Just Like This (Joe Mazzello x Reader)
summary: joe helps you out when you need his help for extra credit, but you have no idea how your night will end.
joe x reader, 1.8k words, fluff
warnings: none
author’s note: this is for @royally-rogers‘ s follower challenge!! jacqueline is lovely, you should definitely check her out and give her a follow!!! she’s been super kind in offering me an extension to submit my piece, and here it finally is!! thanks, jacqueline, for letting me take part in your challenge, and for being an awesome frined <3 enjoy!
“No, no, Y/N, you have to feel it.”
“Fine.” You cross your arms across your chest for the hundredth time that evening, trying to feel it. “It’s almost midnight, where were you?”
Joe looks like he’s about had it. He throws his script onto the sofa, bringing his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Do you actually care about where I’ve been?”
“Huh?”
“It’s almost midnight.” Joe juts his chin out, looking at you incredulously. “You have to care about where I’ve been, damn it!”
You’re about to snap too, tell him that acting is not your thing, but the sound of a door opening stops you.
“Whoa, hey.” Ben steps out of his room, glasses perched delicately on his nose. “I’m trying to study.”
“And so are we.” Joe retorts.
Hardly. You’re only filling in for one play that your college was organising. You really didn’t want to, but participation is a big deal and you’re not going to slack in any area, no sir. This is just something you have to do.
“Keep it down,” your roommate hisses. “These definite integrals are hell.”
Joe scoffs. “Okay, electrical engineering.”
Ben doesn’t leave before flipping Joe the bird, but once the moment to his bedroom door is shut, Joe turns his attention back to you. “Okay.” He turns his eyes to the ceiling, presumably to work out a plan for what to do about your predicament.
You’re busy picking at the aglet of your converse when Joe exclaims, “Yes!” You watch as he makes his way towards where you were sat on the couch.
Crouching in front of you, he begins, “We’re friends, aren’t we?” His hands come to lay flat on your thighs, sending a wave of electricity through your body.
You nod, letting his eyes make direct contact with yours.
“Close your eyes for a minute.”
You do.
“And imagine we’re a couple.”
“Oh, no.” Your eyes are open within an instant, looking at Joe, alarmed.
“Hey!” he holds up his hands in defence. “I didn’t think the idea disgusted you that much.” He looks down at his feet, scoffing lightly.
“No!” you’re quick to respond, twisting your hands together in your lap.
Joe nods, waiting for you to back your answer with some more substance. When you don’t, he asks, “And?”
“Huh?”
“No, what?” He shakes his head. “No, you’re really sweet; no, it’s not like that… no?”
“It’s not like that.” your response is weak.
Truth is, the idea of dating Joe isn’t disgusting to you at all. Not one bit. It’s almost a little tempting, letting him know how you really feel.
But you’ve been burnt in the past, you’ve been hurt. Your previous attempts at confessing to crushes have gone sideways many times, and you’re not sure if you’re ready to put yourself out on the fire like that. Yet again.
Joe exhales shakily, using the support of his hands on his thighs to stand up. He holds out a hand to you, prompting you to get up with him. “Is it okay if we pretend to be a couple?”
You nod firmly, not letting a single bit of hesitation seep through. But when Joe takes one step towards you, his hot breath fanning your face now, you wonder if you should have simply said no.
Joe’s lips land on yours in one smooth motion. They’re soft. Joe’s grip on your hand gets just a little more firm. But before you can respond to his kiss, he’s pulled away already, grabbing the script from your other hand and handing you his.
“Let’s switch roles,” he says quickly, turning to sit down on the couch. “You come home at midnight, and I’ll show you how a doting boyfriend would respond.”
“Isn’t acting interpretative? Maybe my interpretation about a loving relationship is different from yours.” There isn’t any real meaning behind your accusation, and you make your way towards the door to ‘come home at midnight’ anyway.
Despite having practiced the scene several times, you still have to look at your-- Joe’s script to find out what you have to do. Joe’s character - Sam - doesn’t really have many lines. It’s just a few grunts and mumbles while your character - Anna - does all the talking.
“It’s midnight, where the hell were you?”
Whoa. He’s taking his liberties with expanding on the dialogues, you realise. The conviction is strong with his dialogue. It really feels like you’re his girlfriend. Like he’s really worried about you after you’ve come home late. And it makes your stomach do a little flip, because, damn, is this what it would feel like to have Joe as a boyfriend?
“Just out,” you try your hardest to match your acting skills with Joe’s, but that’s a losing battle. Half the time you’re really only focusing on Joe, watching how he takes the dialogue and makes a scene out of it.
“Out?” Joe stands up, his eyes flitting over his script briefly before looking back up at you, and you can swear you can see a flash of rage in his eyes. “I called your work.” He put his hand on his hip. “They said you left hours ago.”
