Jemi Short Stories ❤

Ruin the friendship 2

Joe's POV

I lie back on the couch, cursing myself for the hundredth time. Instagram is not a good place to go while I'm bored, especially not when I enter a fandom's discussions. But there's something attracting me to it... I just wanna know what our fans think of Demi and me.

Jonaslover: Why is Joe still with that Hunger Games actress? They don't even look good together. 

Ilovejoe: Sophie Turner is an actress from Games of Thrones, get your facts straight. Plus, she's gorgeous and intelligent, so why are you complaining, sis?

Jonaslover: Demi deserved.

Lovaticforever: Better.

I sigh deeply, closing the app. It's like receiving a hard slap across your face, the moment you realize you don't deserve her. She's too good, too nice, too beautiful, while the only thing I ever did was to hurt her. And I regret it every single day.

Suddenly, I hear noises behind me, alerting my senses. My girlfriend is supposed to be working, who could it be? A crazy fangirl or a greedy reporter? I turn around quickly, only to find my brother Nick coming upstairs.

"Hey!" He greets, but he doesn't seem in a very good mood. I make space for him on the couch, but he chooses to take a chair and bring it beside me. "Joe, if you only knew what's happening in my life," he sighs, shaking his head and taking out a cigar.

I raise an eyebrow. "What's happening in your life?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.

We rarely see each other this summer, since he's busy with his life while I'm busy with mine. But it's maybe time to have a short brotherly conversation. I honestly miss it, even though I'm not quite comfortable with him since the whole Ruin the friendship thing.

"I don't know what to do with Demi," he blurts out, casually handing me one of his favorite cigars. "Absolutely no clue."

"Do you love her?" I inquire, finally letting out one of the few taboo questions between him and I. We never talk about it; I dated Demi, and there's a golden rule where we agreed to never date one of our exes.

Nick takes a puff, his brown eyes lost in space. "I don't know," he reveals after a while, and slightly frowns. "I mean, I think I do love her, but she's not ready for a relationship with me."

It's my turn to frown. What does he mean by that? Wasn't it him rejecting her advances because he wasn't ready? That's what Demi told me the last time I phoned her, which was a while ago. Perhaps things changed; it always does.

"She's not ready," he declares like he's one hundred percent convinced. "She thinks she loves me, but I think she's simply fooling herself. She wants to get over someone else, so much that she's deliberately confusing her own feelings." My brother carefully looks at me, a suggestion clear in his eyes.

"You're not serious, Nick. She doesn't love me since 2010 when I dumped her! Are you trying to create drama with this, or what? If... If you really love her back, go for it and ruin your stupid friendship!" I frustratedly look away, trying to avoid his eyes, but he doesn't let me.

"You're jealous," he points out. It wasn't a question, but more of a fact that we both knew, so I didn't bother to answer. "But you don't get my point." He turns towards me, abandoning his cigar for a few minutes. "I'm not restraining my feelings because of you, big bro. I'm staying away for the moment just because I want to make sure that she's sincere. You see, Joe, I waited ten years for her to notice me, so a few more months won't cause any harm."