JOSH DUN VS THE WORLD ✓

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE: HE JUST HAD TO DATE THE GUY WITH THREE EVIL EXES

SAVING...

SAVING...

SAVING...

SAVING COMPLETE!

Josh stands at the door of his old apartment, unsure about going in. It's been two weeks since he's talked to what's left of his friends. What if they hate him for trying to sabotage their music career, and that's why they never came over to make sure he was still alive?

Halsey pushes the door open before he has a chance to hightail it out. He's greeted by a surprised double take from Max and a short wave from Young Ryan. He immediately turns around, intent on walking home if he has to, but Halsey spins him around and pushes him inside.

"Hey, Max, I knew you guys were busy with record label stuff so I picked Hayley up," she says, shutting the door behind her and helping Hayley to the couch.

"Thanks." Max stares at Josh, who looks at the ceiling. "Why are you here?"

"Halsey made me."

He laughs, startling Josh enough to look at him. "Of course, the only thing that can make you come over is someone forcing you to."

Josh rolls his eyes. He knows this was going to happen. "Right. Sorry for not being there for you through the biggest heartbreak of your life."

"Not our fault Tyler dumped you."

"That's a bit mean," Young Ryan starts, but Josh interrupts him.

"Of course it's not, but the least you could do was try and be a good friend."

"Like you?" Max scoffs. "You tried to sabotage our only chance at making it as a band by attacking Dallon Weekes, then painted him as a villain when he steals your man. And you expect us to feel sorry for you when you turn back to drinking? We offered for you to stay here, and you fucked that up too."

"So what if I'm taking this breakup a little hard? Is it illegal for me to feel like a piece after Tyler tells me I was a pity boyfriend?" Josh retorts, his voice turning shaky at his last few words.

He's not even angry anymore, he's just tired of fighting. All he wants to do is stop hurting. His heart starts beating against his ribs, hard enough to crack them, and his throat closes up.

Young Ryan raises his hand. "If I may-"

"Why are you being such a dick?" Hayley smacks Max's chest. "You're gonna make him have another breakdown."

"He almost got you killed because he couldn't keep it in his pants. He's had to date the dude with a three evil exes."

"Actually, it's four evil exes, if you just listened to him," Halsey snaps.

Josh balls his fists at his sides, forcing himself to breathe evenly. "Dallon's the fourth one." He can't breathe. Is the room spinning, or is it just him?

"Yeah, well, I'm done listening to him, because all he brings us is bad luck," Max reprimands. "Our last two gigs ended with us nearly getting killed, and what apology have we gotten? None. He's a shitty person and even shittier friend. I'm tired of feeling sorry for him."

Hayley huffs and pushes herself to her feet, leaning heavily on her cane. Max goes to help her, but she slaps him away. "We're all shitty people, Maxine, in case you haven't noticed. You're a compulsive liar and a college dropout with an anxiety disorder. Josh is a narcissistic asswipe who has never thought of anyone but himself. The only time I've been sober in the past three is when I'm in the hospital after i had my chest torn open."

"What about me?" Young Ryan asks.

"Oh, you're perfect, hun, don't worry," she says.

He beams at her.

"Look, my point is, we've all done very shitty things in the past. But we're the only family we've got, so you better suck it up if we're going to make it big, and maybe just listen to what Josh has to say."

She looks at him expectantly, her face dropping from furious to worried. Josh sniffs, barely holding himself together. He sways to the side a bit, his eyes shuttering as he tries to keep them open.

"Josh, you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I just-" his voice cracks, and the floodgates open.

Hayley wobbles forward and brushes his wrist. The touch alone causes a spastic shock to turn all the way up his shoulder. He jerks back, losing his footing, and falls back into Halsey, who somehow is strong enough to hold him up.

"See what I mean? It's always him we need to look after, always him with the issues," Max says.

"Will you shut the fuck up and look at him?" Hayley hisses. "Can you see that he's hurting?"

"What about us? What about our issues?"

"What, like ignoring our friends for fame?"

"We've been working at this for three years, Hayl. The farthest we've gotten is the battle of the bands, and we didn't even make it past round two."

"Music isn't about fame, it's about making something that means something!"

"We can't share that if we don't make it!"

"We can't share our music if we keep bickering like this all of the time!"

"Then fucking leave!"

"No! I'm just as invested in this as you are. Without me and Josh, you're nothing but a coward and a-"

"Stop it," Josh sobs out, sinking to the floor with Halsey hugging his shoulders, his face buried in his arms. "Stop fighting, please. Please, I can't- I can't-"

"Hey, hey, it's okay. Look at me, J. Come on, baby, look at me." It's Halsey's voice. "Copy my breathing, okay? In... and out... there you go, come on, repeat it with me. In... and out."

He shakes his head, his whole body shaking. "All- all I want is to be happy. That's all I ever fucking wanted!" Josh bawls, not caring that he's breaking down in front of his friends, his family, the ones who should've been there for him.

"It's okay, I've got you," Halsey whispers. "Let's stand up, okay. Come on, up you go."

She pulls him up to his feet. Josh removes his hands from his face, wrapping his arms tightly around his chest. He hiccups, rubbing the tears away on with one hand.

"You know what? I quit. Fuck the band. Fuck the music. Find another bassist. You're better off without me, anyways."

The color drains from Max's face. "Wait a minute, Josh, think this through. We need you. Without you-"

"Without me, you won't be in danger," Josh cuts him off. "That's what you wanted, right? Me and my drama gone. You've got it."

Max opens his mouth to protest, then promptly shuts it. Josh is too stubborn. Once he puts his mind the something, nobody, not even his closest friends, can change his mind.

With Halsey's help, Josh walks out of the apartment, breaking down for a second time on the way back to Tyler's apartment.