Shortcake - A Richpez Story

Chapter 16

The kiss was sweet and desperate and amazing. I can feel the smile on his lips.

He pulls away all too soon, a grin plastered onto his face. "I wanted to do that for so goddamn long, Lopez."

"Why didn't you? I've been waiting forever," I joke.

"I thought you wouldn't feel the same and I didn't want to ruin our friendship," he explains.

"Why did you decide to tell me now?" I ask, curiosity getting the better of me.

"Going to the hospital, the car crash, it put a lot of things in perspective. I realized a lot of things, and I realized that mooning over you wasn't gonna do anything and I had to tell you," he admits.

"Well, I'm glad you did, because I was way too afraid to tell you. Or ever tell you. I didn't wanna ruin our friendship either."

"Well, miss Lauren Lopez, will you do me the honors of being my girlfriend?"

In response, I smile. I get closer to him, stretch up on my tip-toes, and press a kiss to his lips. It gives me the most amazing feeling, and when he wraps his arms around my waist, I completely forget about the world around me, lost in my own euphoria.

Through all the bliss, I realize that my head hurts like hell. When did I get a headache? God damn. And I'm still slightly cold. Why does this have to happen now?

"We should probably go now," Joey suggests, looking at the sun setting, and I nod in agreement.

The car ride back was silent, yet comfortable. He held my hand the whole way back. I drop him off at his apartment, and he kisses my cheek before leaving. I had the sudden urge to tell him I loved him, but I held it back. I didn't want to scare him away. Or make things awkward.

I parked my car in front of the motel and headed inside, happy but tired. And extremely cold. Again. So, I grab three blankets and wrap them around me, like any sane person would do.

"Lauren, are you ok?" Jaime asks, walking out of the bathroom. She's taking out her golden earrings.

"Yeah, just cold," I reply, shivering again.

Her brow furrows in concern, and she leaves the room once more, only to come back with a thermometer.

"You brought a thermometer with you?" I giggle.

She shrugs. "Once can never be too prepared. And we're staying here for quite a while. So yes, yes I did."

She hands it to me and I roll my eyes, but stick it into my mouth. When it beeps, Jaime rushes over and takes it out of my mouth, not trusting me to tell her the correct number.

"One-hundred and two degrees," she reads aloud.

Well, damn. No wonder I'm so cold.

She sighs, shaking her head. "Another person down. We're gonna need to work our asses off for the show."

I nod somberly. "Especially if we wanna make it on time."

"You don't think we'll need to cancel do you?" Jaime suddenly goes from anxious and concerned to scared.

I look up at her, meeting her widened blue eyes. "I don't think so. I hope not."

Jaime shakes her head again, biting her lip, and I realize after a moment I should probably say something else before her lips start to bleed. Andrew wouldn't be very happy with me if I were the cause of her stolen perfect lips he enjoys so much. I know this because I've witnessed the happy couple on multiple occasions kissing each other's faces off. But I know that they love each other, so I put up with them. The only reason I put up with them. Totally. Not like they're super fucking adorable with their contagious joy. God, they're disgustingly cute and perfect. So perfect....

"It'll be ok, Jaims," I console, "we'll figure it out. And if we have to miss a performance we both know that the fans will be supportive, especially given the circumstances."

She nods her head in agreement, followed by a yawn. "Yeah, yeah, I know. It just sucks, ya know?"

"Yeah...but we should get some sleep, alright? I don't feel well and you look exhausted," I point out.

"So do you," she replies.

"I'm sick," I mumble defensively, shrugging my shoulders a bit.

"You've been looking tired ever since we arrived in LA. Even before that, you seemed tired. And now you look exhausted, and it's not just because you're sick," she counters. "What's going on?"

"Where did all of this sudden concern come from? Is this what you're like when you're tired?" I try, aiming to change the subject.

"Lauren," she says, a warning in her tone.

"It's just...I'm a little overwhelmed, ok? And...today Joey told me he liked me and now we're dating for real. And I know you thought that we were dating before but it was a prank because Curt guessed we were dating and we were shocked and didn't reply and then we decided to go with it. I had feelings for him for so long, Jaime, I love him, I love him with all of my heart, so much it hurts," I ramble. "But then Joey got into that car crash and I was with him and holding his hand when his heart stopped and I remember thinking that if he died I wouldn't be able to live with myself anymore, but then he lived, and the relief was so intense! And then he told me that Will had crashed into him and died and I don't know what I felt but I know I was relieved and I was sad and I was angry and I don't even know what. But the night we went home I got that call, and when I answered there was nothing but a small amount of breathing on the other end and the caller said it was Will and I didn't know how to handle it! And he called during dinner, too! I thought he was dead, he has to be dead!"

Jaime looks shocked. "Lauren...."

"Tell me he's dead, Jaime!"

Jaime doesn't say anything, just sits down on the ragged old couch and hugs me tightly. At some point during my downpour of tears, I fall asleep. When I wake up, it's still dark and Jaime is in her bed. I check the clock on my phone. It's close to midnight. Eleven thirty. I want to get up, but it's so cold.

There's a soft knock on the door, and fear shoots through me. Who the hell could be at the door? This time, I know I have to get up, so I creep towards the door, blanket wrapped tightly around me. I strain to see out of the peep hole, but I manage to see that Joey it standing outside my door.

I immediately unlock the door and swing it open.

"JoJo, what are you doing here?" I exclaim in a whisper.

"I came to see you," he replies, voice equally soft.

I drop the blanket, my teeth immediately chattering, and wrap my arms around his waist as I engulf him and a tight hug.

"C'mon, Lo, let's get you back to bed," he murmurs.

Part of me realizes my hair must be a mess, and the other part of me doesn't care. And somewhere deep inside me...I really want some cookies. But I'm way too tired to care at this moment.

I let him guide me to my bed, as well as covering me with a shit ton of blankets. When he tries to walk away, I grab his hand. I can hear him chuckle softly. Before I know it, he is in bed with me, pulling me close to his chest, arms holding me, shielding me from all the cold demons in this world that bless you with a million chills.

I press my face into his chest, sighing deeply. At this moment, there's nowhere I'd rather be in this world, and I'm content.

A/N: I felt like making another chapter. And adding some Jaime and Andrew love. Because why not. This chapter was also kinda shitty so sorry.

Word Count: 1380