The Girl Next Door ➸ camren

six

"When she asked you, did she make it sound like it was Netflix and chill or like it was going to be her new dog cuddling with her while you're pushed to the other side of the couch?" Luis intrigues after school as he walks with Camila to the parking lot. "Because there is a very big difference, my friend, and you do not want to be in the situation with the dog."

Camila shrugs. "I dunno, man. She just asked if I wanted to have movie night at her house."

Lucy pops up out of nowhere and wraps herself up in Luis' arms. "Who asked you?"

"Lauren asked Camila to Netflix and chill," Luis says.

"She did not!" Camila exclaims.

Lucy reaches out and pinches Camila's cheek. "Aw, look at you steppin' up in the world."

Camila's face was bright red in a mixture of annoyance, anger, and embarrassment. "She has a freaking boyfriend!"

"That don't mean a damn thing," Lucy says. She reaches up to her mouth to cover it with her hand as Luis looks at her in confusion. "I have to go!"

She tries to make her escape, but Luis follows after her, and Camila can hear him ask, "What's that supposed to mean?"

As the couple continues on their way to a location unbeknownst to Camila, she continues towards her truck, where she can see a raven haired girl leaning against the side door, tapping away on her phone.

She unlocks the car, and as the sound goes off, Lauren's head pops up, and she smiles at her. "Hey! Did you decide anything for tonight?"

She nods her head. "What time should I come over and what should I bring?"

Camila stands on the front porch of Lauren's house and is terrified to knock on it. She can hear shouting from inside. One voice screaming is definitely Lauren, and she can make a pretty good assumption that the other one is Mike. She can't make out their exact words, but it seems like they're arguing over something having to do with a boy, probably Brad.

She is still standing there when the door swings open, and Lauren pauses in the doorway when she notices Camilathere. Her eyes are wet with tears. Her cheeks are red with anger.

⠀⠀⠀"Oh, um," she says, wiping her eyes. "Is it already eight?"

Camila nods. "I can come over some other time, it's alright."

She shakes her head. "No, I already ordered pizza. Come on in."

She moves aside in the doorway to let the shorter girl in and closes the door behind them.

Mike is still standing in the living room, arguing quietly with Clara, when Lauren and Camila enter the adjacent living room. They look over at the two teenagers and then exit the room to continue their fight somewhere else.

Lauren sits down on the couch, and Camila follows suit, leaving an ample amount of space between them. The lab puppy jumps up onto the couch, curling up in a ball on Lauren's lap. She preoccupies herself with running her fingers through the soft fur.

"Want to talk about it?" Camila asks.

She shakes her head. "He hates me, and I don't know why. I haven't done anything to him."

"He doesn't hate you," she says softly. "All he could talk about before y'all got here was how excited he was for you and your brother to live with him."

"And now all he talks about is how much of an embarrassment I am to him," she cries. "The way I dress, the way I talk, the people I've become friends with... He says that I'm a bad representation of him. The people in town are talking about me, and it makes him look bad."

"Lo, you're not like the people here, so people are going to talk about you. That don't mean there's something wrong with you," Camila tells her.

"Stop being such a nice person," she jokes, laughing a little.

Camila scoots over on the couch and wraps her arm around Lauren, letting her put her head on her chest.

"You're a good person, Lo, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"This is so not how movie night was supposed to go," she laughs.

"Well, let's watch some funny movies and eat some pizza and cheer you up."