We're Just Friends

Chapter 7

Lauren's POV

The rest of the day was actually pretty enjoyable. I was able to put Will out of my mind all afternoon and just focus on spending time with my friends. We played games, spoke about starkid and the upcoming musicals, and mostly just enjoyed each other's company.

When we arrived back at the camp, we all went to have a shower to wash off the salt water and sand. By the time the girls and I got back, the boys had started the food and got some drinks on the go. They were planning what we were going to do for the rest of the week. So far, we'd planned to go on a walk tomorrow, and then to the nearby towns and also some other beaches on the other days.

"Food's ready," Joe called and we all helped ourselves to the sausages and burgers from the BBQ.

After everyone had eaten, we stayed outside chatting for a few more hours before we all decided to head to bed. Meredith, Brian, Dylan and Jaime all disappeared off as Joe, Julia, Joey and I walked to ours. Joe and Julia said goodnight to each other as Joey pulled me into a hug.

"You know where I am if you need me," Joey whispered, kissing me on the top of my head.

I inhaled his scent and nodded. "Yeah. Thanks for today, JoJo, I really appreciate it," I said as we pulled apart from the hug.

"Anytime, Lo. I mean it," he said before walking over to his tent with Joe as Julia headed back to ours.

The next morning, I woke up to an empty tent. I rubbed my eyes and sat up before grabbing my phone. I looked at the time and saw it was almost 9 o'clock. I grabbed my jumper and stepped outside of the tent to see everyone already awake.

"Ahh speak of the devil," Dylan said as I approached the group.

"Morning," I said with a smile as I pulled my hair into a messy bun on top of my head.

"Sleep alright, Lauren?" Joe asked with a smile.

I nodded, "Yeah, did you guys?" I asked, looking around. Everyone seemed to be looking at each other smiling. They all clearly knew something that I didn't, but I just decided to ignore it.

"Yeah, all good," Julia said.

After breakfast, we all got ready for our walk. Joey was leading the way, something which I wasn't too sure about, but decided to trust him anyway.

"What was going on with everyone at breakfast? There was some weird vibe," I said to Julia as we began the walk.

She smiled, "Joe asked how I slept, and I said I didn't sleep well. He asked why and I told him, but Brian overheard, so naturally everyone knows," she said.

I frowned, "why didn't you sleep?" I asked.

"You were talking in your sleep," she giggled.

"What? What did I say?" I asked. "Jules, please tell me I didn't say anything embarrassing."

"Uh, depends on what you think is embarrassing. You basically just kept saying Joey's name. And then there were things I couldn't understand, but I think you ended with 'I love you'," she said.

I froze in my tracks. "I did what?" I asked. "And everyone knows I said that?" This was not good at all.

Julia put her hand on my shoulder. "It's fine. No one knows about the 'I love you' part, but they know you were saying his name," she said.

Even that was bad enough. I couldn't even imagine what everyone was thinking now. I had to be so careful not to reveal anything else about my feelings for Joey. Julia made sure I was ok, before she ran ahead to be with Joe. I spent the next few minutes lost in my thoughts. Why would I say Joey's name in my sleep? Why would I say I loved him? Did I love him? Of course, I did. He was my friend. But was there something else?

"Call for me?" a voice asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.

I looked up and saw Joey smirking down at me. "Please tell me you don't know as well," I said, mentally slapping myself for not realising he would probably know.

"I do know. And I think it's cute. Can't sleep without me, huh, LoLo?" he grinned.

"I can sleep without you. I just had a hard day yesterday, and I guess you were on my mind. That's all," I said, trying to come up with some explanation.

Joey smiled and put his arm around me. "Lo, it's fine. Trust me. And speaking of yesterday, how are you?" he asked in a low voice.

I sighed, "I'm ok. I messaged him yesterday, just to tell him I knew about him and Jess and that I understood we were over. But I got a pretty horrible text back. It's fine, though, I just wasn't expecting it," I replied.

"Honestly, whatever he said, don't listen to him. It isn't true, he's just being a dick," Joey said and I smiled.

"Thanks, JoJo," I replied.

Our walk took us up a hill that overlooked the sea. We sat at the top and had lunch watching the waves crash against the sand and rocks below. After lunch, and a well earned rest at the top, we began to slowly make our way back to the campsite.

That night, Julia and I were sat in the tent talking. Neither one of us could get to sleep. It was nice to have some one to one time with her. I hadn't seen her for ages, and I really missed us living together.

"Still can't sleep?" Julia asked me after a short while of us trying to fall asleep.

"Nope," I whispered.

"Give me a minute," she said, as she climbed out of her sleeping bag and stepped outside the tent. I didn't know where she'd gone, but a few minutes later, I figured she was back as someone unzipped the tent and began to climb inside.

"Miss me, huh?" Joey's voice said.

I sat up and saw him zipping up the tent from inside. "Joey! What are you doing?" I whisper-shouted.

He grinned and laid down next to me. "Relax, Lo. Julia said you guys couldn't sleep and asked if we could swap," he said, pulling me closer to him.

I sighed into his chest. "What are the others going to think?" I asked, looking up at him.

"That Joe and Julia are together, and we said we didn't mind sharing a tent. Which is the truth," Joey said.

I smiled, "are they ok with sharing their relationship then?" I asked and Joey nodded.

Sleep took over my body faster that night than it ever had in my life. I was wrapped up in Joey's arms, and I couldn't think of anywhere else I'd like to be. I really had to figure out what I was feeling towards Joey. I wasn't sure friends should feel this way about each other, but in that moment, I just didn't care.

••••••••

Thank you so much for reading - I hope you enjoyed chapter 7!

I'm now halfway through publishing this fic which seems crazy to me! Thanks for all the support!

E xo