance at Sam beside you and notice him quietly fidgeting with the end of his sleeve. Sam notices your gaze and quickly stops, clearing his throat.

"So Josh is throwing a party?" he asks.

"Yeah, tomorrow night," you reply.

"Do you know who's gonna be there?"

"I don't know the whole list, but probably everyone in our grade, plus Josh and Jake's friends. Why?"

"Oh no reason, just wondering." You notice Sam has gone back to fiddling with his shirt.

"Are you alright?" you ask gently.

Sam glances at you briefly before looking down at his feet. "Yeah of course. Why wouldn't I be?" Sam replies quietly.

"You just seem like there's something on your mind, that's all."

Sam looks up at you intently. He opens his mouth to reply but is interrupted by his older brother shoving multiple dresses into your arms.

"Honestly y/n did you even look? It took me about ten seconds to find these three," Josh complains loudly, "Well off you go then! Go try them on, we'll wait" he says as he returns to his seat.

You get up to walk back into your changeroom and glance at Sam, who's resting his head on his fist while he looks at the floor. You frown to yourself and close the curtains. When you open them again and stand in front of the boys, you have on a short golden dress that falls dangerously close to your butt and shows way too much cleavage for your taste. You roll your eyes at Josh's sense of style.

"What's with you and tight gold clothes?" you ask.

Josh's face lights up, "That's what I'm talking about! You look fantastic y/n."

Sam looks you up and down, his eyes landing on your chest for a moment before returning to meet your eyes. He swallows hard, "I don't really think it's your style, do you?"

"Yeah, you're right. This is too 'Josh' for me," you agree. Sam's shoulders relax as you walk back into your fitting room to try on the next one. You hear Josh let out an audible sigh as you force your body into a tiny, backless red dress. You were astounded as you finally got into it, walking out of the changeroom towards the boys.

"What size do you think I am Josh, negative four?" you snicker at Josh who nods his head in approval.

"Well yes dear, beauty is pain as they say," Josh chimes.

"Can you breath?" Sam says with a small laugh.

"Not really but thanks for asking," you snickered, shuffling back to your changeroom, "I think I'll have to pass on this one Joshie," you call out to him before sliding the curtain closed and changing into the final dress that Josh had picked for you. As you slid on the shoulderless maroon dress, you instantly fell in love with it. It showed off your curves and revealed just the right amount of cleavage, captivatingly complimenting your features. You knew the boys would love it too, so you quickly stepped outside and walked excitedly towards the velvet couch.

"That's the one!" Josh stated instantly, sporting a smile similar to yours as you gave him a quick spin, "how about it Sammy?" Sam silently stares at you, his lips parted slightly as his eyes rake over your body. Josh nudges Sam, "Well?" Josh says.

"N-no," Sam stutters while his eyes continue to scan over you. You frown, a bit hurt that Sam didn't like the way you looked.

"Oh, you don't think it looks good?" you ask Sam, second-guessing yourself.

Sam's eyes widen, "No, y/n that's not what I meant! It's just..." Sam stumbled.

"Just what?" you ask looking down at yourself. Sam tears his eyes away from your dress and looks at his feet.

"Nothing. You look beautiful," he sighs, slightly mumbling the compliment.

"Well if there aren't any obligations then this is definitely the one!" Josh says excitedly.

Josh insists on paying for your new dress, so you head out to the car with Sam. You hop into Josh's truck, claiming shotgun as Sam slowly makes his way to the backseat. You sit in silence as you glance at him through the mirror. Sam stares at his feet, fiddling with his hands as his eyebrows furrow in an emotion that you can't quite place. Sadness? Anger? Confusion? You're not sure, but you can tell something is bothering him. You ask Sam if there is anything wrong and he glances up at you briefly before turning to look out the window.

"Hm? No, I'm fine," Sam slurs unconvincingly. You've known Sam long enough to tell that he was definitely not fine, but you decide not to push it. You figure that he's probably just upset that he was forced into coming clothes shopping with you and Josh.

You flinch suddenly as you hear an enormous bang. You laugh and catch your breath as you see Josh sprawled out on the hood of his car, wailing like there's no tomorrow. He smiles at you as he slides off and throws himself into the driver's seat next to you, tossing a shopping bag containing your new dress at Sam, who doesn't seem impressed by Josh's spontaneous theatrical performance. Sam mutters something under his breath as Josh pulls out of the parking lot. As you made your way back to the Kiszka house, you sang along to John Denver at the top of your lungs with Josh and remained completely oblivious to Sam's frequent glances at you the rest of the way home.

@aliensforleaders @obetrol-and-cocktails @sweet-ladyy @goodoldfashionedqueen 💖

[gretavanfleetlife]

Only Time Will Tell:

Chapter 4

AN: Hey! This chapter is fkn CUTE lemme just tell ya. Sorry this part took a bit longer than the others, I’ve been pretty busy lately and I didn’t want to rush through it. Anyway I hope you guys enjoy, love you all!💕

Also big shoutout to my boy Rami Malek for portraying a legend beautifully and winning a well deserved Oscar tonight!!😊

Warnings: flufffff

Word count: 2,250

You open your eyes slowly, feeling a painful headache beginning and a sick feeling in your stomach. Last night was not kind. You start to remember all the events that took place yesterday but you quickly dismiss the memories, as they would only contribute to your headache and you'd rather just about forget them entirely. Your body aches. You go to stretch out your arms but stop when you notice an arm wrapped loosely around your waist. Glancing over your shoulder, you see Sam sleeping peacefully next to you. A light shade of pink grazes your cheeks and you lay still, not knowing what to do but slightly enjoying Sam's gentle touch. You decide that you should probably get up, moving your leg to the side of the bed in an attempt to sit up. You try to slide his arm off of your waist, but feeling you moving makes Sam tighten his grip on you and tug you back into his arms, pulling you close into his chest. His arms are tight around you now and there is practically no space in between the two of you. The blush on your face deepens as he nuzzles his face into your neck. You know you don't have any chance of moving from this without waking him up, so you decide to go back to sleep. Pressed snuggly against his body, you easily drift off into a hazy dream.

About an hour later, you wake up to feel Sam stirring awake. You feel his head pull back from being tucked against your neck.

