10 Years (Zerkaa/TBJZL) (A Sidemen Story)

Chapter 9 - Repercussions

Since the attempted intervention the sidemen had not been the same. Josh did not associate with the others even though they wanted him to. Despite this, they were all considerably hurt by what he said and knew that it probably wasn't a good idea to try and speak to him too soon. Josh only did videos by himself, faking his pleasure and enjoyment in them while covering his deep inner anguish at feeling a strong love for Tobi, something he knew wasn't particularly likely to happen after his outburst. Josh's lack of appearances in videos with the other sidemen naturally did not go unnoticed.

"Where is Josh?"

"Why is Josh not in this video?"

"This would be better if Josh was in it."

"Has something happened to Josh?" 

The other sidemen couldn't escape Josh's popularity, they knew that among their fans Josh was considered an invaluable member of the group. They realised that in order for their group to function they all needed to be together and had to reconcile.

Josh meanwhile was wrestling with his emotions. He was pretty sure he was heterosexual but he had a deep love for Tobi that he couldn't explain, he wasn't really sure what he was. Like the other sidemen, he knew he had to reconcile with them and he decided to arrange a time to meet via a Skype call.

He rang Vikk.

The call rang.

And rang.

And rang.

Then Vikk picked up.

"Er...  hi Josh" said Vikk tentatively.

"Yeah, um... hi Vikk, I want sort everything out, it's been weeks since I've seen any of you and I just miss you all." said Josh nervously, hoping to be accepted by Vikk.

"We want that too Josh. Simon and I want you back home, (Josh had been staying at his parents' house), we miss your company and your will always be our friend no matter what. We need you in the sidemen as everything is falling apart on Youtube without you, the fans are worried and it's impacting on our content. We will comeback stronger than we were before as a group." said Vikk, his tentative expression turning into a big smile.

The relief swept over Josh like a strong wave. He was delighted but knew he had to face the consequences at the same time. The time apart from the others had been enough of a punishment for him. He started to tear up slightly.

"I can't emphasise how grateful I am Vikk. I'll see you guys tomorrow at the house, at 8?" said Josh, the happiest he had been for a while

"We'll see you there" replied Vikk, with a soothing tone.

The short exchange highlighted that they needed to start again, but it was indeed a start. Josh decided that he would send Tobi a message, to let him know their relationship would repair and Josh wanted to see if his feelings were correct. He loved Tobi as a friend, but he felt that the love he felt ran deeper.

"We're going to sort everything out. I can't wait to see you."

Tobi received the message when he was laying on his bed, zoning out before. He couldn't believe the message, he was delighted, over the moon, but most of all...

his heart melted.

A/N: Hey guys, I'm so sorry for my slow updating as I've moved back for uni and I hope to do a double upload now. I want to say thank you so much to all of you who have read this and voted, I'm so surprised that this book has received any interest! It means a lot that you guys seem to like it and once again thank you! - Riak64 :)