Beautiful Mistake

I was just putting a long sleeve shirt on over my bikini top to cover the bruises on my arms when there was a knock on the door.

"Just a second." I said to the person on the other side. I adjusted the shirt to where it was comfortable, checked my reflection once more and opened the door. I raised my eyes to see Joe smiling with no shirt on. He stepped aside to let me through and I felt him watching me as I headed downstairs to put my clothes in the laundry, the image of Joe with no shirt lingering on my memory.

I went to the basement and put my clothes in the washer. Joe came down a few minutes later in his swimming trunks and put his clothes in with mine, standing extra close to me. I focused on putting the laundry soap and starting the washer.

"Can I ask you a question?" Joe asked, hopping up on the dryer.

"Didn't leave me much of a choice, did you, chief?" I smirked. He paused, trying to look mad but finally broke into a smile.

"Ok-new question, then." He said. "Why do you always wear long sleeves?" I froze for a split second. I didn't know them well enough and I was trying to forget about that life.

"They're comfortable." I shrugged. He looked at me for a second.

"Someday-I will know the truth." He said and I smiled.

"Someday." I repeated. He jumped down and we walked upstairs and outside where everyone else was. There was one chair left so I sat on the deck, leaving it open for Joe.

"Chrissie-sit in the chair." Joe said, looking at me, confused.

"No, that's ok, you can have it." I said back.

"But-" He started and I knew the 'but-you're-a-girl' card was coming out.

"You're the guest, and I'm comfortable right here. You take it." Nick, Kevin and Ash were watching in amusement. He looked around for a second before sitting next to me on the floor. Kevin laughed.

"That's the way to go." Ash smiled.

"Joeee." I whined.

"Don't bother-you won't win." He said confidently. I looked at him before closing my mouth and looking directly ahead of me. He scoffed. "So that's how we're going to be, is it?" He asked jokingly. I smiled but didn't say anything. Ashley laughed.

"Oh-she's good." Frankie ran and jumped in the pool.

"Boys-" Mrs. Jonas started.

"We're on it." Kevin replied. The three of them stood up and Joe pulled me to my feet. I looked at him before he started to pull me over towards the pool. I grabbed Ashley's hand on the way.

"I'm not going to be the only girl going in." I muttered, using her words against her. She smiled in defeat.

"Fine." We stood by the edge, watching Frankie jump on Nick's back. I noticed Kevin and Joe standing a few feet behind us, looking suspicious. I barely had time to think about what they could be doing before they pushed Ashley and me in. I yelped before I hit the water. I rose back to the surface, pushing the wet hair out of my face. I saw Ashley pushing her blonde hair out of her face. She caught my eye and I winked. We walked over to the edge of the pool in front of the boys.

"Help me out?" I asked sweetly. Joe smiled and stretched out his hand, taking mine. I saw Ashley had Kevin's hand and at the same time we pulled on their hands, pulling them into the pool.

"Cheater!" Joe yelled, pushing his dark hair out of his eyes.

"Says the boy who pushed me in the pool twice in one day?" I laughed, raising my eyebrows and high-fiving Ashley. Nick and Frankie laughed; Kevin did a little bow as if to say 'you win.' I nodded to him, smiling. Ashley's face turned a light shade of red. I titled my head a little and decided I'd talk to her later. Joe was pouting.

"Aw-Joe-" I started and he looked at me, expecting an apology. I was going to-but since he was expecting it-I changed my mind. "Get over it." I smirked. He splashed water at me and soon all of us were in a giant splashing fight.

"Guys!" I heard Frankie's little voice yelling. Joe's hands were gripping my small wrists over my head and Ashley and Nick were ganged up against Kevin.

"What's up, buddy?" Joe asked, still holding my wrists.

"I wanna play Marco Polo." He said. I smiled.

"Is that ok with everyone else?" Kevin asked. We all nodded. I looked at Joe and then up at my wrists.

"Wanna let go?" I asked, chuckling. He didn't for a second but quickly let go like I burned him.

"Sorry." He muttered. I tilted my head.

"Nick's it!" Frankie yelled. Nick looked around in surprise.

"When did we decide that?" He asked, laughing.

"Just now." Kevin said back, laughing, as well. We played for a while and thankfully I didn't get caught. Soon we got called out to eat. We climbed out and grabbed our towels. The boys grabbed their plates and began to get their food. I held Ash back, wanting to talk to her.

"What's up?" She asked.

"What's going on with you and Kevin?" I asked quietly. Her face flushed a little.

"N-nothing." She stuttered, nervously playing with her fingers.

"Oh, really now?" I asked, bemused. She flashed a smile but didn't say anything else. "Hmm." I laughed. We got our food and sat down to eat. Joe and I had another chair fight, so we both sat on the deck floor again. My hands were shaking and I had goose-bumps on my legs. I was freezing now that I was out of the pool.

"You ok?" Joe asked quietly. I nodded.

"Just cold." Charlie and Mr. Jonas went inside and a few minutes later came back out with acoustic guitars. I smiled.

"Maybe if you took off the wet shirt-you wouldn't be so cold." Joe suggested.

"I'm ok." I said, not wanting to take off the shirt because of my bruises. He shrugged.

"Ok." Willy Wonka and Mr. Jonas began to play quietly, gradually getting louder.

Eventually everyone was done eating. Ashley, Nick and Kevin went in to play video games, Frankie went to watch a movie and the adults went to do clean up. I went and sat by the edge of the pool, dangling my legs in before finally sliding in. Joe had gone inside for something and there was no one else in sight, so I slid my arms through the wet sleeves and pulled the shirt over my head. I rung it out and threw it on the deck. I sank down so that just my head was above the surface and closed my eyes, relaxing. After a few minutes I felt some small waves reach me and I opened my eyes to see Joe wading over to me. I smiled and closed my eyes again.

