FicWad

Thanks for the last reviews! It's so fun to get comments on this! Sorry it took me a long time to write this chapter, I've been kind of busy. Hope you like it! Rate and review please. :)


The hours Mandy I spent together seemed to fly by, and before I knew it, it was time to say goodbye. I had my bags slung over my shoulder and was standing just inside the doorway, trying to memorize every inch of Mandy. I wanted her to remain in my mind no matter what happened. Because if I was being honest with myself, I knew there was a good possibility that I may never see her again. And by the look on Mandy's face, I could tell she was thinking the exact same thing.

So we stood in the entryway of Mandy's mansion and just looked at each other for only god knows how long. Finally, I made myself look away. I had to get to Joe's house by nine and I didn't want to be late. The last thing I needed was to have Joe start worrying about me. So I blinked back the tears and said, "Thanks so much for being such a good friend, Mandy. You know I'll never forget you no matter what happens."

Mandy wasn't bothering to hold back the tears, they were silently dribbling down her cheeks as she spoke, "Aw, you're so nice, Lisa. Make lots of friends in New York, okay? I'm sure you'll like it there. You'll probably forget all about your friends back here after you get adjusted. Just...just make sure to call me sometimes, okay?"

"God, are you kidding me?" I gasped, "I'd never forget anyone I met here! You and Joe are the best friends anyone could ever have. Nobody's ever going to replace you as my best friend. Let's call each other everyday, okay? You can fill me up on all the gossip here and I can tell you all about New York since I can tell you're pretty interested in it."

Mandy blushed and threw her arms around me in a tight squeeze, "Yes, we'll talk everyday at least. Maybe twice a day if we have time. Oh Lisa, I'm going to miss you so much!" I held Mandy close to me and now had to put up a fight to keep from crying myself. I had said many goodbyes in my lifetime, but none had ever been as hard as this one.

We hugged for a few more minutes before I finally broke away from her embrace. Knowing that I should quit procrastinating at get to Joe's, I gave her hand one last squeeze before opening the glossy wooden door and stepping outside. Mandy waved sadly at me as I pushed the door shut. I waved back and then quickly started down the street to get to Joe's house.
I tried to cheer up, but I was left feeling depressed and teary-eyed after leaving Mandy's. Perhaps Joe would be able to cheer me up. Because right now, I really needed it.

~ ~ ~ ~

Ten minutes later, I knocked on Joe's door and waited for an answer. When nobody came to the door, I peered inside the windows to see if I could find Joe somewhere in the living room. But to my dismay, the living room was completely dark and nobody was inside. A little twinge of panic started growing inside me as I realized that nobody was home. Joe wouldn't have ditched me tonight of all nights...would he have?

I decided to try the doorknob just in case Joe was home and just couldn't here me. Feeling like an intruder, I gazed around to make sure nobody was watching, then quickly pulled down on the shiny, brass doorknob. To my surprise, it swung open under my touch with ease. Quickly, I snuck through the door and shut it behind me.

"Joe?" I called out. "Joe, are you here?" My voice seemed to echo eerily throughout the house, giving me the creeps. I kicked off my boots on the brown doormat and then ran up the stairs to Joe's room. But just like I had thought, the room was completely empty and Joe was nowhere to be seen. God, where in the world could he be?

Now I really did feel like I was going to cry. I ran back down the stairs to search for a tissue. As soon as I found one, I would head back home and get out of here before I got caught sneaking around. Just as I had grabbed a tissue and began wiping my eyes, the front door burst open and Joe stepped inside.

I was so glad to see him that I could've pounced on him and kissed every inch of his body. But somehow, I was able to restrain myself and say instead, "Joe! There you are! I thought you had forgotten about tonight or something." Joe untied his shoes and rolled his eyes sarcastically at me, "Oh sure, like I would've been able to forget about tonight after we had both been looking forward to it for so long! Geez Lisa, you know me better than that!"

I blushed slightly and then remembered that I had broken into his house without permission. Guiltily, I apologized, "Uh, sorry for just coming in here. When nobody answered the door, I thought that maybe you were upstairs and couldn't hear the doorbell or something." Joe waved away my apology.

"It's totally fine, Lisa," Joe confirmed. "Sorry I'm so late. I didn't realize what time it was. I just went downtown to give you these." Joe pulled his hand out from behind his back and presented me with a large bouquet of bright red tulips. I squealed with pleasure and inhaled their sweet aroma deeply. It was so sweet of Joe to have thought about getting me flowers!

"I would've gotten you roses," Joe explained, "but tulips are the symbol of undying love and I thought that would be perfect with you moving and all." I grinned widely at Joe and kissed him lightly on the cheek, "They're perfect, Joe! I absolutely love them!" Joe grinned right back at me as he slipped off his coat and threw it carelessly on the back of the couch.

