Just a Newsboy

Chapter 7

(One Month Later)
(even though it's been like 3 since I've written anything...)

•••••Cricket's Perspective

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The shrill, annoying drone of the alarm I'd set on my phone repeated itself relentlessly, causing Josh to spring up off of the floor, but I didn't notice.

He crossed the room to where I sat and plopped down next to me.

Still, I didn't acknowledge him, and continued to rework the website's CSS page. I should've finished it three hours previously, but Mr. Calhoun turned out to be significantly more particular than I'd expected.

Impatient, Josh cleared his throat loudly.

"Can I help you?" I asked, glancing at him out of the corner of my eye.

"Your alarm went off." He stated.

"I'm well aware."

He crossed his arms. "Did you forget what the alarm was for?"

"Yes, Josh, I completely forgot. Would you kindly remind me again?"

"It was supposed to help you get off your computer." He said, smiling childishly. "And spend time with me!"

I rolled my eyes. "Give me a few more minutes to prepare myself."

"That's not fair!" He protested.

"Life's not fair." I replied, without missing a beat.

He stuck his bottom lip out. "But you promised."

I raised an eyebrow. "It's funny that you think pitiful expressions work on me."

Inching closer to me, Josh batted his eyelashes and set his chin on my shoulder. "Please?"

"No."

His eyebrows furrowed together in a pouty scowl, but there was something else in his eyes. It wasn't a look that I'd ever seen before, but it told me that I was about to regret my rejection of him. Severely.

In a hauntingly silent manner, Josh got up off the couch and threw himself back down on the floor.

Violently, he jerked his shoulders to one side, turning over on his back, and continued this action all the way across the carpeted floor.

I watched him with a judgemental gaze devoid of sympathy. "That is the most pathetic thing I've seen all day."

Without ceasing to roll back and forth up and down the room like a bored three-year-old, Josh took a deep breath, opened his mouth, and began belting out 'Green Finch and Linnet Bird', from Sweeney Todd.

Now, normally, I would've been able to ignore him, but 'Green Finch and Linnet Bird' happens to be a song written for a female. A soprano female, to be more specific, and Josh was incapable of hitting literally every note. That being said, it was completely unbearable to listen to.

"Okay, okay, fine!" I held my hands up in surrender. "For the love of all that is good and holy, please stop singing!"

Grinning, he got up off the floor. "I was hoping that one would work."

"It's incredible, really," I mumbled as I shut off my computer, "the fact that you're able to irritate me as much as you do."

"A talent." He declared, again sitting next to me on the couch.

I crossed my arms. "So, how long do I have to hang out with you, and what are we going to do?"

"That, my Alex, is all up to you." He replied. "But I do have an idea of my own."