When Joe arrived home that night he found a note in the kitchen saying Frank had turned in early. Joe locked the door and turned on the alarm. He prepared himself a sandwich for dinner and poured a glass of milk then took the two items and headed upstairs to his room. He set his dinner down on his desk then went into Frank's room. It wasn't like him to go to bed so early.

Joe tiptoed over to the bed and gently put his hand against his brother's forehead to see if he were running a fever. Frank seemed okay, Joe thought. He pulled the sheet up over Frank's arms and quietly exited the room as Frank's eyes flew open.

Frank lay still, not moving an inch until he heard the bathroom door which connected their rooms click shut. The he turned over and put his hands under his head. This didn't make any sense. Joe cared about him. He would never do anything to hurt him...unless. Unless Joe loved Callie more than he loved him. Would love make Joe do something stupid? Duh! He answered his own question. Joe had done some really stupid things in the name of love before. But to actually try and woo Callie away from him? Wait a minute! He sat up in bed, steamed. What woo? Callie seemed to be returning the interest. Hadn't she been taking up for him this evening? And the two of them together at school. Jeanine being confused he could understand. But Biff!

He lay back down. No. It was too soon. It could all just be some horrible mix-up, he decided. He would have to watch them to see what was really going on. Heck. He might as well admit it. He was going to spy on them. Spy on his brother and his girlfriend whom he professed to love. What was wrong with him? No. He would not sink to those depths. He would act normal. If they did have something going on, he would know it, wouldn't he? All that fighting, he moaned silently. Doesn't everyone say hate is akin to love? Was that why they fought so much?

"No," he groaned out loud, and pulled the pillow over his ears to try and block out his own thoughts. He turned onto his side and closed his eyes, trying unsuccessfully to eliminate the doubts which clouded his mind.

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Joe woke up the next morning and immediately went into Frank's room to see if he were feeling all right, but Frank wasn't there. Neither was his backpack. Joe frowned and got ready for school. When he got there, he saw Frank in the hallway talking to Phil. "Frank?" Joe asked, coming over. "You feeling okay?"

"He's fine," Phil growled. "Come on, we're going to be late for homeroom," he added to Frank. Frank followed Phil down the hall without a word to Joe.

"Something wrong?" asked Jeanine, coming up behind Joe.

Joe shook his head. "Something, obviously," he said. "But don't ask me what. I have no idea."

When lunch time arrived, Joe took his tray and went to his usual table to sit down. Phil and Tony sat on either side of Frank while Callie, looking miserable, sat between Vanessa and Biff. "Where's Jeanine?" Biff asked as Joe sat down between him and Tony.

"She took off again," Joe said. "She said she would be back before our next class." He looked from Frank to Callie. "What's wrong?" he demanded.

"That's what I would like to know," Callie stated, her brown eyes steel as they glared at Frank. "For some reason, your brother has decided to ignore me today."

"What's up?" Joe asked, looking Frank in the eyes. "You were giving me the cold shoulder this morning, too. Are you sick or something?"

"You could say that," Frank replied, getting up and taking his tray with him.

Joe started to follow but was halted by Phil's words, "Leave him alone. Haven't you done enough?"

"What are you talking about?" Joe demanded, his eyes holding a mixture of concern, curiosity, and anger.

"Like you don't know," Tony declared, standing up. He grabbed his tray and followed Frank's example with Phil following close behind.

"What is with them?" Joe asked, looking from Callie to Vanessa. Biff, he knew, was too wrapped up in Jeanine to pay any attention to what had been going on with anyone else lately.

"I wish I knew," Callie said, on the verge of tears. "Vanessa and I came over and sat down and all of the sudden those three started treating us, well, me, like I had bubonic plague!"

"Just you?" Joe asked.

"Yes," Vanessa confirmed for her. "They were acting almost like they felt sorry for me or something," she added. "What's going on with them?"

"I don't know," Joe said. "But I will find out," he vowed.

Lunch over, the teens hurried to their next class. By the time the bell rang announcing the end of the school day, Joe was burning mad. What right did Frank have to treat him like this? To treat Callie like that? He and Frank were going to have it out tonight and there was nothing that was going to prevent it! He stood up and turned around, knocking into Jeanine who had stepped into his path. Her books scattered over the floor.

"Oh, dear," she moaned. "I knew I should have put them in my pack," she added, kneeling down to gather them up.

Joe stooped down and helped get everything together for her. Standing up, he waited for her to rise. When she did, he handed her the notebook and loose papers he held. She took them from him. "Thank you," she said, and leaned up to give him a thank you kiss which barely grazed his lips.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" Biff shouted from the doorway, rushing in and pulling Jeanine away from Joe. He stepped in front of her. "You've got your own girl. Leave mine alone," Biff declared, his hands bunched into fists.

Jeanine screamed and ran from the room. Outside the school, she bumped into Vanessa who could see how upset she was. "Hey, it's okay," Vanessa tried to comfort her. ""Why don't you tell me what's wrong?" she asked.

Jeanine shook her head, tears spilling down her face. "I..I have to get home," she mumbled.

"I'll take you," Vanessa offered and led Jeanine to her Explorer.

Back in the school, Joe and Biff had watched Jeanine run from the room. "Look what you did!" Biff shouted angrily.

"What I did?" Joe said, disbelief written all over his face. "She ran away because your shouting terrified her."

Biff's face fell. "This isn't over," he warned Joe and took off after Jeanine, finding her in time to see her get into Vanessa's car. "This isn't over by a long shot," he muttered, going to his own car.

Joe went straight home. Finding Frank hadn't arrived, he started on his homework. When the front door opened and Frank walked into the living room half an hour later, Joe had finished everything but the written report he had due the next day. "We need to talk," Joe said, getting to his feet.

"That would be a definite," Biff agreed. He had arrived with Frank and Phil and Chet.

"What's going on?" Joe demanded, ignoring Biff and the other boys and looking Frank in the eyes.

"You were trying to steal my girl," Biff said. "That's what's going on."

"Of course he was," Frank told Biff, his voice bitter. "He wants every girl in Bayport for himself, didn't you know?"

"What?" Joe gasped.

"Why wasn't Vanessa enough for you?" Phil demanded. "She doesn't deserve this. And I will take great pleasure in comforting her," he added for spite.

Joe's gaze moved to Phil at this. "You? Comfort Vanessa? Over my dead body," he growled.

"Any way you want it," agreed Biff, tackling Joe and pushing him over into the coffee table which broke beneath the boys' combined weight.

"Stop it," ordered Frank at once. Joe smiled. Frank may be acting strange, he thought, but he was still protecting him. That was a good sign. "Take it outside," he ordered Biff, pulling him up. "You can pound him there," he added as the front doorbell sounded.

Shocked, Joe was hauled to his feet by Phil and Chet and ushered outside followed by a very irate Biff as Frank opened the front door. "Hi," Jeanine said. "I saw Biff's van outside. Can I talk to him?"

"Come on in," Frank invited her. "He's, uh, out back. I'll go and get him. Just wait here," he asked, not wanting her to see what Biff was doing outside.

As Frank exited the house, the phone rang but he didn't hear it. His attention was focused on Biff and Joe who were locked in battle. "Biff!" Frank shouted to get his attention as he pulled his fist back to hit an already bloodied Joe. Biff froze in mid-swing. "Jeanine is here to see you." Biff nodded and let his fist follow through with the promised punch. As Joe fell to the ground, Biff went inside, followed by Chet, Phil and Frank.