𝐀 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐒 | 𝒋𝒐𝒔𝒉𝒖𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒕𝒕

𝟎𝟎𝟑. 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔

^^^ I LOVE WINNIE THE POOH AND JOSH SM THAT THIS IMAGE HAS ME PREGNANT

Ahem anyway,

Chloe's POV

𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐄. Olivia - sorry 'Liv' - was so warm and friendly, and moreover genuinely wanted to hang out with me, at least I hope she did. She was clearly close to Josh, but that didn't bother me. I mean they're the two leads, of course they are. I guess Joshy is a thing now. She had a nickname for him too. It's great. It's, cute even.

When we arrived to the gym, she looked behind to me and excused herself before running off to a group of girls. Her words didn't fully process in my brain before she zipped off, as I took in the gleaming white, spacious room with splashes of red throughout. I was at the gym of East High. Alone, I subtly tried to look through the hustle of people for Josh. Oh God, even his name appearing in my thoughts made me feel...something I forced myself not to.

Liv then came back with three other girls. I had a small smile with wide eyes as they surrounded me; I was that type to linger in the corner and observe these vivacious girls, not have them crowd me. But right now, it really still felt like a case of faking it till you make it. 

A girl with auburn ringlets, half tied into space buns named Julia - however she loved to be called Juj. A shorter girl with the most gorgeous makeup and a laugh even more so, Dara  - yet she went by Dee. But I already recognised the taller girl, she was on Andi Mack and an even bigger star on TikTok for me, the angelic Sofia Wylie. I was habitually obsessed with teenage stars thanks to that one babysitting gig.

The faking was immaculate as I reintroduced myself and they asked me all the classic questions for the newbie, but then it naturally became one vibrant chat-fest; each of these girls admired the other and it was heartwarming to see.

"And just remember girl, I mean not to bring up the millionth HSM reference today, but we are all in this together" Dee announced and we all giggled with cringe, "so you can stick with us and the extras, and we just hope you feel at home as the new girl" she assured and I automatically let out a huge sigh. The faking decreased with each laugh and it almost felt like nothing could go wrong when surrounded by such sweet women.

Liv's eyes suddenly widened, "Oh my god you haven't even met the guys yet! Hold up - " she grabbed my hand and took me closer to the stairs.

And there goes that blissful feeling. I mean it was going so well, it was going too well and I felt the faked persona come back as three unfamiliar guys walked into my sight.

"Larry, Frankie, Matty! This is Chloe, the new girl who won that Disney+ contest" she declared proudly as I essentially stood behind her. She looked by her shoulder to find I wasn't where her hand was gestured, which made Matt laugh under his breath. She hushed and pushed me forward.

"Uh, helloo" I said with a little wave. I couldn't tell why I was back at square one when I already knew the cast was incredibly inviting. Maybe it was because they were boys, and I hadn't talked to their kind in maybe a year since..my thing happened. And of course the nervous energy  wasn't reduced after observing how cute these guys were, especially this Matty guy. 

"Hey there's no need to be shy Chloe we don't bite. I mean yeah unlike the girls I can't loan you my perfume and stuff but...it's because mine ran out" Matt added and we all laughed. I wondered how many times he's been told he looks like Armie Hammer. Once he made me laugh though, I felt immediately at ease and allowed myself to joke around and be casual with all four of them.

"Is Josh still getting his precious curls re-curled done or what?" Sofia asked as she walked up to us.

I automatically stopped talking, hell I swear I stopped breathing for a few moments.