Richpez - A Tale of Two StarKids

Chapter 1: The Beginning

Lauren Lopez first met Joey Richter at a house party when she was a junior in college. She had seen him before in classes but had never been formally introduced. All she knew was that he was a freshman and he was supposedly nice. However, when she met him, she had no idea that he was as nice as he was.

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"Are you okay?" the boy asked, standing over her.

Lauren had hit her head on a door post when she turned too quickly to go into the kitchen. She had fallen to the ground, knocked out. It was about 10 seconds before she came to and saw Joey standing over her.

"What happened?" Lauren asked as she attempted to sit up. She immediately felt pain in her head and winced.

"Let's get you over to a chair. We'll get you some ice," Joey said, and helped Lauren up so she could sit at the table just a couple feet away. Lauren immediately noticed how much of a gentleman he was. Lauren's friend Jaime was back in a minute with a bag of ice for her to put on her forehead, where a bump was forming.

"Follow my finger," Joey said while moving his finger back and forth in front of Lauren's face. She followed his finger perfectly. She hoped she didn't have a concussion. "I mean I'm not a doctor or anything close to one, but I've had a couple concussions over the years, so I think you'll be fine," he concluded after doing a couple more tests.

"I think I just need some air." Lauren was getting overwhelmed by the group of people who had formed around her, watching to make sure she was okay. She was happy to have a lot of friends at the party who were watching out for her, but she didn't want all the attention.

"Okay, let's go outside for a bit," Joey suggested, and Lauren nodded in agreement.

They walked outside and sat on the front porch, away from the noise and crowds. Lauren was grateful that he was helping her out, even if they didn't know each other well, or even at all. 

"I'm Lauren by the way," she said, realizing that he might not know who she is.

"I know. We have American History together, and I've seen you around. We have some mutual friends." Lauren was relieved to hear that he had at least noticed her before. "I'm Joey," he said.

"I know. Thanks for helping me. I'm not normally this clumsy, but I had a couple of beers so I'm a little buzzed," she replied. She wasn't sure if it was the beer or the bump on her head, but she was feeling tired, so she rested her head on Joey's shoulder.

They sat there for a while in silence just looking at the stars before Lauren started to yawn.

"Do you want me to take you home? I didn't drink tonight so I'm sober and I can drive." Lauren was grateful that he suggested this and nodded yes. She took out her phone and texted Jaime, letting her know that Joey was going to drive her home. 

He stood up and held out a hand for Lauren. She took it, stood up, and didn't let go until she got into the passenger seat of Joey's car. For some odd reason, it felt comfortable to hold his hand. He was warm and their fingers intertwining felt right.

The music was playing softly and Lauren hummed along, her eyes closed and head resting on the window. Joey kept sneaking glances over at her. She looked so peaceful as she sung along. He didn't want the car ride to end, but they were suddenly turning into her driveway. 

"Thank you for everything, Joey. I'll see you in class on Monday?" Lauren said sleepily, as she opened the car door and Joey nodded in reply. "Good night," she said as she smiled and shut the door, walking up to her house, unlocking the door, and slipping inside.

"Good night, Lauren," Joey said as he watched the door close behind Lauren, realizing that she was going to change his life.

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Thanks for reading this first chapter! I have a lot more ideas for future chapters, so please bear with me as I get this started! I'm looking forward to spending more time with these two as I work!