Katy's P.O.V.

I hated myself. I absolutely hated myself. I couldn't believe I was so stupid to let James come over to my house. I should've known Joe might come over to talk to me, whether he was coming to yell at me some more or even ask for forgiveness. But whatever Joe's intentions were for coming over, good or bad, I should've been there alone, waiting for him.

I really wasn't sure why I had called James in the first place. Maybe it was just my vulnerable state or not being able to think of anyone better at the time, but somehow I found myself spilling my guts to this guy who I still barely even knew.

He was a complete gentleman, of course, listening intently to my story about the fight and even providing suggestions on how I should have acted or what I should have said to Joe at the time. Finally, he had insisted on coming over in an attempt to help cheer me up a little and take my mind off things.

I should've known from the second I called him it would mean trouble. Besides me, James would be the very last person Joe would want to see.

But still I let him come over; Joe had found out, and now, he was even more hurt than before. I saw the pain in his eyes and heard the sadness in his voice. Once again, I had betrayed him.

Late that same night, around 11:00 pm, I decided to call Joe to tell him exactly what had happened. He had left my house almost as soon as he had come, saying he had to get back home because his mom was expecting him for dinner. I never even said a word to him while he was over; there was really no way to explain myself in that very moment. But I had to try to fix it now.

The phone rang several times before Joe finally picked up.

"Hello" he answered gravely. I could tell he was trying to sound emotionless, but I could still hear the weakness in his voice.

"Hey, Joseph" I sighed.

There was a long pause. Neither of us knew what to say.

I gathered my thoughts and decided to dive right in to my heartfelt apology.

"Joe, I'm so sorry. I know you weren't expecting him to be here when you came over. I really wasn't either, but, I don't know, it just kind of happened. I didn't know who else to talk to…"

"So, out of all people, you decided to call him?" There was a hint of anger laced in his voice now.

"I know, I know. I was really stupid. I'm so, so sorry." I was desperate for his forgiveness, but I wouldn't blame him if he hated me.

Joe took a deep breath on the other end of the line. "No, you shouldn't apologize. It was my fault anyway. I was too busy trying to get you to like Melissa that I wasn't paying attention to anything else. I would've noticed if you were talking to someone."

I didn't know how to respond to that, but a sudden thought crossed my mind. "Speaking of Melissa, is she okay? I know she went to find you earlier." I hesitated for a moment. "Are you guys still…okay?"

Joe didn't say anything. That could only mean one thing.

"Oh, no! Joe, I'm so sorry. I'm such an idiot, I can't believe I caused all of this! I'm—"

"Katy, it's okay. Really, we weren't good together anyway."

"Of course you were! You guys were basically perfect for each other. Joe, I promise I'll get her back for you, just let me—"

"Seriously, it's fine. Just let it go, okay?" His annoyance practically screamed at me through the phone. I began to feel even worse, if possible.

He must hate me. I just ruined his first relationship, and now I'm only making it worse by saying I'll fix it when I know I probably can't.

We remained in strained silence for a while longer before I finally spoke again. "Joe, I need to tell you something."

"Yeah, you do. So…when's the wedding?"

"Huh?"

"You and James, of course. Or am I not invited?" He had never used this type of sarcasm before.

Man, he's really pissed off.

"Joseph…"

"Listen. You can date whoever you want, Katy. It doesn't matter to me."

"But Joe—"

"No, really. It's okay, I know you like him. I'm sorry for being angry earlier, too. But it's your life; you don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to. I—"

"Joe, stop!" I yelled, immediately silencing him. "Listen, you know I would never intentionally leave you out of anything. And I don't blame you for being upset. I should've told you about James when we first started talking. But you have to realize, he's just a friend, nothing more."

I didn't know why I felt the need to emphasize so strongly that James and I were nothing more than friends. The bottom line was that I had still kept him a secret from Joe when I shouldn't have. It wouldn't matter to him whether or not James and I were dating as long as he at least knew about it beforehand.

"Oh, okay." He spoke so softly I barely even heard him.

I lowered my voice to match his. "I'm sorry."

There was a slight hesitation on the other end of the line, but then I heard him let out a deep breath. "I forgive you."

"Really?"

"Of course. But only if you forgive me."

I smiled to myself. "Yes, of course I do. I can't stand us being angry with each other."

"Me either. But there is one thing I wanna tell you…"

"What is it?"

"Well…" He paused again, this time at least for a full minute. My heart immediately took off as he slowly cleared his throat. Was he actually…nervous? My thoughts started running away with themselves, and before I knew it they began going back to the one place I had been so desperately trying to avoid from the first moment I discovered my feelings for Joe.

But finally, he spoke. "I just want you to know that you can always tell me anything. And I would never have any intention of coming between you and a guy you might like in the future. If you want to date someone, do it. We're best friends, and I'll be there to support you all the way."

And there was my slap back into reality. I realized, once again, those special thoughts and wishes would never come true; they were like a fairytale, impossible to bring to life.

I felt stupid for letting my imagination get carried away, although I was still happy that Joe and I were back on good terms.

"Thanks, Joe."

"Of course, Kit Kat."

And right back to the friend zone it is.