"Holy shit," you hear Sam whisper as he loosens his grasp around you. You feel his body leave yours and find yourself wishing for it to return. You hear him move to sit up on the opposite end of the bed. You stretch and sit up, turning your body to glance at him. He faces the wall, shaking his head slightly while he runs his hand through his messy hair. You giggle at the fact that he was anxious to have been cuddling you since at first, you felt the same way. Sam hears you laugh and immediately turns. You see him blush as he looks at you with wide eyes, despite having just woken up. His expression softens slightly as he gives you a small smile.

"Morning y/n, you feeling ok?" He asks.

"I've been better but nothing I can't handle," you reply, as he gives you a small nod. Waking up in Sam's arms almost made you forget about your hangover completely. You notice Sam holding his right hand and examining it closely. "What's wrong with your hand?" you ask him. Sam glances up at you.

"Oh nothing it's fine," he says unconvincingly. You don't believe him, so you throw the covers off of your body and stand up, moving towards the opposite side of the bed where Sam sits facing the wall. He looks at you and his eyes scan over your body as you notice his shoulders slightly tense. You look down at yourself and realize you're wearing his t-shirt and a pair of underwear. You could see your bra lying on the ground near a pair of Sam's sweatpants on the other side of the bed. You begin to blush but quickly regain your focus and go to stand in front of Sam.

"Can I see your hand please?" you ask. Sam slowly removes his hand from between his arms and shows you his fist, his knuckles cracked with dry blood that looks extremely painful. You let out a small gasp and take his hand into yours, examining it, "oh Sammy, what did you do," you whisper, "come on let's clean you up." You continue to hold his hand as you lead him towards his bathroom. You turn on the tap and help him wash his bruised knuckles, rinsing away the blood. Sam watches you carefully while you tend to his hand.

"Jesus Sammy, how hard did you hit him?" you mumble.

"As hard as I could," he responds gently.

"I'm sorry about this Sam."

"Why? It's not your fault," he replies, his eyes still fixed on yours as you caress the back of his hand gently, turning the water off and drying his hand with a towel.

"I just feel like the fight only happened because of me," you frown, finished cleaning his fist.

"Y/n no don't feel bad, it happened because Cam is an asshole. No one should ever touch a girl like that. Especially if that girl is you." You look up at him, blushing at his words.

"Come here," you open your arms and pull Sam closely into a hug. You bury your face into his chest and listen to the faint beating of his heart. You always felt that Sam's hugs were to die for, standing completely engulfed in the warmth of his body. You wanted him to hold you here forever. You felt safe in his arms. Butterflies swarmed in your stomach, a feeling you'd never gotten before from simply hugging Sam. You pull away and look up at him. For some reason, it was like you couldn't move your gaze away from his face. He gazed back at you, seeming to imitate your actions as his eyes swept across your face. You had been friends ever since you could remember, but at that moment it was like the first time you saw him.

"I think you should probably head home soon. Knowing your dad he'll probably be worried," Sam says softly. You listen to his words but your eyes don't stray from his face.

"Yeah, you're probably right," you say as you give him a small smile. You continue to study each other for a moment longer but decide it'd best for you to get going. You pry your eyes away from Sam and head towards his bed, grabbing your bra and dress that lay scattered across the floor and mindlessly throw it in a bag along with your clothes from yesterday. You daydream about Sam, hardly paying any attention as you put on his sweatpants that you found near the bed. You feel extremely confused, why do you feel this way about Sam now? What even is this feeling? You know that you find him attractive, his deep brown eyes and long wavy hair handsomely completing his facial features. But no this isn't right, this is the same Sam that you grew up with, nothing's changed. So why do you feel this way about him now? You finish packing your things and glance over at him to find him already looking at you.

"Do you want a ride home?" Sam offers as the two of you head out of his room together and walk downstairs.

"No that's ok Sam, I can walk," you reply politely. You want some time alone so you can figure out your sudden complex feelings towards Sam.

"Alright, I'll walk you over then," he decides, slipping on a pair of worn-in sandals.

"You don't have to," you smile, "I'll be ok."

"Well I gotta head over to my aunt's house anyway to grab lunch and she lives just past your house."

"Oh ok, great," you reply as the two of you walk out the door and start towards your house. You were thankful that you didn't live too far, just on the other end of the street. Being around Sam felt different now, although it was still a good feeling. You walked straight into the middle of the road, a habit you developed when you were kids that you've continued ever since.

-flashback-

The sun was just beginning to appear over the horizon as you walked on the sidewalk next to Sam. The two of you were headed back to school after a long summer filled with childish adventures. You were beginning grade 7 that year, so the two of you were used to walking to school without Josh and Jake. Frankenmuth High was located deeper into town, so the twins got a ride from their dad every morning. You didn't mind walking though. Your favorite part of every day was when you watched the sun peek over the fields in the distance, calmly walking towards it with one of your closest friends. You looked at Sam.

"It's too bad this summer's already over," you sighed as Sam nodded quietly.

"Yeah, it was fun while it lasted," he replied.

"I miss it already. The freedom of waking up knowing we can do whatever we wanted, go wherever we wanted," you remembered, sadly, "now we have to go to school every day. No more limitless freedom," you sigh, watching your feet crunch against the coarse gravel.

"Then let's not walk to school," Sam said as you looked up at him confused. He holds out his hand to you and you take it in yours. His fingers intertwine with yours as he guides you away from the sidewalk and onto the middle of the empty road. "Let's walk to the sun," he said as you smile up at him, "every day."

Sam kept his word. Every day since when you got up for school in the morning, Sam would be waiting outside your house, he'd offer his hand to you, and you would walk to the sun together.

-end of flashback-

Sam held his hand out to you and smiled as you took it in yours.

"We haven't done this in a while," you say grinning to yourself.

"I know, I miss it," Sam replies, his eyes ahead as the sun rests slightly above the road in front of you.

"So do I. That was my favorite part of the day, did I ever tell you that?"

"No, you didn't," Sam says, a wide grin appearing on his face, "it was always my favorite too." As you walk beside him down the empty road, you feel happier than you've been in a long time, the problems and pain of last night's events disappearing by the touch of Sam's rough hand in yours. You see your house approaching as you make your way down the road.

"Hey are you with Ethan now?" Sam asked. The sudden change in conversation couldn't possibly ruin your mood.

