Disclaimer: This is a Joe Sugg imagine. All events depicted are fictional. Y/N = Your Name
It had been about two weeks since Y/N had woken Joe up from his nightmare, and she couldn't help but feel as though something was off. The entire time after the incident, Joe had been avoiding her.
She'd denied it at first, but as the days dragged on, the lack of text messages and snapchats from her best friend started to become apparent.
Whenever she'd come over to help the boys pack up more things, he'd barely say more than a sentence to her. When Caspar and her would go out for food and invite Joe, he'd always opt out. When the lads and her planned a night out and met up at the club, she was shocked to hear that Joe was a no show and had cancelled last minute. That happened twice the first weekend. Once the second.
The next time they all went out, she decided to stay home to catch up on editing. But, she wasn't very productive after she received a snapchat from Jack, with an extremely confused face, with none other than Joe in the background laughing, circled in red.
Clearly something was up, but Y/N hadn't a clue. The boys stated that they didn't know either, and from what they could tell, he wasn't acting funny around them.
Have I done something wrong, is all she could think to herself as she drudged through the days.
Finally, she decided to take action. After getting home from a particularly long meeting, Y/N called him. She checked the time as it rang. 3:30. He shouldn't be busy.
"Hello?" Joe's voice filtered through after about five rings.
Part of Y/N hadn't even expected him to answer.
"Hey, Suggery. How's it going?" she replied, trying her best to sound chipper.
He, as it seemed, was not trying at all.
"I'm fine. Just doing some editing," he said, quietly. "What's up?"
Okay, that's it.
"Joe, what's wrong?"
Silence.
Then finally… "Nothing's wrong. What you talking about?"
"Don't play that shit with me, Sugg. What's wrong?"
He sighed.
"Joe, I know something's wrong. You've been avoiding me."
"No, I haven-"
"Yes, you have."
Another sigh.
"Please, Joe," Y/N sighed. "If I've done something wrong, I'd like to know so I don't do it again."
"Y/N… You haven't done anything wrong."
"Then what is it then?"
"Let's not talk about it over the phone," he said. "Are you hungry? Want to grab some food?"
"Yeah," she replied. Anxious that she was actually going to get some answers. "Where do you want to go?"
"Let's do pizza."
After they sorted out where they were going to meet, Y/N grabbed her purse and headed out. Joe said he'd leave once he was finished with the vlog he was editing, so she knew she had enough time to walk the Thames by the little pizza shop they were going to.
It had been about 15 minutes of casually strolling when she had circled back around to the starting point in front of the pizza place. Sighing, she put both arms on the railing and looked out at the water.
She was worried. Joe never acted like this, especially not to her. She was afraid that she had done something wrong, and he just didn't want to tell her over the phone. She was afraid that by helping him through his bad dream, it made it painfully obvious the feelings she had for him. She was terrified that this might be the end of their friendship.
When it came down to it, she hadn't known Joe too terribly long. Only about a year and half. But, she had realized she was head over heels for that idiot about six months in.
At first she just blamed it on the fact that he was attractive and could make her laugh until her belly ached. Quickly she noticed that wasn't the case. Because the simple fact of the matter was she'd do anything for that man. He was her best friend and all he had to do was smile that goofy grin and it'd make her whole day.
She had never connected with anyone the way she had with him. And from the countless late night conversations they had, whether on the phone, sitting at the park or on his couch, the feeling was mutual. He'd told her that he didn't even tell Caspar or Zoe half the things he told her. With her, he always felt the most comfortable.
As time went on and Y/N took the chance to hope, Joe would come to her for 'love advice' whenever he'd meet a new girl. None of the relationships lasted. They were fleeting and none of them kept Joe's interest very long, but her hopes were still crushed. Because, if Joe had felt the same, he wouldn't have felt as though he had to go looking. He would have just come to her. But, as time had told, that wasn't the case.
So, she had accepted it. Y/N accepted that she was irrevocably in love with her best friend and there was shit all that she could do about it. But, no matter the amount of times she had to be his wing woman, help him choose an outfit for a date, or tell him when a girl was solely after his money, it was worth it to her to continue being his partner in crime. She couldn't imagine it any other way.
Y/N's ears perked at the sound of approaching footsteps from her left. It was Joe. She smiled at him as a feeling of contentment came over her. He weirdly had that effect on her. Sometimes she'd get butterflies whenever he looked at her with a lop-sided grin or if he walked around without a shirt on. But, for the most part, Joe always made her feel calm. Like everything was as it should be and she shouldn't have a care in the world.
