Well, here's part two. Thank you to onewomanshow for giving me an idea. It's definitely a consideration.
I only own Quincy at the moment. Just imagine him as a guy that's cute, but not hot. And also, I added a lot of Mrs. Lucas in here because she's only been in like, two or three episodes, and I think she deserves more credit than she has already.
Later that afternoon, Nick, Joe and Kevin arrived home from school. Mrs. Lucas was there, preparing dinner.
"Hey boys, how was school?" Mrs. Lucas asked. A chorus of 'Good' echoed through the room. Mrs. Lucas smiled.
"Well, we'll be upstairs. Call us when dinner is ready," Nick said as he bounded toward the stairs. Kevin followed, as Joe paused, hanging back.
"Joseph, is something wrong?" Mrs. Lucas asked as she saw her second oldest son standing in the living room. Joe bit his lip. His mom could help him, he thought as finally, he shook his head.
"Actually, I'm not. Can I talk to you about something?" Joe asked. Mrs. Lucas nodded as she quickly checked on the food in the kitchen before sitting with her son in the living room.
"What's wrong?" she asked. Joe fidgeted with his hands, trying to figure out how to approach the subject. Finally, he stopped beating around the bush and just spoke.
"Well, lately, I have been feeling…jealous of Stella's crushes and I don't know why. Nick and Kevin say it's because I'm jealous and in denial, but I'm not. I mean, I can't be. It's Stella, the girl I've known for eleven years, probably longer," Joe told his mom. Sighing, he buried his face in his hands. Mrs. Lucas sighed as she moved closer to her son, rubbing his back tenderly. This is one of the things she loved about Joe; he was the only Lucas to come to her for advice. Nick usually went to Mr. Lucas, and Kevin preferred to figure it out himself, and if he couldn't, he'd go to the oldest in the house, her husband. Frankie pretty much clung to his father for things, just because he was the manager of the band and Frankie thought he knew a lot. They only came to her rarely for advice, but she knew they loved her. Joe, however, barely went to his father for advice; he trusted his mother more, and that made her feel great inside.
"Oh Joseph, I understand your predicament. I'm sorry to say, but Nicholas and Kevin are right; you have feelings for Stella," Mrs. Lucas said softly. Joe lifted his head, shaking it.
"No, I do not. I can't. How is it possible? It's Stella. We're best friends, that's all we've ever been. We played together as little kids. We used to tease Carl together. We grew up together, and went through stuff together. She's the one I went to when our band was just getting off the ground and I needed a friend because I was scared. I'm the one she came- comes to when she's upset about something. She helps me look good; I help her laugh about silly stuff. She's my best friend; she's like the sister I've always wanted," Joe said. Mrs. Lucas sighed.
"Joseph, did I ever tell you about my childhood friend, Adam?" Mrs. Lucas asked. When Joe shook his head, Mrs. Lucas continued. "Well, we were friends since kindergarten. We did everything together; we were exactly like you and Stella. One day, in high school, I realized how much had changed between us. We were so close, people practically thought we were dating. That's when Adam realized he liked me a lot. I liked him too, but I was too afraid to admit it. I didn't want things to change. So, when he told me this, I broke his heart to keep our friendship in tact. After that, it wasn't the same between us," Mrs. Lucas explained.
"Why are you telling me this?" Joe asked.
"The point is, I denied my feelings and it cost our friendship. Joseph, you like this girl, and I guarantee you that she likes you too. I've seen you two together, and that is not just friendship. It's changed. You're scared, I know you are. But don't make the same mistake me and Adam did. If I had told him I liked him a lot-" Mrs. Lucas started.
"He could be our dad?" Joe asked jokingly. Mrs. Lucas laughed.
"Probably not, but we could have had a relationship for a while. He wasn't my soulmate, or else things would have worked out between us. Stella, however, could very well be your soulmate. Once you're ready Joseph, tell her. Don't mess it up," Mrs. Lucas said. Joe sighed as he looked down, knowing his mom was right.
"What if she doesn't like me back?" Joe asked softly.
"If she doesn't, which I'm sure she does, then at least you told her. I mean, though I wish things went differently in my past, I'm glad Adam told me. We didn't have to live with the burden anymore," Mrs. Lucas said as she hugged Joe.
"Thanks Mom, that's good advice," Joe said gratefully as he hugged his mom back. Finally she let go of him when she heard Kevin's voice getting closer as footsteps sounded on the stairs.
"Hey Joe, where are you? You have to play us that song you told us about at lu-"Kevin started before he made it downstairs and saw Joe and Mrs. Lucas looking at him.
"You wrote a song?" Mrs. Lucas asked softly. Joe gave her a look; he wasn't about to say that it was about Stella and have Kevin figure out his crush on her. Mrs. Lucas understood and nodded. Joe stood up.
"Thanks Mom, on the homework thing. I think I understand now," Joe said, winking before following Kevin upstairs.
"Ok, you're welcome!" Mrs. Lucas called before shaking her head, walking back to the kitchen.
