The Web I Spin for You ~ Richpez & Rosenwalker

Chapter 51

Joe paced anxiously, his opening number outfit feeling a little too snug for comfort. It had been a week since his confrontation with Zoey, during which she had been continuing to harass him in an attempt to elicit a reaction. Joe had been following Brian's advice and ignoring her, but the entire scenario had him completely on edge. Lauren had suggested blocking her, but Joe was worried that that would be taking things too far.

'Who are you kidding?' Joe thought to himself miserably. 'You just don't want to block her because there's a fucked up part of you inside that still loves her.'

"You good?" Lauren asked, startling Joe in the process. "Sorry, didn't mean to spook you."

"I, I don't know why I feel so off," Joe replied honestly. "I just, I feel really anxious, but not like, stage nerves anxious." He brought a hand to his head, trying to take deep breaths. "I feel... I feel like I'm not safe. And not knowing why is making it worse."

Lauren was quiet for awhile, debating how much she should tell Joe. "I, if I had to guess, I would say you feel that way because of what happened the last time it was opening night."

'Don't fucking play dumb. You know what I'm talking about, you twisted little liar.'

A shiver ran up his spine. "Fuck, that's... that's exactly it. I was, I was trying to not think about it." He admitted. 'You remember that night, and yet you still love her.'

"Listen, hey come on, look at me," Lauren started gently. "You're safe. You're out of that situation. After the show you're going to come to the after party and you're going to spend the night with your friends and boyfriend, all who love you and would do anything for you."

'Oh yeah, that looked like acting alright. How dare you humiliate me like this.'

"You're, I know you're right." Joe stated logically. "I just wish my body, or my brain, whatever is setting me off right now, would get into sync with it." He closed his eyes, shaking his head as Corey started yelling for people to head in for vocal warm-ups. "I'll be fine as long as I don't have to see her. Out of sight, out of mind."

xXx

"Sergio will be here, if he knows what's good for him." Joe cocked his prop gun as Joey came in, fixating his eyes on the sophomore as he finished with his stammering and began to sing. This was one of the few numbers he soloed on in the show, and in truth he wasn't feeling extremely confident. He knew that his ability with accents was nowhere near as strong as Joey, Brian, or Mary Kate's, and having to sing in one didn't make it any easier. His eyes wondered anxiously, from Tessa, to Lauren, to Joey, to the front row of the audience.

He nearly dropped his gun as he locked eyes with her. He shook his head, hoping to death that this was just a cruel trick of his imagination, that it wasn't real, that this was just paranoia. He walked across the stage, thankful when the time came for him to facepalm over Joey's character. He rubbed his eyes, manifesting that when he opened them, she would be gone. He didn't look to the audience right away, knowing that he had to interact with Joey first. He stole a glance while pretending to complete the autograph, assuming that attention would mainly be off of him.

Zoey was still there, sitting in the front row. She smiled at him threateningly, turning her head to the side, as if challenging him.

"Say hello to the deadliest men in the world." Joe nearly jumped at the feeling of Lauren wrapping her arm around him, sucking him back into the fact that he was quite literally in the middle of doing a show and not in a safe space to have a proper panic attack.

The rest of the number passed in a blur, Joe knowing that his performance was coming out a significant step below what he'd been producing in rehearsal. "Everything was going smoothly, and then he showed up." He breathed out a sigh of relief as he stepped offstage. He continued walking, away from the stage, heading into the hallway. He knew that he shouldn't be doing this during a show, but there was no universe where he would be able to stay to the side of the stage during the next scene and stay quiet.