💭

Spooky Season™️ had finally arrived. If Joshua was asked what his favourite thing to do during the fall season was, it sure as hell wouldn't be this.

He honestly didn't know how he got himself into this situation. Peer pressure, probably. Or maybe it was your pleading, puppy dog eyes that made him melt. Every. Single. Time. Either way, it was too late to back out now, considering he was already sitting in the car, his body clad in his Sharkboy costume on his way to the haunted house, surrounded by his girlfriend and all of their friends who were also in their Halloween costumes.

Joshua was terrified of haunted houses. He believes that Halloween should be about dressing up, watching movies, and eating candy until your stomachs twisted in pain. He loved watching horror movies with you, but only god knows what he would do if he were actually in a scary movie situation. The only person who feared this kind of thing just as much—if not more—as him was one of his good friends, Dara Reneé.

It was kind of funny actually, how both of them were equally as terrified but were dealing with their fears in completely different ways. Dara was sitting in the front seat of the Uber practically shaking with fear. She showed no shame when it came to her tremendous fear of ghosts, spirits, or anything paranormal.

Joshua on the other hand, sat in the middle row of the uber, trying to steady his shaking, slightly clammy hands. His throat had gone dry and he was experiencing extreme stomach pains from his anxiety. He was handling it well and keeping his mouth shut. He had way too much pride to let that little detail slip.

Joshua knew that the moment he revealed his fear of haunted houses and all that scary shit to one of his cast mates, they were all going to tease him to his wit's end.

As the car approached the street where the haunted house was held, Joshua let out a quiet, relieved breath. The haunted house was placed right in the middle of a massive fall festival. He could see a corn maze in the distance and a sign near the entrance that displayed information about a petting zoo! Maybe he could distract you and take you there instead.

Joshua shifted his head to the back of the car, where you were sandwiched in between Olivia and Frankie, singing your heart out to Monster Mash while your hot pink strands of your Lavagirl wig danced around your face. He shook his head and for the first time since he entered the car, he grinned.

You were going to be the death of him.

"Alright. So what does everyone wanna do first?" Olivia inquired once everyone made it inside the festival, matching orange bracelets around each of their wrists.

Joshua interlaced his fingers with yours and gently pulled you into his embrace, making you unlink your elbow with Olivia and wrap your free arm maneuver it around his torso as everyone listed out what they wanted to do.

(I didn't know how to write it in without getting off topic, but to set the scene a little, here's what I imagined everyone's costumes were while writing. You and Josh are obviously Sharkboy and Lavagirl, Dara is dressed up as a clovers cheerleader, Olivia is dressed up as Wednesday Addams, Matt was dressed as Armie Hammer in Call Me by Your Name, Sofia is dressed as Dionne from Clueless, Joe and Frankie are dressed up as mermaid man and barnacle boy, Julia's dressed as Little Red Riding Hood and Larry is dressed as Phineas from Phineas and Ferb)

As you listened to Joshua's heart beating rapidly through his chest, he was silently praying that no one would mention the haunted house.

He reeled a few inches back from your embrace and used his index finger to lift up your chin so he could admire your features. It was dark out, but the reflection of the full moon still gleamed in your eyes. In attempts to distract you from the rest of your friends he leaned in for a kiss, but to no avail.

"Lovebirds!" Frankie called out to you both. You pulled away with shy grins. It seemed as though the group had chosen an activity. They were all pointing excitedly at the poster for the haunted house, while Dara stood closer to you both with her hands clasped together close to her chest.

Joshua insisted that they go ahead and reassured them that the two of you would meet up with them soon. They were hesitant, but eventually shrugged and left you both alone. You turned to your boyfriend with furrowed eyebrows. "What was that for?"

Joshua shrugged and shoved his hands into his front pockets, leaning back and forth on the balls of his feet nervously. "I dunno, I was thinking maybe we could go get some apple cider or go pet the baby goats or something."

Your confused expression slowly transformed into a suspicious one, with your mouth pressed in a thin line and your arms crossed intimidatingly. "Josh, we can do that later."

"Or.. if you don't wanna do that now, we could go on the hayride or do the corn maze." He offered. You rolled your eyes and sighed.

"No, we came here with our friends. We're not gonna ditch them—or make them a bunch of third wheels."

Joshua looked down and kicked at some of the crunchy leaves underneath his feet. "I don't wanna go in. The air is nice and cool out here, I think we should enjoy the lovely fall evening." He insisted bashfully.

For a second you almost believed him, but telling by the way he'd been refusing to meet your eyes for the past few minutes, you were certain there was something else on his mind.

"Joshua, are you scared?" A teasing grin rested upon your face as Joshua attempted to deny your claim, but all that came out of his mouth were splutters of incoherent words. "Oh my god, you are!"

Joshua huffed and crossed his arms like a child. He sent you a pout and sad eyes, trying to convince you to stay here and not drag him into the haunted house. Ignoring him, you grabbed his hand from his pocket and pulled him along with you in the direction your friends went.

As the haunted house came into view, you spotted children and teenagers much younger than the both of you waiting patiently in line, amusing you more. You decided to keep the rest of your teasing comments to yourself when you noticed Joshua's distressed, distracted face. "C'mon, Josh. What's the worst thing that could happen?"

"I could die."

"Joshua, stop. It's not real!" Joshua huffed as you brought him back to the group, who were all waiting impatiently for you outside the line.

"You can go in if you want, but I'm staying out here.. with Dara." He wrapped his free arm around Dara's shoulders and she shrugged him off while sending him a judgmental look.

"Back off, scaredy cat, I'm practically shitting my pants but I'm still going in." Dara sassed and you giggled at Joshua's hurt expression.

"Then I guess I'll just stay out here. All alone. In the cold." He sighed over-dramatically, making sure the entire friend group could hear him.

You unlinked your hand from Joshua's and were about to link your elbow with Dara when you got an idea that—knowing your boyfriend—would make him give in. "Hey, Matt!"

Matt looked up from his conversation with Joe and excused himself before making his way over with curious eyes. You sent him a look with your eyes as if to say 'just go with it' and after seeing Matt give you a small nod you continued.

Once Matt had maneuvered his way over, you gripped his left bicep and pouted up at him. "Joshy won't go through the haunted house with me. Will you protect me instead?"

The rest of your friend group snickered at your antics and when Matt was about to play along, Joshua tugged you back into his arms and flush against his chest protectively, grumbling something under his breath. Joshua knew you were joking of course, but when it came to you, his jealousy always got the best of him. Especially around guys like Matt who had eyes that were so.. indescribable.

You placed a chaste kiss onto his cheek and hummed happily. "Love you."

Joshua's jaw was still clenched and his eyes were remained glaring at Matt. "Yeah, yeah, I love you too, now let's just get this over with."

N O T E !
i am trying to make these shorter for you all bc you're probably so tired of me and my 3k+ word imagines by now💀

make sure to vote and comment!! i think i'm going to make a second imagine to follow this up and connect it to a request i received a little while ago,, so keep an eye out for that👀