Yay, an update! Maybe not the update you all were hoping for, but at least I'm finally making progress again. See the author's note on Chapter 24 for a recent recap of the plot. It's now Halloween afternoon and night.

After school on Monday, Joey felt anxious and troubled on his way home. He hoped that his distress didn't show, because he didn't want his family to become suspicious or for Mary Angela to pick a fight with him, when he already had to meet with both Chandler and Vinnie later on.

However, the rest of the Tribbianis were preoccupied with the news that Mary Angela had a date to a different Halloween party, one for younger teens than those at Jeanie DiFranco's house last night.

Joey Sr. was shocked, and even Gloria felt a little flustered by this last minute notice. "You're not going to stay home and help me pass out the Halloween candy?"

"No, I'm sorry, Ma. But Tina and Dina can help you, right? Please can I go?" She assured them that there would indeed be parents there to supervise, and that she would come home in time to do her homework.

"Yes, you should be home early," Gloria said. "It's a school night."

But Joey Sr. still didn't feel ready for Mary Angela to date yet. "You're too young. And you can't go out wearing that Halloween costume!"

Gloria agreed on the second part. "Yes, maybe you should change your clothes, honey. This is going to be a chilly night. You shouldn't wear something with so many holes in it."

Mary Angela could see they didn't understand the fashion of ripped clothes, but she was willing to compromise on this issue. "All right, I'll change. So I can go to the party?"

Gloria started to nod, hoping that her daughter's excitement meant that she was over her breakup with Chandler.

"Wait," Joey Sr. asked, "who's this boy that asked you out? I want to meet him." He was still upset about his daughter having dated Chandler in secret.

Mary Angela told them that the boy's name was Chris, and said she would ask him to come in and meet them before leaving for the party. But she pleaded, "Dad, you won't try to scare him off will you? Ma, make him promise he won't!"

Gloria said, "Don't worry, Mary Angie. We just want to know a little about him, that's all."

"But no threats! Promise!"

"I won't promise until I see what you're going to wear."

So when Joey came home in the middle of this conversation, nobody really noticed him. The other sisters were ostensibly putting up Halloween decorations nearby, but Tina and Dina were avidly eavesdropping.

Still, like all mothers, Gloria had eyes in the back of her head, and when Joey went to grab an apple from the kitchen, she reminded him not to eat all the candy for the trick-or-treaters. "Just jam, remember!"

"I know, Ma," Joey answered. "Actually I'm going over to Chandler's for tutoring, and then I'm gonna go over to Vinnie's tonight."

"Oh good." Gloria was happy that Joey would be staying out of her hair tonight. "Have fun, sweetie."

"Okay." But Joey knew that he wasn't going to have fun at all. "Bye, Ma." He grabbed his books and left for Chandler's apartment.

When Joey arrived, he felt awkward and unable to meet Annie's eyes or Nora's eyes as they greeted him.

"I can't believe you sneaked out by the fire escape," Nora said.

"I'm-I'm sorry," Joey said, still looking at his feet.

She sighed. "Well what's done is done. Just don't do it again, no matter what Chandler says."

"Yes, ma'am."

Chandler took Joey's arm and said, "Well, we gotta go work." He led Joey back to his bedroom and shut the door.

Joey remained nervous because Chandler had told him that he still didn't have a lock. He put down his backpack and whispered, "Are you sure this is okay?"

Chandler nodded. "I told my mom that I wanted to, like, talk to you in private. I convinced her that I really need somebody to talk about girls with. She thinks I'm, like, obsessed and paranoid about privacy lately, so she and Annie promised to leave us alone. But just in case," He moved a chair in front of the door and loaded Joey's bag onto it.

They moved away from the door, and Joey asked, "They really don't know? Even with me going out the fire escape?"

"No, they're not onto us... yet." Chandler shrugged and warned, "But, uh, if we stay here too long... they might start to suspect something." He frowned, remembering how his mother had panicked over him being hypothetically gay.

"So we don't have much time."

"Nope." Chandler met Joey's eyes, then joked nervously, "I-I don't think we're gonna do any tutoring, huh?"

Joey shook his head. "No. We gotta-we gotta talk."

"Yeah." Chandler looked down to his feet.

Joey was glad that Chandler seemed freaked out, rather than horny, this time. It would make things easier. So he sat down on the bed and cleared his throat, trying to decide where to begin. "Uh, listen. Mary Angela knows that we left the party, 'cause Jeanie called my house looking for us."

"She did?" Chandler sat next to him.

Joey backed up, realizing that he needed to put some distance between him and Chandler. If only Chandler hadn't used the chair to block the door.

Chandler asked worriedly, "So she knows about us?"

