Wow, nearly five months since my last update! College, am I right?

Joe sighed as he stared at his phone for the nth time. Receiving no reply from Ronnie after several texts within a span of several hours was beginning to worry him. Then again, it wasn't as if Ronnie was in any kind of danger. All he was doing was trying to find and help a missing pop star. Nothing could go wrong, right?

…

Okay, maybe he might've been in a little trouble. Imagining the things he'd be accused of like kidnapping, blackmail...so many things that would've brought Orchid further into the spotlight and sympathy from the public. All that just because Ronnie had accepted a request to help a pop star from a...fan? Follower? Whatever Francis was.

Joe wildly shook his head free of the scenario. No way, Orchid wouldn't testify against him for that! Despite their rocky relationship, he hoped she at least had some decency. Not that she was an outright villain or anything, but when it came to celebrities like her you never really knew...

He sighed again, realizing he was overloading his head with too many negative thoughts. A grim side effect of the deafening silence within his home. Resolving to bring some noise into the house, Joe brought himself up from the couch and ventured into his room. Removing his acoustic guitar from its case, he immediately brought himself into position and started strumming.

Covering music with his guitar was a hobby he never tired of. Strumming at a steady pace, he started singing a song from a recent album from one of his favorite bands.

"And this is how it starts. You take shoes off in the back of my van…"

One of the benefits of living alone was that nobody was near enough to hear your voice when you sang. Joe took full advantage of that fact, and belted out lyrics whenever he could. Be it in the shower or within the confines of his room, he always made sure to give his vocal chords a workout. Considering the number of years he had been doing so, he dared say he was quite a singer himself.

"You said my shirt looks so good...when it's hanging off your back."

He tapped on the guitar body as a substitute sound for the percussion within the song and bobbed his head to the beat as he found himself diving further into the rhythm. When it came to wanting to clear his head, playing music never failed him.

He felt his head becoming clearer as he progressed through the song, worries gradually melting away. Even when the phone on his desk vibrated, he left it alone. Nothing and nobody could come between him and music.

He strummed and pounded harder as the song's pace increased. His voice echoed throughout the house as he sang without abandon. Even if the neighbors were to complain, it didn't matter. He needed this too much to be able to care about how others would think.

"You've all got boyfriends anyway..."

And at last, the finale tapping and strumming to the last beat Joe finally dropped his head and lamented as the song ended. His head finally clear, he examined his still-vibrating phone and read the reminder plastered on the home screen.

5:00 - THAW THE MEAT

Crap!

"Arrrrggghh!" he rapidly scratched his head until his neatly-waxed hair was ruffled, reprimanding himself for having ignored the notification. He didn't know how long he had been singing, but he had somehow forgotten that when it came to matters like these, being punctual was important. Call him a coward, but her piercing stare of annoyance was something he wished never to see again.

Hurrying to the kitchen, Joe hastily opened the freezer and grabbed several packs of frozen chicken, leaving them in the sink to thaw out. Checking his phone, he noticed only three minutes had passed five o' clock. Not too late, he supposed. At least, not late enough for anything to be a deep breath, he headed towards the door and peered out the peephole.

Nobody yet.

Realizing there was ample time before her arrival, he took several deep breaths to calm his rapidly-beating heart and headed to the couch, turning the T.V on to see if anything was worth watching.

"No...No...No…"

Switching through all channels, he found himself back on MTV, the only program he found worth watching. Unfortunately, currently being shown was a famous pop artist whose songs often got played on the radio. Almost too often.

"As if you don't have enough airtime already…" he grumbled, grabbing the remote and turning the T.V off. With only one option left, he headed to the pool house, which doubled as his gym. Putting on gloves, he headed towards the black punching bag in the middle of the room and gave it a light push before getting to work. Punches, hooks, high kicks, he learned it all through his kickboxing training. Heavy pounds and a swinging chain could be heard throughout the room as Joe landed one punch after the next. To add some more flair, he even mimicked certain moves and sounds from his favorite movie star as he performed gut punches towards his imaginary opponent. Certain action scenes started playing in his head as he continued his barrage, invigorating him and prolonging the workout. Performing the rest of his favorite action sequences, exhaustion soon made itself known throughout his body, causing him to drop to the floor. Breathing heavily, he lazily watched the swinging punching bag gradually slow down in its course until it was positioned exactly where it was before he entered the room.

Having gotten his workout for the day, he headed back into the main house to clean himself up.

*Ding-Dong*

"Er-Ahem…" Changing into jeans and a shirt, Joe rushed into his father's room and hastily applied cologne over his body, hoping it'd mask the smell of sweat.

