Lauren stands up from the toilet seat and looks in the mirror, trying to prepare herself to have this conversation with Joey. It's definitely too soon but they're performing together tomorrow so they at least need to be civil.
She wipes her eyes and sorts out her hair before leaving the toilet. She slowly walks towards the sofa area which is where he was napping before but as she makes her way over there now she finds him awake. She stops so he can't see her and takes a few deep breaths before going over.
Lauren stands next to the sofa, her hands behind her back to hide how much they're shaking. "Hi," She says quietly.
Joey looks up at her, clearly a bit shocked. "Uh, hey.." He stutters and sits up properly. Lauren gives him a tiny smile, feeling a lot of hurt inside her from how awkward this interaction between them is.
"I erm, I think we need to talk." She says softly. Joey's expression changes and he nods.
"Okay," He moves over on the sofa so Lauren has more room to sit down. She perches gingerly on the edge of the couch, her hands in her lap, not wanting to sit too close to him as she knows it will only make this harder. He gives her a warm smile but Lauren can see how unhappy he actually is behind it which just makes her feel worse.
"So, we're performing together tomorrow.." She mumbles slowly and Joey nods. "..and right now things aren't right between us, obviously." Her voice is incredibly shaky as she stumbles over her words, trying not to get too upset. "I just think we should at least be civil, in order to give a good performance. This is our job and we should be professional." She rushes and looks down at her legs, feeling her cheeks heating up and her heart pound in her chest.
Joey doesn't reply for a moment and Lauren starts to think this is a terrible idea but then he nods. "You're right; that makes total sense." She breathes out in relief; happy that she has him on her side and hopefully now things won't be so painfully awkward between them.
"Cool." She looks at him and manages to smile but she's still shaking.
Joey edges a tiny bit closer to her on the sofa. "I also just want to say I'm sorry." Lauren's eyes widen when she hears him say that; she wasn't prepared for that. She opens her mouth to say something back but doesn't really know what to say. "I know we probably did the right thing, but I'm sorry if I hurt you."
Lauren's eyes well up with tears. She looks at him and sniffs tearfully with a smile. "I'm so sorry for not telling you about New York," She says helplessly.
Joey shakes his head. "You were just thinking about your future, and I should've been more supportive." He shrugs sadly. "You're gonna go so far Lo, and I'm really proud of you for taking this next step." He places his hand on her knee and rubs it gently with his thumb.
Lauren looks at his hand as time seems to stop; it's only been two days since they ended things but she craves his touch constantly. Her eyes brim over with tears and one rolls down her cheek, not able to hold back any longer. Everything he's saying to her just reminds Lauren why she likes him so much and how she can't have him.
Joey notices the tear and shuffles even closer to her. "Oh I'm sorry, I didn't want to make you cry," He starts to say but Lauren shakes her head and wipes away the tears.
"No it's okay, you didn't say anything wrong."
The two of them sit there in silence for a moment; the tension between them is painful. Obviously the feelings are still there and they do not seem to be going away soon.
Lauren turns to him at last and tilts her head to the side. "So we're okay?" She asks cautiously.
Joey grins and nods. "We're okay." Lauren smiles, feeling a lot better.
