Where is he?

You looked around the airport impatiently, waiting at the arrivals gate at the international terminal of LAX. You had no idea why you were feeling so anxious. This was Joshua, your best friend since practically infancy, not some insanely popular celebrity who everyone idolized.

Oh, wait.

You bit your lip, somewhat fidgeting and shuffling from one foot to the other. You had been thrilled when Joshua’s group, Seventeen, finally debuted in Korea; he and his groupmates had been waiting for so long. But unlike most fans, not only had you watched him grow throughout 17TV up until his debut, you had watched him grow ever since he was a baby. And you had been growing too, right beside him.

Joshua’s mother laughed softly looking down at you, and you made a face in response. The pretty woman was practically like your own mother, considering you had basically stayed at Joshua’s house as much as you stayed at your own. You could tell his parents almost anything, and you loved the close relationship you had with them. Your own parents were almost constantly busy with work or away on business, so you had really come to rely on Joshua’s parents as you were growing up.

“Why do you look so nervous?” she teased lightly, smiling softly. “He’s the same Joshua he was when he left. Only famous now.”

You smiled at the pride in her eyes; Joshua worked so hard, and you were so happy for him. He deserved only the best. He was the most selfless person you had ever met, and in your nineteen years of knowing him, you had never seen him angry or aggressive. He was calm, patient, virtuous, kind, and basically all the good adjectives you could think of.

Which was why you had been crushing on him for so long, and unfortunately, there was just no opportune time to tell him that. You had only realized how serious your feelings were right before he had left LA for South Korea almost three years earlier, and you didn’t want to tell him anything to complicate things while he was gone. And now he was coming back for a short break while Pledis was giving the members time to rest, but was it really worth confessing to him when he had to go back again eventually, and he probably didn’t feel the same way about you?

“There he is!” Joshua’s dad exclaimed, interrupting your thoughts. You immediately looked up and felt your heart beat ten times faster at the sight of the tall, slender boy walking through the doors, dressed in a simple white, long sleeve shirt with slightly baggy shorts and sneakers. He was wearing a white beanie over his somewhat shaggy, tousled hair, and you wondered how the hell he managed to look like a flawless angel even after a twelve hour flight.

“Hey, guys!!” the boy cheerfully greeted the three of you, coming over rolling his suitcase behind him and quickly adjusting the strap of his backpack. “Hi, _______!” He beamed at you happily, taking his backpack off setting it down by his suitcase and stretched his arms out pulling you in for a hug.

You immediately hugged him back, suddenly feeling the urge to cry. God, you had missed him so much. You and Joshua had a long history, and while none of it was necessarily romantic, you had always been attached to the hip. When he had left for South Korea, you had spent days crying in your room, even though you knew it was dumb. Of course he needed to go, he was getting the chance to accomplish his biggest dreams and he couldn’t be stuck with you forever. You pushed away the impulse to let tears spill; there was no way you were ruining this with your whiny sniffling.

“I’m so glad you’re finally home!!” you blurted out, looking up at him when you finally pulled away smiling widely. “I missed you so much!!”

“Do we get a hug too?” Joshua’s dad asked in amusement, a fond twinkle in his eyes. The teenager laughed and hugged both of his parents, a wide smile on his face.

“I missed you too. I missed all of you,” he picked up his backpack again, his smile only getting bigger and bigger from happiness. “I can’t wait to get home and tell you everything.” He looked at you and smiled, raising an eyebrow. “And you better tell me all about your first year of college!! We barely got to talk on the phone while I was away. I need to know everything!”

You giggled and nodded, smiling happily as you walked with the family to the car out in central parking. Joshua’s mom was right, of course. He was the same Joshua he had been when he left, and even being a famous celebrity wouldn’t ever change that. The two of you playfully bantered back and forth on the way out, his parents smiling fondly at the conversation. You decided to block out the realization that he would have to leave California soon enough. You wanted to enjoy every single second of your time with him, so you weren’t going to focus on that.

“I think you got prettier while I was gone,” Joshua grinned, cocking his head as he slid in the backseat with you once the trunk was loaded. “Do you have a boyfriend now??”

You laughed and shoved his chest playfully, rolling your eyes. “No. You know I would have told you if I did!”

He laughed and you smiled, resisting the urge to blurt out in his face that you were saving the position for him.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

“So, who’s your bias?? It’s me, right?”

You laughed and looked up at him, wishing that time could freeze. Both of you were snuggled up in his bed, just as you used to when you had sleepovers. He was lying on his back and you on yours, but your head was rested comfortably by his chest and neck while one of his arms was around you. A position mastered by either the sweetest of couples, or the closest of best friends- in your case, it was the latter.

“Hmm, I dunno,” you teased, tilting your head. “Jeonghan is absolutely gorgeous…. And then there’s Woozi, he’s so talented! And Hoshi is such a good dancer….”

“Yes, but did any of them let you sit in the back of the bus with them in middle school even though you were just a tiny little sixth grader who was supposed to be sitting up front??” Joshua responded with a raised eyebrow, and you let out another laugh.

“Fine. I guess you can be my bias,” you sighed playfully dramatic, and he laughed as he ruffled your hair.

“You know, I really missed you. I think the guys probably know everything about you now, I talked about you a lot when I was feeling homesick.”

You looked up at him surprised, ignoring the mess he had made to your hair. “You did? What did you tell them?”

“That you’re my best friend, and that we’ve been friends for so long. And just some funny stories. Like how when I was in third grade and had a “girlfriend” and how you, in second grade at the time, immediately decided you needed a boyfriend.”

