20th April 2013. Second chapter for today and it's another long one. It's time to see Lauren's friends react to their story. Enjoy!

Chapter 11.

About ten minutes before seven Lauren and Joey were walking across the square towards the Moon house. Lauren knocked on the door and it was Whitney who opened it and beckoned them in. "Lauren... it's so good to see you, babe." She said, hugging her friend.

"Is everyone here?" Lauren asked.

"Yeah." Whitney said with a smile, "Everyone's pretty eager to get to know this boyfriend of yours." She chuckled.

"Let's get on with it then." Lauren said. Joey watched with interest as he followed his girlfriend into the lounge, seeing her greet her friends. She was so much more confident around them than she was when it was just the two of them and while he knew that there had been a small breakthrough this afternoon he quickly picked up that she was putting on a front around them. She didn't want them to see her vulnerable. He wasn't sure how long that plan would last for tonight. She introduced everyone to him so he was now able to put faces to names and they all said hi to him.

Everyone sat apart from Tyler and Whitney. Lauren casually sat on Joey's lap and rested her head on his shoulder. "Beer alright for everyone?" Tyler said.

"Can I just have a glass of water?" Lauren asked.

Joey was a bit surprised that she was offered a beer. She hadn't been drinking for a long time before everything that happened. Did her friends really not know about her issues with drinking? He knew what she'd said to him earlier that day but they saw her artwork yesterday. Surely they should realise... "Me too..." Joey said, glancing at Lauren.

"You can have a beer if you want, baby..." she whispered to him.

"It's fine." He replied. "And I can't anyway... doctor's orders."

Whitney reappeared with a couple of glasses of water for the two of them and Tyler brought in beers for everyone else. They then sat at the other end of the couch, Whitney on Tyler's lap.

"Come on then, baby girl. Tell us what we've been missing?" Fatboy said.

Lauren felt Joey tense slightly at the name he called her and she giggled. His hand was in hers and she brushed her thumb over the back of it to reassure him, squeezing it slightly too. She was watching his face and it was only when she heard someone clear their throat that she realised she'd zoned out. Her face heated as she turned her attention back to her friends, finding several of them smiling at her widely. "Sorry..." she said. "Okay... well Joey and I met April last year. I bumped into him when I was coming out of the tube station. I dropped my sketchpad but didn't realise and Joey ran after me to give it me back. I guess there was this attraction between us almost instantly because he asked me to go for a coffee with him and I said yes. We exchanged numbers after that and I went to college but I couldn't get him out of my head... so I drew a picture of him. I didn't think I'd ever hear from him again but Joe texted me and asked if I wanted to see him again. We met for lunch and got to know each other better. Found out practically everything about each other..."

"Apart from the fact you have the same surname?" Tyler said.

"Tyler...!" Whitney said, hitting her boyfriend.

"No, he's right. It just never came up. I can't really say why. We just didn't mention it." Lauren said.

"I can say, for my part at least, being a Branning was never something I particularly liked to be known as. I hate Derek and I'd truly be happy if I never see him again in my life." Joey said. "It wasn't a conscious decision to not tell Lauren my surname and I could never guess the consequences of not having that conversation with her but I understand why I never mentioned it. Until I met Lauren, my family consisted of me, my mum and my sister. And that was it. There was no one else. Being a Branning meant nothing to me then."

"Thinking about it... I think I probably know why I never mentioned it too." Lauren said softly. "It's not that I didn't want to be a part of the Branning family or anything but at college... this is going to sound bad however I say it," she said.

"Go on, babe." Joey whispered to her.

"The last few years of my life haven't been easy for me, I think we can all agree on that." Some of her friends nodded their heads and smiled at her. "When I started college, it was great because nobody knew me as Lauren Branning, the former drunk with self-destructive tendencies. I could be someone new, someone better. So I think maybe I didn't tell Joey my full name because it was my way of trying to forget the person I used to be." Joey's hand was brushing through her hair, trying to comfort her after she finished speaking. She picked up a glass and took another drink of water.

"So were you dating by the end of that first day?" Poppy asked.

"I'm not sure we were officially dating. We certainly hadn't called it that... but we were getting to know each other." Joey said softly, his eyes on Lauren as he spoke.

