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"here, grab onto my hand and i'll pull you up. it'll be easier than trying to get up yourself." joe held his hand out, sara grasping onto it and pulling herself up onto the roof. she fell forward slightly, joe catching her and letting her get situated as she muttered a quick 'thank you'
"this is incredibly dangerous, you know that?" sara said matter-of-factly, joe laughing slightly as sara leaned back and stared up at the sky. the two had snuck out of her parent's house later at night, probably around two out of boredom. joe had the marvelous idea to climb up to the roof despite sara's wishes out of fear of her parents hearing two noisy teenagers on the roof.
"this is your place of choice?" sara looked up at him. she couldnt help but admire how he looked in the darker atmosphere. usually she wouldn't pay any mind to someone's appearance- it was never important to her. but sometimes with joe, she couldn't help it. maybe it was weird, maybe not.
"what'cha lookin' at? don't tell me i have something on my face." he pulled out his phone, opening the camera and looking at himself.
"nothing, joe." sara grinned slightly. "just looking. is that a crime?"
"i don't think so." he shook his head. "anyways, i think it's a nice spot! i always go up on my roof when i need to think, or when i want to be alone, or just when i want somewhere to go! it's relaxing!"
"yeah, yeah." sara nodded, turning on her side and looking up at joe. she was wearing one of his old t-shirts, and a pair of her pajama shorts- she never officially asked for the shirt, just taking it one night at his house and never giving it back. he didn't seem to mind it though. he complimented her when she wore it, so she took it as a sign that it was hers now.
he sighed, laying down beside her. "look up, that group of stars looks like a cat!" he pointed up, poking sara as she groaned, looking up and leaning her head on his shoulder tiredly.
"it looks like a circle." she giggled. "you just like cats."
"no! look! those are the ears." he pointed to two more circles (that don't look like ears.) she rolled her eyes, checking her phone and seeing a message from ryoko asking how the sleepover was going. she liked keeping tabs on joe and sara, but she wasn't too keen on messaging back this instant.
"those don't look like ears!" sara said, loudly, laughing slightly and then shushing herself when she realised joe was pointing down to the house. "they're going to hear you!"
"okay, okay! sorry!" she giggled, laying back down beside her friend. sara wasn't generally fond of touch- not that she nessecarily hated it, but she never cared about it. especially with anyone outside of family. but like most things, it didn't matter with joe.
to her, everything was different with him. nothing ever bothered her, or mattered, he was more than a safe space to her. but she'd never tell him that.
he hummed slightly, looking back up at the stars. "do you see any constellations? i can see like three alone but i have to test you first! do you see any?"
"i see stars." she put her head back on his shoulder. "that one's shaped like a triangle?"
"all you notice is a triangle? sara! look more closely. use your imagination instead of just what's in front of you."
"joe, you're asking me what i see right now but i see absolutely nothing." she responded. "i'm just being honest."
"okay, yeah, but what's the point of stargazing if you're just going to say, 'oh yeah that's a triangle'? like, be more creative!" he used his hands to emphasize on the 'creative' part.
she sat, looking back up at the sky. "fine. that looks like a... rocketship." she rolled her eyes.
"you're just playing with me now!" joe exclaimed, crossing his arms and staring back up at the sky.
"you told me to be creative! so, i'm being creative. i said, that one's a rocketship." sara said. "final answer. it's better than triangle."
"fine, i'll take it." joe shook his head, laying back down and toying with the hem of his shirt. he looked over at sara, who had shifted focus to a few birds chirping on a powerline beside her house. she'd moved now, but he was still a little hung up on when she was huddled into his shoulder, not something he would expect from her.
he'd had feelings for her for as long as he could remember, obviously. everyone knew! hell, people knew before he even realised it himself. but she was so.. much better than he was. she was too good for him. and i guess thats why he never told her, but it was getting worse and he was thinking of telling her although she had no idea. i guess she was about to.
sara could tell he was thinking; but sara couldn't exactly pinpoint what he was thinking of just by reading his facial expressions. he hadn't told her about anything that was on his mind, which is strange. usually joe can't keep his thoughts in his head at all, he's always telling her what's up in his life, how he's feeling, and even pointless stuff like how lunch was or what he saw on the walk to her house- but none of that today.
"you look like there's something on your mind." sara observed. "what's going on? you know that you can tell me."
"im just.. thinking." joe said. "cant tell ya this one, sara."
she moved to be in front of him, putting her hands on his. "tell me. please?"
"there's this girl." he started. "i don't know. i think i'm in love- but actually in love, head over heels, no way out." joe sighed. "i don't know what to do about it."
"ryoko?" she asked. "it's ryoko, isn't it! i knew it."
"wait, here's the kicker." joe put his hand out. "it's not ryoko."
"i've never seen you with another girl! who is it?" sara asked. "please? i need to know this!"
"i don't think you should know." joe shook his head. "it's just.. what i'm thinking about. i know she probably doesn't have actual feelings for me but i've been getting some mixed signals."
sara smirked. "oh. right. well.. maybe she's totally head over heels for you, but she's too stubborn to admit she has feelings for someone."
"sounds like her." joe nodded, leaning back. "that's the scoop. i don't know what to do. it's getting noticably harder to pretend i don't like her when she's around."
"what if she knows?" sara asked, looking up at him.
joe sat up slightly, looking sara in the eye. the tension was thicker than before although it was dead silent. "then she should tell me."
they both were looking up at the sky. sara had moved back to sitting beside him, joe's arm around her shoulder. she rested her head, looking back at him. "hey joe?"
"hm?" joe put his head on top of hers.
"i love you too." she whispered.
joe grinned, hugging her closely. "you could've told me sooner, that would've saved me the whole awkward 'who do you like' conversation."
"well, yeah." sara said. "but what if you didn't like me? what if it was ryoko? i was nearly positive it was her." she put her hands up in defense.
"can i ask when you realised? i probably have you beat in that department." joe said. "let me have this.
"since 1st year." joe said. "embarassed it's took me this long to tell you."
"oh, yeah." sara giggled. "junior high school. how did you never notice? i used to follow you around like a lost puppy and it never came to you?"
"i didn't know you liked me until you JUST told me! i thought you were just being friendly!"
sara smiled up at him. "so.."
"who's sleeping on the floor tonight?" joe chuckled, pulling her closer. "totally kidding. but uh. just for like, the record are we-"
"i hope so." sara said. "i've waited too long. if we aren't dating now, i'll be a little upset."
"don't worry about it! i can call myself your boyfriend now, do you know how cool that is? freaking awesome!" he grinned widely, sara looking up at him in awe.
"you're a big loser, you know that right?" she smiled up at him, tilting his face down and kissing him softly. joe put his hand on the side of her face, kissing back and pulling her closer.
"you don't know how long i've waited for this." joe held her closely, hugging her and feeling her put her arms around his shoulders. she nodded in agreement. they both enjoyed the moment- until
"sara? joe?" they could both hear her mom calling their names.