15Okay. Okay. So I've figured out I'm in love.
Now what?
Any ideas?
No?
None?
Nada?
Zilch?
Thought so.
Ditto for me. I've got nothing. Do you know what this means? I'll have to talk to someone else. Other than you.
Yup.
I'll have to ask him.
There he was. Sitting there. Damn, I hated having to say what I was preparing to say to him.
I approached him and gritted my teeth in preparation for what I had to say.
He smirked up at me, and I had to gnash my teeth harder. My jaw ached.
'Y-y-you…'
His smirk grew larger. 'What's wrong with you today?'
Damn him! Why?! Why? Why did I have to say this? I'll just… I'll just get it over with! I thought my jaw was going to crack from how hard I was grinding my teeth together. 'Yugheweghight!' I spat, through my teeth.
'What the f-? I definitely did not get that! You better speak up.'
Damn him! It was painful enough saying it once. C'mon, Joseph. Just say it. Just sa—
'Man, are you okay?' he said, giving me a concerned look.
'YOU WERE RIGHT!'
'Wha-?' He quickly recovered himself with a smirk and said 'Of course I'm right! I'm always right! Now, dear brother, what was I right about?'
Just say it. JUST SAY IT! 'I'm uh…I'm…' But it sounds so damn… ridiculous! Urgh. I have no choice but to say it, though. 'Okay.' I closed my eyes against the agony of saying it, and to make sure I did not have to repeat those words again to my dearest, most beloved brother and that he heard me this time, I said it very, very slowly. 'I'm. In. Love.'
He stared at me slack-jawed and took some time to recover.
I should stop to emphasise what a landmark occasion this is. The possibility of me saying 'you were right' to him would have rated just under the probability of 'impossible' to him. Even then, he has a very sharp mind, so he recovered very quickly. Since he is taking so long to say anything and react (as shown by me being able to think all these thoughts and convey them with some articulation), that shows how beyond impossible it is for me to 'express my emotions' and whatnot to my brother. He probably would've thought that the way he'd know I loved my girl would be receiving the wedding invitation someda-
'Say what?'
Ah, Finally. 'I'm not saying it again!'
'I must be crazy, because I swore you must've said – '
'There's nothing wrong with your hearing. Although your sanity is always in question.'
A grin marked his face, showing complete recovery. 'Aha! My brother has fallen victim to the fairer sex. I told you! I was right! I… '
Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. It's one of Jared's famous rambles. Call me when he says something I actually want to listen to.
'… you… but… I said… you said…' Hmm, I wonder what I'll get for Christmas. '…idiot… who… acting like…' Danny Track's Pro Fighter XVII? Can't wait to beat up Jared on it. '…romantic… so cute…' Why does he get to be called Jared, anyway?! Why can't I have a decent name like that? '…little Joe is all grown up… love?!... Josie! Are you listening to me?! JOSIE!'
'Huh? What?' Did I mention that the only nickname I hate more than 'Joe' would be 'Josie'? Trust my brother to invent it.
'You weren't listening to me, were you?'
'Ofcourse I was!' I automatically fibbed. 'Why wouldn't I listen?'
'So, what do you think?'
'I… er, think that…um…'
'You weren't listening to a thing I was sayingwere you?'
'Not a word.'
A dangerous glint entered his eye. 'You'll pay for this later, buddy. Right now, I'll keep you pretty for the girl.'
I wasn't scared of him! His threats were completely empty. I looked him straight in the eye! Yeah.
If his eye was an odd-whorl shape on the expensive, polished wood table next to the sofa he was sprawled upon.
'Who is The Girl anyway?' he asked curiously. I swear I could hear the capital letters in the way he said it.
'She's – ' Suddenly, it struck me as a very, very bad idea to tell my brother who she was. 'nobody!'
'Nobody?'
'Yeah.'
'You're in love with nobody?'
'Yeah.'
He raised an eyebrow.
'I mean, I can't tell you who she is!'
He stared.
