The next day, everything basically went back to normal. Joe came and picked me up for school the next morning in his old, beat up, brick red pickup truck, considering I still didn't have a car. We had one of our typical, friendly conversations on the way, talking about things like my position on the school's soccer team, Joe's play opening on Friday, and video games. My side of the conversation wasn't forced like it had been the previous night, and I was starting to think that maybe, just maybe, I could get over this.

We walked into the school building side by side, casually greeting friends and other familiar faces as we went down the halls. I was surprised at how many girls were greeting Joe, stopping him for a few seconds to ask how he was doing or to tell him they were excited to see the play. He had always been good at talking to girls, of course, but why were there so many? Why was I just now noticing this?

I pretended not to notice and turned to have a short conversation with Mariah as Joe went to talk to some of his guy friends. She asked me if I had made a good recovery.

"Yeah, I'm feeling so much better. Thanks, Mariah."

"Good, I'm glad. Especially for Joe's sake. He seemed so weird without you being here." She let out an exasperated laugh and turned back to the mirror in her locker, doing last minute touch-ups on her makeup.

I raised my eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Huh?"

"About him being weird or something."

"Who was being weird?"

"Joe!" I ripped the lip gloss out of Mariah's hand and spun her around, forcing her to look at me. She got sidetracked way too easily.

"Oh, yeah! Sorry. I just mean that he wasn't acting like himself yesterday. He was, like, super quiet and really calm. I assumed it was because you weren't here. I think he missed you." She smiled wryly and turned once again to her mirror, now messing around with her eye shadow.

My already confused expression became even more clouded as I let Mariah's words and heavy implications sink in. I had already accepted the fact that I was beginning to have feelings for Joe, and was determined to get over them because I knew nothing would ever come out of it.

I had never even considered this new possibility.

Could Joe have feelings for—me?

I was ninety-nine percent sure I was being completely stupid. I immediately pushed the thought out of my head with a new, more realistic one.

Joe cares about everyone. Maybe a little more for me, sure, but I'm his best friend. That's how he's supposed to react. But there's no way he would ever think of it as more than that.

But as I turned to head to my first class, my eyes wandered back over to meet Joe's across the hall. And as we smiled at each other, I felt myself shudder as I experienced, for the first time, the inevitable twinge of hope.

The rest of the week seemingly went by without a hitch. I was able to make up my Calculus test, catch up with other absent work, and mentally prepare myself for the critical soccer match approaching on Saturday. If we could win this game, our team would take first place in our region and automatically advance to playoffs. For our school, not having had a decent team in any sport in a long while, this was a pretty big deal. Students became increasingly raucous as the week progressed, chanting and running through the halls with noisemakers, silly string, and who knows what.

A lot of my time was spent trying to not get myself killed in the hallways, all the while dealing with an ever increasingly apprehensive Joe. Opening night of The Wizard of Oz on Friday was sold out, and he was getting nervous.

"Don't worry about it" I'd said to him yet again as were talking by his locker after school. It was Thursday afternoon, and the halls were already deserted since students rushed out as quickly as possible after the final bell. We would have been among them, except Joe had one more dress rehearsal and I had another practice. "You'll do great, you always do. Stop underestimating yourself. You and everyone else knows how good you are."

"I know, I know. I shouldn't be nervous at all; I know my lines like the back of my hand. But, just…what if no one likes it? They'll probably think me playing Dorothy is a really stupid idea or something, or won't even understand that it's supposed to be a parody. And I'm really not that good of an actor, and—"

"Yes, you are!" I grabbed him by the shoulders and looked him straight in the eye. "You're the most amazing, talented actor I've ever seen. You will do incredible tomorrow, I promise. I have faith in you."

He considered my words for a moment and then smiled gratefully, reassured. But his smile soon turned mischievous as he raised his eyebrows as high as they could go and looked at me with a smirk. "The best actor you've ever seen? Really? Even better than James Franco? I mean, I knew I was okay but I guess if I'm that good then I—"

"Shut up, you know what I mean." I pushed him playfully. "And you should already know that no one is better than James Franco. And when he and I get married and have 16 kids and—"

"Alright, alright that's enough!" Joe exclaimed, rolling his eyes. "I mean, he's really not that good-looking anyway. I don't know why you like him so much."

"You're such a guy. You really wouldn't understand."

"Yeah, well…"

We laughed for a few seconds lightheartedly.

"It's okay. I still love you anyway" I said. We both grinned, and then simultaneously pulled each other into an enormous hug, enveloping the other in a blanket of warmth.

"You promise you'll be there front row? For every single performance?" he asked me, his voice muffled by my shoulder.

"Of course. And you promise you'll be at my game, screaming for me at the top of your lungs?"

"Definitely. Shirtless with body paint and all."

I laughed. "Thank you."

