The Perks of Being a Lesbian (Camren)

Chapter 1

Lauren and her mother didn't have a very good relationship and part of that had to do with the fact that Clara always wanted Lauren to be something she wasn't. After 16 years of trying to be the perfect daughter that Clara wanted and realizing she would never meet her expectations, Lauren had grown bitter towards her mother who only seemed concerned with her getting the perfect grades and behaving in a way that wouldn't jeopardize her father's reputation as mayor. So Lauren had made it a point to try to annoy her mom as much as possible, but she didn't really have the energy for it that night.

"Alright, well excuse us," Clara said to the man her daughter had previously been speaking to before pulling Lauren away with her. "There are some people you need to meet," she said into Lauren's ear as she led her daughter across the room to where Mike was standing.

He was talking to a couple Lauren didn't recognize, but then again she never really recognized anyone at these things. And yet they all knew who she was already.

What really caught her attention was the young girl around her age standing next to the couple that her dad was talking to. As if knowing Lauren had been looking at her, the girl turned in her direction and smiled at her from across the room. Lauren couldn't help smiling back, it was like some kind of involuntary reaction.

The girl was beautiful with long dark hair that flowed down her back and stopped at her waist. She had warm brown eyes that reminded Lauren of iced tea and mocha and the colors of fall. She was truly and naturally beautiful, especially in the red dress she was wearing. And she seemed so nice. The girl's whole demeanor was so welcoming that Clara was no longer leading her daughter over to the doe-eyed stranger; Lauren was practically floating in that direction.

"Oh, here she is," Mike said when Clara and Lauren finally reached them. "Alejandro, Sinu, this is my daughter Lauren."

Lauren shook their hands and greeted them before glancing at the other girl.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Mike said realizing he hadn't introduced her. "Lauren, this is the Cabellos' daughter, Camila. Be extra nice to her. The Cabellos just moved to the area and Camila will be starting school with you on Monday."

At the mention of the girl, that Lauren now knew to be Camila, going to McKinley Lauren already knew that any friendly interaction they could have would be short-lived. So she was a bit hesitant but decided she would make the most of the time she had to get to know this girl before school started.

Camila reached out and shook Lauren's hand like her parents did and smiled at her in a friendly manner before saying hello. Lauren, on the other hand, was having trouble speaking since she had been taken aback by how nice Camila's voice sounded. It was a low and raspy tone; Lauren had expected such a cute person to have a higher pitched voice. But the more she considered it, the more suiting Camila's sound seemed to be. It took a while, but she quickly recovered, with a nudge from Clara, and greeted Camila back.

"Lauren, why don't you show her your room? I think you two are the only teenagers here tonight and I'm sure you could find something better to do than stand around here bored while we all talk." Mike suggested.

Lauren was brought out of the weird daze that Camila had put her under when her father said she could leave the party. She knew there was a reason he was always her favorite parent. She noticed her mother glaring in his direction, probably afraid that Lauren would take the opportunity to be alone with a girl for something other than talking. But Lauren just ignored her mother's worrying look and led Camila upstairs.

She was wary of looking at her guest too often since she already knew that, for some reason, she couldn't behave rationally around her. Plus she didn't want to come off as a freak or rude. Why she cared so much about how Camila saw her, she wasn't sure, but she did anyway.