"No, were not. We had something going on between us for a while but then I saw him making out with some other girl. I guess I was wrong," you shrug, not caring enough about Ethan at the moment to be upset. Sam shakes his head.

"You deserve somebody better than him anyway." A smile tugs at your lips.

"Know anyone?" you ask. Sam lets out a small laugh.

"One," he says with a smile.

"Who, Danny? He's taken," you joke.

"Oh uh, yeah Danny's who I was gonna say." His smile fades. You laugh softly and you reach your house. He drops your hand as the two of you walk up your porch steps and stop in front of the door. Sam stands in front of you and shoves his hands in his pockets.

"Thanks," you say gently.

"Anytime, you know I like walking with you."

"No, thanks for everything," you continue, "last night I was really afraid of what Cam might have done and I couldn't have gotten through it alone. Anyway, thank you for taking care of me," you ramble. Sam smiles, his eyes sincere.

"I'll always take care of you," he says softly. Your heart flutters in your chest and you smile happily at Sam. Suddenly, the door swings open and you see your dad breath a large sigh of relief.

'Y/n I was worried half to death about you! Where'd you go last night? What happened?" he asks, flustered. You open your mouth to apologize but before you can say anything you're cut off by Sam.

"It was my fault, sir. We lost track of time and I didn't think it was safe for her to walk home so late at night, so I suggested she sleep at my place." You notice your dad visibly relax.

"Oh alright then. Where exactly did you sleep if I might ask," he questions. You glance nervously at Sam, hoping he doesn't tell your dad the truth.

"Y/n slept in my bed and I slept on the couch downstairs," he replies without hesitation. You silently remind yourself to thank him later, thankful that Sam remembered how strict your dad is when it comes to you being with other boys.

"Alright Sam, thank you," your dad says before returning back inside and closing the door slightly behind him. You breathe a sigh of relief and turn back to face Sam.

"You're the best," you grin, "thanks for that." He smiles at the ground and nods.

"Of course," he replies, walking towards the porch steps, "I'll see you later."

"Yeah, see you soon," you sigh, "oh Sam wait, your clothes!" you exclaim, suddenly remembering and looking down at yourself wearing Sam's baggy shirt and sweatpants. He turns and looks to you with a chuckle.

"Keep them. They look better on you anyway." You blush, and he notices.

"Bye Sam," you say as he gives you small wave and you head inside. You close the door behind you and quickly hurry to the window. You look through the blinds, expecting to see Sam turn right towards his aunt's house. Peering through the window, you grin widely to yourself as you watch him start to walk back to his own house instead.

Taglist: @aliensforleaders @kiszkaboi @greta-gvf @rogers-wristbands @strawberry-fieldsssss @littlegeekwonder @spngvf @goodoldfashionedqueen @mutantpanda54 @allons-ytomyworld @diggrycedric @sammysgirll @rogerinascigarette @thaliamessi @pazmonkey @yesmynameisbelle @a-queen-and-her-throne @grapesarepurple @cherrrywitch @edgeofdrkness @livcappolella @ohsososophisticatedd @lunautica13 @oddolive @daydreamqueenjaycee 💖

[gretavanfleetlife]

Only Time Will Tell:

Chapter 3

AN: All I’m gonna say is that shits going down. Love you all and thank you so much for the incredible support, enjoy!!💕

Warnings: swearing

Word count: 2,400

You look at yourself in the mirror and smile at your reflection, letting out a small sigh while getting ready for the party. You choose not to wear a lot of makeup, striving for a more natural look and wanting your stunning maroon dress to speak for itself. You finish curling your hair and walk into the hall. You're extremely glad you went shopping with Josh, this dress is sure to attract lots of attention. You hear people conversing and laughing loudly downstairs, and you're excited to join them. You head down the stairs with a skip in your step, following the loud sound of Josh's voice originating from the living room. Walking through the growing crowd of people, you realize that you recognize most of the faces you see. Many of them go to Frankenmuth High with you, some of them being in your grade and others a grade above. You notice Danny seated on a couch cuddled up with Mackenzie, his arm thrown around her shoulder.

"Atta boy, Danny," you mutter to yourself with a smirk. You catch a few people's eyes as you make your way through the crowd into the living room, finding Josh talking animatedly with a few people, Sam and Jake included. As you walk over to them, Josh notices you and waves you over, calling your name. The guys he was talking to turn and greet you, and you notice Sam visibly checking you out.

"Y/n, you look gorgeous!" Jake grins at you. You thank him and rest your arm on Josh's shoulder while conversation in the small group resumes.

"Mind getting me a drink?" you ask Josh. He happily obliges, leaving towards the kitchen. You're left in the group of guys as Jake tells a story to the rest of them and Sam silently drinks a beer beside you. You're eager to see if Sam is still mad at you.

"Hey, Sam, what's up?" you smile. Sam doesn't look at you. Instead, he shrugs his shoulders and turns, walking towards the kitchen without saying a word. You stand in silence, mad at yourself for somehow upsetting Sam. Fights between the two of you are rare, and even when they do happen they usually don't last for more than a few hours. You let out a frustrated sigh and nudge Jake's arm.

"Can I have a sip of that?" you ask him, motioning to the plastic cup in his hand.

"Yeah, it's really strong though, I'm drinking it on a dare," he replies, handing it to you.

"It'll be fine," you say before taking a sip. The alcohol burns your throat as you take a sip, giving Jake a small smile. "That's pretty good," you say as you chug the rest of his drink, squinting through the tingling sensation in your throat as a small crowd forms around you and cheers you on. Swallowing the last drop, you throw your head back and smile at the encouraging shouts around you. Jake stands with his arms crossed, nodding his head at you in approval. Someone hands you another cup filled with a similar looking liquid to the one you had just consumed.

"This one is way worse. Five bucks says you can't finish it all," a vaguely familiar face says as you take the cup from him.

"You're on," you smirk with confidence. You take a sip of the liquid and flinch at the taste. It was much worse than the last, but you ignore it and find yourself thinking about Sam, chugging the remainder of the drink briskly. You collect your money and smile at the loud cheering of the people around you. You turn to Jake and lean in to yell in his ear, "I'm gonna go see what's taking Josh so long." He nods to you and pats you on the back before you head into the kitchen to look for your best friend. You search the room but don't see him anywhere. You start to feel a little worried as you search for him in the huge crowd of people gathered in the living room. He's not one to avoid a party, especially if it's his own. You think that he's probably taking a break, so you head upstairs to look for him, already feeling the alcohol you drank earlier affecting you as you stumble up the stairs. You hear a faint conversation coming from Josh's room, so you walk towards the door, finding it left slightly ajar. You raise your hand to knock and push it open when you hear Sam mention your name from inside Josh's room. You lower your arm and listen intently to the loud conversation inside.

