Cup of Joe | A Joe Jonas Fanfiction

c h a p t e r t h i r t e e n .

The remainder of the day had been draining.

Per Gianna's strongly worded suggestion, Joe and Winter had kept to themselves, going out of their way to avoid the other. Neither of them were keen on the idea of trying to talk things out. The emotional involvement was too high. Between all of the closed doors, the averted eyes, the frustrated body language, and the unwanted stillness, one would think that the pair were strangers living under the same roof. It was a shame.

Winter hugged her knees to her chest as she sipped on a lukewarm cup of coffee. Her reflection peered back at her in the fading daylight that glinted on the windows and she frowned. Almost 24 hours ago, she and Joe had been in a completely different scenario - it was like something out a fairytale. For several minutes, she zoned out, her brain reminding her of how different everything could be if the situation was handled in an alternate way. A cacophony of sounds from somewhere else in the penthouse jerked her back to reality. Confused, Winter left her coffee cup on the nightstand and decided to investigate. The sound amplified the closer she got to the kitchen and as she rounded the corner, she realized why.

Full of unbridled frustration, Joe was destroying the once-beautiful arrangement of roses that had sat on the dining room table just hours ago. A sea of red petals covered the floor. There were stems sticking out of the garbage can and piles of trampled flowers strewn into bags around the room. Winter watched with bated breath as he continued to pull the roses out, one by one, until the vase was empty. If Joe was aware that she was present, he hadn't given any indication that he cared. Instead, he dropped into chair and covered his face with his arms on the table, his distress evident in each pointed movement.

Much like the damaged flowers strewn across the room, their friendship was compromised. As much as it hurt to admit, Winter was aware that she had a large part in tearing apart what they had built. She was so quick to suggest separation after Gianna's chat for more reasons than one. It was true - everything Gianna said made sense, and Winter never wanted to get in the way of Joe's and the bands success. On a more personal level, it was only a matter of time before she left New York and Joe behind. Was it worth it to get herself so involved only to break her own heart at the end of their time together?  There was no right answer.

Winter knelt down and began to pick up the petals. The velvety feel between her fingers reminded her that there was still so much beauty in things that were broken. Piece by piece, she cleaned up the petals.

"Why are you cleaning up my mess?"

Startled by the sudden voice, Winter gasped and rocked back onto her knees. She had been so engrossed in her own thoughts that she hadn't noticed that Joe had moved from the chair and was now sitting on the floor a few feet away from her. Embarrassed by her own oblivious nature, she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "That's what friends are for. You stepped in when you barely knew me and helped to organize my mess of a life with Nolan without me ever even asking. I'm repaying my debt."

Those brown eyes. It was impossible for Winter to not lose herself in his gaze. Joe's stare never faltered. "There was never a debt that needed to be repaid."

No more words were spoken. They worked together in the comfortable silence, restoring the dining room to its former glory before the flower implosion. Once they were satisfied with their work, Winter and Joe parted ways, their eyes meeting one last time before closing their bedroom doors behind them.

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A knock at the door pulled Winter from her sleep early the next morning. Dragging herself out of bed, she plodded over to the door, drowsiness very much present in her ungraceful canter.

"Roscoe?" She was surprised to find him waiting on the other side of the door.

"Sorry to wake you, Winter." Roscoe gave an apologetic shrug. "We are preparing everything for the Christmas party this evening and we figured you would want to be involved."