STRANGERS » JOSHLER

f o u r

"WATCH IT, kid."

A half-bald man, probably in his late forties, grumbles when Josh accidentally bumps into him. Josh mumbles an apology just as the man walked away, shooting him a glare.

"Why . . are . . people . . so . . rude nowadays?" He mutters under his breath, hands shoved in his jean pocket as he walks around. It'd been roughly ten minutes he'd left the two women to their business. He'd already roamed around in the sixth floor. There were people sitting in their cubicles, working. He heard that the other floors were the same. All except the top floor, which belonged to this Mr. Joseph.

Currently in the ground floor, Josh stands with his phone in his hand near the glass door they'd entered earlier, thinking how he'd kill the next fifty minutes. He could always go out, but Josh was bad at remembering directions and the last thing he wanted to do was worry Mel by getting lost.

"Hey."

Josh almost jumps out of his skin when he hears a voice right behind him. He almost groans when he finds the red-head from earlier batting her fake eyelashes.

He musters a weak smile, "O-Oh, hi." He tries to move away to give her a hint to go away, but she doesn't seem to take it.

"What's your name?" She says in a sultry voice, and it makes Josh want to puke.

"It's J-Josh."

"Oooh." She wraps an arm around Josh's own, the one that was not holding the phone, making him stutter out of discomfort, but she obviously doesn't seem to notice as she further asks, "Wanna hang out, Josh?"

"No, thanks." She pushes her red-painted lips into a pout and Josh adds, "I-I need to be somewhere."

"Right now?" She juts out her bottom lip, "Joshy, please?"

"Sorry, but I can't." Josh slowly inches closer and closer to the exit, the red-head he still did not know the name of, still clinging to his arm.

"Josh, baby, please."

"I need to go."

"You won't regret it."

"I'm sure I won't. J-Just another time, okay?"

"I can make you feel so good, baby. Like nobody . . has . . ever . . done . . before." She gives a firm tug at Josh's arm, and Josh, being startled, jerks back. He loses his footing, taking a few steps back on reflex, before eventually falling back.

A small yelp escapes his lips, his hands flying open to grasp anything, finding nothing but thin air. He squeezes his eyes shut, waiting for the pain from the impact to kick in, but it never does. Not where he expected anyway.

He feels a firm hands gripping his forearms to the point he was sure they were gonna get bruised. He hears a small grunt from behind him, his eyes fluttering open.

The first thing he sees is the red-head's open mouth as she stares at something- or someone behind him with a scared expression on her face.

He feels a hot breath on his neck, "Easy there." The person whispers, mouth right next to Josh's  ear, making the hair behind his neck stand up as the hands help him to his feet.