"I looked after Oscar that night and Joey and I ended up talking to each other on the phone. It was then Joey asked me out on a date." Lauren said, smiling softly. "So we went out the next afternoon. That was when I told Joe about my alcohol issues," she whispered, the smile falling from her face. "I thought it was going to ruin it; that I'd lose him straightaway..."

"Never..." Joey whispered quietly in her ear so that no one else could hear.

"But he was fine about it. We just never did anything that would risk me having a drink."

There was a slight murmur from some of her friends, now realising how bad things had been for their friend over the years. They knew she drank but they hadn't known about the battle she'd had to win that particular fight. "Is that why you're on the water now?" Poppy asked softly.

"Yes and no. It's more complicated than that, Pops." Lauren said, blushing slightly. "So Joey and I started seeing each other from that point on. We spoke every day. We were constantly texting each other. He'd meet me outside of college so we could go for lunch." Lauren looked so happy when she spoke of this time, it was clear for her friends to see how much their relationship meant to her.

"Why did you never tell us about him?" Lucy asked.

"I think it was partly because I kept expecting him to realise he was too good to be going out with someone like me. I thought if I told anyone I'd jinx it somehow." Lauren glanced at Whitney and her friend smiled at her in support.

"What was that?" Lucy asked, picking up on their shared look.

Lauren looked down, "Whitney knows a little of the story from later," she admitted. Lucy frowned and looked a bit pissed off. "Luce, please don't get upset... my mum asked her to speak to me. I don't know why she didn't ask you. I'll go into it in more detail when I get to that bit." Lauren stared at her friend and eventually Lucy nodded, slightly appeased but not completely. "So by the end of college that summer we were pretty heavily involved with each other. I was worried that the summer break would change that but in the end it didn't. I had to start working on the pieces for my show over the summer because the college said there was no way I'd be able to get them all done during the year as well as the other courses I was doing. So it worked pretty well, I was able to go to college during the holidays and see Joey as well."

"What do you do, Joey?" Fatboy asked.

"I run a club with a couple of my mates. We brought it from a guy we worked for at the beginning of the recession for a really good price and we've really made it work. The place practically runs itself now. I only have to go there a couple of times a week... and recently it's been even less than that." Joey said. "It gives me a good return on the money I invested in it and means I get to spend some money on this one here when I want to." Lauren blushed at his words, her hand fingering the charms on her necklace. "It also means I'm relatively free during the days and I only have to work a couple of afternoons and a few evenings."

"He's being modest." Lauren said, "The club does a good trade. It's worth about four or five times the amount of money they invested in it now, despite the economy still being in the toilet and it's usually packed from opening till closing." Lauren told her friends.

"We'll have to go there one night," Tyler suggested.

"Mmm, maybe." Lauren said vaguely, not wanting to commit to that. It wasn't that she didn't like going there, she did. They'd gone there several evenings but things had changed since then and Lauren wasn't sure she would find it quite as easy if she were to go there now. More to the point, if things went well everything would be changing again for them in the future too. Joey's arm, which was around her waist, squeezed her slightly and she smiled at him. "Anyway, during the summer I finally told my parents that I was dating someone and it became this big thing about inviting him around to the house so they could meet him. When mum first kept mentioning it, I dodged it as much as I could. I was still feeling paranoid that something would go wrong." The doorbell rang at that point and Whitney ran to the door to get the pizzas that were being delivered. While everyone was eating Lauren didn't say anymore.

Whitney was sitting next to the couple as they ate, Tyler was talking to Fatboy, Tamwar, Poppy and Lucy so she was able to speak to them without anyone else hearing. "Are you sure you want to tell everyone this, Lauren?" she said quietly.

"I think I need to," Lauren replied, knowing she needed to tell them before she broke their recent news to them.

*JL*JL*

Thirty minutes later everyone was settled back, ready for Lauren to continue. "I went back to college in September and things were more difficult than they'd been in my first year. For the first few weeks I really neglected Joey. Then one week I realised I'd barely spoken to him all week, we'd texted each other but not as much as normal and I hadn't seen him at all."

"Was that when you found out?" Lucy asked Joey.

"No, that was later..." he told her quietly.

