Title: Unexpected Places 4/?

Author: SP

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nickelodeon and Dan Schneider and whoever else own everything.

Rating: K+

Pairing: one-sided(?) Josh/Drake.

Summary: Because of the evil Mrs. Hayfer, Drake is stuck doing a project with that dorky Josh Nichols. But it turns out to be not so bad after all…AU.
Author's Notes: Uh-oh, I'm getting to the point where I don't know how to get to the end…

Drake hadn't lied to Josh. Not about anything. In fact, he'd been more honest with Josh than he was with anyone else in his life, including his mother. (Which was weird, because they'd only been working on this project for five days so far. Josh was supposed to come over later that night, Saturday, too. So it would be six days. ) Drake was sure that Josh hadn't ever lied to him either. As he'd told him, Josh was a terrible liar.

But it was looking more and more like he might have to start lying to Josh. Some of their conversations were getting a little bit too close to Drake's well-kept secrets. Some of the secrets he didn't think he'd much mind telling, at least to Josh. But others? No way was he spilling them, to anyone.

Just in case they got out.

Not that Drake thought Josh would run and tell everyone things Drake asked him not to. But he couldn't be completely sure.

--

At eight-fifteen, the doorbell rang. Drake jumped up from the couch to answer it. He pulled the door open to reveal Josh, still wearing the pale blue shirt (unbuttoned, showing the white T-shirt underneath) and black pants that were his work uniform.

"Drake? Who is it?" Audrey asked from the kitchen, before Drake could say anything to Josh.

"It's Josh. He's a friend from school," Drake answered, ignoring Josh's raised eyebrow. "We're working on an English project together."

Audrey left the kitchen, eyebrows matching Josh's.

Josh stepped forward, extending his hand. "Hello, Mrs. Parker. It's great to meet you."

Audrey shook his hand. "You too, Josh. What kind of a project are you guys working on?"

"A biography," Josh answered. "We're supposed to interview each other and then write a six-page biography."

"Like a follow-up to that one I wrote about you," Drake added.

"Oh, all right," Audrey said, looking impressed. "Have fun."

"We will," Drake replied, and then led the way up to his room. When the door had closed behind him, he turned to Josh. "Okay, how did you do that? She definitely didn't believe me about the project, and all you had to do was introduce yourself."

Josh shrugged. "Parents love me," he answered simply.

"Lucky," Drake muttered.

Josh laughed. "I guess you have to deal with a lot of overprotective fathers, huh?"

Drake shook his head. "Not as many as you might think. Most of the time, I don't get to the 'meet the parents' stage with a girl." He sat on the couch as before, and Josh joined him without waiting for an invitation this time.

"I don't know whether to be jealous or incredulous," Josh mused. "Incredulous because of your short dating time, or jealous because the '"meet the parents stage"' is not fun at all."

"Really?" Drake asked. "Funny, I always found it really easy."

"Well, you weren't trying to impress Mindy Crenshaw's parents. It was even more painful because I knew it was kind of for nothing."

Drake nodded. "Yeah, I could see that."

"Have you started writing the biography yet?" Josh wondered, changing the subject.

Drake scoffed. "Yeah right."

Josh rolled his eyes good naturedly. "Of course not, what was I thinking?"

"So you have."

"Actually, I haven't."

Drake attempted to raise one eyebrow and failed. "You haven't?"

Josh, who had bitten his lip to stop from laughing at Drake's weird face, shook his head wordlessly, still trying not to crack up. Then, getting himself under control, he asked, "What was that face about?"

Drake muttered, embarrassed, "I was trying to raise one eyebrow."

Josh smiled knowingly. "Ah. It's a widely-envied skill."

"I bet. Anyway…I'm surprised you haven't started yet."

Josh shrugged. "I tried. I didn't know enough yet."

"Well, what did you need to know?" Drake asked, pretty sure this was where the questions about his father would start. It hadn't come up again since Wednesday.

"Whatever you feel like telling me about your childhood would be helpful," Josh suggested.

"Hm." Drake thought about what to say. "It was pretty much like every other childhood in the world. I was the spoiled only child until I was four, and then Megan was born. I was the jealous-slash-protective older brother then. When I was eight, Megan started showing her evil tendencies. When I was nine, my dad left. I spent a year adjusting to that. Then when I was twelve, I discovered that girls didn't have cooties."

Josh tried to turn a laugh into a cough. "Could I get some elaboration on Megan's 'evil tendencies?'"

