The whole group fell silent, their jaws dropping at this ground-breaking news. Marriage?! Was Joe serious about marrying this awful woman?! Surely not... This was single-handedly the worst thing they'd ever heard.

"Marriage?!" Tom suddenly yelled, causing Joe's heart to almost stop from fright. "Joe, are you crazy?!" His eyes were wild with horror as though he had just witnessed a gut-wrenching crime take place. How could Joe even consider this after all she had done to him?!

"Please tell us you're joking," Brad interjected, equally as horrified at the thought of one of his best friends being married to someone as despicable as Elyssa. "I mean...you're not serious, are you..?" His eyes stared into Joe's, desperately searching for the truth.

Joe nodded. "I'm very serious. In fact, I already...I already bought the ring."

Brad blinked, his mouth hanging open in shock once again. "Since when?! When did you buy it?!" He was completely floored by Joe's decision.

"Three months ago..." Joe looked away, rubbing his arm in shame.

He'd been thinking about buying the ring for quite some time now, even gathering together some ideas for the wedding. Something traditional, church and a white wedding, was what he was leaning towards. If he was marrying Steven, which he didn't want to of course, because you know, they were both guys, then the wedding would be much more extravagant and special for his love. After everything that had gone on, Elyssa didn't deserve an expensive wedding. Hell, she didn't deserve a ring, but he had his own personal reasons for wanting...needing to do this.

"You...you...you actually want to marry Elyssa?!" Tom stared at him in utter disbelief, shaking his head in disappointment.

Joe hesitated. "Well, no..."

Tom, Brad and Joey stared at Joe, their faces wearing looks of complete confusion instead of anger...disbelief...or even disgust.

"But you...the ring..." Tom babbled, becoming ever more perplexed and animated as the seconds passed.

"I know that this is a lot to take in, but, well," Joe rubbed his face in vexation, scratching his face in the process. "I have to do this...I have to marry Elyssa. I...I don't have a choice."

"Why?"

Joe looked down, a wave of tears blurring his vision as reality started to set in. "It's...it's my dad, alright? He's...he's not well..."

His heart pounded in his chest and he ran his hands nervously through his hair. He wasn't ready for what he knew was the inevitable...

"You mean, he's...dying?"

Joey seemed to have already put two-and-two together, and his face was now riddled with sorrow as he realised that Joe was about to deal with one of the worst things a human can experience.

He meekly nodded, his face and body burning with sadness. "Yes."

"Oh man, I'm so sorry."

Joe jumped slightly as he suddenly found himself crushed in an unexpected embrace, his face turning red with embarrassment. Affection was pretty scarce in his life right now, so he had to constantly find ways to show himself love, but his arms found themselves wrapping around the body that clung to him, his hands pressing firmly into Joey's shoulder blades.

"Love you, man. You'll get through this. There's always light at the end of the tunnel."

"You too, Joey. Look, I want my dad to see me get married before...before he's gone. I'm doing this for him. You understand?" Joe looked into Joey's eyes, impressioning his seriousness on the other.

He needed to make himself known that he was one-hundred-percent certain of his decision. Completely fucking dead serious.

Joey sighed and nodded, resting his head against Joe's. "I get it... Do whatever you gotta do, we're behind you." He gave a reassuring smile.

Brad and Tom nodded in agreement.

"We don't think you made a fantastic decision, but we respect it." Brad smiled softly, trying to be supportive.

"Just make sure Elyssa doesn't eat you alive. She's a man killer," Tom half-joked, putting a lanky arm around Joe's shoulder as they started crossing the road to a different diner, hoping to avoid the same scenario again.

Joe rolled his eyes, though he couldn't help but laugh a little at the comment. "Thanks for the input."

"So, how do you plan to break the news to Steven about your plan to propose to Elyssa? He's gonna find out eventually."

It was the question that had been lingering on everyone's tongues, but they'd all been too hesitant to ask. Steven deserved to know about the change in plans, but knowing the special bond he and Joe shared, he probably wouldn't take it too well.

Tom tilted his head, looking at him curiously as he waited for an answer.

Joe rubbed the back of his neck, biting his lip which signalled his discomfort. He hadn't even considered Steven's reaction to the news. But he agreed, it probably would crush him.

"I didn't think that far ahead... He'll have a complete breakdown, won't he?"

"I wouldn't doubt it."

Joe sighed and walked in through the door of a diner. "Yeah, but he'll just have to deal with it. I mean, he'll get over it, it's not like he's in love with me." He chuckled uncomfortably, hiding his blushing face behind a menu as he sat down in a booth.

Steven in love with him would be a miracle, but yet again, he was probably just overthinking the whole thing and reading all the 'signals' wrong.

"Sure...but just go easy on him when you break the news, he's still recovering from his surgery."

"A'ight, a'ight, I'll go easy." He shook his head and continued observing the meals that were listed.

He didn't exactly plan to freak out and give Steven a slap in the face for being upset. That just wasn't how he played.

"Okay, but when are you going to go back to Boston and propose?" Brad asked, sitting down opposite him and resting his chin on his palm, interested in the response. "It is a bit of a desperate position you're in."

"Soon. Maybe either today or tomorrow." Joe groaned, resting his forehead on the menu he still held in his hands, he really wasn't looking forward to seeing Elyssa, his soon-to-be fiancé. "I just need to get it over with. Go home, propose, get married, and then come back and record the album, done. And then divorce Elyssa as soon as possible," he added, taking a puff. "I can't put up with her shit anymore...You know what's funny?" he leaned back in his seat and smiled to himself. "She was so sweet when we met, and then when we made our relationship official, she just turned into a psycho."

Brad hummed. "Some of the worst psychos are the ones in disguise."

Tom snickered softly. "Thanks for that, Mr. President. Ow! Don't elbow me, Brad. That hurt." He rubbed his arm, nursing a spot that was turning pink.

"Yeah, well..." Joe shook his head, discarding the response he had prepared. "forget it. Are you guys gonna come to the wedding? If she says yes, of course."

The group nodded.

"Yeah, of course we will. We can't not show up at our best friend's wedding."

Joe smiled warmly, feeling a little better. "Thanks, that means a lot."

"And I presume Steven is invited? It'd be a bit...well, it wouldn't be the same without him." Brad concluded, imagining all the hilarious things Steven could do to piss off the bride and groom.

"Yeah, definitely. I...I was actually thinking about making him best man." He gave a cute, blushing smile that made him look so innocent - almost child-like.

Steven had done a shit ton for him over the years, and they'd become inseparable, so it only made sense.

Tom, Brad and Joey smiled, not in the least bit sad that they hadn't been 'picked'. It was a special and personal position reserved for the deeply treasured, any man would be grateful to be honoured with such a thing.

"As he should be. Talk to him when he's discharged and then go home and do the proposal thing."

"Yeah, that's what I was going to do. Thanks, sweetheart," he smiled at the waitress that had placed a glass of coke down in front of him. "Guess we just have to wait now until a further update about Steven."