If This Was A Movie - A Joshifer Fanfiction

Chapter 23

Today's the day that Josh and I leave Louisville. It's also the last day of November, which I'm thankful is over. Both good things and bad things have happened this month; I'm just kind of glad it's almost over.
I am positioned crouching on the floor of my dressing room, packing up my things that I brought to my parents' house. I zip up the small suitcase, careful not to catch the zipper on the fabric inside of it.
I stand up and make my way out of my dressing room and bedroom, my suitcase trailing behind me. As soon as I approach the front door, I find Ben, Blaine, Josh, Mom, and Amanda waiting for me. "Weirdo, you took so long!" Josh says, teasing me. "You don't make makeup to pack." I say, teasing him back. He smiles.
My mom reaches over to hug me, as do Ben and Blaine. "I'll see you for Christmas. I love you Jen." My mom says once we've broken apart. Ben and Blaine group hug me and say goodbye too. I even scoop little Bear and Theo into my arms for a goodbye hug. Bear is enthusiastic, but Theo's asleep so he doesn't notice. "Goodbye, Mister Bear!" I say, in a tone of voice that could only be associated with babies. He waves goodbye to me and says "bye!" loudly, which wakes Theo up. I gently stroke his forehead and whisper goodbye to him before handing him back to Blaine.
Soon enough, me, Josh and Amanda are out the door and on our way to the airport. I sit down in the back seat so that I can be with Josh, since Amanda's driving. Nobody says much as we pass the vast Kentucky landscape. My hand rests peacefully in Josh's as we pass over the terrain. I stare vacantly out the window as we pass people and a small cityscape.
After an hour of driving we're finally at the airport. Amanda, Josh and I get out at the Los Angeles terminal. The terminal has a lot less people than I expected in it, probably since its a Monday. Regardless, I slip on my sunglasses and see Josh do the same. Amanda leads us straight through security and it's soon enough that we're on the plane to Los Angeles.
Josh and I sit next to each other while Amanda remains at the very front of the plane along with the stewards and flight attendants.
As the plane takes off, Josh gets a smile on his face as if he's a kid in a candy store. A smile that reads excitement and giddiness. I can't even a smile of my own as I see his. I reach for his hand and he takes mine. His giddy smile doesn't stop until we're at our cruising altitude, far above Kentucky. He finally settles down and stops looking out the window. I laugh. "You like this stuff, huh?" I say, affection in my voice. He nods. "It's exhilarating. To take off in a plane just as a bird would." He says. This just makes me smile more.
We stay this way for a while, until Josh breaks the silence. "What do you want to do?" He asks. I gesture to the television screen that's in front of us. "Watch a movie?" I ask. He nods. We search the movie options until I come across one that I've wanted to watch for a while; The Fault In Our Stars. I've read the book but I haven't watched the movie yet. I tap on it, which brings up information about the movie. Josh sees the category Romance/Drama and rolls his eyes. I laugh and playfully elbow him. "It's better than the category says it is." I say, trying to convince him to watch it. "Alright," he begins, dragging out the I. "I'll watch it. For you, Weirdo."
And he does enjoy it. I cry multiple times throughout the movie, and he does too. It's at the very end of it that I start to think about my Father and how he sometimes used to remind me of Augustus. I smile at the thought, and then tears begin to well up in my eyes as I smile. Josh sees me crying and wraps an arm around me. I bury my head in his shoulder, allowing the tears to keep falling. They fall in a steady stream.
I begin to fall asleep, but lyrics from a song I once heard drift into my head.
Come on baby with me, we're gonna fly away from here.
You were my best four years...
When I wake up, I'm still in Josh's arms. My head rests on his shoulder and my face is wet from tears. Josh seems to be awake, so I shift my position so that I can look up at him. I now sit up in my seat, but his arm is still around me, and I'm still looking at him. "Hey, Doofus." I say drowsily. My voice sounds weak. "Hey." He says, looking down at me. There's affection in his eyes as he gazes at me, and I feel a rush of warmth move through me. I stay there for a moment, looking into his eyes. He reaches over and softly puts his hand on the side of my face, cupping it gently. I lean forward towards him so that our foreheads lightly touch. I feel vulnerable now, but I also feel safe. Because I know that he would never hurt me; he will protect me. He leans forward and presses my lips to his. I don't think I'll ever be prepared for the sparks that come with his lips against mine. Or the rush of emotions that flow through me whenever I see him. I don't know what it is about him but... I know that I'm in love. Hopelessly in love.
After a long time, we slowly break apart. "I love you, Joshua Ryan Hutcherson." I say, my voice rich with emotion. "I love you more, Jennifer Shrader Lawrence." He says, affection showing clearly in his eyes. "I don't think it's possible to love someone more than I love you." I say, never once breaking eye contact with him. He smiles and reaches for my hand, and I take it. I lean back against my plane seat, lean my head on his shoulder, and calmly close my eyes, contempt.