"She's evil," Drake said flatly. "She plays pranks on me all the time, and half the time, I don't know how she does it. She's like an evil genius. Oh, and she always gets away with it."

"I'll believe that, but how does a four year old show evil tendencies?"

Drake thought for a minute, trying to come up with examples. Finally, he recalled an often-repeated story his mother liked to tell about him. "Okay, when I was eight, I was at a Padres game, right? I was standing in line to buy a Foam Finger, and me and this kid behind me were talking. Then, after I bought the last one, the other kid turned around to yell to his dad. Megan threw a cookie, and it hit him in the head. He thought I thumped him, so--"

"He attacked you and you rolled around on the ground and the concession guy with the eye patch yelled for the cops?"

Drake frowned and nodded slowly. "Yeah…how'd you kn--it was you?" he asked incredulously.

It was Josh's turn to nod. "Yeah. Wow, eight years late, I'm sorry."

Drake laughed. "It's okay. I was all--what's the word, indignant?--and she explained that she'd seen Megan throw a cookie, but she couldn't get to us in time to stop us. Now she pulls that story out every time the relatives get together."

Josh shook his head in disbelief. "It was all because of a cookie?"

"Maybe you were really just mad that I got the last Foam Finger," Drake suggested, a teasing grin spreading across his face.

"It's possible," Josh agreed, "but I needed a reason to attack you. My dad raised me to behave."

Drake knew it wasn't his business, but he asked anyway. "You don't mention your mom…are your parents divorced, too?"

Josh shook his head. "No. My mom died when I was about three. She had cancer. I don't really remember her. Whenever I smell lilacs, I have this sort of half-memory, of the sensation of flying, like on a swing." He ducked his head, looking embarrassed. "I don't know what that's about. I guess I just associate lilacs with her."

"They say that smell is the most memory-triggering sense," Drake answered. Then, affected by Josh's honesty and openness, he began, "My dad just walked out on us when I was nine. I guess he and my mom had had problems for years, but of course I never noticed. I always felt like he left because of something I had done. We spent a lot of time together--I'd follow him around all the time, and he'd take me with him whenever he went anywhere that wasn't work. I was really close to him. So when he just left, I was devastated. I didn't talk to my mom about it. I just kept everything to myself. She made me start seeing a therapist, since I wouldn't open up. But after I figured out that guitar, music became my real therapy." Drake blushed. "Um. I've never told anyone that before. Maybe…just stick to the minimum in the biography? Like, say that my dad left when I was nine and leave it at that?"

"Of course," Josh replied. "And thank you for telling me about it. You didn't have to."

Drake shrugged, pseudo-casually. "Well, we're friends, right? Friends are honest with each other."

Slowly, a smile spread across Josh's face. "You weren't just saying that to your mom?"

"Huh?"

"About us being friends," Josh clarified.

"No, I really think I meant it. Josh, you know more about me than any of my other friends. And I feel like you do get me. I was right; that's a better feeling than having so many fake friends. But I didn't count on it being so terrifying."

Josh cocked his head. "Why is it terrifying?"

"Because you do know more about me than anyone else. You're basically seeing the real me. And letting someone get so close to me? It's just terrifying."

"Because of the way your dad left?" Josh asked.

Drake flinched. "Don't analyze me. I have a therapist for that."

"Sorry," Josh said softly. Then, "Drake, it's not like I'm going to run off and tell everyone everything you tell me."

Drake chuckled. "That's almost exactly what I told myself. You're not that kind of person. You're really…nice," he finished lamely.

"Thanks," Josh replied dryly.

Drake shrugged helplessly. "I'm not very good at telling people I think they're awesome. Especially people I only really started getting to know six days earlier."

"So this happens to you a lot?" Josh asked.

"I give up!" Drake announced, totally frustrated.

Josh smiled. "Seriously Drake, thank you. For giving me a chance, and telling me--badly--that I'm awesome. It's kind of hard to believe that you'd even want to be friends, actually."

"I know," Drake said. "I was…kind of mean to you. And you were always really nice, even when I was totally snubbing you. All for the sake of being 'cool.'"

"Well, that extra thirty percent was a big deal, right?" Josh said, still smiling. Drake took the smile to mean that Josh didn't hold that against him. "Really, it's okay."

"No it's not," Drake countered. "But I'll make it up to you?"

"Oh really? How are you going to do that?" Josh asked, raising an eyebrow.

Drake grinned back. "I have my ways," he purred.