JOE SUGG'S POV
I walked into the airport and quickly checked the time to see that it was noon. They should be here any minute. I leaned against the wall beside me and waited until the minutes passed by.
"Joe?" Two voices asked, making me look up from my phone. I smiled once I saw who it was and placed a hand on both of their shoulders.
"It's good to see both of you," I said, as I led them towards my car.
"It's great to be back in London," one of them said, as the other nodded in agreement.
"Merry Christmas, by the way."
"Does she know yet?"
"No I haven't told her."
"God, I love surprising people."
"Says the person that hates surprises," one of them snickered.
"Oh shut up."
I shook my head at the two people beside me, letting out a small laugh at their bickering. I was truly surprised that these two made time to actually come to London, on Christmas, just to surprise her. I guess it just showed how much both of them cared about her.
"It's been a long time since I've seen her, ever since last year's Vidcon, I think."
"All you do is talk about how much you want to see her."
"It's a good thing, you're both seeing her soon," I said as I opened the car door. One of the two boys went in the backseat and the other in the front.
"You know, I think it's the sweetest thing that you're doing this for your girlfriend."
"How did you know?"
"We had our suspicions but you basically just confirmed it for us."
"I have my own suspicions about you two," I admitted as one of them let out a laugh. I pulled out of the airport parking lot and onto the highway that led to Brighton.
"Pshh, us? There's nothing going on with us."
"If you say so."
"You know Joe, you actually never told us where we were going."
"You two," I said motioning towards them, "are going to be surprise guests for dinner."
"Do Zoë and Alfie know about this?"
"Yeah, I already told them. You have nothing to worry about." I assured them.
+
The rest of the car ride consisted of the three of us singing along to songs, figuring out our plan and telling each other crazy ass stories. I have to be honest, it was great to see them again and I knew that Alyssa was going to be excited to see them too.
"Is it normal to be nervous?" I asked.
"It depends on the reason."
"I think Alyssa and I are going to tell Zoë and Alfie that we're dating."
"How long have you been dating for?"
"About a week."
"Oh, you definitely have every right to be scared."
"Thanks for the pep talk."
"Yeah, we're happy to help you out."
I shook my head and knocked on the door, instead of ringing on the doorbell. The one thing that I hoped for is that she didn't answer the door because then everything that we planned in the car would be ruined. Luckily, Alfie and Zoë opened the door and ushered the three of us in quietly.
"Where's Alyssa?"
"She's in her room, getting ready, Joe."
"Come on," I said and motioned to the two boys behind me. They nodded and we all walked up the stairs, ready to surprise Alyssa.
ALYSSA DEYES' POV
Just as I finished applying my mascara, I heard a knock on the door. I looked up and placed the product on my dresser.
"Come in," I called to whoever was outside.
"Hey," I heard someone say, and I looked up to see Joe.
"Hey. Merry Christmas," I said as I pulled him into a hug and kissed his cheek. Just as he pulled away, my phone buzzed on my dresser. I looked up at Joe and quickly apologized before I went to go check it, only to see that it was Troye.
Troye: hey! how are you?
Me: Hey! I'm good! How's everything in Perth?
"Who is that?" Joe asked curiously. I smiled and looked up at him.
"It's Troye."
Troye: actually, I'm not in Perth.
Me: Where are you then?
Troye: look to your left.
I looked up at Joe, who just seemed to smile in response. I noticed his eyes were on something that just happened to be on my left. I looked over in that direction, and my mouth opened wide.
"Troye, what the hell are you doing here?" I asked as I pulled him into a tight hug.
"I'm not the only one that's here," he said in response as I pulled away. That's when I saw the person just beside me and it was an even bigger surprise to see him.
"Connor Franta?" I asked, not really believing that he was standing right in front of me.
"I'm surprised you remember me, Alyssa. It's been what, a year now?"
"Yeah. We should've kept in touch."
"We should've and now we will."
"Listen, I'm happy that you two are here but why?" I asked softly, but all they did was smile and look behind me. I turned around, completely forgetting that Joe was still there, sitting on my bed.
"It was Joe's idea," Troye explained. I looked at Joe, who looked at me, and the two of us seemed to have a silent conversation.