"I ordered some pizza," Joe told me as he grabbed my hand and led me over to the couch. "It should be here any minute. You haven't eaten yet, have you?" I shook my head as I leaned back against the cushy couch and closed my eyes. I couldn't help but think this would be the last time I would ever lay my head down on this couch. A small tear formed in the corner of my eye at that thought, but I shoved it back. My goal tonight was going to be not to shed a single tear.

But Joe knew me too well because he was asking, "Lisa, what's wrong? Your eyes are all glassy and stuff." I cursed silently at myself for being so sentimental and tried to smile at him when I said, "Nothing is wrong, I'm just thinking about how this is the last time I'll probably ever be in your house." Joe's smile disappeared at my comment and we both sat in silence.

Luckily, at that moment, the doorbell rang. Joe jumped up from the couch and went to get it. Two minutes later, he reappeared with a big pizza box. I inhaled deeply as he dumped the box onto the coffee table and flipped it open. The pizza smelled almost as good as the tulips he had gotten me. Joe handed me a piece of pizza and a plate. I was surprised to see that the toppings on the pizza were black and green olives; my favorite! Joe was so considerate.

While Joe and I munched on our pizza, I dug through my bag that I had dumped by my feet until I found the two bottles of whiskey that I had stolen from my parents. I put clunked them down onto the coffee table, casually opened my bottle, and took a short sip. I had never tried whiskey before and I didn't want to drink too much since I didn't know what its effects on me would be. When I looked up, Joe was ogling me with wide eyes.

He stared at the bottles and then looked back at me, "Where did you get those from?"

"Uh, just from home," I replied. "My parents won't miss them."

Joe continued to look at the bottles hesitatingly. Sometimes Joe could be be too much of a good boy. I rolled my eyes and put one of the bottles into his hand, "Oh come on, Joe! Have a little fun with me, will you? Besides, it will help us forget about being sad. Do it for my sake, please?"

Joe gave me one last dubious look before shrugging and uncapping his bottle. Nervously, he took a sip and then set it back on the coffee table. Then he smiled at me, "It's actually kind of good." I smiled back, and before we knew it, both of our bottles were empty and we were happy as can be just lounging on the couch eating pizza together.

Once the pizza was gone - Joe ate most of it since I was too nervous about tonight to eat - I yawned and looked over at Joe. He was smiling jovially and looked like he was having the time of his life. A happy Joe made a happy me. I asked him, "So what do you want to do next?" Joe shrugged and then looked outside.

"Wanna go watch the sunset together?" Joe suggested. I nodded eagerly. With his arm around my shoulders, Joe and I ambled outside and sank onto the bench on the front porch. I leaned against Joe's shoulder and watched the pinks, purples, and blues of the sky slowly start to disappear into darkness. Joe stroked my hair gently with his hand, lulling me to sleep.

As a matter of fact, I would've fallen asleep if Joe hadn't waken me, "Um, Lisa? Maybe we should go in now so you don't fall asleep out here." I nodded, "Yeah, good idea." I hadn't realized that the sky had become pitch black and that the stars were now twinkling romantically in the sky. Crickets were chirping and lightning bugs were fluttering around us.

Joe and I meandered back inside and blinked at the sudden brightness of the living room. Suddenly, I became overcome by all the events that were about to take place. Seeking comfort, I pulled Joe against me and slipped my lips on top of his. Joe gently kissed me back, sweet and innocently. But sweet and innocent didn't last too long. Soon, we were French kissing with a passion that couldn't be put out. I wrapped my legs around Joe's waist and clung to him like a little girl.

As Joe and I parted for air, Joe said, "Um, Lisa?"

"Mm?" I asked, just wanting him to keep kissing me. All the talk could wait until tomorrow morning.

"Shouldn't we be doing this in a bed or something? I don't think I can carry you all the way upstairs."

"Oh right," I said, slowly untangling my body from Joe's. "I'll go change and then I'll meet you in your bedroom, okay?" Joe paused, looking uncomfortable, and then nodded, "Okay...hey, you're sure you want to do this, right? I have a bad feeling I'm pushing you into this or something and you know that I don't want to do that."

I had already slung my bag over my shoulder and was going upstairs. Turning, I rolled my eyes at Joe and said, "Joe, you've asked me that about a hundred times. And like all the other ninety nine times you asked, my answer is still the same." With that, I turned and ran up the last few stairs before heading into Joe's small bathroom that was adjacent to his bedroom.

Once I was inside the bathroom, I quickly stripped down and pulled on the lingerie that I had bought from the mall only a few days ago. After that, I applied some dark gray, sparkly eye shadow to highlight my eyes, and then I brushed out my auburn locks until they shone like spun silk.

Nervously, I dared to take a peek in the mirror. My outfit was really sheer and flimsy, but really sexy. It didn't cover much, but I supposed that was kind of the point of wearing it. Silently, I exited the bathroom and rounded the corner into Joe's room. Joe wasn't there yet, so I plopped my stuff in the far corner of the room and slipped under the sheets to wait for Joe.

I had only been waiting two minutes before the door cracked open and Joe stepped inside.