The Web I Spin for You ~ Richpez & Rosenwalker

Chapter 13

Stupidly long chapter. TW for panic attack and CW for some heated kissing.

"Listen, I cross my heart and hope to die. I won't tell anyone anything." Joe swore as he walked into his bedroom, Brian close behind. "Now, tell me everything that happened between them. I know Lauren's hiding something from me."

Brian bit his lip, sitting down on Joe's bed. "You realize if this gets back to Lauren both her and Joey will murder me, right?"

Joe pulled his desk chair over towards his bed so that he could sit across from the younger boy. "You realize that I don't want you murdered, so I'll do everything I can to make sure that that doesn't happen, right?" He teased back, sticking his tongue out at him.

Brian took a sip of his coffee, biding his time. "Fair enough. So, remember the night of Tom's party?"

Joe raised an eyebrow at him. "The same Tom's party where I broke up with Zoey? Where I found out about how she'd been having the jocks beat you up? Where she took me in a closet and—" Joe shook his head and cut himself off, shoving his coffee straw into his mouth. "Yeah, you could say that I remember it."

Brian continued, pretending to not have noticed how Joe had stopped himself from telling him something. "They made out that night at Darren's. Basically right after they left us in Chuck's room."

"No way. You're lying."

"I'm not."

"There's no way in hell."

"There is in fact, a way in hell. Maybe this was the devils doing himself."

"Shut up, SHUT THE FUCK UP, GODDAMMIT!" Joe jumped out of his chair, skipping around in a circle. "Ah, I fucking knew it! I could tell Lauren was off after that night, but I was too preoccupied with everything going on in my own life to really press her for information."

"Understandable." Brian commented. "I knew about the kiss, and I was more focused on your life that weekend."

Joe sat back down, tiptoeing in closer to Brian. "Oh yeah? Any particular events from that weekend? Like certain things that happened in a certain sheet music closet?"

Brian playfully tapped Joe's forehead. "Focus loverboy." He teased. "This is what caused you to miss it last time."

"Last time? So did it happen again? If they made out, why aren't they together? Are they together and just hiding it from us?"

Brian reached over again, this time playfully slapping Joe's cheek. "Slow your roll." Brian took a deep breath, part of him unable to shake the feeling that he was completely betraying Joey. That being said, recruiting Joe may be his only chance to figure out the deal with Lauren. "So they made out—she kissed him mind you—until Lauren wound up freaking out and telling Joey that it was a mistake. Joey took the opportunity and confessed that he liked her, Lauren fucking told him that she likes him back, but said that it's not the right time for her to start something since she's leaving Hatchetfield."

"Sounds like her," Joe said with a shrug. "I've pointed out to her several times that University of Michigan is only about a three hour drive from Hatchetfield, but does she listen to me? Of course not." Joe sipped his coffee, thinking about how there was a chance he'd be leaving in a few months as well. "So she completely shot him down?"

"No, that's where it's annoying. She told him she'd think about it, and of course he completely simped for her."

"Naturally." Joe bit the tip of his straw, staring off into the distance as a plan formulated inside of his mind. "Tsk tsk, Rosenthal, you know what I'm hearing?" Joe asked, resting his feet up on his bed across from him. "I think we need to take matters into our own hands."