Chapter 2.

She tapped his shoulder, "Hello, Joey."

The moment she'd been waiting for, for over a year, was finally here. He turned round in a swift motion, his hazel eyes widening and staring into hers. It was an understatement to say he looked fucking hot. The past year had definitely been worth the wait; his muscles, although covered in his jacket, were absolutely bulging. They'd gone silent for a few minutes now, Lauren deciding to avert her eyes from his defined chest. She smiled small at him, testing his reaction.

"Joe?" she asked softly, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. She certainly wasn't expecting the reply that she got; Joey shrugged her hand off immediately, turning round and bolting out of the pub, leaving Lauren's heart thumping away in her chest and a sense of rejection boiling over her. Exhaling a breath, she walked back to her friends table and sat back down next to Whitney who gave her a sympathetic smile and her hand a squeeze.

"Sorry, Lo," Alice whispered, clearly concerned of her brother's behaviour. "He was just surprised you're here, I guess. Give him some time to calm down and I'll get him to talk to you," Lauren smiled in thanks and took a sip of the lemonade she'd asked for. Alice looked away for a few seconds before letting out an awkward laugh, "You know, I think I better go and see where he is, he gets himself into far too many fights with walls," And with that she jogged out, following the path Joey took.

Tyler had left a while ago, having some business to attend to and Abi had left early, feeling tired from the whole experience.

"Just us then, eh girls?" Lauren teased, nudging Whitney's arm. Whitney rolled her eyes whilst Lucy managed a genuine grin. Despite the things that had happened, Lucy had made up with Lauren before she left, seeing no point to drag the evils on further.

"Guess it is, just like old times," Whitney laughed, and the rest of the night flowed on...

Lauren was making her way back into No.5, which they'd let the Branning clan use whenever they liked whilst they were gone, as her phone started ringing; smiling as she saw it was Alice. She pressed the 'Accept' key before placing her phone to her ear, "Alright, Al?" she started in a chatty tone.

"Yeah, Joey's back now and he's calm. I don't think it's a good time to talk to him though, maybe tomorrow though," Alice replied.

"Oh, right okay. Thanks for letting me know though, Al – see ya!" Lauren said, ending the call and opening the door. She quietly tiptoed into the living room, cautious of waking up her younger siblings.

"Darling, your back," her Mum called, startling her, popping up out of nowhere and flicking on a light switch, "Sorry, did I scare you?" she teased her, sitting down on the sofa and patting the seat next to her. Lauren shuffled towards her and sat down.

"Good to be back, ain't it?" Lauren started awkwardly, fiddling with her necklace. Her Mum smiled and nodded in agreement.

"It is," she answered, leaning forward and making sure Lauren looked at her in the eye, "Joey will come around, darling," Lauren furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"How'd you know about it?" she questioned, not really seeing how she could watch the scene unfold if she was at home. Her Mum shook her head slightly before looking back at her.

"I don't," her Mum pointed out, "But I saw him walking back in quite a mood earlier, figured it might have something to do with you." she continued, smiling at her daughter's amusement, "Why don't you go to bed, eh? It's been a long day; for everyone."...

Lauren awoke early the next morning, desperate to win Joey over. She'd perfected her make-up and purposely made her eyes slightly smoky, knowing Joey would usually practically pounce on her. Jogging downstairs, she threw on her leather jacket and ankle boots.

"Just gonna see Joey, Mum, alright?" Lauren shouted, before greeting her younger brother at the bottom of the stairs, "See you later, little man!" she smiled, waving as she stepped out the door and set off in direction of No.23. Her fear catching up on her, she pulled out her phone and texted Alice,

Is now a good time? L x

Seconds later, her phone beeped and she read Alice's reply.

Well, he's just woken up (lazy boy!). Maybe in half hour's time or is that too late? A x

Haha. That's fine, see you then. L x

She decided to use this time to warm up and walked over to the café...

A little later, she knocked on the door of No.23. She'd hate to admit it, but this was the most nervous she'd ever felt. The door opened and Alice smiled her warming smile... Lauren had always loved Alice the day she'd met her, she was someone who could significantly brighten your day simply by smiling and always knew the right thing to say, similar to Joey really. The mother of these kids honestly deserved a trophy.

"Lauren, come in," she greeted her cheerfully, before guiding her into the kitchen where Joey was sat. Lauren smiled slightly and Joey managed a crooked smile in return, whilst she took in his appearance; his lips were dry and swollen, his hair was wet and messy from his shower and his facial expression adorable. He was the image of perfection. Obviously noticing Lauren ogling her brother, "I'll see you later, bye Joey!" she said, kissing her brothers cheek gently and setting off.

She sat down at the table and looked at him.

"Hey, you," She whispered.

"Hey, yourself," he replied, his voice barely audible, "Sorry about last night," She shrugged and nodded at him.

"It's fine, you were a little shocked, can't blame you." She put simply, him nodding in reply.

"I missed you."

Her insides seemed to dance at this; it was so small yet so sweet. "I missed you too, Joe."

"So what happens now?" he asked, his eyes showing such pain and love. She slowly leaned forwards, taking his head in her hands, and placed a soft kiss to his lips, feeling him start to respond. They remained like this for a few seconds before he pulled away, shaking his head, "You can't come back whenever you like and think this will happen," he whispered, looking away from her. Lauren nodded again, knowing he was right.

"I know baby, but-"

"You can't just expect me to be a bit of fun if you're going back, you can't do that," he interrupted, letting out a deep sigh.

"Please, baby. Let me talk," she whispered, taking his hand in hers, "I only agreed to come back cause of you, I need you. I've always needed you,"

"You didn't need me before," he snapped, the last year finally boiling over him. He was so heartbroken, in so much pain and she didn't even care. "In fact, you've had a pretty perfect life without me, ain't you? You said you'd never leave me, you'd never back out; I agreed. I kept my side of the deal, I didn't leave you, I didn't back out. But you, you did, and you don't even know how I feel about it!" he spat, forcing as much venom into his words as possible.

Lauren looked down, his words stinging her heart. Joey swallowed and shook his hand, grabbing her hand in his.

"Sorry, didn't mean that," he whispered, gently kissing her forehead and pulling her onto his lap...

A few minutes later, they were curled up on the sofa, Joey still acting rather distant. Lauren noticed this and snuggled under his shoulder, "Please forgive me,"

"I do," he mumbled, managing a small grin, "I do forgive you, because, well, I lo-love you."

"I love you more, baby," she smiled, crushing her lips onto his in a passionate kiss, fireworks exploding immediately...

They were both in a tangled mess in Joey's bed, the duvet just about covering their decency. Lauren's hand was splayed over Joey's chiselled chest, his heart beating ferociously behind it, mirroring Laurens.

"Can I ask you something, Joe?" she suddenly piped up, tracing over his muscles with the tips of her fingers.

"Sure, baby girl," he answers, a smile covering Lauren's face as he calls her that.

"Do you think I can move in with you and Alice, for good?"

A/N: Yay, they've made up! What did you think, feel free to write a review. What would you like to happen next? Cant wait for next weeks episodes still, by the looks of it it's Jouren week again;D.