6 Months Sober.
-Just an one shot idea that popped in my head.
The date was December 29th 2013 and upon waking up, Lauren Branning did what she had been doing for a while. She walked over to her calendar and crossed the date when she realised something. She had been sober for six months. She didn't know how to feel about this.
"What's wrong?" Abi asked from her bed, sitting up, rubbing her eyes.
"I've been sober 6 months" Lauren replied, still in shock.
"Oh my god, Lauren that is amazing" Abi exclaimed, jumping up and hugging her sister tightly from behind. Lauren smiled at her, appreciated at this.
"I can't believe it" Lauren proclaimed, smiling.
"This calls for a party. A non alcohol one of course" Abi replied, stepping away, taking a notebook and took notes.
"Abi, really, please" Abi held her hand up to stop her sister from talking.
"Dad. Kirsty. Peter. Whitney. Alice?" Lauren nodded as Abi called out names and wrote them down.
"What about Joey?" Abi asked. Lauren went silent, not sure what to say. They didn't seek a reunion after she came out of hospital 6 months or more like Lauren just shut him out and he got the message but every now again, she was reminded she was still deeply in love with him. Maybe now was the time to try again.
"Yeah, go on then. That's if he wants to come of course" She told Abi, smiling.
"Lauren, he was been wanting to get back with you for 6 months. Anything to spend time with you" Abi replied, smiling brightly.
"Invite Poppy and Fatboy as well please then no one else" Lauren said, quickly changing the subject.
"No Lucy then?" Abi asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You invite her, I'll kill you, simple as" Lauren told her, smiling.
"Then I won't invite her. Simple as" Abi said, finishing writing and showing Lauren what she wrote. Everyone's names then underneath 'UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES INVITE LUCY 'THE BITCH' BEALE'
Lauren laughed at this "Right, I'm off to have a shower. Remember I only want this to be a small party"
Abi walked into the cafe later, purposely ignoring Lucy and walked over to Peter and Alice who were currently in a lip locking session with Alice sat on his lap.
"Hey, can you put each other down for a moment please?" Abi asked, sighed. They pulled apart, looking annoyed at her.
"What's up, Abs?" Alice asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well firstly, I think your brother is about 2.5 seconds away from entering here" Abi replied, raising an eyebrow. Alice rolled her eyes and quickly sat on the seat next to Peter.
"Right, I'm listening, go on" She said, taking a sip of coffee from the cup on the table.
"Lauren's been sober 6 months. I was thinking a little party you know, She's been through a lot and I think she needs rewarding for it" Abi replied, smiling.
"Sounds like a good idea. What time do you want us?" Peter asked, smiling back at her.
"4 o'clock alright?" Abi asked. Peter nodded and she turned away, seeing that Joey was now walking in.
"Alright, Abi?" He asked, as he stood to order.
"Erm yeah. I'm good. You free at 4?" She replied, raising an eyebrow.
"I guess so. Why?" He questioned, turning to her.
"Party. At ours. For Lauren. She's been sober 6 months. I expect you there" She told him. She didn't wait for a reply and left, going to find Fatboy, Whitney and Poppy...
"Abs, I'm not sure about this dress, it's a little short, don't you think?" Lauren asked, looking in the mirror.
"You look fine, Lauren, believe me" Abi replied, smiling at her, handing her a pair of wedges.
"Yeah? Okay. So everyone said they would come?" Lauren asked, as she put on the wedges.
"Yep, they did and I asked Jay and Dexter to come if that's okay?" Abi replied, putting last minute touches to her make up.
"Yes, that's fine. Come on, lets go before I chicken out" Lauren said, looping her arm through Abi's and they headed downstairs...
Max was waiting for Lauren at the bottom of the stairs, beaming at her, kissing her on the cheek as she reached the bottom.
"I'm so proud of you, Lauren and I know your mum is too" He told her, smiling.
"We are all proud of you, Lauren" Kirsty said, holding her arms out and Lauren hugged her, smiling.
"Come on. Abi's got cake and Peter has brought some food from the restaurant. Be rude not to have it" Max said, placing a hand on Lauren's back, pushing her gently into the living room.
Whitney was the first to hug Lauren, sighing happily.
"Well done, babe" Whitney whispered before pulling away.
"There's time for that later. Right now, I just want to say something" Max said, pulling Lauren towards him.
"Dad, you really don't need" She sighed, feeling a little embarrassed.
"Yes I do. Lauren, 6 months ago, I thought I was going to lose another child but you pull through because your a fighter and you have been fighting for 6 months and that's all I could of asked of you. You have done me proud and I'm proud to call you my daughter" He said, his voice breaking.
