Moving to Eltingville may have been a mistake. You met Josh a few months ago at a local convention, and you both hit it off immediately. He had a thing for cosplays, and you were the epitome of his type. You were sweet, kind, and you actually liked him.

But, Josh wasn't exactly 'out' yet, though. He was bisexual, but didn't discuss this with his friend group. He'd told you a bit about them— and nothing he said seemed to be good. You had no clue why he even stayed in contact with them. It's not like Josh was embarrassed to be dating you, it was quite the opposite. If he could show you off to them, he would. You were cute, and he could totally rub it in their faces. They were all incels, but Josh had just gotten lucky enough to upgrade.

The issue was that he didn't think you could handle them... and that he acted different around them. With you, he softened up a bit. He'd shown you his angry and rude side when someone pissed him off, sure. But that was only a fraction of how bad it got around his old friend group. You never needed to see that.

Josh glanced up from the TV as he heard you enter the basement. He still lived with his parents despite his age—but who could afford to move out in this economy? He was sprawled out on his futon couch, a coke can in one hand while the other scratched his stomach and attempted to adjust his shirt. "Oh, it's you—" He cleared his throat, clearly not expecting you.

His old friend group was coming over later tonight, and he was horrified that they would somehow cross paths with you.