I'm startled seconds later when a flight attendant walks by. "Miss, would you like anything to eat?" She asks. Her eyes widen as she sees who we are, but she maintains her cool. I glance over at Josh. "Cool ranch Doritos." I say. She shyly smiles at my choice and hands me a bag of Doritos. I immediately open the bag and start eating. Josh raises his eyebrows. "Joshy, do you know how long I've waited for this bag of Doritos? I saw them in the vending machines all around the hospital but I couldn't get any. Not even once!" I say, half joking with him. He laughs. When he laughs, it's if sunlight has been given to a dying plant. His laughter fills up the plane, and I'm caught staring at him again. He looks back at me, and then leans over to steal a Doritos. I laugh and then jokingly throw one at him. He then throws it back at me, and so the great Doritos war of 2015 was born.
Our flight attendant has to come back and tell us to stop throwing Doritos, because I guess we've made quite a mess. I quickly stuff the bag of chips into my purse. When I look over at Josh, I see that he's covered in orange Doritos dust and I must be, too, because he's looking at me strangely. He then smiles and brushes the crumbs off of my face. A blush makes its way across my cheeks, despite my efforts to hide it. Josh smiles at me. Suddenly the intercom crackles. "We are now beginning our decent to Los Angeles, California. Please fasten your seat belts and put away all technology, as it will interfere with the plane's instruments. Thank you." The Pilot says. I sigh and slowly turn away from Josh so that I can belt myself in.
It feels like only minutes later that we've landed and are in the terminal with Amanda. Josh and I both wear sunglasses, and our hands are laced together. The paparazzi is waiting for us as we walk to the car; they shout our names, demanding our attention. I train my eyes on my feet as we move through the crowd. "Jennifer! JENNIFER! OVER HERE!" They yell, trying to get my attention. I don't want to give them my eye contact because that means they'll have a good picture, and then they'll sell it. It disgusts me, but at least their families have food on their tables because of it.
I follow Amanda and get into the car in the back seat again. Josh sits down next to me and Amanda sits in front. "Where are we going today, ma'am?" She says playfully. Josh glances over at me. "My house." I say without thinking it through. Amanda raises her eyebrows and then laughs. "Why not my house?" Josh says, fake complaining. "Because you love me." I say, playfully elbowing him. I mean this rhetorically, but Josh takes it literally. "I do, you're right." He says, smiling. I playfully roll my eyes and then kiss him on the cheek. After we break apart, I stare out the window trying to hide the smile that's spreading across my face. It doesn't work. I stare out the window with this silly lovestruck grin on my face, not caring about the paparazzi snapping photos of me.
There's a lot of traffic as we drive, but regardless of that I feel like the car ride has only lasted for a few minutes. Amanda pulls up to my house and we get out of the car. I lead Josh up the pathway to my house and open the door. He follows me into my house and sits down in the living room. Instead of sitting down with him, I go to the kitchen to get food. As I look in the cabinet, I find Doritos. Doritos! Amanda must've bought them. I pour them into a bowl and walk back out to the living room. I find Josh sprawled out on the couch asleep. I quietly chuckle and sit down next to him, careful not to disturb him. I watch him as he sleeps. He looks so pure and innocent here, almost childlike. I find myself staring at him for a long time, not doing anything else. I love to see him this way; no longer stressed about the world. He looks at ease and peaceful.
After a long time, he begins to stir. I take his hand and smile at him. My smile is a small one, but it silently speaks of love and peace. He opens his eyes and stares at me. "Hey, Doofus. Welcome back." I say. He laughs softly. I take a risk and position myself so that my head is on his chest, as Katniss and Peeta might have done in a train scene. He gazes down at me with love in his eyes, and I look back up at him too. Everything about him is perfect. Which is such a cliché thing to say, but I mean it. What some people might call flaws are beautiful things about him. I love the little gap between his teeth and the way that he smiles at me as if I'm the sun even when he feels down. I love the way that his laugh fills up the entire room and makes everyone around him happy. I love the way that his warm brown eyes shine whenever I look into them. I love him.
I know that I'm staring, but I don't look away from him. He's a masterpiece; like a grand piece of art in a museum that you can't look away from. And I still can't believe that he's here; that he's chosen me. He could've chosen anyone else in the world to love, to care for, to cherish, but he chose me. I'm still at a loss about it; I don't know how I've gotten so truly lucky. Lucky enough to have someone that I love but also loves me back. And somehow we went from coworkers and onscreen lovers to truly loving each other.
My eyes reflect the love for him that my mind and heart feel, and his do too. He wraps his arms around me and I rest my head on his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat and eventually drifting off to sleep.

authors note;
hey guys! I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in so long! I've just been really busy with school and also a lot of crap going on in my personal life 😂 thank you for 3k reads! I honestly can't believe it, ilysm