"All I'm saying is you didn't have to force her to buy that dress!" Sam says loudly.

"I didn't force y/n to do anything, Sam, she let me buy it!" you hear Josh reply as you feel your shoulders tense.

"After you told her to find a boyfriend by insisting she dress like a fucking whore! I saw the other dresses she turned down Josh, I don't want her wearing those just as much as the one you got her!" Sam practically yelled as you feel heat rise to your cheeks and tears form in your eyes. You had heard enough. You shove the door open to see Sam standing inches away from Josh, towering over him. They both turn to look at you, sharing a similar shocked expression.

"So you think I'm a whore, huh? Is that why you've been ignoring me?"

"Y/n, I-I..." Sam stumbles.

"I can make my own decisions Sam," you say as you stare at him in disbelief over what you just heard, "you don't decide what I can or can't wear."

"Listen y/n, I..." Sam fumbled. He walks towards you and opens his mouth to continue but you cut him off.

"No Sam, j-just fuck off," you say as a tear runs down your cheek and you rush towards the bathroom. You hear Sam call after you but you ignore him as you hurry into the bathroom, locking the door behind you and sitting down against it. You hear footsteps approaching and a quiet knock on the door as you cry into your hand.

"Y/n?" Sam asks softly.

"Go away, Sam."

"I-I'm sorry y/n," he says gently as you hear him sliding down to your level, his back against the door as he sits outside of it, "you shouldn't have had to hear that because I shouldn't have said it. I don't mean it, really I don't."

"Then why'd you say it?" you ask between sobs. A quiet, uneven sigh escapes his lips, almost inaudible to you. Almost.

"I just," he hesitates, "I don't want you to get hurt again." You can tell that that wasn't what Sam was going to say before, and for a moment Sam is silent. You sniffle and breath in a shaky breath. "Please don't cry. I can't stand it when you cry," his voice cracks.

"Go away Sam," you whisper, "please." You hear him stand and apologize to you once more before walking away down the hall. You stand up and wipe your tears away, looking into the mirror. You fix yourself up as much as possible, thankful that you decided not to wear too much makeup. You take a deep breath, feeling confused about Sam's outburst. You're glad that he's at least talked to you about it, but you can't forget what he said about you to Josh. You couldn't help but notice a trace of jealousy in his voice, but then again he has nothing to be jealous about. You decide to try and forget about it, you want to enjoy the party as much as you can before it's over. Collecting your thoughts, you open the door and return to the party. You walk downstairs and see the front door opening. You reach the bottom of the steps and you see Ethan walking inside.

"Y/n, hey! You look absolutely stunning," he says, glancing at your dress before meeting your eyes again.

"Thank you, I'm so glad you made it!" you grin as he walks towards you. You're thankful that he's here, partly because he'll make a good distraction from thinking about Sam too much.

"Are you alright? You look like you've just been crying or something," he says, concern lacing his voice.

"Oh yeah, my eyes are just a bit red from drinking," you lie poorly.

"Right then, do you want to grab another drink?" Ethan asks you. You nod your head, taking his hand in yours and leading him towards the kitchen. you notice that Sam is nowhere to be found, and you spot Josh in the corner of the room, talking to Jake in private. You catch his eye and he gives you a concerned look, mouthing the words, 'are you ok?'. You nod, giving him a weak smile and continuing into the kitchen. Ethan grabs beverages for the both of you and you talk for a while in the living room. As time goes on, you allow yourself to become significantly drunk.

"I'll be right back," Ethan says into your ear before heading towards the bathroom. You stand alone with a half-empty drink in your hand and take a long sip. You are startled when you feel a hand grab your butt and you whip around, seeing a face you haven't seen in a long time.

"Cam?!" You shout angrily, "what are you doing here?" Your ex-boyfriend gives you a smirk as he puts a hand on your shoulder.

"I came to see you, heard you were here."

"Don't touch me you asshole," you say firmly, shrugging his hand off your shoulder.

"Listen y/n, I know we didn't leave off on the best of terms but I just wanted to tell you that I miss you," he says unconvincingly, "I was wrong to cheat, I need you back."

"Leave me the fuck alone," you slur. You turn to walk away as Cam grabs your wrist and pulls you towards him.

"Y/n don't go, I said I miss you," he repeats.

"Let go of me!" you yelp as you try desperately to free your wrist from his grasp.

"Leave her alone, Cameron," you turn to hear Sam snarl, stepping between you and Cam as he drops your wrist. For the first time tonight you feel relieved at the sound of Sam's voice.

"Hey, Sammy! We were just catching up," Cam says, straitening his posture to match Sam's height.

"I think it's time for you to leave. She doesn't want to see you," Sam replies in a low growl.

"Sure she does," Cam says, reaching around Sam and grabbing your ass again. Before you could react, Sam punches Cam hard across his face, his fist connecting with Cam's nose. Cam stumbles backward and holds his nose in his hands. He regains his balance, fuming as he walks quickly towards Sam. Sam nudges you behind himself, preparing for a fight and raising his arms slightly.

"You're gonna regret that, Kiszka," Cam scowls. Before he reaches Sam, he is harshly shoved back by Danny.

"Fuck off Cameron, we don't want any more trouble," Danny says calmly, standing beside Sam and narrowing his eyes at Cam. Infuriated, Cam stares daggers at Sam but knows he can't take both him and Danny together.

"Whatever," he spits, "she's not worth a fight anyway." Cam turns and leaves out the front door and you are left crying silently behind Danny and Sam. Danny whispers something into Sam's ear and he nods, turning to you as Danny walks away towards the direction of the kitchen.

"Are you alright y/n?" he sighs, gently wiping away the tears streaming down your cheeks, "please don't cry," he whispers into your ear as you open your arms and allow him to engulf you in a hug, "he's gone now, it's gonna be ok. How about we call it a night?"

"I-I don't have a car," you sniffle against his chest.

