Chapter 3.

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

Joey had been silent for a few seconds now and Lauren had begun to get worried; was it too soon? Would he even want her anywhere near him? She looked up, seeing a small smile creep onto his face. She let out a sigh of relief as he looked down at her.

His signature smirk covered his lips, before stuffing his face in her hair. "I'd love that, you sexy drama queen..." he murmured into her neck, shivers going up Lauren's spine as she felt his hot breath on her neck. "What about your Mum, though?" he questioned out of nowhere, obviously something that was starting to bother him.

Lauren shrugged, scraping her nails through the hair at the back of his neck. "Bet she can't wait to get rid of me," she replied, smiling at him reassuringly. "Besides, Abs will probably want space with Jay now she's back..." she continued, raising her eyebrows twice at the mention of Jay, feeling Joey laugh underneath her. She knew it sounded creepy, but it was one of the most comforting sounds she'd ever heard.

"Anyway, back to the subject of you moving in; I don't think I want the image of Jay and your sister... yeah, and I don't really think you do either," he smirked, trailing patterns up her stomach until reaching her breasts. Lauren nodded in agreement, giggling quietly before getting up and ending up sitting on his legs as she pulled her back. "Where are you going, beautiful?" he whined, grabbing her hands in his.

"Well, I don't know about you but I really don't think it would be amazing if your sister was to come back and see us like this. It would scar her for life," she answered, removing herself from his legs and pulling on his shirt and some of his clean boxers. She grinned as she caught Joey's eyes doing a full body sweep. "See something you like, babe?" she teased, strutting around his bedroom and sticking her bum out.

"Come here, you beautiful, beautiful woman..." he groaned, pulling her back onto the bed, earning a shriek from Lauren...

"Hey, Lauren! Is Joey back at work already?" Alice shouted through the house, hearing the TV in the living room. Lauren smiled, looking up from her drawing of Joey to the door.

"Yeah, it seems so. Alice, do you think I can talk to you about something?" she questioned, gathering her pencils and setting her drawing on the coffee table, turning the telly off. Alice walked into the living room, as usual a smile glued onto her face before throwing herself onto the sofa next to her and nodding."Well, I was talking to Joey and-"

"You want to move in?" Alice interrupted, giggling as Lauren's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I knew it! I knew it!" she squealed, engulfing her cousin in a hug. Lauren let out an awkward laugh, pushing her hair behind her ear and smiling slightly.

"So, err, can I?"she asked quietly, Alice giving her a look as if to say Are you being fucking serious?

"Of course you can, you muppet!" she laughed, pulling her back into a hug, Lauren letting out a sigh of relief; as much as she loved Alice, she knew that she was bound to have a scary side. They pulled out, Lauren nodding at her in thanks. "Joey wasn't lying was he? You're such a bloody drama queen..." she muttered, turning the telly on and planning on a fun night in with her favorite cousin...

A few hours later, Joey jogged up to No.23; it was an understatement to say he was shattered. He quickly unlocked the door, cautiously walking to the living room a little confused as none of the lights were on, this only made him feel even more exhausted. An adoring smile crossed his face, reaching his eyes as they filled with love and desire, as he saw his sister and girlfriend curled up on the sofa with hot chocolates, fast asleep; he thought they looked adorable.

He quietly shuffled over to them and slowly slipped down onto his knees, ever so gently leaning forwards and caressing Lauren's face in his hand as her delicious brown orbs fluttered open and stared at him sleepily, a smile curling at the corners of her lips. "Joe," she whispered, wrapping her hand over his, her eyes filling up with delight. "Alice said that I can stay!" she exclaimed, before Joey put a finger to her lips, trying not to wake up his sister. Lauren giggled, Joey's protective nature kicking in as pure usual.

He leant forwards, pressing a soft, lingering kiss to her lips, the kiss deepening within the minute. The passionate kiss was broken by Joey's phone going off, a pout covering Lauren's lips as Joey smirked his signature smirk, that adoring, gorgeous look in his eyes back. Reaching for his phone, he looked up at Lauren before managing a crooked smile. "It's my Mum," he stated simply, his fingers hovering over the Accept key.

Lauren sat up and leant on her elbows on the arm of the sofa, raising her eyebrows. "You better answer it then, eh?" she smiled at him reassuringly, as he put his phone to his ear and walked out of the room, closing the door gently behind him.

Alice was still fast asleep next to her, her hands cradling a cup of hot chocolate which had now gone cold. Lauren gently tapped her shoulder, as Alice's slightly darker shade of orbs popped open. "How long have I been asleep?" she questioned curiously, taking in her surroundings, obviously a little surprised she was on the sofa.

