Love and dances - Joel Dawson

Red tie

Dear... Anyone,

I'm completely lost and I might be going crazy because I've been talking to my dog for the last three hours at least.

The ride back from the restaurant had been done in silence, neither he or the uber driver uttering a word during the whole trip, but, in a way, Joel was almost grateful. After all, he was pretty sure that if his driver had decided to even try to strike a conversation with him, Joel would've ended up embarrassing himself somehow because no matter how much he tried, his mind couldn't seem to stop circling back to everything that had happened to him that night - everything that had happened to him, Aimee and Maple.

Joel was confused, he was lost and, worse of all, he was alone. So, really, it came as no surprise when, as soon as he climbed out of his uber, Joel had decided he just needed a few moments to himself in his little bedroom. But, of course, living at the Colony with the best yet very much loud people that he lived with, going straight to his room without drawing attention to himself was not in the cards. Because of course they would want to know how everything had gone down that night with the girl he swore up and down he'd be marrying someday - after all, that had all Joel could have seemed to talk about ever since he had first moved in. So, obviously they would want to know and, if his night hadn't been the colossal failure that it had, Joel was sure he could've spent the whole night up, just talking and talking and talking. That was how he had pictured that day going, if he was being honest, but that didn't work and, at the moment, Joel didn't think he'd have the strength to explain everything to his roommates.

"Joel!" Karen greeted him with her usual cheery, bright smile. "Are you home already?"

"Yeah, dude, what happened?" Tim asked, from the couch, huffing slightly when Boy jumped down from his chest and toward the ground before rushing across the apartment toward Joel. "We thought you'd be staying out till late?"

"Yeah, hum... I..."

"How did it go?" Ava urged, practically bouncing on her own feet, having been the only one at the Colony who thought Joel's idea had been romantic rather than stupid. Oh, how wrong had she been... "Did you talk to Aimee?"

"Yeah..." Joel admitted quietly, crouching down on the floor as he petted Boy with one hand and pulled out his tie with the other. "Yeah, I... I did."

And, at that, all of his friends exchanged a look. Because, sure, they hadn't known Joel for all that long, but they could all tell that, at the moment, he wasn't feeling his best. So, considering that had been the night Joel had been waiting for so damn long and he had not only returned home early but also refused to talk about any of it, they could all guess what had happened. And it clearly wasn't any good.

"I... Hum... I'm sorry, guys, I'm just... Very tired." Joel lied, standing up again as Boy looked up at him and tilted his head to the side a little, looking almost concerned for him. "I'm gonna... Gonna go to bed early, okay?"

"Joel, man..." Ray started to say something, only to be interrupted by Ava, who nudged him on the side a little.

"Sure, Joel." She nodded. "We're gonna be out in the living room for a bit, so if you want to hang out with us just... Just come out, okay?"

"Yeah, anytime, Joel." Karen nodded too. "Did you... Did you eat anything? We can make you some pasta or something?"

"Nah, I'm fine, Karen, thanks." He lied. "I just... I'm just gonna go lay down. Don't worry about me. But thanks, guys... Really."

And, without giving his roommates too much of a chance to respond, Joel flashed them a small smile before turning around to leave them behind. Joel made quick work of heading to his own little room in the apartment, making sure to let Boy inside as well before closing the door after him. Leaning against the wood, Joel hung his head back, running a hand through his hair as he finally allowed himself a moment to think everything through again.