ineffable [joshler ; au]

two

laura sat silently, her hands folded in her lap as she looked anywhere but at josh. bill sat next to her, in silence as well, looking tired and frustrated as he waited for josh to ask what was going on. ashley, abbie and jordan had all been sent upstairs so they could talk to josh privately, again, josh was panicking.

"so, whats going on?" he asked distractedly, wishfully glancing at the door every two seconds hoping ashley would bust through and tell him that it would be okay, that laura and bill wouldn't really do that to him. 

"we made a decision," bill said slowly, studying josh's reaction, although he was still willfully glaring at the door, hoping.

bill sighed after gaining no words out of josh, "josh, look at me".  josh slowly turned his head back to his parents, laura still wouldn't look anywhere near her son and bill just looked disappointed. 

"we've decided to send you to ohio." bill said exhaling, and leaning back in his chair, awaiting the inevitable chaos following his words.

"what! you're sending me to ohio! how could you?" josh's loud voice filled the room, no doubt making their way upstairs where his siblings were waiting anxiously.

"just calm down, josh, its for the best!" laura spoke for the first time that morning. josh groaned in exasperation and put his head in his hands, before abruptly standing up and pushing past his parents. he halted before he got to the door, turning around at glaring at the sympathetic faces of his parents

"i'll never forgive you for this." he spoke quietly but clearly, watching his mothers face fall before promptly turning around and stomping up the stairs.

he wanted to scream and shout at his parents, making them feel just as bad as he did right now, but he knew that would only make things worse. so when he pushed open his bedroom door, he happily welcomed the warm feeling of ashley's arms around him, his anger evaporating into sadness and hopelessness. 

he sighed, finally pulling away from her before falling face down onto his bed groaning before turning over onto his back and staring up at the ceiling. ashley gingerly sat down next to him on the bed before pulling an anxious abbie into her lap. jordan sat at the end of the bed, nervously pulling at the loose threads of his jumper as he waited for josh to explode or something like that.

"you're really leaving?" ashley asked slowly as to not set off his anger. josh sighed once again before nodding.

"i guess so."

abbie glanced up at the sound of his voice, "why ya' leaving us, joshie?" she asked, obviously confused about the whole situation, josh had never been this sad before.

"i'm just going to go away for a little bit. i'll come back soon, okay?" he answered, plastering on a smile as to not sadden her.

she nodded slowly, smiling back at him, "okay, can i help you pack?"

josh grinned, for real this time "of course." 

***

he slowly dropped the stylus onto the record, watching as it spun to life, the sound of green day filling the tense air. he pulled the cigarette up to his lips again, leaning against the wall and watching his girlfriend sleep soundly. 

her blonde hair was sprawled across the pillow behind her head, the white sheets pulled up just over her chest. he was going to miss debby, josh thought, removing the cigarette and stubbing it out on a tray next to him.

he was still refusing to talk to his parents, instead forcing ashley to talk to them about it, but she only came back with the information that he was leaving tomorrow. tomorrow. josh sighed and slowly crawled under the covers next to his girlfriend, cold hands wrapping around her small body.

debby slowly turned over to face him, before looking at the time and groaning, "you have to leave, my parents will be back any minute."

josh sighed again and slowly sat up, "you'll come see me tomorrow before i leave, right? i need you there," he spoke, eyes widening like a puppy dog as his hands gripped hers.

"of course, i love you" she giggled before ushering him out of her bed and downstairs. "go, go!" she laughed again, watching as josh stumbled to put his boots on. he finally finished, swiftly planting a kiss on her lips before hastily rushing out the door. 

debby's house was only a couple of streets away from his own, so he slowed his walking down, dreading being back in that house.

debby's reaction to him leaving was... well, amazing, to say the least. of course she was upset at first, but before she could even tell him to stay, his lips were on her neck and then their clothes were off and... well, you get it.. it was amazing. maybe josh should leave more often if he got that reaction.

***

abigail gasped "joshie! your hair!" 

josh beamed at her, "i did it last night, do you like it?" 

abbie nodded eagerly, reaching up to pet it, "its so pretty!"

ashley snickered from the other side of the kitchen, "you're going to be killed my mom.." she warned jokingly, bringing her mug of coffee up to her lips and taking a sip.

josh laughed bitterly, "don't have to worry about that now, seeing as i'm already going away, what more damage could dying my hair red do?"

ashley just shook her head, placing her mug down on the counter before going over to sit next to josh at the table.

all three of them looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps, watching curiously as jordan stepped into the kitchen.

"hey bud, you ok?" ashley asked, once again standing up and grabbing a cereal box from the cupboard. 

jordan nodded silently, making himself cereal before abruptly leaving the room.

josh glanced up as the sound of his bedroom door slammed shut.  "is he angry at me?" 

ashley shook her head slowly, "i don't think so, hes more angry at mom and dad for making you leave."  josh nodded his head slowly in understanding, 

"anyways, mom said you're leaving at 12." ashley said, handing abbie a bowl of cereal and a spoon. "have you finished packing?" 

abbie looked up, "he has finished! i helped him!" she beamed proudly. josh leaned across the table and ruffled her hair, to which she smiled happily at him.

"yeah, i'm done, now i just need to survive the car journey." he grumbled, setting his mug down on the table and standing up. "i'm gonna go call debby." he announced, glancing at his watch, 10:35. he sighed, he still had a couple of hours left.