Until There Was You

When Instinct Takes Over

2.

Darren never questioned the fact that they had stopped hanging out. Joey would get the occasional text and he always replied but made sure they never made plans, the further away he was from Lauren the better. His housemates questioned why they never saw Darren any more and Joey always fought to shrug them off If they did ask. His friend Corey however was eerily perceptive and wouldn't drop the conversation until Joey finally told him that it was Lauren's fault. He spent the next few months glaring at her whenever he saw her across the quad, studiously ignoring Darren wherever possible and his housemates began the same practice by association.

-

A month passed and Joey made new friends in his classes and got involved in the Basement Arts theatre group, the same theatre group as Darren and (unfortunately) Lauren. Luckily him and Lauren were never paired or volunteered to work together so he managed to avoid her most of the time. That was until around 3am on a random Thursday just before the Christmas break.

Joey's phone vibrated on the table pulling the brunette from his sleep. He lazily slapped his hand around in a vague attempt to find his phone and answered it without checking the caller ID.

"Hello?" He said groggily. There was silence on the other end of the phone except a steady beat of music and people shouting. "Hello?" He called again. Through bleary eyes, Joey pulled the phone from his ear to check the display. Lauren's name burned into his eyes and he wondered briefly if this was a prank call. "Lauren?"

A loud sob came through the speaker and Joey sat up in bed immediately awake.

"Lauren, talk to me – are you okay?" When all he heard was more crying and snuffling he threw a sweater over his head, chucked some jeans on, grabbed his keys and left his room. "I need you to tell me where you are Lauren, I'm coming to get you okay?"

He faintly heard her tell him where she was as he slid into the car in the black of the night and buckled his seatbelt.

"What's going on?" He asked quietly as he started the engine and put her on speaker. This seemed to prompt more tears from the girl on the other end of the phone so he started talking again in an attempt to calm her down. He kept his voice steady, describing his directions to the club and what he was doing. He told her what he was wearing so she could spot him and managed to get out of her that she had taken shelter in the coat closet.

He wondered what on earth had happened to her that she had A) called him, B) was crying and C) had hidden herself in the coat closet. Despite the fact that he really didn't like her, she clearly had had no-one else to turn to and he felt a certain responsibility to take care of her as his ex best friend's girlfriend.

He parked up and walked into the busy club flashing his ID impatiently. The coat closet was easy to find and Lauren's converse peeking out from under the rail made her even easier to discover. He pushed his way through the coats and sunk down in the tiny space next to her. He was fairly tall so he had to push his legs out in front of him to even fit in the gap she had made for him. Lauren was clinging to her phone like a lifeline, he hadn't hung up on her yet. She looked over at him as he sat down, her big brown eyes wet with tears. 

"Hey," Instinctively he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She let her phone drop into her lap and curled into him shaking. "It's okay," he whispered, his hand rubbing small circles into her shoulder. "I've got you now okay?" He felt her nod against his chest and feeling as though they may be sat this way for a while he rested his head against the wall behind him. They were silent until Lauren's breathing began to even out and the crying subsided. As much as Joey didn't like the girl, his natural instinct had taken over and his first thought had been to comfort her. He pulled her closer as she unfurled herself from his chest.

"Thank you," She said shakily pushing hair from her face. Her mascara had run and her face was flushed pink from the tears.

"No worries," he paused to wipe the black from under her eyes, "want me to take you home?"

"More than anything," she sighed.

He stood up carefully and held his hand out with a wiggle of his fingers to help pull her up. She rolled her eyes at his goofiness but slid her hand into his, intertwining their fingers as she stood up. Together they walked from the room and back into the club; he felt Lauren stiffen beside him and grip his hand tighter. In a bold move he let go of her hand to wrap his arm around her waist and steer her toward the door. The second they were out of the building, Lauren relaxed.

He so desperately wanted to know what had happened in there, he had so many questions. Why was she alone? Who had made her cry? Where were her friends? Where was Darren? And most importantly, why had she called him? Lauren was clearly in no state to answer any of these questions so he opened the car door and let her slide in silently, he reached across her to buckle her seatbelt and shut the door.

The drive back was completely silent aside from Lauren giving Joey quiet directions to her house. Joey's knuckles were slowly turning white on the steering wheel from the tension. He pulled up outside and killed the engine. Where did they stand now? Would she forget all about this excursion in the morning? He felt a cold hand on his and looked down to see her gently prying his fingers from the wheel.

They were familiar with each other in a really weird way. He had had absolutely no contact with her before this evening, they hadn't even brushed arms in the theatre but tonight felt like an alternate dimension. Holding her hand felt right and completely natural, her fingers squeezed his and he finally pried his eyes from their hands.

"Will you walk me in?" She asked quietly. It was the first thing she had said since they'd left the club and her voice trembled. He squeezed her hand back with a soft smile.

"Of course," Joey let go, hurriedly undid his seatbelt and walked to her side of the car. She stepped out as he reached her door and he took a deep breath. "Hey, we don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but if you do, I'm happy to be a sounding board." He placed his hand on her shoulder and she immediately stepped into his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Thanks, Joey," She mumbled into his sweater. He encircled her in his arms and together they stood on the sidewalk in the cold winter air embracing. She pulled away slowly and together they walked in silence to her front door. "Sorry I woke you up and made you come get me."

"Don't worry about it; I'm just glad you're okay." He offered her a small smile and gently placed his hand on the small of her back, ushering her through the front door. "Can I ask," he paused and she nodded shyly, "why did you call me?"

It took her a while to answer, as if she wasn't quite sure herself.

"I don't know," she said, "You were the first person I thought of." The admission took them both by surprise and they stared at each other suspiciously for a moment.

"Me?"

"Yeah, you." Lauren frowned, "Thanks again for bringing me home."

"Make sure you get some sleep and we'll catch up later on." Joey said taking a risk and leaning forward to press a kiss to the top of her head.

Lauren nodded, looking up at him through dark, wet lashes. She slowly closed the front door and Joey waited until he saw her bedroom light turn on before he left.

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Wattpad does this weird thing where it randomly jams together words but only after I've published. So please bear with me if you get to a chapter before I can edit it!