Chapter 36.

Joey walked up to Lauren's school, a lot of things still whirring around his mind. He was still contemplating his relationship with LoLo and it was a quandary that he knew wasn't going anywhere soon. He got to the gate just as the final bell rang, signifying the end of the day and he stood at the gate with a smile on his face. Lauren walked out of the school and she smiled at him as she saw him waiting for her; her embarrassment from this morning had obviously disappeared.

"Hi JoJo..." she said as she got to him.

"Lo..." he said, "Come on, let's get home... I think it's going to rain soon."

"I wish you had a car, JoJo... it would be much better if you could drive me home... We'd get home quicker." Lauren said as they walked down the street.

"Don't you want to be in my company, LoLo?" he teased.

"It's not that, JoJo... you know that." Lauren's face flushed and she looked away from him, feeling so embarrassed by the way Joey made her get flustered all the time. "I just thought it'd be better when the weather is bad. Maybe you can use the money you've been getting from helping dad at the car lot."

"Maybe..." Joey said. He had started working for his dad back when he was fifteen. Washing cars for him at the weekends, inside and out... by hand. It had been better than any gym workout as far as Joey was concerned, although he'd done those too. Over the last summer he had spent more time at the car lot, watching his dad as he sold cars to customers. After a couple of weeks of watching, his dad let him loose on the unsuspecting public and it transpired that Joey had a gift for sales. And he was getting a small commission for every car he sold. He was saving this money for when he started his fireman training course but Lauren was right, maybe he could splash out a little bit of it and get a small car he could use as a run around. He'd passed his driving test a week after his eighteenth birthday so there was no hold-up on that front. He could see if his dad could help him find something that wasn't too expensive.

Joey glanced at his sister and could see the slight pink tint to her face... he had to look away quickly because seeing her like that always had a certain effect on his body and now definitely wasn't a convenient time to have that occur. He was definitely screwed.

*JL*JL*

Later that evening Joey and Lauren were still waiting for their parents to get home. They had both noticed that the car lot was closed when they got back to the square and when Joey tried to call their dad, his mobile phone just went straight to voicemail.

"I guess we'd better get our own dinner..." he said to Lauren.

"Come on then..." Lauren said, standing and walking towards the kitchen. Joey trailed after her, trying his hardest to not look at her bum as he did so. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes briefly, then walking into the back of Lauren as she stopped in the doorway of the kitchen. Time seemed to stand still for several seconds as both teenagers tried to compose themselves. "You don't think anything is wrong, do you JoJo?" she finally whispered.

"I'm sure everything is fine, LoLo... they'll be home soon. I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for where they are..." he said, although even he doubted this was true. This was very unlike their parents and he was surprised to not have had a call or text from either of them. He glanced down at Lauren's face as she turned to face him, still standing a little too close to him for comfort. He was surprised again when she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. Joey hugged her back, hoping like hell he could control the rest of his body as it fought every instinct he possessed. Lauren loosened her hold on him and pulled away, staring up at his face intently. Joey was staring back at her, wondering (not for the first time) what she was thinking. He was so deep in thought he never saw it coming... so when her lips pressed against his it took him longer than it should for him to react. He gripped her arms and pushed her away, a little harder than he probably should've done (or wanted to) but she had surprised him and he really, really wanted to keep kissing her so he was a little slow in pushing her away. "What are you doing, Lo?" he gasped.

"I would've thought that was obvious..." she murmured.

"We can't do that... you're my sister..."

"NO I'M NOT!" she screamed, tears flooding her eyes and pain on her face.

Joey took a step back, his brain fighting his heart and eventually winning. "I'm going to the gym..." he whispered before turning and practically running from the house.

*JL*JL*

Joey stood in the gym, trying to focus on hitting the punching bag that hung before him but it was difficult when all he could think of was how it had felt when her lips had been on his. He frowned and hit the bag a little harder, feeling the tension building in his shoulders and down his back.

"You imagining someone you know... or you just trying to break it?" said a familiar voice.

The voice broke through the fog in his head and he paused, grabbing the bag between both of his gloved hands. He turned his head, "Uncle Grant..." he said.

Grant looked at the boy he'd come to view as family and saw the inner turmoil written all over his face. "You wanna talk about it?" he asked. Joey shook his head firmly. "You want me to hold the bag while you beat the shit out of it some more?" he asked, knowing that sometimes Joey just needed to think things through before he could talk about it.

"Sure..." Joey murmured.

Grant moved around to the other side of the punching bag and gripped it tightly. He nodded at Joey and Joey lifted his fists, preparing to start all over again. Grant winced slightly at the first punch, feeling the force behind it. Joey set himself a gruelling pace and Grant studied him carefully, hoping that whatever the issue was, he would feel better at the end of this. After about twenty punishing minutes Joey leant heavily against the punching bag, his forehead resting on his arms as he panted heavily, trying to catch his breath. "Why don't you go get changed and we can go for a drink and have a chat." Grant said softly. Joey looked at him but said nothing as he turned and walked away from him towards the changing rooms.

