The Next Big Thing

Chapter 13

A/N: Happy Easter! ❤🐣🐰
And here is new chapter it's long with a lot of camren..so yeah enjoy 😊

Amazingly enough, the following Monday the band had actual interviews to promote the single they just recorded. It was still in production, but that didn't mean they couldn't be out there shilling it, according to Simon.

Lauren wasn't sure why the band was there, to be honest, but Simon had insisted, and so she dutifully appeared at some random radio station bright and early Monday morning.

She was unable to shake thoughts of Camila the previous night, the way the girl had lit up at Lauren's insistence that it was the five of them against the world—or against Syco, anyway. She had looked radiant in that moment, glowing despite the weariness that hung in dark circles under her eyes.

It was unsettling, actually. Now that she knew the girl was gay, and not a total bad as she thought, Lauren was noticing other things about her. Like, how naturally pink her lips were all the time. Or the way her hair fell into her eyes. Or the length of her eyelashes. The way they swept across her cheeks when she looked down, nervous or embarrassed, pink creeping over her cheeks.

Nothing she should be noticing about a sixteen-year-old kid—who was virtually her boss, on top of everything else.

Camila's face was still round and babyish, but her lips were full and plush and her eyes radiated.

It was enough to make Lauren uncomfortable. Uncomfortable and anxious about seeing Camila again.

"Hey!"

Lauren turned, seeing Dinah jogging up the sidewalk towards her. "Hey!" She grinned.

"You believe we're about to be on the radio?" Dinah asked, catching her breath.

"Not even a little bit."

Dinah grinned, but then ducked her head close, face going serious. "You okay to be around Camila today?"

"What?" Lauren asked, surprised, wondering if she the way she had been looking at Camila owas that obvious. Then she did a double-take at Dinah's worried expression, realizing that the other girl was still concerned about the tension from Friday. "No, everything is fine with Camila. We hung out this weekend. Talked it out."

Dinah shot her a skeptical look. "Really?"

Lauren laughed. "I swear. I apologized and everything."

"The great Lauren Jauregui, apologizing?" Normani snuck up behind them, throwing an arm around each girl. "To who?"

"Camila."

"Oh. Damn straight you should" Normani a agreed.

"Thanks Kordei. And I have, and everything is fine now."

Dinah beamed at her, relieved. "I'm so glad."

"Well, I did it just for you," Lauren agreed. "Because I couldn't stand those puppy eyes you kept giving me."

She pointedly did not think about the equally effective puppy eyes that Cabello could employ.

"Where's Ally?" Dinah asked, looking around as if the blond would just appear out of the sidewalk.

"Got a text from her about breakfast," Normani rolled her eyes. "So, let's assume she'll be here in ten, smelling like waffles."

"Nothing new there" Lauren laughed, slinging her arms around the girls. It was amazing to think she'd known them such a short amount of time. She'd never really clicked with her last band, but the four of them—no, the five of them just felt right together.