weak ➸ camren

chapter 7 ➸ i wish i was a bird

“What happened? Are you okay?” Lauren asked anxiously. Camila nodded, but kept quiet as she tugged Lauren out onto the deck, pulling her to the corner by the railing and pointing straight up.

“What?” Lauren was confused. Camila’s actions were so rushed that she assumed something horrible had happened. She looked at Camila and had to do a double take before realizing the small girl was on the verge of tears.

“Camz, what is going on?”

“The neighbor’s stupid cat,” Camila mumbled, leaning over the edge of the deck and turning her head so she could see on the roof. Lauren quickly did the same, realizing what Camila had been pointing to.

“I tried to shoo him away, but it was too late,” Camila sighed, pulling her body back onto the deck. “Fucking cat,” she muttered under her breath. Lauren studied the disheveled birds nest and ruffled feathers on the roof.

“It’s just a bird, Camila. Stuff like that happens all the time. Circle of life,” Lauren shrugged. Camila’s head quickly snapped around and she glared at her.

“It’s not just a bird , Lauren. What if he had a family? And it’s not the ‘Circle of Life’, I could’ve been there to stop it,” her voice cracked mid-sentence and Lauren quickly turned her attention away from the roof and looked over at Camila.

She found it ironic that Camila was so concerned about this bird’s life, but not her own. Camila was guilty about not being there to stop the bird from being attacked, which is exactly how Lauren felt in regards to Camila and her developing disorder.

“Hey, hey, you did the best you could, okay?” Lauren said, trying to comfort the small girl. “I’m sure he had a good life, and ate lots of… worms, I dunno.”

Camila just rolled her eyes. Suddenly, a small sound caught Lauren’s attention and she stuck her head back over the railing to look at the roof.

“She,” Lauren breathed.

“Huh?” Camila tilted her head to the side and moved to look where Lauren was looking.

“It wasn’t a he, it was a she. See?” Lauren pointed to the small creature digging its way out from underneath the scraps of the nest.

Camila burst into tears.

“That s-stupid cat,” she sniffed, cupping her hands under her eyes to try and stop her crying. Instead of turning to comfort her, Lauren kicked off of the railing and pulled herself so she was standing on top of it. Camila gasped.

“What’re you doing?” she asked worriedly, running over to look up at Lauren. Seconds later Lauren’s feet disappeared and Camila heard shuffling on the roof above the deck.

Camila stood anxiously, unsure of what Lauren was up to. A minute or so later, two feet swung back down onto the railing, gaining stability before Lauren slid back down, jumping on the deck next to Camila. Her hair was disheveled on the top of her head and she held out the beanie she’d been previously wearing. Peering into the hat, Camila gasped when she saw the tiny bird.

“What are you doing?” Camila asked, following Lauren who had just started walking inside.

“I think we owe it to his mom to take care of him, right?” Lauren raised an eyebrow, passing the beanie off to Camila before walking over to the sink and washing her hands. She saw Camila’s face light up from the corner of her eye and giggled softly to herself.

“Can we name him…? Or her? How do we know what ‘it’ is?” Camila asked. She gently set the beanie on the island and cupped the small creature in her hands, looking it over carefully.

“I don’t think we do,” Lauren laughed, wiping her hands and walking over to Camila. “We can flip a coin?”

Now it was Camila’s turn to giggle. “It looks like a boy.”

“Boy it is then. Now what’s his name?” Lauren played along, happy that Camila was actually interested in something.

“I don’t know. I suck at names… Bob?”

“If you name that bird Bob I’m moving out,” Lauren joked, and Camila laughed softly.

“Fred.”

“Camila, c’mon now. I know you’re more creative then that.” Both girls giggled and Camila looked at the small creature in her hands.

Lauren’s ringtone interrupted them and Camila giggled when she realized the old Elvis song. The same one that Lauren always used to belt out at 3AM, after both of them had ate their fair share of candy in the hotel room.

“Elvis?” Camila asked while Lauren walked over to her phone.

“Yeah, I love this song,” Lauren laughed, but Camila quickly shook her head.

“The bird, Laur. We should name him Elvis.”

Lauren giggled and nodded, grabbing her phone from her bag and checking to see who was calling. “I like it,” she smiled before answering the call.

While Lauren was on the phone, Camila searched the bags she’d brought in from the grocery store. Finding a crate of oranges, she didn’t think twice before ripping the wire netting off of it and dumping the oranges onto the floor. She giggled when Lauren stared at her with her mouth agape in confusion. Camila held up a finger to signal for Lauren to wait and carried the crate back over to the island with her free hand.

She set the bird down on the island and quickly swooped down to grab the purple blanket Lauren had brought downstairs. Finding scissors in one of the drawers, she cut a small chunk of the blanket so it fit snugly over the bottom of the crate.

Proud of her creation, she carefully placed Elvis into the crate and waved her hand to get Lauren’s attention. The green-eyed girl was still on the phone, and she turned to give Camila a supportive smile when she saw what’d she’d done. The call ended a few moments later and she joined Camila on the other side of the counter.

“Quick thinking, Cabello,” she laughed. “What do we do now?”

Camila shrugged. “I have no clue.”

Laughing, Lauren sat down at one of the stools and pulled out her phone, typing away for a few minutes while Camila watched the small bird peck around the crate.

“Kitten food, boiled eggs, and mealworms,” Lauren broke the silence and she heard Camila gasp from the other side of the counter.

“Boiled eggs? He came from an egg! That’s like… cannibalism!”

Lauren burst into laughter and looked down at her phone again. “That’s what google says,” she shrugged, holding out her phone for Camila to see.

“That’s like me eating a human baby,” Camila crinkled her nose in disgust and Lauren giggled at her facial expression.

“That’s a comparison I could’ve lived without,” Lauren scoffed dramatically. Camila just laughed softly.

“I guess I have to run back out, then?”

Camila glanced up at Lauren with a hopeful look in her eye.

“Fine,” Lauren groaned playfully. Camila clapped her hands together. The childish action made Lauren laugh and she realized just how much she’d missed this small, playful moments between then. She was glad they were starting to make an appearance again.

Camila was starting to gain hope.

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a/n: sorta kinda cute fluffy chapter with the giant metaphor that is Elvis the bird, lmao. hope you guys liked it! lemme know what you think :)

- lena (@lenajfc on twitter, txrches on tumblr)