"No, no-Mary Angela thinks that I took you to meet some other girl because you didn't like Gabby."

"Oh, good." Chandler relaxed.

"No, not good."

"Why?" Chandler looked at him with surprise and confusion.

Joey found himself staring at the way Chandler's eyebrows arched, and how his eyelashes moved when he blinked. At his soft lips and green eyes. But Joey valiantly tried to continue, "She got mad at me... and she... she..." He was losing track of his thoughts, and so was Chandler, staring at him in return.

Soon Chandler leaned in and they started kissing all over again. Joey grabbed him by the face and pulled him close while Chandler sighed, "Joe."

"Chandler." They kept making out before Joey remembered that Chandler was his sister's ex-boyfriend. Then he pulled back. "Wait. No, no. I can't." He disentangled himself and stood up. "Chandler, no! I can't do this! I can't do it to my sister. She was so upset and hurt last night, 'cause I betrayed her. And she doesn't even know how I really betrayed her."

Chandler absorbed Joey's words and finally understood how truly messy their situation was. He hadn't seen it from Joey's perspective before. "Oh you mean, 'cause I dated her and-Whoa."

"Yeah." He began to pace the room. "It's like I'm lying to her, Chandler, and stabbing her in the back. I'm-I'm sorry, but we can't do this anymore. I can't take the guilt. Do you understand?"

Chandler nodded and swallowed. "Yeah I get it. Look, I'm sorry, Joe. I just got carried away. We should-we should just be friends."

Joey was surprised at how well he was taking this. "Really? You're not mad?"

"No. Um, actually, I was going to tell you that-that last night was a mistake. I can't handle this either, and my mom-" He looked away uncomfortably. "Well everything, everything just feels weird now, and I-I don't want to be like my father."

"What, gay?"

"Yeah. I mean, if I were really gay, you know, then I would have done something at that all-boys prep school. Right?"

"I don't know." Joey shrugged, not really sure what to say. If he weren't gay, then why would he have sex with Joey last night?

"No, I should have," Chandler rationalized. "There were hot guys there too." Chandler winced for a second, realizing how gay that made him sound, but he went on anyway. "So you and me, Joe, maybe it doesn't really mean anything. Maybe it's, like, I'm just-just copying the dysfunctional behavior of my parents. Yeah, that's it. My therapist always said I was doing that."

Joey looked shocked. "You have a therapist?"

"I had one," he explained, "back when my parents were getting divorced. They thought it would help me get through it."

"Oh." But Joey still blinked with wonder at the idea of a kid in therapy. He tried to shrug it off. Maybe it was just how rich people dealt with problems. It was another sign of how they came from different worlds, and how little he knew about Chandler yet. After all, they'd only met a couple of weeks ago.

Chandler broke the tension with sarcasm, "Yeah, they're the alcoholics running around with boytoys and playing twisted mindgames with the help, but I'm the one who needs to see a shrink."

Joey didn't know what to say, and he wondered whether he should risk hugging Chandler right now. What a disturbing childhood he must have had.

Chandler changed the subject and spoke more confidently, "Besides, we couldn't, like, keep running around together, Joe, and keep this a secret from our families. My mom won't give me my lock back, and even if we went to your house and locked the door, then Mary Angela would be around."

"And Tina and Dina might be eavesdropping too." Joey nodded. "It's too complicated, Chandler. We can't do this."

"Right. We can't." When looked at rationally, the whole situation was absurd. Chandler smiled in relief. "So just friends, right?"

"Yeah, friends." Joey found this amicable breakup very refreshing. When he usually dumped girls, he was confronted with tears or anger or both. He was so relieved with how things had turned out today that he decided to go ahead and hug Chandler.

Chandler was surprised, but he hugged Joey back. "And I can still tutor you, right?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"Good." But they smiled at each other and their eyes met again, suddenly making them aware of how close they stood, to each other and the bed.

Clearing his throat, Joey let go and stepped back again. "Uh, but not tonight." He went and picked up his backpack from the chair. "I-I gotta go."

"Yeah, okay," Chandler nodded and returned the chair to his desk. He felt confused by the moment of temptation, but he decided that, even if the feelings were temporary and false, he still needed some time to get over his attraction to Joey.

As Joey put on his backpack, Chandler asked, "You sure you can do your homework?"

"Yeah, uh, I'm going to Vinnie's house," Joey said, not wanting to reveal more than that. He started to frown and feel anxious again.

"Oh. Well, goodnight. I'll-I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"Yeah, bye." Joey hurried out of the room, and he explained to Nora and Annie that he forgot that he had to meet his friend Vinnie today. "Sorry."

