In Need of a Friend - A Joe Mazzello Fanfic (High School)

Where am I?

The last thing I remembered was storming out of our home. Well, if you can even call a place where nobody gives a damn about you a "home". I was now surrounded by trees as if I were in the...woods. Oh no. What have I done? I don't know where I am! I don't even remember running or walking over here. I just suddenly stopped, and here I was. It was pretty dark so I got out my phone and turned the flashlight function on. I was lost.

The only person I could think to call was Joe, but he was probably in trouble right now because he missed his curfew and he definitely could not risk sneaking out of the house now. Hell, I don't even know if he is even still awake. As a matter of fact, he could have had his phone taken away as punishment for the missed curfew! Oh my god! What do I do? Joe is the only person I trust or feel safe with.

After some thinking, I decided to shoot an innocent text his way. just a simple "hi" and see if I get a response. Then, I can tell him what's going on.

You

Hi Joe..

Now I wait. After a couple of minutes, which seemed like hours, my phone buzzed.

Joe

haha hey Valentina. What's up?

Well he's in a good mood so obviously he didn't get in trouble somehow.

You

Help..

Suddenly there was an incoming call. It was Joe. I answered swiftly.

"Hello?" I said.

"Are you alright? What's going on?" He questioned nervously.

"Joe, I-I, ok look I ran away from home and now I don't know where I am. I'm really scared out here." I confessed to him.

"Ok, ok listen to me, sweetie. First of all, do not panic. That will make any situation worse. Second of all, can you describe the area you're in?" Joe asked.

"Well, it is a forrest-like area, lots of trees-" Joe cut me off quickly.

"You must be in Stoneman Woods. It's not far from where you live. I'd bet anything that's where you are. I'm gonna come and get you."

"You won't get in trouble will you? You know, going out so late?" I asked concerned.

"Ha, trust me. I'm the master of sneakery- if that's a word." Joe said with a chuckle. I knew he was trying to lighten the situation and make me laugh a little. He always does that. I was going to speak but he began again.

"Plus, even if I did get caught or whatever, I don't care. I've gotta come help you. I'd never just leave you alone out there. You can always count on me, Valentina."

"That means...it means the world to me...what you just said, Joe." I told him, smiling.

"Never forget you've got me. Now, let's hang up and I am going to come and get you."

"Wait, Joe!" I whined.

"You okay?" Joe asked.

"Can you stay on the line with me...until you get here? Unless you don't wanna drive with the phone to your ear like that. I understand." I said.

"No, no it's not problem. I can put you on speaker phone. I have a little holder for my phone I can use. We can talk the whole time. You'll be okay." Joe reassured me. I could almost hear his smile over my phone.

Joe and I spoke for a while. He would bring up random topics to keep my mind off of being out alone in the woods. After at least 45 minutes, he told me he had arrived at Stoneman Woods and had a flashlight. He told me to listen for my name. I listened but heard nothing. I heard some crackling beside me, but it was some sort of animal which freaked me out. I started tearing up, which I didn't want him to see when he found me. I'm such a crybaby. Finally I saw some light from a distance and heard a faint call of "Valentina". I yelled back "Joe!". We went back and forth about fifteen times until finally we ended up bumping into each other-literally. Our foreheads collided with so much force that we knocked each other to the ground.

"Oh my god Joe, I'm so happy to see you!"

I reached over and wrapped my arms around his neck. He put one arm around me and the other was rubbing his forehead.

"Oh...yeah sorry about that..." I said.

"Haha, hey what are you sorry for? It was a group effort." He joked as he got up and then helped me to my feet.

"So, how did you avoid getting in trouble with your parents? You came home so late." I asked this slightly out of curiosity but mostly to avoid what I knew he would ask me - why I was here. 

"You know what the real and important question is here, Valentina Allende." Joe said as he looked deep into my eyes.

"Joe, it's such a long story." I said as a sighed from exhaustion. Joe looked concerned.

"Let's get you home, ok?"

"No!" I yelled in protest. Joe's eyes became huge.

"What's wrong? Why don't you wanna go home? Better yet, why did you leave? I mean I know you hate it there, but I didn't think you hated it enough to run off in the middle of the night. Which, by the way, is dangerous Valentina! You could have been hurt!" Joe scolded me as he looked at me with his arms folded.

"Joe...you wouldn't understand. They don't-they...don't love me, okay? My mom spoke to me for the first time in months tonight. It was to curse at me, Joe! On top of that, Marco lost his job and is telling me to get one. So what, am I  supposed to be the breadwinner and caretaker of the family at sixteen when there are two adults who are capable of it? This is all too much and I never want to see any of them again!" After this I completely broke down. I didn't care if Joe did see me sobbing again at this point. I was too overwhelmed and upset to feel embarrassment over my tears. As I was crying, I felt Joe pull me into his arms. I could feel his hand stroke the back of my head as he quietly shushed me.

"Don't cry. I'm always here, ok? You can always lean on me." Joe whispered.

I replied through sobbing breaths. "You're th-the best p-person in my life."

Joe hugged me tightly.

"And you're the best in mine."

I smiled a little after he said this. He continued stroking my head with one hand and rubbing my back with another. I began to calm down. Then he spoke again.

"Hey, look, your family is just going through a rough patch. It won't always be like this. I promise. Everything will be okay." Joe said to me. 

If only I believed that for even a second.

This chapter is dedicated to DiscoDeakyfdrb. Thank you for being so kind and for lifting me up and saying positive things about my work. Thanks for voting as well. You're awesome.