-As promised, uploaded the next chapter asap! Sorry that it's cheesy, I tried so hard not to make it cheesy but then I thought Joey should be soppy towards Lauren cos it's cute so be prepared for the cheese-fest :D as always, please let me know what you think! Next chapter is almost done and will be up in the next couple of days!
An hour before we're about to leave, there's an insistent, almost urgent, knocking on the front door.
"I'll get it." I say and instantaneously, Mum, Dad, Abi and Nan all jump up.
"It's okay love, I'll go." Mum smiles a smile which doesn't quite reach her eyes as goes to answer the door.
"You're not taking her anywhere." I hear Joey barking at Mum before she can even get a word in edgeways.
"Excuse me, don't come to my house and speak to me like that! Calm down." Mum snaps.
"I'll get rid of him." Dad stands up angrily, and before I really think about what I'm doing I grab his arm to stop him.
"I wanna talk to him." I sigh, deeply.
"Please, babe." Dad frowns.
"I don't know when I'm gonna see him again." I shrug, and slowly go out into the hallway. Joey is laying into Mum but when he sees me he stops midway. I look at Mum, and she sighs but goes back into the living room, shutting the door behind her.
"Lauren." He says my name barely above a whisper and all the anger drains from his face.
I open the front door and sit on the step; he follows me out and shuts the door, sitting down next to me.
"I'm leaving. I'm going to this rehab clinic thing." I explain.
"You can't go." He shakes his head, furiously.
"I'm going. Tonight." I tell him.
"Lauren." He says, urgently.
"Joey."
"You can't do this."
"I have to."
"You can't do this to me."
"This isn't about you."
"What am I supposed to do without ya?"
"I hear Lucy's available."
"There's nothing going on between me and her. I was waiting for you and she just showed up, I swear. She wanted to apologise. I told her to go. You've gotta believe me, babe."
"Like you believed me?"
"You know how sorry I am about that."
"I know, I shouldn't have said that. Look, just forget about me because I'm gonna forget about you. We're done."
"We're not done."
"I might not come back."
"You're coming back."
"I don't know yet. Look, find a nice girl, not someone like me who can drink you under the table. Move on."
"I don't think you know what you are to me."
"Well, is that my fault? If I ever meant anything to you, you had a funny way of showing it."
"It's my fault, I know. Look Lauren, you know I'm not good with words and talking about feelings and all that. But, you're the first girl I've ever loved. Do you know what that means? Before you, I was a dick. You don't even wanna know what I was like. But, you're different. We're different. You make me different. I want us to work it out."
"There's no 'us' anymore, Joey."
"There'll always be an 'us.' You don't just forget your first love."
"You weren't my first love."
"Who was then, that dickhead Peter?" He snaps, angrily. When I don't reply, he carries on.
"Look, that doesn't matter; the point is you're my first love. I can't just forget you."
"You have to. We're not good together, Joey. I drink all the time and piss you off. You don't know what I'm like without a drink; you won't like sober Lauren anywhere near as much as drunk Lauren."
"I always liked sober Lauren better."
"That's because I wasn't sober for very long. On a daily basis without any alcohol in me, I'm dead boring."
"I'm boring too so we can sit at home and play Monopoly together."
"Don't wait for me. I want you to be happy."
"I'll give you a couple of weeks but if you're not back in under a month, I'm coming to get ya."
"Please don't call me or anything. I have to get over you."
"No, you don't, babe. Shut up, what you saying that for?"
"When we were together we were always arguing. Maybe we weren't right for each other."
"You're wrong. I'm gonna prove to ya how right I am for ya. I'm gonna be the best boyfriend ever, seriously. Even when we're screaming at each other, I ain't gonna leave. You'll have to dump me first if you don't wanna be with me."
"Joey, I don't think you're listening to me."
"I am. Look, I ain't saying we're gonna get back together the second you come back but we could have this time apart and still feel the same."
"And all I'm saying is don't count on it."
"Do you know that I love you?"
"I guess."
"I love you."
"You just said that."
"You don't believe me."
"It's gonna take a long time to go back to how it used to be."
"I don't wanna go back. We were all messed up and I was a prick. I wanna go forward and do it right this time."
"I can't think about that right now. I have to get better."
"I know, and I want you to get better more than anything. But once you're better, you'll come back to me, won't ya?"
"Joey, don't pressure me, please."
"I just want you to know something."
"What?"
"I wanna marry you and have babies with you."
"Are you taking the piss?"
"Far from it. All that marriage stuff used to scare me, but it doesn't anymore. I can say that to you without shitting myself."
"Well, you're scaring me."
"All I'm trying to say is, you're it. There's never gonna be anyone else. And maybe I'm still a little bit scared that I'll be a shit husband and a shit Dad like my old man was. But if it's with you, I'm not scared cos you wouldn't let me be crap."
"Joey, I nearly died. You're freaking me out, please stop."
"That's why I'm saying this. It took nearly losing you to realise what a stupid idiot I've been. I know I don't deserve you, but I have to tell you this. You have to know what you mean to me."
"Joey, I'm 19 years old. I'm not thinking about marriage yet, and with everything that's gone on lately, just waking up in the morning is a pretty big achievement."
"You're right, I'm sorry. I just wanted you to know that I'm gonna wait."
"Don't expect anything from me, please. I don't know if I can give what you want."
"Just get better and come home."
"Be happy."
"I want you to have this." He pulls off his watch and gently wraps it onto my wrist.
"Why are you giving me this?"
"Because I'm being a bit spur of the moment so I didn't get you a ring."
"Oh my God, Joey! Please."
"I know, what a shit excuse! I will get you one though."
"I'm begging you; please don't get me a ring."
"If I got down on one knee with a massive diamond and asked you to marry me, you wouldn't say no."
"I promise you, I would."
"I accept that challenge."
"It wasn't a challenge."
"There is no way you'd say no."
"Oh, Joseph. How little you know me. I'd say no just to wind you up. That's what I'm like."
"You're not as bad as you like to think you are. You're a softie."
"How dare you? I've never been so insulted." I mock, making him laugh.
"I fucking love you."
"You've already said that."
"I love you."
"Okay, I'll wear your watch every single day."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
"Have you still got that blue t-shirt of mine, the one you used to sleep in?"
"Yeah."
"Good." He grins and I don't tell him it's in my suitcase; obviously I'm taking it with me.
"I have to go, the taxi's gonna be here any minute." I stand up, reluctantly.
Joey grabs hold of my hand and stands up too. Before I can stop him, he pulls me into a tight hug and instead of pulling away I let myself sink into his hold. He brings his mouth crashing down on to mine and I kiss him back, until I come to my senses and pull away, half-heartedly.
"I love you." He breathes.
"I'll see ya, Joe." I take a deep breath and he lets go of me.
As I watch his retreating back as he drags his feet back to number 23, I suddenly remember that Scouting for Girls song, 'This ain't a love song.' 'This ain't a love song, this is goodbye.' Joey thinks I'm gonna come back all shiny and new and fall back into his arms. But this isn't one of them soppy chick flicks I loathe, this is real life. This is goodbye.
A/N- The one shot I was writing which turned into a two-shot (160813) might now be a full story because I had loads of lovely comments about how much yous all liked it and want me to continue it, so thank you for all your nice reviews! For now, there will most probably be a third chapter which I'm working on now :)