"I'd been concentrating on my course so much; I got caught up in it and it was Joey that lost out." She said, "I felt awful because I didn't even realise I'd done it. Fortunately I was ahead of schedule with my college stuff then so I knew I could slow down on that a bit. It was all this that made me realise how much I loved him; how important he was to me and I made the decision that the next time my mum invited him over, I was going to speak to Joe about it." She smiled, "Of course, mum and dad decided to have a second honeymoon... so she didn't mention it again until the beginning of December." Joey tightened his hand on hers, knowing they were now getting to the harder part of their story. "In the end Joey was invited for dinner on Christmas Day. Mum thought it would be nice for him to meet the whole family and it would take the pressure off him a little and he hopefully wouldn't get the third degree from dad." Whitney reached over and touched Lauren's hand, knowing what she was about to say and knowing how hard it was. "I should've known it would all go horribly wrong." She whispered, "I mean happy Christmas's for the Branning family are a rare occurrence but I didn't even think."

"What happened, baby girl?" Fatboy asked, frowning in Joey's direction.

"Joey never arrived and I was devastated."

"Why would you do something like that?" Fatboy asked angrily, "And on Christmas Day!"

"It's not his fault, Fats," Lauren said softly.

"I'm sorry but in my book, that is just wrong!" He cried out.

"Let the guy speak..." Tamwar said, trying to calm his best friend.

"I had every intention of turning up," Joey said. "I got to the square and ended up walking the long way round to get to Lauren's house. That meant walking past the car lot and I saw the sign and froze. I felt sick when I saw it. I knew Lauren's dad owned it so that meant she was a Branning. At first I thought it was just a coincidence... or maybe I was hoping it was a coincidence; I mean we can't be the only Brannings in London, surely... but then I heard a door slam and turned to look in that direction and I saw Derek... and I knew." Joey stopped talking, taking several deep breaths. He glanced at Lauren and saw the tears falling down her face, "Babe..." he whispered, pulling her against his body and holding her tightly. Silence fell on the room, apart from the soft whisper from Joey as he repeatedly told her how sorry he was.

"Guys, why don't we give Joey and Lauren a couple of minutes?" Whitney said softly. "We can clear up this mess and get some more drinks." She said as she gestured to the remains of their dinner.

After a few seconds of noise as they moved out of the room Joey and Lauren are alone once more. "I know it wasn't your fault, baby." She told him as she pulled away from him. "I'll make sure they realise. I don't blame you for what happened. It was just bad luck..." she said gently. "In a way I think it was good luck too... if we'd known from the start we probably never would've got together, would we? And I can't imagine what my life would be like if you weren't in it." She kissed him softly, "And you know, I don't want to be in a world where we aren't together, baby. So no more guilt about this... it's done. We've got through it together and whatever happens in the future, we're going to do that together too."

"Do you mind if I go out for a bit?" he asked her softly, "I know I should be here for you but I don't think I can hear you tell them about it."

"Where will you go?"

"I'll go and get something from the shop. I won't be long. Promise... I just need some air and to calm down a little."

"Okay..." she kissed him again before moving off his lap and letting him stand. "Love you, baby." He smiled at her then left the house, the door closing loudly behind him.

Lauren sat on the couch and after less than a minute someone walked into the room, "You okay, Lauren?" It was Lucy. Lauren looked at her with a smile and nodded. "Where's Joey?"

"He went to get some air..." she said softly. "He'll be back soon." She looked at her best friend's face, seeing the doubt in her features, "Why don't you get the others and I'll tell you the rest of it before he gets back."

"Shouldn't he be here with you when you tell us?"

"It's fine, Luce." She said. When everyone was back in the room Lauren began again, "Like I said, I was devastated by Joey not turning up and confused because at the time I had no idea what it was all about. I didn't really cope with it at all. I wasn't eating or sleeping very much. Mum and dad were desperate to do something and that was when mum spoke to Whit. So Whitney came over and I poured my heart out to her. I showed her the picture I drew of Joey and some photos I had on my phone and I cried myself to sleep. I was such a mess but speaking to Whit actually helped me a little. In the New Year I went back to college and tried to focus on my art. I think I was trying to distract myself from Joe." She told them. "Then a couple of days after New Year I got a text message from him, asking if we could talk. He was waiting for me outside the college and we went to a park and he told me it all. It was, at the time, the worst moment of my life. I was so angry... not at Joey, at the crappy situation we found ourselves in. I knew I loved him and finding out he was Derek's son didn't change that for me. At the time though it was an issue for Joe and he pushed me away. So I ran, from him and the park. Things are a bit blurry after then but from what dad's told me I called him at about half four and he knew as soon as he answered the phone that I was drunk. He raced to my college and found me in the room where I worked. I was barely conscious. I'd drunk almost a litre of vodka." Lauren looked down, unable to see the faces of her friends. "Joey got there a couple of minutes after my dad."

