sign of the times | joshua bassett

TWENTY ONE

JOSH'S POV

the first month of filming went by quickly. i loved playing ricky, i loved acting and i loved salt lake city. it was only missing one person.

everyone missed her. she brought a different energy to our group and made everything better. we asked tim when we could have visitors to which he responded "whenever you want." almost immediately after he gave us permission, we huddled into my trailer and called emmie.

     "my loves! what's up?" she smiled.
     "EMMIE!" we all cheered.
     "can i tell her? let me tell her!" olivia begged. i nodded and looked at my phone. she was so beautiful when she was happy. i hoped she was happy. "you wanna come to east high?"
     "duh!"
     "pack your bags! you can come whenever!"
     "SHUT UP!" she yelled. "I'M SO EXCITED!"
     "why is she the cutest?" julia smiled.
     "so, when are you coming?" joe asked.
     "not to sound crazy, but i did already plan my road trip! i cannot afford to fly so i'll be driving twelve hours, well, my mom will be driving twelve hours. if i can convince her, maybe next week?"
     "NEXT WEEK BABY!" olivia cheered.

EMMIE'S POV

i finally had something to look forward to. i immediately ran down the stairs to ask my mom if she would drive me. it was a lot to ask, but it was really important to me.

     "hey mom?" i called.
     "can i call you back, susan?" she asked. she hung up and looked at me. "what is it, emmerson?" she patted the couch. my mom worked a lot and always brought it home.
     "i've been presented an opportunity."
     "which is..."
     "to go to salt lake city, utah to visit olivia!"
     "when? how are you getting there?"
     "that's the thing. next week, can you drive me? i know its a lot, twelve hours to be exact, but it means so much to me. they're my only friends."
     "can i think about it?"
     "yeah," i nodded as my heart sank. with my mom, usually that meant no. i wasn't giving up, though. i planned on asking again and again until i ended up in utah.

i finished my homework, ate dinner and got ready for bed after she gave me her "maybe" answer. i was scrolling through tik tok in bed when she knocked on my door.

     "hey," i said, taking my airpods out.
     "i thought about what you asked,"
     "and..." i felt a pit in my stomach grow. i braced myself for the answer.
     "i got an entire weeks worth of personal days along with that raise and i never used them."
     "so that means-" a smile grew on my face.
     "yes, we're going to utah!"
     "thank you thank you thank you!" i hugged her.
     "you've been working so hard. i know i'm busy, but i do know how great you are. this doesn't mean you're going to slack off on your school work for a week. you need to get the work you'll be missing."
     "i know, i'll ask for it tomorrow."
     "anything from UCLA yet? they should be getting back to you soon,"
     "not yet, but who knows? if i'm not meant to go there i'll go to one of the others i got into."
     "you'll get in, dont you worry. goodnight, sleep tight!"
     "don't let the bed bugs bite! goodnight mom and thank you again."
she nodded and turned off the lights. immediately i tapped my bracelet a million times to get josh's attention, then i texted our groupchat.

IMESSAGE
fam squad

emmie: see u kids NEXT WEEK
emmie: ON MONDAY

olivia: AHAJZJSJZJ UR
ACTUALLY COMING OMFG
olivia: MOM IS THE BEST

emmie: im so happy u guys
emmie: this is what i needed

dara: SO EXCITED TO SEE
U SIS

emmie: ME TOOOOO

larry: EMMIE YAY

matt: Awesome!!

josh: i'm crying right now

olivia: he's not kidding

emmie: awwww joshy
emmie: let the countdown begin!

A/N: hi! thanks for 7k reads!! i took a week break, but i'm back. i honestly don't really know where this story is going, but i'm gonna keep writing <3 comment what u think or if u have any predictions!