Monsters and Men ~ Rosenwalker & Richpez

Chapter 32

The wait felt agonizing. She'd made her way back to the main entrance of the theatre building in maybe thirty seconds, but nearly fifteen minutes had passed and Joe still hadn't come out. How long did it take to tell someone that they were an evil witch and to fuck off?

'Maybe he's really upset and decided to leave,' she thought to herself, debating if she should go and check the parking lot to see if his car was still there. She didn't want to miss him.
She stood up, deciding that if she saw his car was still there that she'd go back to the choir room to see if Joe was still in the hallway. She was about halfway back down the hall when she heard a door creak open.

She spun around on her heel, squinting to make out the figures in the distance. It was Joe... walking hand in hand with Zoey. 'Why in the flippity flappity FUCK are they holding hands?' Lauren thought to herself, anger coursing through her veins. She shook her head in disbelief. Had she misheard Joe? No, she was positive that she'd heard him admit that Zoey was toxic. It wasn't everyday that she heard Joe say the words "Lauren's right." There was no way that she'd misheard.

She set off, guessing that they were heading towards Joe's third period based on the direction that they were walking in. She took the longer route to stay out of sight, half jogging so that she'd get there at the same time as them. She heard the sound of a door closing as she rounded the corner to reach the entrance of the building. She peered into the window as she grabbed the door handle. Joe and Zoey were reaching the end of the hall, about to turn.

Lauren yanked the door open, setting off after them. She slowed as she reached the corner, walking on her tiptoes to keep quiet. When she didn't hear speaking, she nervously poked her head around to see Joe kissing her softly. 'Bleh,' she thought to herself as she pulled her head back around in disgust. 'Could've happily lived the rest of my life without seeing that.' She waited for what felt like several minutes before she finally heard voices.

"I love you so much," Zoey whispered.

'Yeah, sure you do,' Lauren thought angrily.

"I love you too." Joe whispered back. His voice sounded shaky, making Lauren wonder if he was crying.

"T-thank you," Zoey said, her voice clearly breaking from tears. "So much. I won't let you down again."

'Fucking lying drama queen,' Lauren thought to herself angrily as she listened to the sound of a door open and close.

Before she could even begin to ponder her next move, Zoey spoke up. "You have something to say to me Lopez?"

Lauren froze, dread flooding her body. Fuck, how long has Zoey known that she was following them? She slowly walked around the corner, finding herself face to face with Zoey, who's arms were crossed. Her tears from just a few seconds ago were gone, a triumphant smirk on her face. "Actually, I do." Lauren responded, resisting the urge to smack that evil little grin off of her face. The dread in her body began to fade, rage pulsing through her veins. That lying monster, she knew exactly what she was doing to Joe. She smiled at Zoey sweetly, taking a step towards her. "Where's Brian?"

Zoey's smirk faltered for a moment, before she plastered on a fake smile and raised an eyebrow at her in mock confusion. "Who?"

Lauren rolled her eyes. "I understand that you feel threatened by Brian. You should." Lauren crossed her arms to match Zoey's posture. Her voice was coming out surprisingly sweet. "You may have managed to trick Joe for now. But he's wising up. I bet that terrifies you, doesn't it?" Lauren couldn't help but smile with delight as Zoey's smile faltered again, this time not bouncing back. "You're gonna stand there and act like you're fully in control of Joe—"

"Oh honey, it's not an act. You were eavesdropping, you saw." Zoey took a step closer to Lauren, whom she towered over.

Lauren stared back up at her, unfazed. "Yeah, I saw. But he knows now. He's not in denial anymore. You can string him along for a bit with your 'I promise I'll change' bullshit, but when you don't? Game over." Zoey's straight face was slowly turning into a scowl. "Especially when he's got a cute pair of arms to fall into once he's over all the damage you've done to him."

Zoey shook her head, before rolling her eyes. "You really believe I can't hold on to Joe? You think that he'll leave me for to that little homo? You're even more dense that I had you pegged for Lopez."

"Oh no, he won't leave you for him." Lauren said knowingly. "No, he's too good of a guy for that. He's going to leave you because you're a horrible person who treats him like shit." Lauren smiled as she took a step towards her, standing innocently with her hands intwined. "So, stay the fuck away from Brian. He's not the problem with your relationship."

Zoey turned her head at her. "I have no idea what you're talking about." She adjusted her backpack strap and started walking, slamming her shoulder into Lauren's as she passed her.

"No, of course you don't. You're just so fucking sweet and innocent." She spun around and grabbed Zoey's backpack, yanking it back. Before Zoey could even begin to react, Lauren grabbed the taller girl by the rim of her shirt and pinned her harshly against the wall. "Let's try again. Where's Brian? What the fuck did you do to him?" When Zoey didn't respond, Lauren yanked her shirt and pushed her into the wall again. "Tell me now, or I'll show you that I on the other hand, am not as sweet and innocent as people think I am."

Zoey chuckled. "I know you're not Lopez, don't worry." She pushed Lauren away, fixing her blouse. Lauren glared at her, anger still coursing through her veins. "Sam and Craig locked him in the dumpster behind the math building. Do me a favor and see if he got the message this time, would you? Thanks girlie." She readjusted her backpack strap, before marching off past Lauren without looking back.

Listen I know y'all hate me after that last chapter, trust me when I say that we're reaching the end of this slow burn🤞🏻👍🏻