We remained in the embrace for a little longer, grasping each other for comfort. When we finally pulled away, Joe still held onto my arms, keeping our faces merely inches apart. His gaze was smoldering (even better than Flynn Rider's) as he stared deep into my eyes. I was entranced; I couldn't move even if I had wanted to. I stared back helplessly, just hoping I wouldn't crumble into a pile of dust at Joe's feet.

"I really don't know what I'd do without you." His voice was soft and affectionate, and suddenly very serious.

I completely forgot how to speak. I opened my mouth slowly but nothing came out. Instead, I just stood there, mouth gaping open, looking like a complete idiot in front of my best friend.

Joe slowly brought his face closer, again closing the distance between us. I was panicking on the inside but outwardly remained frozen in place, staring feebly as his head inched towards mine.

I didn't even close my eyes as Joe completely closed the distance, at the last millisecond lifting his head up to bring his lips softly to my forehead.

"You're the best friend I could ever ask for. So, just, thanks…for everything."

I felt my head move slightly up and down, vaguely acknowledging what he had just said.

It wasn't until Joe started to walk away for his rehearsal that I remembered how to function, and I slowly turned to stare after him as he continued down the hall, leaving me further and further behind.

It was 6:50 p.m. on Friday, only ten minutes before the play was set to begin. The theater was alive with chatter and mindless banter, everyone anxiously awaiting the curtain to rise. Mariah, my mother, and both of my brothers were there along with me and sitting in the very front, just like Joe had asked. We all conversed aimlessly until the lights finally dimmed, signaling to everyone the play was about to begin.

Joe was absolutely phenomenal. If I hadn't already said it enough, he was so unbelievably talented, I almost couldn't even wrap my mind around it. The entire room was in hysterics when he first came onto the stage, dressed in the exact outfit Dorothy wore, sparkly red heels, brown ponytailed wig and all. His girly voice was perfect, mimicking almost exactly the way Dorothy spoke in the movie.

He was able to stay in character incredibly well, despite the continuous laughter to at least half of his lines. About midway through, however, during the Tin Man's song, Joe glanced over in my direction and gave me a wink and a discreet smile. I blushed a deep crimson and gave him a thumbs up in return, thankful that the lights were so dim.

Everything went by without a hitch, except of course the occasional stumble or two of lines. All in all it was a huge hit, the entire rooming jumping to their feet at the end to give the cast a standing ovation.

We all shuffled out of the theater and into the lobby area to await and offer our congratulations to the actors and actresses as they came out from backstage. I stood on my tiptoes, searching for Joe through the sea of people separating me from the backstage door.

As I continued to wait anxiously, getting a bit impatient, my mother suddenly came up close and whispered into my ear. "Here, give these to Joe. Tell him you picked them out yourself, especially for him." She casually slid the small bouquet of flowers into my hands. "He'll adore you for it, I promise."

I looked up at her, blushing once more, but soon gave a grateful smile. "Thanks, mom."

She winked and patted my face softly, then returned to her conversation with her two boys.

I waited for what seemed like hours, but Joe never came out. I was beginning to get concerned, so I finally decided to look for him backstage. I tiptoed nervously through the dark hallway, whispering his name as I went along. He never answered, but I soon came upon a door labeled as the boys' dressing room. I lifted my hand and was just about to knock, when I heard a soft laugh coming from inside. I immediately identified it as Joe's trademark chuckle, and smiled to myself as I looked down at the flowers in anticipation.

I slowly turned the knob and pushed the door in a few inches, deciding to surprise him instead. His laughter became more audible as the door inched open, but I froze in place the instant I heard another voice chime in. A girl's voice.

Melissa's voice.

Melissa, the sweet, beautiful blonde that had asked Joe to dance with her just a few weeks ago at the Sadie Hawkins Dance.

I tried to turn away, wanting to give them their privacy, but I couldn't. My mind told me I had to walk away, but my heart was like an anchor, keeping me rooted to the spot as I leaned in to hear more clearly.

They were flirting with ease, laughing at each other's jokes and teasing harmlessly. As I continued to listen, I felt my heart slowly begin to fall from my chest. It sank more and more until it felt like it was plunging into a bottomless pit, cold, harsh and unforgiving.

Then, all of a sudden, there was silence.

Confused, I peered carefully into the room, curious to see what was going on.

What I did see almost made me cry out in pain, for my heart was now completely shattered.

She was kissing him. And he was kissing back. Happily.

His hands cupped her face gently as her arms clasped his waist, both smiling into the soft kiss with pleasure.

I tore my eyes away from the scene and pulled the door shut without a sound. Walking back down the long hallway, I tried to pull it together before going back out to see my family and friends. I came upon a garbage can and stopped in front of it, ripping the flower stems in half and shoving them through the lid. It was all I could do to force back the sobs threatening to burst from my weak, heartbroken chest as I went to join my loved ones once again.

Sorry it's kinda sad, but I hope you all liked it anyway! More coming soon!