The imagine takes place during a camping trip in winter in the middle of the holidays.

Madeline shot straight up from her sleeping bag when she heard a noise outside of the tent she was sharing with Hannah, Beth and Sam. Glancing at her three friends, she frowned when she noticed that all of them were fast asleep.

"Okay, alright." Madeline whispered to herself. "It was probably a rabbit or something. Completely normal." Nodding to herself, she prepared to lay back down when she heard another strange thumping sound, this time closer by.

Gritting her teeth, Madeline decided to take a look outside and see what the noise was about. Standing up, she quietly slipped on her boots and jacket as to not wake up her sleeping friends and zipped the tent open. Placing one foot outside, Madeline steeled herself before she glanced around, her head turning left and right.

Squinting her grey eyes slightly, she let out a breath and began to chuckle lightly when she saw the campfire still burning. "That was the noise," she muttered to herself before she stepped out of the tent, zipped it back up and began making her way towards the fire. "Scared of the burning wood, definitely the brave Maddie everybody talks about," she snorted, shaking her head and stopping in front of the glowing embers.

The warmth felt nice and comforting, so instead of putting the fire out Madeline decided to sit on one of the logs and admire the flickering flames.

She remembered how excited Josh had been when he told her about the plan to go out camping. She took it upon herself to invite the rest of their friends, hoping the 9 of them could make a great weekend out of it. Their vegan friend Sam was over the moon when she heard about it and had already packed her bags a week before they set out to go.

Jessica and Emily had immediately started to match outfits that would both look cute and keep them warm. Somehow, they managed to do it. Glancing down at herself, Madeline shrugged at her own attire. It was nothing fancy, just some old black jeans, a warm sweater and a jacket that would protect her from the cold.

Taking a deep breath, Madeline winced slightly when her head pounded. "Guess I drank more beer than I could handle." She shivered, the wind harsher than she expected. She quickly zipped up her jacket and paused when she felt her dog tags touch her fingers.

Madeline recalled her sixteenth birthday, butterflies swirling in her stomach when she thought about the sweet gift Josh had given her. Madeline knew she liked Josh, much more than a friend was supposed to like a friend, but she couldn't help it. Everything about him, from his green eyes, his curly hair to his loving personality was something she admired.

It scared her.

She had never felt something like this for anyone, and that made her nervous as hell. Madeline didn't even know if Josh felt the same way. She hoped he did, because the thought alone of him not returning her feelings made her-

"What are you doing here, Mads?"

"Jesus Christ!" Madeline yelped, grunting when she fell off the log in shock, the snow quickly seeping through her jeans and sending shivers down her spine.

A hand came in view and when she looked up, Josh was standing there with a grin on his face and a humorous glint in his eyes. "Are you out of your mind?" Madeline asked, grabbing a hold of his hand before she stood up with his help. Brushing the snow off her clothes, she send a glare towards Josh when he let out a loud laugh.

"Sorry," Josh chuckled, reaching out to wipe some snow from her side, "but this was the perfect opportunity. You, sitting all by yourself in front of a campfire in the middle of the woods. Sounds like the beginning of a great horror movie, am I right?"

Madeline rolled her eyes before she punched his shoulder lightly. "No Joshua, this sounds like a girl who just wanted to get a bit warm, not get the shit scared out of her!"

"Ooh," Josh snickered, "full name, huh? Alright, Madeline, what are you doing here in the first place?" he asked, putting the emphasis on her full name.

"Like I said, just trying to get warm. It's freezing out here."

Sitting down on the log, Josh patted the spot next to him and waited for Madeline to take a seat. "It's winter, ya know? But yeah," Josh nodded, "definitely freezing."

"What are you doing here, anyway?" Madeline frowned while looking into his green eyes. "I mean, I'm just hoping to get warm, but what about you?"

Josh shrugged his shoulders. "Thought I heard something and decided to investigate. Guess what I found?" He grinned, bumping his shoulder against Madeline's.

She snorted in amusement. "Yeah yeah, you're hilarious."

"And don't I know it," Josh smirked. "Seriously though," he continued, "I heard something, probably a rodent. Never hurts to check."

"True," Madeline nodded. Glancing around, she frowned slightly before she looked back to Josh. "I don't see any footsteps though, only ours."

"Then it must've been the alcohol!" Josh snickered. "I mean, I knew you could hold your liquor Mads, but damn girl! You were like a pirate. Jack Sparrow could have learned something from you."

"Hardy har har," Madeline rolled her eyes, "at least I didn't pass out, Mister 'beer and wine and shots are the perfect combination'."

Josh grimaced slightly. "Yeah, that wasn't one of my best moments."

"You have best moments?"

