TW for some harsh language and Zoey being forceful with Joe.
Joey Richter flipped through another page in his math textbook, resisting the urge to just face plant into it and fall asleep. He was already feeling pretty lovesick after Lauren had mysteriously run out of their rehearsal. First, she'd left for a phone call. After she came back in, she left about ten minutes later to make another call. She did it two more times before finally coming back and telling Joey that she had to go. While she did offer him a ride home, she was silent throughout the entire ride.
Whatever it was that he'd done, it was a problem for tomorrow Joey. He closed his textbook, deciding to go ahead and hit the hay even though it was only 9pm. As he entered his bedroom, he felt his phone vibrate and pulled it out of his pocket, expecting it to most likely be a call from Brian asking for help on homework.
Instead, it was a FaceTime call from Lauren.
Joey nearly dropped his phone. After all of that, she wanted to FaceTime? Joey nervously ran a hand through his hair several times, knowing that it was an absolute mess. Taking a deep breath, he answered the call. "You requested my face?"
"That okay?" Lauren asked, and Joey couldn't help but stare. Her hair was tossed into a messy bun, she had glasses on, and she was wearing a pajama tank top. Holy fuck why did she always have to look so adorable? "I wanted to call you because I'm sorry I ran out on you earlier." Lauren bit her lip nervously, knowing that she'd been rude and blunt towards him. "Also I have huge business tea." She added.
"You're all good," Joey said, smiling ear to ear. He couldn't believe that she'd actually called him. "Is everything okay?"
Lauren sighed, burying her face into her hands. "Do you mind if I rant?"
"Of course not! I'm all ears Lo." Joey said, fighting back his smile since she was clearly upset. That said, he couldn't believe that she wanted to confide in him.
"Okay," Lauren whispered shyly, resting her phone against her water bottle so that she didn't have to hold it. "So I don't know how much you know about Joe's relationship with Zoey?"
Joey shrugged. "Not much to be honest. Just that she's a bitchy popular senior, all that stuff you've told me."
"Yeah," Lauren nodded miserably. "Well what I haven't really told you for the sake of Joe's privacy is how Zoey is completely and utterly toxic."
"You sort of have," Joey said, reflecting on their many rant sessions about how much better off Joe would be if he was with Brian instead of Zoey. "I just wasn't fully sure what you meant by 'toxic.'"
"Like abusive, if I'm being fucking honest." Lauren said flatly. "She's nothing but emotionally abusive to him, but Joe refuses to accept it."
Joey frowned. Should he have known this? "Is it obvious? That she's like that to him? Should I have noticed this in Joe?"
"No, it's not." Lauren stated simply. "She's very good at how she does it, and Joe will defend her to the ends of the earth."
"How do you know then?" Joey asked. "Like I feel horrible at the idea that Joe's been going through something like this and I haven't noticed."
Lauren froze. She couldn't believe she'd never realized what a total sweetheart Joey was. He really cared for his friends. She shook her head to clear it. "I know because Joe tells me about a lot of the stuff Zoey says and does to him. Not to mention the fact that I've known Zoey for years, and she's a complete narcissist. She does nothing but gaslight and manipulate Joe into thinking he's not a good boyfriend to her so he'll mindlessly obey her."
"Fuck," was all Joey could say. What was he supposed to say in a situation like this? "I can't believe how oblivious I was."
"Don't put yourself down Joey. You're very sweet for being concerned but in truth there's no real way for you to have known."
Joey's heart skipped a beat. She just called him sweet, in a time where he really wasn't being sweet? This girl would be the death of him. "Thanks," He responded. "I'm really sorry for you too. I'm sure it's hard to see your best friend suffering and not being able to help him."
"It is," Lauren responded, wiping her eyes. She was not going to cry on a damn FaceTime. "I've been trying so hard for so long to help him, but I'm starting to realize that I can't."
Joey sighed, hating seeing her sad. "Why can't you?" He asked nervously, not fully sure what to say to her in this moment.
"Because he doesn't want to be helped. He doesn't want to get away from her. He doesn't realize that their relationship is unhealthy and that he has a problem. And until he does, there's nothing anyone can do."
xXx
Joe waited anxiously at Zoey's locker. He'd barely slept the entire night, sleep replaced with moments where he slipped in and out of consciousness, only to be awoken to his anxiety weighing him down. As he yawned, he checked his watch. There was only ten minutes left until the bell rang, where was she? She was usually at her locker by now. Was she purposefully avoiding him?
His heart stopped when she turned down the hallway, surrounded by friends. As hard as he tried to catch her eye, he couldn't. It was almost as if she was refusing to look at him. He gulped as she finally approached her locker, but she walked straight past him, chatting happily with Sam and Allison. She stopped walking as she was talking her friends, the trio a mere few feet away from Joe.
They continued to talk for nearly five minutes—no one acknowledging Joe—before Zoey finally came over to her locker. She still refused to even look at Joe as she opened her locker.
"H-hey," Joe muttered out nervously.
"What Joe?" Zoey asked, already appearing annoyed.
