deep love | 2

love and hate

a/n

congrats joe & soph on baby willa! <3 sorry for the late update, this is just a filler and there will be more plot development in the next chapter. 

this chapter is also dedicated to @Rockylove344534 . thank you for being the first comment on my book! this dedication is long overdue but i wanted to let you know that the first comment i ever received meant so much! they still do but that one was special haha <3 thanks again! 

enjoy 

Joe's pov 

"Dig in, guys" Kev says, placing the 5 huge paper bags, with the iconic McDonald's logo on them, on the table. We were back at his house, and after picking Leia up along the way- she'd splurged and bought desserts for everyone on top of things for Valentina- we'd decided to order in since it had been a long day. 

"So..." Nick says, awkwardly, after a minute of us devouring the food. "Sorry for just now." He says quietly, scratching the back of his neck and suddenly becoming way too interested in his food. "It's alright" Kev says, not really knowing what to say. After I'd found Nick in his car, and he'd finished crying, I'd alerted the others to let them know I'd found him, and then Nick and I went to pick Leia up, while J and Kev's family took his car. 

While Nick had gone to find Leia somewhere inside the store, I'd phoned Kev and asked him to put me on speaker so everyone could hear what had happened. The thing was, Nick didn't know that they knew. 

Kev's pov 

I sit there awkwardly as Nick apologises, not really knowing how to tell him that we all knew what happened with him and Joe less than an hour ago. A good 5 minutes later, I hear J take a deep breath as she musters up the courage to ask the question we're all wondering how he'll reply to: "What were you doing in that car for so long?" 

I see Nick tense up, but he tries to shake it off and forces a tight smile. "Nothing much, I just-" He looks up and glances around the table, and then he suddenly raises and eyebrow. "You guys know, don't you?" We all drop our gazes to the ground. "C'mon. I heard J take a deep breath before asking the question." 

I tentatively raise my eyes to meet his, and I'm relieved to see that he doesn't seem too angry. "It's okay to cry, you know that." Leia finally says, and his cheeks start to turn pink. "I know. I just don't like it." Leia looks like she's about to say something, but she doesn't. We eat in silence for a while more, until J gasps and breaks the silence. We all turn to face her. "You should adopt Nick! Nick the dog!" I almost laugh at her excitement, but I can't keep the smile off my face when I realise what a good idea it is. 

Nick makes a face. "Nah, I-" 

"C'mon, you should go see him first." J says, and Nick glances at Leia. "So it'd be our dog?" He asks, still unsure. Leia nods excitedly, but when Nick doesn't reply, J tilts her head a little and smiles, making her dimples more pronounced. She knows Nick always gives in when she does that. As expected, he rolls his eyes and smiles a little. "Fine. We can go see him..." He barely gets a sentence out before J lets out a squeal and throws her arms around him. 

Nick grins and hugs her back, and I can't help feeling a little jealous- I know that his reaction would be far from happy if Joe or I were to hug him like that. 

"Tomorrow?" Leia asks, clearly excited to meet this puppy that we were all so hyped about. Nick glances at her and a small smile forms on his face as he takes out his phone. "It says opening hours are from 11 to 8" He says, grinning. Nick has always been an animal lover, and though he might be unsure of whether to get a dog due to the responsibility he'd have to take up, we could all see he was still overjoyed at the thought of finally getting one.