THE MATCHMAKER ➢ JB MZ

seven

JOEY WENT UP TO greg, after talking to maddie out in the hallway. he felt so annoyed with himself and greg both at the same time. joey tried not to seem so mad in front of maddie and she didn't notice, so he was fine.

"greg!" joey called out as he walked back to the table. greg played dumb, although he knew what joey was going to be mad about. charles and lucas were just confused. "why would you lie?"

"lie about what?" greg asked, raising an eyebrow. greg lived for drama, whatever it was, he just found entertainment in it. it was great to him, really.

"what is going on?" charles questioned, finally putting his phone down for the first time in forever.

"greg told me that maddie told him that she liked me," joey explained to charles. lucas's eyes widened and joey noticed. he couldn't help but feel bad for the kid. "but he was just lying."

greg was still pretending like he did no such thing. "doesn't ring a bell."

"see greg, i caught you and you're still lying." joey shook his head. meanwhile, charles was finding this funny and lucas was trying to eat his food in peace. he tuned out their conversation. he didn't want to hear about maddie liking someone other than him.

"even if he was lying, why are you mad about it?" charles questioned. joey was annoyed that charles was basically taking greg's side, not his actual best friend.

"because i like her, okay." joey didn't even realize the words coming out of his mouth, he was just so mad at greg and annoyed with charles, the words just kept flowing. "i can't get her off of my mind and when i thought she liked me, i was actually happy about it. i got my hopes up."

the others were shocked. lucas decided he heard enough and got up, and left. they all knew what was up with lucas but they just thought he'd get over it. so with that, they went back to the important stuff.

"out of all of the places in this school, you chose the lunchroom to tell us? you know people can hear you," greg started laughing. joey couldn't stand greg anymore. what was his deal? "wait did anyone hear that?" greg asked the two tables behind and in front of them.

"hear what?" they all asked.

"never mind!" greg yelled.

charles started laughing. "you guys would be great together, in my opinion."

joey didn't respond to what he said.

"what did maddie say?" asked greg, who didn't feel the least of regret for doing what he did. he didn't feel bad about it either. i mean, he just got joey to admit his feelings in front of charles and lucas. he did a good thing.

"like i would tell you." joey rolled his eyes. "you might just trick me again."

"how exactly?" greg raised his eyebrows.

"whatever." joey sighed and said, "she just told me that it was vanessa who liked me all along. but i already knew that. then she wanted me to give her a chance."

hearing himself say these things, disappointed him. he liked maddie, yet she wanted him to go completely against that and date the crazy obsessive girl just because she was pretty and popular.

"that's sad man," charles broke the silence. "but she'll get over it."

"weird," greg said. "just weird."

"what?" joey and charles said in unison.

"why would she want you to date vanessa? like is there a good reason for this?" greg queried. his questions made sense and it made joey think. why would she want me to be with vanessa? joey asked himself.

"i don't know." joey shrugged. "but oh well, i'm not dating vanessa though."

charles nodded. "good because-"

"we know," greg cut him off. "just talk to her about it."

joey thought about it for a moment. "yeah, i guess," he said. for a liar and drama enthusiast, greg actually gave good advice. he couldn't seem to tell if greg really cared. "i just can't believe i really admitted it to you guys."

"what do you mean?" charles asked, looking down at his phone.

"like i've always kinda liked her, but i feel like i just denied it all of the time. so i find it hard to believe that i just went off in the cafeteria," explained joey. then he remembered, lucas, poor lucas. he deserved better.

"don't worry about it," greg reassured him. "we won't tell anyone."

joey doubted that. "i swear to god greg if you tell anyone i'll-"

"i won't! trust me on this one," cutting him off, greg tried to get joey to believe him. in fact, charles didn't really believe him either.

"but guys," joey started to say.

"yeah?"

"what about lucas?" joey felt bad for lucas, he really did. he basically just stole the girl that he's been practically in love with for so long and nobody seemed to care about him one bit.

"what about him?" greg continued eating.

"greg, come on," charles nudged him. "he's our friend and yeah, i feel bad for him."

"okay true, but promise me when i say he'll get over it," assuring the group, greg didn't see why they felt bad for lucas. i mean sure, lucas liked maddie, but it wasn't like he had a chance. the only thing he could do was just get over it. simple as that.

"i guess." joey shrugged. "where did he go anyways?"

"i don't even know," charles said.

"but more importantly," greg started to say.

"yes?"

"you need to talk to maddie."

a/n

this is the worst chapter that i've ever written IM

but tbh i feel so bad for lucas he deserves better! also i love greg marks in this fanfic, just felt like saying that. he really is stud in this 👌😎

but yeah please leave a vote and some comments because they are greatly appreciated! have a great day!