Chapter Text
Joe was lying in the couch laughing with Cameron. The two of them were snuggling. God was he in love. They were just sitting and laughing. The phone began to ring.
“GO TO HELL! LET ME LIVE!” He groaned, laughing. She just rolled her eyes and kissed him. Neither wanted to move The answering machine went off. “Hey Joe, it’s me, Haley,” her voice was strained like she was crying.
He leapt off that couch and ran to the phone and picked it up.
“Hey noodle, what’s going on?... Okay, where are you?...I’ll be right there… don’t worry. It’ll be okay. I promise” As he was talking he put on his shoes and his coat. He mouthed an apology to Cam and ran out the door. She just nodded and closed the door behind him.
3 hours before.
Haley was sitting on the porch ready for her friend to pick her up. He was really sweet, they were both in computer class together. He had asked if she wanted to hang out, she really needed some more school friends and he was really good at Space Bike. So she figured it would be nice to go play some games with him.
They were going to go to the arcade and eat some food there. They were laughing and having a good time till she playing Centipede, and he was watching from behind her. When she won he kissed her on the neck.
She pushed him away and shouted “WHAT THE HELL ROBBY!”
“Excuse me, this is a date! It’s been hours and all we’ve done is play video games and eat some burgers! I get to kiss you!” He bellowed as he glared at her. He was much taller than her and he was fuming. She felt him towering over her, trying to make her give up.
“No! You don’t and this isn’t a date!” She snarled. She looked right up at him, fury radiating off of her.
“Come on, don’t be such a prude!” He grabbed her wrist, tight . Hayley’s anger boiled over, and she punched him in the nose with her other hand. He released her wrist as he stumbled back. As soon as she saw the look in his eye, she knew she had to get out of there.
When she got outside it had begun to downpour. But she kept running till she ran out of breath and the adrenaline died down. She was soaking wet and just began to cry she just sat down on the side of the road and sobbed. Thunder began to crack and when she saw the lightning she had to find some shelter.
She finally found a place that had a payphone. She didn’t know who to call. Her dad was on a fancy date with Katie at some restaurant and her mom was out of town with Joanie to go look at colleges. She decided to call Joe. She was trying not to cry, as she dialed his apartment.
“It’s Joe MacMillan. Leave a message.” The familiar voice was cold and almost robotic. She broke down again. She was stuck at some strange place, drenched in mud and rain, alone, and scared. Just perfect. She wiped the tears out of her eyes, but it only got more mud on her face, and her wrist really hurt.
“Hey Joe, it’s me, Haley-” She stuttered but was cut off by the sound of the phone picking up.
“Hey noodle, what’s going on?” He stammered with concern. It was so good to hear his voice, so she let out a tiny sob.
“Joe, can you pick me up? Please. I’m really scared” She was shaking and her voice was cracking.
“Okay, sure thing. Where are you?” She tried to figure out what street she was on. She couldn’t. She’d never even been to this part of town.
“I’m at the… its the.. I’m at the In-And-Out.” She saw looking up at the sign.
“I’ll be right there” The sound of his voice helped calm her down but she was still hysterical.
“Please, I’m freaking out right now, I don’t feel safe. Please get here soon.” She whimpered.
“Don’t worry. It’ll be alright. I promise” He said.
He ran out the door and broke several different traffic laws of varying degrees and got there in 3 minutes in what is usually a 7 minute drive. He walked in and saw her sobbing in the back of the restaurant.
“Hey, let’s get out of here, noodle. Let's get you home.” He whispered softly. She got out of the booth and grabbed him into a hug, like he had risen from the dead. He kept an arm around her and she got into his car, and he carefully drove her home. He had put on that weird music she liked, he kept a tape of it in the glove box just in case. It wasn’t much help though. She just sat and stared out the window crying. She had stopped crying loudly, like it was too much energy.
She was just thinking about how much she wanted things to be good. For a moment, she had a friend. A friend who she could see everyday in the halls. Someone who would stand right next to her when people made fun of her and would not listen to them. Good god, she wanted that. She wanted it to be real. And for a moment it was real.
When they got to her house he opened the car door for her and walked her inside. He didn’t want to leave her alone, but he wasn’t sure if she wanted him there. So, he turned to leave and Haley called to him “Don’t go!” He spun back around and walked away from the door “Please, don’t leave me alone.”
“Why don’t you go take a shower, wash the day off? I will be here when you come down. I promise you I’m not going anywhere.” He reassured, and she went to her bathroom.
She ran to her bathroom, and just puked into the toilet. She peeled off all of her clothes. She began to cry. She had never felt more alone or violated. She just stood under the piping hot water and cried. She began to wash off everything, but she still felt like nothing would ever be okay again.
