And the next part! Thanks for reading my story guys! This chapter definately didn't turn out the way that I originally thought of. In fact, it went in the opposite direction, especially with Quincy. You'll read why.
Stella broke away from Quincy to see Joe pushing through the crowd. When Joe pushed past her, she noticed the look on his face. It was a mixture of sadness, despair and hopelessness. Stella never saw Joe like this. He was so upset about something. The song he sang was beautiful. Now that she thought about it, the lyrics really made the song beautiful.
Was Joe really jealous? Nick and Kevin were right, Stella started to realize. Joe was...jealous. Joe Lucas, apart of one of the biggest bands in the world, the one everyone loved, her childhood friend, was jealous! But why? Did he...have a crush on her? Stella got reminded of a few weeks ago, when Carl was there. She asked him if he had a crush on her. He didn't answer. Whatever the reason for this was, she had to talk to Joe. They were friends; Stella was concerned about him.
She broke free of Quincy's grasp.
"Where are you going?" Quincy asked as the crowd started dispersing.
"I have to go find Joe and talk to him," Stella answered as she started walking down the hall before Quincy stopped her.
"Oh, come on Stella; I'm sure Joe just needs some time," Quincy said softly. Stella shook her head.
"I'm his friend; I need to see if he's ok," Stella said stubbornly as she walked down the hall. Quincy scoffed.
"He's not just your friend," Quincy called, making Stella stop and turn to him.
"What are you talking about?" Stella asked him. Quincy rolled his eyes as he walked toward Stella.
"You guys aren't friends; you'll never be just friends. Oh come on, he ran off because he saw that I was freaking kissing you! You know he was watching you the whole time," Quincy argued. Stella looked at him.
"You mean, you just went out with me to make Joe jealous?" Stella asked dangerously. Quincy nodded.
"I saw the way he acted with Van Dyke. I had to prove a point and make him gain the courage to tell you. It's not that I don't like you, I do; but just not exactly in the romance type way," Quincy answered. Stella just laughed bitterly.
"You're an idiot, you know that, right? Joe doesn't like me in that way," Stella said. There was a pause in the conversation.
"But you like him in that way, don't you? You never denied it," Quincy pointed out. Stella shook her blonde hair.
"I do not like Joe in that way," Stella said boldly. Quincy grinned as he moved closer to her.
"Ok, now say that like you mean it," Quincy told her. Stella opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out was a squeak. She couldn't do it; she really couldn't do it. She liked Joe Lucas. She just couldn't believe it. Could it really be true?
"I like Joe," she said aloud, in fascination. Quincy smiled, proud he got through to her.
"Good. Now, go after him Stella Malone," he told her. Stella smiled as she attacked Quincy with a hug. He hugged her back for several moments before pushing her away.
"Go," he said. Stella nodded as she rushed out of the school, thinking of where Joe would go. She knew he wouldn't go home; if he was that upset, he'd go somewhere no one would ever look for him; somewhere he felt safe and that he knew about. Possibly somewhere where he used to go as a child...
Stella's eyes widened as she knew exactly where Joe was. Praying she was right, she took off running.
She made it to the park about half an hour later and immediately walked through the park, to Joe's favourite tree: a tall willow tree on the quietest side of the park. He and Stella used to go there as children until Joe became a rockstar and had no time. She finally spotted the tree and she immediately started running toward it, calling Joe's name. She reached the tall tree, still as beautiful and peaceful as ever, and she looked up to see Joe on one of the branches looking down at her. Once he spotted her, he looked up. Stella sighed as she slipped off her high heels.
"Joe, please come down," Stella begged. She knew Joe wouldn't, so she started climbing up. Unfortunately, she hadn't done it in years, so she was still a little uneasy. She gripped onto the branches as she climbed, trying to make sure none of her clothes got caught. She made it to Joe, and she sat on one of the branches near to him. He was facing the other way, so she couldn't see his face.
"Hey Joe," she said softly. Joe mumbled something incoherent. Stella sighed as she leaned over and gently touched his arm. Startled, he turned to face her and Stella immediately saw that he was crying. She moved as close as she could to him, even if he shrank back.
"What are you doing here Stella? Shouldn't you be with your boyfriend?" Joe asked her. Stella shook her head.
"No; we're not together anymore. What's up with you?" Stella asked casually. Joe finally turned fully toward her. His eyebrows were raised.
"Wait, back up. Why aren't you together?" Joe asked. Stella shrugged.
"It isn't important at the moment. Seriously Joe, why did you run off like that?" Stella asked. Joe remained silent as he picked off a leaf from the tree. He twirled it in his hands. He stayed silent, and Stella was about to poke him, before he mumbled something under his breath.
"What did you say Joe?" Stella asked. Joe sighed.
"I was jealous of you and Quincy," Joe admitted. Stella frowned.
"Why Joe? Why were you jealous?" Stella asked. She could she him seriously contemplating something. It took him several minutes to speak. He gazed around, as Stella let himself think. She looked out, through the willow tree, and could see a few people scattered about.
"Because I like you," he said softly. Because it was so quiet, though, Stella heard him. Her eyes didn't widen, she didn't gape in surprise. Deep down, she knew that he liked her. So instead, she nodded.
"That's why you didn't answer me when I asked if you had a crush on me. That's why you had that fashion emergency. It explains a lot," Stella spoke. Joe glanced at her.
"Why are you so calm? Did you know I had a crush on you?" Joe asked, surprised. Stella shook her head.
"Not at first, no, but I had my suspicions," Stella answered. Joe sighed as he looked down.
"I guess our friendship's over," Joe guessed sadly. Stella nodded.
"Well, yeah, sort of," Stella said. Joe nodded in understandment. Stella touched his arm lightly as he looked up.
"We're still friends, but I want us to be more," Stella told him. Joe gaped.
"What? Really?" he asked. Stella nodded as she moved as close to him as she could.
"I like you too Joe, and it took me a while to realize it myself. Quincy was actually dating me to get us to figure that out," Stella said. Joe smiled as he carefully got down from the branch and sat beside Stella.
"Well, thank you Quincy," Joe joked. Before Stella could say anything else, though, Joe leaned toward her and kissed her fully on the lips. Surprised at the suddenness, it took Stella a few seconds to kiss back. But the kiss got more intense and longer. They would have kissed longer, but Stella and Joe almost lost their balance on the branch.
"We should probably get down now," Stella said, laughing. Joe nodded as the two began climbing down.
Well, here's the second last chapter. Don't worry, the last chapter will deal with the whole Kevin/Macy thing and how Joe/Stella tell Nick, Kevin and Macy about their new relationship. I hope you enjoyed this. It was gonna be longer, but I think that it's good enough, right?