The Fall (Camren)

Mess Is Mine

Have you ever reached a moment in your life when you have to stop and think "how did I end up here?"

Not just here in life or in this progression of life but actually here, in this room, on this chair?

That's what Lauren was doing right now, going through the events and actions that brought her here to this exact moment.

She shrank into the leather chair in an office that was way too large for the minimal amount of furniture in contained.

Lauren turned her head to the left to look at Alex seated next to her in an equally ridiculously oversized plush seat. The blonde looked as out of place as Lauren felt, she turned to look at Lauren and Lauren gave the tour manager her best glare.

She thought back to her conversation with Camila on the balcony about determinism and she knew that if she just hadn't opened her mouth to Alex, she wouldn't be sat here at Epic Records; her path would've branched out in another, less terrifying, way.

Flashback

'I need to talk to you.' Lauren said, finally plucking up the courage to talk to Alex.

'I'm a little busy right now. Can it wait?' Alex asked, not looking up from her MacBook. When she received no reply from Lauren, the blonde looked up questioningly. Her eyebrows rose at the obviously distressed look on Lauren's face.

Alex let out a sigh of resignation, 'Sit.' She nodded to the seat opposite. 'What's up?'

Lauren didn't know where to begin; she sat down looking blankly at the rip in her jeans and swallowing down the guilty feelings.

'Lauren.' She looked up sharply, 'I'm like really busy so as much as I'm enjoying you have a silent conversation with your own lap, I'm going to need to hurry this up.'

Lauren sucked in a deep breath and decided to test the waters, dip her toe in the lake and see what kind of ripple it caused.

'What if, hypothetically, two members of a band got together?'

Alex furrowed her brow, 'Got together like a duo or got together like...sex?'

'Dated.' Lauren clarified. 'What would be the protocol in that kind of situation?'

Alex looked confused, Lauren guessed she was wondering why this line of questioning was important enough to disrupt whatever work she was doing.

'I don't know really. I guess it'd be up to their PR team and publicists.

Lauren nodded; she'd figured as much, she chewed on her already raw bottom lip anxiously. 'But it's not like, against the rules or anything?'

She had dipped more than her toe in the waters now; her whole goddamn leg was swishing about in there.

'Lauren why are you asking m-' The blonde caught herself and her whole face changed into a shocked expression. No more testing the waters, Lauren had fallen in head first. The pretence crumbled around her like walls of sand. 'Oh my god.'

Lauren let her head drop into her hands, feeling the gravity of the situation both metaphorically and literally.

'You and Camila are together? Really?!' Her voice was shrill and made Lauren cringe into her palms.

She nodded her affirmation into her hands and waited for the repercussions.

'Jesus, I knew you two were close, and you've got this weird connection,' Lauren managed to look up at Alex, 'and you're about as subtle as a freight train when I think about it. But I just didn't – shit.'