calm down // josh dun

e i g h t

ARE YOU LISTENING?

--Josh's P.O.V--

A week has passed since I went over to Declan's house and he hasn't spoken one word to me since then. In English, he sat in front of me where we could work on our project, but he wouldn't hold any conversation. I wanted to confront him. Ask him what was wrong, but he was avoiding me. Every time he saw me, he turned in the opposite direction. I didn't understand.

Jenna advised me that Declan was probably just going through some issues and just wanted to be left alone. I knew that she was partly correct. Declan was dealing with something, but I didn't think he wanted to be left alone. He just was afraid to reach out. Even Hayley didn't seem to know what was going on with him. Every now and then I would catch her sending worried glances his way and Declan ignored them. He was basically ignoring her along with me all together.

I wish I knew why.

"Josh," Jenna told me as she shoved all the textbooks she needed for her next class into her bag. "You've been spacing out all day. Quit worrying about Declan. We've all told you that is he is a bit strange. He gets like this all the time. Just go with the flow."

I sighed, leaning against the lockers, my hand wrapped around my backpack strap. "I just want to know what I did wrong. Last week he was fine with me. Everything was fine at his house and then he had to leave for hockey practice. The next day, he was a totally different person."

Jenna shrugged. "Maybe you should talk to him? Try to get him to understand that you are only trying to be his friend."

"That's what I've been trying to do all week, but he's been practically running away from me."

"Josh, that's because you can't talk to him without getting all up in his business. That's how you are. That's the reason why you will make a good journalist someday, but in this situation, you just need to let him know that you are here if he ever wants to tell you what's going on."

I knew Jenna has a point. I was severely pushy and I was like that with everyone, not just Declan Gray. However, I needed to learn how to tone it down.

"You're right," I sighed. "I'll try to talk to him like you said."

Jenna grinned. "I'm always right, Joshua. Get used to it."

•••

"May I please speak with Declan Gray for a moment?"

All eyes turned on me as I stepped into the accounting classroom, my voice barely loud enough to be heard as I requested for the all-star hockey player. The teacher nodded her head with a gentle smile on her lips. "Declan, you may go, but be sure to save your assignment before you leave."

Declan's back straightened at the sound of his name, but he did what he was told and quickly saved his work before exiting out of the tab on his computer. He climbed to his feet and followed me out of the classroom. He crossed his arms and leaned against a locker, his eyes staying locked with mine. "What do you want?"

"I want to talk," I explained. "You've been acting strange and I would like to know why."

"I don't think now is exactly the right time to talk to me considering the fact that I was in the middle of an assignment."

"This is the only free time I had and this was the only way that I could get you to not run away from me is if I requested to talk to you in front of one of your classes where you couldn't say no."