Ink ➳ Camren

Chapter Thirteen

All rights go to original author.

A/N:So...Taylor is like 19 or 20 in this story. I'd say that Lauren and Camila are around 23.

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Lauren tilted her head back; eyes closed, and took a moment to breathe. Breathe. Breathe. It's just Taylor. She'll behave herself. She'll be polite and ask questions. Fuck! She's going to ask so many questions. Lauren shook her head and massaged her temples with her fingertips. She suddenly felt quite overwhelmed and a bit panicked in that back room all alone.

I'll just tell her the truth. I'll just tell her what really happened and then there won't be anything to hide. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and called Taylor. As she waited for her sister to pick up, she thought about what she was going to say.

So I kind of forgot to mention that Camila can't remember meeting me because she was blacked out, but she found me by accident the following day, so we've been getting to know each other and I've been pretending like nothing happened so don't say anything, okay? Lauren ended the call before Taylor had a chance to answer.

Pretending like nothing happened; Lauren had become rather skilled at that craft over the years. She had always been good at concealing the truth, had a lot of practice in that department, growing up with a wild younger sister and a weasely little brother.

Where's Taylor? Study group for her history exam. How did Chris get that bruise on his arm? Not sure, but he did say that Jack O'Donnell has been giving him trouble lately. Do I smell cigarette smoke? The man next to me at the bus stop was smoking. Are there any boys at school that you like? Nope, I don't like any boys.

Covering up the truth was easy. Pretending like nothing happened, well that was only possible if something actually happen first, which then had to be ignored. And for Lauren Jauregui, the eldest, the shy one, the bookish one, the un-cool, the un-sexy, nothing much ever happened to her. That was until the first day of college, when mysterious, cool hazel eyes found hers and she didn't look away.

Shit! Lily! Lauren raced out of the back room. She had left Camila out there alone with Lily!

To her stunning surprise, upon turning the corner and practically falling into the front room, Camila was perfectly fine...sitting on the couch...next to Lily...sharing a joint...and laughing. They were laughing. Lauren picked her jaw up off the floor.

"We thought you got lost back there." Lily smiled at the skeptical raven haired girl who was approaching them with caution. Lauren made eye contact with Camila who gave her a wink as she passed the joint back to Lily.

"Lily and I were just talking about armpit-mouth man." Camila raised her eyebrows and glanced over at the dark haired girl beside her, giving Lauren a small smile that said look, I'm making friends.

Lily laughed, a very uncharacteristic laugh that only Lauren recognized, as she picked up the conversation where they had left it. "Well, when he first came in, Laur warned him about how painful it would be. She knows about all that stuff, of course. And he walks in here all tough, in his leather vest, and the second I get him on his back, he's whimpering like a little puppy."

"Lauren used the word pussy, didn't you Lo?" Camila took another hit off the joint, which Lily had just handed back to her.

Lily shook her head, her eyes losing their cheer at once. "Men. They have no tolerance for pain." She got to her feet, rounded the coffee table, and turned to say one more thing to Camila. "You were lovely, by the way. That little L didn't hurt you one bit." Lily's hazel eyes found the nervous green ones of the girl now standing to her left. "Did it, Lauren?"