joey salvatore

"Ya know, you're right. They got all kinds of dips here; ranch, thousand island, and oh look!" Tony pointed right at Joseph, "A dipshit!" His point turned to a fist and he nudged his friend on the arm. "What the hell is going on over here? You're acting like your wife just walked through the front door and smacked Mireya."

Joseph rolled his eyes at Tony's crack but he wasn't wrong. He looked back at him, utterly hopeless and clearly useless. "It's not far off, man" he breathed. "Family friends from New York are here. Samuel and Lee Vaughn, they're my kid's - my other kid - friend's parents. They're friends with Malia, like, close friends. I'm freaking out here, Tony."

Iris was taking a much needed break from her sisters and Laurel's new travesty of a boyfriend, and had excused herself to the buffet table. She would make it up to Ken later for abandoning him with them, but the pulsing in her head made it clear she needed space. How the hell was she going to survive the entire festive season with them? She was pondering the question so deeply, she almost missed that someone was speaking to her. "What? I–..." Iris froze, her hand missing the table as she stumbled and landing directly in the ranch. "Shit, fuck!" It fell to the floor with a clatter as she pulled her hand back. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Oh, shit... Fuck, are you okay?" Joseph asked at the same time as she asked what the fuck he was doing here. There was ranch everywhere, fucking hell. He dipped down, picking up what was left of the platter and tossing it in the trash. He picked up about fifty napkins as well, holding them out to her. "Hey, c'mon, let's try and get some of that ranch off. You can- can-...," he faltered, brow furrowing as he finally really looked at her. Fuck. His karma was truly coming to collect tonight. "Iris?"

Stella watched him freaking out for longer than a kind, caring friend should, but honestly, why shouldn't he suffer a little? He spotted her before she could say anything, but his rambling questions weren't enough to distract her. "Shenanigans finally catching up to you?"

"C'mon, Stel... Can't you cut a guy a little slack? I've had enough of your big, heaping, helpings of 'I told you so's'. Trust me, I know. You're always right and I'm always fucked," he sighed into the Sour Cream and Chive dip. And he was, y'know, totally fucked.

"There you are! I–..." Mireya had been looking everywhere for Joseph, a little too overwhelmed by the crowd and the fact that her sister had decided to make an appearance. She hadn't expected to find him hiding out in a corner, seemingly having a meltdown. Ignoring his question, she rushed to his side. "Babe, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah... I'm okay, baby," he breathed, taking her hands in his and pulling her close. What the hell was he doing, huh? He couldn't keep doing this. Looking at Mireya now he felt his heart squeeze and his stomach churn. She was so sweet, and she loved him so much. And now they had their kid together... "I was just thinking, I'm gonna get out. The next couple of months are going to be my last on the road and then I'm done. I'm gonna be here, with you."

The look on Joey's face, that look of sadness, of hurt, of betrayal, that is why Molly had never told him about this part of their life, even before the dome had come down and they had been turned into a vampire. Joey hadn't deserved to deal with all the drama that the supernatural brought with it, and Molly hadn't wanted to be the one to bring it into his life. And now...Well now it was too late. "It's complicated," Molly said, at last. It was a stupid answer.

"Yeah, I get that," he sighed. Joey still hadn't told anybody else yet about what had happened to him. He would, of course, but appreciated it wasn't easy. He looked at them now and felt a pang in his chest. Joey would have done anything to protect Molly from this. He wondered now if they even knew that, if he'd let them know that enough. "Molly... You know that I love you, right? You're the first person I ever loved. I mean, I've loved you all our lives. You're my best friend. Nothing would have changed that, and it still won't."

Isabel grimaced at his response, knowing as soon as the words were out that she couldn't have started this conversation in a worse way. For a moment, she hesitated in the doorway, not sure if she deserved to even enter his home after what she had done, but finally crossed the threshold; the last thing she wanted was for Greg to be across the street witnessing this train wreck. Her head shook at his offer despite absolutely wanting the vitamin water, and she took a seat, if only to stop her inevitable pacing.

"Yeah, of course we're friends," Joey replied right away. Why would she ask such a, well, silly question? Of course they were friends. They blurred the lines of friends, sure, but that's what it was rooted in. They'd spent countless hours together, he'd held her after she'd had nightmares. He knew more about Isabel Valentine now that he'd ever expected to when they first met. Yes, of course they were friends. Joey felt his heart sink down to his toes at her next words even if he saw them coming. This was never going to be forever, was it? He knew that.

Maybe if she had been a little more empathetic, she would have noticed the difference in Joey–noticed how his scent was no longer human–but as it were, Isabel couldn't smell anything beyond her own anxiety. Her mouth opened with the intention to start speaking, but she faltered when she looked into his eyes–he already knew that something was wrong. But it was fine, right? You couldn't hurt someone if they weren't emotionally involved, and–... and they weren't emotionally involved. Both of them had gone into this knowing fine well that they would never be what the other wanted, hell, they even knew exactly who the other wanted. This was never going to last forever.

