FINALLY! gah, I am SO SORRY for how ridiculously long it took me to post this chapter. I was in Chicago for a competition and then I came home and promptly got sick :/ I wish I could say that such a long hiatus will never happen again, but I'm leaving again on Saturday for the East Coast-plus going back to Chicago for...LEAKYCON!-so I'm not sure how much writing I'll get done. I really hope you'll bear with me, all the reads and comments mean the world to me!

Ps An anon review asked what LeakyCon is….just go to (:

And now...Chapter 10! (:

JOEY RICHTER POV

There are certain feelings that just don't have names and can't really be described. Watching the woman you love kiss your best friend...stirs up a feeling like that. I stared at them for a moment, not wanting to believe that what I was seeing was true. But then Lauren finally broke away from the kiss, and when she looked over Joe's shoulder, her eyes met mine in a shocked, piercing, pleading gaze, and I couldn't stay there for a second longer.

I jammed my hands in my pockets, and walked down the street as fast as I possibly could. I could faintly hear Lauren screaming my name, but the tears forming in my eyes seemed to cloud all of my senses along with my vision...and her voice seemed a hundred miles away.

Eventually, the sounds faded completely and I laughed harshly at how quickly she had given up.

My legs seemed to carry me of their own accord, and the steady rhythmic movement distracted me from thinking about anything else.

At least, it did for a little while.

Then the insecurities and the doubts began creeping into my conscious mind, the ones that had been there all along, nagging me, but that Lauren's kisses and reassuring words had pushed away.

Did she even ever love me?

How long has she been sneaking around with Joe?

Was her relationship with me just a joke to her?

Did everyone else know about this little game she was playing at my expense?

I grew more and more furious as the questions poured in. I knew I was assuming the worst and that the logical thing to do would be to go back and talk to her, but my legs wouldn't stop moving. And hell, I didn't want to be logical.

I also didn't want to end up sitting on the curb crying.

But thats exactly what I ended up doing.

I ran my fingers through my hair and thought absently that I should cut it. Lauren once told me she liked it shorter.

Not really short...but, say...Starship short. That's the way she liked it.

Stop.

What are you doing, Joey? Lauren just stabbed you in the back and you're already thinking about ways to make her happy?

So, like the four year old I am, I vowed to keep it long just to spite her.

It didn't make me feel any better, but I could convince myself it would and make that last a few minutes.

Lost in my thoughts, I either didn't hear or subconsciously ignored my phone buzzing relentlessly in my pocket.

I wanted to break my phone.

I wanted to throw it into the Michigan River.

I wanted to get up and run and just keep running.

I wanted Lauren.

That's what I really wanted.

I sat on the sidewalk for so long that I started to drift in and out of sleep. Eventually, I heard footsteps clicking on the sidewalk, coming closer.

"Joey?", I heard a tentative voice ask.

Joe Walker's voice.

The last man on earth who's voice I wanted to hear.

I looked up slowly, and all my sadness turned into pure fury.

He could see it in my eyes and he shrank back slightly.

"Please, dude. You HAVE to let me explain"

His voice was small.

"I don't HAVE to do anything, especially for YOU, Walker", I spat, "but by all means, go ahead and try to explain".

Joe cringed, but then took a deep breath an approached me.

"My explanation isn't going to make you hate me any less, but it's my hope that it will help you forgive Lauren. She did nothing wrong."

I laughed harshly. "Oh, now I'm very interested. Please tell me how my girlfriend kissing my best friend is classified as 'nothing wrong'!". I knew I was being immature and irrational. But I honestly didn't care.

"I'M the one that kissed HER, dude. NOT the other way around. She was trying to pull away the whole time. I told her I still had feelings for her, and I thought that if she felt the spark in a kiss from me again, she would realize that she still loved me. But I was wrong, Joey. I was so, so, so wrong. She loves you, man. She loves no one but you, and I fucked that up. I don't expect either of you to ever forgive me, but you deserve to know what really happened and how broken she is right now. What I do expect is for you to get off this sidewalk and go let her explain. You two are perfect for each other, and as long as you go back in there and take her back, I won't interfere ever again, I swear."

Joe took a deep breath after his speech and fidgeted in the silence.

I looked at him critically, eyeing his somber expression, not letting hope break the surface quite yet.

"Really?", I asked.

Joe looked around. "Uhm, well I'm not really sure what part of that whole speech you're questioning...but yes. Yes to all parts. She loves you and only you."

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

Opening them after several moments, I stood and faced Joe.

"I have NO idea why, but I am trusting you on this." I said, and sprinted off toward the manor.