Chapter Thirty-Four:
Josh's POV
*edited*

"So are you guys dating now?" Sylvia asked and I groaned in embarrassment, turning away from her.

"No. Stop being weird, Sylvia."

"I'm just saying. I walk into you two kissing in your bathroom and now you won't tell me if you have a label. I need details Josh. Was he a good kisser. We're you?"

"Stop, Sylvia. Just let me eat my burger." I said trying to avoid conversation by stuffing my mouth full of deliciousness.

Can't talk if your mouth is stuffed full.

"Was it your first kiss?"

Technically, no. But it was the first kiss of mine that I really counted. The kiss in his house had been... I'm not sure. Almost like we were in a different moment.

In the bathroom though it was just us. No stress no worries.

I had thought that there was no interruptions and I didn't even know that Sylvia had seen until she brought it up to me.

And you can imagine how that went.

I. Was. A. Disaster.

Callum knew what he was doing, at least that's what I thought, but I can tell you that years upon years of kissing the back of my hands and mirrors and I still had no idea what I was doing.

I didn't answer and instead just continued to shove hamburger down my throat as we sat in her car, listening to Carly Rae Jepsen.

We'd gone through the McDonalds drive through, picked up a hamburger and pulled into a random parking lot before Sylvia obnoxiously turned to me and said. 'So tell me bout what I saw yesterday Joshy Washy'.

"And how did Callum react?"

I sighed shoulders slump, "You're so annoying. Stop asking questions." I demanded, taking a sip of my coke.

"Answer that question and I'll leave you alone. Promise." She raised her hands in defense.

I blushed slightly, glancing out the window. God This was embarrassing. "Well I started getting flustered and stuttering like the stupid moron I am and... well first he rolled his eyes and called me a doofus. And then he said 'stop freaking out Joshy. Whatever changes between us will be for the better I promise' then he hugged me and said that while he was gone he'd done a lot of thinking and he wanted to talk to me."

Sylvia practically gushed, "Awwww that's so cute." She said. "So how did it initiate?"

I shook my head, holding up a finger, "No ma'am. You said no more questions if I answered that one."

"But you like him right?"

"No more questions Sylvia!"

She cackled, and slowly started to pull out of her parking spot in this random ass parking lot.