"I think we're just going to leave you two alone," Connor said as he grabbed Troye's arm. I heard the door close and suddenly, Joe was embracing me tight, pressing his lips against mine. I smiled through the kiss and pulled away quickly.
"That's the sweetest thing that someone has ever done for me."
"You're a special person," he replied softly, smiling widely.
"Thank you," I said as he brushed past me and walked towards the door.
"Come on, love. We don't want to raise any suspicion."
"Are we going to tell Zoë and Alfie today?"
"I'm definitely worried that my sister is going to kill me."
"I'll say it," I assured him as he opened the door for me. I thanked him quickly and then walked through. Joe walked down the stairs first and then I followed him down. He joined Alfie, Zoë and Connor's conversation, while I quickly made my way towards Troye who was playing with Nala. As soon as he saw me, he stopped playing with the black pug and stood up, his brown curls bouncing on the top his head.
"What happened with you and Joe?" He asked distracted. I noticed that something seemed off with him but I decided not to ask.
"Nothing," I said quickly. Troye just looked at me before he frowned and sat back down.
"Zoë, how long is dinner going to take?" Connor asked.
"Sadly, about another thirty minutes," she replied, frowning. Connor walked over to me, looking at Troye as the Australian continued to play with the black pug.
"Do you want to go for a walk? We can catch up on everything." Connor asked, softly.
"Yeah, I would love to," I said.
"Alyssa and I are going for a walk, we'll be back before dinner's done." Connor almost announced. Everyone nodded and Connor and I quickly grabbed our jackets and slipped on our shoes.
"Alyssa!" I heard someone say, just before Connor and I were going to go outside. I turned around slightly just as Joe grabbed my hand.
"Um be careful out there, it's slippery."
"Don't worry, I'll be fine."
"I'm still going to worry."
"I'll be back." I said, as he let go of my hand. I looked over at Connor, who looked at Joe and nodded before he held open the door and the two of us stepped out into the cool Brighton air.
"You two are cute together," was the first thing that Connor said after we walked in silence together.
"Thank you."
"Tell me, how did you end up back in the UK?"
"Trust me, I love Canada. I think it's a great country and the people are really friendly and I enjoyed living there but when Alfie called me and asked me if I wanted to stay with them for a while, I couldn't really resist. I missed the UK and-"
"If you didn't come, you wouldn't have met Joe?" Connor supplied as I nodded.
"What have you been up to?"
"God, so many things have happened between the last time I saw you and now."
"Good things, I hope?"
"Amazing things," he replied as he looked up at the sun that was setting.
"That's beautiful." I said as I pulled out my phone. I looked over at Connor only to see that he was doing the same thing and we both smiled before taking a picture of the vivid coloured sky in front of us. We continued to walk, both of us finding the craziest things to talk about. We were sitting on the sidewalk, when Connor suddenly spoke up after a few seconds of silence.
"We should make a video together before I leave," he said. I nodded in agreement and looked over at him.
"When are you leaving?"
"After New Year's, but I think Troye's staying a little bit longer."
"It might just be me, but is something up with him? He just doesn't seem like himself."
"There is something wrong, but I think it's better if you talk to him about it."
"Connor, what is it about?"
"I really shouldn't say, it's not my place, Alyssa. Just ask him about it later."
"I will. Should we head back now?" I asked as Connor looked down at his phone.
"Yeah, we probably should."
Connor got himself up and then reached over to lend me a hand. I grabbed his hand, got myself up and quickly wiped the snow off of my butt. Connor laughed at the sight and then started to walk back in the direction of Alfie and Zoë's house. I chased after him at a medium pace so that I could avoid falling head first, and so that I could catch up with him.
The two of us walked back to Zoë and Alfie's house in silence. I didn't know what Connor was thinking about but it seemed that he was deep in thought. Meanwhile, he was thinking about whatever he was thinking about, the only thing that I could seem to focus on was Troye. There was something bothering him and I don't know if he's going to willingly tell me. If I was being honest to myself, I'm not really sure that I want to know.
"Hey, are you okay?" Connor asked, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm just worried that's all."
"I'm going to be honest with you, I'm not sure that he's going to want to talk about it right now."
"I know," I replied sadly.
"Everything's going to be fine," he said, giving my shoulder a little squeeze as we approached Zoë and Alfie's house. Connor walked up the stairs and rang the doorbell. He looked over at me only to see the worried expression on my face. Frowning, he turned towards me and wrapped me into a tight hug.