"Can we talk?" Joe wished more than anything that she would look at him.
"About?" Zoey asked innocently, handing her books to Joe without looking at him, which he immediately took from her to carry.
"Zoey, please." Joe already felt like he was going to break down, how was even supposed to make it clear to her how sorry he was?
Zoey handed another book in Joe's direction, but dropped it before he could grab it. The sound of the book hitting the ground ricocheted across the hall, causing people to look as Joe quickly stooped down and picked it up. "Listen Joe," Zoey started simply, looking down at him. "Here's the thing; there's nothing to say. You need to get your attention issues figured out; when you no longer need to let some queer ass sophomore drool all over you in order to feel secure, come talk to me. Until then, I don't want you."
"Nothing is going on between Brian and I. I promise." Joe swore earnestly, his legs shaking as he stood up. "Please, baby, what do I have to do?"
"Don't 'baby' me." Zoey responded coldly.
Joe sighed. "I'll quit Glee. I'll quit the play. I'll stop hanging out with that group. I'll spend more time focusing on you. I promise."
"Oh, is it that easy?" Zoey teased, before walking away from him.
Joe followed, still holding her books. "No, it's not." He answered honestly. "I don't want to do any of those things. But I will if it'll help show you that I love you."
"See? You don't really though. If you did, you'd want to do whatever it takes to make me happy. But you don't. You'd rather sing show-tunes with the homo while he lies and tells you what an amazing singer you are. Get lost Joe."
"Zoey, please, I—, I can't—" his voice broke as tears starting spilling from his eyes. He didn't know what to do; no matter what he did, what he said, he was never enough for her. He was never what she deserved, and he was going to lose her because of it.
"Oh, for fucks sake Joe." Zoey whispered, looking around the hallway, which was mainly empty. "Pull yourself together. Do you know how bad it makes me look when they see us talking and you crying? People are going to think I'm evil."
Joe covered his mouth in a desperate attempt to stifle his crying, but his tears were starting to turn to sobs as he felt his anxiety swirling around inside of his chest. He was beginning to feel light headed; everything was in and out of focus. "I'm, I'm sorry—"
"Shut up." Zoey demanded. "Why the fuck are you crying?"
"Because, I don't want you to break up with me!" Joe choked out, his hands shaking so bad that he lost his grip on Zoey's books. As they fell to the ground, so did Joe; he sunk to his knees, sobbing into his hand.
Zoey sighed, looking around the empty hallway as the bell rang. "Alright, come here." She walked over to him, gripping the edge of his shirt and tugging. Joe obeyed, quickly picking up her books, no idea what she was going to do. "Go put those back in my locker, we're ditching class."
"W-we are? I, I think I have a quiz in—"
"Joe, if you want this to all be better, I think it's in your best interest to listen." Zoey responded. Joe noticed her glare towards the end of the hallway, but he couldn't make out what exactly she was looking at through his tears, which had blurred his vision. He wiped them, looking up to find Zoey looking as she pulled out her phone and started texting.
Joe nodded, rushing over to Zoey's locker and stuffing the books back in. He'd barely closed her locker before she'd grabbed his wrist harshly, pulling him along behind her. He tried to wriggle out of her grasp so that he could hold her hand, but she gripped him tighter, digging her nails into his skin.
She opened the door to the men's locker room, dragging him inside and closing the door behind them. Joe bit his lip; she'd get in trouble if she was caught in there. By the looks of it, everyone in gym was already outside, but anyone could still walk in at any time for some reason.
Before he could point any of this out to Zoey, she pushed him down harshly on to the nearest bench. Joe groaned, pain running up his back from her pushing him down. "What are you—" she jumped on to his lap, kissing him feverishly. Joe instinctually wrapped his arms around her as she straddled him, but his mind wasn't cooperating with what was happening. Why was she kissing him right now, when they were fighting? He tried to pull away, but she grabbed his hair roughly to keep him in. He could barely breathe with her smushing his face; she was smothering him.
"Zoe-Zoey!" Joe managed to shake his head away from her. "What are we doing?"
Zoey smirked at him. "What's it look like we're doing?"
"I-I thought we were fighting, shouldn't we be talking this—"
"Don't you want to feel close to me?" She whispered into his ear, kissing his neck.
Joe shook his head. He felt so confused—why was she jumping him like this? The last thing he felt like right now was being intimate. His anxiety was still coursing through his veins, and the current setting wasn't helping. "I, what if we get caught?"
"So what?" Zoey smirked at him, unbuttoning the top of his shirt.
"Zoey, I, I'm not comfortable doing this here."
Zoey scoffed. "Do you want me, or not Joe?"
"Of course I want you." Joe reassured, hugging her tighter. "All I want is you."
Zoey beamed at him, leaning down and sucking on his neck. "Then you need to do exactly as I say."
If you liked this chapter please give it a vote!😊 This chapter turned out to be way too long so I split it in two, so next chapter will be up later today!! We're almost through this patch of angsty chapters guys don't worry.