Our Senior Year - A Joe Mazzello Fanfic (Sequel to In Need of a Friend)

Choking on Lies

There were only 5 of them speaking, but I swear it's like I was hearing the voices of a thousand people screaming at a crowded concert. I wanted the noise to stop. I wanted everything to stop. 

"Valentina?"

"Is she alright?"

"What's wrong with her?"

"Valentina!"

Suddenly, I felt a hand around my wrist and another around my arm. It was Joe. He was shaking me. I had no idea, but my eyes had been closed. I know this because I had to open them when I felt Joe's warm hands on my right arm. When I had re-entered the realm of reality, I realized I had my hands cupping my ears. I slowly looked over to Joe.

"Valentina, what's wrong? What goin' on?" He asked me, pale as could be. He looked like he'd just seen a ghost.

"Um, I-I don't really know..." I stammered. I, then, looked at everyone at the table. They all had expressions similar to Joe's. 

"Why is everyone so...white?" I asked. The color was literally gone from everyone's face. Even Mr. Tough Guy himself, Ben Hardy, looked a bit like Casper the Friendly Ghost. 

"Honey, because you had us all scared to death and quite frankly we're still pretty concerned." Lucy explained with a hand placed over her chest.

"Come with me, let's go get some water." Joe said as he took my hand and helped me up from the table. I was, surprisingly, a little weak. Somehow Joe must have known because he already had his other hand placed around my shoulder to help brace me. Joe can usually tell when something is wrong with me before I even know it.

We walked out of the cafeteria and took a right turn to the water fountain. I took two good gulps and then wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. I turned around and faced Joe.

"Feel a little bit better?" He asked.

"I guess so. It's nice to be away from all the...well all the noise."

"Was it too loud in there or something? I mean, what exactly happened, Valentina? I'm confused."

"Oh, well, you know me, Joe. I get panic attacks sometimes when it's crowded and loud." I shrugged off his concern.

Joe slightly squinted and stroked his chin with his thumb and index finger.

"I don't know. That didn't look like one of your panic attacks to me. I've seen you have them. This was something else. It was almost just like a...freak-out of some sort. Like there was too much going on in your head and you couldn't take it." Joe stated.

"Well, for some people...that can cause a panic attack, Joe." I argued.

"Okay, but we're talking about you - not "some people". Just talk to me. What did you start thinking about that got you to that weird state you ended up in? You can tell me." Joe grabbed my left hand gently.

"Ok. I guess I'd have to talk about it eventually anyway-" I was about to talk to Joe regarding my worries about college when the bell interrupted me. Joe frowned and slightly shrugged.

"Let's talk about it later. Maybe at lunch?" My boyfriend suggested.

I gave a weak smile and nodded. Joe put his arm around me and walked me to my homeroom (everyone had the same homeroom teacher throughout their entire time in high school) so Joe walked me to Mrs. Nichols' classroom - the same place I'd gone last year for homeroom.

We got to the door and both stopped for a second.

"Well, I guess the next time I see you will be...right after the morning anouncements." Joe said, chuckling. We are always released from homeroom after the anouncements are over.