The Web I Spin for You ~ Richpez & Rosenwalker

Chapter 59

Joe was lying on his back, his head resting in Brian's lap. The younger boy was singing Les Miserables quietly to himself as he played with Joe's hair, completely unaware that he was doing it. He was just as well unaware as to how soothing his boyfriend found it.

Joe was having a typical bad day, one where his anxiety was through the roof and he felt numb inside over her. Brian as per usual was being the supportive boyfriend and keeping him company, which was ensuring that he didn't drink, that he didn't harm himself, and that he didn't contact her.

"Yo Marius," Joe said after a long time.

Brian stopped singing A Heart Full of Love abruptly, his face flushing red. "Yes my dear Cosette?"

"Damn, so you don't ship Marius with Enjorlas? Homophobic." Joe teased. "Can I get your opinion on something?"

"Of course, ask me anything." He reassured as he began to attempt to braid Joe's short hair.

"Okay, so... you know how I told Lauren everything about Zoey? And then told you? And then confronted her about it?" Joe started anxiously. "Well it's weird to say... but I uh, I feel like it really helped me. Like, it brought me a lot of stress relief—like this enormous weight had been lifted off of my shoulders."

"I mean... all of that sounds great." Brian responded, unsure where Joe was going.

"Yeah, I think so too," Joe said vaguely, nervous about what he wanted to say. "So... I think that I want to tell my parents about what happened with Zoey."

"Oh, wow." Brian said lamely, taken aback. "Joe that's... wow. I, really, that's huge."

"Yeah, I think so too," Joe stated nervously. "They've always been there for me. And I've been causing them a lot of stress with all of my insane behavior these last few months. I need to loop them in—they deserve to be looped in. It's quite literally the least I could do for them."

Brian nodded in agreement. "They certainly do love and care for you. I, I'm sure it'll bring them a lot of relief too if you tell them."

"Yeah. The only thing is, I, I know how hard it's going to be for me to talk about all of this with them... So I was wondering... would you help me do it? And maybe we could ask Lauren too?"

"Oh, really?" Brian asked in astonishment. "I mean, of course I will baby, I just, sorry, I'm shocked to be honest. Will your parents mind if I'm there?"

Joe shook his head no. "Doubt it. They love you. And Lauren. You guys are the perfect people to do this with. My main thing is are you comfortable? I know that what I'm asking is a lot."

"Not at all," Brian reassured. "I'm with you every step of the way. You want to tell them? Let's tell them."

xXx

The conversation had been unbearable to start. He'd asked his parents in advance if they were going to be home and available to talk on Sunday morning, and his stomach had churned horrifically when they told him yes. No going back on this decision.

"I wrote it all out," Joe informed Brian and Lauren. "Everything that I want to tell them. So if at any point I have trouble, you can just read from the letter."

"Why not just give them the letter then?" Brian asked.

Joe shook his head no. "I want to tell them this face to face. I just don't know if I can."

"We're here for you," Lauren comforted. "Every stop of the way, I promise."

He'd brought Lauren and Brian with him, starting his conversation by asking his parents if they were okay with him having them present. His parents had agreed, sitting opposite of him and his friends. "So I, I know that I've been acting... super crazy, and not at all like myself these last few months." He bit his bottom lip anxiously. "I'm really sorry, because I know it's been subjecting you guys to a lot of stress... and I, I want to share with you guys why I've been acting so weird." His parents didn't say anything, leaving him with no further options except to continue. "So, you guys remember how at the beginning of this school year, I was dating Zoey?"