Reflection: Adopted by Fifth Harmony

Birthday (Part 1)

"Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday, dear Paigeyyyy...,"

I smile, not yet opening my eyes, my ears catching the beautiful sound of the girls singing to me, "Happy birthday to you!"

Normani and Dinah both pounce on me and I open my eyes, "oh my gosh! You couldn't simply leave it at that, could you?" I giggle, "Good morning, and thank you guys."

"No problem, happy birthday cousin." Dinah says, ruffling my hair even worse than it already was. I groan and Normani kisses my cheek, "Now get up, we have a little something planned for you today."

I raise my eyebrow, "Something planned?"

I see the smirks on the girls faces, "Well, we figured that 1, you could use a bit of fun, 2, the family would want to meet you, and 3, you were tired of seeing just our faces. So we're having a little get together at Dinah's house."

We had flown back to Los Angeles for a show, and we'd been staying in a penthouse apartment in a huge high rise.I oblige and after my birthday hugs and hits, I finally get out of bed and head for the bathroom to shower. I study myself in the mirror. I've definitely gotten a little skinnier, no doubt from trying to rehearse with the girls, and working out with Normani, and I have my tan left over from the Brasil trip two months ago. I turn on the water and step inside, wash, then quickly get out and dry off, running through the rest of my morning routine. 

I step out and back into my room, where I pick our a pair of shorts and a nice white tanktop. I don't want to look too relaxed to meet the fa,ily, so I change into a yellow Minions crop top and use the curling iron my hair into some soft curls before tying it up. I pick out my yellow vans to complete the outfit before going inot the itchen, where Lauren is.

"Happy 17th birthday, cutie pie." She smiles, handing me a cup of mango juice. She knows it's my favorite.

"Thanks Lauren." I drink the entire cup in one huge gulp, belching loudly. She makes a face and begins to protest, but I stop her, "It's my birthday, I can be gross if I want to."

She laughs, "You're right. So, Camz, Mani, Ally, and I are leaving tonight so we can be home for Christmas. Did you decide who you're going with?"

I shrug, it's between Dinah's family or Ally's. Adoptive, or Biological. "I think Ally. I don't wanna be a burden on Dinah's parents. They have enough kids." Dinah has been showing me pictures so that I can identify who is who. Lauren nods, "You're right.. I'm gonna miss you. You're gonna call everyday, right?"

I smile, "Of course I will, duh."

At this point, Lauren is supposed to smile, but for some reason, she isn't.

"You okay, Pucchi?" I ask, looking her up and down.

"I'm fine, sorry." She smiles lightly, her light swather of freckles stretching over the bridge of her nose. Her eyes are sparkling.

"Lauren, you're not fine. Tell me what's up?"

She grabs her phone and holds it towards me. I hesitantly take it, and my heart drops. On the screen is a picture of Austin and Camila hugging and kissing.

"Lauren, I'm sorry. Did you guys...?"

She shakes her head no, "Still together. But I can tel she's just faking it. I don't know what to do. I don't wanna be alone anymore. You don't understand what-" She catches herself, realizing what she's just said.

"I do understand, but I'm going to give you my unbiased opinion. You need to calmly talk about it with her, and give her an ultimatum. If it's meant to be, she will understand, okay? It's not fair to you what she's doing."

Lauren nods, a tear threatening to spill over. I step around the counter and tilt her face down so that I can wipe her tears. We're inches apart, so close that I can smell her mint toothpaste.

"Do it." She mumbles, almost inaudible, "Just do it already."

I know what she's talking about. My heart is beating loudly, and I'm sure she can hear it. It's now or never. I do it.