Monsters and Men ~ Rosenwalker & Richpez

Chapter 25

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Joe pulled out his phone as he drove back towards school. Once he hit a stop light, he sent a quick text to Brian asking if he wanted to start rehearsing earlier since he was free. Then he called Lauren.

"What up?" Lauren asked.

"What are you doing?" Joe asked.

"Um, sitting in the choir room? Waiting for Joey like I said."

"Okay cool I'll be there in five minutes to keep you company because I'm such a good friend."
Joe sighed in relief knowing that he wouldn't have to spend the next hour alone with nothing to do. Ten minutes later he walked into the choir room to find Lauren laying on the phone, one leg propped up on a chair, looking at her phone.

"What happened to Zoey?" Lauren asked, not seeming bothered by her absence.

"Work," Joe said simply, sitting down across from her.

"I thought you said you guys were going to get coffee?"

Joe sighed. "She decided she didn't want to hang out with me because she's mad about the extra rehearsals this week. Happy?"

"No, I'm not happy," Lauren said sternly. "You deserve a partner that doesn't give you a hard time over being in the school play."

"Lauren, I'm not in the mood." Joe responded simply. "I get it, you don't like my girlfriend."

Lauren bit her lip, weighing over her words. "Sorry. So I take it you guys resolved that fight you had last week?"

"Yup. We're all good in regards to that." Joe responded, sounding unsure.

Lauren knew he was lying, but decided not to press him any further. "So, how's your duet coming along?"

"We haven't worked on it since last week. That's why I'm waiting for Brian. We were doing really good and now I'm scared that we're fucked."

"Yikes," Lauren stated, trying to think of a way to connect their conversation to how Brian was perfect for Joe if he could just wake up and see it. "Good thing you and Brian at least sing together a lot in Potter musical. You can kind of count that as duet rehearsal."

"Very fair. I actually think our voices sound pretty good together." Joe said, a smile crawling across his face. "And like, you know that I don't really like my voice."

"Your voice is fine, but I have noticed that you've been improving a lot," Lauren said honestly. "Has Rosenthal been helping you?"

"Yeah, a lot. He's a great teacher."

"Is he now?" Lauren asked, a smile spreading across her face. "You should stick with him then. Who knows what else he could teach you?"

Joe raised an eyebrow at her. "Why do I feel like you're making a dirty joke?"

"Because you know me well enough to know that I am," she answered, laughing.

Joe laughed. "You are messed up in the head."

"I'm just saying. Apart from singing, I'm sure he could teach you wonders about another thing in your life that you want to explore."

"I refuse to listen to this—"

"Yeah yeah yeah he's your friend you don't want to complicate things by thinking about whether or not he has a good ass," Lauren mimicked. "You told me."

"I also have a girlfriend, but yeah that too." Joe said. "Speaking of cute duet partners, have you given any thought to what I said about Joey?"

Lauren raised an eyebrow. "Okay so first of all, thank you for admitting again that you think Brian's cute. Second of all, do you also find Joey cute?"