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Joey had hardly gotten home after walking the dogs when Justin showed up on his doorstep, dragging a sullen Chris behind him. "You take him," he hissed, and dropped a small suitcase. "What happened?" "I'm going home to my woman," Justin said, and left. "What happened?" Joey asked Chris. Chris scuffed his shoe against the pavement, and shrugged. "Chris." Joey bent down on one knee, and lifted Chris' chin so they were at eye level. "What happened?" "He. He likes Britney more than me," Chris said. He didn't burst into tears so much as start leaking them. Joey scooped him up and carried him inside. "Shhh," he murmured, "Shhh. It's okay. It'll be okay." "Why doesn't he l-like m-me?" Chris sobbed. "He does," Joey said. "He just misses the old you. He doesn't know how to handle it." "He's mean. He called me obnoxious, just 'cause I wanted the notebook with his picture on it." "Oh sweetie," Joey said, "don't worry about that. I'll buy you a dozen Justin notebooks tomorrow." "Don't want them now," Chris said. "Also, he didn't let me have the shoes I wanted." "Oh no? What were they?" "Just. Just regular old flip-flops from Wal-Mart - that's where they had the notebook. We went there first, to get my diary, and then I saw the shoe section, but he wouldn't." Chris scowled at his brand new, $70 black Reebok sneakers. "Who needs $70 sneakers, anyway? Wal-Mart had perfectly good sneakers." "Justin just wanted the best for you." "They are the best!" Chris said hotly. "My mommy always gets my shoes from Wal-Mart, and she'd never get me crappy sneakers." "No, you're right," Joey said hastily. Joey had a strategy for dealing with women, which he had carefully developed through years of dating them. His strategy involved agreeing with them wherever possible, and hopefully it would work on 12-year-olds as well as 24-year-olds. It occurred to him that he might have to change strategies when Brianna could talk, but he figured keeping Chris happy now would hardly spoil his friendship later. "I like you," Chris said. "You're nice." "Thank you," Joey said, and gave Chris a hug. "Even if you're not as cute as Justin." "Mhmm." "Hey, Joey?" "Yes?" "Why don't you get any solos?" Joey sighed.
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