T H E P A S T

"Coming!" I called at a knock at the door. Stella wasn't coming over, right? No family had called about a surprise visit...Who could it be? I opened the door, freezing in my place. "Joe of JONAS!"

"Hi." He said weakly. "C-Can I come in?"

"Yeah, yeah. Of course." I ushered him in, closing the door behind him. He headed for the stairs, climbing them slowly. I mutely followed. He sat on my bed, staring emotionlessly at his feet. "J-Joe?"

"Stella." He started. I listened intently, standing in front of him. "She broke up with me."

"What?" I gaped, shocked. He nodded. "W-Why?"

"She said...she wanted to explore, and if-if she couldn't find a spark with-with someone else, she'd come back to me." I felt my jaw hanging as his fists clenched, his knuckles turning white.

"Oh, Joe.." I was speechless. How could she do that to him?

"What did I do wrong? What made her want to 'explore?'" I stayed silent, watching tears of anger and heartbreak fill his eyes. He looked up, locking eyes with me. "Why am I never good enough for her?" He whispered. I swallowed.

"I-I don't know. Y-You're an amazing guy, Joe." His head fell, his shoulders rising and falling in a shrug.

"Doesn't seem like it."

"R-Really, Joe. Stella doesn't know what she's giving up." I went to my knees in front of him, almost eye to eye with him. Curse my shortness. I covered his hands with mine, giving a small, reasurring squeeze. "She'll realize her mistake and how much she loves you-"

"That's just it, Mace." He interuppted. "I don't think she loves me."

"Are you kidding? She's been in love with you for years!" He sighed.

"Then why's she doing this to me? Maybe it's not what she expected?" I huffed, losing hope on cheering him up. I wiggled my way upwards, wrapping my arms around his neck. A moment passed before he returned the embrace.

"It's gonna be okay, Joe." I said as he buried his face in the crook of my neck. I felt his tears pierce my skin and closed my eyes, rubbing soothing patterns on his back.

It took quite some time to calm him down. He was now laying in my bed, throwing my tennis ball against the wall, catching it and repeating the action. It seemed to keep him relaxed, for he'd been doing it for the past 2 hours. I'd offered him drinks and something to eat, but he'd said no each time. I was getting worried about him. More then I originally was. I noticed the background noise of the ball hitting wall had stopped and turned away from my computer in confusion. He was inspecting the green ball in his hand. "Joe?" He looked up. "Are you okay?" He's just gonna say no.

"I guess." I blinked, surprised.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I was thinking this whole time." His gaze dropped to his hands. "Should I take Stella back? If she ever wants me to, I mean."

"Well, uh...Does she make you happy?"

"Most of the time." He said, a sad smile on his face.

"Do you love her?" He hesitated.

"Yeah." He answered quietly, peeking up. I smiled, raising an eyebrow. "Thanks, Mace. For everything." He smiled a real smile for the first time in the last 2 and a half hours.

"No problem. I'll always be here if you need me." The ball dropped to the floor, rolling away and stopping at the closet. He opened his arms, smiling. I crawled into his arms, my head resting on his shoulder. He sighed, his grip around me tightening.

"I love you." I pulled away, staring at him in shock.

"You...what?"

"I...love you."

"...What?" He cracked a smile.

"I love you." Not possible. I'm hallucinating. I blinked repeatedly. "I'm not in love with you, Mace."

"Oh! Why didn't you say so? You just confused me so bad, Joseph.." I trailed off, laughing. His eyes sparkled as he leaned in and captured my lips in a kiss.

Wait, wait, what?

I froze solid. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh. my. effing. God. He pulled back, laughing at my expression. "What-What was that?"

"A kiss."

"But-But...you just said.."

"I know what I said." He answered quickly, leaning in and pressing his lips against mine again. I pulled away, but did he stop? No. He just followed until I was pinned to the mattress.

"Wh-What are you doing? Stop-"

"Macy." He murmured against my neck, his hand trailing up my shirt.

"Stop!" I squealed, pushing him away.

"Just this once, Macy, please. I need this."

"No..I-I can't...We can't.."

"Please." I'm not in love with you, Mace. I'm not in love with you, Mace. His words repeated in my mind. He doesn't love me. This isn't right. This. isn't. right. I got lost in a haze of thoughts and confusion, but as I slowly faded back into reality, I noticed my shirt had already been discarded. Oh Dear lord. I moaned quietly, unable to keep it back, as his hand cupped of the sensitive area of my chest.

"Joe." I gasped. "We-We can't.." He pushed down against me, groaning.

"Macy." His hungry lips attacked mine, his tongue forcing itself in my mouth. I arched my back, my body pressing into his. Why bother trying stop him? It's obvious he won't. I gave up, closing my eyes and kissing back. The clothes were shed much more quickly after I complied, and I lost something I couldn't get back that night.

Surprisingly, he was still there in the morning. I sat up, bringing the blanket to cover my chest. I silently thanked God mom was staying at my aunt's house for the week. Oh, she'd kill me if she saw this. He buttoned up his shirt slowly before putting on his tie and pants. He turned to me, flashing a crooked grin. I smiled slightly in return. He messed with his hair for a moment. I waved him over, fixing it myself. "Thank you." He said suddenly.

"You're welcome..?" He laughed.

"About last night, Mace."

"Oh." My face flushed. "Mmhm." I leaned away from him.

"I'd better get home. Crap, my mom's gonna kill me." He kissed me briefly before fleeing out the door. He poked his head back in. "Bye Macy. See you later. Possibly." I nodded, waving slightly before he disappeared. I waited, listening carefully. I heard the front door close and broke down in sobs. What had I done?

Ugh. Fanfiction won't let me put any of those separators!
It's pissing me offffff. :p