I seem to be apologizing a lot when it comes to updating this story, but I truly am sorry for taking so long this time. Spring Break has been amazing but totally hectic with my family and other things going on. But I do hope you enjoy this chapter and thanks so much for reading and reviewing as always.

Thursday and Friday came and went all too quickly. Next thing I knew, it was Saturday, the day I had been dreading.

I went through my usual morning routine before going downstairs to get some breakfast. This morning was different, though. Most Saturdays, I would wake up to the smell of delicious buttermilk pancakes wafting throughout the house. Since Joe and my mother were both early risers, he would always come over on the weekends around 8:00 a.m. and they would make some kind of amazing breakfast together, Joe always taking care of the pancakes or waffles and my mother the bacon, eggs, and sausage.

This time, though, Melissa suggested that we meet at IHOP before going to the library to work on our projects. Joe immediately agreed, not wanting to disappoint her by saying that was not the usual routine. Not wanting to intrude, though, I declined Melissa's offer and let the two of them go alone. I figured that's the way they probably would have preferred it, anyway. So instead, I ate my cereal on the couch and turned on the television to watch some of my favorite childhood cartoons.

Around 8:30, I finally left my house and headed for the library on my bicycle, considering I still didn't have a car and I told Joe not to worry about picking me up. It was a beautiful spring day anyway, the April morning sun shining brightly through a nearly cloudless sky. The library was only a few miles away, so I took my time and enjoyed the weather, letting the soft breeze caress my face and flow through my long brown hair. I arrived about half an hour later, latching up my bicycle on a rack and entering through the front doors to see whether Joe and Melissa were already there.

I couldn't find them, so I assumed they hadn't made it yet and settled into a table in a secluded area against one of the long white walls. I threw my backpack on the table and pulled out my things, carefully considering what supplies would be needed to start the project. I was actually trying to calm myself down a little, slowly taking long, deep breaths. I was growing more and more nervous as I waited, though I wasn't exactly sure why.

But soon I realized what the problem was. I hadn't actually seen Joe and Melissa together as a couple yet, at least not while they were fully aware of my being in their company. I realized I had no idea how to act around Melissa. Should I treat her like a familiar, longtime friend, even though it wasn't true? I had really only said one or two sentences to her in my entire life.

I didn't have to worry about it long, however, because a few minutes later Joe and Melissa came walking through the doors, quietly chatting and giggling about something I probably didn't even want to know about. They walked close together but weren't holding hands, or really even touching at all. Taking note of this, I breathed a small sigh of relief. My wild imagination sometimes led me to believe all kinds of things, and lately, it kept getting worse. I could only think of Joe and Melissa madly in love, already planning their engagement, wedding, how many children they planned to have, etc. But seeing them together in this moment, I knew they definitely weren't too serious. At least not yet, anyway.

They quickly spotted me and I waved them over, making sure to put a friendly smile on my face.

"Hey, Kit-Kat!" Joe said with a huge smile, giving me a hug. "How has your morning been so far?"

"Pretty good, I guess. Just ready to get this stupid project over with." I took a quick breath to gather up my courage and turned to Melissa. "Hey, Melissa. How are you?" I asked her in the friendliest tone I could muster.

She smiled back at me sweetly. "I'm great, thanks Katy. It's good to see you again! I know we don't talk a lot, but it can be hard since we're never in the same classes or anything. And Joe's told me so much about you, I feel like I know you really well already!"

The three of us laughed lightheartedly, and I could see Joe just beaming away out of the corner of my eye. He must have been relieved that his girlfriend and girl-best-friend would get along so easily. It must be awkward, I assumed, to have me for his closest friend. Maybe, like I sometimes worried, I really was holding him back.

We spent the next few hours working diligently on our projects, Melissa and I surprisingly doing most of the talking. She really was a nice person. Even though I couldn't control the pangs of jealously I felt whenever Joe looked at her, I couldn't help myself from being fond of the girl, and I could definitely see why Joe liked her too. But it was all much to my dismay, because the more I came to like her, the more it all hurt. Every time she laughed or gave one of those winsome smiles with those beautiful white teeth, it was like I could feel him slipping further and further out of my grasp and into her even more wholesome, more charming, and more attractive one.

Like always, I tried to put everything behind me as we continued to work. We finished Joe and I's project first, making a very professional but intriguing power point that we knew the rest of the class wouldn't be willing to put half as much effort into doing.