"That's ok, you'll just sleep here tonight," he coos in your ear, "is that ok?" You nod your head against him and he walks with you to the stairs. You're too upset with Cam to remain mad at Sam, at least for the moment. You walk up a couple of steps and stumble at the third one, leaning heavily on Sam. You begin to wish you didn't drink as much as you had.

Sam looks at you solemnly, "may I?" motioning to you as you nod your head in agreement. Sam carefully picks you up and carries you up the rest of the stairs, your arms loosely falling around his neck. Through your tears, you see Ethan out of the corner of your eye in the bathroom, making out with a girl you didn't recognize. Typical, you think to yourself as you reach the top of the stairs. You softly cry into Sam's shoulder.

He carries you into his room and places you down gently on his bed. He walks to his dresser and takes out a baggy t-shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants.

"Here, change into these," he suggests, tossing you the clothes and standing awkwardly at the other side of the room facing the wall, "tell me when you're done." you struggle while you take off your tight dress and slip Sam's shirt on over your bra. You fight against his sweatpants but are too drunk to put them on properly, so you lazily throw them onto the floor.

"Ok I'm done, Sammy," you say and he turns around. He glances at you with a small smile.

"Y/n why didn't you put the sweatpants on? Also, your shirt's backward," he says, walking over and sitting on the bed next to you.

"They were complicated," you shrug, fixing your shirt, "I gave up." He smiles, shaking his head and helping you under the covers. He walks to the door and turns out the light.

"Goodnight," he says before turning to head out the door.

"Sam?" you call as he stops and turns to look at you, "can you stay with me?" He hesitates for a moment before walking over to the bed, sliding under the covers next to you. You lie beside each other in peaceful silence, you facing Sam as he stares up at the ceiling.

"I really am sorry," Sam whispers.

"I know."

Taglist: @aliensforleaders @obetrol-and-cocktails @kiszkaboi @greta-gvf @rogers-wristbands @strawberry-fieldsssss @littlegeekwonder @spngvf @goodoldfashionedqueen @mutantpanda54 @allons-ytomyworld @diggrycedric @sammysgirll @rogerinascigarette @thaliamessi @pazmonkey @yesmynameisbelle 💕

[gretavanfleetlife]

Only Time Will Tell:

Chapter Two

AN: Thank you guys sooo much for the amazing feedback in the last chapter!! I tried to write this one as fast as possible without compromising the quality of the story. Hope you all enjoy!!💕

Warnings: Swearing

Word count: 2,330

You are woken up by the sound of a car honking loudly outside your bedroom window. You open your eyes slowly and let out a wide yawn as you glance at the clock.

"Shit!" you curse as you throw your covers to the side and race towards your closet, tripping over your dirty clothes that lay scattered across the floor.

"Shit shit shit shit..." The honking continued as you reach into your closet and grab the first things that you touch, not bothering to see what you chose before throwing them on. You try running a brush through your tangled hair before giving up and quickly tying it up in a loose ponytail.

You grab your bag and rush downstairs, continuing to mumble profanities as you call out a brief goodbye to your dad.

"What did you say y/n? I can't hear you over all this goddamn honking!" your dad complains through a mouthful of bacon. You sigh and jog briskly into the kitchen to give your dad a hug.

"I said I'm leaving now," you repeat, "bye dad." He waves you off and continues to devour his meal. Your stomach grumbles but you know that there's no time for breakfast, so you grab an apple on your way out the door instead. You walk swiftly towards Josh's car and see him shaking his head at you while continuing to honk the horn. You give him a quick wave and hop into the seat beside him, relieved that Josh has finally decided to stop making so much noise as he takes his hands off the wheel, crossing his arms.

"You're late," Josh complains as you buckle your seatbelt.

"Good morning to you too," you reply sarcastically, "sorry, I must have slept through my alarm."

"Woah, isn't your phone set to play Safari Song? How on earth did you manage to sleep through that?"

"I guess I'm just so used to tuning out your voice that it wasn't a problem," you shrug, grinning and hitting his shoulder playfully.

"Ouch," Josh replies, smirking at your tease, "hey isn't that Jake's shirt?" he asks you, noticing your outfit and giving you a confused look. You look down at your t-shirt for the first time, reading the words 'Church of Rock and Roll' printed across it.

"Yeah, he gave it to me when he grew out of it," you shrug, taking a bite out of your apple.

"If you say so," Josh replies, clearly unconvinced.

"What is that supposed to mean?" you chuckle.

"I'm just saying if you're fucking my brother you could have at least told me," Josh says, keeping his eyes on the road while earning a slap and a groan from you, "which is not ok by the way!" he states, shaking his pointer finger at you and furrowing his eyebrows. You let out a giggle and shake your head.

"You know I wouldn't," you smile lightly.

"I know you used to have a crush on him when we were younger," Josh replies, raising his eyebrows at you while throwing you a glance. Your eyes widen as you almost choke on your apple.

"You knew about that?!" you shout.

"Y/n everyone knew about that. You weren't exactly subtle," Josh laughs, watching you shield your face with your hands.

"Alright fine...whatever that was ages ago. Can we talk about something else please," you smile at Josh, blushing furiously as you remove your hands from your face and drop them into your lap.

"Alright, if we must. Are you excited for the last day of school?" Josh questions as you speed down the road towards your high school.

"I almost forgot actually, summer took way too long to get here," you reply, thankful for the change in conversation as you relax into your seat. "I'm even more excited for your party tonight though!" you grin giddily at Josh who returns it with a wide smile of his own.

"I can hardly wait," Josh beams as you pull into the crowded parking lot of Frankenmuth High. You thank Josh quickly before hopping out of the car and slamming the door, briskly jogging into the school. You walk hurriedly to your classroom and open the door, giving your teacher a brief apology before taking your seat at the back of the class beside Sam. You give him a quick smile but notice he doesn't return it.

"Hey," you whisper.

"Hey," Sam responds, not bothering to look up from his phone.

"What did I miss?" you ask Sam, who puts away his phone and takes out his math binder.

"Nothing," Sam whispers as he puts in his earbuds begins copying down algebra questions from the board at the front of the classroom. You sit in silence as he scribbles down numbers and you glance at your phone, noticing a text message from a very close friend of yours.

'Danny: wanna get pizza for lunch?'

'Y/n: definitely. Meet me at your locker.'

