THE NEWS.

Joey:

I gripped the steering wheel with sweaty palms. Okay Joey, get ahold of yourself, I thought. He may feel the same, you never know. Just calm down. It had been a week since the famous kiss, and though it had been staged, it had felt more feel than ever. I had been waiting for that for a long time. When Shane called me up and said, "Joey, I need to kiss you. On camera, that is, haha. You know how Shoey fans are," I had spent a good 30 minutes trying to calm my heart down.

When he called me today, something felt off, and I could barely think with my racing thoughts. Maybe he's in love with me too, I thought. But Lisa... They seem so perfect, always happy together, that look in their eyes when they make eye contact...that kind of chemistry is hard to deny. So I am prepared for what he has to say, good or not.

With shaky hands, I turned the key in the ignition. "Calm," I said to myself. "Calm." I repeated that to myself, but the conversation from earlier played over and over in my head the entire journey there.

My phone had rang, showing Shane in the caller ID. My stomach did a flip then I answered. "Hello?" I had answered, my voice wavering.

"Hey Joey," Shane had said. His voice making my heart pound.

"What's up?" I asked, taking quiet deep breaths and laying down on my bed.

"Not much, just wanted to know if maybe you wanted to come over for a while? Lisa's gone and I just wanted to talk, maybe film something?" He had sounded off, like there was something bothering him.

"Sure, is everything okay?"

"Oh yeah, everything's fine."

"Oh...okay. I'll be right over."

"Cool, see ya then!" And he hung up.

I tapped the end button and immediately got ready to leave, as I was still in my pajamas.

As I pulled into the driveway, I had to take several deep breaths and tell myself to calm down multiple times. I'm being too hard on myself, I don't even know what he wanted to talk about, though I'm pretty sure it's about us...or a lack thereof. No matter what happens, I have to remember he's still my best friend, and we still love filming videos together. We're hilarious together, we have fun. It's not like he's just gonna stop talking to me. He's not like that. And on that happy note, I rang the door bell.

Shane:

I had been putting that phone call off for too long. I mean, he's my best friend, the kiss had been for show, a mere request from my fans. He had apparently taken it the wrong way. Even though I had called him and told him about it beforehand, he still seemed to think it meant more than what it was. Yeah, I make jokes about being gay with him, and I mess around, but he knows I love Lisa and that I always will. She's the one for me. Plus I don't like guys, which is hard for people to believe because I've kissed so many guys, all on camera. But still. I don't like him in that fashion. I just need to tell him before this goes any further.

I cleaned most of the living room and made sure Corny didn't have to go to the bathroom while Joey is here, so I took her out to do her business. Such a beautiful dog. Mine and Lisa's first pet together, and what a ride its been.

After scouring the living room for any of Corny's mishaps, I sat down on my couch with Corny cuddling next to me and thought about how I was going to do this. Of course I'm gonna be nice to him about it, but how am I supposed to tell him I don't love him as anything more than a friend? Am I supposed to be like, "Hey Joey! I'm not gay!" No no, thats too rude. "Hey, Joey... This can't happen..." Yeah I got nothing. I'll just have to go with the flow.

Then suddenly the door bell ring, making me jump, also causing Corny to bark like a maniac.

"Calm down, Corny," I laughed, petting her and setting her back on the couch.

I took a deep breath and opened the door.

There he was, looking so overwhelmed, dressed in his blue and white striped t-shirt and blue jeans.

I smiled. "Hey."

He smiled as well. "Hey."

I backed up so he could come in. When he did, he looked around, admiring the pug pictures everywhere, my plasma screen with Netflix on, my dog. "Nice," he said. "Very nice."

I shrugged. "I think so too."

"Very homely."

I cleared my throat. "Would you like anything to drink? We've got lemonade, water, Kool-Aid."

"Nope," he said. "I'm fine."

I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and went to the couch, where Joey was already sitting. Just come right out and say it, Shane.

"Okay well..." I started. "Let me just start out with: Joey, you're my best friend. You always have been, you always will be and nothing will change that."

I looked at him, he was nervously looking at his knees, playing with his thumbs.

"So having said that..." I took a deep breath. "We can't have a relationship, Joey. I have Lisa. And that kiss was a dare, you know that. They've been telling me to do that for a long time, you also know that. But it was just a dare. I'm sorry if I've been luring you in with all my jokes and that kiss and hanging out with you a lot. But like I said, you're my best friend."

He still wasn't looking at me, so I grabbed his chin and lifted it up so he would make eye contact with me. His eyes were watering and he was shaking.

I just broke his heart.

Joey:

Hearing all that...I knew it was coming...it was a matter of time. But that doesn't fix the broken heart or the tears threatening to spill over. It certainly changed my perspective. For some reason, hearing him say it made it seem possible to get over this. Made me see things differently. Through the breaking of my heart, I felt hope.

He suddenly grabbed my chin and pulled my face up. He has the tears in my eyes and said, "Oh Joey..." and hugged me. I threw my arms around him, but didn't cry. "I am really sorry." He told me. "I truly am."

I sniffled. "It's alright...I saw this coming... But hearing it said is different than thinking it..." I hugged him tighter and let go.

I smiled when he made eye contact with me. He smiled back.

"Now," he said. "Let's watch Netflix!"