Blame It On Bad Luck (Camren)

Chapter 3

"Camila."

"I figured. Lauren's not exactly...happy...about having a new roommate again," she said, once again, in that apologetic tone and Camila was surprised at how sympathetic she looked. Ally seemed to be the polar opposite of Lauren and she wondered how on Earth that even worked.

"Yeah, I've noticed. She's been fucking with me ever since she moved in. Apparently today was replacing all the water with vinegar. And I just came back from running so now I feel like I've literally eaten death," she deadpanned and Ally really tried not to laugh but she still held that sympathetic face regardless.

"I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize for her."

"Someone has to," she shrugged and leaned against the counter with her elbows. Camila studied her for a while and Ally tilted her head and raised an eyebrow, stifling an amused smile, waiting for Camila to just go ahead and say it. "You can ask me, you know." That snapped Camila's attention back and she almost shook her head to get her thoughts back on track.

"Ask you what?"

"I get it all the time. You're wondering how someone like Lauren is friends with someone like me. Or the other way around."

"Well..." she said sheepishly, running her hand through her hair, slightly tousled from the sweat and the wind. She pushed most of it to the side and looked down. "Yeah, kind of. No offense, it's just that Lauren is kind of..."

"A bitch?"

"For lack of a better word."

"Don't worry, I know. We've known each other since we were little kids though. She's like a sister. We kind of grew up together so we've always been in each other's lives," she explained and Camila tried to picture it in her head—Lauren as a little girl, a tiny version of the rude and pompous jerk she was now. Had she always been like that? Camila couldn't imagine Lauren ever being sweet or innocent.

"So can you explain to me why she's such an asshole?" Camila asked bluntly—only half joking—not even caring about logistics of offense or no offense because she was honestly fed up when Lauren never bothered to be polite or proper or—God forbid—even remotely decent. To her relief Ally only chuckled like she'd heard it so many times before. And, Camila had a strong feeling, she probably had. "Or are you going to tell me she wasn't always an asshole?"

"No she's pretty much always been an asshole." Her response surprised Camila. "But she's nice to me so I keep her around."

"I've never seen her be nice once."

"Well, she's dying for you to leave. You seem more normal than the others though."

"How many roommates has she gone through?"

"Too many to count, honestly. I feel bad, you know. But she doesn't like to listen to me when it comes to this. I told her to just leave you alone." Camila sighed and rubbed her forehead and dragged her hand down the side of her face.

"Yeah well...doesn't look like she's going to stop any time soon. So I'm stuck," she said bitterly, turning away from the shorter girl and opting for orange juice instead seeing as how water wasn't an option. She poured herself a glass and turned back to face Ally.

"I've got to say, I'm a little worried to see what would happen if someone finally didn't put up with Lauren's games and actually stayed." Camila could see worry etched into the tiny girl's features; she seemed to actually care more than her roommate did, which wasn't saying much but it was more than what she was used to.

"I can take care of myself."

"I'm not talking about you," she said cryptically and Camila furrowed her brows in confusion. But Ally soon replaced her frown with another bright smile and Camila took a sip from her glass only to spit it back out immediately after.