Hello, everyone! Sorry I haven't updated, I found the most beautiful Tup story and I spent 3 days straight reading it. xD I believe Tup may be my new OTP, they're so cute. :'3
ANYWAY. Please review, it means a lot, and I really appreciate every single one.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Starkids. That'd be strange. Actually, I kinda hate writing about real people, but going to continue just to amuse myself. OH. I don't own the chapter titles either; they're all Starkid songs. xDD

LOVE YOU

A small smile tugging slightly at her lips, Lauren awoke to find herself clamped in Walker's arms, lying across his chest on her small sofa. He'd yanked the duvet over himself, and she raised an eyebrow, pulling it back over her small frame. Smirking, she looked upon him softly. It'd been sweet of him to stay with her.

Lauren's smile dropped from her face as she gazed at him. Had they slept together? No, that was stupid. No clothes littered the floor, and Lauren had no memory of doing anything other than singing and dancing with him until the early hours of the morning, when they'd both flopped onto the sofa and promptly fallen asleep, lounging across one another.

Her bright smile returned; she was thankful that their friendship hadn't been ruined for one night of frivolity. Lauren's bright brown eyes raked his face as he slept, a slight snore escaping from him. She held in a giggle; he looked adorable when he slept. Innocent and sweet and cute. Dark lashes formed cresents on his cheeks, his t-shirt was rumpled, and his hair was sticking up at odd angles. Her hand reached out, yearning to touch his face, but she restrained herself. What if he woke up? She sighed. Tucking the duvet firmly around herself, sleep caught her in its firm grasp once more.

Joe woke up a little while later, to find that the duvet had been snatched back by Lauren. He grinned, swiftly yet gently pulling it over himself once more. Checking she was deeply asleep, he held her closer for a moment, wishing he was able to do so when she was awake. He knew he couldn't, and it hurt him - but it was better for him to be friends with her than to be a stranger; far better than being a shunned ex-friend, who tried to take things too far.

Deciding his hunger was beginning to overrule his laziness, Joe slipped out from underneath the duvet, carefully sliding it onto Lauren. He grabbed the two abandoned mugs from the coffee table as he meandered into the kitchen, past the bathroom. Leaving the mugs outside the door, he reasoned that having morning breath when Lo woke up wasn't a good idea. Having had a feeling that his visit wouldn't be brief, he'd brought his toothbrush with him, just in case. He smiled to himself cheerfully, sidling back into the lounge to find his toothbrush.

He remembered grabbing Lauren around the waist, hoisting her onto the table, passing her his toothbrush to use as a microphone. Yet, he couldn't picture where it had fallen as she'd dropped it, shrieking as she'd almost slid off the table. Walker could only think about her expression as he'd caught her, mid-fall; anxiety fading into a reassured, thankful grin. Realising he was standing in the middle of the room, smiling like an idiot, he began to crawl around on his hands and knees, until he encountered the small, plastic object. Triumphantly, he stormed out of the room, almost waking Lauren.

The toothbrush didn't remain in his hand for long. His eyes, upon entering the bathroom, were trained solely on the pregnancy test, left forgotten about on the counter. His hands went to his face in shock, as though he was trying to hide his celestial blue eyes, the toothbrush clattering to the floor. Somewhere amongst the madness blurring his brain, Joe thought of Psyduck, clutching his head and moaning. Of all the bloody times to think about Pokemon, Walker sighed internally, trying to think sanely around the blockage in his brain.

Was Lauren... pregnant?

Grimacing, Lauren opened her eyes to see a figure bending over her. Lips pressed against her forehead, and she assumed it was Joe. "Hello," he grinned, leaning back and taking in her expression. She smiled in return, pleased he was still there.
"Morning, Wox," she beamed.
"I was just going to get us some breakfast. Anything in particular you want?"
"Surprise me."

Joe stomped down the road, wind and rain smacking him in the face. He didn't care - it was helping to refresh him, helping to clear his head. He couldn't believe it.

Tad had got her pregnant? He'd had the nerve to cheat on her, after getting her pregnant?
Maybe he didn't know. Maybe he did, and had wanted to be shot of her; her and their baby. What a little shit.

Storming into Wal-Mart, Joe charged around the aisles, grabbing food. He wanted to hurt Tad; cause him the pain that he'd caused Lauren to feel. The pain she'd have for nine months, dealing with pregnancy on her own.

Well, he reasoned. She wouldn't be completely on her own. He'd remain with her, even if nobody else did. He'd remain her best friend until she told him to leave her alone. The thought calmed him slightly, and the tomatoes went into his basket with a little less vengeance.

