Cardinal// Josh Dun X Reader

eight

A/n: i'm writing this part because iris was busy, but she'll be back next chapter :) -caitlin

also i just wanted to make it clear that i support josh and debby being together.  whatever happens with her and josh in this story is obviously just fiction, so yeah.

•Y/n's POV•

Friday came along pretty quickly. The entire week consisted of Josh totally blowing me and Tyler for Debby, but I brushed it off and told him it was fine. After all, he probably didn't intend to hurt us. He just wanted to hang out with the girl he liked.

I was stuck with awkwardly trying to talk to Tyler. We weren't the closest of friends since we hadn't met that long ago, so it wasn't as easy for me to talk with him. However, he and Josh both had almost the same personality, so it was fun getting to converse with him.

Since all of us planned to hang out after school, Josh suggested that we go to the mall. I agreed, along with Tyler and Debby. So instead of taking the bus to my house like I normally would, I went with Josh to his house.

"Tyler and Debby should be here soon," Josh informed me as he opened the door to his room. "I'm gonna change real quick. Be right out." He then shut the door, so I walked into the living room. Just then I heard a knock at the door, and so I got up to see who it was.

Looking through the small hole on the door, so noticed both Debby and Tyler standing there. I opened the door with a smile, giving them both a quick side hug.

"Josh is changing in his room," I told them, but just as I said that, his room door opened. He walked out with the same jeans on, but now he was wearing a black shirt with some band on it.  He walked past me, and I instantly smelt the strong scent of cologne. I knew that Josh usually wore it, but I've never smelt it so strongly before.

Tyler started coughing dramatically, as if the scent was making it hard for him to breathe. "Gosh, could you have used anymore?" He asked sarcastically, a stupid smile on his face. I silently laughed, knowing that he was right even though he was kidding.

"Shut up. Maybe you need some," Josh said, playfully pushing his best friend. Tyler stuck his tongue out at him, Josh doing the same back. "Lets go," he said, grabbing his keys.

Debby sat in the passenger seat next to Josh, which didn't really surprise me. Of course, Tyler and I were stuck in the back.

When we first arrived, we were walking all together. But after a while, Josh somehow mysteriously disappeared with Debby. Now it was just me and Tyler. I guess you could say that me and him were the third and fourth wheels.

The truth was, the more Josh left me out, the more hurt I felt. I knew he was only my friend, and that's all he would ever be to me, but I just hated seeing him with someone else. And I felt bad too, because Debby was really sweet and it was obvious they liked each other. I shouldn't have tried to come in between them.

"Can I tell you something?" I asked Tyler as we mindlessly walked around, not exactly sure where we were headed.

"Sure," he replied, shrugging his shoulders. He looked over to me, and I stared back into his eyes nervously.

"I like Josh," I stated hesitantly, hoping he wouldn't tease me or something. He just gave me a knowing smile.

"I can tell," he chuckled, shoving his hands into the pocket of his black hoodie.

"Yeah, I'm not good at hiding it," I sighed, twirling a piece of my hair around my finger. "But I already know I don't have a chance with him. I just wanted to tell someone."

There was a sad look in Tyler's eyes, something that told me that he understood. He stopped in his tracks, causing me to stand in front of him. He put a hand on my shoulder to comfort me.

"I get it. But it's something you can't rush. I know Josh, and I know that he has some sort of feelings for you. Just wait for him," he told me. It made me feel a little better that his best friend who knew him better than anyone said I had a chance with him. Maybe Tyler was right.

After walking around with Tyler for another hour, we ran into Josh and Debby. They hadn't noticed us, but we definitely knew it was them. They were holding hands, causing my heart to sink to the floor. I could almost feel tears in my eyes, but I didn't want to cry in front of Tyler, so I quickly tried to wipe them away. He must of noticed, because he put an arm around my back.

The hope that Tyler gave me before suddenly disappeared. I felt that I really didn't have a chance with him. Not if he was so involved with being with Debby.

"Look, I'm not much of a romantic or anything, but I want to help you," he stated, causing me to raise an eyebrow. Where was he going with this. "I mean like, matchmaker. I'm gonna get you guys together," he confirmed.

"Doubt it," I contradicted him, shaking my head. He couldn't just change the way Josh felt about me. It wasn't that easy.

"No, really," he said. "I'm on team Y/n, and my team never loses. We're going to win," he smirked, causing me to laugh at his competitiveness, even though he was the only one actually competing.

"Fine, I trust you Joseph."

And so it began.