This Is the Safest Place I've Ever Known

23

A/N: Hi, hello. This is kind of just filler chapter because I don't quite know the specifics of some things and how long it will take to write. But I have this done, so I'm posting it.

Maybe read and enjoy? :)

--------------------

Lauren had been having a good day. After Ally had ordered her necklaces and bracelets, they had gotten some snacks and done a bunch of her crosswords and word searches. Ally had even found a jigsaw puzzle in the closet, a 500 piece one depicting a coral reef with various sea life, and let Lauren attempt to put it together.

Eventually they had lunch, and then Lauren took a nap. She spent most of the afternoon until everyone else got home working on class assignments and catching up on notes that she missed. 

Ally had refused to let her help make dinner, so she currently laid on the couch watching House of Mouse. 

"Hey, Lauser," Dinah said as she entered the den. She held a clear glass in her hand with what looked liked apple juice. "Mind if I join you? I got kicked out of the kitchen."

"You and Camila together are a hazard," Normani said as she followed. "Only reason Ally kicked you out is that Camila at least follows directions." She sat down on one side of the couch, ignoring the eye roll the younger woman gave her.

"Shit!" Dinah exclaimed as her foot hit the coffee table. She stumbled forward, the contents of her glass spilling as it was jostled.

Unfortunately, Nala and Lauren's blanket received an unintentional juice bath in the process.

Lauren stared at her blanket and Nala in disbelief. Anger bubbled in her chest. Her lower lip quivered, and she pointed at Dinah accusingly. "You ruined them!"

"Lauren, it was an accident," Dinah rationalized as she set her now mostly empty glass on the coffee table. She moved to grab the blanket and Nala, planning to take them to the wash. She gasped in shocked pain as Lauren smacked her hands away. "Lauren," Dinah called in tone of warning.

Lauren only shoved the taller woman back. "No! You ruined them!" As Dinah slowly approached again, she pushed the woman back. "Don't touch them!"

"Lauren," Normani called firmly while keeping her volume low.

Lauren huffed and crossed her arms, stomping her foot on the floor. "Dinah ruined them!" she yelled once more. She hiccuped and a small sob escaped as tears pooled in her eyes. Why didn't they understand that Nala and her blanket were ruined?

Another sob left her, and then she couldn't contain them at all. Her legs gave out and she fell to the floor, curling her knees to her chest as sobs wracked her body.

She would be in so much trouble when everything was over. They probably wouldn't let her come over anymore. She had yelled at Dinah and then hit and pushed her away. There was no way she would be allowed to come back again. They were going to hate her.

"Lauren, honey, come here," Normani's gentle voice broke through her thoughts, and then she was pulled into the woman's embrace. "It's okay," she promised as she gently pat the girl's back. "It's alright. We're not mad, Lauren."'

"I hit and pushed and yelled," Lauren immediately argued.

"You did," Normani agreed, still talking in a calm and patient manner. "And because you did that, I think a couple minutes in the corner to calm down and think through why that was a bad choice is a good idea."

They walked to the corner of the room, and Normani stepped back once Lauren leaned against the wall. "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere," she promised. She moved back to sit on the coffee table. "You don't even have to face the wall the entire time. I just want you to sit there and calm down, okay?"