I Love You, Sara || YTTD Joe x Sara

❀Chapter 4❀

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Sara's POV

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   "Aw, darnit! Why are you so good at that?!" 

   I smiled as Ryoko beat Joe in yet another acarde game while I watched. Sure, it was nice to be around two friends (I think?) and have some simple fun. But it would be a whole lot nicer if my stomach could calm down for at least one second. It hurt a lot. But it wasn't any sort of hunger pain. The three of us had got some great pretzels at one of the mall stands, so I couldn't be hungry. And it wasn't an upset stomach from eating the pretzels, though it wouldn't be too hard to believe since they were kind of greasy.

   No, it was a feeling of anxiety. My worries always laid in my stomach. I don't know why, but they did. I'm also not sure why I'm feeling so anxious right now. Yes, I'm hanging out with people that I don't know too well, but that's never really bothered me before. It can be awkward at first, but I don't mind meeting new people and making them feel at ease with me. I'm a natural-born leader.

   So, that being said, why am I so anxious? 

   I enterlaced my fingers for a brief second, only to pull them back apart. I began to slowly repeat that action. "Hey, Sara! Come over here!" I snapped my head up to search for the caller of my name. My eyes landed on Joe.

   His face was beaming. Well, I guess that isn't too strange. He's always beaming. "Come play some DDR with me!" he shouted, waving a hand at me. I smiled, a small laugh making its way out of my mouth.

   "Okay," I said. As I walked over, I noticed that Ryoko was no where to be found. Hm, strange. I shrugged it off, standing on the machine with Joe. 

   After a few minutes of pure DDR goodness (author's note: I've never played DDR), we both got off, hands on our knees as we caught our breath. "Good try, Joe. But no one can beat me at that game," I said in between huffs. 

   Joe laughed. "Yeah yeah, whatever! I could have totally beat you if I tried hard enough." We both continued to laugh, shaking our heads. Eventually, I pulled myself together. 

   "Where'd Ryoko go?" I asked. Almost as if on que, the black-haired girl appeared by Joe's side, one arm around his shoulders.

   She hid something behind her back. "Hey, hey! Who won?" Joe gave out an overdramatic sigh and pointed at me. This earned a giggle from both Ryoko and me. The girl swayed a bit, taking her arm off Joe. "Well, that sucks for you, Joe. Butttt, luckily, I got you a congrats-you-lost present!" She showed the object that she had hid behind her back to us. She held out a dog plushie, her hands under its armpits. After letting us admire it for a few seconds, she pushed it into Joe's chest.

   "A dog? Awesome! I love dogs. Thanks, bro," he said, holding the dog in his arms. "I'll cherish this forever." 

   Ryoko grinned. "I won it off of a claw machine, no problem." She procedded to brush off invisble dust in order to demonstrate her point. 

   For the rest of the night, I continued to smile and act happy as could be. The whole ride home I gave laughs to their jokes. But inside, my stomach was having a war. Seeing Joe and Ryoko act so happy made it curl up and hurt. But why? I dropped my smile for a moment, lost in thought. 

   Why did my anxiety kick in whenever I saw Ryoko and Joe being all lovey-dovey to one another? Why did it coil into a ball whenever one of them or one of my friends talked about them being together? Why did it shrivel up whenever I saw them hug?

   Oh.

   I have a crush on Joe.

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(I tried to make that a little cheesy but not too cheesy? I feel like I kind of failed though. Hopefully you can find it enjoyable regardless! I apologize again for my slow uploads. I assure you that I am determined to see this story to its end.)