the reunion

the things they leave unsaid

Josh was a hopeless romantic; that was no secret. Although he always fell hard, he never fell fast. 

The one exception though? That was Olivia. 

Olivia Rodrigo caught his eye like no one ever had. Sure, he had crushed on others before, but nothing quite like this. He wished he could say that there was nothing special about her, or that she was just someone that he'd get over in a few weeks, but that would be a lie. There wasn't a thing that wasn't special about her; everything from her voice to her eyes, to her smile, even the way she talked was enough to give him an erratic heartbreak. 

He was, to say the least, whipped. 

But the worst part about it? 

Everyone knew. Everyone, that is, except for the very person he wanted to know; her. 

As they walked through the trailers, his mind was buzzing. His stomach felt all twisted and his mind was fuzzy. He was still trying to process what had just happened when the cast stopped in front of Julia's car. His thoughts were tangled up in an intricate web that they were sorting everyone into different cars. 

"Joe and I need to go back to our apartment to grab some snacks so we'll take our own car," Frankie said to the group. 

"Okay, great, so that leaves the rest of us in my car," she informed. Julia drove a Ford Explorer which had just enough seats to fit the rest of us. 

"I call shotgun," Larry called as he ran to the passenger's seat and hopped in before anyone could. A series of groans were emitted from the group, knowing they would have to jam against each other for the car ride, bumping elbows in a fight for space.

"Calm down drama queens, you'll be fine," Julia laughed lightly. "Sofia, Dara, Matt, you guys get the three-row and Josh and Liv can get in the two-row in the back."

'Me and Liv in the what?' His head whipped over to look at Olivia and he couldn't help but noticed her swallow thickly after hearing Julia's words. 

"Julia Lester, you will pay for this, one way or another," Dara muttered as she climbed into the car. 

Josh glanced over to Olivia and gave her a meek smile. "Ladies first."

"Then get in," she retorted in hopes to diffuse the tension. He could sense her attempting the lighthearted approach as if they didn't just memorize the surface of each other's lips only minutes ago. She climbed in first and Josh followed. Sure, the car had way more seats than his, but the squeeze into the very back was... well, tight. When Josh finally slid into the seat, there wasn't anything that wasn't touching; their hips, knees, arms, and legs were all pressed together. In an instant, he could feel her tense up beside him and shift uncomfortably. Shit.

"Sorry," Josh mumbled to her. She shook her head and didn't respond. At this, his stomach tightened and filled with something new; he couldn't put a finger on it. Something foreign that rarely ever happened, at least around her. Especially her. It was almost like guilt, or maybe even disappointment. Was their kiss earlier a mistake? Did he not... do it properly? Josh almost laughed out loud at the invasive thoughts in his head. He could overthink just as much as the next person, and this moment was no exception.

His thoughts lulled him into silence, listening to the excited chatter around him.

"Y'all are quiet as hell." Dara had turned around in her seat to face them. The pair of them seemed to snap out of whatever daze they were in and stared at her with wide eyes. 

"Huh?" Josh said stupidly. 

"For someone who is probably the most extroverted out of all of us, you've barely said a word," Julia adds in from the driver's seat.