deep love | 1

sunflowers

J's pov 

Joe's grinning from ear to ear when we finally break apart, still gazing into my eyes. I laugh, and I take his hand. That's when I hear cheering from upstairs. I gasp as I look up to the second floor of Joe's house, to see Nick, Kev, Dani and Leia all staring down at us like creeps. Blushing, I look at Joe to see him mirroring my expression. "Were you guys... watching the whole time?" I nearly yell, amused and embarrassed. Dani nods, then shrugs. "Sorry, you guys are too cute." 

Joe and I walk upstairs to the excited group waiting for us. Leia jumps up and down as we reach the top. "I knew it would work!" She squeals. "Joe told me everything." 

I smile. "Wait, about that, how did you even get to Joe's house in the first place?" Leia bursts out laughing. "Well, about that..." She turns to look at Joe who's blushing firetruck red. When she's done, all of us are howling with laughter at the end of the story, Joe included. 

Joe's pov 

I notice how Leia carefully doesn't mention the part about Nick as she tells the story. When she's done embarrassing me, we all decide to go for dinner together. As the rest are gathering their things, I turn to J. "Where'd you find the ring?" I ask. "You left it on the grass when you left, so I picked it up." 

"Oh, that makes sense. We should go to the ring shop to get a matching ring for you too!" I say. J nods, smiling. "Oh, guess what?" She suddenly asks. "What?" 

"Nick asked me for Leia's number!" My mouth drops open. "He... likes her?" I ask, staring at J. She nods, confirming it. "I- Leia likes him too! When we were walking to my house she told me she likes him." We stare at each other, dumbfounded, for a while before J starts grinning like the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland. "We need to set them up," She says, as Kev, Dani, Leia, Nick and Dani come out of my bedroom after gathering all their things. I nod, smirking at the thought. 

Nick's pov 

I can't stop staring at Leia, I just can't. The way her dimples deepen, the way her brown eyes light up. "So, what do you guys want for dinner?" Joe asks. "Pizza hut!" Kev yells like a little kid, making us laugh. We nod in agreement. 

Kev and Dani take their own car to go to pizza hut, leaving Leia, Joe, J and I with 3 cars- Leia was walking home so her car isn't here. Joe turns to J. "Do you wanna spend the night? Both of us can take my car, Leia can take Nick's." She nods, and I notice them exchange a look.

Joe's pov 

We get into the car, both of us laughing. "They'll have some quality time together now," J smirks. We pull out of the driveway, following Nick's car to Pizza hut, about 20 minutes away. "So tell me how you planned the surprise..." I say. I've been thinking about it all day. As J fills me in on the details, I smile as I realise how lucky I am- out of so many people, I ended up with a caring, thoughtful and gracious girlfriend. 

J's pov 

I almost gasp as I'm halfway telling Joe the story- I forgot the flowers! They're still in Joe's room. I quickly stop myself from saying anything about going to the shop and continue telling the rest of it. As I finish telling the story, I get a text from Leia.

 "It's so awkward with Nick!!" I read the text out loud to Joe. He laughs. "Doesn't she like him?" He asks. I shrug as I type back a reply, "Tell him a dad joke, he loves those."  

Nick's pov 

We sit in silence for a while in the car, and I can't stop thinking about how awkward it is, but at the same time, I'm happy that I'm alone with her in the car. Leia laughs softly to herself, and I glance at her.