Joe returned her smile but it didn't really reach his eyes.
The calm went away. Only to be slowly replaced by a creeping anxious feeling.
"Hey you," he said once he reached her. "You been waiting long?"
"No, not really," she said, turning back to the water. "I came a little earlier so I could walk around a bit."
He hummed in acknowledgement and stepped up to the railing, putting his arms against it.
Y/N chanced a glance and saw that Joe looked really pensive, staring at the water.
"Should have figured. You always do when we come here," he said, clasping both his hands together.
"Yeah. You tend to join me," she replied, quietly.
Joe nodded and stepped back from the railing. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I had to finish up."
Y/N followed suit. "No, I get it. Ready to eat?"
"Yeah, I'm starving."
Once they were all set up at the table and had ordered, Y/N leaned forward, chin resting in her hands, and looked at Joe expectantly.
"So...?" she started.
Joe swiped both hands down his face before leaning back against the cloth backing of the booth.
"So," Joe said "I'm sorry I've been avoiding you."
"That's a start."
"Shush," he tutted.
Y/N couldn't help but smirk.
"I'm sorry I've been avoiding you," he resumed. "Quite frankly, I don't have a good excuse for it. I've been thinking about how I should go about explaining myself but it all would come out sounding… weird."
Y/N's hands tensed into fists.
"So, I'm just going to try my best to say it plainly," he said, looking down at his hands as he traced the creases on the wooden table.
"Okay…" she almost whispered.
"Y/N, for the past month or so I've been having these reoccurring dreams, nightmares more rather, where you're taken, I can't get to you and all I can hear are your screams," he said softly, looking up at her. "It would wake me up in the middle of the night, multiple times. It would freak me out so badly, I'd always call or text you to make sure you're okay."
Y/N stared at him, slightly gob smacked, "I always thought you were drunk."
Joe shook his head, eyes back to the table, "No. I was never drunk." He started drumming his fingers against the wood, "Anyway. I've been trying to figure out ways to stop the dreams. You know, listen to music before bed, or watch a happy movie… Didn't work."
"But then a couple weeks ago when you woke me up, I was so… relieved that you were okay and right in front of me. And since then, the dreams have stopped," he said.
Y/N blinked, confused, "Well, that's a good thing, isn't it?"
Joe nodded, "Yeah, it is. But, I still haven't really been sleeping well."
"Why not?" she asked.
He sighed, "Because, a lot of the time I stay up thinking about what would happen if I actually did lose you…"
She was still confused, "Then why have you been avoiding me? Are you trying to distance yourself from me?"
His eyes snapped up to hers, "No. Not a chance."
"Then I don't understand," she hushed.
"I've…" he swallowed, casting his gaze down again, "I've just been scared, alright. I didn't know how to tell you this. I didn't want you to be weirded out."
Y/N almost forgot to breathe. He wasn't upset with her. She took a deep breath and exhaled.
"Joe, why would I be weirded out?" she chuckled softly. "You can tell me anything. Surely you know that?"
His eyes met her again with an almost timid gleam.
"And, hon, you're never going to lose me," Y/N reached over the table and grabbed his hand, stopping his drumming fingers. "Never, you hear?"
Joe didn't react at first, just stared at her hand on his. Then he laughed and looked back up at her. "You hear?"
A grin broke out onto her face, "Shut up. Don't make fun of my accent." She purposely overdid her southern twang.
"Yes ma'am," he said, a smile still pulling at his lips.
"Joe, whether you like it or not, you're stuck with me," she said, looking right into his eyes. "I'll even be there when that future lucky girl walks down the aisle to you."
Joe laughed again, the playful light back in his eyes.
"Shit, if I like her enough, maybe I'll be a bridesmaid," Y/N continued, laughing as she said it.
"No, that's hardly good enough," he quipped, taking a sip of his water.
"Alright, fine. I'll take Caspar's place and be best-woman. How about that?" she teased, so glad to see that smile back on his face.
Joe shook his head and looked at her, something unrecognizable in his eyes, "Still not good enough."
Before she could fully comprehend what he said, the server came and placed their large pizza in between them, causing them to let go of one another.
As the wheels in her head turned, she couldn't hear anything the server and Joe said to one another over the buzz of her mind.
Once the server left, Joe met her gaze again and smiled his smile.
"Well, go on," he pointed at the pizza, as he took a big bite of a slice.
"Tuck in. My treat."