Lauren tapped her fingers on the tabletop, looking around at the faces surrounding her.
This wasn't going well. Or at least, she didn't think it was going well. But she had a tendency to worry a lot, so maybe it was just her.
Justin leaned over to whisper in her ear. "This isn't going well." he said, looking subtly over at Lois.
Lauren sighed. Okay, maybe it wasn't just her.
When Joey had arrived with Rae over an hour ago, Lauren noticed how Lois' face dropped. It was only for a second, but it still dropped.
Lois knew she had to put on a good front for Joey. Since she had already told him that she was having feelings for Brian, she had to go along with that. Plus, she didn't want him to think anything else was wrong, as far as Rae was concerned. If he suspected anything before Lois was ready to tell him the truth, things would definitely not work out for the best.
Joey was beaming with pride as he introduced Rae to the others around the table. Lois did the same with Brian, introducing him to Joey. But Lauren could see that it was pained, and she wasn't doing a good job at pretending to be wanting Brian. All Lois had done for the last hour was stare at Joey with a look of loss and confusion.
Luckily, Joey was completely oblivious.
Lauren looked across the table at Rae, and smiled.
She seemed like a very sweet girl. She was quiet at first, probably uncomfortable being in this situation with a group of people she had never met, but she was getting along well. She was beginning to open up, telling jokes and stories along with everyone else.
Justin had carried quite a bit of the conversation, like he had a tendency to do. He loved being the center of attention, and in this situation Lauren was actually happy for that fact. The more Justin talked, the less anyone else would talk, meaning the less chance of Lois saying something to screw things up.
"So, I wake up," Justin rambled. "To find Focker written on my forehead!" Giving Lauren and Lois an unappreciative glare, he turned back to Joey and Rae. "It took me all morning to scrub it off."
Rae laughed, and Joey smirked. "Well, at least she didn't do that to you while we were on tour, like she did to me!" Joey grinned at Lois.
Lois smiled uncomfortably. "Well, you deserved it."
"Why?"
"I don't remember." she shrugged. "But you always do, so I'm just assuming you did this time, too."
Everyone laughed, and Lauren grinned.
So far, Joey had no idea that anything was wrong. His attention was primarily on Rae, so he wasn't too aware at how Lois had spent the entire evening watching him. Closely.
Brian put his arm around the back of Lois chair, and she looked over at him confused.
Before Lois had the chance to say something stupid, Lauren spoke up.
"So... guess what? I'm going to Germany to see Landon." she grinned. When Justin poked her angrily in her side, she cleared her throat. "I mean to go see the World Cup." she corrected.
"Really?" Rae said enthusiastically. "I love soccer!"
Lauren grinned at Justin before sticking her tongue out at him. Turning back to the others, she continued. "I'm going to take him to a dark room and do naughty things..." Catching herself, she corrected her rambling before Justin poked her again. "Uh, I'm going to watch him play soccer. So if any of you want to go, that's cool. Except for Justin, because he doesn't like soccer. Focker."
Justin looked at her unhappily, before slumping down in his chair. Arms crossing over his chest, he pouted. "You love him more than me. Focker."
"What's your point?" she said, looking at him wonderingly.
Justin's eyes popped open in surprise. "Gee, thanks. Glad to know my girlfriend doesn't love me."
Lauren punched him in the arm. "Oh, get over yourself." she laughed.
Leaning in, Justin whispered in her ear. "I would rather get over you." he teased.
Lauren giggled, and Lois rolled her eyes. "Justin, please, not at the table!"
"What?" he asked, giving her his best innocent look. "I was just talking."
"Talking. Flirting. Trying to sex up my cousin at a restaurant." Shrugging Lois smiled. "What's the difference, right?"
Throwing his arms up, Justin nodded. "Exactly! Glad you see it my way." Reaching down, he grabbed Laurens hand. "Com'on Lauren, I think I saw a dark closest in the back somewhere."
Lois reached around Lauren to smack Justin on the back of the head.
Rae laughed at their antics.
She had to admit that she was nervous about meeting these people. Joey talked so highly of Lois, Rae couldn't help but feel scared. He had this woman on a pedestal, and Rae didn't know if she could compete with that.
She was nervous the entire car ride to the restaurant, and whenever Joey would ask what was wrong, she would dismiss his concern. She didn't want him to know what she was nervous about, because she didn't want him to think that she was feeling competitive towards someone who had been in his life for so long. She knew guys didn't like complexity. So she had no intention on making any of this complicated.
Upon meeting Lois, she became even more nervous. She had a special bond with Joey; one that no one else would ever have. When they had walked in, Joey had hugged her immediately, before the two rambled off some kind of greeting that apparently only they understood. Joey quickly returned to Raes side, but she couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.