Dusting off the nonexistent dust on his clothes, he took a few deep breaths to calm his raging heart before slowly approaching the door with confidence. Peeking through the tiny door hole once again, his lips curved into a smile when he noticed the familiar orange hair. Opening the door, he made sure to greet her with a smile.

"Hey there. Early as always."

"Hey." Jett simply replied.

It was simple greeting, and to those unfamiliar it might've seemed...well, unfamiliar but to the both of them it was enough. He smiled, noticing the rebellious manner in how she wore her uniform despite the cold weather. PSG's black blazer casually hung by the sides of her arms, exposing her shoulders which were covered by a white dress shirt; seemingly the only layer that stood before the cold wind and her skin. Although, this time she did sport black leggings under her skirt along with black sneakers. It wasn't too much of a change to her usual look of black knee socks, but it was still a pleasant look nonetheless.

"So you gonna let me in or have me freeze to death?" she asked, clearly exasperated Joe was blocking the entrance.

"Oh, whoops! Sorry!" Joe stepped to the side, scratching his head for making such a simple make up for it, he hurriedly closed the door and headed to the kitchen.

Immediately stepping within his large home to escape the cold air, Jett furiously rubbed her forearms in an attempt to remove the goosebumps that covered her body. Admittedly, it was partially her fault for underestimating the cold air and dressing and dressing poorly. Even while wearing a thermal shirt under her uniform, the thin layer of clothing did little to shield her skin from the cold. That said, whether or not she became sick it didn't matter. A cold wasn't going to stop her from doing the things she wanted. Besides, it wasn't like Joe didn't have any jackets or medicine hanging around. Deciding to make herself comfortable, she plopped onto the couch and turned the T.V on.

In the meantime, to make up for his last mistake Joe got to work in the kitchen, warming up a mug of milk and adding chocolate mix in. Swirling until he found it had spread throughout, he then added whip cream and a maraschino cherry on top to finish his signature deluxe hot chocolate before making his way back to her.

"Chocolate?" he asked, handing the mug to her. Taking a look at the T.V, Joe noticed Jett had already logged onto her streaming account and was searching for the last show they had watched.

Turning her head, she flashed a warm smile as she grabbed the hot beverage.

"Thanks." she said softly, sipping the chocolate. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, keeping the taste of the beverage in her mouth. Hot as it was, there was a certain feeling of calmness that accompanied the taste. It was as if she was enjoying a warm cup of coffee within a coffee shop with jazz music being played in the background.

Speaking of jazz music…

Placing her favorite show on hold, she opened a new tab and played her jazz playlist. I wasn't her favorite type of genre, but it did well in certain moods. This was one of them.

Immediately when the piano and saxophone could be heard, both parties exhaled felt themselves relaxing a great deal. Turning to the side, she noticed Joe enjoying his own mug a few feet away. Grunting, she exasperatedly pounded the large empty space next to her.

"Sit on your own couch properly!"

Joe's eyebrows lit up at being given permission before hastily moving towards Jett.

"What, do I smell or something?" she asked, giving him a suspicious look.

"Well, no." He scratched his head. "I just thought you were still getting used to being...y'know."

The orange-haired girl raised an eyebrow as she eyed her companion. That is, until she noticed him lightly tapping his arm indicating "touch".

He didn't need to say much else. Jett sighed as she recalled memories she tried so hard to bury. It was a time when the both of them weren't on the best of terms, though for her it was much worse. What occurred had caused her to keep away from those around, even her parents. Staying hidden in the neighborhood park was what she spent most of her time on ever since it happened.

Joe, the new kid who had just moved in, had done his best to give comfort. Unfortunately, that ended in a bruised head. It was unintentional and Jett had apologized profusely immediately after, but even apologies could do little to ease the pain and memory.

Even in the present, Joe rubbed his forehead as if the pain was still there.

"Sorry…" she whispered.

"Don't be. If anything, I'm the one who's sorry for bringing it back up again."

Silence made its way between the "not couple" as memories of the past swam through their minds.

Thankfully, being no stranger to painful memories himself in addition of being the son of a psychologist, Joe had at least a inkling as to what to do. Grabbing the keyboard and opening the streaming site once again, he pulled up the series the both of them had started, but failed to finish last time she came over.

"Grand Athenaeum" was the name of the show. A show with a new story and characters with each and every season. Still on the first season, the couple revisited the tale of a wandering mercenary and his sidekick journeying through the lands to find the White Mage, a man who had inspired love and confidence through his travels only to mysteriously disappear soon after.

