Somebody to Love - A Joe Mazzello FanFiction

Chapter 3 - An Old Friend

The next morning, I opened my phone and called Brian. He was a friend of mine from high school that I hadn't seen in some time. He was a senior when I was a freshman, but we lived pretty close to each other. For an entire year we were the best of friends and even when he went off to college in LA, we still wrote each other emails and sometimes letters. We would also call each other every week to keep in touch. But, when I went off to college, our conversations slowed and didn't happen nearly as frequently. You see, about 6 years ago he had gotten a job on the show The Pacific. It was his break out role. While he didn't have a big part, but getting in a show like that was any actor's dream. He has been getting small roles in big productions ever since, but we hadn't talked in over 3 years. The only place where I could catch up with his career was IMDB. I grabbed my phone and decided to give him a call. Hopefully, his number was the same. So, I prayed and dialed his number. The ringing went on for what felt like an eternity. I ended up getting his voicemail.

"Hey, you've reached Brian Barton. Leave your message at the beep." I found out that Brian had changed his last name from Giovicci to Barton to have a cooler sounding stage name. the beep sounded and I realized I needed to make up for 3 years of lost communication in about 45 seconds. I started to panic, but at least I knew I had the right number.

"Hey, Gio. Long time no see... or hear I guess. It's Julie Watson. Remember how we always said we would move to LA together someday? Well, guess what... I'm finally here. I got here about a week ago and I desperately need someone to show me around and to maybe have a drink with. I really want to catch up with you cause I've missed you. Anyway, call me back when you get this. Bye." I dropped my phone on my couch and within a minute it starts ringing again.

"Hello?" I had picked it up so fast I didn't even see who the call was from.

"Hello, my dear Watson." It was Gio. He did his best over the top English accent and it seemed like we were right back to where we were in high school. "Why don't we go drink at a lovely establishment near my flat at 7 PM tonight?" I laughed at his accent and answered.

"Of course." He told me the details of where we would be meeting. We told each other how much we missed the other person. We talked on the phone with each other for over an hour catching up on small things and then we decided we needed to hang up and save some of the conversation for the bar. I got ready and unpacked a couple of small things and put them in their right spots. I had officially finished unpacking. I couldn't believe that this was all happening.

At the bar, I looked across the room and spotted him in an instant. I waved at him enthusiastically and he waved back the same way. I sat down across from him at a dimly lit red booth in the back of a pretty loud bar. Thankfully though, we were very far away from the speakers so we could hear each other just fine.

"So, Watson..." I could tell he was nervous to be face to face with me after all this time. I hadn't seen him in the flesh in at least 5 years. Maybe more now that I'm thinking about it. I know that I looked the same because everyone tells me I still look like I'm in high school at every chance they have. I don't wear makeup, which probably doesn't help my case. Makeup was just something I never got into and now I only wear it when I really want to look amazing or different than normal. Also, my big glasses made my eyes look even bigger than normal making me look like a big baby. Gio looked practically the same as well. The only big change to his appearance since I met him was his hair. It used to be unruly but beautiful. He had thick black curly hair that turned into an afro when he didn't cut it for a while. I used to love touching it before I realized that it probably made him uncomfortable, so I stopped. Now, he had cut the sides short and left the top long to give him volume only on the top.

"Hey." He looks at me as I broke the silence. "Please don't be nervous." He half smiled and nodded. "I know this is a bit awkward, but you are one of my best friends in the world. And I still stand by that, even if we haven't talked in 3 years. And do you know why I feel confident saying that?" He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. I leaned in closer to him. "It's because I agreed to meet you in a bar." He laughed. He knew how much I hated bars and partying in them or clubs. From that point on we were catching up and we felt close again. About an hour and a half in, I start asking about his acting jobs.

"So, how's the acting business going Mr. Bigshot?" I was more relaxed now leaning back in the booth with a couple of empty glasses and half-empty plates in front of us.

"Well, I haven't gotten anything big. Just small parts here and there." He was looking away from me when he said that. I couldn't tell if he was hiding something from me or he was ashamed that he hadn't gotten a bigger part yet.

"So, nothing like The Pacific?" I reply. I caught myself too late. I realized that he probably didn't want me to bring up his big break if he hadn't gotten anything great since then. It could have been like twisting the knife that was already plunged into his skin. He didn't seem to mind though.

"No, nothing quite like that." He chuckled to himself. "I loved that job. The crew was fantastic and everyone got along so well. I still keep in touch with some of those guys." He gasped and sat more upright in his chair leaning closer to me. His eyes even got a bit wider. "I just realized. I'm having a party on Saturday. I know you don't like parties, but I thought that since we haven't seen each other in a while, you wouldn't mind coming to one at my place?" He gestured his hands toward me in a questioning motion and shrugged.

I was apprehensive. I really didn't like parties due to there being a lot of people who I didn't know. I would have to expend so much energy trying to be overly positive and funny and welcoming to every person I met. If I go to a party, I usually only spend an hour there before I go home out of exhaustion. So I replied, "How many people are going to be there?" He lowered his hands as if he had made a mistake asking me in the first place. I raise my hands in defense. "No, I want to go cause I want to hang out with you some more. I just want to know."

"Probably about 15 people including you and me. I also invited some friends from jobs I've worked. You mentioning The Pacific made me think of it. A couple of the guys from that production will be there." He snapped his fingers thinking of something again and leaned all the way back in his seat. "And you can meet Joe." I had never heard Gio mention Joe before. The way he was talking about him, I thought it might have been his boyfriend.

"Is that your boyfriend?" I asked very seriously.

"OMG. No!" He responded, almost offended that I would ask such a question. "No, he's very attractive, but no. Just a good friend of mine. He's been going through some stuff lately so he's been in New York for the past year. He finally came back to LA...maybe around when you got here. He's coming to the party, and I think you two would really get along."

Gio has told me that I would 'really get along' with other guys in the past, but they've never worked out. There was even one guy that he set me up with that ended up being gay and dated Gio for almost a year. That was a train wreck, but we both laughed about it afterward. So, to say I was skeptical about Joe was an understatement.

We talked for another hour or so before I got extremely tired and wanted to go home. Gio and I said our goodbyes and he told me where the party was going to be and when. It was at Gio's apartment, and I had never been there before. I got home and jumped into bed without changing my clothes. I thought to myself about whether or not I wanted to go to this party at all. A guy that Gio wanted me to date and a bunch of other people I didn't know. I don't know if I want to go. But Gio will be there and I've missed him. So...I guess I'll go.