blue ➸ camren

eight

"For what, mija?"

"For being the coolest parents ever," Camila giggled. She sat up and tugged her beanie back onto her head.

"Thanks for being the coolest daughter ever," her mother laughed and helped Camila fix the material on her head. "We love you very much, Karla."

"I know," Camila laughed, rolling her eyes playfully. "You tell me all the time."

"We just wanna make sure you don't forget, that's all," the woman laughed and smoothed out her daughter's hair.

"I love you more," Camila looked back and forth between her parents. "More than... more than mac and cheese." Both of her parents gasped in fake shock, causing Camila to giggle incessantly.

"I never wanna grow up," Camila sighed, looking up at the sky. Little did she know, she'd be forced to grow up drastically in the next few days.

Camila frantically wiped her eyes, trying to understand the images that she'd just seen. That was her. It was real. She quickly scrambled out from under the blankets and hurried over to the mirror. This was her.

And suddenly, she realized what Lauren had been saying all along. She couldn't be taught what love was. She already knew. She remembered.

Lauren.

Camila balled her hands into fists and looked at her reflection. She loved Lauren. She knew she did. Except it was different. A good kind of different. She loved Lauren in a completely different way than she loved her parents.

She needed to tell her.

Camila quickly scrambled to open the door, running down the hallway and practically falling down the stairs into the living room. Normani looked up quickly from her place on the couch.

"Where is Lolo?" Camila looked around frantically. She had to tell her. She was scared she would forget again.

"She said she was going for a drive," Normani raised an eyebrow. "Why? What's going on?"

Camila was already out the door by the time Normani finished her sentence. The older girl hopped to her feet to follow her, but Camila was nowhere to be seen.

Meanwhile, Lauren had finally calmed herself down enough to start the car. Just as she was about to pull out of her parking spot, there was a frantic knocking at her window. Lauren jumped, whipping her head to the side and biting her lip when she saw Camila tapping on the window repeatedly.

Hesitantly, Lauren rolled down the window after wiping her eyes. "What?" she asked softly, scared of what was about to happen. Camila shook her head and reached inside the car window, running her fingers across the older girl's jawline.

"I remember," Camila looked into Lauren's eyes hopefully, retracting her hand and tugging on her beanie anxiously. "I remember love. I know it."

"I—," Lauren opened her mouth to speak but Camila jumped forwards and cupped her hand over the older girl's mouth.

"I know what it is," Camila continued pleadingly. "I know what I love. I love flowers, and friends, and the sky, and the stars, and music, and warm blankets, and the sky when it turns pink, and yellow, and..."

Lauren bit her lip and looked down at her hands, trying to hide her disappointment. She hadn't meant to get her hopes up. But she was hoping to have been at the top of Camila's list.

"But you are my favorite."

Lauren lifted her head slowly at Camila's next words, growing confused. Camila reached out and ran her thumb over Lauren's bottom lip.