To his own surprise, Joe found himself liking the series as well. The way the spells of the White Mage were designed and his relationship with those around him (including the fairy queen) had him completely drowned in the magical world. That said, it was something he'd probably never admit to Jett or anyone else for some irrational fear of being teased about it.

Still, as much as he loved the show, his love numbered nowhere near that of Jett's who refused to let him talk or make any noise while the show was on. Sure enough, the moment familiar scenes entered her line of vision, she immediately shifted focus and left her unfinished hot chocolate on the table.

Relief washed over Joe as he observed Jett's face. Full of passion and excitement, a sharp contrast to how she looked when they had first met. He'd never forget the dim look and eye bags from the first person he met ever since moving into the neighborhood. Despite two years already having been passed since, seeing her face so clear and energized brought him serious relief even now.

"What?"

Her voice bringing him out of his stupor, Joe brought himself back to reality and noticed her face filling his line of sight.

"What?" he responded back, feigning innocence.

"You were staring."

His pride getting in the way, Joe refused to admit it. "No I wasn't."

"Yes you were."

"Nope. Not me."

"Yes, you."

"I'm hungry."

"So you're admitting to it?"

"I admitted nothing. I was gonna tell you it was dinnertime and you caught me before I could."

Jett crossed her arms, clearly adamant on winning the match of wits.

"I'm not cooking until you admit it."

Joe simply shrugged his shoulders in response, knowing he had the upper hand. "If you don't cook, we're gonna have to order takeout. Well, it's either that or I coo-"

"Stop. Stop right there." Jett conceded. "Where's the chicken?"

Joe smiled in victory before pointing in the direction of the kitchen. "Thawed in the sink like you asked."

"Good boy." Jett said, rubbing his head before heading to the kitchen to get to work.

Sliding her blazer off her shoulders, she tossed it to Joe, whom she knew would fold it neatly onto the couch. Rolling up the sleeves of her dress shirt, she removed the thawed chicken breast from the packs and seasoned them with salt and pepper before adding them to the skillet

"What are we having?" Joe asked, pulling up to the stove beside her.

"Alfredo pasta." she replied, using a dirty hand to push him away.

"Out." she commanded.

"You still don't trust me?" her companion chuckled, holding up two hands in yield.

"Would you trust someone who lit eggs on fire?"

"That was one time!"

"Yeah, and one time too many. Seriously, how does that even happen? All you had to do was add oil and eggs and wait until the whites settled! There was nothing in there that would've caused a fire! Hell, you were lucky I was in the house to quench it!"

Joe threw his hands up in the air, "Hey, I don't know either! I did as you asked and it just happened!"

"If you did as I asked, it wouldn't have happened! Well whatever, hurry up and get the other ingredients would you?"

With a frustrated grunt, Joe did as he was asked allowing Jett to fully concentrate on the chicken. She gave a small sigh, disappointed she didn't have time to cook chicken from scratch to make the freshest meal possible. Still, considering how much of what she made came from Joe's refrigerator (and money), maybe it was wrong to be picky.

Flipping the chicken breasts over, she took time to observe Joe from the side and watched as he clumsily soaked the fettucine in hot water while dicing garlic. Jett closed her eyes as she took in the scent of seasoned chicken along with the sound of knives hitting the cutting board. She closed her eyes for a moment, wanting to reaffirm whether or not everything around her was still real.

...

*Chop-Chop*

It was real. She was still here.

He was still here.

She put a hand over her mouth, trying to hide her smile as Joe handed her the rest of the chopped ingredients.

"Anything wrong?" he asked.

"Only that you're still too close to the stove." she replied.

Joe let out a long "psh" as he walked away.

Adding in the rest of the ingredients into the skillet, she stirred for a few more minutes before tasting it. Deciding that the sauce and pasta were mixed well enough, she nodded and turned off the stove.

"Grub's on." she said.

"Woohoo!"

Grabbing the tongs, she noticed Joe creep up from the side hoping to get his share first. Yeah well, not on her watch.

"Uh-uh. Nope." Pushing him out of the way. "Me first."

"You don't hold back, do you?" he chuckled.

"Naturally. I'm the one who cooked it after all."

"I could've cooked it…" Joe grumbled under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Anyway, dinner table or couch?" Joe asked, pointing to the two possible destinations to enjoy their dinner.

"Have we ever eaten on the dinner table?"

"Not once. Not even after my parents bought a new one more more comfy seats. You willing to give it a try?"

"Maybe if your parents consider putting bean bags around the dinner table. Until then, couch."