Puzzled, Nora went to Chandler's room and knocked, then she opened the door. "Is everything all right, kiddo?"

Chandler said, "Yeah, mom. We just-just talked about girls for a bit, and then he had to go. I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"It's private," Chandler said, to discourage further questions from his mom. "You promised not to be nosy."

Nora remained confused, but since Chandler invoked her promise, she let it go. "Okay." She left and gave a shrug when Annie asked how he was. "I don't know. Sometimes I think I'll never understand him."

Vinnie was still at work when Joey arrived at his house, so he asked to wait in Vinnie's room. Mrs. De Luca agreed, since it was safer than letting Joey stay downstairs with all the Halloween candy.

Joey went upstairs and put his backpack down. He slumped on the bed and dreaded his impending confession. He almost wanted to run away. Unlike with Chandler, there was no way that he could avoid hurting Vinnie. It would take a miracle for Vinnie to understand, or forgive him.

At the same time, Joey was coming to a realization about his sexuality. During the walk from Chandler's, Joey had had time to reflect. Chandler had let himself off the hook, saying that he wasn't gay after all, but that didn't help Joey any. He wanted Chandler so much that he lost control and kissed him again, despite his guilt about Mary Angela and Vinnie. The feelings were too strong to dismiss, and he didn't even have a strange childhood to blame it on. Joey felt scared and unsure of whether he was straight anymore. It kind of hurt too, that Chandler had said that their night together didn't mean anything. Normally, Vinnie would be the person that Joey would turn to if he was upset and confused, but he couldn't now. If Vinnie was too heartbroken and angry with him to stay friends, then Joey would have no one to help him through this.

After what seemed like forever, Vinnie came home and greeted Joey with a smile, glad that Joey had not stood him up for Chandler again.

"Hey," Joey said weakly, before asking Vinnie to lock the door.

Vinnie did so, but he noticed Joey's strange tone of voice, and his pale face. "What's wrong?"

Joey couldn't quite face him, and he patted the bed beside him. "Uh, I gotta tell you something," he whispered.

Getting nervous, Vinnie approached slowly and dropped his own backpack before sitting down on the bed.

Joey stared at his hands and cleared his throat several times. "Vinnie," he tried to start, but how could he explain it? Say that Chandler took off his stained shirt and then one thing led to another? But no, there was the break where they left the party and tried to pretend that nothing happened. And there were the interruptions by Annie and Chandler's mother, not to mention the door that didn't lock. They could have stopped, and they didn't. He had no excuses.

Vinnie couldn't take the silent tension, and he started to stand up.

Joey stopped him and pulled Vinnie into a tight embrace.

Vinnie was afraid to fully return the hug, and he recalled his anxiety at lunch after he'd heard rumors about Jeanie's party. Joey would neither confirm or deny having sex with some girl after he and Chandler disappeared from the party.

Joey clung to him desperately, and even kissed his cheek emotionally. "I-I couldn't tell you before... at school. We weren't alone, and I-I didn't want to hurt you."

"What happened?" Vinnie whispered.

Joey was still babbling, "I don't want to lose you, Vinnie. I can't. I love you." He kept kissing his face and stroking his back.

Though he knew he shouldn't, Vinnie could not help getting lost in Joey's touch. This was why he'd thought for years that they were in love together, because Joey was constantly pushing the boundary between friendship and love with him.

"You're my best friend. I need you." Joey was on the verge of tears.

Vinnie became more sure than ever of what Joey had done, and he shook his head. "Don't." He didn't want to know. He didn't want to hear his suspicions confirmed.

Joey said, "No, I do need you. I mean it."

Vinnie accused, "You were with him, weren't you? After the party. You had sex, and that new kid-!" He was too upset and disappointed to say that Chandler must have been there, watching Joey and his girl again. "How could you?"

Joey misheard his "and" for a "with", and thought Vinnie must have guessed the truth. "I'm sorry, Vinnie. Please forgive me. I'm so sorry."

"You're sorry!" It was a struggle to keep from raising his voice, and he felt more heartbroken than angry now. "You promised me-"

"I know, I know. It was wrong, and I hate myself, Vinnie. But it won't happen again, I swear. It's over."

Vinnie didn't believe him, naturally, and even if he did, that didn't erase Joey's broken promise. How could he trust Joey now? He kept denying that he felt anything for Chandler, and yet he couldn't keep from going too far with him. Vinnie started to cry. He wished he'd confessed in church and gone away to get cured, like he'd decided yesterday. Then at least he wouldn't have to see this happen, or he could learn how to let go of Joey.

"I'm sorry." Joey kissed the tears from Vinnie's face, and he whispered again, "I love you, Vinnie. I do." Then without warning, Joey kissed his lips instead.

