Joey Gatto: Not Just A Fan

Just siting in that dark van with Joey while everyone else slept was actually super calming. After a few minutes, he whispered, "So, do you have any siblings?" It was like someone had just squeezed all the air out of my lungs. It was sweet that he was trying to make conversation, but this was the worst thing he could have mentioned. After a few seconds of shock, I replied with a short, "I don't really talk about that." I saw a look of embarrassment and confusion pass quickly over Joey's face before he quickly regained himself, and said understandingly, "I'm sorry. Didn't mean to hit a touchy subject." I could hear the sincerity of his voice through the darkness of the van, and suddenly felt bad. My brother, Benny, had taken a dark path when he started high school and had attempted to take his life after being bullied. Thankfully he survived, but then resorted to drugs and alcohol to make himself feel while again. He has been in rehab in and off for the past 6 years. It was something I never really talked about. I quickly replied to Joey, "Oh no no, it's not your fault. Just a hard topic. But yeah, I have one brother." I could barely make out a smile on his face as he realized I wasn't upset with him. It was nice being around someone who didn't push for answers and was able to respect my boundaries. I love my friends, but when I'm down, sometimes they try to hard to get me to talk about my feelings when what I really need is some alone time.
"You have siblings, right?" I asked Joey.
"Yeah I do, most of them are step but they aren't any less close. My parents divorced when I was young," He said.
"That must be hard, being in the middle all the time," I replied, thankful that my parents had been able to keep their relationship strong despite the constant stress of Benny's mental health issues.
"It's not too bad, It just makes me wary about settling down or committing to anything serious because of how obviously they aren't meant of each other," he replied. I was slightly surprised by his honesty and openness.
"I have really only had one serious relationship that lasted 3 of my years in high school. I spent so much time dealing with my brother's stuff that I didn't have time or energy to fully commit to anyone, nor did I really have the desire. School is something that I don't actually hate, unlike most people, so learning is something I don't consider a waste of time... you probably think I'm a total nerd now," I said sheepishly. I surprised myself by mentioning my brother, but I guess Joey's openness brought the same thing out in me.
"No way! I feel the same way. I'm going to college to study computer programming and I think knowledge is super powerful. Don't be afraid to express your interests." I could hear the passion in Joey's voice for the second time tonight. It continued to surprise me how similar we were.
"So where are you going to college?" He asked me.
"I-I... well, I actually had to take a gap year because I need to raise the money for college. My brothers health bills put quite a dent into the money that we had been saving for my schooling." I said, embarrassed and even worried he might look down on me for not going to an amazing college.
"I think it's cool that you sacrificed that for your family. I can tell how you feel about school, and I think it's cool you're so open to giving it up to help your brother." He said back. I was relieved he continued not to press me with questing about Benny. We continued to talk about our values, interests, and hobbies for the rest of the car ride as everyone else stayed sleeping. I looked in the mirror to see Alicia's head peacefully resting on Nick's shoulder.
"You know Joey, form your videos I used to think you were kind of obnoxious. Thanks for proving me wrong." As soon as I said this, I was worried Joey would take it the wrong way. Thanks to his chill personality, he just smiled and said, "Well, I can be pretty obnoxious. But I'm other things, too." He said with a smile. I laughed as we continued down the dark road.

After a drive that seemed like eternity, we pulled up to our Holiday Inn. Joey flicked on the car lights and yelled "We're here," and soon, many groggy boys began making their way out of the packed car. Joey looked at me laughing. "It looks like we stuffed a clown car with a bunch of sleep deprived zombies!" I giggled in response as we all headed inside to check in. The clock read 2:07 AM as we all headed our separate ways. Jonah called out, "Thanks again guys. This was the biggest help in the world. Meet us for breakfast at the Waffle House down the street at 8 tomorrow, our treat."
"Sounds good," I called back, half awake.