Next, we began decorating a poster board for Melissa, her wanting to express a little more creativity than the rest of her class. We had just begun coloring in some flowers when I realized I needed to go to the bathroom. I excused myself and went off in search for a restroom, not even thinking twice about leaving my belongings behind.

Joe's P.O.V.

I never thought projects would be so much fun to work on, but I guessed having some pretty wonderful people around made it quite a bit better. I couldn't have been happier Katy and Melissa were getting along so well, and I realized I shouldn't have even been worried in the first place. While we continued to work, I mostly kept to myself and simply listened to the conversation folding out between two of my favorite girls.

Melissa was a great project partner, but sometimes she could be a little slow to process some of the information that was needed. Not that I was complaining, I was kind of a turtle myself. That being said, I was so thankful that Katy was there. She kept us all on track, making sure we had all of the right information and that we actually understood what all of it meant.

I was grateful for her presence for another reason, though, too. I really did like Melissa, but since our relationship was still kind of new it could sometimes be a little awkward between the two of us. I didn't know her very well before we started dating, so I often felt like I had to grasp at straws for any kind of subject she might find interesting. It was definitely a new experience for me, because conversation between Katy and me always flowed so effortlessly.

We were still working when it was nearing noon. Katy had just excused herself to go to the restroom, when I suddenly heard her phone buzz across the table to signal a text message. I wasn't going to look, but I remembered Katy saying that her mom was fixing lunch for the three of us and would text whenever she was ready for us to come eat. I decided it was relatively important, and Katy wouldn't mind if I looked anyway, so I reached over and flipped open the phone without a second thought.

But my eyes widened as soon as I read the name. I suddenly felt myself boiling up with rage as I scanned the carefully typed out message below:

From: James D.

Hey, Katy. Just wanted to wish you a great weekend and good luck during the last few weeks of school with finals coming up. We really should get together and practice sometime this summer, it'll be fun ;)

My hand began to shake with fury as I gripped the phone as tightly as I could, and I stood up so quickly the chair I had been sitting in flew backwards and onto the ground. Suddenly I knew the name of the guy who was hugging Katy so eagerly at the soccer game. I hadn't asked her about him, though I had remained slightly suspicious ever since. I hoped Katy would bring him up herself, but since she hadn't, I figured maybe it wasn't such a big deal after all. But here she was texting the same guy, who was obviously way too old for her, without so much as mentioning him to me once. I continued standing and waited impatiently for Katy to return from the bathroom.

Melissa took notice the second I saw who the message was from and tried to ignore it, lowering her head back down into her work and stealing worried glances at me every so often.

Only once, she asked, "Are you okay?"

"Fine" I said curtly, and then clenched my jaws shut again. I didn't mean to be rude, but at the moment I was too angry to care.

When she finally returned, I stood there with arms crossed, phone in hand, and what I'm sure was a look of pure betrayal etched across my face.

She could tell something was wrong as soon as she saw me.

"Joe, what's going on? Are you okay?"

"Why don't you tell me what's going on" I breathed through still-clenched teeth. "Or better yet, why don't we ask your boyfriend what's going on!"

Her look of utter shock only added to my ever growing rage.

"What are you talking about? I don't have a b—"

I thrust the phone into her hands and she looked down at the opened message, realization soon crossing over her face. She looked up slowly, but not with quite the amount of guilt I had been expecting.

"Joe, I—"

"No, it's fine. You really don't have to explain anything to me. I mean, you go and get a boyfriend, who's way too old for you by the way, without even telling me about it!" My voice grew louder and louder until it was almost at a shout. People were staring, but I could've cared less and continued on with my rant. "And here I am, worrying that you won't get along with my new girlfriend because I wanted so badly for both of you to be friends. But little did I know, that was the very last thing on your mind because you were too busy flirting with some college guy!"

I could see her anger growing too as she processed my words. She looked over to Melissa, who was still pretending to be lost in her book, and then she turned to meet my bulging eyes once again.

She tried to control herself, but was now fuming as well. "Joe, he's not my boyfriend! He's just a friend who—"

I immediately interrupted, "If he's a friend then why would you not even mention him to me? You obviously don't want to tell me because you know I wouldn't approve, so you've been going behind my back!"

"No, I haven't! Joe, he's just a fr—"

"That's bullshit!" I yelled, only inches away from her face. I couldn't take it anymore, so I turned and stormed out of the library, ignoring the staring crowd, Melissa's shocked face, and the soft sobs coming from Katy's distraught figure as I slammed the doors shut behind me.