Meanwhile, Joe and Kevin made it upstairs to find Nick throwing a ball in the air.
"Don't worry Nick; Joe was talking about homework with Mom," Kevin said as he sat beside Nick, and Joe kept standing.
"Oh, ok. Well, Joe, sing us the song you told us about. I'm dying to hear about it, not literally," Nick quickly added as Kevin opened his mouth to speak. Kevin closed it, sighing.
"Oh, I don't know," Joe said. Nick's eyebrows rose.
"What's wrong Joe? Got something to hide?" Nick asked. Kevin nodded in agreement as Joe sighed, knowing he couldn't back out now.
"Fine," Joe caved. Nick grinned as Kevin pulled a random bucket of popcorn from behind the couch and waited. Joe took a deep breath and opened his mouth when, lucky for him, his phone rang. He grinned as he grabbed it from his pocket.
"Hello?" Joe asked.
"Hey Joe, it's Stella," Stella's voice came through the receiver. Joe's mouth curved up into a genuine smile.
"Oh hey Stella. What's up? We still on for movie night?" Joe asked. Stella sighed from her line.
"Well, here's the thing Joe. Tonight, Quincy and I are kind of studying together," Stella answered. Joe's smile dropped, but he kept his voice calm, as he saw Kevin and Nick eye each other.
"Oh, well that's fine. It's only Monday anyways. How about tomorrow?" Joe asked.
"Quincy's taking me bowling," Stella answered. Joe frowned.
"Wednesday?" he asked.
"Roller skating," she answered.
"Thursday?" Joe asked.
"More studying. And Friday, we're going to a movie, but so far, Saturday I'm free. We'll have our movie night then, alright?" Stella asked. Joe rolled his eyes.
"Of course Stella, as long as we're not a bother to you and your new boyfriend. I mean, I wouldn't want to take you away from Quincy on Saturday," Joe said sarcastically. Stella sighed.
"I'm sorry Joe. But Quincy, he's different," Stella said. Joe tried to shut up, but he couldn't resist.
"Different? I'm sure he is," Joe said, giving a fake laugh. He was pretty sure Stella was shooting daggers at him from her end of the phone.
"Listen, I'm sorry, alright? I'll see you at school tomorrow," Stella answered. Joe sighed.
"Fine. Have fun with Queercy," Joe said sarcastically. Before Stella could say anything, however, he hung up the phone and threw it at the wall for effect. It broke and clattered to the ground as Kevin and Nick stared with shock. Joe let out a little groan as he sat down on the chair, gripping his head.
"Ok, if that didn't point to jealousy, I don't know what would," Kevin spoke up. Joe looked up, glaring at him.
"I am not jealous, alright? I am just frustrated that Stella keeps canceling our plans like this. This is so unlike her. Some guy comes along, and she falls head over heels with him. First with Van Dyke, and now with Chest-Shaving Quincy? Everyone calls him that you know, because he swims," Joe said. Nick looked confused.
"Nobody calls Quincy that, except for you. You're jealous, my friend," Nick said. Joe clenched his hands. He knew that; he didn't want them to rub it in his face.
"Can we just change the subject?" Joe asked. Kevin nodded.
"Yeah, sure. How about that new song?" Kevin asked. Joe gave him a look.
"Are you serious? Are you going to stop asking me about the song?" Joe asked. Nick shook his head.
"It could be our new hit song, so no, we aren't. Let's here it," Nick said. Joe shook his head, his confidence gone. All he wanted to do was crawl away and die; or better yet, go to Quincy's house and 'kindly convince' him to not go out with Stella.
"Guys, just give me another day to finish the song, alright? Then I'll sing it for you guys when it's done," Joe compromised. Nick thought.
"Fine, you have one day. Then we want to hear what you have. We can help you finish it," Nick suggested. Joe shook his head.
"No, this time, I want to finish it alone," Joe said. Kevin grinned as he nodded just as Kevin's phone rang. Kevin scrambled to find it, finally seeing it near his guitars. Kevin grabbed it and answered the phone.
"Hello? Oh hey! No, I'm not busy, " Kevin said as he walked downstairs to talk to somebody in private. Nick eyed Joe.
"Who do you think it is?" he asked. Joe shrugged.
"No clue, a secret girlfriend?" Joe suggested. Nick scoffed.
"Like Kevin can keep a secret," Nick said. Joe nodded quickly.
"True," he said as the two walked off to do different things.
Ok, I'm ending it there, mostly because I don't want to ramble on about Joe's feelings. Next chapter will be most likely a couple of days later, when Joe gets sick of seeing Quincy and Stella together, and also managing to avoid Nick and Kevin about his song. Unfortunately, he can't avoid them next chapter, even with the song still incomplete. So, the next part will be out soon. I just have to get this up soon because my dad plans to unplug this computer, to take it to Florida, to our second home, and my parents' retirement home that they bought, even though retirement for them is still a while away.
I live in Canada, BTW, so that's why they want a house in Florida. So, yeah, I hope you like it! I also have my Nick/Macy oneshot coming out shortly tonight!