girls // joe sugg

iv

20th August 2015

Penelope Marie Burr

After two weeks of avoiding Joe, I finally had to see him again.

I had only seen him twice since I talked to Tanya and he made no attempt to talk to me either time. This lead me to believe that Tanya had given Joe the same speech she'd given me.

I was disappointed that he made no attempt to contact me at all. No texts, no calls, but I too made no attempt to contact him.

But, despite not contacting him, my heart still fluttered at the thought of seeing him again today. Mentally cursing myself and the butterflies that settled in my stomach, I dragged myself out of bed and through the warm shower, letting the water wash away my problems.

Once I was dressed, I headed down to where Tanya and Jim were waiting for me. The three of us were heading out to meet with Alfie, Zoë and Joe, for what I wouldn't know.

"You look nice, Penny," I looked down at my outfit. I wore a simple white crop-top, which was decorated with white lace, as well as high waisted black jeans.

"Thanks Tan?" I was confused as to where this compliment came from.

"Almost as if you're dressing to impress someone?" I felt my face heat up.

Sure, I'm dressing a bit nicer but I don't think it's to impress...

"Tan, it's as if you want me to," I laughed it off, as if her accusation was insane. Jim stood behind Tanya, shaking his head.

"Let's go, girls. Don't wanna be late," Jim smiled at me as he pushed us out the door.

Alfie and Zoë were already at the park when we arrived. It was warm outside and the sun beamed down on us as the four of us sat on a blanket by the water. A picnic basket sat by Zoë and was filled to the brim with food and drink.

"So, Joe texted me and he said he'd be here in a few minutes. I figured we could start eating without him," As she opened up the basket, Joe started walking over towards us. I looked up at him, his blue eyes meeting mine. I flitted mine away, ignoring the smile he sent at me.

He sat down in a space next to Zoë and I took the time to quickly observe him whilst he was looking away. He didn't look any different from last time, but I couldn't get past how good he looked.

Tanya noticed my staring and she elbowed me in the side. I quickly moved my eyes and glared at her, before grabbing some food that Zoë had laid out.

It was two o'clock by the time we had finished eating. The sun was almost directing over head us, still hot in the sky. I had ended up by the lake, away from the others, feet dangled into the cool water. I sighed as I noticed Joe walking towards me, hands stuffed in his pockets, head looking down at his feet. He looked at me just in time to see me start to stand.

"Stay, please," He asked, his eyes meeting mine again. I say back down as he placed himself next to me.

"You know, Tanya won't be happy you're here right now," He chuckled slightly, putting his feet in the water to match mine.

"Yeah, I still don't really understand why that is..."

"I'm her baby cousin. She's being protective, that's all. She thinks you'll break my heart," I scoffed. "I doubt it, though."

"Why?"

"Because you don't even like me and to break my heart we'd have to be together and we're not," I look back up at Joe and he stared back down at me in disbelief. My thoughts wandered back to what Tanya had said the other day. 'I'm stopping you from seeing him because he might have a little crush too.'

"God, you are so clueless."

"What?"

"Nothing, never mind," His cheeks went a bright pink and he attempted to change back to our previous topic. "Anyway, why do you think Tanya is so protective over you? I get that you're her baby cousin but why?"

"It's probably to do with the age gap. You are six years older than me."

"Six years isn't that much."

"I mean, it's a little bit. What's the problem anyway? It's not like we're actually together."

"Yeah, but we could be," Joe whispered, eyes fixed on his hands, in which he was playing with his bracelet.

"What?..." Again, we made eye contact. He shook his head softly.

"You really don't get it, do you?"

"Get what?"

"I like you, Pen, you doofus," I felt my heart jolt and then speed up, my stomach doing flips.

"What? You're joking?"

"Nope, I'm not..."

"But why? I'm just a silly little 17 year old."

"Silly littl- Penelope, I don't care if you're only 17. The age difference doesn't matter, it's only six years. I think you're funny and smart and extremely gorgeous."

"But why me? You could have anyone else, anyone you want. You could have someone who's the same age as you, someone who doesn't have an older cousin forbidding you to see them. You could have someone you're actually allowed to hang out with!"

"But I don't want anybody else! I want you, Penny. I don't care about Tanya, she'll come to terms eventually. I don't care about the age difference. I want you and I don't know why but I really do. I like you."

"But Tanya's your best friend? You've known her for years but you've barely known me for a few weeks. I don't want you to lose a friendship because of me! I'm not worth i-"

I was cut off by Joe pulling my lips onto his.

-----

Short AN

I know it sounds like I'm really against the age difference but I'm not, it's okay if it's legal, and Penelope and Joe are both legal if you live in New Zealand.