Down in the Forest || Joshler [Completed]

14- Chicken

A/N
We did it
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"Are we okay?" I asked. Josh looked up from his food and gave me a confused look.

"Of course," he said. "Why wouldn't we be?" I just shrugged my shoulders and picked at my food. "You need to eat."

"I'm not hungry."

"Yes, you are," he replied. I didn't look up from my plate, but I knew that he was giving me that concerned look I always seemed to cause. "Neither of us are leaving this table until you eat, Tyler." I sighed and shoved a forkful of macaroni into my mouth. The way he sounded so much like my mom made it impossible for me to argue. I kept eating until my plate was almost clear. I knew that Josh wasn't kidding, so I did what he said. When I finally looked up at him, he had an adorable smile on his face. He grabbed our plates and stood to dump them. "Now, keep that food down," he said, before walking away.

"Thanks," I said at his back. I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around to see Marina.

"Hey, Tyler," she said. I noticed her accent and smiled at the sound.

"Hey. What's up?"

"A few of us counselors were talking and it's almost the end of summer, so we were gonna go night swimming in the lake."

"Won't it be freezing?"

"Maybe," she said, shrugging. "It'll be fun though! Please?" I stared at her puppy dog look and tried to resist. Josh walked back over to our table.

"What's happening?" he asked.

"A bunch of the counselors are going night swimming tonight. Are you in?"

"Hell yea!" he said, smiling. I shot him a surprised look and turned to the kids. None of them seemed to be paying any attention. "Sorry, heck yes," he corrected himself, teasing me. I just rolled my eyes and laughed.

"Super! I'll tell the others." With that, she skipped away proudly.

"Great," I pouted.

"What?"

"I was going to get some writing done tonight."

"When aren't you writing, Tyler? Live a little."

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"Are you almost ready?" Josh asked from the other side of the door. I was not ready.

I wanted to throw up, but Josh was right outside listening. I wanted to flake, but Josh would make me go anyway. I wanted to say I was gonna go to bed, but Josh knew that was impossible.

"Um, yea," I stuttered, pulling my sweatshirt on over my head. I tried to fix my hair a bit in the mirror before opening the bathroom door. Josh was leaning against a wall, facing me. He had on a comfortable looking jacket and his swimsuit. Bits of red, curly hair were poking out of his snapback. His lips curled into a perfect smile and I felt my face heat up.

"Let's go!" he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me to the path. He stopped jogging and we settled into a steady walk. When he didn't release his grip on my hand, I smiled. Our arms swung lightly with our steps. The soundtrack of the journey was wind and crunching leaves. As we got closer to the lake, we could hear the voices of our other counselors. Just before we broke from the treeline, Josh squeezed my hand before letting it go. I instantly missed the feeling.

"There they are!" Hayley said once we were on the beach. She ran up to us and hugged us both. "Take off those shirts and let's swim!" She let go and joined everyone else in the water. I stood awkwardly for a moment, debating. I noticed Josh remove his jacket and decided I had no way of getting out of this. I dropped my towel from under my arm before doing the same. I walked timidly to the shore and placed a foot into the water, quickly pulling it back at the sudden chill.

"Is it cold?" Josh asked, walking up to me. I nodded my head and he sighed. "Oh well." He ran forward into the freezing water. I watched in awe as he plunged under the surface and joined the others.

"Come on, Tyler!" a voice called. I couldn't see anyone from where I was.

"Yea, seriously! Get in or just leave," another voice said.

"Chill out, dude," I heard Josh say. I took a deep breath before walking froward into the water. I forced my legs to move faster so that I couldn't change my mind. Soon, I was close to the others. I let my eyes adjust so that I could make out everyone's faces. When I found Josh, I swam to his side. I stood up next to him and looked around at the others.

"We should have a chicken fight!" Pete suggested. Everyone agreed excitedly and grabbed their partners.

"Who's first to battle?" Ashley asked.

"Tyler and Josh against Patrick and I!" Pete said, giving me a challenging glare. I swallowed hard.

"Great! Boys, mount your partner!" Hayley said, trying not to laugh. I turned to Josh and he held out a hand, lowering himself in the water. I pulled myself up and onto his shoulders. I swayed a bit and grabbed onto Josh's arms tightly for balance. Once I was as secure as I could be, he turned us to face our opponent. I looked at Patrick as he was perched on top of Pete and gritted my teeth. We had to win.

"Ready, set, go!" I flung my arms out and pushed Patrick as hard as I could. He must not have been expecting how much force I used because he flew off right away. I felt bad until he came up laughing.

"Jesus, Tyler. You are not messing around." I just laughed back awkwardly.

"Tyler and Josh are our reigning champs now. Who's willing to try to take them down?" Ashley asked. No one made a sound. "Fine. Hayley and I will go!" She turned around to Hayley and got low enough for her to get on her shoulders. They turned to face us and I took a deep, shaky breath. I was getting cold from being out for the water for so long.

"Ready, set, go!" Melanie called. I lunged forward to push Hayley but she grabbed my arms. She stuck her tongue out at me laughing and I pushed back harder.

"Is that all you've got, Hayley?" I asked, laughing.

"You wish!" she said. She pushed me hard but I pushed her back harder, sending her into the water.

"We have a champion!" Marina yelled. I slid off of Josh's shoulders and into the water. He pulled me into a tight hug and spun us in a circle. I pulled back a bit so I could look at him. His smile was wide so I could see his shining teeth, making his eyes crinkle at the corners. I wanted that smile to never leave his perfect lips. I wanted to kiss his perfect lips.

"Great job!" Patrick said, slapping a hand on my back, pulling me out of my mind. Josh let me go and I turned to face Patrick. I thanked god for the darkness to hide my intense blush.

"Thanks," I said through chattering teeth.

"We should head back now," Josh suggested. I nodded in agreement and the others gave in. We trudged back onto the sandy shore and I began drying myself quickly. I pulled my sweatshirt on and held my damp towel in my hand, waiting for Josh to do the same, before walking back along the trail.