Carefully positioning themselves back on the couch, with Joe on the edge and Jett resting her back on him, both continued the show while enjoying their silence between the two companions was long, but strangely not deafening nor uncomfortable. The proximity alone brought all the comfort needed.

The White Mage's corruption could be seen from the screen as he wreaked havoc on the very temple he had created. Both Joe and Jett silently ate their dinner as they watched the wandering mercenary, who was in no condition to fight, only stare in disbelief at the White Mage's transformation into the Black Mage. As the Black Mage casted his first dark spell, the screen slowly faded in sync with the mercenary's life with the White Mage's light serving as the only source of warmth during his last moments.

"Poor guy…" Joe commented as moments of the mercenary's life flashed before their eyes.

"Yeah…"

Realizing they had finished their dinner, Joe took both the plates and got to work on cleaning the dishes.

"I could've done it you know." his orange-haired companion said.

"I know, but you've cooked already. Give me something to do in my house, would you? With you around I feel like deadweight in my own house."

Jett giggled as she stood beside him, observing him do his work. It was a nice sight, seeing him take her advice as he kept the water use to a minimum while cleaning the dishes quickly and efficiently. She remembered all the headaches he caused her just from turning the water to its max level and having it splash everywhere as he washed the dishes. It spawned many petty arguments, some she wished she had forgotten, though she couldn't deny them playing a pivotal role in developing their...friendship? Relationship? One or the other.

Maybe both?

"So what now?" she asked.

"Well, we could always start the next season of the show." Joe replied, wiping his hands. "Or we could always use your telescope to look at the stars seeing as how you left it at my house."

Ah, she had almost forgotten she left her telescope here. A shame she didn't have it back at home when the night sky was brimming with stars. Still, it wasn't a big deal as she spent most nights at Joe's anyway.

...

Not at all what she meant.

Taking a quick look outside, she failed to see any sign of light from the night sky. No doubt it was the work of the winter clouds.

"Nah. We won't be able to see anything anyway."

"Well, that's all I have for now. I mean, we've played almost all the video games at my house already. So I guess we're continuing the show?"

She waved dismissively. "Nah. Let's save it for some other time."

"Alright, so we're back to square one. What now?"

"Well, what were you doing before I came?"

Joe shrugged. "Not much. Just strumming my guitar…"

Jett's eyes lit up. "That. You mind playing a few songs for me?"

"Um…"

She brought her face closer, causing Joe to lean back and avoid her gaze. "Come on, what're you chickening out for? You've done it before."

"Uuuugggghhhhh…"

One of the bad things of having best friends was that sometimes they used your hobbies against you. Still, considering it was Jett, the idea didn't sound so bad.

"Just one song, alright?"

Jett didn't reply, knowing Joe loved music and his guitar too much to just stop at one.

"Any song you want me to play in particular?" Joe asked, grabbing out his guitar once again.

Jett shook her head. "Not really."

"Well then…"

Closing his eyes for just a short moment to find which song to play, he opened them once again and started picking the strings.

"I was dead to you...you were dead to me. Call it black and blue…"

It was Ronnie's favorite song and though it wasn't the type of music he listened to, playing the chords on an acoustic guitar had brought a new sound and meaning to the song that he couldn't deny had entranced him. It wasn't too hard to play nor was it tiring. It was something soft and mellow, something he found fitting for a time like this.

Especially with her.

Resting her chin on her hands, Jett closed her eyes as she herself got lost in the music. Occasionally she'd smile, hearing Joe successfully hit the high notes in the song. While it was nice to hear his development, she was already starting to miss all the times she cringed and giggled due to his voice cracks.

Silence followed after he finished the song, but Jett didn't reopen her eyes. Knowing Joe, another song was just upon the horizon.

To her surprise, no new song came. In fact, for a while there was nothing but silence.

"Sorry, am I boring you?"

Opening her eyes, Jett shook her head. "Not really. I was actually waiting for another one to come."

"Ah, well that sucks. I thought you were falling asleep so I stopped. Now my groove is gone." Joe said, setting down his guitar and falling back onto his bed.

"What, so it's my fault now?" she asked, falling next to him.

"Totally."

Both parties sighed, realizing they both had nothing to do at such a late hour. The silence persisted for a while, both not really knowing what to say until Jett found something she needed to get off her chest.

"Thanks." she said softly.

She didn't say what it was for, but he knew. They both did. Besides, it wasn't like it was her first time saying it.

"No problem."

"I don't wanna go home tonight."

"You don't have to."

Anything you guys liked? Hated? Anything I could've done better? Please don't hesitate to let me know!