• joel •

"What's on your mind, bro?" Richard asked, flopping on the cushion beside me. I shook my head, trying to take my focus off Vanessa. It's been days since I met her son, and I couldn't stop thinking about her and me. "You've been spacing out a lot."

"I met her son," I blurted. If I could talk to anyone about this, it would be Richard. "Vanessa has a son, and I already met him even though we only started to 'hang out.' We haven't even discussed our relationship yet and I already met her kid!"

"Was it a 'come over and meet my kid' or a spur of the moment?"

"Does that matter?" I questioned.

"She probably didn't want to you to meet him so soon, so it does matter to her. She must like you enough to let you meet him. Do you like her?" Richard asked.

"I'm not sure if I can like someone's mother," I responded. "She's younger than me and already a parent. She's— I thought I was okay with her being a mother, but—"

"Answer the damn question, Joel. Do you like her?"

"How can I like her? Once everyone finds out about her, they'll send her so much hate and I can't be the reason they do that. And no one will let me date a mother."

"You're your own person, Joel. You can date whoever you want. If you like Vanessa, then do something about it. If you don't—"

"I need to break it off," I interrupted. "She doesn't deserve anything that'll come to her once anything goes public between her and I."

"She was a pregnant teenager, do you think she won't be able to handle a few fangirls on the internet?" Richard asked. "I know you like her. And what does her being a mother change the way you feel about her?"

"What about when everyone finds out? What would they think about her?" I asked, worried about the backlash from the public and everyone we work with, and our fans.

"If they have anything bad to say about her, I will back her up. They'd be hypocritical to judge her and not me," Richard told me. "You shouldn't worry about that stuff, since it hasn't happened yet. And before you do start worrying, you should probably talk about your relationship with her."

• vanessa •

I refolded the shirts and organized them by the sizes again. Why couldn't people fix their messes? They always assume that the employees will clean everything.

"Can I use your employee discount?" I overheard someone say. I looked up and saw Tatiana standing there with clothes piled on her arms. "Or the best friend discount? That's a thing, right?"

"I told you not to come by during my shifts," I told Tatiana. "And I can't give you my employee discount anymore."

"Even if it's for your birthday?" Tatiana responded. "I found the cutest sundress that'll be perfect for you. Maybe wear it for Brandon's party, or a date with—"

"I'd rather not get fired for giving out a discount meant for me," I interrupted.

"I guess I can pay full price for your birthday present," Tatiana said. "You just can't get it until your birthday."

"I suppose I can't stop you from buying me anything for my birthday, can I?" I questioned. Tatiana shook her head. "If you go to Rebecca, she can give you the discount, if you really need it. Which you don't, Miss Spoiled."

"Are we really going to be talking about being spoiled?" Tatiana asked. "Because I think you beat me, V. You'll always beat me in a spoiled contest. But thank you! I really appreciate it!"

I finished folding, and walked towards the back where the registers were. I stopped beside my manager and whispered, "there's a mess in the storage room. Whoever did the inventory last night messed up real bad," I lied. She muttered a few curse words and went to check.

"You're going to give her a heart attack, V," Rebecca told me. "But, I'd love to see that. So carry on." I smiled and laughed.

"Tatiana is here, and she was persistent," I whispered to Rebecca. She nodded, and went back to scanning the clothes.

I looked at the store, and it was empty, with a few customers walking around looking at the clothes. My shift was ending soon, and I couldn't wait to go home, be with Brandon, and possibly rewatch the new Spiderman movie with him.

I busied myself with walking around seeing if anyone needed help with choosing something or a size. After helping some pre-teen girls, I found an older brunette lady looking around. "Excuse me ma'am, is there anything you need help with?" I asked.

"Oh, no, I'm—"

"What are you doing here?" I interrupted. My mother stood in front of me, it's been almost four years since I saw her in person. "Did dad tell you I worked here?" I took a deep breath and turned around, my back towards her.

"Vanessa, wait!" She grabbed my arm and I pushed her away. "I'm sorry. I— I made a mistake leaving you and your father!"

"Dad might have forgiven you, but I haven't," I responded. "Now leave before I call mall security on you," I turned back around, and straight into the back office where I could finally clock-out. I grabbed my things, and said goodbye to my coworkers.

"Hey, do you think you can help me find my size in this jacket?"

I silently groaned, and complained in my head. I could easily get the manager's or Rebecca's attention to help, but instead I turned around and saw Joel smiling at me. "What are you doing here?"

"Are you off?" Joel asked.

"I just clocked out, why?" I questioned.

"Do you have a few minutes? There's something I need to talk to you about," Joel said. I gulped, here it comes. He's not ready to date a single mother. "C'mon, I can buy you a blizzard from the food court." He grabbed my hand and the two of us walked past a handful of stores before we reached the food court.

I sat at an empty table, letting every thought fly around my head. I shouldn't have mentioned Brandon to him, and I definitely shouldn't have let him meet Brandon. It was too early, and just not a thing I should've done. I pulled myself out of my thoughts when Joel sat in front of me and a brownie blizzard was slid across the table to me.

"Vanessa, I—"

"I understand, Joel. I probably shouldn't have told you about Brandon, but really I couldn't lie to you. And I probably should have let you go and not meet Brandon. So if this is you trying to—"

"Woah, Vanessa. I'm not going to stop whatever we are," Joel interrupted me. "I told you I liked you. I really like you, Vanessa. You're amazing, and cool, and it's awesome to know you have a cool kid like Brandon. Will you be my girlfriend?"

Did I hear him right? I couldn't have, could I? "Did I hear you right?"

"Yes, Vanessa. Will you be my girlfriend?"

"Yes," I responded. "Yes, I'll be your girlfriend. If you'll be my boyfriend," I added. Joel laughed at my response, but reached over the table and grabbed my hand, and lifting it to his lips.

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I updated less than a week ago! that's progress.

also, I gave Joel's pov bc I wanted to write his doubts about the relationship he wants with vanessa. (His doubts were in the original draft of this book, and i wanted to write it in before he decided to dtr)

also this book is almost to 200 votes and is at 4k reads. Thank you! Thank you for reading this and voting on this book even though I don't have an update schedule like i did at the beginning of writing this book.
Thank you!!

i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!
💓