“You told everyone you were in love with her!” you laughed remembering, looking at him amused. “Third grade boys are supposed to believe that girls have cooties!”

“No, that’s like, a first grade thing!” Joshua retorted with confidence, but laughed and waved it off. “But anyways, I told them how you managed to get yourself a boyfriend on the playground one day and then I got jealous and told you to break up with him. And you threw a fit and wouldn’t talk to me for like an hour. And that’s a LONG time when you’re a little kid.”

“Well I had every right to be mad!” you giggled, “You wanted ME to break up with my boyfriend, yet you wouldn’t break up with your girlfriend!! How misogynistic is that?”

“I know, I know, I was a pretty messed up child,” he sighed heavily, keeping a completely straight face only making you laugh again. “I was really protective of you though,” he continued, looking down at you. “I still am.”

You blinked surprised and barely laughed, hoping the blush on your cheeks wasn’t prominent as you reached for his free hand and played with his fingers. “You know I’m a big kid now, right? I can take care of myself.”

“Sometimes I just hate being so far away from you,” he admitted, talking in a soft voice as he looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully, and you could tell he was getting serious. A light chuckle escaped his lips. “You have no idea, the week you started college I was so anxious. I wanted to know how you were doing, if you were all moved in, if any creepy boys were trying to hit on you, what was happening at all the parties…”

You listened feeling touched at how much he had been thinking of you, a slow smile gracing your lips as you held his hand and squeezed it gently. “You know I would have told you immediately if anything serious had happened. I’ll never leave you out. You’re always the first to know anything that happens in my life.”

He smiled softly looking down at you again, squeezing your hand back. “And you’re the same for me. I know we couldn’t talk much while I was gone, but I’m glad we still got to talk at all. Ideally, I would have liked to call you, like, every single day, but I’m grateful we had our weekly calls and Skype sessions….”

Is this flirting?

You couldn’t help but wonder, but you also didn’t want to get your hopes up. Joshua had always been a sweet and caring friend, it was just the way he acted in general. He had a way of making people feel genuinely special, which was probably part of the reason why he had so many fans.

“Me too,” you answered, nodding in agreement, then smiled. “And I got to meet Dino and Vernon on Skype that one time, remember? They were so cute.”

Joshua smiled, nodding his head. “Yeah, they liked you a lot. Vernon asked me why you and I weren’t dating.”

The words were out of his mouth before he even realized it.

You blinked several times then let out an awkward laugh, only becoming more awkward because you didn’t know what to say after. After what seemed like eternities of silence, you looked up at Joshua’s face which seemed slightly red at the moment.

“What did you say to him?”

He laughed awkwardly too, but shook his hair out of his face and looked down at you.

“I said I didn’t know.”

He didn’t say that he didn’t like me like that. Or that he only sees me as a friend or a sister. Or that I’m an ugly troll. He said he didn’t know. That has to mean something, right?

“Hey, _______?”

You looked up at him, snapping out of your flustered thoughts. “Y-yeah?”

He smiled and suddenly leaned in, pressing his lips against yours. Your eyes immediately widened, staying frozen for a few seconds, but he was persistent in the gentlest of ways. His lips moved warmly and encouragingly against yours until you finally processed what was happening. You kissed him back, and he shifted slightly to get into a more comfortable position. He lay on his side facing you, holding your waist as you instinctively turned to your side to face him, your lips moving together in perfect harmony. You had never actually felt sparks during any kiss you had ever had, but you definitely felt them this time. It was almost as though Joshua’s lips were made to match with yours, and you never wanted the kiss to end.

Once the two of you finally pulled apart, he had a small, sheepish, but extremely happy smile on his face.

“You kissed me back,” he whispered, and you gave him a look as if it were obvious you would do that.

“Why... why did you kiss me?” you asked, completely confused, but your heart was still melting from the aftereffect and the amazed, sweet smile on his face.

“I promised myself I would do that when I came back home,” he admitted, biting his lip but looking at you seriously. “I... I needed to see if something was there. And there is. Well, at least for me... I was kind of hoping you felt something, too…”

You stared at his hopeful face in disbelief before mumbling, “You idiot.”

Before he could question it, you pulled him in for another kiss. You felt him smile against your lips as he kissed you back, this time slowly sliding his tongue out and making his way into your mouth for an even deeper, more sensual kiss. You loved the way he kissed; it was sweet and soft just like him, yet manly and passionate all the same. He rubbed your waist gently, a low hum of content escaping his throat as the two of you continued making out, completely warm and cozy in each other’s arms under the blankets. Each time you would pull away, he would playfully peck at your lips again as if he couldn’t get enough. You giggled and playfully tried pushing him away, but he only pulled you even closer with a big smile and kept touching your lips with his as he laughed softly and happily.

“I’ve been wanting to kiss you forever,” he admitted finally, once he was done with his antics. “And I especially realized that while I was in Korea...”

“Really?” you smiled and held his hands, biting your lip. “Well, I’ve been wanting to tell you for a while now that… that I really like you.”

“If you couldn’t already tell, the feeling is mutual,” he whispered softly, the smile still spread across his entire face as he leaned in and kissed your cheek.

You couldn’t even control the emotions inside of you at this point as you snuggled closer to him, letting his lips graze the top of your head gently before he tilted your head up to catch your lips one more time in a goodnight kiss.

“You should get some sleep, it’s already two in the morning,” he whispered, and although you were far too happy and excited to possibly get any sleep, you knew he was right. You kissed him back softly and you swore you would never get tired of the feeling of his soft, warm lips.

“Goodnight, Joshua.”

“Goodnight, beautiful.”