The Bad-Boy Saw Me Naked

False Alarm

(a.n : WHO ELSE IS IN LOVE WITH THE WEEKND'S NEW ALBUM?!?! I JUST CAN'T OMG AND HE'S COMING IN MAY TWO HOURS FROM WHERE I LIVE, I WANNA GO TO HIS CONCERT SO BADLY *cries*)
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*Josh's POV*

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I stared at the envelope that laid on my kitchen counter. Stanford, my dream school, had finally sent me a letter, regarding either my acceptance or my rejection. I was nervous, to say the least. This letter would determine my entire future, I was a Redfern. I was already a disappointment to my parents but I had promised myself that I would clean my image. This promise I made the day of G-Eazy's concert, after I dropped Mirranda off at her car.
"Look, Mirranda, this was fun but-" I began but she cut me off.
"I can see where this is going. I was the distraction, I get it. Get the girl, Josh. Make things right with her, maybe it's not too late," Mirranda smiles half heartedly, gets in her car and drives off.

After that moment, I did my best to reinvent my image, starting with my grades. I turned in any make up work that I could and started bring up my grades. We were two months from graduation, and I had to graduate. In reality, I had only to take one more class in order to graduate. I had 27 out of the required 28 credits.

The next step was to win Avery back, which was probably going to be the hardest thing to accomplish. The way it might've looked to Avery was that I was still with Mirranda, even though I wasn't. Any time I thought I was ready to apologize, I saw Avery and chickened out. Hence, why I waited so long to apologize. Of course, when I tried, she ignored me. In a way, I understand. Two months and no apologizes.

I snap back to the present and stare at the letter. "You know what? I'll open it," I hear someone say from behind me and I jump, startled. I turn to find James, and give him a half smile. "Could you?"
James rolls his eyes and walks towards me, grabbing the letter from the counter and tears open the envelope. He scans the letter for a moment, his face totally blank. Finally, he speaks and quickly says, "To Joshua Redfern, we regret to inform you that you'll have to leave your adorable yet awesome younger brother to come to Stanford."
"Are you serious right now? I got in?!" I grab the letter from his hand and quickly skim it over. He was right, I had gotten into my dream school. "I GOT IN!" I yell.
"Well no shit, I just said that," James says, but he says it smiling.
"James! I really did it! I got in!" I practically squeal.

I really did it.

~*~

"Josh, can I talk to you?" I hear one day after school. I turn around to find Avery, and I'm so shocked, I get speechless.
"Yeah, yeah. Sure," I say and we move to the side, both leaning on the rail. We stare at the crowds of people, all rushing to the bus or talking to friends. From where we're at, I see a group of freshmen, and can't help but be jealous. They have no idea what's coming to them in three years.
"Josh, these two months were hell." Avery says and I'm about to agree with her when she shakes her head. "No, you don't get to talk. You, listen." I listen to what she says and she lets out a shaky breathe, continuing.
"I got into Stanford. These are the best news I've received in a while, and then I see your snap story and see you got in too. Congratulations, by the way. I didn't used to believe in faith. But I can't ignore this. I love you, Josh. So fucking much that the thought of not being with you hurts me so much. So, so much. And I know you love me. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm going to give you one last chance. After this, if you fuck up, it's over. We're done, for good." She finishes, finally looking me in the eyes and I can tell, she's serious.
"You really want to?" I ask her. All this feel like a dream, a perfect dream, where everything goes right for me, but still. It doesn't feel real.
"Do you not want to?" She asks and I can almost hear the pain in her voice when she asks me that.
"Of course I want to, Avery. I love you. I just have to make sure you're 110% on board with this. You mean everything to me and it would kill me if you ever left me." I hate the way I sound, so needy, so desperate. But I loved Avery, and I had to make sure she knew.
"So, this is it. We're finally together again.." Avery says and there's a sort of disbelief in her voice. Despite everything we've been through, she was giving me final chance, one that I was so grateful for. We start walking out the building, side by side, into a new beginning.