@samuraisleuth, uh...
This is certainly not the scene he expected to come across when searching for Sara. Sonobeno offers a wall for him to hide behind, having caught sight of Ryoko and (who he assumes) is the dream version of Sara talking. It’d be one thing if the conversation were about school work, but hearing his name dropped among it all is...
Embarrassing? Yeah.
Joe slides down the wall, face in his hands. It’s pretty strange to hear his best friend and girlfriend talk about him so early on into knowing each other (or, well, not at all in the latter’s case), but there’s a bit of appreciation to it.
... Wait, those are footsteps.
He snaps to attention from his spot on the ground, opening his mouth to ready his own defense (which there isn’t much of) until he notices who it is.
“ Sara...! I was lookin’ for you! ” he breathes, tensing up when the realization of Sara likely being the worst person to show up hits. “ ... I promise I wasn’t eavesdropping too much-- ”