You quietly nudge Sam who takes out his earbuds and looks at you.

"What y/n?" he sighs.

"Danny and I are gonna get pizza for lunch, you coming?"

"I dunno, maybe," Sam says, returning his attention to the equations in front of him.

"Oh, um ok," you stumble, slightly shocked that Sam doesn't want to eat lunch with you, and especially Danny, his best friend. Maybe he's still upset about whatever he was worried about yesterday. You have an idea of what might cheer him up, so you nudge him again, "Hey are you excited for Josh's party tonight?" You whisper excitedly.

Sam drops his pencil and frustratedly turns to face you, "Maybe you should just do your work and stop obsessing over the fucking party," Sam spits loudly. He sighs and turns his back to you. You are stunned at Sam's harsh words, having no idea as to why Sam was so pissed at you. You and Sam didn't say another word to each other for the remainder of the class. A long hour later, the bell rang and you left quickly to head to your next class, not wanting to interact with Sam after his bitter outburst. You spend the entirety of your next class daydreaming until the bell rings for lunch. You walk to Danny's locker and see him rummaging through his bag, his long black hair falling over most of his face. He throws his bag over his shoulder and closes his locker, smiling when he sees you standing next to him.

"Hey y/n."

"Hey," you reply, "let's go I wanna talk to you about something." Danny follows you as you lead the way into the crowded cafeteria. You grab some pizza and walk towards your usual seats. You set down your tray across from Danny, who looks around the room, confused.

"No Sam? He always sits with us," Danny asks.

"That's what I wanted to talk about," you sigh, receiving a worried look from Danny. "Sam's pissed at me for some reason but I can't figure out why. Has he told you anything?" Danny shakes his head in response while taking a large bite of his pizza.

"No, he hasn't said anything," Danny frowns, "I've noticed he's been pretty distant lately though, really quiet too which is weird for Sam. Usually, I can't get him to shut up." You give a small laugh and continue to eat.

"I dunno Danny, but whatever it is he better get over it soon before the party tonight!"

"Yeah, it should be fun. I'm planning on asking out Mackenzie tonight, just between you and me," Danny says as you beam at him.

"It took you long enough! That girl is all over you," he smirks and waves his hand dismissively.

"We'll see," He mumbles.

The rest of the day dragged on, leaving you very tired and causing you to sleep through your third period biology class. Heading towards your final class before summer officially begins, you nervously hum a tune to yourself as you head towards the music room. Avoiding Sam has been easy so far, but you know that you will have to interact with him soon. You take a seat at the back of the class, across the room from your usual seat beside Sam. You take out your guitar and begin to lazily play the tune that has been stuck in your head since the day began. You close your eyes and sway to the music, ignoring the chatter and quiet music that fills the rest of the room as other students began to practice around you. As you near the end of your song, you open your eyes and catch Sam watching you play from across the room before he quickly looks away, busying himself with his bass guitar. You smile as you feel a familiar blush creeping onto your face. Sam has always loved listening to you play guitar, and you used to play together all the time growing up.

Your music teacher steps into the room and briskly declares a sectional rehearsal. You were hoping this wouldn't happen since you're in a group with Sam as well as a few others.

"That's just fucking perfect," you mumble to yourself as you walk into the small practice room with your fellow group members. You sit down beside Claire, a talented pianist with long brown hair, practicing scales on an organ. Ethan, a tall, muscular boy with short blond hair and stunning blue eyes enters the room next. He takes a seat beside you, holding a guitar similar to yours as you see Sam following him in and sitting across from you. The rest of the class is spent jamming with your group, playing songs that you've rehearsed several times before as well as improvising tunes as you play. You and Ethan are focused mainly on each other as you both concentrate on harmonizing your guitars. Every now and then you share a smile with Ethan as you appreciate the beautiful sounds of your dueling guitars. As you play you can feel Sam's eyes on you, but you refuse to look at him, letting yourself relax into the music instead. The bell rings and Sam immediately gets up, rushing out of the practice room without a word. Claire follows him out, and you are left alone with Ethan as you both put away your guitars.

"You played great today y/n, you're a really talented guitarist if I haven't said it before," Ethan smiles as you head out into the halls together.

"Thanks, so are you!" you beam as you admire his kindness. You find yourself blushing slightly. It isn't the first time that you've admitted to yourself how attractive you find him. You get an idea and start to fiddle anxiously with your bracelet.

"Hey um, a friend of mine is throwing a party tonight, would you want to come? Most of the people in our grade will be there so I figured you might be interested. Unless you're not which is fine too, there'll be drinking and shit which might not be your scene so..." you ramble but are quickly cut off by the feeling of Ethan's fingers entwining with yours. You look up at him and he smiles back at you.

"It sounds great y/n. I'll be there." You give him a wide smile as the two of you walk towards your locker, both of your hands still laced together. You give him more information about the party and he listens intently.

"It'll be this address at around 8:30," you say, scribbling down Josh's address on a loose piece of paper before handing it to him.

"Thanks y/n, see you tonight," Ethan says, smiling as he leaves down the crowded hall. You watch him go and feel your heart flutter as you pack your bag and head outside towards Josh's car.

"look who finally decided to show up," Josh calls to you from behind the wheel, "What took you so long?"

"Just talking to a friend," you say as you hop into the backseat beside Danny and Sam. You decide to tell Josh about Ethan after the party, not wanting to get his hopes up in case nothing ended up happening between the two of you. "Hey Jake, Danny, Sam," you say as Jake greets you from the passenger seat and Sam ignores you, staring out the window.

"Nice shirt y/n," Jake smirks at you as you share a knowing laugh with Josh.

"Jake and I were just picking up some supplies for the party tonight," Josh informs you, motioning to the many cases of beer stacked in the trunk.

"I figured," you respond, sharing a laugh with Danny.

"We're planning on practicing when we get home, you wanna listen in?"Jake asks you as you shake your head at him.

"No that's alright, I think I'm just gonna take a nap," you reply as Jake nods, turning on the radio as you drive to the Kiszka house. Normally you'd love to listen to the boys perform, but you don't feel like being around Sam. Once you arrive, the twins bring the cases of beer into the house as you head up to Josh's room, flopping on his bed and hearing the faint clinking of bottles in the kitchen. After a while, you fall asleep to the distant sound of rock and roll coming from the garage. You dream you're at a local bar listening to boys' band, Greta Van Fleet, play their music for the crowd as you dance and sing along. You have a feeling they'll make it big someday, they're too talented not to.