Joe’s fingers were slender, the tips pressing into the fabric of his shirt. You’d very much like to smoothen out the wrinkles in his shirt.
“Y/N?”
“Yeah?”
“Dialogue,” he sings, his shoulder sagging.
Your script falls to the floor as you bring your hands to your forehead. “Oh my god.”
“Hey, hey, hey.” Joe is quick to rush to your side, putting a gentle hand on your lower back. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t do this,” you whisper, looking at Joe through the corner of your eye.
“Oh,” he mumbles, not sure what to do for just a second. “Um, sit down?” He slowly guides you to the couch, sitting a considerable distance away from you.
You know what comes next in the script. Sam apologises to Anna after realising how worried she was, and they kiss. They kiss. And if you’re going to be acting it out with Joe, you’re not sure you can handle it.
Even then, you’re trying to keep it under control. He can’t see why you’re so upset about such a simple thing. So when Joe looks at you questioningly, you only shake your head vigorously, reaching for the water bottle you’d placed on the coffee table.
“Look,” Joe begins, his voice gentle, “I get that you’re not an actor. And I get that this is a difficult task for you.” He goes on once you nod. “Are you sure you can’t pull out of the gig?”
“I’m sure,” you state, even though you’re not. You really want this extra credit, and you were going to get it.
“Okay. Maybe we can try practicing another day. You’re tired. Aren’t you?” Joe hooks two fingers under your chin to get you to look at him. You can see the concern in his eyes, you can see that he cares about you and wants you to be okay. “You should get some sleep.”
“What if I do horribly?” Your question is meek. You almost already know the answer, but you still have to ask.
“You won’t.” Joe’s hand moves from your chin to your shoulder, squeezing once. “You have me, remember?” He smiles, wide and goofy, and for a minute you forget about the impending doom that’s going to come during your dress rehearsal. “I’ll get you whipped up for the role in no time!” He snaps his fingers.
You can’t help but giggle softly.
“Sleepytime?” He asks, putting his hand on your back to guide you to stand up.
But you don’t. You nod, and shuffle closer to Joe, putting your head on his shoulder. “Can you, um, can you call Lucy and tell her you’re staying over?”
“What?”
“I want you to stay.” You look up at him through your eyelashes, heart beating fast lest he says no. “Please?”
“Of course. Of course, sweetheart,” Joe whispers. His next words are a shout, “Yo, Ben!”
“A heads-up would’ve been nice,” you snap, rolling your eyes.
Joe grimaces, shouting again. “Benjamin!”
Ben’s bedroom door opens immediately, with your roommate storming out, one airpod in his hand, the other in his ear. “What?” he hisses.
“Call Lucy and tell her I’m sleeping over.”
Ben cocks his head to the side. “I didn’t ask you to sleep over.” That’s when his eyes fully take in the visual in front of him. “Oh. Oh.” He smirks, “Okay. I’ll tell her you’re sleeping with Y/N tonight.”
Ben looks like he’s about to say something else, but a hot look from both you and Joe shuts him right up. He holds up his hands in defence, muttering, “I’ll let Lucy know,” before heading back into his room.
As soon as he’s gone, you turn to look at Joe, still leaning on him. “You’re sleeping with me tonight.” You wiggle your eyebrows and give him your best goofy eyes, and it looks like it works, because Joe’s face breaks into a smile and he shakes his head fondly.
“Can’t wait,” he whispers back with equal goofiness.
No more words are exchanged as Joe holds your hand to lead you to your room, waiting for you to change, and then tucks you into bed. As he slides into bed next to you - now changed into one of Ben’s shirts and a pair of sweatpants - you simply have to peep at him, watching as he lays down slowly, putting his hands on his chest.
His chest rises and falls slowly, and you can see, even in the dark, he blinks.
The logical part of your brain has no time to stop your heart before you’re reaching up to run a hand through his hair.
Joe lets out a sharp breath, turning his body towards you and offering better access to his hair. “You’re not asleep?”
You say nothing. Joe can feel the tips of your fingers on his scalp, and it sends a wave of relaxation through him. Hesitantly, he asks, “Do you want to get closer?”
You wordlessly shuffle closer to him, your free hand reaching around his body. You can still play with his hair. And now, Joe can play with yours. You can tell why he likes it - it is very relaxing.
“I like sleeping with you,” you whisper, “just like this.”
Joe giggles softly, pressing a kiss to the crown of your head. “Me too. Just like this.”
You’re not sure which one of you falls asleep first. Just that it’s a very relaxing night for you. And that when you wake up, Joe is there to give you another kiss, this time on the lips. And that you kiss him back, mocking, “Just like this?”
“Yeah, like this too.” Joe sasses, still wrapped up in the high of kissing you.
You’re sure you don’t mind. You could spend night after night wrapped up in Joe’s arms, waking up to sleepy kisses.
Just like this.
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