Joe's eyebrows furrowed for a moment, and he rifled around in the basket, unsure as to whether or not he'd put in some chocolate for Lauren. His hand came up gooey, and he groaned: the eggs had broken with the force he had thrown them in with. Shuffling towards the fridge, he wiped goo on any item he could; thin layers of egg plastered everything. He smirked, hoping Tad would be the unfortunate one who had to wrestle with the gloop to reach his shopping.

Smirking slightly, Joe wandered to the self-service check out area, aimlessly scanning item after item. Something caught his eye, leaning on a small shelf, next to the touch screen. Scruffy and small, the fluffy white unicorn toy called him over, forcing his hand to make a quick grab for it. He scanned it confidently, uncaring of people's judgements, before turning back out into the icy, driving wind.

As Walker stood in the line at Starbucks, he grasped the small toy and admired it. Doleful eyes stared up at him, lined with clumpy, pale grey eyelashes. It was kind of cute, he had to admit. A tiny small had been sewn onto its face, making it look innocent. Innocent like Lauren. The line spun forwards, and he was pushed towards the high, recently polished counter; the cuddly toy was placed carefully back amongst the groceries as Joe ordered. He clutched onto the warm coffee, and absent-mindedly took a sip from his own as he began to walk back. He had to think.

I won't say anything - not until she tells me. I'll just be there for her. Yeah. She can tell me in her own time, if she chooses to; otherwise, well... If it goes for months and she begins to get a bump, I'll have to say something. Can I last that long without mentioning it? How obvious will it be? Eugh. Dead-God damn Tad. I'll just act as though everything's fine. Can I do that? Wait. I'm an actor. That's stupid. Of course I can't.

Joe fumbled around with his coffee and shopping bags, trying to free up one of his hands so as to knock on the door. Lauren, however, had seen him coming, and scooted herself to the door, laughing at his befuddled expression as she yanked the door open. He looked as though he'd been drowned, but his eyes twinkled when he saw her.

"Come the hell in, Walks," Lauren smiled. She'd taken a shower, and had her hair tied up in a messy ponytail. He was contented to see that piled on top of her fresh clothes was his hoodie, even though it dwarfed her. Grinning widely, he shook his hair in her face, splashing droplets everywhere. She mocked irritation, pretending to slam the door on him, before accepting his hug.

The pair bustled around the kitchen, continually knocking over various pots and pans. Throwing his frying pan onto the grill, Joe grabbed Lauren around the waist, inadvertently causing her orange juice to spill all over the floor. With complete seriousness masking his face, he picked up his Southern accent from Starship, and sung loudly: "You say you've lost your edge; but I say it's all in your head," which Lauren snorted at, before mumbling in her Mexican Taz accent, "Idiota." Despite being cynical, she picked up the song where he left off, somehow sounding tuneful regardless of her fake accent and lack of caffeine. "So listen up, I got a message for you!"

Both making a grab for the other's hand at the same time, they both screeched: "And now we dance!", their accents merging together and sounding somewhat like a strangled cat.

Finally having finished cooking their masterpiece, they sat down, facing one another. "So," Lauren questioned, a glint in her eyes, "this is just fat, fat and more fat?"
"Pretty much," Joe grunted around a mouthful of bacon.
"How is Darren not obese, eating this British crap all the time?"
"It's Darren. He's some sort of freaking magical fairy princess."
"I thought that was Nick," Lauren giggled, swaying on her chair.
"Well," Joe agreed, chuckling as she rocked back and forth. The laughter died on his lips as she slipped off of her stool, collapsing in a heap on the ground.

"Lo?" he cried to the heap of hoodie lying at his feet, toast hanging out of his mouth, trying to scrape her back up. Had she hurt herself? Hurt the baby?

She convulsed with laughter on the floor, rolling over and leaning on her elbow. "I want a galaxy traversing rocketship with enough fuel to get me to Mars," she smirked, slipping into her Malfoy persona.
"What do you want with a rocketship?" asked Joe, quirking his eyebrow as he pulled her up, "What business do you have on Mars?"
"Well, let's just say: Pigfarts, Pigfarts, here I come! Pigfarts, Pigfarts, yum, yum, yum!"

Joe snorted, finally finishing his piece of toast. As much as he tried to push his worry out of his mind, it was always there, constantly aggravating him. He hated that things couldn't be as careless and... fun as they usually were. Sure, they were laughing, but his smiles never touched his eyes. He only hoped that Lauren hadn't noticed.