POV Christine
After I slapped Paul I walked into the auditorium as I cried into my hands. Little did I know I wasn't the only one there.
"Christine?" Joe asked. I quickly wiped my tears and looked at Joe.
"Yeah?" I asked.
"Are you okay?" Joe asked with a concerned look on his face. I tried to lie but I couldn't as I started to cry again. This time Joe didn't ask me anything but instead took me in his arms. For some strange reason I felt safe in his arms. Joe rubbed my back softly. After a few seconds of silence I looked up at him and faked a smile. "Do you want to talk about why you are so upset?" Joe asked as we sat down on the edge of the stage.
"Not really it's too fresh." I said.
"Should I try to take your mind off of it then?" Joe asked looking at me.
"That might be nice." I said as I felt him out his arm around me.
"I could use my charm and compliment you for the rest of the morning." Joe said with a wink. I felt my cheeks begin to warm up and turn pink. Joe chuckled when he noticed.
"Let me take you out tonight?" Joe said.
"Like on a date?" I asked as I blushed even harder.
"Yeah like a date." Joe said. That was when it dawned upon me. Joe had no idea that Paul and I had feelings for each other. Paul never told him.
"You know what? I would love to go on a date with you Joe." I said as I softly kissed his cheek. After that the bell had rung and it was time for us to get to class.
"I'll pick you up tonight." Joe said as we both walked to class together.
POV Joe
At around lunch I noticed Janet sitting by herself. I sighed and walked over to her and sat in front of her.
"You okay?" I asked.
"Why do you care?" Janet asked.
"Okay see this is your problem Janet. Maybe if you were a little nicer to people you'd have more friends, I like you a lot better when you are nicer." I said looking at her. Janet has been looking down. I could tell it was hard for her to trust people, I understood that too well. It was also worth taking into account she was a victim of teenage pregnancy. Paul was involved too considering he was going to be the father.
"Look, if you ever need anything I'll be here for you, I know it can be scary but you won't ever be alone." I said as I placed my hand on-top of hers as she looked up at me. I gave her a reassuring smile as I squeezed her hand softly.
"Thank you." Janet said softly.
"You know, you aren't so bad." Janet said with a slightly smile.
"Well I try." I said chucking. I spent the rest of my lunch period keeping her company and getting to know her. Once you get past the tough exterior she puts on she's not that bad. What I got from her is that she uses her tough exterior to refrain from looking weak but being kind doesn't make people weak and that's what I tried to explain to her and to my surprise she seemed to agree and understand. Janet wasn't a bad person but perhaps misunderstood.
That night I got ready to take Christine out on a date. I decided to take her out to my favorite pizzeria. I threw on a red button up flannel shirt with jeans and topped off the look with my combat boots and leather jacket. I never went anywhere without my leather jacket. It belonged to my father. After I finished brushing my hair Paul walked in.
"Going somewhere?" Paul asked.
"I've got a date." I said.
"No kidding! Who's the lucky girl?" Paul asked smiling.
"The new girl Christine." I said as I noticed his expression change completely.
"You okay bud?" I asked. Paul shook his head and then faked a smile.
"Yeah man I'm happy for you." Paul said. "Dude I've known you since we were kids so I know when you're faking a smile, what's wrong?" I asked looking at him. Paul looked away before looking back at me.
"Look man don't worry we can talk about it later, go have fun, don't keep Christine waiting." Paul said patting my arm. I could tell something was wrong and I wanted to stay behind for him but I was already running late as it was.
"Paul you're my brother always man I promise and we will talk as soon as I get back." I said hugging him and rushing out the door. I walked into the garage and uncovered my motorcycle. It had been a while since I've ridden it but I thought now was perfect and it would definitely impress Christine. I put on my helmet and raced to her house. I stopped right at the front and when I took off my helmet my jaw instantly dropped. Christine looked stunning. A strapless black dress that reached a little bit above her knees hugged every single curve in her waist and breast. The high heels she wore highlighted her gorgeous long legs. As she walked toward my motorcycle the wind picked up and her long brown hair seemed to flow behind her as she made her way towards me. Christine smirked and lifted my jaw to shut my mouth.
