Monsters and Men ~ Rosenwalker & Richpez

Chapter 31

Shorter chapter because I split 31 in half, I'll upload the second half tomorrow!

Joe stared at the clock desperately. It'd been over thirty minutes since Joey and Lauren had left and there was still no news. He'd texted Brian several times, but he hadn't even read his messages. Should he blow off his third period to look for him? It wasn't like Brian to just skip class.

He had all but made up his mind when the bell rang. AP literature could wait; making sure Brian was okay was more important. Should he check the theatre? That's where he'd found him the last time that he'd disappeared. He grabbed his backpack and walked out of the choir room to head for the theatre, finding himself face to face with Zoey.

He froze, staring at her as everyone else in Glee walked around them. What the hell was she doing here? Most of the time she refused to even enter the theatre building. Surely she was on the same page as him in the fact that they were broken up?

Zoey waited until the hallway was empty before she spoke. "Can, can we talk?" She asked quietly, looking up at him with tear filled eyes.

"About what?" Joe responded brusquely, walking past her.

"Joe, please!" She yelled after him, reaching out and grabbing his shoulder.

Joe retracted away from her, looking back in fear. "What do you want?" He asked, feeling his anxiety rising.

"I, I just, we need to talk about last night." She was hugging her textbooks to her chest, staring down at the floor.

Joe resisted the urge to laugh. "I'm sorry, what exactly is there to say?"

Zoey was quiet for a long time. She wiped a tear from her eye before looking up at him. "I'm sorry, for starters."

Joe laughed, throwing his head back in disbelief. "You're sorry? You're sorry for hitting me?"

"I didn't hit you—"

"No, of course you didn't, anything bad that you've done to me didn't actually happen, I'm just hysterical!" He yelled at her, surprising himself with his anger.

"Would you let me speak!" She yelled over him. "I slapped you. That's not the same as hitting. But it was still wrong. I—you didn't deserve that."

"You're fucking right that I didn't! And you did more than just slap me. For fucks sake, you literally pinned me down and choked me!"

"Joe, I barely pressed against your neck, and it was just to calm you d—"

"Lauren's been right about you all along." Joe spat. "Our relationship is completely toxic. You're toxic." Tears were running down his face as the words left his mouth, hating that he believed them.

"You don't think I know that?" She yelled back as her eyes filled up with tears. "I don't want to be! I hate that I'm like this, I hate feeling angry all the time!" She hunched over, sobbing. "Remember all those times before where I would tell you that I wanted to hit you? I meant it. It's not my fault—I didn't ask to be born this way! I work so fucking hard to control it when I'm with you, but last night—last night I just lost it. I lost control." She threw her textbooks to the ground, bringing her hands to her face and sobbing into them. "I've struggled with these issues my entire life. And for so long I've figured that when it comes to love, I'm a lost cause. But then I started dating you." She took a step closer to him. "You're the first truly good person I've been with. And I think that you can make me good too. I want to become a better person for you, which believe me has never happened before. I've never believed that I needed to change. But I will for you." Joe took a step back from her so that his back hit the wall, but she went ahead and filled the space between them, grabbing his shoulders. He shuddered at her touch. "I want to change for you. You're a good man, and I think that you can help me. You can change me! Please, don't give up on me." She cupped his face, staring intensely into his eyes. "I'll be better this time, I promise." She wrapped her arms around his neck, sobbing into his chest.

Joe instinctually wrapped his arms around her, weighing over her words. He'd never seen her like this before. She'd never held herself accountable for her behavior, and Joe had always had to make excuses for her. But for once, he didn't have to. She was admitting that she was wrong. "I, I don't know what to say to be honest."

"Say you forgive me, and that you'll give me another chance. Please." She looked up at him, her makeup running all over her face. "I love you. You're my whole world Joe. I know that I've been possessive and jealous and impatient, but I'm willing to work on it for you."

Joe was quiet for a long time, before reaching out and wiping a tear off of her cheek. "I love you too. You're my everything. But... I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't really angry with you." Joe admitted, looking away from her. He tried to push her off of him, but she hugged him tighter.

"You have every right to be. I've been a toxic partner to you. But believe me when I say that I've been trying to change." She took a step back, her cheeks flushing from embarrassment. "In truth, I think this is the most stable relationship I've ever had. Excluding what happened last night of course," she added, noticing the look of disbelief on Joe's face. "I think we honestly don't fight that much. Compared to my past boyfriends. You have so much patience with me, and I know I don't tell you enough, but I appreciate it so much." She stepped back towards him, reaching out and grabbing his hand. "You don't have to give me an answer right now. But please, please, take some time and think about it? For me?" She stepped in, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek. Joe looked down at her, the two locking tear filled eyes before Zoey leaned in and kissed him.

Joe cupped her face, kissing her back. Zoey wrapped her arms around his neck again, pulling him against her. She sighed as their lips drifted faintly apart. "I love you."

"I love you too," Joe whispered back, running a hand through her hair. He allowed her to kiss him again, briefly, before taking a step back. "Things are... really messed up between us right now. I can't just forget about what happened yesterday." He stared down at her, her big green eyes staring back up at him. "But I do love you, and I'm willing to work through this if you are. I don't want to loose you," he admitted. "I, I honestly can't handle the idea of not having you in my life."

"I can't either. I'll do anything to prove it to you. I promise."

Joe sighed, running a hand through his hair. "...okay." He decided, part of him unable to help but wonder if he was making a huge mistake. "I'll, I'll give you another chance."

"Oh Joe!" Zoey yelled, grabbing him and kissing him affectionately.

Joe kissed her back, before gently pushing her off of him. "But I want us to sit down and talk about our problems. Really talk about them. And I want to feel like I can express my issues with our relationship without worrying about you getting mad at me."

"Of course. You're absolutely right. After school?" She asked desperately.

Joe shrugged. "I have rehearsal. Don't know when I'm getting out."

Zoey nodded, looking down at the floor and taking a deep breath. "That's fine. See how you're feeling when you finish rehearsal. If you want to talk then, just give me a call. Whenever you want."

Joe nodded, noticing the change in her demeanor about him having rehearsal. He opened his arms, allowing her to hug him. His body felt completely conflicted. Part of him was shaking with anxiety about the fact that her hands were on him; the other half was relieved and felt at home. Could he trust her? Was this real?

He reached down and intwined their hands as the bell rang. "Walk me to class?" He asked, testing the waters to see if she'd do this simple request for him.

She smiled up at him. "It would be my honor Joe." She reached down to pick up her textbooks, but Joe took them from her immediately. She smiled happily as they started walking down the hallway, a skip in her step. Joe smiled back at her nervously. "Zoey," he started, stopping in his tracts. "You, you really promise that you're going to try? I don't expect you to change overnight. I just want you to put in the effort, and I'll help you as best as I can."

She smiled at him, stepping in and kissing his cheek, right on the bruise from where she'd hit him. "Cross my heart, hope to die."