It's almost been a week since Lauren and Joey decided to end things and it's finally starting to feel normal between them again.
Obviously they're not romantically together anymore but being on a bus for 24 hours a day everyday sort of forces them to get along. They've been laughing and joking a lot more like they used to and it kind of feels like how it did before things got intimate; they're just best friends again.
It's completely heart breaking for Joey in a way, because every time they're sitting and having fun together, he has to stop himself from kissing her forehead or wrapping his arms around her waist and cuddling her. It sucks but at least she's still in his life and he still sees her everyday.
A positive that's come out of this situation is that Joey's been able to hang out with his friends more. Since the tour started all his focus has been on Lauren, and obviously it still is because those feelings are very much still there, but seeing as that's no longer really a priority, he's had more time to spend with Joe, Brian and Dylan, who are a lot of fun. They seem to distract Joey from his negative thoughts and how much he misses Lauren, which is a relief.
"Joey are you coming?" Brian calls from outside of the bus. The boys are going to an arcade that they found out is actually very close to the venue. They're currently in Dallas.
"Yep," Joey calls back and finishes tying his shoes. He can hear the girls laughing together on the sofas at the front of the bus and it makes him smile; it's so refreshing to see Lauren a lot happier.
After they ended things she was so down for the first few days and it nearly broke Joey; seeing her tearstained cheeks and red eyes after coming out of the toilet or how much she detached herself from the rest of the group was so hard for him to watch. But she seems to be a lot happier now and, like Joey, has been spending a lot more time with her friends.
Joey checks his appearance one last time before making his way to the front of the bus and to the door, which means he has to walk past Lauren. He takes a deep breath in as he reaches the sofas and gives the girls a smile, which they return.
"Have fun!" Jaime grins and he winks at her before stepping off of the bus, allowing himself to exhale.
He didn't directly look at Lauren but he could feel her eyes burning into the back of his head from where she was sat next to Julia. It took everything in him not to glance at her but he's trying to distance himself from her at the moment because even though they've gone back to being friends, he still really, really likes her and wants to give himself a chance to get over her.
"Alright, lets go boys!" Joe exclaims when Joey joins them and the four of them make their way to the arcade.
***
"How's it going with Meredith, Brian?" Dylan asks as they sit down at their table. They've been in the arcade for a few hours and are now getting something to eat.
Brian nods. "Yeah, really good actually. Feels like we're falling in love," He laughs and shakes his head.
Joe sits up in his seat. "Woah you guys are in love? I thought you were just fucking around," Joe exclaims and Joey nods in agreement.
Brian shrugs. "I don't know, we have a lot of fun together and I feel like I wanna be with her for the rest of my life.." He says hesitantly.
Dylan laughs and leans back. "Sounds like love to me."
Joey kind of zones out of the conversation after that; talking about love and being with someone isn't what he needs right now. "I'm gonna go to the toilet," He stands up from the table and excuses himself before making his way over to the bathroom.
