Empires Oneshots

I Knew You Were Trouble - JJune W1 (S1)

Inspired by I Knew You Were Trouble - Taylors Version (do recommend)

Prompt: After Joey gets uncorrupted, he thinks back to the time he spent with his boyfriend.

3rd Person POV
Joey sighed as he walked through the silent halls of his home, his footsteps being the only noise. The empire used to be so full of life, now it was dark and empty.

He traced the walls with his fingers, trying not to think about him. The one he roamed the halls with, the one who never failed to make him laugh. Now, without him, Joey was left with a hollow feeling which couldn't be filled by his usual hobbies. Everything he did always led back to thoughts about his past love that he had lost about week ago.

Joey was caught off guard when he heard a knock at his door. Why would someone come see him? He fixed up his hair quickly, though he still didn't look his best, and walked towards the door.

He opened revealing his friend, Katherine of House Blossom. She looked tired, probably from dealing with the aftermath of the corruption.

"Hi Joey!" she greeted him, some how masking all of the tiredness in a few seconds.
"H-hello," he mumbled as he let her into his home. It was messy as he hadn't bothered cleaning it.

To his surprise, instead of entering she pulled him into a hug. He flinched at the sudden movement.

"Sorry..." she said as she let him go. "We're all really worried about you. You haven't talked to us since Xornoth was trapped," Katherine explained.
"Oh," Joey mumbled. He didn't think the other rulers would want to see him after everything. He thought the would all hate him and never want to see him again for as long as he lived. He thought he would be lonely and never have anyone to talk to.

"Are you okay?" Katherine asked. He hadn't noticed he had sat on a chair and Katherine was now standing in front of him with concern written all over her face.

"N-no," he admitted, trying not to start crying.

Katherine POV
I knew he was corrupted before, but Joey was acting really different. The same Joey who betrayed everyone and tried to kill her and her friends was now sitting in front of her looking like he was about to breakdown in tears.

It was really hard to push all of those thoughts aside and focus on the present task; comforting Joey.

I walked forward slowly and sat next to him. He rested his head on my shoulder as a few tears slipped from his eyes.

I pulled him into a hug and whispered comforting phrases into his ear. He continued to cry silently into my shoulder.

I felt so bad for him. None of this was his fault yet he got dragged into this and blamed for things he couldn't control. He had lived through that hell, so desperately needing someone by his side. So he started dating the demon, not able to tell it was a toxic relationship.

I sat and let him cry. He needed someone to lean on, quite literally in this situation. It never good when someone bottled up their emotions.

Joey POV

After a while, I let go of the hug and just sat there, thinking about everything.
"I k-know I shouldn't b-but I m-miss him," I admitted.
"B-before you say h-he was using m-me, I-I already know that," I continued. She looked a bit surprised that he knew that but also relieved that she didn't have to explain.

"I j-just wish I c-could of s-seen what was happened..." I mumbled as I put my head in my hands.
"You couldn't control it, none of this was your fault," she said as a put a hand on my shoulder.
"It's my fault! I tried to k-kill you guys and ended up hurting y-you. I corrupted your empires and kidnapped Scott and G-Gem and-"
"Joey," she interrupted me. I looked up at her.
"You've done nothing wrong Joey. It was the demon that made you. You couldn't have stopped it. Please, please don't blame yourself."
"B-but I knew he was trouble when I met him but I still went with him anyways."
"Oh Joey," she muttered as she hugged me again. I had to admit it was nice to have someone here to listen.

Katherines communicator buzzed.
"Sorry I have to go. Remember you can always talk to us about anything," she said as she left the house.
"Bye," I called as she flew off.

I smiled for the first time in what felt like forever. I might never completely move on but it's nice I have other people who care about me.

WC: 763