It's a couple of weeks later and Lauren and Joey have been getting closer as the days go by. The tour performances are going super well and everything seems to be great. The rest of the group still don't know about their situation, and Lauren and Joey have talked about telling them, but there's also the confusion of what they actually are. They're still not in an official relationship and are both definitely against the idea of being friends with benefits, so until they work that out, it's still a secret from their friends.
Joey wakes up on this particular morning to find that Lauren isn't lying next to him, like she usually is. He frowns as his eyes adjust more to the surroundings and then figures she's probably in the toilet or something. He stretches and lies there for a moment longer, still not really awake, before jumping down from his bunk. Everyone else seems to have woken up at the same time as him because there's groaning and yawning coming from all the individual beds.
Joey heads over to the toilet to freshen himself up but when he tries to open the door, someone's obviously in there. "Don't come in!" Lauren's voice says, her tone a clear warning.
Joey grins and steps away from the door. "Sorry Lo." He shakes his head and then goes to sit at the sofas so he can wait there until she's done. Julia, Joe and Meredith are the only ones who are properly up and are having a little breakfast.
Joey smiles at them as he takes a seat and takes some of the fruit they're eating. "Morning," He says cheerily. They all respond to him in the same positive mood; hopefully today everyone's not as tired as they usually are.
As he's sitting there, Joey hears the toilet flush and the door unlocks. He stands up to make sure he gets in there next and as he does so, Lauren comes out.
He smiles once he sees her, but she doesn't smile back. She's not even looking at him. She's staring expressionless at the ground, her hands by her sides. Her face is pale and it looks like she's seen a ghost.
He rushes over to her. "Are you alright?" He asks quietly.
Lauren snaps back to reality and folds her arms over her chest. "Mhm," She replies and plasters on a fake smile.
Joey can tell straight away that she's not telling him the truth, and something is clearly up. He puts his hands on her shoulders and bends down so he's at her eye level. "Lauren, tell me what's wrong," He presses, looking closely at her to see any reaction. Something changes and Lauren glares at him.
She shoves Joey's hands off of her and takes a step away from him. "I said I'm fine Joey." She snaps and walks to the sofas.
Joey watches her as she sits down on her own and brings her knees up to her chest, completely shocked from her reaction. He's only seen her like that a couple of times and it catches him off guard every time, but something about this situation feels weird.
He carries on looking at her for a moment longer before shaking his head and going into the toilet, figuring she just needs a little space today.
Once he's freshened himself up and washed his face, Joey leaves the toilet again and cautiously makes his way over to the sofas. He gives Lauren a little smile as he sits down, letting her know that he's open to talk but also not sitting right next to her to give her the space that he's assuming she wants.
Lauren glances at him but doesn't smile back; her facial expression is blunt and maybe even a little scared. She's fidgeting with her pyjama bottoms in her hands and her leg is shaking. Joey gets more and more concerned just by looking at her; there's definitely something she's not telling him.
Breakfast and the daily morning meeting goes by pretty fast; they've got a show tomorrow and today consists of chasing up Darren and seeing where he's going to fit into the schedule. He's joining them for a performance in Boston in about a week and there's a ton of admin to sort out before then.