Your dream comes to an abrupt end as you are startled awake by Josh, shaking you wildly as you groan and open your eyes.

"Y/n wake up! It's 7:50 already you've got to get ready!" he yells in your ear. You smile at him and bounce out of bed, eager to get ready for the busy night ahead of you.

Taglist: @aliensforleaders @obetrol-and-cocktails @goodoldfashionedqueen @kiszkaboi @greta-gvf @rogers-wristbands @strawberry-fieldsssss @littlegeekwonder @spngvf @mutantpanda54 @allons-ytomyworld @diggrycedric @sammysgirll @rogerinascigarette @thaliamessi

[aliensforleaders]

Me reading this: Ugh back off Ethan. Omg fuck oFF CAM. Oh Sam....OH DANNY....awwww Sammy.

Only Time Will Tell:

Chapter 3

AN: All I’m gonna say is that shits going down. Love you all and thank you so much for the incredible support, enjoy!!💕

Warnings: swearing

Word count: 2,400

You look at yourself in the mirror and smile at your reflection, letting out a small sigh while getting ready for the party. You choose not to wear a lot of makeup, striving for a more natural look and wanting your stunning maroon dress to speak for itself. You finish curling your hair and walk into the hall. You’re extremely glad you went shopping with Josh, this dress is sure to attract lots of attention. You hear people conversing and laughing loudly downstairs, and you’re excited to join them. You head down the stairs with a skip in your step, following the loud sound of Josh’s voice originating from the living room. Walking through the growing crowd of people, you realize that you recognize most of the faces you see. Many of them go to Frankenmuth High with you, some of them being in your grade and others a grade above. You notice Danny seated on a couch cuddled up with Mackenzie, his arm thrown around her shoulder.

“Atta boy, Danny,” you mutter to yourself with a smirk. You catch a few people’s eyes as you make your way through the crowd into the living room, finding Josh talking animatedly with a few people, Sam and Jake included. As you walk over to them, Josh notices you and waves you over, calling your name. The guys he was talking to turn and greet you, and you notice Sam visibly checking you out.

“Y/n, you look gorgeous!” Jake grins at you. You thank him and rest your arm on Josh’s shoulder while conversation in the small group resumes.

“Mind getting me a drink?” you ask Josh. He happily obliges, leaving towards the kitchen. You’re left in the group of guys as Jake tells a story to the rest of them and Sam silently drinks a beer beside you. You’re eager to see if Sam is still mad at you.

“Hey, Sam, what’s up?” you smile. Sam doesn’t look at you. Instead, he shrugs his shoulders and turns, walking towards the kitchen without saying a word. You stand in silence, mad at yourself for somehow upsetting Sam. Fights between the two of you are rare, and even when they do happen they usually don’t last for more than a few hours. You let out a frustrated sigh and nudge Jake’s arm.

“Can I have a sip of that?” you ask him, motioning to the plastic cup in his hand.

“Yeah, it’s really strong though, I’m drinking it on a dare,” he replies, handing it to you.

“It’ll be fine,” you say before taking a sip. The alcohol burns your throat as you take a sip, giving Jake a small smile. “That’s pretty good,” you say as you chug the rest of his drink, squinting through the tingling sensation in your throat as a small crowd forms around you and cheers you on. Swallowing the last drop, you throw your head back and smile at the encouraging shouts around you. Jake stands with his arms crossed, nodding his head at you in approval. Someone hands you another cup filled with a similar looking liquid to the one you had just consumed.

“This one is way worse. Five bucks says you can’t finish it all,” a vaguely familiar face says as you take the cup from him.

“You’re on,” you smirk with confidence. You take a sip of the liquid and flinch at the taste. It was much worse than the last, but you ignore it and find yourself thinking about Sam, chugging the remainder of the drink briskly. You collect your money and smile at the loud cheering of the people around you. You turn to Jake and lean in to yell in his ear, “I’m gonna go see what’s taking Josh so long.” He nods to you and pats you on the back before you head into the kitchen to look for your best friend. You search the room but don’t see him anywhere. You start to feel a little worried as you search for him in the huge crowd of people gathered in the living room. He’s not one to avoid a party, especially if it’s his own. You think that he’s probably taking a break, so you head upstairs to look for him, already feeling the alcohol you drank earlier affecting you as you stumble up the stairs. You hear a faint conversation coming from Josh’s room, so you walk towards the door, finding it left slightly ajar. You raise your hand to knock and push it open when you hear Sam mention your name from inside Josh’s room. You lower your arm and listen intently to the loud conversation inside.

“All I’m saying is you didn’t have to force her to buy that dress!” Sam says loudly.

“I didn’t force y/n to do anything, Sam, she let me buy it!” you hear Josh reply as you feel your shoulders tense.

“After you told her to find a boyfriend by insisting she dress like a fucking whore! I saw the other dresses she turned down Josh, I don’t want her wearing those just as much as the one you got her!” Sam practically yelled as you feel heat rise to your cheeks and tears form in your eyes. You had heard enough. You shove the door open to see Sam standing inches away from Josh, towering over him. They both turn to look at you, sharing a similar shocked expression.

“So you think I’m a whore, huh? Is that why you’ve been ignoring me?”

“Y/n, I-I…” Sam stumbles.

“I can make my own decisions Sam,” you say as you stare at him in disbelief over what you just heard, “you don’t decide what I can or can’t wear.”

“Listen y/n, I…” Sam fumbled. He walks towards you and opens his mouth to continue but you cut him off.

“No Sam, j-just fuck off,” you say as a tear runs down your cheek and you rush towards the bathroom. You hear Sam call after you but you ignore him as you hurry into the bathroom, locking the door behind you and sitting down against it. You hear footsteps approaching and a quiet knock on the door as you cry into your hand.

“Y/n?” Sam asks softly.

“Go away, Sam.”

“I-I’m sorry y/n,” he says gently as you hear him sliding down to your level, his back against the door as he sits outside of it, “you shouldn’t have had to hear that because I shouldn’t have said it. I don’t mean it, really I don’t.”

“Then why’d you say it?” you ask between sobs. A quiet, uneven sigh escapes his lips, almost inaudible to you. Almost.

