Why was she here with him? Once he had been the one holding her hand, holding her in his arms at night. What gave him the right to take her away from him? Joey thought.
            You're the one to blame, he reminded himself. Joey grimaced. You're the one that let the most important person in your life slip through your fingers.
            At the age of 19, Joey had met Lauren, who worked with his mother. They had become fast friends, and eventually started going out. When he got involved in NSYNC, their relationship only seemed to grow stronger. But as the next few years went on, Joey became more and more distant. He normally loved when she kissed him and touched him, but when she did it in public, it got on his nerves. He found himself pushing her away, and warning her to never to touch him again. Furious and angry one night after Lauren caught Joey kissing another woman, she started packing her things and moved out of his house.
            Joey had blamed her; he'd said that if she was paying more attention to him, he wouldn't have to run to someone else. Hurt and angered by his words, Lauren slapped him on the face and ran out.
            They haven't seen each other since.
            Till tonight.
            Lauren's throat when she caught sight of Joey for the first time in two years, with another woman in his arms. She sighed. What had she expected? Him to be alone? Joey was never alone. She'd been paying attention to the media long enough to know that Joey Fatone never didn't have a girl on his arm.
            Joey didn't notice her right away; besides, this was a party for the group's newest album. He was being congratulated by so many people, he couldn't see straight. The petite blonde on his arm was smiling brightly. Lauren noticed that the young girl was all over him.
            Joey would never know how much she had been hurting when they broke up. He had been her first love, her first kiss, her first everything. But it had been two years and she had moved on. It took a lot of time and a lot of tears, but now Lauren knew what happened was for the best, and she had her own man on her arm that unlike Joey, treated her right.
            When he finally got some breathing room, Joey went over to the snack table and grabbed a plate. That's when he saw her. Across the room, he watched her talking and laughing with her new boyfriend. God, he thought, his heart caught in his throat, she looked beautiful. Since the day they broke up, he hadn't had a moments peace. Every minute of everyday he thought about her. Her beautiful short brown hair, her hazel eyes, and her kisses that used to drive him crazy.
            Joey tried to catch her eye. And when he finally did, he smiled at her. And when she returned the smile, he knew she'd moved on. You have too, he reminded himself, thinking about Tanya. He had been with her for almost two months, but still no one made him as happy as Lauren had. Why had he given her up when he knew she was the only one he would or could ever love?
            All through the party he'd been trying to tell himself that he was over her. For Christ sakes, he'd been trying to tell himself that for two years. And everytime he knew he was lying to himself. He would never be over Lauren.
            "Lauren," he said quietly, realizing she was now standing right in front of him.
            "Joey." It was good to know he was still as handsome as he ever was. Damn him. And now he was staring at her like he used to. Like he loved her. Like he cherished her.
            "It's good to see you. You look amazing," Joey said, looking her up at down. He glanced quickly at her boyfriend, standing beside her. He swallowed the lump in his throat. Why was this so damn hard? He should be over her by now, shouldn't he?
            "You look good, too," Lauren said. Realizing that her boyfriend was still there, she said, "oh, this is Rob. Rob, this is Joey. He's..." Lauren paused. "An old friend."
            Joey grimaced. Old friend, he thought. So that what she calls me now. Joey stuck out his hand when he realized Lauren's boyfriend wanted to shake hands with him.
            "It's nice to meet you, Joey. Lauren never mentioned you before," Rob said.
            "Oh," he said, heartbroken. "Well, we knew each other a long time ago."
            Lauren just wanted this to be over and done with. She just wanted to come over and say hello. She had hoped Joey would be heartbroken and missing her. But with that blonde around, Lauren was sure he wouldn't be heartbroken for long. "Well, we should get going. Rob has an early morning."
            "But you just got here," Joey protested. "I was hoping we could catch up on old times."
            She was not going to lose it. Not now after she'd worked so hard to get over him. "I really can't stay," Lauren said.
            "You should stay," Rob said. "I'll get George to come by and pick you up later."
            "George?" Joey said.
            "My limo driver," Rob said.
            Oh, so this Rob was a rich guy. Great. Just what he needed to know. "I can give her a ride home," Joey offered.
            "Thanks, man," Rob said. He turned to Lauren and gave her a short, but loving kiss. "See you later, baby. Have fun." A few seconds later, he was gone.
            Lauren looked down at her feet, unsure of what to say. She could try and leave, she knew. But part of her wanted to know how Joey was doing, and who this blonde was and how long he'd been with her.
            "He seems nice," Joey said.
            Lauren looked up at him. "He's great."
            He sighed. He wasn't getting anywhere. "Do you love him?"
            She was taking a back by his question. "Why would you ask me that?" she said. "But if you really want to know. Yes, I do love Rob. More than I thought I ever could love someone after...." She stopped before she could finish.
            "After I broke your heart and jumped all over it?" Joey offered.
            "Joey, please. Can we not talk about the past?" Not that it's too hard to talk about it. She was over him, but it was slowly starting to sink it that he wasn't over her. She was surprised, and a little happy about it. He shouldn't be over me, she thought. He should be missing me. But she didn't see him begging her to come back to him.
            He shrugged. "If that's what you really want."
            Lauren nodded. "It is. The past is the past, it doesn't need to be brought up."
            "Can I ask you something?"
            "Sure," she replied.
            "Do you ever think about me?" He held his breath.
            "Sometimes," she admitted.
            Joey smiled. He stepped closer and she could feel his breath on her ear. "Good, cause I think of you, too. A lot. All the time. Every second of the day. Every---"
            "Stop!" Lauren yelled. "You can't be saying those things."
            "Why not? You don't want to know that I think about you all the time? That I regret the way that we ended? You don't want to hear that if I could, I would go back and show you how much I loved you before it was too late?"
            He was leaning in closer to her, and Lauren realized he meant every word. But she loved Rob now. There was no going back.
            "Well you're too late," Lauren said. "I love Rob. He treats me the way you used to before you let all that fame get to your head."
            Joey sighed. "What can I do to prove to you that I'm the same guy you fell in love with? Cause I'll do anything to prove it to you. If there's any chance you still love me---"
            "Joey," she said, "I gave you everything I had. But you pushed me away. For God sakes, you were kissing other woman when we were still going out! Can you imagine how that felt? You can't. And no Joey, I'm sorry I don't love you anymore. There's no chance, Joey. I'm sorry." Lauren turned to leave, just like she had two years ago, but this time she didn't have a suitcase in her hands.
            He felt a few tears slip down his cheeks. "So it's really over, huh? There's no chance at all?" He had to ask just to make sure before he walked out of her life for good.
            "No chance."
            "Fine. Then I'll leave you alone. I'll never bother you again." Joey turned to walk away, but Lauren stopped him with her hand on his back.
            "Joey," she said quietly. "That doesn't mean we still can't be friends. That's if you want to be."
            "You mean it?" When she nodded, he reached out his hand and squeezed hers. "I'm so sorry for pushing you away. I'm sorry for not loving you the way I should have."
            Hours later, as Lauren was lying in bed with Rob, she realized that tonight made it clear to her that she was over Joey. As much as she loved him, he would never be that same man she fell in love with all those years ago. But that was okay because she was starting to like the new Joey even better.