Lois had been very nice to her. Talking to her, and even making jokes at Joeys expense. But still, she wasn't sure. For some reason, Rae felt that there was something about Lois and Joeys relationship that she wasn't aware of. The way Lois looked at him was different than what she had expected. She wasn't sure how, but she noticed it never the less.
Also, she wondered about how Brian fit into all this. She knew she had an over analytical mind at times, but she couldn't help it. The way Joey had described Lois' relationship with Brian had sounded more.......intimate than what she was witnessing. More like they were a couple, but here, they acted more like friends. Occasionally, Brian would put his arm around her, but Lois would look at him oddly. Only for a moment, but it was still there. That momentary look of wondering.
"So, Brian." Joey said, breaking Rae from her thoughts. "What's new?"
"Nothing much." Brian said with a smile. "I still find it strange how one night I am playing pool with you, and the next minute I'm dating your best friend." Brian laughed.
Rae noticed Joey tense beside her, before answering. "Yeah." he grinned. "Weird, huh?"
Lois didn't say a word. She only stared at Joey, as if trying to read his mind.
"So, Rae," Brian said, directing his gaze to her. "How did you and Joey meet?"
It took Rae a moment to break herself from her thoughts, and from watching the way Lois was looking at Joey, to turn at respond to Brians question. "Um, we were at a club one night, and this guy was hitting on me." Smiling at the memory, she continued. "He came up and pretended to be my boyfriend to get rid of the guy."
"Almost like that gum commercial." Lois said, giving Joey another strange look. If Rae didn't know better, she could have sworn there was a hint of anger or resentment in Lois' voice.
"Yeah," Joey said uncomfortably. "Ill admit that's what gave me the idea."
Rae turned to look at him for a moment, her eyes narrowing in thought. "You said you did that all the time for your girl friends."
"What?" Joey asked, giving her a strange look.
"That night," she replied. "You said you always did that for your girl friends. Pretending to be the boyfriend to get rid of some guy hitting on them."
"Um," Joey said, his eyes wide. "Yeah. That's what I meant."
"But that's not what you said." she contradicted. "You said that's what gave you the idea. Like you just thought of it then. Like you used that as a way to pick me up."
She was getting a little angry now. She didn't know why she was letting this get to her the way it was, but it was never the less. She didn't know if it was the fact that he had lied to her, even if it wasn't a big deal. Or the way Lois kept looking at him that was making her this touchy.
Rae wasn't normally a jealous person. But when asked to go out for dinner with some of Joey's best friends, this wasn't exactly what she had in mind. She didn't expect one of them to be almost checking him out all night.
"No," Joey quickly responded. "I," he didn't finish his sentence. His mouth stayed open for a moment, but nothing came out. He didn't know what to say.
Why is she making such a big deal out of this? he wondered.
"He has done that for me in the past," Lois interrupted. "Probably what he meant was that that's what gave him the idea to do it for you. The fact that he saw it in a commercial, does it for Lauren and I," she gave Lauren a quick nod before continuing. "and did it for you."
Rae looked at Lois as if trying to figure her out. She didn't understand why, but she felt uneasy about how Lois had jumped in to cover for Joey. Not that she was necessarily covering for him, but something still didn't add up.
Like, for instance, the fact that she had met Joey the same night, at the same club, as Lois had met Brian. What were the chances that the two of them, after going to that club numerous times in the past, would both meet someone the same night?
She shrugged off her own thoughts. She didn't want to get all worked up over something that was probably nothing at all. Maybe she was PMSing, and that was why she was getting this worked up.
Sighing to herself, she turned her apologetic eyes to Joey. "I'm sorry," she smiled. "I didn't mean to question you."
Joey smiled with relief. "Its okay."
Everyone sat in silence for a long while. A long, uncomfortable silence.
Joeys mind was racing. He was almost caught. If Rae had questioned him enough, he knew he would probably end up saying something stupid and letting something slip. Something that would let on to the fact that their meeting that night wasn't by pure coincidence. He wasn't ready to tell her the truth yet, and honestly wasn't sure if he would ever tell her. He believed that there are some things better left unsaid, and in this case, this was one of them.
Just when he thought he was going to explode from the tense silence, Lauren spoke up.
"But anyway, about my trip to Germany. I've never been there before you guys. I'm really excited because supposedly it's a really cool place."
Everyone looked around at each other for a moment, before Lois started to laugh. Slowly, one by one, everyone laughed.
Lauren looked around the table confused. "What?"
Justin laughed, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You have such a way about you, Lala." he snorted. "Way to change the subject."
Lauren frowned. "Well, at least I didn't do what you usually do." she spat.
"What is that?" Rae asked between laughs.
