Monsters and Men ~ Rosenwalker & Richpez

Chapter 30

Sorry it's been awhile lol I've been working 10-13 hour days everyday.

Joe yawned as he pulled into his parking spot. Even with him ditching AP Law, he was still exhausted. He checked his reflection in the mirror; he had some slight bruising on his cheeks, and some scratch marks on his forehead. They weren't remarkably noticeable, but he still was nervous that someone was going to ask him about it.

Whatever, it didn't matter. He was leaving Zoey.

He couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of sadness as the thought crossed his mind. It still hadn't fully sunken in yet. The decision had felt real as he'd woken up and chosen to not go pick her up for school. Usually when they fought, she didn't want to ride with him. Yet at six A.M. this morning he'd found himself woken up by a call from her. He'd rolled over, allowing himself to go back to sleep. Two hours later, he woke up to find numerous texts from her asking where he was, saying that she wanted to see him.

"No more," he mumbled sadly to himself, grabbing his backpack and getting out of his car. He walked into Glee club five minutes later, for once arriving before the bell.

"Whoa, look who isn't dead," Darren teased, walking over to him. "Where were you this morning?"

"Avoiding you." Joe teased, playfully punching his arm. "You guys doing your duet today?"

"Might as well," Holden said, walking over to Darren and Joe. "What about you and Brian?"

Joe shrugged. "I feel a little underprepared, but I doubt we'll be able to get much more practice in."

"Might as well get her done," Lauren suggested, swaggering her way into their circle. "Although you guys are going to lose epically once you see the masterpiece that Joey and I have conjured up."

Darren raised an eyebrow. "Is there a winner for the duets?"

"Point being," Lauren cut across, ignoring him. "That you all should prepare to be blown away."

The bell rang, Joey running in at the last possible second. "Has anyone seen Brian?" He yelled, panting.

"He's right in front of you," Darren teased.

"Not Holden, Rosenthal!" Joey said in a stressed voice. "He left to go to the bathroom during trigonometry and never came back!"

"Maybe he's just playing hooky," Jon said simply.

"No, no, it's, it's not that." Joey bit his lip, not wanting to add any information. He caught Lauren's eye, and could tell right away that she understood his concern.

She ran up to him. "It's okay. Let's go look for him."

They headed towards the door, only to be greeted by Mr. Davidson as he entered. "Going somewhere? Didn't you two email me saying you wanted to premiere your duet today?"

Joey opened his mouth to explain, but Mr. Davidson spoke over him, whisking them to their seats. "Come come now, we have much to watch today. I want everyone to watch, if you leave you're fired."

Jon raised an eyebrow. "Fired? Isn't this a class?" He whispered to Mariah.

"So for today, who volunteers? Lauren and Joey have informed me that they would like to go last."

"We'll go," Darren perked up. "Holden and I are performing 'Two Player Game' from Be More Chill."

"Excellent! Anyone else for today?" When no one volunteered, he pulled out his notebook. "Very well, who's ready to go tomorrow?"

Angela shot her hand up. "Corey and I are singing 'One of Us' from Mama Mia."

"MAMA MIA!" Corey yelled dramatically, raising his fists into the air.