you make me sick (for being so perfect)

Four.

When she hears three consecutive knocks on her front door, Camila practically dives down the stairs to stop her mother from answering it before her. She unlocks the door and opens it, surprised when she sees Lauren stood on the doorstep by herself.

Apparently, she hasn't even noticed that Camila has opened the door; she's too busy staring at the potted plants on the porch. "Lauren?"

Lauren blinks and looks up in surprise, but it isn't long before she looks back down at the floor. "Hello."

It comes out more like 'hallo' and Camila has to stop herself from smiling. So. Adorable. "Aren't you coming with the rest of the girls? Dinah told me that she's giving Normani and Ally a ride here at six."

Camila glances over at the clock – it's just past five, which means that Lauren has arrived an hour earlier than she was supposed to.

"No." Lauren shakes her head as Camila ushers her inside. "They're not here with me now. My mom dropped me off after she picked up Taylor from soccer practice."

Camila thinks that Lauren just assumes she knows who Taylor is. Lauren seems to assume she knows a lot. "Oh, okay. Well, you're a little bit early."

Lauren blinks. "I am?"

"Yes. I said to come at six." Camila reminds her. "It's five minutes past five."

"Oh." Lauren frowns to herself, and turns on her heel as if she's about to leave. "Okay. Sorry. I will go for a walk and come back at six."

"No- Lauren," Camila grabs her arm and pulls her back, immediately noticing the way Lauren seems to tense up. "I don't want you to leave. Stay here?"

"Yes." Lauren nods, and sits down on the stairs. She unties the laces of her shoes before she pulls them off, and then stacks one on top of the other by the front door. "I'm staying."

Camila smiles. "Good. Do you want to meet my parents now and get it out of the way?"

Lauren's green eyes widen and she shakes her head quickly. "No. I don't like new people. They look at me funny."

"They won't look at you funny, Lauren." Camila assures her. She sits down next to Lauren on the stairs and sends her a warm smile. "My parents are nice. I promise. And I can bet you now that my little sister will love you."

"I have a little sister." Lauren looks up at the ceiling. "And a little brother. Chris and Taylor. I love them a lot."

Camila nods. "That's cool. My little sister is called Sofia, but we call her Sofi. And my-"

"Mija!" Camila hears her mother's voice call out, and footsteps coming from the lounge. "Who was at the door?"

"Oh, uh," Camila flashes her mother a nervous smile as she comes to a stop in front of them. She would be a little more worried about her parents' opinion of Lauren if she hadn't already explained how she was to them. Of course, there's the first week she spent ranting about how rude Lauren supposedly was, and Camila was kind of hoping Sinu had forgotten about that. "Mom, this is my friend Lauren. Lauren, this is my mom."

Lauren starts tapping her fingers against her thigh. "Hello, Camila's mom."

"You can call me Sinu, Lauren." Sinu gives her a soft smile. "Camila's talked about you a lot."

This seems to pique Lauren's interest, and she looks up with curiosity shining in her green eyes. "She has? What does she say? Are they good things? I hope they're good things, because I tell my mom and dad good things about her. I think she's wonderful."