"Did you call him too?" Poppy asked.

"No, he came because he felt guilty about what had happened earlier that afternoon and he wanted to make sure I was okay. He was worried about me. He called for an ambulance and I was taken to the hospital. They pumped my stomach when I got there. And the doctor, while being pretty nice about it, read me the riot act."

"Oh, Lauren," Whitney said, having not realised how bad things had got for her friend.

"It gets worse..." she admitted in a whisper. "Joey came in to see me. Dad knew who he was by this point because Joey had told him but he'd allowed Joey to go with me in the ambulance while he followed in the car. Dad said I needed to speak to Joey but when he came in the room I made a huge mistake. Seeing him again just made me remember the hurt and pain from earlier in the day and I told him I hated him and I never wanted to see him again." She looked up at Lucy, "I was so stupid."

"What happened, Lauren?" she asked softly.

"He told me he loved me then walked out of the room." A tear ran down her face and she took a deep breath but continued speaking, "He collapsed outside my room." She whispered.

Whitney reached over and pulled her into a hug, Lauren moving closer to her as she dissolved into tears. Lucy moved from her seat and sat the other side of her, brushing her hand up and down her back. The rest of her friends sat and watched in silence. "You don't have to tell us this, Lauren." Lucy said once Lauren had stopped crying as much.

"I need to. You need to know. There's so much I have to tell you." She whispered. "Joey's mum and sister arrived at the hospital while the doctors were checking him out and I learnt more about Joey than I'd known before. I found out why he hates Derek so much and why his parents got divorced. Derek never told any of the family he had two children. Even my dad didn't know and he was probably the closest to him." Lauren reached past Lucy and had some more of her water, her hand shaking as she held the glass. "Derek used to hit Joe's mum. A lot. They got into a fight on Joey's seventh birthday and Joey tried to stop him from hurting her. He hated seeing his dad do that to his mum so he wanted to stop him. And he managed it too. Not the way he intended but he did it. Only Derek hit him instead. Joey's mum says it was a mistake; that Derek was mortified by what he'd done. It was the only time he showed Joey any sort of genuine feeling. The impact of the hit from Derek sent Joey flying across the room and he was rushed to hospital. While they were waiting for Joey to come round, Derek and Joey's mum decided they would get divorced and Derek wouldn't see his children again." Lauren tightened her grip on her friend's hands as she continued to talk, "It hurt so much to hear his mum talk about that; to know what he'd been through. I mean, my dad's done some pretty awful things over the years but he's never raised his hand to us – or my mum. We were all waiting for the doctor to come back. It seemed to be taking such a long time. Then he was there and he told us what was wrong with Joey." She stopped talking and scrambled to pull her mobile from her bag, knowing she couldn't do this on her own. She dialled his number, frowning when there was no answer. "Joe..." she cried into the handset.

Whitney reached over and took the phone from her while Lucy pulled Lauren into a hug, comforting her distressed friend. Whitney dialled the number again but it just rang and rang... eventually going to voicemail. "Where was he going, Lauren?" she asked softly after leaving a short message that Lauren was upset and asking if he could come back.

"The Minute Mart..." she cried.

Whitney looks at Tyler and he nods, getting up to go and find Joey; Fatboy and Tamwar both left with him to help. The three girls try their best to soothe Lauren but are unable to because they aren't what she wants and needs. She needs her boyfriend.

TBC

A/N: Oh dear... where has Joey disappeared to? I know there's not a lot of new material in this chapter but I quite like writing her friend's reactions to what she tells them. And yes, I've made Lucy accepting of their relationship in this story. It was easier to do because she never met Joey until he was heavily involved with Lauren... so any attraction she might have felt wasn't an issue. Now I'm afraid you're going to have to wait for the second half of their evening... Back tomorrow...