"Dig the knife a little deeper, why don't you?" Josh playfully pouted before he put his arm around her. "I mean, the birthday present I bought you was pretty awesome."

"Yeah," Madeline nodded. She was trying not to think of the arm wrapped around her shoulders. "I always make sure I have that camera with me at all times."

"Well," Josh said, "that was a pretty amazing gift yeah, but I'm talking about this one." Taking his other arm, he touched the dog tags before he smiled at her. "You're still wearing them."

Gulping, Madeline ignored the shivers that went down her spine when his fingers touched her throat.

"It's my favorite necklace."

"Because I gave it to you?"

Turning her head slightly, she looked into Josh's eyes and send him a soft smile. "Of course, you're my best friend, Josh."

Her eyes widened slightly when she realized what she had just said. 'Really, Madeline? Really? The freaking friendzone?!'

"Absolutely," he grinned, "you, me and Chris are the Golden Trio."

A laugh bubbled up my throat. "That we are."

After a moment of silence, Josh suddenly pulled her a little closer, her body nestled against his side.

"How are you liking this camping trip, Mads?" Josh asked.

"It's awesome, I'm glad everyone agreed to come along. I mean," she continued, "I knew Sam and Matt would definitely say yes, and Mike and Chris never say no to alcohol. Emily goes wherever Mike goes and Jess follows Emily, and Hannah, Beth and Ashley love to gossip with each other. It was a great idea," she finished.

"Yeah, you're the one who told them all about it."

"Well, yeah! We're going our separate ways soon so why not have the last few months with all of us?"

Josh quickly shook his head. "No no, I didn't mean it like that. I just didn't... nevermind Mads, you're right. It's cool."

Raising one eyebrow, Madeline tried to make eye contact with him. She huffed when he kept evading her stare. "You're weird."

Snorting, Josh finally looked her in the eyes. "You only figured that out now?" Feeling her shiver from the cold, he rubbed arm. Taking off his beanie, he planted it on top of her head, making sure to pull it over her ears. "Don't want you dying of hypothermia."

"Wouldn't be good, no."

"Yeah, Brian would kill me."

Blinking, Madeline shifted the beanie slightly before she moved her upper body away from Josh, his arm dropping from her shoulder. "Brian? Brian Kent?"

"Yep!" Josh nodded. "He's into you. Wants to ask you out and everything."

Madeline quickly shook her head. "No thanks, I'm good. Brian's not exactly my type. He's nice and all," she said when Josh raised his eyebrow in surprise, "and not hard to look at, but no."

Josh snorted in amusement. "I'll tell him, let him down easy."

Sighing in relief, Madeline snuggled back against his side, smiling softly when she immediately felt his arm move back around her shoulders. "Thank you."

"Anything for you, Mads."

"All these crushes," Madeline snickered. "Chris and Ashley, Mike and Emily."

"Oh yeah," Josh laughed, "but at least Emily had the guts to tell Mike."

"Chris is a pussy. No question about it."

"Wasn't talking about Chris, Madeline."

Her eyes widened slightly when she heard the serious tone in his voice. Could he...? Possibly...? No. No way. She hadn't given him any hints that she liked him, she was sure of it. He must have been talking about his sister, Hannah.

"Hannah's... too insecure to confront Mike, especially now that everyone knows Emily admitted her feelings to him," she said softly.

"Yeah," Josh said, only hesitating slightly before he nodded. "Bunch of cowards, huh?"

"Definitely!" Madeline agreed, biting her lip when she thought about her own feeling for Josh. 'Coward indeed, Madeline,' she told herself.

"I mean," Josh continued, "just take the chance! You might be surprised or something."

"Totally." Madeline nodded.

"You agree then?"

"Yeah," she said, "you're right. Life's all about taking chances. Who knows, you might regret it if you don't at least try."

"I couldn't agree more."

Madeline stopped breathing when she felt Josh's hands on either side of her face. He turned her face towards his and she saw how he leaned in, his lips coming closer and closer.

She closed her eyes when she felt his lips descending on hers, her hands slowly finding its way to his shoulder and gripping his jacket when his mouth began to move against hers.

She slowly pulled away from him when she felt his hands resting on her waist and opened her eyes. "What was that?" Madeline breathed, biting her lip when Josh send her the sweetest smile.

"Me taking a chance," he told her, grinning when he saw the blush on her pale face.

"B-but why?"

Pressing a kiss to her forehead, Josh took a hold of her face again and smirked down at her. "I'm sick and tired of that freaking friendzone, Mads."

Madeline couldn't help but laugh, her eyes never leaving Josh's gaze. "You and me both," she said before she pressed her lips against his again, smiling into the kiss when Josh hugged her against him.

'Hell yes!'

A/N: Hope you enjoyed!