"You ok?" He asked as he reached me. I nodded.

"We didn't have a pool at my old house." I said quietly.

"Oh-I see." He whispered. He picked up my arm closest to him and looked at my wrists, where there were bruises in the obvious shape of a hand. I squeezed my eyes, knowing what was coming. "What are these from?" He asked, looking at me.

"Nothing." I replied casually.

"I didn't do that, right?" He asked, worriedly.

"I would have told you if you had." I chuckled.

"So who did it?" He asked, still holding it gently.

"It doesn't matter." I shrugged.

"Of course it does." He said firmly.

"Why? It's not like I'm ever going to see them again." I said, swimming away from him. He blinked at the sudden distance.

"Tell meeeeeee." He whined, swimming after me.

"Or what?" I asked, teasing, increasing the distance. He headed towards me, an evil smile playing on his lips.

"Or I'll…tickle you." He said. I laughed.

"Ooo-I'm scurred." I giggled and he laughed.

"You should be." He was getting closer so I splashed a little bit of water his way. He splashed some back. So we were splashing water at each other and soon he had my right wrist lightly in his grasp. He smirked, taking my left wrist. He moved my arms comfortably behind my back, making sure I wasn't hurt and he never looked away from my eyes. His body was pressed against mine and he was looking down into my eyes. He had me lightly pressed against the wall of the pool.

"Please tell me?" He asked sweetly. I shook my head, keeping eye contact. He leaned his face closer to me. "Please?"

"No." He moved closer, our noses almost touching. I could feel his breath on my face and it was all I could do to keep my knees from giving out. He moved one of his hands to my face, cupping it softly, my eyes fluttered shut at his touch, and I felt his lips press against mine gently. I started to kiss back, but he pulled away quickly-completely letting go of me and stepping back.

"I'm sorry-that was a mistake-I shouldn't have done that. I'm………sorry." He muttered, rubbing the back of his head.

"Joe-what-" I started, confused.

"Let's just……forget that ever happened." He said. I stared at him for a second before climbing out of the pool, grabbing my towel and walking inside and upstairs. I didn't know what to think-first he kisses me and then he wants to act like it never happened? I groaned and began to get changed into a pair of flannel pajama pants and a The Used hoodie. I towel dried my hair and put it up in a messy bun-not really caring. I went downstairs and sat next to Kevin, tucking my knees up under me. He smiled at me. I smiled back half heartedly.

"What's wrong?" He asked, looking at me. Nick and Ashley were playing Mario kart.

"Nothing." I said quietly.

"Liar."

"Just tired." I said, resting my head against the back of the couch.

"You sure?" He asked.

"Yup." I said, trying my best to forget what just happened-like Joe said. He let it drop. I opened my eyes a little and he was watching Ashley. I smiled. I saw Joe come in out of the corner of my eye and pretended like I was watching them play. He sat next to Ashley and I closed my eyes-ignoring the weird feeling in my stomach.

"Chrissie!" Willy Wonka yelled and I jumped at the sound of his voice. Kevin looked at me strangely and I quickly stood up, heading into the kitchen.

"Hi." I said, sitting at the island bar in the middle of the large kitchen.

"Everything ok?" He asked, they all looked at me. I swallowed, hating to be the center of attention.

"Yup." I said casually. He looked at me as if to ask why I was lying. Someone walked into the kitchen.

"Oh-sorry." I heard Joe say and he quickly left.

"Ok." Willy Wonka said, shrugging. He gave me a look that clearly said we'd be talking later.

"Can I help?" I asked.

"No-kiddo-just go back into the living room and hang out." He said. I nodded and grabbed a little cup, ice cream scooper and the vanilla ice cream out of the freezer. I put some in the little dish, grabbed a spoon and put the ice cream back. I walked back to the living room and now Kevin and Ashley were playing so I sat next to Nick.

"Hi." He said, smiling. I smiled back, taking a spoonful of my ice cream.

"Hi." I said with a mouthful of cold ice cream. He chuckled. "Ah-cold." I gasped.

"Good job-that's why they call it ice cream." He laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." I laughed back. For the rest of the night I kept my distance from Joe-I was mad at him…at myself. I swore when I was leaving that I wasn't going to get attached, or fall for anyone-it only leads to a broken heart and more pain that I don't want to deal with again.

When they were all getting ready to leave I got a hug from everyone but Joe, which was fine with me. They left and Ashley promised she'd call me tomorrow.

I went back to sit on the couch and waited for Uncle Charlie to come talk to me. He came in a few minutes later and sat next to me. I rested my head against his shoulder and he put his arm around my shoulders.

"So what happened?" He asked.

"Apparently nothing." I said, my throat closing slightly.

"What do you mean?" He asked, looking down at me.

"I was in the pool and Joe came in and we were talking about……something and we kissed but then he wanted to act like nothing happened." I said, swallowing hard.

"And you don't want to?" He asked quietly. I sighed, trying to calm myself down.

"I don't know………yes…and no……I don't know."

"Well, Joe is going through a rough spot right now, and he's a little confused. I can't tell you the whole story, mostly because I don't know it, but I do know that he didn't mean to hurt you. Just give him some time to figure things out." I nodded. He kissed the top of my head. We were quiet for a while and I could tell he was thinking. "Wanna tell me why you wanted to move in with me?" He asked quietly. I sighed.

"Cause you're my favorite?"

"Chris-"

"Do I have to?" I asked, trying to joke.

"No-but I'd like you to." I hesitated before pulling up my sleeves. He looked down and lightly touched my wrists. "Who did this?" He asked through clenched teeth.