"He farts." Lauren stated plainly.
Justin's eyes popped from his head. "Lauren!"
"What? You do!" she defended.
Again, everyone laughed as Justin pouted and Lauren continued talking about her trip to Germany.
Lois wrapped her arms around herself tighter as she stood outside in the cool breeze.
All in all, the night wasn't horrible. She was fully expecting to break down and either bawl her eyes out, declaring her love for Joey. Or to scratch Raes eyes out with her dinner fork.
Neither happened, thank God. And surprisingly, she had actually liked the girl.
Damn it.
It made her feel a little better to know that Joey was with a nice girl, rather than some of the hooches he had been with in the past. But at the same time, her being a nice girl made this even harder on Lois. If she was a hooch, it would be easier for Lois to find a way to get Joey to break up with her. But in this case, she couldn't find one good reason why he should.
Well, maybe one. But that one wasn't ready to be mentioned yet.
"Here," a deep voice sounded behind her. Suddenly, she was enveloped in warmth as a jacket was placed around her shoulders.
Turning, she smiled thankfully at the man.
"Thanks Brian." she whispered.
"You're welcome." he smiled back.
"No, I mean it." Sighing, her eyes fell to the ground. "Thank you for everything. You didn't have to be as understanding about all this as you were. And you certainly didn't have to go along with whatever stupid assed plan me and Lauren come up with. But you did. And you are." Lois paused to smile up at him genuinely. "You are one of a kind."
Brian grinned, his discomfort obvious. "Um, thanks."
Lois laughed at him. "Aw, don't be all modest, Willay." she smiled. "You know you're the shit."
"I thought I was the shit?" Justin called as he joined the two outside the restaurant.
"Smell like, Justin. Not is the." Lauren corrected as she stepped up to stand beside Lois.
Justin frowned, giving Lauren a dirty look. "Well, if you think I'm putting out tonight," he paused, thinking about what he was about to say. "Well, you're right. But don't you think for one minute that I'm always gonna be this--"
"Easy?" Lauren grinned at him.
"Shut up." he pouted.
Brian laughed, while Lois just smiled at them.
She didn't know what she would do if she didn't have these people in her life. She knew there would be no way she would be able to handle this as well as she was, if she didn't have their support. Even if Lauren did have a tendency to be too pushy, she was there for her. Even if Justin was a moron, he was there for her.
Brian didn't have anything wrong with him yet, but she was sure he did, but even so, he was there for her.
And she couldn't thank them more.
"Well," Joey said as he and Rae joined the group. "Thanks for the fun night, guys."
"You two headin' home?" Justin asked as he wrapped his arms around Laurens waist.
"Yup," Joey replied. "Rae has to work in the morning, and we gotta be back in the studio."
Justin frowned at the reminder.
Everyone exchanged their good byes, before Joey and Rae turned to head for Joeys car.
"Joey, wait!" Lois yelled, stopping him in his tracks.
Turning to look at her curiously, he smiled. "What, Lois?"
Suddenly, she was very aware that everyone was looking at her. She didn't know what possessed her to shout out to him like that, but she knew she better say something quick.
"Um," she said as she stepped up to him. Smiling politely at Rae, she lowered her voice. "I get off work early tomorrow," she lied. "Wanna do something?"
Joey smiled, before looking over to Rae. "Is that okay?" he asked.
Lois couldn't stop the look of shock from coming to her face. He was asking her for permission? What the fuck was that? He didn't ask anyone for permission. And if he was going to ask someone, it should be her!
Rae smiled back up at him. "Of course." she giggled. "You don't have to ask me that. You can do whatever you want."
Joey smiled back down at her, before kissing the end of her nose.
Lois felt her heart drop at the sight.
Turning back to Lois, Joey nodded. "Okee dokee." he smiled. "You wanna come by the studio or you wanna just call me when you get home?"
"Ill call you at the studio tomorrow and let you know." she said. "I don't know exactly what time I'm off, but Ill let you know."
Joey nodded in reply.
"Nice to meet you, Lois." Rae said, extending her hand to Lois.
Lois looked at her, and smiled. She hated the fact that she actually liked this girl. She really, really hated it.
"Nice to meet you, too." she said, taking the hand offered to her.
Joey pinched Lois on the arm before turning and walking with Rae towards his car.
Lois stay where she stood, watching them. With each step they took farther from her, she felt her heart drop.
Suddenly, she felt a strong pair of arms around her.
"You did great." Brian said as he leaned his chin on her shoulder. "You did real good."
She sniffed back a tear as she nodded.
"Yeah, Lolo." Justin joined in. "You did a hell of a lot better than I would have."
Lois turned to look at Lauren, who was now at her side.
Lauren only smiled at her, not saying a word.
