Love Triangle ➳ Joseph Morgan & Daniel Gillies

#38 [ Real Life ]

I looked at my screen and pick my cellphone up from the passenger seat, sliding my finger across the screen to answer the call from Claire coming in.

"Yo." I answered.

"Hey, Babe." I sat back in my seat and tapped my finger tips on the steering wheel.

"What's up?"

"You said you were gonna check in on Jo. He okay?"

"I just pulled into his driveway. So I'll let you know." I looked down at my phone and moved my thumb towards the end button.

"Do you think this is about you and Dan?" Claire asked. I sighed and put my phone back to my ear.

"I hope not. He said he leveled the playing field." I shrugged my shoulders.

"He what? Did you — what?"

"He kissed me." I explained. I could practically see her face when I told her.

"When and where? And why didn't you tell me?" I laughed to myself. "Uh hello?"

"The dance." I shrugged my shoulders.

"Girl, you better talk to that man right now. Team Jo all the way. Get in there."

"Claire."

My voice was firm. I didn't want to just go in there. I mean, what if he was really sick? Or what if he didn't want to see me? I wasn't about to bust down the door to talk to him.

"What? What's the problem?"

"I don't know what I want." I exhaled heavily.

"Yes, you do. You just don't know that you know."

"Then how will I know?"

"Oh you'll know."

She ended the call, and I tossed my shoulder up lazily. I set my phone down in my cupholder and sit back in my seat, eyeing Jo's front door. I had texted him several times before deciding to stop by his house to make sure he was okay, but he hadn't responded to any of my messages nor any of the others' messages to check in on him.

He had barely said a word to anybody since the cast and crew dance a few days ago. He had called in sick for two of the three days, and he left early the first day before he could start directing one of my scenes with Dan -- not that I could blame him. Since he knew about Dan and I kissing, he probably didn't want to see our characters interact at all -- especially since both of their characters are in a love triangle with mine.

I couldn't imagine being in a love triangle. It seems like a lot of work.

I took in a deep breath and turned the car off, grabbing my phone as I pushed open my car door. I paused for a moment as I stepped out of my car, and I sat with my feet planted on the asphalt of the parking lot while I remained in my seat.

My phone vibrated in my hand, and I glanced down at my screen.

OG Squad
Mr Gillies
What's up with Jo???

I rolled my eyes and turned my phone off, shoving it in my back pocket as I pushed myself up from my seat. I pushed my car door closed and walked towards Jo's front door. I looked around me, watching the windows to see if he was expecting me or maybe even waiting for me. To my disappointment, his curtains were closed. I jogged up his steps and stood in front of his door. I held my hand up to knock and paused, looking down at my feet. I couldn't.

I flinched slightly as the front door opened. I looked up. Joseph's exhausted gaze met mine, and I noticed the bags under his eyes. He hadn't shaved either, so his facial hair was longer than it usually was while filming. His eyes softened, and he sucked in a slight breath.

"Hi." I exhaled.

"Hi." He pressed his lips into a thin white line while he adjusted his grip on the door, moving his hand from the door knob to the side of the door.

"Can I come in?"

"I don't think that's a good idea." He shook his head hesitantly, stepping forward slightly.

"Jo, please." My eyebrows furrowed, and he looked down at me, taking me in for a moment. He looked behind his door quickly before stepping back and allowing me entrance into his house. I entered and looked around. I had never been in his home before or seen what the exterior looked like before today. It was a beautiful home. "It's beautiful." I said, turning to face him as he shut the door. "Your house, I mean."

"What are you doing here?" He shrugged his shoulders.

"Didn't you read the group chat?" I cocked my head slightly. "I came to check in on you." I gestured toward him, and he nodded, licking his lips distastefully.

"Why are you really here?" He raised his eyebrows and leaned against his forearm on the wall.

"I wanna make sure you're okay."

Joseph pushed himself off of the wall and started walking into another room, laughing shortly. I followed after him."Okay with what? Feeling okay? Or okay with you kissing my best friend?" He held out his hands in a questioning gesture. He collapsed onto the couch and looked up at me.

"I'm not yours, Jo. I can kiss whoever I want." I stepped closer to him, leaning against the doorframe of the room he was in.

"Yeah, well, that doesn't mean you can hurt whoever you want either." He looked at me with wide eyes brimming with tears. "You can't just lead people on. You can't lead the people you care about on. It's not fair. It's not fair to us."

"Jo, I-"

"Did you really kiss him when we had a date planned?" He interrupted, licking his lip nervously. I looked at him curiously. "Did you kiss Daniel when I was on my way for a date? Did it happen?" I swallowed and inhaled. Exhaling, I watched Joseph stand up.

"Yes." I said quietly, looking at my feet.

"I was okay with you kissing him. I mean, it sucked because I really liked you. I really liked you. But when I found out that it was right before our first date, that hurt. That really hurt, Riley."

"Jo, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"'

"What? You didn't mean to hurt me?" He asked, cocking his head and outstretching his hands. "You did. You hurt me." He points to his chest.

"Jo, please." I pleaded, tears in my eyes. "I didn't mean for it to happen that way. He kissed me, and I was caught off guard and it happened."

"Who is it?" His voice faltered as a single tear rolled down his cheek. He looked away from me.

"What?" I felt my bottom lip tremble. His eyes met mine quickly.

"Who is it that you care about more? Hm? Who do you want to be with?" I didn't answer; I looked down at my feet and attempted to control my breathing. "Riley, who do you want?"

"Jo, I-" He cut me off and approached me, grabbing me by my biceps and forcing me to look into his eyes.

"Who do you want, Riley?" His voice was calm and stable now. Tears continued rolling down his face, but his voice didn't falter anymore. Our eyes focused on each other as he waited for my reply. "Who do you want, Riley?"

I swallowed and licked my bottom lip while inhaling. "You."

"Me?" He seemed surprised at my response. Like, he didn't expect me to choose him. Like, he wanted me to choose him so badly that he never really thought it would happen.

"You."

AH, she made her decision.. sorry for this trash chapter... when I've finished the entire book. I hope to go back through and edit it and revise to make it better, but this is what it is right now

anywho, hope you liked it

much love xx