TW: PANIC ATTACK
It's a couple of days later and nothing has gotten any easier. Lauren's basically been crying nonstop whereas Joey has been doing the opposite and keeping his emotions very much hidden in order to be there for her. The rest of the group are worried about Lauren, but she just tells them she's tired or PMSing and it seems to do the trick.
Joey's never been so exhausted in his life. Not only has his life been flipped upside down but it feels like taking care of Lauren is a full time job. He gets her water and food whenever she needs it, he stays awake with her when she can't get to sleep and is always there if she just needs a shoulder to cry on.
But Joey's not complaining; looking after her is never a chore, he just hasn't had a proper nights sleep in several days now and it's starting to have a very clear effect. There are massive bags under his eyes and his voice isn't as strong as it usually is, which jeopardises the shows; everything's just a mess. This really has affected all of them, whether they know about it or not.
The news still hasn't properly set in. Joey just can't believe Lauren's..pregnant. And saying it doesn't make it any easier. He also can't believe how careless and stupid they were; yes, it was a romantic couple of weeks and Joey had the best time of his life, but how he never made sure they had protection of some kind blows his mind. He would do anything to go back in time and take it more seriously because adults weren't kidding when they said you would regret it.
Since he's found out, it feels like Joey just hasn't stopped feeling ill. He constantly feels nauseous and has a pounding headache and he just feels weak. Being on guard for Lauren isn't helping, but again, there's nowhere he'd rather be.
He can't even imagine how she's feeling right now; she's only talked to him a couple of times about how she's doing and she's been pretty vague but Joey can tell she's absolutely terrified. She has nightmares every night, and not the pretty kind; Lauren wakes up crying and shaking and it's taken a couple of hours before to try and get her to calm down and go back to sleep. She's being so brave though and putting on a smile for the fans whenever they do shows and Joey's honestly been so proud of her. She's amazing.
This whole thing is a fucking nightmare and Joey hates every second of it. He needs to cry and get some of his emotions out, but that's not an option. He refuses to let Lauren see him cry, especially when she's the one going through all of this. He's so scared he can't even think straight, but Lauren comes first. She's the focus in all this and Joey needs to make sure of that, no matter what she decides to do.
"JoJo?" Lauren's voice is a quiet whisper that wakes Joey from where he was just drifting off in his bunk. He had crept off from the rest of the group about twenty minutes ago to have a nap because of how tired he is.
His eyes open quickly and he sits up in the bunk. "You okay?" He asks, suddenly wide awake and ready to help Lauren in any way she needs.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean to wake you.." Lauren replies gently and Joey can see she's starting to well up. He softly strokes her cheek with his finger and tucks some loose hair behind her ear.
"Hey, it's fine. Tell me what's wrong." He reassures her and holds back a yawn.
Lauren sighs and looks down. "I just didn't want to be alone..everyone's out there laughing and having fun and you're the only one who knows about..this and it was getting pretty overwhelming.." She explains, her voice breaking a little as she gets more upset.
Joey hops out of the bunk and turns to her. He cups the sides of her face and tilts her head up so she's looking at him. "It's okay, don't cry; I'll come out right now." He smiles at her and gently kisses her cheek. Lauren nods and then leans her head against his chest as Joey wraps his arms around her in a hug. She's been super clingy over the past few days, which is understandable, which is kind of why Joey's been on the clock twenty-four-seven.
