Random drabbily thing…
Happy Medium
Mara was always 'study dates' and 'don't you think it would be so fun to mark these tests together?' or 'You realise how many calories are in those things?' and Willow had always been 'let's sky dive of this cliff and hope the spirits catch us' or 'I bet I can eat fifty of these marshmallows before you can!'. And sure it was great to spend time with Willow and have fun after a stressful day at school, but it was also great to be able to express grave matters to Mara… No he thinks about it, that's probably why he dated them both at once in the first place. However he could never have a serious conversation with Willow or do anything boisterous with Mara. So together Mara and Willow had created his perfect girl… as pathetic as that sounds. And maybe it was kinda messed up to cheat on them like that and, inevitably, to hurt them like he did… But honestly, Jerome is pretty messed up.
See that's where Joy came in. He was fresh out of the messy brake up with Mara and Willow, so when a sweet, innocent girl who'd been hurt just as many times as he had, showed up at his metaphorical door, he was already starting to fall for her. And then once he discovered that he could express his deepest secrets to her and still have an amazing time as well, he was sold. Joy is smart enough to know when something is dangerous, but also interesting enough to know when something is worth taking the risk. She isn't like Mara because she does all the crazy things with Jerome that Mara never did and she isn't like Willow because she knows that some of the joking around and insane adrenaline rushing activities aren't safe. She's his happy medium.