Joey had a sinking feeling as he watched her. For a moment, the rest of the world came to a stand still and it was just Joey and Isabel. It had been Joey-and-Isabel for so long now... He had told himself a hundred different lies about whatever they were doing in that time. That there was a chance that they could really be something. That he didn't feel anything at all. That they were just friends. They were just friends, weren't they? The lines had blurred over the years, in quiet moments. Maybe she'd been lying on his chest and just for a second, his heartbeat increased. Or maybe she'd squeezed his hand just right when he needed it and he felt like there was a chance. Isabel wasn't Rachel but who was? Who could ever be? This was safe and reliable, and theirs.

They couldn't help but wince at Joey's words. "I've broken my share of promises," Molly managed. It sounded half-hearted at best.

Joey shook his head, brow furrowed at their words. If anything, Molly should be mad at him. He remembered enough from the other night to know that he'd tried to... That he could have hurt them. The shame curled his stomach as he stared down at his shoes. No apology felt big enough - good enough - so instead he said quietly, "You could have told me..." He'd figured out enough before but now he was a werewolf, he just knew they were a vampire.

There were people that Samuel was expecting to see at the Montgomery party and there were people (and creatures) that he was most certainly not. Joseph Salvatore was very much on the second list. In fact, he was probably at the top of that list. "Joseph," he answered, trying — and failing — to keep his voice neutral. "What a surprise. Lee will be thrilled to see you, I'm sure."

Samuel and Lee Vaughn were much more amicable when he was with Malia and the kids. Of course, they were. Joseph hadn't been stuck like this with them before and he was not coping. Was it hot in here? Joseph's mouth was definitely running dry. He cleared his throat, nodding in response. "Mm... definitely. I didn't know you two were coming, we could have carpooled," he joked (attempted to joke). "I'm, uh, visiting an old friend. Stella McArthur, if you haven't met her already."

Isabel stood on Joey's doorstep, her hand hovering near the handle, but in a fist. Usually, she would just walk right in and head straight to his room, but... should she knock? It shouldn't be this hard to figure it out, but there she was, frozen with indecision. A sigh escaped her as the hand lowered on to the handle, but it quickly shifted back up and knocked on the door. This was so stupid.

Joey felt like he'd been to hell and back, but at least he'd lived to tell the tale. And he'd saved Keith, right? He'd protected his brother and that he could live with. Now, here's the weird part: he could hear her on the other side of the door. He could hear her hesitate, he could hear her sigh. Joey was in the living room and she was on the doorstep, and he could hear her. When Isabel finally did knock, he jumped without meaning to. He approached the door slowly, unsure why he suddenly felt so anxious. Isabel was a shifter, she'd understand. He opened the door wide, his smile faltering as he met her eye. Something was wrong. "You didn't need to knock."

"What a gorgeous party! Let me tell you, I know a few folks back in Manhattan who are seething that they aren't invited. I was telling Lee that. You've met Lee, right?" @havensdalestarters

Joseph almost choked on his champagne when he heard Samuel Vaughn's voice behind him. Shit. What were they doing here? And how could he get out of this? No, wait, relax. You have a reason to be here - read: Stella McArthur - that's fine. He just had to act cool. Fucking hell. With that inspiring thought, he waited for Samuel to finish small talking before he headed over. "Samuel? Hey, how the hell are you? Are you and Lee here tonight?"

"No need to worry. I won't bite." Molly wanted to laugh, couldn't quite bring themselves to do so. "Pinky promise. Had something to drink the other night."

"I guess I can't promise the same anymore, huh?"

When Joey started to stir, Thomas crouched himself down by the couch in front of him, fixing his expression to not look too delighted by the events of the previous night. Okay, so he had been aiming for the annoyingly sweet little brother when his fangs had bitten down into Joey last month, but maybe it all worked out the way it was supposed to; this way was certainly more fun. "Hey, buddy." He drew the words out as he came back to consciousness, sure that he wouldn't remember the carnage he had caused. "How you feeling?"

Joey felt like hell, to put it mildly. He didn't want to open his eyes, fighting against stirring with all his might. Head pounding, he felt like he was being dragged from a nightmare. Joey balled his hand into a fist before forcing his eyes open. What the hell had happened last night? His brow furrowed in confusion as he realised there was someone else in the room. Thomas Willows... what was Thomas Willows doing here?

"It sounds like it." Emily could more than sympathize. She remembered what it was like to over-exert herself, to not know her limits, and how annoying it was to have to take a break and recover. "Wait, really? He has excellent taste in TRX equipment. I'm a huge fan, not going to lie." Not that Emily was going to fangirl out of gym equipment; or, at least, she would try to keep it to a minimum.

Joey couldn't help but laugh at her reaction to finding out who his dad was. It was a true testament to his character development that Joey didn't scoff, roll his eyes or scream. "Yeah, I guess there's no denying him that. I'm sure once the world goes back to normal, we can get some kinda membership discount."