Right Place, Wrong Time

31. Like A Best Friend

A car rumbled down the street, headlights illuminating Joey in passing as he pushed back his hair, straightened the collar of his shirt, then knocked on the door of the house opposite. But it wasn't Lauren who opened it.

"Oh. Hi, Julia."

"She's upstairs," she said, stepping back to let him in before he said another word. "You know you're early?"

"I told her I'd come by and help set up." When he'd offered to help Lauren with Julia's belated birthday party, he'd pointed out that it was convenient because he was only over the road. But really it was an excuse to spend even more time with her.

"She didn't tell me that," she smirked. She shut the door behind him. "She's just getting ready."

"Okay." Joey entered the house and lay his jacket over the back of the couch. Then he stood there awkwardly, unsure if he should ask Julia how he can help, or wait for Lauren to appear. Julia smirked again, and went up the stairs. He heard a loud knock on a door.

"Lauren, are you decent?"

He didn't hear Lauren's reply, but Julia reappeared at the top of the stairs and told him, "You can come up."

He grinned in thanks, then bounded up the stairs two at a time, where Julia pointed at the room that must be Lauren's. He assumed her answer to the question must have been yes, but he knocked anyway.

"What now?" she called from inside.

Joey grinned, and opened the door. "It's me."

"Oh, hi!" she said, smiling up at him. She was sitting on her bed, fully made up but in shorts and a sweatshirt, with more clothes strewn around her while she stared into her open closet. "Sorry, I was trying to decide what to wear. You want to help?"

"Sure," he said, not sure how much help he would actually be. She shifted over, making room for him to come and sit beside her.

"You like that shirt," she said, pointing to the one he was wearing.

He glanced down at it himself, though he knew exactly what shirt it was: the one she had complimented when they'd seen each other at that first party this year. His face flushed. "I wore it because you said you liked it," he mumbled.

Her eyes brightened. "Really?"

He nodded.

"I do like it," she said, putting a hand on his arm. "It looks good on you."

"Thanks," he said, trying to keep her gaze but having to look down at the floor after just a second. Tonight was for revealing how much he still harboured feelings for her, it seemed. Luckily, she wasn't perturbed by it, her face amused by his embarrassment, and apparently taking it as a compliment. This was better than the awkwardness, at least.

"So." She jumped up and walked across to her closet. "What do you think?"

"Um." He followed her over, pushing the garments along the rail. "I think you'll look nice in anything."

"Cop out," she said. But she grinned up at him, flattered. "Okay, what about this?"

She lifted out a hanger and held the dress up against her, white with thin straps and a deep neckline.

"Not that!" he cried, before he could stop himself.

She frowned, looking down at it. "What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing, it's just, um..." He could feel his pulse racing, heat rising to his cheeks. "It might be too nice."

Lie. The truth was that he didn't think he could handle her wearing that. Because they needed to be best friends. And a best friend didn't think about his hands slipping her out of that dress.

"What about this?" he asked, picking up one of the already discarded skirts on her bed and trying desperately to shake the thought away.

She tilted her head at it, considering. "Yeah, okay." She grabbed a top to go with it, and ushered him out of the room. "I'll be downstairs in two secs."

He headed back down the stairs, finding Julia in the kitchen setting up snacks.

"Need a hand?" he asked.

She turned around. "Lauren's still not ready?"

"Almost." He took a few dishes from the side and moved them to the table.

"She's been in there over an hour trying to decide what to wear."

"And it was worth it, because I look great," Lauren said, descending the stairs.

Julia and Joey both looked up at the same time, but Julia looked away first. Joey couldn't seem to take his eyes off her, though he knew he had to because now she was smiling and walking towards him and he was making things weird.

"You do look great," he agreed, hoping he carried it off casually.

"Thanks," she beamed, and nudged his arm. "Credit where credit's due."

"So when you invited Joey over to help it was with your outfit and not the party?" Julia said. Neither of them had noticed her go to the basement and come back with drinks. Joey flushed, and Lauren rolled her eyes.

"What can we do that you haven't already done yourself?" she asked. He liked the sound of that, them as a pair.

"Go and put a sign on the bathroom door."

Lauren clapped her hands together, and went back upstairs in search of paper and a pen. Joey followed, aware this was a one person job but realising there was little for him to actually do here. Maybe Lauren had taken the excuse to spend more time with him just as much as he had.

"I should have known a party you guys threw would be a practical one," he said, sitting on the edge of her bed while she decided on the best colour to use.

"We have to set a standard," she said, writing on the paper in her neat print. "But if it was up to me we wouldn't throw the parties at all. Or I'd make everyone leave by 9."

He laughed. "Some people aren't even going to show up until then."

"I know," she said, tearing off a piece of tape and going out to the landing, Joey on her heels like the ever faithful dog. "The disrespect."

"So I get brownie points for showing up early?"

"You want a gold star?" she teased.

He nodded, and she laughed, before shutting the door to her bedroom and leading him back downstairs. She took a seat on the couch, propping her feet up on the table until Julia swiped them away as she walked past with a pile of shoes that had been taking up half the hallway.

"Don't worry, I don't need help," she said.

"That's all your mess," Lauren argued, remaining on the couch. Joey grabbed a beer and sat down next to her. Before he could open it, she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Are you gonna tell me starting drinking early is bad party etiquette too?" he asked.

"No, no, go ahead," she said. "I think it's privilege of being the first guest here."

She turned her face away with a slight smirk, and he took a sip. Then he slapped his hand to his knee. "I didn't offer you one."

Now the smirk was turned on him. "I wondered when you'd ask." He started to get up, but she waved a hand at him to stay seated. "It's okay. I'll just have a sip."

She took the bottle from his unresisting hand, took a sip, then handed it back to him. The intimacy of it made him feel warmer than the alcohol did, and when he took another sip he tried not to think too much about how her lips had just been there. It was difficult, though, when it was the closest thing he had to the kiss he longed for so badly.

He'd almost forgotten there were actually other people showing up to the party, and was startled when the doorbell rang. Lauren got up, letting in a group of her friends that Joey recognised most of. By the time he'd said hi to all of them, even more people had arrived, and he lost track of Lauren for a while. So he kept accepting drinks from people, to keep his spirits raised and his mind off the girl in the skirt he'd picked out, which wasn't working out much better for him than the dress. So much for best friends.