𝐖𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐋| joe mazzello

four

joe stood watching the girl smoke the cigarette, something he was never fond of. "that shits not good for you," he repeated as aoife raised it to her lips, aoife turned to face him, her eyebrows raised. "i would've never have guessed," aoife replied sarcastically, pulling out the packet from her pocket and inspecting the warnings. joe rolled his eyes at the girl, "just like your sister." aoife's gaze landed on joe once again, her lips forming a small smirk, "oh joseph, i'm nothing like my sister." aoife put the cigarette box back in her pocket and put out what was left of her cigarette, tossing it into the bin. aoife turned towards joe once again but this time their faces were merely inches apart. aoife could feel her confidence diminishing, she wasn't sure whether it was how close the two were in the moment or if she was swooning over the way he looked illuminated by the moonlight. "how so?" joe questioned, but it was almost as if he was challenging her in some way. aoife snapped out of the trance that he had her under, a smirk appearing on her face, "i guess you'll have to wait and see."

aoife re-entered the bar, not being able to delay her shift any longer. joe remained outside for a moment, his eyes lingering on the spot the girl stood just before. "i guess you'll have to wait and see." joe kept repeating the words over and over again. he was desperate to find out what was happening inside her head. but the girl was a mystery to herself, not even she knew what was going on inside her head, not that joe knew that. joe had his sights set on her, he would figured out aoife james- even if it was the last thing he ever did, which with her overprotective younger sister lurking around, it probably would be. joe's eyes flickered back into the bar, a sigh escaping his parted lips as he rejoined the group. niamh watched him suspiciously for a couple of moments, her eyes going between joe and aoife. "alright there joe?" gwilym questioned, joe gulped and nodded in response, his eyes connected with niamh's.

the night went on, the rest of the group getting drunk out of their minds, joe on the other hand, decided to stay quite sober, only having two or three drinks. joe decided it was about time that he sent everyone home, but he had no idea where exactly to send niamh. the pair had only met the night before at the new year's party but had spoken through leanna a few times prior. joe pulled out his phone, deciding that ben hardy would be the best option, considering his relationship with leanna.

deacy
ben
do you have niamh/leanna's address?
sent at 3:46am
delivered at 3:47am

considering the time, joe knew that the chances of ben being awake were slim but he assumed that he was still with leanna, meaning that he'd be up. joe waited a few minutes before checking his phone again to find no response from ben. "everything okay over there?" aoife appeared behind the bar, watching joe stand beside her intoxicated sister. "um, i'm trying to help everyone get home and i don't know where to send niamh," joe had a blush growing on his face as he attempted to avoid all eye contact with aoife. "and the taxi is outside but i don't know what to say to the driver," he continued, aoife let out a small chuckle before moving away from the bar and helping niamh from her seat. aoife had always been a motherly figure to niamh despite being only a few years older. their real mother wasn't around much, she'd always be working leaving the two at home to fend for themselves while their father was out working as well. aoife helped niamh move around, bringing her to the taxi called by joe, "don't worry i got it," she smiled before bringing her outside.

joe took a seat at the table they had previously been sitting out, there was no one left in the bar besides him and aoife. aoife returned to the bar and found joe at the table. she raised an eyebrow at him but the boy was too deep in thought to even notice her gaze on him. aoife approached him carefully, sliding into the seat opposite him. "got something on your mind, mozzarella?" aoife asked pulling joe out of his thoughts. "what? oh no, i'm fine." joe replied simply, watching aoife. "what makes you think something's up?" aoife sent joe a pointed look before listing a few reasons. "well you look like a child who's been told that there are no cookies left, you're also sitting alone in a bar at 4am. it doesn't exactly scream 'happiness', does it?" joe looked at her before a small smile appears on his face, "i'm not alone, you're here." aoife mirrored his smile, shaking her head, "i get paid to be here."

joe and aoife spoke for a few minutes, exchanging small smiles and laughs every so often. "so, what do i need to know about joe mozzarella?" aoife questioned, raising her eyebrow at joe. "well, first of all, my surname is mazzello, but you already knew that. i don't know what to say really." joe sighed, he really had no idea what to say to the girl. "fine. where'd you grow up?" aoife asked. "hyde park, new york. what about yourself?" joe fired back the question. "birr, ireland." aoife responded, noticing that joe was holding in a laugh. "what joe?" the boy couldn't hold it in any longer. "sounds cold." aoife shook her head, fighting back a smile. "if i had a pound for every time someone said that to me," aoife started, a small laugh taking over. "hmm.." joe started, stroking an imaginary beard while aoife sent him a weird look. "tell me something interesting about yourself." joe finally asked, taking longer to come up with a question than expected. "just give me something interesting about yourself." "well as of right now, i'm supposed to be a lawyer. but, the honestly hated all the cases i was assigned to and ultimately made the decision just to stop doing something i wasn't happy with." joe looked surprised at the girl's revelation. "wait, seriously?" he breathed out, "yeah, why?" aoife shrugged. "just wouldn't take you as the type to be interested in law." joe said carefully, hoping that she wouldn't take it the wrong way. "i was interested in law, not so much anymore," aoife shrugged. a silence fell among the two, they spent their time sneaking in small glances at each other.

aoife glanced at the time on the clock behind joe. "now joseph, why on earth are you still awake at four thirty am on a monday?" aoife asked jokingly, realising that she was supposed to lock up over an hour ago. "i never sleep at this hour, being up at four isn't anything unusual," joe replied, shrugging at aoife. "well joe, if you're awake at four am you're either in love or lonely," aoife spoke bitterly, making it quite clear that she's felt and experienced some pain and heartache in her life. The girl let out a forced laugh, her eyes connecting with joe's. "and i don't know which is worse."

a/n; i fell aSLEEP TRYING TO WRITE THIS LAST NIGHT