"I'm sure that as soon as he talks to you, he'll be fine."
"I just don't want anything to affect our friendship," I said, just as the door opened. Connor stepped away from me and the two of us walked back in the house.
"How was your walk?" Zoë asked as she placed a plate of food on the table. Joe grabbed the placemats, forks and knives and began setting up the table.
"It was great," Connor and I said in unison. Zoë smiled as she passed a dish to Alfie who placed it on the table.
"Is there anything we can do to help?" I asked.
"No, we're done setting up," she said as she placed the final dish on the table. Joe set down a stack of plates and then we all sat down at the table. Zoë and Alfie and the two ends, Joe and I were beside each other and so were Troye and Connor.
"Holy shit, this looks good," Joe complimented from beside me. Zoë smiled appreciatively at him and then quickly told us to dig in. I grabbed small portions of everything on the table and began to eat it.
"I heard that you're going to South Africa, Joe," Troye said as he looked up at Joe. I placed my fork and knife down and looked at him as he cleared his throat and stopped what he was doing.
"Actually, I'm not going anymore," he said quietly, yet everyone around the table heard him.
"Why is that?" Zoë asked, as he shifted uncomfortably.
"I'd rather spend New Years with you guys. I mean I would love to go to South Africa with Caspar and Oli but-" he stopped and glanced over at me quickly before he began to ate his food again. Connor caught his glance at me and he looked over at me almost sadly.
"Why wouldn't you want to go to a place like South Africa?" Connor asked carefully, almost as if he sensed something was off.
"I have my reasons," Joe replied, before he looked down at his food. After that, the subject dropped and we all began to chat about something else until Joe suddenly got up from the table. I looked up at him, waiting for any sign, any indication that he was okay, but instead he just avoided my gaze. I watched as he disappeared inside the bathroom, shutting the door loudly behind him.
"I'm going to go-" Zoë said as she started to stand up, but I cut her off.
"I'll go, I'm done eating anyways," I said as I motioned towards my empty plate. Zoë nodded and I got up from my seat and walked towards the bathroom, stopping in front of it and putting my forehead to the door. I tried opening the door but he locked it. I knocked softly and waited until he opened the door but after a few seconds nothing happened.
"Joe?" I asked, my voice barely audible.
"Go away," he whispered.
"Let me in so that I can talk to you, it's just me," I whispered, placing my hand on the door. After a few seconds, I heard the click o the lock and the door creaked ope. I slipped inside and closed it behind me, forgetting one key important thing.
When I looked around the small bathroom, I saw Joe curled up in the corner of the bathroom. He looked up at me, sadness in his eyes but no display to show it. His face wasn't tear-stricken, nor were his eyes puffy and red. He was just sad for an unknown reason.
"I didn't want to make you feel bad," he said softly as I curled up beside him, grabbing his hand softly.
"Is this because of South Africa?" I asked softly, he looked up at me, blue eyes meeting brown ones and then nodded.
"The reason I'm not going to South Africa-" he paused and looked down. "-is because of you, you're the reason."
"Me?"
"I don't want to leave you, I want to be here with you through everything and if that means not going to South Africa, then so be it."
"Joe, I-"
"I don't want you to feel bad and think it's your fault, because it isn't. This is my choice."
"I understand that, trust me I do, but wouldn't you rather go to an amazing place like South Africa, than be here with me?"
"That's where you're completely and utterly wrong. I'd rather stay here with you."
"Why?"
"Because I really really like you," he said as he pressed his lips against mine. He untangled our fingers and used his unoccupied hand to run his fingers through my hair. He brought me closer to him, his hand on the small of my back and our lips brushing roughly against one another.
Just as we reached the climax of the already intense kiss, the door suddenly swung open, leaving the person at the doorway staring in shock at our interlocked lips and our fingers through each other's hair.
I pulled away from Joe realizing that I had forgotten to lock the door as his breaths quickened. I looked back at the person in the doorway, only to see that it was Alfie and he was staring directly at Joe, fury evident in his eyes. Then he said six words that made my heart drop.
"Joe, can I talk to you?"
Joe's POV
As soon as I saw the expression on Alfie's face, I knew that it was over. Then he said six words that made my heart stop, words that you never want to hear in an situation like this.