While she was in the shower, he ran to his car and pulled out his backpack. He went to the laundry room and pulled out his sweatshirt and took a blanket from the closet down, and threw them in the dryer for a couple minutes. Then he went into the kitchen and put on some water. He made 2 cups of hot chocolate. He didn’t know what had happened. He didn’t know what could have happened to make her so upset. He didn’t want to push her into telling him. He was done pushing people, he was just so worried. He didn’t know how to help her. But, he did know how to make chicken noodle soup from a can. So he put it on the stove.
When she got dressed and went outside, she saw Joe sitting at her kitchen table. She saw a cup of something steaming and a bowl of something, and she remembered how hungry she was and ran over there.
He heard the dryer timer go off and ran and grabbed the sweatshirt and ran back. “I, uh, here.” He stuttered giving her the sweatshirt, she was just confused. “When I was little, and I would get upset, my mom would put a blanket or my pajamas in the dryer to heat them up to make me feel better. It always helped.”
She teared up and took the sweatshirt from him. It felt like a shield, a hug, and heaven all in one. She went up to him and gave him another hug. “Thank you, Joe. Really.” She got his sweater wet with more tears, but he didn’t care. He just pulled her in tighter. He thought to himself I will not let anything hurt this girl . He walked with his arm around her to the couch. He ran back to the dryer and gave her the warm blanket and draped it around her shoulders. He went to the VHS bin and pulled out Ghostbusters II, Home Alone, and Adams Family. He knew they were her favorites.
“Which one?” He asked holding each one up. In response, she snapped twice, and Joe laughed putting in the movie. It was already rewound, but he didn’t skip the warnings or previews.
“You don’t need to tell me a thing. But, if you want to talk I’m here to listen.” He smiled a broken, soft smile.
“I went out with a friend. I thought he was a friend. And we were just hanging out, and I guess he thought it was a date. He… he kissed me,” She began to cry again, and Joe’s blood boiled. He was going to find this kid and hurt him. But he let Haley continue. “I hit him, and I just ran. It’s not a big deal, I’m sorry to bother you-”
“No. Haley, listen to me,” He interrupted her. “You did not do anything wrong. If you ever have a problem, you can come to me. I don’t care how small it seems, if you need help I will be here. I’ve got you, I promise.” He hugged her again, but when he let go he looked into her eyes. “And boys are never, ever allowed to kiss you without you saying yes. I don’t care what anyone else says. Never ever.” And she just nodded.
They finished the movie, and Joe got up to leave, but once again Haley called out to him “Stay? Please just until my dad comes home.” Her face was full of worry and he just couldn’t leave.
“Of course, noodle. I’m not going anywhere.” He sat back down on the chair and turned on SNL. He watched her laugh along with the sketches, but as time went on she drifted into a much deserved sleep. And slowly without realizing, he to began to sleep.
Later, Gordon came home, very surprised to see his friend asleep on his couch. Joe woke up when Gordon got closer.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” He asked, (and in Joe’s opinion loudly)
“Keep your voice down! Don’t wake her up!” Joe whispered. He got up and walked to the kitchen and filled him in. Joe told the other man the basics but decided it was for Haley to tell him the rest when she was ready.
“I should have been there! How could I have been so stupid! I never even met this guy and I let her just hang out with him-” Gordon rambled angrily.
“Gordon. First off, do you screen every single one of her friends? No. This one was an asshole, and that’s not your fault. Second, it’s okay, you can go on your date with your girlfriend. I had her, it’s okay, I’ve got her ” Joe interrupted.
“Joe, I’m her dad. I appreciate everything your doing and everything, but I need to be there for her.” Gordon snapped. It really hurt Joe, but he wasn’t going to just retreat into himself. He didn’t do that anymore.
“Gordon, I can help you. Me and Cam, we love the girls. You and Donna can’t be everywhere at once, that’s fine. You can calm down. I get it I’m not a parent, but I still care about them. I still love them. I can still do what I can to help them.” Joe assured. He thought of when the girls were little, and the hurricane. He thought of the days at Comet with Haley, and the milkshakes at lunch. He thought of the record stores with Joanie and all the times he took the pack of cigarettes she left at his apartment in an attempt to get her to stop. He thought of how much he missed because he was too busy being a dick. He didn’t want to miss anymore, and he just wanted the best for them.”
“You’re right. Joe, I’m sorry. I’m just a little protective. Things have been so weird with the divorce and all the shit I put those girls trough before. God, I feel like such a terrible father.” He took a sip of the coffee as he lamented.
“Well, you’re definitely better than my dad.” Joe smirked.
“Joe, no offense, but that’s not a very high bar.”
“Ouch. But, in all seriousness you are doing great. You can’t change the past, just do your best going forward. And always remember, I’ve got you”
————-
for the rest of that week and till the bruises faded, Haley wore that black hoodie Joe gave her. She kept it, and on rough days she put it right back on