"Don't cry, Dad. I don't want tears here" She replied, hugging him when there was a knock on the door. Abi sighed and went to answer it. A moment later, she reappear.
"It's for you" Abi said. Lauren nodded and walked out of the room, seeing Lucy standing in the hallway.
"What are you doing here? No one else's life to ruin?" Lauren questioned, crossing her arms.
"I just wanted to come and try and make peace. What I did. I'm sorry. It was wrong" Lucy replied, sighing.
"Lucy, you tried to ruin my life over a boy. I thought our friendship was stronger than that" Lauren said, raising an eyebrow.
"It was. It is. Please, Lauren. I just want my best friend back" Lucy pleaded, sighing.
"Is everything okay here?" Joey asked, walking out of the living room.
"Yes it is, Lucy was just leaving" Lauren replied, trying not to look at him. They haven't spend more than 2 minutes together in 6 months. She walked over the door, opened it and held it open for Lucy who sighed but walked out. Lauren shut the door and went to walk into the living but Joey stopped her, opening his month to speak but she held up her hand to stop him.
"Later" She simply said before walking back into the living room, joining her sister and father...
Lauren said she would take some used plates and cups into the kitchen. She just wanted a breather from it all. She was bagging up the litter when Joey walked in. She sighed and pointed to the back door before opening it and he followed her.
"I just wanted to say well done and you should know how proud I am of you" He told her, awkwardly.
"Joey, I don't want there to be any awkwardness between us. Whatever it is, just do it" She replied, sighing. He nodded before hugging her. This took her by surprise but she hugged him back. After what seemed like forever, they pulled apart, their eyes not leaving each others.
"I want to say something" She finally said.
"I was hoping you would" He replied. She briefly smiled before pointing to the bench, sitting down, him joining her.
"The past 6 months have been hard, really hard. I knew I had to do it on my own, that's why I shut you out but it confused me how you managed to do it so easily when I was ill. That's why I stay away for longer" Lauren told him, sighing.
"It wasn't easy though, babe, that's the problem" Joey replied, looking at her, resisting the urge to take her hand.
"I needed you and you wasn't there. You saw the worst side of me and you ran. That hurt. It still does. You shut me out" She sighed, running her hands through her hair.
"And I'm sorry, if I could go back, I would" He replied, quietly.
"But no matter how many times I try and tell myself that and move on, it doesn't change my feelings for you" She told him, resting her head on her hand, looking at him.
"My feelings haven't changed for you either" He replied, their eyes boring each others. She sighed, shaking her head, looking away.
"It's not as easy as just getting back together though. There so much we need to sort and deal with" She proclaimed.
"I know, babe but we can do it together, surely?" He questioned, taking her hand. She didn't make an attempt to pull away.
"How was Christmas Day with you and Al?" She suddenly asked, looking back at him.
"Why are you changing the sub-?"
"I'm not. This is our problem. We don't talk. I wanna know how you guys got through the day with it being Derek's death anniversary. Peter told me on Boxing Day Alice was pretty cut up about it and you could barely be there for her but I don't want to hear it from Peter, I wanna hear it from you" She said, cutting across him.
"It was hard, I will admit but I don't get why it hurts so much. He was horrible to everyone but I still grieve for him. It confuses me" He replied. She sighed and moved her hands, taking his face in them. He held her forearms as she did.
"You wanted a Dad all your life and you didn't know how much until he was gone. He was a total life wrecker but he was still your dad. You only get one and Derek was yours" She told him, smiling weakly.
"But I never made..." He voiced trailed off.
"Made peace with him? You did when he died. That's what matters" She said, smiling before dropping her hands. They didn't say anything for a while.
"Lauren, I love you. I really do" Joey then said, quietly.
She turned to him "And I love you and I can't move on without knowing we tried again but we need to take it slow. No rushing like last time"
"How do you mean slow? You know I'll do anything to give us another shot" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I mean slow as I'm not going to be jumping into bed with you tonight or for a while. No heavy stuff yet. We need to get know each other again" She replied,smiling. He nodded, squeezing her hand.
"Does that mean I can't kiss you?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No, you can kiss me" She told him, smiling.
"Now?" She nodded, before she leaned her head in, allowing him to kiss her before responding when there was a squeal from the back door. They sprang apart and saw Alice with a huge grin on her face.
"Double date!" She squealed before heading into the house. Joey and Lauren looked at each other and burst out laughing.
"Double dates are usually a good icebreaker but Alice wants us to go on a double date with her boyfriend, my ex and someone you struggle to get on with. Yeah, that's gonna be real good" Lauren said, laughing. Joey nodded, laughing before she rested her head on his shoulder, laughing to herself, happy with where her life was going finally.
AN: dates may be wrong but oh well! Hope you enjoyed xD