A/N: I have been playing waaay to much Until Dawn. And I needed a happier ending so I rewrote what happened at the lodge.
Whispering slowly dragged Chris out of his alcoholic haze. Blinking to bring things back in focus he found himself in the kitchen of the Washington Lodge. Moonlight streamed through the windows, illuminating his best friend. Josh was still passed out, clearly unbothered by the whispers which – okay, weird – had stopped. Uneasiness settled into the pit of his stomach and he stumbled off of his stool.
"Josh?" he asked, voice slurring. The older boy slept on, oblivious and Chris snorted. The drinking challenge had been a stupid idea, especially since Josh had been halfway to wasted already. It hadn't stopped them though – it never did. Chris stared down at his friend. Josh looked so peaceful in his sleep – younger. His face smoothed out, the concerns and insecurities he carried clearly banished from his mind. Chris wished this sight was normal. Josh was such a good bro, he didn't deserve the battle he faced each day. Thankfully his current medication seemed to be working. He was pulled from his musing by a soft gasp. Looking up, Chris spotted the shyer twin reading a note.
"Hey Han," he greeted, moseying over to where she stood. "What's shakin'?" Hannah gave him a smile though she seemed too nervous or excited to respond. Instead, she thrust the note at him and waited for his response. It took Chris longer than he liked to admit to read and understand the note. Once he did, though, the uneasiness that had subsided came roaring back in full force. "Hannah, don't go," he told her, his face frowning down at the note still in his hands. This note, the whispering…Chris' mind screamed 'prank' and not the funny ha-ha kind. He saw Hannah's shoulders slump out of the corner of his eye.
"You don't think Mike…" she trailed off, refusing to meet Chris' gaze.
"I think Mike is a fuckboy who is waaaay to use to girls fawning over him. I think Mike uses that to his advantage for his own amusement despite having a girlfriend and sooner or later someone is going to get hurt." He placed his hands on his friend's shoulders, leaning down to look her in the eye. "I don't want that person to be you," he told her.
"It's a prank, isn't it?" she asked softly. She still wouldn't look Chris in the eye but he'd bet money she was crying. He hated being the person to put her through this but better now than later. Whatever Mike or whoever set up, Chris would bank money it was meant to embarrass the twin, probably with a video that would have been posted online.
"Most likely," he said. "Probably something Em or Jess cooked up." Hannah sighed and rubbed her eyes.
"Dammit," she muttered, rubbing the tears from her eyes and Chris pulled her in for a quick hug.
"Hannah, there you are!" Sam exclaimed as she ran into the kitchen. "Oh, I…" she trailed off as she saw Hannah in Chris' arms.
"Not what you're thinking, Sammy," he assured her. "Now why were you so anxious to find Hannah?" he asked. "Could it have something to do with a note allegedly left by Mike?" he inquired lightly.
"It's a prank," Sam sighed. "Mike was going to convince you to take off your shirt while the others filmed it," she told Hannah. Chris cursed under his breath. It wasn't anything he wasn't expecting but to hear it said out loud… The news made him feel surprisingly sober despite knowing for certain that he was still tipsy.
"I'm gonna kick his ass," Chris growled, arms tightening around Hannah as he heard her whine. Fresh tears soaked into Chris' clothing and he was thankful that he always wore layers. "And then I'm gonna unleash Beth on the girls."
"I'll help her," Sam volunteered, moving closer to her friends and placing a comforting hand on Hannah's shoulder.
"You guys are the best," Hannah told them, sniffling. Her tears had stopped and she gave them a small smile. "You're right, Chris. Mike is a fuckboy. I can do way better."
"Yeah you can," Chris grinned. "Get yourself a nice guy. Someone who likes you for you and not just cause you have boobs," he told her.
"Someone like you?" She asked. Abort, abort, abort! Danger Will Robinson! Danger! Chris loved his friend but she was like a little sister to him, and there was also the small big issue of…
"Yeah, but straight." He told her. Sam and Hannah stared at him and a small noise came from behind him. Realization smacked Chris in the face – what he had said, who he said it to and who heard him say it – and he chuckled awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck. He turned around, finding Josh awake and on his feet, staring at Chris. The older boy was fixing him with a look Chris recognized. It was the look Josh got when he'd heard something that made him very happy.
