The next morning Lauren was on the tube on the way to the bank and then to College. She had the money in her bag to deposit into her account again, the bundle of post her mother had given her to go through on the train to while away her journey. She reached for the post when her phone buzzed. She saw Joey's picture flash up on the screen and she pressed answer

'Hello?' she said

'Hello gorgeous' Joey's silky voice replied 'I just wanted to call and say hello to my girlfriend'

'Well your girlfriend says hello back' she told him

'What are you up to today?' he asked her

'On the way to the bank to deposit my money and then I'm going to college' she said 'Why'

'I thought maybe we could have lunch?' he asked her

'We could but you'd have to come to college. There's a little coffee shop across the road from College. We could meet there say 1:30pm?' she asked him

'It's a date' he smiled, he looked up as a coffee was put down in front of him, he glanced up to see Lucy. 'I'll see you then'

'I can't wait' she said 'Love you'

'Me too' he said and he hung up. She frowned at the sudden change. She shrugged assuming someone was in earshot and she was about to put the phone back when her text tone beeped.

"Sorry, Lucy was near… Love you too gorgeous Jxxx"

Lauren frowned and then shook her head and dropped the phone into her bag with a smile. She started out of the window for the rest of the journey watching the scenery go by and thinking of Joey, her letters forgotten.

Joey was already waiting for her when she entered the Café, she smiled and practically bounded over to the table, placing a kiss on Joey's cheek before she sat down.

'Someone's in a good mood' he said he smiled at her

'Yes I am' she said grinning 'Daniel, the guy that was helping with the signs for the club has finished them. They're ready to be fitted in and outside the club whenever Sharon and Phil say it's okay and I've only had to pay him £100 to do it and he said he can get his brother to fit them for free as he owes him a favour, he can also get them wired up.' She said without taking a breath 'And on top of that the flyers and posters are all printed and Scott and Simon are going to leaflet cars in the multi-storey car parks around here. And Scott is going to put them through doors within a 10 mile radius of the club' she continued 'He wasn't keen on doing it first he wanted me to pay him so I told him that I would have dinner with him instead …oh and I have spoken to the Walford Gazette and they're going to run the advert whenever Sharon's ready and I got a 50% reduction on the costs' she said 'So all in all I have had a pretty productive day!'

'So it seems' he said and he looked at her expectantly

'And I'm having lunch with my boyfriend' she said 'today couldn't be any more perfect that it already is' she said

'Well I'm glad' he said 'you deserve to have a good day. Many good days' he added quickly. 'But can we just back up to the part where my girlfriend just told me that she's going out with another guy?' he asked her

Lauren opened her mouth to speak and then frowned and went through her speech again in her head and then she shut her mouth 'I wasn't planning on telling you that part, I mean I was just not like that' she said 'It's not a date, it's just dinner' she said to him

'I'm pretty sure this Scott bloke doesn't see it that way' he replied with a frown

'Doesn't matter what he thinks that's all he getting and it means that I save money so as soon as I get a job I can start looking for a place of my own' she told him 'I don't want to live with Tyler for longer than I have to'

'Why. What has he done?' Joey scowled further

'He hasn't done anything. Having me there is having an impact on his alone time with Whitney' I replied 'that's all' she told him 'Joey …you don't have to be jealous' she told him firmly 'There's nothing to be jealous of. Ty is just a mate and besides he's crazy in love with Whitney' she told him, her face suddenly filled with excitement 'Oh and I forgot to tell you. Ant is coming down next weekend. I was speaking to him on the phone earlier and he can't wait to meet you' she said with a grin

'Ant?' Joey asked her in confusion

'Tyler's brother … I've told you this' she rolled her eyes and she sighed 'you two are going to get along great I know it' she said

'Wait! Is this the Ant that was after Alice'?' he asked her

Lauren sighed 'This big brother over protective thing that you've got going on is just wrong Joey' she told him 'She's an attractive young girl. And guys are going to find her attractive and the more you protect her the more naïve she is going to be and the more likely it is that she's going to get. You have to let her make her own mistakes or she'll end up hating you'

Joey narrowed her eyes at her 'Have you been talking to Alice?' he asked her

'Yes last night before you came home remember? There was a point in the night when she was sober' she reminded him 'Joey you've got to let her live her own life, let her make her own mistakes and be there for her when she needs you' she told him softly.

'I know you're right' he said with a sigh 'She's just…. She's my little sister'

'I know' she smiled at him reaching across the table and placing her hand on his. 'And she's always going to need you Joey. And at some point she's going to have a boyfriend and she's going to have sex and you need to be cool about it' she told him, she knew from the look on his face that he didn't like that idea at all 'Okay I'll stop putting those images in your head now. Shall we order?' she asked him

'Yes' he nodded and he picked up the menu 'whats good?'

'Toasted bacon and cheese sandwich' she replied.

Later they were on the train back to Walford, Lauren decided now would be a good time to broach the subject of Derek's funeral. She licked her lips and slipped her hand into his. 'Joey, Alice did mention something to me last night that I wanted to talk to you about'

'Oh?' he looked at her his curiosity piqued.

'The funeral' she said

'There's nothing to talk about.' he replied

'She needs you there'

'I'm not going. End of' he said and he pulled his hand out of hers and turned to stare out of the window.

Lauren knew that this conversation wasn't going to be as easy as she first thought. They remained quiet for the rest of the train ride home, walked through the station in silence and then he glanced at her over his shoulder

'I'll see you later' he told her and he walked away.

AN: Will Joey be able to convince Joey to go to the funeral for the sake of Alice?

Answers will be revealed in the following chapters.

R&R as always. Thanks you for reading and I hope you are enjoying the story