Monsters and Men ~ Rosenwalker & Richpez

Chapter 18

"Oh, I actually was going to ask you if you knew. He never showed up to trig. I texted him like ten times."

Joe frowned. Skipping class? That didn't sound like Brian at all. Fuck, why was he so fixated on Brian? He shouldn't be thinking about him at all. So what if he wasn't in Glee?

The class fell silent as Mr. Davidson walked into the room. He started talking, but Joe wasn't listening. He still couldn't shake the anxiety he'd been having all morning. Right now, sitting in Glee club, was pure torture. Was he going to have to quit the glee club? Would he have to quit the play? What was he going to have to do to keep Zoey happy? Joe looked up at Mr. Davidson. Should he talk to him after the class to see if dropping the course was possible?

"...All that said, let's give a warm welcome to our first duet; Jon and Jaime, who will be doing a CATS medley that they call, Spadattimy!"

Jaime and Jon dramatically crawled their way over to the Glee floor, Joe not taking in anything apart from the fact that Jaime was in a black bodysuit, Jon a gold one. He tried to force himself to pay attention to his friends, but unfortunately his brain just couldn't click out of it. His arm shaking, he pulled out his phone and opened it. Then he shut it off, debating in his mind what he should do.

He'd never texted Brian back the night before. He felt guilty leaving the younger boy on read; but at the same time he felt guilty texting Brian when Zoey didn't want him to. Did he have an excuse to text him now? Was it wrong that he was looking for an excuse?

He opened his phone, typing out "hey, are you coming to glee today?" and then deleting it. He tried once again to focus on Jon and Jaime, knowing that he was being rude. By the sounds of it, everyone was loving their duet. He opened his phone, taking a deep breath before typing out the same text and pressing send. They were partners, he had a right to text him and ask him.

Jon and Jaime finished their duet, the two doing dramatic bows and hissing as everyone stood up and applauded. Joe slowly rose up, clapping alongside everyone else. His head was pounding; the events from the morning had his brain burnt out. As Mr. Davidson announced that Mariah and Robert would perform their duet the next day, Joe slipped out the door. By the sounds of it they were just going to rehearse with their duet partners for the rest of class, and he was missing his.

He wondered aimlessly down the hallway, not quite sure where his body was taking him. His mind traveled to the vending machine right outside the entrance to the theatre, and before he knew it his legs had brought him there. He bought a bottle of water, his eyes still aching from all the crying that he'd been doing.

As he took baby sips, he found himself pushing open the doors to the theatre, closing it behind him softly even though the auditorium was definitely empty. He paced around the stage, trying to keep all of his emotions at bay. Part of him wanted to break down and cry, the other part of him wanted to throw something.

How had life gotten so messed up? Why was his relationship so complicated? Why did it make him feel so horrible? Why did Zoey make him feel so weak and broken?

"Fuck," Joe whispered to himself, tears running down his face. He turned away from the edge of the stage, walking towards the back. He allowed himself to cry, but he kept a hand against his mouth, trying to muffle his sobs. He felt stupid as he rounded the stage curtain. No one was here, why was he bothering to hold in his cries?

He allowed himself to drop to the ground, clutching his stomach as he sobbed out loud. As horrific as he felt, there was a relief to allowing himself to finally sit down and cry it out. He forced himself to take a deep breath, trying to slow his sobs. His vision was blurry and the room was spinning. As he wiped his eyes, he looked up to find a figure peeking out from behind a stack of boxes.

His heart dropped down to his stomach as he slapped the hand that's been wiping his eyes over his mouth. There was someone here? He jumped to his feet anxiously, feeling completely humiliated. He needed to get out of there before the person got a good look at him. As he backed away, his footsteps stuttered and he tripped, falling backwards.

"Joe!" Brian yelled out, running to the older boy, before realizing that he couldn't let Joe see him. He froze a few feet away from him, the two locking eyes.

Joe sighed, catching his breath, which had been knocked out of him when his back hit the floor. "Br-Brian?" His vision was still blurry, but he couldn't mistake the younger boys voice and outline. He sat up, wiping his eyes as Brian took a two steps back.

Joe's jaw dropped open in horror at the sight of him. Brian was covered in bruises. His t-shirt was ripped and Joe could make out some bruising on his chest under the holes in his shirt. His arms and neck also had scratches all over them. His hair was messy and knotted, as if someone had been pulling on it. His lip was bloody and cut, and he had a black eye forming. "Brian what happened?" Joe asked, quickly rising to his feet.

Brian backed away from Joe, horrified. Did Joe not know that his girlfriend had sent his teammates to beat the crap out of him? "Nothing," he whispered, his voice hoarse from crying. "What happened to you?"

Joe stared back at Brian in disbelief. Hearing those words made a chill run through his body. He was exhausted; he was so mentally and physically drained, and all he wanted in the current moment was to fall into the younger boys arms and let it out, let it all out.

And then the anxiety crawled back over him, as he remembered that Zoey wasn't okay with it. He found himself backing away from Brian, his body and mind at war over what to do. "Bri, you need to go to the nurse or something. You're hurt."

Brian backed away more. Joe sounded so... concerned for him. Was he completely unaware of what was going on? Could he go to him? Could he tell him what happened? Could Joe help put an end to this?

The image of Sam on top of him, bringing his fist down on his face flashed again in his mind intrusively. He flinched, taking a step back further from Joe.

He couldn't talk to him. He was too scared of what would happen if he did. Avoiding eye contact, Brian sprinted past Joe and out of the theatre, his sobs echoing as the door closed behind him.

Joe turned to follow him, but a moment later the bell rang. He froze, unsure of what to do. Did he go to class? Or did he go after his friend?

Before he could come to a decision, his phone started vibrating in his pocket. He pulled it out, half hoping to see a text from Brian, even though he knew that it wasn't from him.

❤️Zoey💋 Now
Meet at my locker. Bring your wallet and car keys.
______________________________

He stared at the text message, half of him filling with dread, the other half with hope. She'd told him she'd see him after school, and yet she was telling him to come to her after only an hour. That had to be a good sign, right?

Joe stared down at the spot where Brian had been standing. He couldn't shake the feeling that Brian needed him right now. And if Joe was truly honest with himself, he needed him.

His phone buzzed again. He looked down to read the text.

❤️Zoey💋 Now
I can see that you read my text.
______________________________
❤️Zoey💋 Now
Now Joe.
______________________________

Joe groaned. He didn't want to go see her. He couldn't handle the stress of her being disappointed in him. He couldn't handle her belittling him. He couldn't handle being hurt by her any longer.

Zoey or Brian?