"Not sure, as long as me I'm guessing, Joey woke me up." Lauren answered, taking her hot chocolate from her hands and placing it on the coffee table.

Alice's eyebrows narrowed, before looking round. "Oh, he's back? Where is he?" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. Lauren shrugged, before nodding her head towards the door.

"Your Mum was on the phone, I said he should talk to her," she replied, raising an eyebrow casually. "Why don't you see what's taking him so long? He's been ages,"

Alice smirked, before folding her arms, shivering slightly as her hot chocolate started to wear off. "Trust me, a long conversation between those two is normal, he's so protective over me and Mum." she explained, getting up and walking towards the door. "I'm gonna head off to bed now, I'll tell Joey to bring your stuff over, yeah?"

"No, Al, it's fine. He's shattered anyway, you should've seen him when he came in. I can do with his clothes just for tonight, we can get it in the morning," Lauren protested, starting to get up herself. Alice nodded, opening the door, Lauren hearing her mumble something to Joey before jogging upstairs. Joey then came in with a huge grin on his face.

Lauren smiled at him, wrapping her arms round his waist and looking up at his eyes. "Well, hello you! What's got you all cheerful, normally I'm stuck with Mr. Moody!" she teased, Joey groaning at her and throwing her over his shoulder, Lauren's shrieks and giggles piercing through the house...

After their little heated make out session, Joey practically fell onto his bed and was out cold to the world within seconds, giving Lauren to ogle him possessively; he was more than a God, a perfect human being, and he was all hers. It then dawned on her... was he really all hers? Surely he'd have cheated on her whilst she was gone?

Lauren, listen to yourself - you have no faith in him, why would he even want you?

She shook her head, trying to rid the thoughts as she snuggled into his naked chest, his arms curling around her, her hair dangling over his defined muscles; it felt so perfect here in his arms, it felt natural to be sleeping right where she was.

If someone was to tell her she was to fall in love with her cousin a couple years ago, she'd tell them that was bullshit. But here she was, the man she loved happened to be her cousin, and that was that. Obviously there were issues, when wasn't there in the Branning clan? They'd always push through it in the end though, they'd always stick together. What did she ever do to become so lucky?

After gathering her thoughts together, she fell into a deep, much-needed sleep, wrapped in his embrace...

The next morning, waking up early and figuring Joey needed rest, she went back to No.5. to collect some of her things, as well as getting to do her make-up. She then walked over to the café, walking up to the counter and greeting Lucy with a smile.

Lucy smiled back at her, scanning through her recent orders before looking up back at Lauren. "Alright, Lo? What can I get you?" she asked politely, tapping her fingers gently on the counter.

"A coffee, a cake and a chat, sound good?" Lauren replied, as Lucy nodded and told Marie to cover, them both walking up to a table with their coffees.

Lucy took a sip of her drink before releasing a sigh. "What was it you wanted to talk about, Lo?" she questioned, placing her cup back on the table in front of them. Lauren shrugged, and to be honest she didn't really know what she wanted to talk about; really, she wanted to get a few things cleared up. She took a deep breath before speaking.

"How was Joey, y'know, before I came back?" she started, staring down into her cup, almost dreading the answer. Lucy's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What do you mean?" she quizzed, noticing her friend's hesitation around her. "Come on, Lo. What's on your mind?"

"I mean like, was he ever with anyone else? Did you see him with anyone else?"

A smug look washed over Lucy's face as Lauren's washed with confusion. What had happened? "I saw him, with me." she muttered under her breath, leaving Lauren's mouth agape.

"What?" she whispered, running her hand through her hair; surely she was lying? This is Lucy Beale, right?

"He... slept with me. He did. I'm so sorry, Lauren. I didn't even want him to, I tried to push him off straight away. I think it was ... rape." she babbled on, dishonesty flashing in her eyes, unfortunately not being noticed by Lauren. Her eyes suddenly bubbled with tears, getting up straight away, stopping as Lucy spoke. "This coffee's on the house though, yeah?" she insisted, a sickly sweet smile covering her lips...

"Hey, babe! What's up?" Joey's voice spoke...

SMACK!

The sound echoed through the house as Alice rushed into the kitchen, staring in horror at Lauren and her brother.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?" he shouted, touching his cheek; dammit did this woman have a slap.

"Lauren, what's wrong with you?" Alice squealed, immediately siding with her brother.

"This... man... he slept with Lucy!"

A/N: Oops! What did you think? Did Joey really sleep with Lucy, or is she just being her bitchy, selfish self?

Bit pissed off the spoiler video for next Monday isn't Jouren, can't wait for next weeks episodes.

R&R.