A couple of days earlier
Lauren moans and rubs her stomach; she's been feeling ill for the past few days and it's horrible. She hates feeling nauseous more than a lot of things. Unlucky for her they've had multiple shows to do, which she's just had to power through, but it hasn't been as bad as it is today. She slumps down in Joey's bunk, groaning and grumbling. Joey's lying next to her; it's just gone midnight and they've just gotten into bed.
He gives her a sympathetic smile. "You alright bub?" He asks and rubs her knee affectionately.
Lauren shakes her head as a frown works it's way onto her face. "No, my stomach's killing me." She pouts and closes her eyes in annoyance.
Joey wraps an arm around her shoulder and then when Lauren leans against his body, places a kiss on her hair. "I'm sorry Lo, you want a stomach massage?" He asks gently.
Lauren shakes her head and then pats the side of his face. "No that's okay, thank you." She smiles tiredly at him and sighs. "Probably due on my period; cramps." She nods and rolls her eyes.
Joey pulls her closer to him and rests his head against hers. "Ah, okay. Try and get to sleep baby."
***
A few hours later in the middle of the night, Lauren wakes up. She's lying on Joey's chest and her stomach feels worse than ever. She rolls over in the bunk so she's lying on her back and scrunches up her face, feeling horrible.
Joey stirs next to her and his eyes slowly open until he's squinting at her in the dark. "You okay?" He whispers, his voice husky from sleep.
Lauren fidgets around restlessly and shakes her head. "This sucks," She replies, feeling her eyes prick with tears. Feeling sick is one of the worst things just because of the constant pain and it's so uncomfortable and Lauren cannot stand it.
Joey yawns. "Shit, do you want me to get you some water?" He murmurs and Lauren can tell he's falling asleep again.
She climbs out of the bunk and kisses his cheek. "No don't worry, go back to sleep JoJo." She tells him and he smiles at her, his eyes slowly closing again.
"Okay, wake me up if you need anything.." He mumbles and then silence. Lauren shakes her head at him with a smile and then tiptoes to the toilet, rubbing her stomach gently the whole time. She locks herself inside and turns the light on before sitting down next to the bowl; it's cramped in the toilet and not an ideal situation, especially as it's a bus toilet, but at least now Lauren has the security of something being there in case she does throw up.
She sits there for the rest of the night, leaning her head against the wall and groaning quietly to herself as she rubs her stomach, not even realising how much time passes. It's only when Brian opens the door in the morning and the light streams in does Lauren realise that she's been sat there for hours.
"Woah, you alright Lo?" He asks and rubs the sleep out of his eyes.
Lauren blinks at him and then shakes her head. "No, been feeling sick all night." She grumbles and stands up from next to the toilet. She walks past Brian and makes her way to the sofas, blocking the sun from her eyes with her hand.
"Morning," Julia smiles at her.
Lauren frowns and sits down next to her before laying her head on her shoulder. "Yeah whatever." She mutters and closes her eyes, her arms still tightly wrapped around herself to try and subdue the pain.
Julia laughs and takes a sip of her coffee. "Still feeling like crap, huh?" She asks and pats Lauren's head.
Lauren nods, pouting miserably. "Yes. God I hate this." She says under her breath and moves so she's lying on Julia's lap.