"Carefully Joe, you wouldn't want a fly to get in there." Christine joked. God damn she was sexy. I wanted her badly, more than I had ever wanted anything. I grabbed an extra helmet and winked.
"Hop on." I said passing her the helmet.
Christine placed the helmet on and got on the back of my motorcycle and wrapped her arms around me. I loved her touch and as I revved the bike I felt her grip around me tighten and I smirked as we sped off.
The date was nothing short of amazing and when I got home that night Paul had already fallen asleep. I took off my shirt and plopped down on the mattress on the other side of the room and fell asleep. The next morning I headed to school on my own very early to work on my song. When I walked into the band room I saw Sherrie.
"Sherrie?" I asked. Sherrie looked up at me and quickly gathered her belongings and rushed to the door. Before she reached the door I grabbed her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes.
"Sherrie please, talk to me." I pleaded.
"I can't Joe, it hurts too much." Sherrie said.
"Sherrie, I never meant to hurt you but please let me talk to you." I said.
"Joe, I still love you! This is too hard!" Sherrie said as she looked down after yelling.
"Sherrie..." I said softly. After I said her name she placed her books onto of a table the was right next to us and kissed me. I was so surprised by the kiss but I still kissed her back. Sherrie was my first girlfriend, I had to admit I still had feelings for her but I also had feelings for Christine. What the fuck am I getting myself into. My next actions were controlled by my body and not my mind. I locked the door although it wasn't necessary cause no one would be in the building for at least another hour or two. I leaned her against the door as I kissed her and then picked her up wrapping her legs around my waist, holding her up from under her thighs. My mind was telling me to stop, that I was getting involved in a dangerous game but my body wouldn't listen. My body had more control over me than my mind did at this point. My hands began to roam when my body was pressed against hers holding her up. They roamed mostly around her lower back and then lower until they were placed on her buttocks. As I began to kiss her neck my mind chatter telling to stop grew louder and louder and then I finally pulled away, gently putting Sherrie down.
"Sherrie, we can't, you know we can't." I said not being able to look at her.
"It's nothing we haven't done before." Sherrie said trying to get me to look at her.
"I know, but I just can't. I don't want to end up hurting you again." I said. Without a word, she collected her belongings and walked out of the room, I knew it hurt her but I had continued I would have hurt two women and I couldn't bare to hurt her again or Christine for that matter.
A few hours later I met up with Paul for lunch and watched Sherrie walk by and give me a quick glance full of sadness. I sighed and Paul noticed and then it became clear to him when he saw the look on Sherrie's face.
"Something happen between you and Sherrie?" Paul asked.
"This morning she was here really early and we kissed, and it almost led to more but I stopped it." I said.
"You still love her" Paul asked looking at me.
"I still have feelings for her but I don't want to hurt her again." I said playing with the food on my tray. I tried to change the subject because I couldn't bare to talk about it anymore.
"How's Steven doing, has he regained consciousness yet?" I asked.
"Not yet, but the doctors say this is normal, he should regain consciousness soon." Paul said looking at his tray. After a couple of more minutes we saw a boy with glasses and a slim stature walk towards us.
"Is this seat taken?" The boy asked.
"Nah man, go ahead." I said to him.
"What's your name?" Paul asked him.
"I'm John Garcia." He replied.
"I'm Joe Rodriguez, and this is my buddy Paul Sanchez." I said as I shook his hand.
"You're in the marching band, aren't you?" Paul asked him putting his fork down.
"Yeah, since freshman year. I'm a junior now. I play the flute but I can also play the cello."
"We're juniors too and we are in a band, not marching band, a rock one."
"That's really cool."
"Thanks, man."
For the remainder of their lunch period, they talked, joked, and got along fairly well.
That Friday I decided I was going to ask Christine to the homecoming dance that was coming up the next weekend. I met with her in the music room before school and took a deep breath as I walked in.
"Hey, there beautiful." I said with a wink.
"Hey." Christine said as she got up and hugged me. I smiled wrapping my arms tightly around her waist and kissed her cheek. When I kissed her cheek she blushed and it was adorable.
