Chapter 13

Sharon shut the behind her and looked round for Lauren and Joey. They were nowhere to be seen, but she had an idea of where they would have gone. She headed down the steps and straight for R&R...

Lauren and Joey sat on the bar stools in R&R, Joey pressing a tea towel of ice cubes gently to Lauren's cheek. She hissed at the coldness on her hot cheek.

'Sorry' said Joey, Lauren smiled and pulled her head away from the tea towel. Joey emptied the ice into the bin and chucked the towel on the shelf.

'What we going to do?' Joey asked, leaning on his elbows and close to Lauren. She smiled and wrapped her hands round his wrists.

'We'll think of something' said Lauren, leaning forward to kiss him, when footsteps came down the stairs. They turned their heads to see Sharon smiling at them.

'You two okay?' she asked, heading for the bar and pouring three drinks. Lauren and Joey went to sit down and Sharon brought the drinks over.

'Well, my family just practically told me to never see them again, so...' said Lauren, shrugging her shoulders and taking a sip of her drink. Sharon smiled at them both, remembering how her and Dennis were in this situation a few years ago...

Sharon told them how to deal with the aftermath, offering a few of her tips, when the door banged opened and Tanya came hurling towards Sharon. Soon the two blondes were in a fight, hands pulling on hair and trying to hit each other.

'YOU KNEW! YOU KNEW ABOUT THEM!' screamed Tanya. Lauren heard the door open and Max and Jack rushing up to the two women and separating them.

'ENOUGH!' screamed Max. The women stopped trying to reach for other and turned to Max, breathing heavily. Max turned to Lauren and Joey, who were staring at Tanya and Sharon with their mouths open.

'HOME! NOW! WE'RE GOING TO GO HOME AND TALK ABOU THIS LIKE CIVILIZED ADULTS!' Max shouted.

'Lauren is the one coming home, Joey isn't!' shouted Tanya

'Then I'm not coming home! ' said Lauren, folding her arms over her chest.

'Lauren, just for once, will you do as your told!' shouted Max. Lauren turned a fiery gaze to Max.

'No!' she said. Tanya wrenched herself free of Max's grip and grabbed Lauren harshly by the arms. She dragged her up the steps and out onto the streets...

Derek and Alice were walking back from the train station when they heard screams. They rushed round the corner and saw Lauren and Tanya, Max and Joey. Derek frowned and rushed forward.

'What's going on here?' he shouted. Tanya turned a wild look at Derek

'YOUR SON AND MY DAUGHTER HAVE BEEN SLEEPING TOGETHER!' said Tanya. Lauren twisted to her grip and tried to get free, but Tanya tightened her hold.

'WHAT!' thundered Derek. He turned to Joey

'IS THIS TRUE?' he bellowed at Joey. Joey grimaced, as his Dad's shout almost shattered his ear drums.

'Yeah! It is!' Joey said, trying to wrench himself free of Max's grip. Suddenly, Tanya out a loud shriek and Joey saw that Lauren had literally bitten her mum's wrist. In Tanya's shock, she had let go of Lauren, and Lauren off running. Not glancing back once...

Derek flung Joey into the living room of Carol's house and slammed the door shut. Joey hit the sofa and Alice stood near the little bar in room.

'So, how did this start?' asked Derek, looking down at his son. Joey scoffed.

'Don't act like you care. All you'll probably care about is that your relationship with your brother will be ruined' said Joey. Derek tensed up.

'How'd you mean?'

'Well, it's obvious. Tanya won't want you at the wedding now after finding out about me and Lauren will she? She'll probably even stop Max speaking to you, because of me' said Joey cockily. Alice watched as her brother stared at the floor.

'Dad, maybe we should just give Joey time on his own?' she asked Derek. Derek softened a little and looked at his daughter.

'Fine. We'll be in the kitchen' Derek said, trying not to let his anger get the best of him. Alice smiled sadly at her brother before leaving the room and heading for the kitchen...

Max and Tanya were sat in the living room of the house, Abi and Cora trying to process the news what Tanya had told them.

'What so.. she bit you and ran off, leaving Joey behind?'Abi asked.

'Looks like it' said Tanya. Abi scoffed

'That's just Lauren all over, isn't it?' Abi asked, but no one replied. Cora sighed and looked her daughter, who was distraught.

'What do we do now?' she asked tensely. Tanya didn't answer for a minute.

'We leave her for a day. She's probably ran off into town or something' said Tanya, a spitefully edge to her voice

'But what if she hasn't gone to town? What if something happened to her?' asked Abi, a slight worried tone filled her voice

'Then it's her own fault!' said Tanya, getting up off the sofa and heading upstairs, slamming the bedroom door shut, not noticing or hearing the back door to the kitchen closing...

Joey was waiting at the train station. He had managed to sneak out of the house without Alice or Derek knowing and had gone and collected his and Lauren's bag from R&R. He looked up and saw Lauren running for him smiling, waving her dad's credit card in her hand. Thanks to Sharon, they had come up with a plan between them and deceived their parents. If they weren't going to let them be together, then they were going.

'Told you I'd get it' she said and smiled brightly. Joey smiled too, before grabbing her and kissing her deeply. Lauren wrapped her arms round his neck before he pulled away. Lauren stepped back and headed for the cash machine. She inserted her Dad's card and pin number and her mouth dropped at how much was in the account for the wedding.

Total balance: 20,000

Lauren clicked on the button and typed in how much she wanted to draw out of the account. She smirked as she watched the money drop into the money holder thing. She grabbed it and ejected the card. She tucked it into her back pocket and turned to Joey.

'Reckon 4,500 will see us for a few weeks?' she asked with a mischievous glint in her eye. Joey mirrored her expression and handed Lauren her ticket for train before they rushed up the steps and out onto the platforms...

It's not the end. Don't worry. There'll be about two- three more chapters after this one :D