"Uh, Han, why don't we go watch a movie?" Sam asked, backing out of the room. "We'll see you guys in the morning. And Chris," she added, "this changes nothing." She told him with a smile. Hannah smiled and nodded her agreement and Chris heaved a sigh of relief before smiling back. The girls disappeared, leaving him alone with Josh. Who was still looking too fucking pleased.
"Thought you'd be out for the rest of the night." Chris told him, playing at nonchalance.
"You calling me a lightweight, Cochise?" Josh asked. "I should kick your ass," he told him, though a small smirk hung around his lips. And Chris tried really, really hard not to zone out on his lips, cause Josh was his friend – his best friend – but Chris has kind of been in love with him for a while now. Chris cleared his throat, watching as Josh's smirk broadened into a grin and something new pooled in the depths of Chris' stomach.
"Hey, is that any way to treat the guy who saved your sister from major embarrassment?" he asked, trying to find even footing. Josh's smile fell a little and Chris mentally kicked himself. He hadn't meant to upset his friend.
"Gonna kick Mike's ass," he muttered with a scowl.
"Too late, I called dibs," Chris told him with a grin, happy to be back to familiar banter. Josh gave him a look that said the argument was far from over before changing subjects.
"While I thank you for keeping Hannah from doing something stupid, you still insinuated that I'm a lightweight so your ass is still getting pounded," Josh told him matter-of-factly. Chris flushed and looked away. His traitorous body decided to interpret the older man's words entirely different from what his friend intended. Probably. Though Josh hadn't added the obligatory 'no homo'.
"Seem mighty fixated on my ass tonight, bro." Chris stated, trying and failing to make the sentence light and humorous. This felt different than their usual banter and Chris new if they kept going something was going to permanently change. The ball was back in Josh's court though and Chris would follow his lead, like he always did.
"I'm always fixated on your ass, Cochise. Not my fault you're so damn oblivious." Josh told him as he invaded the blond's personal space and okay – wow, when had Josh even gotten close to him? Last he knew Josh was on the other side of the counter and Chris' mind was totally letting down the side tonight. "Chris," Josh huffed, somehow able to sound annoyed and amused at the same time. "Stop thinking."
Stop thinking, Josh had muttered like it was something Chris could just switch off. Like flicking a light switch. But thinking was kind of Chris' thing: thinking, analyzing, turning a thought over and over in his mind. It's why he was so good with technology and so bad with people. So to stop thinking – oh. Oh. That worked rather effectively. Josh's lips were covering his and Chris absolutely did not let out a little whimpering sigh like he was the heroine in some romance. He was locked between Josh and the counter and it felt strange to only be focusing on one thing. His thoughts were still running a mile a minute but they were all about JoshJoshJoshJoshJosh and it was doing amazing things for his concentration. He definitely needed to do this again, though he'd probably have to explain to their friends why he was randomly laying a kiss on his best friend.
"S'good," Josh sighed when he finally pulled away. "Wanted to do that for a while," he confessed before grinning impishly. "Gonna do it again, too. Just when we're both sober." He added before stepping out of Chris' personal space and yawning.
"Gonna make me wait that long?" the blond asked as he attempted to slow his racing heart. He pushed away from the counter and licked his lips. Josh's eyes tracked the movement, darkening for a moment before he shook his head and smiled.
"Yeah, gonna make you wait. Just so you know it's not some one-off or the result of hormones mixed with alcohol." Chris stared at the oldest Washington and Josh rolled his eyes. "Bro, we've known each other for years. I can practically hear your brain making excuses. And I've no doubt that you've come up with every excuse except the right one." Josh gave a small laugh at Chris' sheepish grin. "So, we're going to wait until the cold light of day when we're both fucking miserable with hangovers to talk about how much we love each other. Capisce, Cochise?" Josh asked, giving his friend a lopsided grin. Chris barked out a laugh.
"Yeah, uh, got it," he chuckled as his stomach swarmed with butterflies.
"Good," the dark-haired boy nodded. "Come on. Let's go kick Mike's ass."
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