A/N: I am so sorry that I haven't updated now for quite a while. Usually I am very faithful about updating frequently. Unfortunately I have been way too busy to write lately with schoolwork, midterms, and after school play practice. Hopefully I will have more time now that midterms are over. I hope this update is good. Please review and be patient with me while I try and update again! Thanks!

Chapter Eighteen: Rocky Romance

"Hey Blake, what're you up to?" Joy was waiting for her boyfriend the following Monday at his locker, before first period.

"Not much," He offered her a brief half smile before turning to his locker to retrieve his books.

"How was your weekend?" She asked weakly. Joy had an unnerving feeling that something was not quite right with Blake. Well, actually, not so much with Blake, as with their relationship. It had been almost three weeks since they had last gone out on a date and he rarely spent any time with her during lunches. She couldn't even remember the last time they had a real kiss.

"Good."

"Okay..." Joy tried to think of something to say. "Do you have any plans after school today? Because, I'd really like to do something with you. I feel like we haven't talked in forever!"

"I've got practice, remember?" Blake answered as he closed his locker and started walking towards class.

"Right, of course," Joy sighed. "Well, I'd really like to hang out sometime soon, if you ever have any free time."

"Yea, well let's try to work something out, sometime." Blake shrugged nonchalantly. "Whenever." He entered the classroom.

"Wait!" Joy followed him. "Is that it? I mean, that's all you have to say?"

Blake looked at her casually. "I don't get it? Did you want me to say something else?"

"No, I guess not," Joy wanted to tell him her thoughts. She always used to be able to tell him everything that was on her mind, but now she felt uncomfortable around him and wanted to hide her feelings from him. They no longer had the close relationship they used to. She let him turn away again. "I just miss you." She whispered under her breath in disappointment.

"Is everything okay, Joy?" Blake asked without much interest in his question.

"Yea," Joy sighed. "Actually no." She glanced at the clock and noticed that class was about to start. "I need to talk to you."

"Okay, well, we'll talk some other time, sweetie." Blake gave her his most practiced smile of smug reassurance and settled into his desk, twisting around to talk to one of his football friends sitting next to him. Joy sighed and dropped into her own desk, deciding that she'd make him listen to her one day.

Things became progressively worse. Blake continued to fill his time with every small activity, and it seemed as if he was just attempting to preoccupy himself in order to avoid spending time with Joy. She knew their relationship was fading. She didn't know why though. As far as she could figure, she had done nothing wrong! Nothing at all to break up their previously perfect relationship. They had seemed ideal. Since Henri, Joy had been miserable until she had met Blake. He had made her happy again and she cared about him a lot now. She didn't want to consider the possibility of losing him, but she couldn't ignore reality.

"Colin, could I talk to you for a minute?" Joy nervously confronted Blake's best friend at lunch on Friday. She silently rejoiced that Dawn was nowhere around. Ever since the day that Joy had been introduced to the concept of evil existing, Joy had been successful in avoiding any confrontation with Dawn. In a way, Joy was depressed with the thought of losing her only friend, but at the same time she was somewhat afraid of Dawn's other friends. They were strange, and their theories were absurd. So, for the time being, Joy felt more comfortable apart from Dawn.

"Hey Joy, what's up?" Colin greeted Joy with a grin. "I haven't seen much of you lately."

"Yea, I know..." Joy glanced around the crowded cafeteria; her eyes were on alert for any sign of Dawn. "I needed to ask you something."

"Okay, shoot." Colin skillfully balanced his loaded food tray on one hand and pulled out a chair with his other.

"It's about Blake." Joy watched Colin's eyes steadily, to see if he would betray anything with his expression. He didn't and so she continued. "Has he mentioned anything about me to you lately?"

"Anything about you? Like what?" Colin started eating his lunch while Joy sat down in the empty chair next to him.

"I don't know," Joy hesitated. "Has he mentioned anyone else, besides me?" She noticed Colin's confused stare and so she tried to explain. "Colin, be honest, do you know if Blake has another girlfriend?"

Colin seemed to almost choke on his big gulp of milk. "Another girlfriend? Joy you're kidding right? You know Blake wouldn't do that! He's totally into you!" Colin was rambling a sentence together and he seemed very bent on persuading Joy. For some reason she had a difficult time believing him.

"I know that Blake and I have had a great relationship, but lately..." She sighed. "I don't know he just seems so different. He seems distracted."

