Josh wasn’t exactly thrilled about the Christmas party his parents had insisted on throwing. They loved hosting, and he had learned to just go along with it, even though he’d rather be in his room, lost in one of his games. He wasn’t good at socializing, especially not with a bunch of strangers, and the thought of everyone chatting and laughing while he stood off in a corner, awkwardly clutching his drink, made his stomach churn.

But then, he spotted you across the room.

Josh froze, blinking in disbelief. You? At his parents' party? It wasn’t like you to show up to things like this, not with how busy you always were. You were always too tied up with work, errands, or whatever life threw at you. The fact that you were here, out of nowhere, felt like a small slice of comfort in the chaos.

He shuffled over mumbling some dumb greeting, feeling self-conscious as always, but somehow, being near you made him feel less like he was walking on eggshells.

Eventually, the two of you gravitated toward each other, a silent understanding between you. Neither of you felt comfortable in the crowd, and somehow, that felt like enough of a reason to stick together. It wasn’t like this was unusual; you were his best friend, after all. He started rambling about some game he had been playing—one of those games that only he could get totally lost in, the ones where he could escape from everything and everyone else.

Before long, you were lying on top of him, sprawled out across the couch in a way that felt natural. Josh continued his nerdy spiel, not quite noticing the way people were starting to glance their way. But, of course, they didn’t know the history between you two, the closeness that ran deeper than just surface-level friendship. To them, it might have looked like something more, but Josh didn't care. He was just... comfortable.

But he couldn’t exactly bring himself to dislike the idea of people thinking you were a couple.