"I have a question I wanted to ask you." I said smiling.
"Ask away." Christine said. I pulled out a red rose from behind my back and held it in front of her.
"Would you do my the honor of accompanying me to the homecoming dance next Saturday?" I asked as I saw her eyes light up. Christine smiled and looked up at me taking the rose and nodded happily. I felt her swing her arms around my next and hug me. I pulled her close and kissed her forehead.
POV Paul
On Friday morning I walked around school until I heard chatting coming from the music room. I walk towards the door and when I saw Christine and Joe I stepped back so that they wouldn't see me but I could hear very clearly. Joe had asked her to homecoming and she agreed. It hurt badly, but if I couldn't have her I'd at least want her to be happy and if that was with Joe I'd have to accept that. I walked away trying not to be upset about what I just overheard but it did hurt.
Right after school Emily and I both got a call from our cousin saying to head over to the hospital. The worst part was that he didn't tell us why so we thought the worst. When we got there, we rushed into his room and found a conscious Steven smiling at us opening his arms. We both ran into them a bit rougher than we should have.
"Ow, guys, a little more carefully next time, I just got shot remember."
"I'm sorry man, we're just glad you're ok." I said as tears streamed down my cheeks.
"If I die whose gonna keep you two out of trouble? Joe? That boy is as much of a trouble maker as you both." Steven said playfully. Emily and I talked to Steven about what he missed which wasn't much. I didn't want to tell him about Janet or even about Christine yet.
After a couple of days they finally discharged Steven from the hospital and he was back home. We threw him a welcome home party that Friday and we invited John, Christine, Sophie, and Sunshine. It was a small gathering and we only wanted his closest friends to be there. The part had really seemed to lift Steven's spirits and made him smile. I walked over to grab a drink from the table and when I turned around I saw Joe and Christine laughing and talking. I wished I was the one making her laugh and smile that much but fate would not allow it. Steven seemed to notice my gloom and walked over to me. Steven looked in the direction that caused my sad expression and saw Joe and Christine.
"What's up?" Steven asked.
"Nothing, I'm fine." I said.
"Little bro, just tell me." Steven said. I sighed.
"Joe is taking Christine to the homecoming dance, I sorta wish I could have but he beat me to it." I said. Steven seemed a bit shocked that Joe was taking her.
"Wait, you like Christine?" Steven asked raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, I have her for drama and we have grown close but I sorta fucked things up." I said looking down.
"How?" Steven asked looking at me.
"I'll tell you later, I don't really want to talk about it with all these people around." I said looking back up at Steven who gave me an understanding nod and walked away.
After the party Joe had fallen asleep fairly quickly and Steven and I were wide awake. Steven had laid down in the bottom bunk of our bunk bed while I laid down on the top.
"So, what happened?" Steven asked.
"Remember Janet?" I asked.
"I don't think I'll ever forget."
"Well, she's pregnant and the kid is mine."
"Shit? For real? Is that why you guys had broken up?"
"No we broke up because she told me one day out of nowhere that she didn't want to see me anymore because her feelings for me were gone but then she told me that she only said that because she panicked over being pregnant with my kid."
"I'm assuming that's what caused a wedge between you and Christine?"
"Yeah, I told her and she didn't take it very well, not too long after that Joe had a date with her. "Joe didn't know that I had feelings for Christine and I didn't want to tell him cause I didn't want to ruin things for him or her."
"You're a good friend to him Paul." Steven said.
"I care about him and Christine for that matter." I replied.
"I can't tell you what's gonna happen in the future but if you and Christine are meant to be it'll happen." Steven said.
"Thanks bro...goodnight."
"Night little bro." We instantly fell asleep after that conversation.
The next morning I debated whether or not I would go to homecoming but I figured since everyone I knew was going to be there I might as well. I spent the whole day getting ready with the guys and making sure we all looked hot. It I was going go to this thing I might as well make an impression. This was the first social gathering I had decided to attend since Janet and I split. I was nervous about facing my former friends who now bully me but my real friends would have my back. There was no doubt about that. One thing I knew for sure was that this was going to be a night to remember.