“I just,” he hesitates, “I don’t want you to get hurt again.” You can tell that that wasn’t what Sam was going to say before, and for a moment Sam is silent. You sniffle and breath in a shaky breath. “Please don’t cry. I can’t stand it when you cry,” his voice cracks.

“Go away Sam,” you whisper, “please.” You hear him stand and apologize to you once more before walking away down the hall. You stand up and wipe your tears away, looking into the mirror. You fix yourself up as much as possible, thankful that you decided not to wear too much makeup. You take a deep breath, feeling confused about Sam’s outburst. You’re glad that he’s at least talked to you about it, but you can’t forget what he said about you to Josh. You couldn’t help but notice a trace of jealousy in his voice, but then again he has nothing to be jealous about. You decide to try and forget about it, you want to enjoy the party as much as you can before it’s over. Collecting your thoughts, you open the door and return to the party. You walk downstairs and see the front door opening. You reach the bottom of the steps and you see Ethan walking inside.

“Y/n, hey! You look absolutely stunning,” he says, glancing at your dress before meeting your eyes again.

“Thank you, I’m so glad you made it!” you grin as he walks towards you. You’re thankful that he’s here, partly because he’ll make a good distraction from thinking about Sam too much.

“Are you alright? You look like you’ve just been crying or something,” he says, concern lacing his voice.

“Oh yeah, my eyes are just a bit red from drinking,” you lie poorly.

“Right then, do you want to grab another drink?” Ethan asks you. You nod your head, taking his hand in yours and leading him towards the kitchen. you notice that Sam is nowhere to be found, and you spot Josh in the corner of the room, talking to Jake in private. You catch his eye and he gives you a concerned look, mouthing the words, ‘are you ok?’. You nod, giving him a weak smile and continuing into the kitchen. Ethan grabs beverages for the both of you and you talk for a while in the living room. As time goes on, you allow yourself to become significantly drunk.

“I’ll be right back,” Ethan says into your ear before heading towards the bathroom. You stand alone with a half-empty drink in your hand and take a long sip. You are startled when you feel a hand grab your butt and you whip around, seeing a face you haven’t seen in a long time.

“Cam?!” You shout angrily, “what are you doing here?” Your ex-boyfriend gives you a smirk as he puts a hand on your shoulder.

“I came to see you, heard you were here.”

“Don’t touch me you asshole,” you say firmly, shrugging his hand off your shoulder.

“Listen y/n, I know we didn’t leave off on the best of terms but I just wanted to tell you that I miss you,” he says unconvincingly, “I was wrong to cheat, I need you back.”

“Leave me the fuck alone,” you slur. You turn to walk away as Cam grabs your wrist and pulls you towards him.

“Y/n don’t go, I said I miss you,” he repeats.

“Let go of me!” you yelp as you try desperately to free your wrist from his grasp.

“Leave her alone, Cameron,” you turn to hear Sam snarl, stepping between you and Cam as he drops your wrist. For the first time tonight you feel relieved at the sound of Sam’s voice.

“Hey, Sammy! We were just catching up,” Cam says, straitening his posture to match Sam’s height.

“I think it’s time for you to leave. She doesn’t want to see you,” Sam replies in a low growl.

“Sure she does,” Cam says, reaching around Sam and grabbing your ass again. Before you could react, Sam punches Cam hard across his face, his fist connecting with Cam’s nose. Cam stumbles backward and holds his nose in his hands. He regains his balance, fuming as he walks quickly towards Sam. Sam nudges you behind himself, preparing for a fight and raising his arms slightly.

“You’re gonna regret that, Kiszka,” Cam scowls. Before he reaches Sam, he is harshly shoved back by Danny.

“Fuck off Cameron, we don’t want any more trouble,” Danny says calmly, standing beside Sam and narrowing his eyes at Cam. Infuriated, Cam stares daggers at Sam but knows he can’t take both him and Danny together.

“Whatever,” he spits, “she’s not worth a fight anyway.” Cam turns and leaves out the front door and you are left crying silently behind Danny and Sam. Danny whispers something into Sam’s ear and he nods, turning to you as Danny walks away towards the direction of the kitchen.

“Are you alright y/n?” he sighs, gently wiping away the tears streaming down your cheeks, “please don’t cry,” he whispers into your ear as you open your arms and allow him to engulf you in a hug, “he’s gone now, it’s gonna be ok. How about we call it a night?”

“I-I don’t have a car,” you sniffle against his chest.

“That’s ok, you’ll just sleep here tonight,” he coos in your ear, “is that ok?” You nod your head against him and he walks with you to the stairs. You’re too upset with Cam to remain mad at Sam, at least for the moment. You walk up a couple of steps and stumble at the third one, leaning heavily on Sam. You begin to wish you didn’t drink as much as you had.

Sam looks at you solemnly, “may I?” motioning to you as you nod your head in agreement. Sam carefully picks you up and carries you up the rest of the stairs, your arms loosely falling around his neck. Through your tears, you see Ethan out of the corner of your eye in the bathroom, making out with a girl you didn’t recognize. Typical, you think to yourself as you reach the top of the stairs. You softly cry into Sam’s shoulder.

He carries you into his room and places you down gently on his bed. He walks to his dresser and takes out a baggy t-shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants.

“Here, change into these,” he suggests, tossing you the clothes and standing awkwardly at the other side of the room facing the wall, “tell me when you’re done.” you struggle while you take off your tight dress and slip Sam’s shirt on over your bra. You fight against his sweatpants but are too drunk to put them on properly, so you lazily throw them onto the floor.

“Ok I’m done, Sammy,” you say and he turns around. He glances at you with a small smile.

“Y/n why didn’t you put the sweatpants on? Also, your shirt’s backward,” he says, walking over and sitting on the bed next to you.

“They were complicated,” you shrug, fixing your shirt, “I gave up.” He smiles, shaking his head and helping you under the covers. He walks to the door and turns out the light.

“Goodnight,” he says before turning to head out the door.

“Sam?” you call as he stops and turns to look at you, “can you stay with me?” He hesitates for a moment before walking over to the bed, sliding under the covers next to you. You lie beside each other in peaceful silence, you facing Sam as he stares up at the ceiling.

“I really am sorry,” Sam whispers.

“I know.”

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