The Next Big Thing

Chapter 14

Tuesday afternoon the girls were gathering at a photographer's studio for their very first photoshoot as a band. As Lauren arrived, Dinah was looking unaccountably nervous, Normani was preening under the attention of one of the makeup girls, and Ally was complaining she was hungry. As usual.

"Laur!" Camila enthused as she entered the room, bouncing up off a couch. Lauren couldn't help the grin that spread over her face, at the sight of Camila's pink lips, the dimples on the side of her face that Lauren was coming to realize meant she was genuinely happy.

"Hey, Camz."

"Camz?" Camila questioned, almost shyly.

"What? You think you're the only one who gets to use nicknames?"

"I guess not..."

"You don't like it?" Lauren asked, giving in to the urge to curl an arm around Camila's waist, where she stood so close. Touching Camila was so easy, she was realizing. The girl leaned in to it like a plant towards sunshine, and Lauren couldn't help but give her what she wanted.

"No! I, it's....nice," Camila stammered and Lauren pulled her minutely closer, giving her a small squeeze before moving to greet the other girls.

Hair and makeup for the shoot was a whirlwind, with men and women swooping around her, armed with brushes and sponges and combs and gadgets Lauren didn't even recognized.

Camila looked completely comfortable under the attention, with brushes sweeping over her porcelain skin and fingers combing through her hair. Lauren scowled, but even she was aware it didn't have quite the same venom behind it that it would have had
the previous week. Instead she noticed the way the powder smoothed out Camila's skin, making it practically glow.

Lauren looked away, back to the mirror in front of her, just in time to catch Dinah's puzzled gaze and Normani's knowing eyes.

It was the smirk that curled over Normani's lips that had Lauren shifting uncomfortably in her seat, shame burning her cheeks a deep red. So what if she noticed how pretty Camila was, she told herself. It's not like she was the only one. She still was half-convinced Dinah was in love with the girl.

"Okay," the photographer called. "Look relaxed, normal. We don't want this to come across as super posed."

Lauren reached out for Normani on her right, slipping an arm around her waist, as Camila stepped closer on her left.

"One, two, three!" Just as the flashed flared in their eyes, Camila pressed herself against Lauren's side, lifting a leg to wrap around her, just below her hips, her chin coming to hook over Lauren's shoulder.

Lauren could do nothing but try to gulp around the smile frozen on her face.

"Well, that's one way to look friendly," the photographer laughed, and Lauren turned her head just in time to catch the mischievous twinkle in Camila's eyes.

The girl was a flirt, Lauren realized with a shake of her head, trying not to think about the feel of Camila against her, her leg wrapped tight around Lauren's hips, pulling her closer.

The photographer rearranged them several times, directing them into various poses and attitudes, but in every shot Camila remained plastered to Lauren's side, pressed against her, or with a hand tight around her waist, or an arm flung across the breadth of her shoulders. She pressed her face teasingly close, her hair tickling Lauren's nose, and just grinned the whole time.

"Those are going to be some interesting pictures," Normani muttered as they were finally allowed to change back into their clothes.

"In what sense?" Lauren asked, feeling a bit dazed. From the heat of the lights and the flash of the camera, she told herself.

Normani laughed, rolling her eyes. "Well, you don't often see a band looking quite that close," she said pointedly.

"Yeah, but this is the best band" Camila declared, jumping up on Lauren's back and wrapping her arms and legs around her like a koala. Lauren instinctively reached to hold her in place, curling her hand around the backs of Camila's knees and making the girl squirm slightly at the tickling touch.

Lauren pretended not to see the three sets of eyes that were watching them curiously. She was this tactile and playful with all her friends, she mentally argued. No one blinked when she slung an arm around Dinah.

This was exactly the same.

Still, she let Camila slide to the floor behind her, ignoring the rush of pleasure when, instead of letting go, the girl merely wrapped her arms around Lauren's waist, hooking her head over Lauren's shoulder to see the other girls.

"So, first photoshoot?" She asked. "What do you think?"

"It's a lot harder than I thought it was going to be," Ally admitted. The girl had struggled a bit in following the photographer's directions, apparently looking 'too goofy' in every shot. 'It's just the way my face is!' the girl had protested hotly.

"Long, too," Dinah agreed, stretching her arms. "I can't believe we've had to be here for nearly five hours just to get what, a handful of pictures?"

"Brutal," Normani nodded. "Don't know how you do it"

Lauren felt Camila sigh behind her, her breath ruffling the hair at Lauren's neck. "Get used to it, I guess."

Lauren reached back, curving her arms around the girl at her back in a kind of reverse-hug, holding her close. Every time she had been annoyed at Camila running off for some photoshoot, she had pictured a glamorous day of being served champagne and just having to smile for a few minutes. She hadn't realized how long it could take to set up the shots, the lights, the camera, nor had she foreseen the demand to do it again and again and again, repeating the same cutesy jump or fall or, god forbid, human pyramid, until the picture was just right.

She was actually physically exhausted, her muscles aching. She gave Camila an apologetic squeeze, knowing the girl had already forgiven her for her attitude the previous weeks, but still feeling guilty. It turned out being a popstar was more work than she had thought.

When Camila slipped out of her grasp, Lauren released her reluctantly, watching as she flit around the room, gathering her belongings and hugging each of the girls in turn, winding her arms around them and pulling them close. Lauren watched as she laughed in Dinah's ear, wondering if that was what Camila looked like hugging her, or if it was different when it was Lauren.

Not that it mattered, she reminded herself, slinging an arm around Normani just because she could.

"Interview with a magazine on Thursday," Dinah reminded them as they left the studio, ever the responsible one.

"Free day tomorrow," Ally cheered and the rest of the girls grinned.

"Gonna miss me, Cabello?" Lauren asked

Camila's cheeks pinkened slightly. "Nah," she denied.

"Liar," Lauren laughed. Next to her, Normani watched them with a smirk curled over her lips. "What?"

"Nothing," the other girl said, shrugging out of Lauren's grasp and jogging to catch up with Dinah and Ally.

A car was waiting for Camila, the large figure of Paul hunched in the front passenger seat. "See you on Thursday, then," she said, hugging Lauren.

The other girls chorused their goodbyes as Camila clambered into the vehicle, watching the way Lauren watched her go.

I hope that you like it
Sorry because mistakes! 😋

-Michaela