Work Text:
Prologue — Josh
In my headphones, some awful, annoyingly catchy song was playing.
I knew I should have stuck to my tradition of making a playlist based on my mood for that year instead of trusting the shuffle. But that seemed to bother me a lot less — much, much less — than finding out whether that damn rumor was true.
It was two in the morning. I was probably watching How I Met Your Mother for the twentieth time when I received the worst possible message in the counselors’ group chat:
CAMI:
I heard the prodigal son is coming back home.
BRYAN:
Who’s that again?
CAMI:
You weren’t here. But Josh is definitely going to remember him.
ME:
THERE’S NO WAY THAT
TRAITOR FROM HELL
IS COMING BACK
CAMI:
I couldn’t believe it when I heard either. Didn’t he always say he couldn’t handle his dad’s pressure anymore?
ME:
I’d rather watch Mosby suffer over Robin again than think about this.
Don’t count on me going to the bar later.
Not that I was actually going out with them. I just came up with a much better excuse than simply saying my golden retriever was throwing up. That would have been way too cruel.
It was all thanks to Tyler Joseph — also known as my sworn archenemy for years — that when I finally walked through the gates of Mulberry Camp, I spent five whole minutes silently begging whatever deity was still willing to listen to me that he wouldn’t be there.
But of course, the universe wasn’t that kind.
And he was the first person I saw when I stepped through the wooden entrance.
This summer was going to be a long one.