So here's chapter 8. I know it's a little short but I hope you all like it. I think I may start combining shorter chapters together so they don't seem so brief, either that or I'll try and make updates a little faster on the shorter ones. Anyway, I hope y'all enjoy!

My mother stayed with me for the rest of the afternoon, calling in for work and arranging a substitute to watch over her class. We didn't mention another word about Joe, both of us carefully avoiding the subject in any way we could.

In an attempt to cheer me up, my mother decided on having an action movie marathon, knowing first that they were my favorite and also knowing to dodge the sappy romantic comedies she knew I wouldn't want to think about.

I popped some popcorn and fell back onto the couch as my mother slipped in Bend it Like Beckham, one of my favorites. She flopped down on the couch next to me, and, grabbing a handful of popcorn, tried stuffing it all into her mouth at once. I laughed at her silliness, finally feeling myself start to relax as we engrossed ourselves in the movie. It was nice to share this time with her, not having had true mother/daughter time in a long while. With one of my brothers still at home attending college and having Joe constantly around the house, we never really had the chance to spend some quality time, just the two of us. I smiled to myself, realizing that my mother always knew exactly what I needed.

A few hours later, evening was finally approaching and we were getting hungry. As we were watching Transformers, my mother decided to call in and have a pizza delivered to our house. It was definitely a special day, because we never had pizza delivered. We usually never even ate it at all, considering my mom was a complete health nut. But she knew it was my favorite, so she willingly obliged and ordered a large pepperoni with extra cheese.

Twenty minutes later, Transformers was nearing the end, and although I had already seen it, I was completely entranced in the final battle and hardly even noticed the ring of the doorbell.

"I'll get it!" I only slightly became aware as my mother hurried out from the kitchen to answer it, assuming it was just the pizza delivery guy.

"Oh, hello Joseph!" my mother said in the most polite voice she could muster, completely taken aback by who was at the door.

As she said his name, my head immediately shot up, and I prayed I misheard her. But the sound of his friendly voice from the other side of the door came flooding in, causing my stomach to lurch forward in the strangest, most unfamiliar way.

I just sat on the couch, paralyzed, trying to make sense of the muffled voices coming from the other side of the wall. I prayed my mother would find some way to send Joe away, to tell him I was too contagious for him to see or something of the sort. But a few moments later, her cheery, yet cautious voice called me to the door.

I slowly shook myself of the trance and inched my way into the other room, heart and mind both racing with anticipation. As I finally entered the room, Joe's bright face was the first thing that came into view, even more adorable than I remembered it being before. He stood just inside the now closed front door, clad in jeans, a sweatshirt, and baseball cap, grasping a steaming pizza box in both hands.

He smiled as I walked over to him, deepening the dimples on his soft, sweet face. "Hey, Kit-Kat. How's it going? I was coming over to see you just when the pizza guy was coming up to your door, so I took care of it. Hope that's okay."

"Of course it is, sweetie" my mother said, who was still in the room, carefully examining my face to see how she needed to react. Satisfied that I probably wouldn't faint or do anything too rash, she thanked Joe and took the pizza from his hands and carried it into the kitchen.

For a moment I stood there, unsure of what to do, my feigned illness long forgotten as I stared at Joe's forehead, refusing to meet his eyes.

"So, how're you feeling? I was so worried about you. The whole day I couldn't even concentrate, although I do think I did pretty well on the Calculus test, thanks to you." He closed the distance between us and gave me a light hug, which I accepted rather shakily. I didn't think he noticed though, because after we broke apart he again smiled down at me. "You actually look pretty good, like you seem to be getting better."

I finally remembered my voice, responding a little hoarsely. "Oh, y-yeah. I think I am. Definitely better than this morning."

"Great!" Joe exclaimed, hugging me again tightly. "I'm so glad to hear that. Well, I just wanted to come by to see how you were doing, so I guess I'll just head back h-"

"Oh, no, dear. Of course you're going to stay here and help us eat this pizza. Katy would love it if you did." My mother had entered the room once again. Now that she had seen Joe and I together like this, she was immediately set back into her nosy, meddling ways. As she turned back around to retrieve another paper plate in the kitchen for Joe, she shot a mischievous grin and a wink in my direction. I mentally kicked myself and sighed. I should've known once I was past being upset this was exactly the thing she would try and do. Get Joe and I together as much as possible.

The rest of the evening was spent in the living room, continuing the movie marathon with pizza and, later, ice cream. Joe's naturally flirty conversation and occasional touches kept me on edge for the rest of the night, while my mother sneaked in glances and crazy smiles my way every chance she could. Needless to say, it was definitely one of the most awkward nights of my life.

Thanks so much for the reviews and follows I'm getting, it really means a lot! I'll try and update again here in a couple of days.