Vinnie didn't quite believe it, and he looked up, blinking through his tears. "Joey?"

Joey was somewhat startled himself, but he met Vinnie's eyes and saw his best friend in a different light. He became aware of how close they were on the bed, and how warm Vinnie felt in his arms. He wondered if this was how Vinnie had felt about him, and maybe he liked it after all. Joey kissed him again, and noticed his soft lips. Something had changed since Vinnie first kissed him, and it seemed like his eyes were open now.

Vinnie didn't know what to do. Was Joey just patronizing him? Trying in a misguided way to comfort him and apologize? "You mean-?"

Joey caressed his cheek and murmured, "I-I couldn't stop thinking about you last night." Which was somewhat true. He'd been wretched with guilt, for both Mary Angela and Vinnie. "I felt so awful, and I wished I'd never gone there. Please believe me. I-I can't lose you." He kissed him. "I love you." It felt right to say it. It felt like he meant it in every sense now.

"Joey." Vinnie was touched, but still worried. He tentatively kissed Joey back, and Joey slid his fingers through Vinnie's hair. They closed their eyes and sank deeper.

Joey felt a giddy relief, and the earlier fear and self-doubts started to melt away with how easy this was. Joey recalled that he'd started to panic and regret sleeping with Chandler as soon as he left the apartment last night. And today Chandler said he wasn't gay, so clearly the whole thing was a mistake. But Joey realized now that he was probably gay, and obviously it was Vinnie that made him feel comfortable with accepting it. How could he be afraid of loving someone he knew so well, and who loved him too? Vinnie had been right all along, even when Joey had been blind and in denial. So of course Vinnie had been right about Joey loving him too. The wonder of it all made Joey feel deeply happy. And that surely meant love.

As they made out, Joey started to caress Vinnie's arms and back, exploring his new awareness of his body. Vinnie responded eagerly and then pressed Joey flat on the bed. Joey smiled with surprise and found himself rather turned on by Vinnie laughing a little, making the moment feel like one of their naughty secrets that they used to share when they were younger.

Joey still felt a little guilty, though, about hurting Vinnie, so he wanted to make sure that Vinnie forgave him. He asked, "You're not mad about Chandler anymore?"

Vinnie chuckled. "Well, he's not watching us now-or ever," he emphasized. He snuggled closer and added, "I'm not jealous of those girls you've been with either, 'cause you didn't love them." Joey had always told him so. "Besides, we could still be each other's first, you know, when it comes to gay stuff."

Joey blinked as the words sank in. He realized that Vinnie had misunderstood him, or rather, he'd misunderstood Vinnie's accusation. They'd misunderstood each other, and Vinnie did not in fact know that he had sex with Chandler.

Vinnie didn't notice Joey's reaction because right then he was reaching under Joey's shirt to tease one of his nipples. Joey had told him, during one of the many times he'd vividly described the details of his sex life, that this move always turned him on.

Joey moaned softly and cooperated as Vinnie started to take his shirt off. Joey's conscience told him that they should stop, and he should confess everything. But he didn't want to stop. He told himself that it was too late to tell the truth. It would only hurt Vinnie deeply, and maybe Vinnie wouldn't even forgive him. Then they'd both be miserable and alone, more so because they'd just gotten closer. They'd break up before they even really started. No, Joey decided that it was best to keep quiet. He had discovered genuine feelings for Vinnie tonight, and surely that outweighed any misunderstanding.

Joey just kissed Vinnie and resolved to make amends for the deception by just doing everything he could to make Vinnie happy. So they continued undressing and exploring, getting more breathless and intimate.

Vinnie continued to be bold, making clear that he didn't want to just fool around, but have sex as well. Joey was more hesitant, not wanting to rush things, and he was concerned that they might be heard. Vinnie told him that his brothers were out at a haunted house, and that his parents would stay downstairs waiting for trick-or-treaters. Besides, Vinnie had locked the door, and they could turn the radio on so no one would hear them.

Joey frowned, reminded of Chandler suggesting that he get his lock back and they turn up the radio so they could have sex in his bed.

Vinnie was eager to live out the fantasies he'd had for so long about "Joey love," and he was able to persuade Joey to give in due to his extensive knowledge of all the moves that Joey liked. So even though Joey kept being reminded sometimes of what he'd done with Chandler last night, he dismissed it as just a symptom of his guilt about lying to Vinnie. He told himself that the memories would go away with time and that it didn't mean anything.

Also, Joey was soon able to lose himself in the pleasure as well as the naughtiness of making love while Vinnie's parents were downstairs. He discovered that sex really was better when it was with someone you loved, and he did very much love Vinnie, his best friend.

