"Here you go," Joey passes Lauren her water bottle which was next to the sofa. The group are currently sat eating any leftover food they have for breakfast. They're in the last few days of the tour now so there isn't as much choice.
Lauren drinks some of her water and then leans on Joey; she's still sleepy. It's pretty early. Meredith pouts next to Lauren. "I don't want the tour to be over," She grumbles and folds her arms.
Brian pats her knee affectionately. "Still got a couple of days love," He smiles at her and she attempts a smile back but she just looks sad now.
"We have to make the most of these last few days," Meredith says urgently, like she's suddenly realising how much little time they've got.
Joey winces. "Yeah totally, but tonight I'm taking Lauren on a date so.." He smirks at the group, knowing what the reaction will be.
Lauren suddenly sits up straight next to him. "You are?" She asks quietly.
Joey leans forward and kisses her cheek. "I did ask you the other day," He responds with a grin. Everyone else is silent as this little exchange takes place.
Lauren yawns and nods. "I know, I just didn't know it was tonight." She stretches her arms above her head and then smiles at him. "I'm very excited."
Joey starts to rub her back. "Good." He turns to the rest of the group who he didn't realise had been listening that entire time. "Uh, can I help you guys?" He jokes and they all snigger at him before returning to their previous conversations.
Once the attention is off of the two of them, Lauren wraps her arm around Joey's and rests her chin on his shoulder. "What do I need to wear?" She asks gently and kisses his neck.
Joey thinks for a second and then turns to her. "Something nice. But then you always look nice." He says with a smile and wraps an arm around her waist. Lauren rolls her eyes but can't help smiling either.
Joey's been wanting to take Lauren out for literally years, but obviously over the past few weeks it's been up there with his top priorities. They've been super close this whole time, and really like each other, but they're still not official. Joey wants more than anything to call Lauren his girlfriend, and hopefully he can after tonight.
He's planning on taking her to a super nice restaurant, somewhere where they can dress up and have some time to themselves. Joey's extremely nervous, but he's also pretty confident that she'll say yes.
***
"Okay, we need to go shopping." Lauren huffs as she runs over to Meredith and Jaime who are having a conversation at the back of the bus.
Jaime folds her arms. "What, right now? Why?" She frowns.
Lauren bites her nails nervously. "Because Joey's taking me on a date tonight and I obviously did not pack for a date when the tour started and I have nothing to wear!" She rushes in a tiny voice.
Lauren wants tonight to be perfect, and she knows Joey will have been working really hard on making it as special as he can, so in her eyes she needs to pay him back by making an effort to look nice. This is the first time they've done something like this so it needs to be good.
Meredith places her hands on Lauren's shoulders. "Okay, calm down, we'll go shopping. We'll get you something really nice to wear so there's nothing to panic about. Okay?" She says to Lauren expectedly.
Lauren takes a deep breath and nods. "Okay. I'm going to go and get dressed and then we're leaving so hurry up and get ready." She grabs her bag and runs into the toilet while the two girls stand there, laughing quietly at the stress of the situation.
