A/N: Set during "King Corn" in season 6 because Josh and Donna's distance in season 6 kills me. Seriously, it's torture so I had to write about it.

Enjoy!

angellwings

Playing Chicken

By angellwings

Donna Moss had never been a fan of playing chicken. The idiot jocks at her high school had played it, and unfortunately she'd dated more than a few of them. But that was a topic for another time. Every sort of vehicle they could drive was used in a game of chicken. She hated it. It was dangerous and if no one chickened out it could be deadly.

One of the cheerleaders had ended up in the ICU after riding shotgun during a game of chicken. She knew the consequences and yet here she was playing chicken with Josh. Arguably, this game was more dangerous because it was her emotional state that was on the line this time.

She was playing chicken with a freight train and Josh was the freight train. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye as he stepped onto the elevator and bit back the words that were itching to spill out of her. Josh was pointedly ignoring her. He was trying to act like he didn't care but she knew he did. Besides, she had tried to talk to him before she quit but he'd continually brushed her off. Why should she be the one to break the silence? Still, it saddened her that things were so awkward between them.

She wanted to tell him about how amazing it felt to be good at campaigning, how she'd doubted she could do it, how she'd completely surprised herself and proved even her abysmal expectations wrong. She'd surprised herself and she wanted to tell him that, despite one major exception, she was the happiest she'd been in a very long time.

But she was fairly certain he didn't want to hear it. Why couldn't he just be happy for her? Why did this have to become something tense that lingered between them? So she worked for Bob Russell now instead of him. Did he not miss her the way she missed him? Was there no way to get passed it at all?

She glanced away from him to stare at the button beside the door. There was one button lit up green that signified they were on the same floor. There was no chance of her getting off the elevator before him. Suddenly, he spoke.

It was just a question about where she was coming from. An impersonal and seemingly casual question that led to even more impersonal questions. Just like strangers. That's what she and Josh were now. Strangers. The elevator doors opened and they both stepped off. Her nervous heart beat louder once they headed down the same hallway. They both paused and exchanged awkward glances. The tense awkward silence between them increased as they reached their doors. He was across the hall, a fact that would plague her all night long. She turned and opened her door and then heard the familiar buzzing from Josh's door.

He couldn't get the key to work. She debated ignoring it but she could tell he was becoming frustrated.

"You're doing it too fast," she told him. She hesitantly approached him and reached for his key. She was instantly reminded of campaign trips they'd been on together.

"I get frequent flyer miles for every swipe," Josh said dryly.

Donna bit back a grin and swiped his room key for him. Just like old times. Almost.

"So much for Bermuda," Josh commented wryly as she turned and headed back to her door. They said goodnight and Donna retreated into her room. She sat down on her bed and stared at the worn carpet.

She'd lost Josh. That was pretty clear now. Everything was different.

She looked up at the door when she heard a nearby door open and close. She stood up reluctantly and approached her door. She heard footsteps that stopped outside her door and she held her breath. She glanced through the peep hole and watched him struggle with the decision to knock.

"Come on, Josh," she whispered to herself as she looked away. "Knock."

A second later she heard the tell-tale sound of a hotel room lock buzzing. Once. Twice. Then there was a pause as she pressed her ear to the door. Maybe he was changing his mind. Maybe he'd come back and knock after all.

Then…

Ding.

She heard the door open and close. He wasn't going to knock.

She considered knocking on his door instead, but that didn't feel like the right solution. Josh had more to get over than she did. As much as she hated it, she should probably wait him out. Donna sighed and unzipped her suitcase.

She hated playing chicken. Someone usually got hurt.