sign of the times | joshua bassett

TWENTY TWO

EMMIE'S POV

the day came and we began the drive to utah at seven in the morning. i loaded up the car with snacks and drinks since we would be in there for literally the entire day. my mom and wore our comfiest clothes and started driving.

i connected my phone to her car and played a mix of songs i knew, songs she knew and songs we both liked. despite it being early, we sang along loudly. we pretended we were filming a carpool karaoke.

we stopped for a bathroom and stretch break halfway through the car ride. i sent a picture to josh on snapchat and added the location. he responded with a selfie with text that said "SO EXCITED".

when we got back into the car, i recorded a video of my mom.
     "mom, say something to josh!" i zoomed in on her face.
     "you're so lucky i like you, joshua bassett! we're driving twelve hours to see you!"
     "he knows, he had to drive it too!"
     "joshua! you drove here by yourself? that's dedication!" she laughed as i ended the video. i liked seeing my mom laugh, she was always so serious with her work.

     "we're almost there, emmie!" she smiled.
     "did you just call me emmie?" i gasped.
     "i still like emmerson better, but if you like emmie i'll call you emmie."
     "i like this version of you, mom."
     "i know we don't spend much time together, but i want that to change. that's part of the reason i did this. i missed my kid,"
     "i missed you too, mom."
     "i hope you have fun on this trip. enjoy every second."
     "i will, i promise!" i squeezed her free hand.

-

we checked into our hotel and i threw my stuff on a chair and flopped onto the bed. i sent the groupchat a picture of me in our hotel room. they blew my phone up and asked if i could go to olivia's apartment since they were all there anyways.

     "mom? i was invited to olivia's apartment, can i go?" i asked.
     "sure, i'll drive you!"
i texted them back and said that i was on my way and if someone could send the address. i was wearing my, well, josh's sweatpants and a black tank top. still in my pjs, i hopped back into my mom's car.

my mom wanted to talk to olivia's dad and catch up, so she waited with me at the door. i knocked on it and fairly quickly he answered.
     "emmie! rita! how nice to see you!" he greeted both of us. "they're all in olivia's bedroom. its the first door on the right," he pointed. "and rita, we have wine!" i nodded and walked to olivia's room, my heart beating rapidly.

i knocked on the door and heard josh say "ten bucks its your dad with the popcorn you begged for!" my stomach fluttered when i heard his voice. he opened the door and saw me. his jaw dropped, then formed into a smile. the room erupted into screams as josh wrapped his arms around me.
     "emmie! emmie! emmie baby!" he said excitedly. he let go and looked at me. he stroked my hair and pulled me back into a hug.
     "i've missed you so much," i said into his neck. he kissed me and made a loud "mwah!" noise just to be dramatic. he stepped back in the room and let me greet everyone. i gave olivia the biggest hug in the world.
     "hi!" she cheered. "my best friend is home!"
     "i'm twelve hours from there, ding dong!"
     "home isn't where you live, silly goose! it's wherever we are! together!" she hugged me. she was right even though she was joking around. i was finally home.

after an hour of catching up and devouring an entire pizza, we decided to have a sleepover at olivia's. i planned on borrowing olivia's clothes and probably never returning them. everyone changed into their pajamas and by that time it was eleven.

"bye emmie, i'll see you tomorrow." my mom poked her head into olivia's room. i was braiding julia's hair, but gently set the braid down to hug my mom.
"bye mom," i let go. "thanks for doing this." i smiled.
"i'm glad i did." she nodded. "goodbye everyone!" she waved. my friends replied with waves and "bye". she smiled and ducked out of the room. i went back to twisting julia's hair.
"did she call you emmie?" olivia asked, baffled.
"she did, its the new her!" i smiled.
"i'm so glad i invented your name," she wrapped her arms around my shoulders and squeezed them.

at around midnight we got quiet and settled down for the night. i found myself on yet another air mattress with josh.
"hi," i said quietly as he laid down next to me.
"hello," he said back, pulling me closer.
"i'm glad i came."
"me too. i was going crazy without you," he laughed.
"trust me, it wasn't too hot at home for me either!"
"i can't wait to show you around set tomorrow!"
"i'm going to east high? tomorrow?!" i covered my mouth.
"you idiot, that was supposed to be a surprise!" olivia commented with a chuckle.
"whoops?" josh made a face.
"oh now i'm excited." i smiled.
"if we go to sleep it'll come faster," he suggested. i nodded as we kissed.
"we can hear you. some of us need our beauty sleep. you're so cute it's disturbing." frankie added.
"goodnight frankie! i love you!" i said back.
"i love you too," he giggled.