N E E D

"The way she looked at me, Mace…" Joe said. "It was terrible. She looked like she hated me. I just… I had to get out of there. It hurt so bad—she was hurt, I was hurt, I was hurt that she was hurt…"

"It's okay," Macy said soothingly. She rubbed his back tenderly, comfortingly. "I'm sure she doesn't hate you, Joe. She's just confused. You're giving her a lot of mixed signals."

He sighed and leaned into her, his eyes lost. "I know. I just… she's the one who insisted that we stay friends, you know? And now, all of a sudden, she wants to change things. She wants to know how I feel, but she won't tell me anything herself. Why can't she be the one to say it? Why do I have to be the one to put myself out there?"

Macy smiled sadly and gave his shoulders a little squeeze.

"You're both scared, Joe. It's hard. And I don't think she realizes that you're just as terrified of screwing things up as she is," said the brunette. "She's saved herself—her love life, her future, her everything—she's put it all off for you. And she wants you to come forward. She wants you to tell her whether her sacrifices were worthwhile."

"But what if they're not?"

It wasn't a confident question. His voice sounded so small and innocent and guilty all at the same time. He was afraid, so afraid, that he had ruined his best friend's life.

"Then she'll have to realize that she can't blame you. She made the choices herself," Macy stroked his hair affectionately, not unlike the way she did for her nephew when he found himself in trouble with his parents. "I think that you'll both survive, even if a romantic relationship doesn't."

His arm slipped around her waist and he hid his face in her hair for a moment. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Mace."

"Oh, you'd live," she laughed. "It's no—"

She was cut off when his mouth covered hers in a soft, warm kiss.

"Joe, what are you—?" she asked when he broke away, but he silenced her again. This time, he kissed harder, more urgently, as if he was searching for a response. Instinctively—for the boy was a pretty good kisser—she leaned toward him. But her mind snapped back to reality when his tongue raked over her lip. "Stop, Joe! I'm not Stella!"

There was hurt in his eyes, although she couldn't understand why. "I know that, Macy."

"Then why?" she demanded.

"I need you." It was a simple statement, but it sent chills down her spine. He needed her.

"You need Stella," she protested.

But he shook his head; and then he was kissing her again. It was urgent, with passion and emotion that she knew wasn't for her—but he needed her. And wasn't that what she wanted? To be needed?

She told herself that it was—because the real issue here wasn't her own feelings or her crush's or even Stella's. Joe was broken. Joe needed to be fixed. Joe needed to be comforted. Joe needed someone who would support him and help him recover until he was ready to face the girl he really wanted.

And she would do just that.

"You kissed him?"

"Yes, Stella, I kissed him."

Everyone had a tell when they were lying. Kevin's voice jumped up a few octaves. Nick started acting sweet and outgoing. Joe became even more arrogant than usual. Stella made less and less sense as the lie unfolded.

Macy Misa did not have a tell at all.

"You kissed him?"

"Yes! You can stop repeating it!"

Stella fumed silently, pacing back and forth in her friend's bedroom. "Why?"

"What?" Macy said.

"WHY?!" yelled the blonde. "Why would you kiss him if you knew about my feelings for him? Why would you kiss him after the way he hurt me? Why would you even THINK about betraying me like that?!"

"I betrayed you?" Macy gasped. She jumped up from her position on the bed, hands fisting tightly. "You betrayed yourself when you walked away from him. You hurt him as much as he hurt you—except he was already feeling horrible for what he did. He was suffering enough without you grinding salt into the wounds. I was trying to comfort him!"

"Comfort him!"

"Yes, comfort. I was trying to help him. Then, out of nowhere, he kisses me—"

"Oh, so he kissed you now!" Stella exclaimed.

Macy groaned with frustration. She grabbed her friend by the shoulders and sat her down—the pacing was making her dizzy. "He kissed me first. He was just looking for someone who would respond, reassure him that it was still possible for someone to want him and need him. He wasn't trying to betray you. He just needed comfort."

"I'm not worried about Joe. I came over here because he begged me to talk to you. He begged me to listen."

"Then LISTEN!" Macy insisted. "I never meant to hurt either of you. If I had pushed him away—really pushed him away—it would have done him more damage than good. He might never have recovered. That's how much he was hurting. I was just trying to help him rehabilitate—so that he would be ready to talk to you. Yes, I kissed him. Once. Just. Once."

"But you still—"

"If anyone hurt anyone, he hurt me, Stella!" Macy screamed. "I knew that he didn't want me. He wanted you. You're all he's ever wanted. You're all he ever talked about, ever thought about, ever cared about. We never had a conversation that didn't somehow involve you. He wasn't the only one looking for comfort."

"What? You struck out with Nick and you needed someone to need you?" Stella asked with a snort.

Macy was silent.

"You didn't…?" asked the blonde incredulously.

"No," said the other girl with a scowl. "I tried. I ended up giving him a black eye. And then Joe came running, terrified that he'd screwed everything up forever and ever… What else could I do?"

"Mace…" Stella murmured. She reached out and gripped the girl's shoulder.

"I know," said the brunette.

Their friendship was far from mended, but it was on the right track. Though she didn't notice, Stella was just as infected as the boys when it came to Macy's charms. She didn't have a rash, but she did have an itch to make up as quickly as possible.

Whether any of them realized it or not, they needed her.

Because everybody needs a little poison ivy.

a/n: I'm not sure I'm happy with this update, but I felt a need to elaborate on what happened between Macy and Joe. I hope I made it clear here that she was NOT betraying Stella. She was trying to comfort Joe, and it was mostly his fault the kisses happened anyway.

I'm REALLY unhappy with the end. I wanted to make it cohesive with the first chapter, so I threw a song lyric in there, but it still feels a little… bleh.

Tell me what you think? If only to reassure me that this doesn't suck? I've never tried Jacy before, so I hope it's okay…

Much love,
Beth