Surprisingly, I didn't hear from Joe the next day, or all of the following week, come to think of it. I tried calling, but every time I did, one of his brothers would answer and supply a lame excuse as to why he couldn't talk. One day he was taking a shower, the next he was doing homework, and the next he was busy eating. By the 8th day of calling, I was fed up. I nearly blew poor Kevin's ears off screaming when he told me that Joe was walking the dog. The Jonas' don't even have a dog! But, well, Kevin had never really had a great imagination. When we were young and played make believe in their basement Kevin would always be a tree. Could you imagine? A tree! Anyway, after blowing the eardrum in Kevin's right ear out, I decided to head on over to the Jonas house myself. Crossing the room to my door, I almost twisted my ankle sliding on a stray piece of clothing. As I bent down to pick it up, I realized that it was Joe's Red Sox sweatshirt. I quickly wiped away unexpected tears that collected in the corners of my eyes, making my throat burn. Determination took over from there; I was going to get my best friend back at any cost. I marched across the street, tripping a few times on the ice, and banged on the Jonas' front door with all my strength. When no one answered, I tried again, beating harder this time. I was sure to have a bruise. I continued hitting the door until it unexpectedly opened, causing me to fall into a very solid chest. I stepped back and resolved myself that Joe and I were going to have it out until every last problem was resolved. That was when I made the mistake of looking up into his eyes. He looked so angelic standing there with the snow falling around him that I found myself leaning in to kiss him. I stopped myself at the last second and were shared an awkward pause in which I pretended that I had been carefully studying his cheek to get an eyelash off and he coughed and looked down at his shoes. "Rachel," he began nervously, "we need to talk." He looked up at me with a kind of hopeful resolve in his eyes and that was when I gave up my dignity, threw myself into his arms, and kissed him soundly on the lips.