richpez for mae

30

Lauren had tried to reach out to Joey on multiple occasions to apologise but Joey hadn't responded. She checked their message chat every 30 seconds, watching and waiting and hoping that he would interact with it in any way. But seeing him read the messages and not reply hurt so much more than the first time. She felt like she was back in December again, having to go back to the start and reestablish everything with him again. That was if he was willing to try again with her.

Reluctantly, she gave him space, again.

A few weeks had passed since they had argued and she hadn't seen Joey since. They would usually cross paths most days in the sports centre, but Lauren was only attending a couple of volleyball sessions and even then she was sitting on the side lines watching and coaching, still not allowed to be involved. And the sessions that she was scheduled for were mostly ones where Joey was already in the pool when she got there or he wasn't there at all. They used to also see each other in the drama centre, but they had new timetables for the new semester which meant they didn't cross paths at all.

Lauren didn't know if she wanted to see Joey or not. She really wanted to, but as the same time was she strong enough to be able to face him in the instance that he just snubbed her or didn't want her for good? Every time she walked to the sports centre, she could feel a knot in the pit of her stomach, knowing she could bump into him at any moment, but she never did.

It was Valentines day and Lauren was heading to the sports centre to attend training to once again, sit on the sideline and watch and cheer on her girls. She caught a glimpse of herself in a window as she walked alone along the cold and quiet path to the centre, seeing herself bundled up in a jumper, a coat and a scarf with sweatpants and trainers on her bottom half. And she couldn't help but always notice the cut on the side of her head, sticking out like a sore thumb. She grimaced at herself and carried on walking to not be late.

She felt like shit, to put it lightly. Everyday was a constant reminder that Joey wasn't speaking to her, but Valentines day really kicked the nail into the coffin that they weren't on good terms. And she didn't feel good about herself either, not really putting any effort into herself since their argument. She also didn't want to since hitting her head gave her the worst headaches imaginable, and she wanted to spend all of her days in bed. Her coaches and lecturers understood what had happened and were very lenient with her attendance and participation, and the misery of missing Joey was intertwined with her head injury and the pain that came with it.

She eventually arrived and headed inside, pulling off her coat and scarf and flinging it over her arm. Walking down the corridor as she always did, she looked to her right to watch the boys swimming, doing it subconsciously and not really concentrating on what they were doing. But she noticed that the pool was empty, and she tilted her head slightly in confusion. But as soon as the thought came into her head, she watched as the boys padded out of the changing rooms and onto the tiled floor, standing by their lanes. Lauren stopped and watched her friends walk out, but her eyes were immediately drawn to Joey, and her heart was pounding. Seeing him again for the first time made her almost weak at the knees, and her breath quickened as her eyes followed him as he walked towards the pool, his chain glistening from the flood light above him and his toned body stood slightly flexed from tensing in the cold.

Lauren smiled sadly through the glass, feeling a tear prick in her eyes but quickly wiped it away. She was about to turn and continue the walk to the sports hall but immediately froze when she saw Joey look up through the glass directly at her. It felt like all the air left her lungs as their eyes met for the first time, and she thought she was going to faint, holding onto the wall for support and she didn't even want to breathe. It was as if time had frozen, neither thinking, neither blinking, neither moving or saying anything. She watched as his tensed shoulders relaxed and her chest felt so warm as their eyes stayed locked. A hot tear ran down her cheek and Lauren hoped Joey hadn't noticed since he was far away, but she watched him frown towards her.