"Alright alright. But I'll get it out of you one day."

~~~

"And then it was. 'Woah. That's a big ass fish." I mean, did you know how fucking big catfish can get Josh?" Callum asked with his eyes slightly narrowed at he popped a cracker into his mouth, smiling with satisfaction.

"Uh, no?"

Callum scoffed, "No wonder with your little bitty brain." He said, bringing another cracker into his mouth, crunching on it like a child.

"Do you understand that you are obsessed with stupid crackers? I mean, you say I have a small brain, but you must have a child's." I shook my head.

"Josh. If you don't understand the fine art of the delicate crunch of crackers, the seeping saltiness as it feathers along your tongue dissolving and mixing into the deliciousness of the perfect cracker. Than that sounds like a personal problem."

I let out a dumb laugh, "You're a poet, Callum." I said, in the same way 'you're a wizard, Harry.' Was said and Callum shrugged.

"I'm just saying. Crackers are the gift from god we didn't deserve. We have dogs and all, but they aren't edible in the way crackers are. And—"

"Speaking of dog, you should get peanut trained he's been acting up."

"He's not that bad at all!" Callum defended, eyebrows furrowed a bit.

"Dude. That thing is a brat." I whined. "I still have a scar on my ankle from it biting me."

Callum rubbed his hands, "Hes holding his own, like father like son."

"He's being a brat."

Callum shrugged, "he's not a brat, I love him." He grinned and I admired his dazzling smile, then his smile dropped. "Back to catfish. The thing was massive Josh, the biggest thing I've ever seen. It was massive. And the guy just... reeled him in, like it was no big deal." He sputtered, "I was flabbergasted, Joshy." He pulled out his phone and flipped through his camera. "Look." He showed me a picture and I raised my eyebrows.

"Holy crap it is pretty big..." I said, staring at the monster of a fish.

"Exactly! He was like 'I'm glad your uncle let you come on the boat today' and blah blah blah, but damn." He wiped at his forehead. "I didn't even do anything to help him and I got physically exhausted."

Awhile ago, Callum's uncle started coming back into his life but then he suddenly disappeared outta nowhere. Now he's coming back again.

It was kinda how Callum's family worked, well besides his parents and his sister. They stay in his life for a bit, they dip, then they come back and repeat.

But not his parents, Callum avoided any topic of his parents. Any calls from his parents he answered and then hung up immediately. He tried his best to hide it, but I saw his face change whenever they called.

Today while I was chilling with Sylvia, Callum went fishing with his Uncle's buddies, where they caught this monster.

"So what. Did you keep it?"

Callum shook his head. "It was too big. You can only keep them if you are above the minimum and below the maximum." He said fiddling with the necklace I gave him the day after his birthday.

The day he first kissed me.

Stop thinking about that and listen to him rant about a fish. I scolded myself.

"But I wish. We did catch a few more that we kept. They were biting like mad today, which is weird because the weather has been so bipolar recently." He sighed, "But we ate some. They offered for me to take some back but I told them you didn't like fish and declined. Besides, I didn't really like it all that much anyway." He popped another cracker in his mouth and moaned.

I sent him a glance, "You know Callum, you're kinda like a dog. If I wanted you to do something all Id have to do is pull out a cracker and tell you to do something and then give it to you as a reward."

Callum narrowed his eyes. "I'm a dog now? That's kinky—"

I sputtered, "Shut up!" I threw the kitchen table seat cushion at him and he dogged it with a laugh.

"I'm just joking Joshy, chill." He cackled and stuffed another cracker in his life. "Speaking of dogs and animals and pets. I want a dolphin."

"Howd you get all of that from dog?"

"I literally said how. I went from dogs to animals to pets. See?"

"Callum. I don't think you can own a dolphin."

"Okay. Then, metaphorically, I should've gotten a dolphin, instead of a dog."

"How is that a metaphor?"

Callum let out an exasperated huff, "Just let me speak my idiocy and be, Josh. Not all of us can be smart like you."

I laughed, "I'm teasing Callum. It's a thing that people do. Although that wasn't a metaphor." I said, raising a finger, "but I was just pointing it out to get a reaction outta you."

He rolled his eyes, "I will pray to the heaven above every night for you to be snipped."

"I have the power of god and anime on my side." I stated confidently.

"We'll see who has the power of god and anime on his side when I throw you in the pool again."

I winced, remembering my broken ass, which still hurts to this day. "Not funny." 

"I thought it was a pretty funny."

"It wasn't."

"Was."

"Wasn't."

"Was."

"Was."

"Thanks for agreeing."

I groaned, "You're supposed to say wasn't! You're so lame." I pouted and leaned back.

Callum shrugged, "But I'm hot, so..." he shrugged, "Broad over brains."

"I'm the brains you're the broad." I said, randomly and Callum chuckled.

"Sure. The two amigos."

"Callum we've been the two amigos since birth you idiot."

He cackled, "I'm just putting on a label, for the millionth time."

I shut up and instead just glared at him. "You're an annoying bastard."

"But I'm your annoying bastard." He said, and I cringed.

But I will admit that my face was getting very very warm, even though what he said made me physically want to shrivel up like a dried lemon.

"Corny."

He shrugged and then went kinda quiet. "I'm sorry about ditching you." He said, kinda suddenly.

"It's fine, Callum. I mean, you're back, so it's fine." Callum has a problem where he constantly apologizes for taking a break. I try to tell him that everybody needs a break from reality once or twice but he doesn't feel like that's enough.

"Yeah but I just left... little explanation and I didn't even tell you I was safe I just said I was okay. I can't imagine what you must've been thinking of..." he hummed sadly.

I smiled at him gently, "I accept your apology Callum. Now stop acting like we haven't known eachother for 16, almost 17 years."

He grinned, and suddenly he was ranting off about the best types of crackers.

Ritz being his top favorite on his list.

I don't know what he wanted to talk about last night, but I wouldn't force him to talk about it right now, because I liked goofing off with him.

"Cheese-itz are pretty good but it's weird cuz they don't really fall under the cracker category in my opinion because they're so small, more like... I dunno. But not crackers per se. even though they technically are crackers.

"So what exactly is your definition of 'cracker'?"

Let's be honest, if you can't have a conversation about crackers, that is absolutely pointless might I add, with the boy you've known for his whole life, then do you really know him?

I don't think so.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sorry it's been a bit longer than my usual updates. Been kinda busy since it's almost the forth. (Definitely expect a Fourth of July chapter tho).

But yeah. Hope you enjoyed and have a wonderful day <3

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