"No Joy, don't even think that! I know that things have been strained between you guys lately, but..."

"Wait, you've noticed that? I thought it was just me being paranoid! But, you're noticing it too, and that must mean that you've talked to Blake and that he's noticed it too! I knew it! Colin, has he told you that he was going to break up with me?" Joy started panicking.

"Joy, I can honestly say that Blake has never mentioned breaking up with you, and as far as I know, he has no desire to do so." Colin stared into her eyes to achieve her full attention. "I know he likes you."

Joy frowned. Colin seemed so certain of himself, but she could not believe him completely. Things were definitely strange between her and Blake and she couldn't help feeling that things were not going to last between them. It was better for her to face that fact than to live with the false allusion of a happy ever after.

Surprisingly, only a few days after the conversation with Colin, Blake began paying more attention to Joy. At first, it was only minimal hallway conversations and brief kisses at lunch, but then eventually, he started taking her out on frequent dates again. Everything seemed suddenly back to normal. Joy couldn't figure him out.

"You're coming to the game tonight, aren't you sweetie?" Blake asked Joy as they ate lunch together outside on Friday. They ate alone, as they always did. They used to eat with Dawn and Colin. They had never eaten with anyone else. Sometimes Joy wondered why Blake didn't introduce her to more of his friends. He had so many. He was one of the most popular guys in the school. He seemed to know everybody and everybody seemed to love him. Since things had been getting better between them, Joy had decided to push all her nervous feelings aside and to just enjoy the relationship that she had regained with her boyfriend.

"Well, I hadn't planned on it." Joy replied. She noticed Blake's frown and quickly elaborated. "You know I'm not a huge fan of sports. That's your thing. But if you want me to I'll come. I'll come for you."

Blake shrugged. "I don't want to force you to. You know my sports mean a lot to me, but it's cool if you'd rather not participate in the part of my life..."

"Okay, okay, you can stop, I get the picture, Blake." Joy rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the guilt trip. I'll come and be your little cheerleader at the game tonight, since it's so important to you..." She stopped when she realized that he was laughing. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing!" Blake kept laughing. "It's just that, you said you were going to be my cheerleader. I think that's funny!"

"Why is that so funny?"

"Well, no offense sweetie, but I just don't really see you as the cheerleader type." Blake explained.

"Oh," Joy didn't find it as funny as he obviously did. "Am I not pretty enough or something? Or am I not stupid enough?"

"It's not that, Joy! God! You're so paranoid." Blake laughed. "I just don't see you as part of the cheerleading crowd."

"Oh, so I'm not popular enough, is that it?" Joy's voice was steadily increasing. Luckily, there were few other people outside during lunch because the weather had been unusually cold. Joy didn't mind the cold though, she actually enjoyed it. "You know, it's not like I couldn't be popular if I wanted to be. I could strut around in adorable pink sundresses with cherry-flavored lip gloss and giggle at the ridiculous jokes all you jocks make and flirt endlessly and..."

"Sweetie, calm down, I don't realize why you're making such a big deal out of this. I was just saying that..."

"I'm not good enough for you am I?" Joy sighed. "I never have been."

"What are you talking about?" Blake tried to calm his ranting girlfriend. "How did this conversation get here? I just asked if you were coming to the game tonight!"

"Whatever, maybe I will and maybe I won't." Joy had riled herself up so much she couldn't imagine having a calm conversation now. She stood abruptly and sighed. "I'll see you later." She gathered up her trash and stormed away from Blake.

After her tiff with Blake, Joy felt as if her entire world was crumbling around her. She didn't know what to think about anything anymore. Her aunt and uncle continued to ignore her other than random violence whenever she managed to piss them off. She had lost her only friend because of a tale of a 'prophecy' in which she is some super hero chick, which if nothing else, freaked her out. And now, on top of everything else, she seemed to be losing her boyfriend!

Being a teenager sucks, Joy decided as she dropped her books on the back seat of her car after school. Being a teenager without friends sucks even worse. She climbed into the driver's seat in one of the worst moods she had ever been in. Why did I let myself believe that Blake actually liked me? He's a jock. Not only a jock, but one of the best in the whole school! He could have any girl he wanted, so why did I ever think that he would seriously pick me. I was just something new for him to play with until he got bored...Joy sped out of the parking lot. She tried to stop her negative thoughts, deciding that they would only destroy her sanity. But by the end of the weekend Joy had come to the conclusion that something needed to be done to change her currently pathetic life.