Can't Breathe With No Air [Chapter 6]

"There you are!", Joe appeared by Stella's side just as she slammed her locker shut.
"Isn't this where you told me to be...?", she laughed slightly at his forgetfulness.
"Shh, now come on", he started to walk away, but stopped when he realized Stella's lack of presence beside him.
He slowly turned and faced her, "Aren't you coming?", he asked not unlike a five year old.
Stella frowned, "Where would you be taking me?", she asked suspiciously.
"Please, just follow me. I wanna show you something", Joe pleaded, grabbing Stella's hand.
Before she could protest, Joe began to jog down the hall, dragging her with him.
"Joe, stop! Where are we-", Joe skid to a halt in front of a room that Stella had never been in before, "the band room? Why couldn't we just rehearse with the piano Jenny left in the drama room?"
"'Cause I wanna show you something", Joe said, keeping his hand on hers and opening the door for her.
Stella hesitantly followed him inside, taking in the new surroundings. The room looked a lot like the drama room, only without a stage and with instruments. It had that same, messy, artsy feel to it.
"Come here", he said, guiding her over to the piano.
"Joe, what are you-"
"Just listen", he interrupted again.
Stella inhaled deeply and nodded. She seriously had a bad feeling about this. What was he going to do?
Joe slid onto the piano bench and took a deep breath. He glanced up once at Stella' confused eyes before letting his fingertips rest on the piano keys. Slowly, he began to play the opening notes of a song.
"You're a falling star, you're the get away car.
You're the line in the sand when I go too far."
Stella breath caught in her throat as he sang. It was her favorite song of all time, though it lost a little of it's liking when they played it on that dreadful prom night.
"You're the swimming pool, on an August day.
And you're the perfect thing to say."
Joe's voice was deep, low, just how it should be for the first verse. The piano took the place of the guitar beautifully. With one glance at Stella's astonished expression, Joe continued.
"And you play it coy but it's kinda cute.
Ah, when you smile at me you know exactly what you do.
Baby don't pretend that you don't know it's true.
'cause you can see it when I look at you."
Joe took a deep breath and looked directly at Stella.
"And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, you make me sing.
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything."
Stella tore her eyes away from his and looked down at the smooth piano. Joe sighed and turned his attention back to the keys in front of him.
"You're a carousel, you're a wishing well,
And you light me up, when you ring my bell.
You're a mystery, you're from outer space,
You're every minute of my everyday.
And I can't believe, uh that I'm your man,
And I get to kiss you baby just because I can.
Whatever comes our way, ah we'll see it through,
And you know that's what our love can do."
Stella closed her eyes, letting herself be lost in the music. It was beautiful, and Stella couldn't stand it.
"And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, you make me sing.
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.
So, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
So, la, la, la, la, la, la, la"
Joe's eyes widened as he watched Stella push herself off of her leaning stance and walk over to him. Timidly and gracefully, she slid onto the long piano bench next to him, her eyes focused on his fingers moving across the keys.
"And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, you make me sing.
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.
You're every song, and I sing along.
'Cause you're my everything.
Yeah, yeah
So, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
So, la, la, la, la, la, la, la"
The last note was played and Stella closed her eyes. Emotions ran rampant through her body, and she couldn't take it anymore. She knew the easy way out, but was she really willing to take it?
Joe watched as Stella's face went from confused to utterly hurt. Her eyebrows pulled together sadly and a small frown appeared on her lips. With her eyes closed, Stella opened her mouth to speak, but closed it once more.
"Tell me", Joe urged softly.
"N-never...", she began in a weak voice.
Joe leaned in closer to her and her eyes opened, but they still didn't look into his.
"Never make someone your everything... because when they leave, you'll have nothing", Stella spoke in near whisper.
Joe watched Stella, her eyes glassy, her thin frame shaking slightly. His heart shattered as he watched her like this, knowing that it had been him that made her this way. Since he had come back, this was the first time that he had seen Stella upset. It was the first time that he had seen how broken she really was.
Joe broke the silence, "But... that's why... that's why I can never leave you again."
Stella looked at him, confusion mixed into her sorrow filled eyes. His hand reached up to touch Stella's cheek, a hand that she immediately flinched away from. With a defeated sigh he let his hand fall back to his side.
"I-I can't lose my everything", he whispered.
Stella felt her heart leap to her throat as she whipped her head back around to face him. Her eyes were wide, hardly daring to believe what she had just heard. Slowly, she began to shake her head, denial kicking in.
"You don't mean that", she whispered.
Upon saying those words, Stella immediately wished she could have taken them back. She practically saw Joe's heart break through his eyes. Stella sat rooted to the spot, unable to move as shock flooded through her body.

"But I do, Stella", he whispered, thoroughly hurt, "I mean it more than you think."
Stella watched as he waited patiently for her reaction. A cagillion emotions rushed through her veins, shock at what he was saying, confusion at whether or not she should trust him, happiness at the words she was hearing, love for the boy in front of her, but also hatred for what she had put him through.
"Joe", she managed to choke out, tears threatening to spill, "do you even realize what you put me through?"
Joe hung his head in shame, unable to look at Stella's eyes.
"I told you so many things I've never told anyone, I trusted you with my heart Joe", Stella confessed, "and that's not something I do easily. I can't even begin to describe to you how I felt without you."
Stella took a deep breath and shuddered. She was opening up to him, again, even after he had broke her heart. But Stella couldn't help it. She really did want to believe him, want to trust him and love him like she did before.

And that was the problem to it all: love. Love had caused too many problems in Stella's life. Because of love, she hadn't seen her own father in nearly a year. Because of love, she herself had her heart shattered to a near irreparable state. All this time Stella's heart had been in pieces, mending incredibly slowly.
"I can't stand to see you hurt again", Joe's eyes bore into her own, his face inching closer and closer to hers.
Stella breathed, and for the first time in a while, her heart fluttered. It was hard for Stella to keep her eyes on Joe's, as they were consistently glancing down at his perfect lips.
"Then stop doing this", she breathed before closing her eyes.
"I can't", his breath came hot against her face.
And a flame as old as time erupted in her once more as Joe's lips made contact with hers. Without realizing it, Stella found herself kissing back, any previous thought of hesitation thrown out the window.

Light as a feather, Joe's hand touched Stella's cheek. He held her softly, carefully, as if afraid she would crumble to pieces at the slightest touch. Slowly, Stella pulled away and opened her eyes, but Joe's hand stayed on her cheek.
"I can't lose my everything", he whispered once more.
=O

make me banners to come home to? =D