Joey was tired afterward, but he stayed awake, listening to make sure that Vinnie's parents weren't on their way up. So far so good.

Vinnie sighed and observed, "We're really going to hell now."

Joey caressed him and said, "It's not a sin."

Vinnie smiled and nodded, finally believing him. Joey snuggled close again and kissed him. He pulled the blankets over them so they wouldn't get cold.

Now Joey didn't feel guilty at all. If he could help Vinnie get over his anxieties about being gay, then what did some haphazard encounter with Chandler matter? That was all over with now, and it wasn't as if it meant anything to Chandler. Joey loved Vinnie so much that he'd do anything for him. Even not see girls, or- "Vinnie, you think I should stop seeing Chandler for tutoring?" He'd promised to still be friends, but now circumstances had changed considerably.

Vinnie looked surprised by the question. "I thought you said it was over?"

Joey said, "I meant... I meant, my mom would still want me to go, to keep my grades up."

Vinnie bit his lip and realized that was true. "If you have to..." he conceded unhappily, "but, um, no more going to parties with him, and..." He left it unsaid. "And-and you tell him that you're with me now."

Joey nodded and kissed him reassuringly. "But I'll have to make sure he doesn't blab it to Annie, 'cause she'll just spread it to my mom. I don't know how she'd take it, or my dad either."

Vinnie nodded sympathetically.

"On the other hand," Joey joked, "maybe I could tell him I wanna be an actor then." He hadn't told his dad yet that he didn't want to go into the pipefitting business.

Vinnie mildly smiled, but got pensive and serious. After a moment, he said, "My dad-my dad would probably be furious. Maybe he'd send me away to get cured."

"What? No way."

Vinnie told Joey how his father had ranted about Frankie the tailor on Saturday, and cussed about "perverts and homos."

"Whoa!" Joey hugged him and realized, "That's why you were crying yesterday?"

He nodded.

Joey told him, "Your dad's wrong. But I don't think he really would send you away, Vinnie, even if he was mad. He loves you. I mean he and your mom were worried about us going to Manhattan. Way more than my parents."

"I guess so. I-I'm just afraid 'cause I don't know what they'll say."

"I know. But listen, no matter how much anybody freaks out, we'll deal with it. We'll figure out what to do, okay?"

"Okay." Vinnie sighed and tried not to worry about it. Even knowing that he was gay for years, Vinnie had never seriously contemplated having to come out, since he'd assumed that he and Joey would not actually become a couple. Their love would be something unspoken and hidden, a mutual secret in their hearts that they hoped God would forgive them for in heaven.

Everything had changed, though, and Vinnie's wildest, most private fantasy had come true somehow. It was as if the world had turned upside down, and he didn't want it to ever go right-side up again.

Joey caressed him and added sadly, "But yeah, we shouldn't tell anybody about us for a while. Except for-but you don't have to worry about Chandler anyway."

"Really?" Vinnie knew that, despite his denials, Joey had indeed been infatuated with Chandler for a while, and he had some kind of weakness where he kept letting Chandler get away with things.

"Vinnie!" Joey met his eyes and said, "I love you. Just you." He kissed Vinnie deeply again.

Vinnie relaxed, and for a while they just lay curled under the covers, discussing whether Joey could risk staying the night without their families getting suspicious.

I'm aware that many readers still hate Vinnie, and will not like how this chapter ends. You don't have to like Vinnie, though, and besides, Joey's the dishonest slut here. In the future, I will spare you from drawn-out, schmoopy details about Joey and Vinnie. (Though there is a more detailed version of Joey and Vinnie's night at Forever Fandom.) But I hope that even you Vinnie-haters can see that his current happiness with Joey is tainted with unresolved feelings about Chandler. This will lead to a rude awakening when the relationship ends.

For now, let Vinnie enjoy his blissful ignorance and let Joey be in love without stabbing his sister in the back. I have tried in many past chapters to foreshadow Joey and Vinnie coming together, and to hint that their feelings are mutual (although Joey sincerely falls for Chandler too). Joey just mistakes his bond with Vinnie for brotherly love, just as he mistook his growing attraction to Chandler as friendship. Joey's never had a brother, and he doesn't realize that he's being too touchy-feely with Vinnie to be platonic. He also protested too much with his "if I was gay, it'd be you" and "I wish I was gay, then I could show you it's not a sin" type of comments. Vinnie on the other hand has a couple of older brothers, and has always been aware of when Joey's behavior is inappropriate rather than brotherly.

Anyway, that's the way things are now. You'll see how Chandler reacts to this development in the next chapter.