'She's… I mean, you'd try to pull stuff on her and make an elaborate plan to set us up together that would horribly fail and make things worse and crap like that. I mean, seriously, I know you.'
'Guilty as charged.' He grinned, showing off a row of even white teeth, just like mine. He employed them more often though, as part of his overt charm. His smile could win over anyone.
There was a pause, where he looked off thoughtfully at some apparently very intriguing spot on the ceiling. 'So… she must be really special.'
I grinned. 'Yeah.'
'Tell me more about her? I mean, I want to know who'd actually make you act like this. She must have some insane paranormal powers or really big -.'
'Don't even go there.' I was the one who looked off this time, and knowing that I was smiling stupidly, but unable to get that smile off my face, I said very slowly. 'Yeah…'
After that, of course, I gave my brother some idea of what she was like. (I've already sickened you – or myself, at least, looking back at what I said – with a description of her absolute imperfect perfection. So I'll spare you what I dreamily said to my brother. I did say it with some censorship, though. I don't know about you but I do not want to be teased and harassed mercilessly for the next decade or so of my life. I mean, if you have some taste for that sort of treatment, it's none of my business. It's your life and… I'm rambling.)
I could have, of course, gone forever about her, if my brother had not interrupted my monologue with a hug.
You read that right.
A hug.
My brother hugged me.
Let me repeat, my brother hu—
Whoa! Okay! I get that you've got it.
Things were really starting to go crazy. All this because I went and fell in love with… okay, again with the repetition. I'm sorry. I just can't stop thinking about her.
I was shocked for a second or two (and, surprisingly, silenced) and then I kinda patted him awkwardly on the back. I was just too shocked to return his spontaneous hug properly.
He then held me by the arms away from himself, and looked me up and down in an 'I'm so proud of you. Let me take a look at my boy!' sort of way.
I was very, very confused. 'So why… uh, did you hug me?'
'Josie, Josie, Josie. You were just so cute rambling on like that about her.'
Uh. Jared called me cute? What alternative universe have I fallen into? And if my brother has called me cute and hugged me, what hope is there for me? I'm beyond pathetic.
'Plus, I wanted to shut you up.'
Oh. That's more like it.
'So… what're you going to do?'
'I don't know.'
'When did you figure out what you felt?'
'Today.'
'Aww, and you told me immediately?'
Maybe he is gay. I should have a talk with him some day. 'Yeah.'
'I feel so honored.'
'And I'm having second thoughts.'
I swear he was going to pout then. 'Fine. So why did you tell me?'
Maybe this wasn't such a good idea… 'I needed help. I'm not exactly sure about what to do now.'
'Oh.' He scratched his clean-shaven chin and thought for a minute. 'I assume you want her to fall in love with you as well?'
'No.'
'No?'
'Yeah. Right now, I just want her to… know who I am.'
'What? She doesn't even know you?'
'Yeah.'
'Dude.'
'Yeah.'
'You're in love with a girl who doesn't even know you exist?'
'Yeah.'
'Dude.'
'Yeah.'
Okay. Am I the only one who's getting tired of this exchange? Apparently so, because Jared lapsed into a long silence, periodically running his hands through his nauseatingly silky, black and stylish hair. I knew for a fact that he didn't have to bother with it to make it look great. As for me, I had blonde-brown, wavy and longish hair. I'm sure it didn't look anything like amazing. I don't care.
Yeah, I don't.
I don't care at all.
Not one tiny bit, damn you!
'Josie?' he said, suddenly.
'Yeah?'
'I'll get back to you on that, because I can't think of anything at the moment.'
Well, that was all for nothing.
A/N: Yay! Superquick update. 'Cause I know where to go… and what to write, and wanted to write it soon while I still have summer and love for the story and Joseph… and Jared.
Thanks so much to Spritzy (an actual boy. So he made sure that it was realistic. Plus, he has some neat editing skillz.) who helped me muchly with this chapter. So be sure to thank him, y'all!
Individual Responses:-
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