tyler's raised voice made josh flinch, but he knew he had that coming. he had just said he was going on a week-long road trip out of the blue after all.
"hear me out, okay? she needs this. she's alone all the time, she hasn't been out to her apartment in months just researching something for her job, and is just a week anyway! It'll give you time to write a bunch, then when I come back I promise I'll give you two straight weeks of just brainstorming. " josh was practically begging at this point like tyler was his dad or something and he wanted to go down the bad part of town with his friends.
"josh, no. we have to work on the next album, we don't have much time-" tyler tried to say, but josh wasn't having it. not one bit.
"com on tyler! we have more than a year to finish it, we're not even done with blurryface yet! we still have the world tour to go on anyways! then the hiatus, which will give us ten months for touch-ups, it'll all be fine! maybe i need this, too. you know how stressed this all makes me, we both need breaks."
tyler stared at josh with a stone expression for a few seconds before sighing, running his hands down his face and nodding. "yeah, sure, go be with your girlfriend." he complied, sounding a bit less annoyed now.
"she's not my- oh whatever. see you next week!" josh bolted up from the couch and bid tyler a quick goodbye, then snatching a bit of cookie dough off of jenna's pan as he left. jenna made some bomb cookies, even if she just used the premade cookie dough sometimes. josh had been at tyler's house for the past four hours, which was actually kind of short in comparison to how long they usually are together.
josh tossed his suitcase onto his bed and just stared at the empty inside for a solid thirty minutes, he didn't even know where to start. rosemary had said nothing about where they were going, what he needed, or even what she was going to bring. so, he overpacked. he took blankets, snacks, extra clothes, he packed things he didn't even know he had.
in the end, he was left with a huge suitcase that would barely zip closed and a backpack filled with other random junk. he checked the time and decided he'd rest up for the endless hours of driving ahead, which he knew he'd get barely any sleep with all the thoughts rushing through his head.
-
the next morning, he was on his way to rosemary's apartment in no time; and for some reason, he felt adrenaline rushing through him. like going on a road trip was the most adventurous thing he had done.
josh went through his normal routine of getting to her apartment, mary now asking if josh was finally moving in. josh of course just laughed her off and shook his head, and he almost tripped running to the elevator. the usual panic the moving box gave him was gone with his excitement.
when he stepped through the doors he was met with the smell of vanilla and chocolate, making his mouth water immediately. he dropped his bags by the elevator and followed the smell, and in the kitchen was the domestic rosemary with two muffins. there was a note on the table that josh picked up immediately, the smile on his face uncontrollably.
"to begin our various endeavors over the next week, muffins." josh read aloud, his smile growing at this. he didn't hesitate to take the chocolate chip muffin and taking a bite, seeing rosemary do the same with her own. "dang, you're a really good cook. did i ever tell you that?" josh asked with his mouth full, already having devoured the muffin. it was just so good, he couldn't help but eat it fast. also, he was more than eager to get on the road. he needed this little trip.
rosemary smiled a bit and shook her head, her eyes scanning his face then her shoulders shaking a bit with her smile, which josh had learned was her either chuckling or trying not to laugh. he furrowed his eyebrows and looked down at himself then back at rosemary, pulling out his shirt a bit to try and see if he stained it somehow. "what? what's funny?" josh asked, beginning to chuckle a bit too.
rosemary put a finger to the side of her mouth and tapped, telling josh there was something there. he raised his hand to his face and watched her, wiping the side of his mouth and looking at his hand to see nothing. rosemary chuckled a bit more and shook her head, then pointed to the same spot. josh wiped again, but just as before, nothing.
she shook her head again and instead took the oven mitt she had off her hand and took a napkin from the counter. hesitantly, she raised her hand up to his face and used her thumb to wipe away a crumb from the corner of his mouth, biting her lip as she did. they were quite close in proximity, but neither of them could honestly say they cared.
"got it?" josh whispered since speaking at a normal volume would probably deafen her with how close they were. she nodded and looked up to his eyes, and in that moment, time stopped. josh felt his heart stop, his blood stop pumping, everything just froze. all that mattered was her eyes staring into his so close together, it was entrancing. her eyes were a biting blue with gentle grey undertones, just encapsulating. the longer he stared the deeper he fell, and he could also feel his head falling slowly. neither of them knew what was happening, all they knew was the space between them was getting smaller.
just as josh was about to close his eyes, rosemary turned and stepped back, rushing out of the kitchen. josh was left in shock, and it didn't even take a second for him to snap back to reality (oh there goes gravity) and realize what he almost just did. he sighed, scratching the back of his neck out of awkwardness. he was beyond embarrassed, and now they had to spend an entire week together.
josh mentally prepared himself for the inevitable awkwardness that was about to unfold as he slowly walked into the living room, he could practically feel the weight of the previous events on his shoulders.
rosemary was on her phone, standing by the elevator with a backpack on her back. josh cleared his throat and she looked up, smiling a bit when she saw him. she nodded towards the elevator with her eyebrows raised, and josh got the question. he nodded after a bit and grabbed his suitcase, pushing the button to the elevator before she could. no, it wasn't to be gentlemanly or anything, he just really wanted to press the elevator button.
"is that all you have?" josh asked, eyeing the backpack on her back that looked barely full. rosemary only shrugged, and like every other conversation, that's how it ended. once they were in the lobby, she kept walking outside to the parking lot of the apartment building, which made josh wonder; could she even drive? she just seemed so out of that realm, for some reason. like she was too good to have to drive around.
the sound of keys jingling snapped josh out of his daze, and the lights of a white suv type car lit up. rosemary unlocked the trunk, pulling it up and tossing her own backpack in. josh followed with his own stuff, and he then noticed how nice her car actually was. it was in pristine quality, the leather seats seemed untouched. which, they probably were with how little rosemary went out.
she got in the driver's seat, josh following in sitting in the passenger's seat, and she just sat there with her hands on the wheel for a bit. she scanned over everything behind the wheel, the cup holders, her face was unreadable.
"you okay?" josh piped up, raising his eyebrows. he felt a sudden sense of the fact that they were actually going on a road trip set in, and his stomach did flips. rosemary quickly nodded and cleared her throat, causing a bit of sound that was the only clue josh had to what she sounded like. he tried not to think about her voice because he knew she didn't have one and would never have one, but he just couldn't help but try to make up a voice for her. "where are we going, anyway?"
rosemary held the brake as she put the car in reverse, making sure the car didn't roll backward as she reached for her journal in the middle console. she flipped it open and flashed a page that was just a list, but she didn't let josh see enough to actually get a grip of where they were going. when josh looked displeased, she only grinned and reached into her coat pocket. she pulled out two lollipops, eyeing josh as she held them out to him. he refused wordlessly, but rosemary wasn't having it. she swirled the pops around his face until she saw a bit of a smile on his face, and finally, he just rolled his eyes and took one, popping it into his mouth. rosemary did the same, and for the first time, the expression on her resting face included a smile. josh liked that.
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a/n: whoops this whole chapter was brought to you by writer's block™ which is also our sponsor for many future chapters wee