*JL*JL*

Grant brought two coffees over to the table in the cafe and sat opposite his pseudo nephew. "Talk to me, Joey." He said. Joey glanced up at him, his face flushing red before looking down and studying his coffee instead. Grant took a sip of his drink and waited.

"It's Lauren..."

"Did the two of you have a row?" Grant asked. Joey shook his head, still looking into his mug. "Then what?" Joey glanced up at him and Grant was surprised to see embarrassment on his face. "You can tell me anything, Joey... you know that..." he told him gently.

"Not this, I can't..." he murmured.

"You remember when you were a small boy and you'd just started living with your parents?" Grant said. Joey nodded. "We spoke then, didn't we? I told you about what it was like for me when I was growing up and I said then that you could come and talk to me whenever you wanted to... that I would make time for you. That hasn't stopped just because you're a bit older now, Joey."

"She... I..." Joey's face paled and he pushed away the coffee, feeling a little sick. "I like her..." he whispered, his eyes now fixed on the table.

"That's good... seeing as she's your sister..." Grant said, not understanding what the issue was.

Joey looked up at him, "I don't mean like that... I LIKE her..." he repeated, stressing the word more this time.

Grant didn't know how to respond to that initially. "How long have you felt this way?" he asked him.

Joey shrugged, "Probably forever... but the first time I realised was when I was a similar age to what she is now..." He glanced up at Grant again, expecting to see shock and disgust on his face but finding neither. "I've fought how I feel so much... I know it's wrong... I shouldn't feel this way. I hate myself so much, Uncle Grant. How do I stop feeling this way?" He was clearly getting more and more upset as he opened up to the older man.

"What's brought all this on today?" Grant asked.

Joey's face flushed again and his fists clenched on the table surface. "She kissed me..." He looked up at his uncle again, "I pushed her away and walked out of the house... I didn't encourage her at all, I promise. She took me by surprise..." His words faded as he seemed to struggle to find something to say... wanting to fill the dead air between them. Grant obliged instead with a question.

"Have you spoken to her about the way you feel?" Grant asked. Joey shook his head quickly. "Do you think she feels the same way as you do?"

"It's wrong though, ain't it? She's my sister..." he said.

"That wasn't what I asked... I asked if she feels the same way?" Joey shrugged again, "Don't you think she's as confused about all this as much as you are?" he said softly, "And you running out of the house won't have made her feel any better will it?" He added.

Joey shook his head. "Mum and dad will hate me..." he said sadly.

"I don't think they will, Joey." Grant said, "You may have been raised as brother and sister... but you aren't her brother. You're her cousin and as far as I know, there isn't anything wrong with that. Yes, some people might not like it but I'm sure your mum and dad will just want the two of you to be happy." He reached over the table and pushed the cooling mug of coffee back towards the confused teenager, "Drink up... and then go and speak to Lauren and make sure she's okay."

"What about mum and dad?" he asked as he lifted the cup.

"Speak to Lauren first... once you talk about it and know where you both stand, then you can decide what you want to do next." Grant advised him. "If you ever need to talk, you know where I am..."

"This isn't something you've been through, is it?"

Grant smiled, "No... not exactly. You remember when you were about six that Sharon and I split up?" he asked. Joey nodded. "Her dad had come back to the square and then her half-sister came too... and a half brother showed up as well..."

"I don't remember that?" Joey said.

"Really? Oh... well, I guess you were quite young... and they were only here for about six months." He cleared his throat and took another sip from his cup. "Sharon and her brother... there was this spark between them, I guess... and they ended up getting together after we split up..."

Joey's eye widened, "With her half-brother...?" he whispered.

"Sharon is adopted... so really he wasn't a relation at all... but yeah, some people were bit off about it..."

"Why did it end?"

"He moved away from the square, couldn't deal with the attention of everyone. Sharon left with him briefly but she came back after a couple of months and then we got back together. We were only apart about a year..." Grant looked at Joey, "She spoke to me about her relationship with Dennis though... she told me how conflicted she was about it all and how much bad feeling there was between them and their father when it first started." Joey paled at that remark, "Her dad was a strange man, Joey and he was nothing like your dad is. Your parents will be fine if you decide to take these feelings further, Joey, I swear."

"Thanks Uncle Grant..." Joey said softly, finishing his drink, "I'd better get home and speak to Lo." He admitted, standing up and grabbing his gym bag.

A/N: Well they kissed... pretty big news, right? As you can imagine they're both a little confused. Just as well Uncle Grant is on hand to help sort things out. Joey has some apologising to do, hasn't he? Let me know what you think! Back tomorrow...