We're Just Friends

Chapter 2

Lauren's POV

Five o'clock could not come soon enough. I spent most of the day sat around waiting. Which was why, at quarter to five, I was surprised, and excited, to hear a knock at the door.

"Hey, you're early. Come on in," I said, smiling wide as I opened the door to Joey.

"Sorry, I guess I misjudged how long it would take me to drive to yours," he replied, walking over and giving me a hug.

I laughed, "Early's fine, JoJo. I'm used to late so it makes a nice change," I said, hoping Joey wouldn't pick up on that comment. I was still mad at Will.

"So, you ready to go?" Joey asked and I nodded. I ran to grab my bag and walked back out to the living room.

"Let me take that, Lo," he said as he took the bag from me. I smiled as we headed out to his car, locking up the house as I left.

The car journey was filled with Joey's excitement about the upcoming trip. I couldn't help but smile at how much he appeared to be looking forward to it. When we arrived at his, Joey carried my bag in and we proceeded to sit down on the couch together, barely any space between us as per usual.

"What food do you wanna order?" Joey asked me.

I smiled and looked at him. "Pizza?" I suggested and he laughed.

"Pizza it is. And I think it's your turn to choose the movie tonight," he said and I nodded, thinking back to the list of films I had wanted to watch with Joey.

Once the pizza had arrived, I got Joey to put Grease on. We sat on the couch and ate our pizzas in silence as the film played. When we were done, I leant my head over onto Joey's shoulder and snuggled into him. He put his arm around me and sighed contentedly. We'd been doing this for years. I really enjoyed Joey's company. Somehow, when we were together, everything felt like it was going to be ok. He was my best friend. And I didn't know what I would do without him.

"How was your night with Will last night?" Joey asked once the movie ended.

I sighed, "It was fine. Nothing special," I replied. I really didn't want to talk about Will. He just wasn't the kind of guy I thought he was. I was going to have to do a lot of thinking over this next week. And maybe it was time our relationship came to a close.

"You don't sound sure about it," Joey asked, looking at me with concern written all over his face.

"I just don't really want to talk about it, if that's ok. I don't mean to sound harsh," I said, smiling weakly at Joey.

He nodded and moved the conversation on to something else. Will was instantly forgotten. A few hours later, we decided it was time to head to bed. Joey led me into his room and made sure I was settled.

"I'll see you in the morning, Lo," Joey said, before he was about to leave the room.

"Where are you going, JoJo?" I asked, stopping him from leaving.

He smiled, "I'm going to sleep on the couch," he said, grabbing one of his t-shirts.

"No, you can't sleep on there. We've shared a bed before, JoJo. Come on," I said, climbing into his bed.

"Ok, ok," he laughed. Joey changed his shirt and threw on a pair of joggers. He climbed into bed next to me and I shuffled over to be closer to him.

"Goodnight, JoJo," I whispered, resting my head on his chest.

"Night, Lo," he replied, an arm snaking around my waist.

The next morning, Joey's alarm went off at 7. My eyes fluttered open and I smiled at the sight before me. Joey's face bore an extremely sleepy look, and his hair was all over the place. I imagined I didn't look much better either.

"Morning," I giggled as Joey rubbed his eyes to wake up a bit.

"Huh? Oh morning, Lo," he replied groggily.

"Come on, we've got a camping trip to prepare for," I said, climbing out of bed and heading to the kitchen to make some coffee and breakfast.

I was nearly done with the pancakes when Joey emerged, full dress with his hair now resembling what it normally looks like.

"You, Lauren Lopez, are a life saver," Joey said as I placed the pancakes and coffee down in front of him.

"Eh, I wouldn't go that far," I said as I sat down to eat mine.

Once we were done, Joey started washing up and I headed to get myself ready. We didn't have long before the others would be arriving, and I needed to be ready to go with my stuff outside of Joey's room before they all made assumptions and started asking questions. That was one thing I didn't want to deal with today. People questioning my relationship with Joey. Because, I was doing enough of that myself.

••••••••

Day 2 = Chapter 2

I hope you're enjoying the story so far - I'd love to hear any and all thoughts you have! Thank you so much for reading!

E xo