"Joe, can I talk to you?"
Instead of fighting the inevitable, I simply nodded, my whole body shaking with fear. I looked at Alyssa who was shaking her head, blaming herself for not locking the door. I wanted to comfort her and tell her that it wasn't her fault, that it was bound to happen and maybe we should've told my sister and Alfie sooner, but I didn't. I just stood up and took the shortest steps away from her and towards Alfie.
"Come here," he said, making me cower in fear. It was ironic, that I was now cowering in fear, when he must've felt the same way when the roles were reversed. As he brought me to wherever we were going, I passed Connor, Zoë, and Troye who were all looking at me with a different expression on their face. Connor seemed shocked. Troye, startled. But my sister, she seemed surprised that Alfie, her sweet, caring, boyfriend Alfie, was even capable of being so infuriated. Alfie stopped suddenly, turning towards me, the fury now gone from his eyes. Hie expression was almost unreadable.
"I'm not here to be mad at you, Joe. It was bound to happen, ever since the day you met her. I knew it was going to be you, all along."
"Then what are we here for?"
"I want to explain something to you. Alyssa's had it rough. There was one particular situation when her ex-boyfriend abused her and threatened her-"
"Cole," I muttered under my breath but Alfie heard me.
"You know him?"
"Yeah, Alyssa and I had a bad experience with him," I whispered, remembering what he had done to her.
"I don't think I want to know about that," he whispered, as I shook my head and looked at him.
"You don't."
"Anyways, I was in Canada when it happened and Alyssa didn't just call me Joe, she showed up at the hotel I was staying, bruised and tear-stricken because he had done horrible things to her. I guess, what I'm trying to say is that I don't want history to repeat itself."
"It won't," I said and I truly meant it because I knew that if I did anything remotely close to hurting Alyssa, I wouldn't be able to live with myself.
"You need to promise me, that Alyssa won't come to me, heartbroken, because you fucked up," he hissed, as I nodded, surprised at his word choice. Alfie wasn't usually one to swear.
"I wouldn't ever do that to her, Alfie."
"I need you to say it, Joe."
"I promise."
+
After our little talk, Alfie and I joined Alyssa, Troye, Connor and Zoë as they opened up their presents. I got to say I was pretty pleased with myself after seeing the smiles on everyone's faces after they opened up what I had gotten them.
After the whole thing was over everyone started heading up to sleep, including Alyssa and I, considering that we were both pretty tired. As soon as I got up the stairs, I realized that Connor and Troye were in the guest room that I used to sleep in.
Obviously they weren't sleeping in the same bed considering that they weren't exactly together, but these days I wasn't too sure what those two were up to. I sighed and started to walk down the stairs when Alyssa grabbed my arm.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm not letting you sleep on the couch."
"If Alfie finds out, he's going to have a heart attack," I pointed out as she pulled me into her room.
"Then we'll make sure he doesn't find out," she whispered, closing the door.
"You're bad."
"So are you," she said, as she climbed onto her bed and slipped under the covers. I sighed and did the same thing. She leaned towards me and kissed my nose, teasingly. After we settled down, she seemed distracted and like any good boyfriend, I asked her about it.
"Is something wrong?"
"It's just Troye. He seemed off earlier and when you were talking to Alfie, I tried to ask him about it but he just pushed me away and told me he was fine."
"You need to give him time," I whispered.
"I know, it's just I'm worried about him. He's my best friend."
"That's why he's going to tell you as soon as he's ready to tell you."
"I need him to be okay and I'm praying to God, that he is."
"Everything's going to be okay," I said as she nodded and turned away from me. I wrapped my arms around her waist and we both fell asleep listening to the breathing of our significant other.
+
And that is a ridiculously long chapter for you all to enjoy today!
Connor and Troye are now in the story!! Well Connor is at least. I realized that Troye had left around chapter thirteen or fourteen but I couldn't resist as him being back fit with the story line perfectly.
To be honest, I think I'm getting good at updating on Sunday's and ironically it's #SUGGSUNDAY, so maybe it was meant to be.
Along with a long update, I made a new cover for Too Good! What do you guys think of it? Do you love it? Do you hate it? Or are you in between?
If you truly enjoyed this chapter, make sure to comment as you go and vote!
Until next time!
-Angelina