Infatuation (Camren)

eight

"What?" she asked, stumbling back with furrowed brows.

"I can just nip it in the bud!" Lauren beamed. She kissed Normani's cheek and sighed, relieved, "I was so stressed after I found out, I couldn't even think about the other possibilities. Oh thank God! Now Camila will never have to know and neither will my parents-"

"Woah, woah, wait." Normani pushed Lauren's embrace off of her, staring in disbelief, "Did you just say Camila will never have to know?"

Lauren nodded.

"Lauren. You have to tell Camila." Normani said, looking into her eyes seriously.

Lauren shook her head furiously, "No I don't. I'll just go tomorrow and get this taken care of."

"Laur, it's hers too." Normani said, "And as much as I want to kick her booty, it's not fair to not tell her."

Lauren bit her lip and started to cry again. Normani hugged her close once more.

"She's going to be so mad." Lauren whimpered, clutching Normani's t-shirt tightly.

"What?" Normani took a step back, anger flooding her loving brown eyes, "No she's not! It's her own damn fault! Good God!"

"It's not just her fault." Lauren argued; and she was right, it was her own fault too.

"Well, she's the jackass in this situation." Normani grumbled. "Either way, she's not going to be mad at you."

Lauren nodded and attempted to wipe her cheeks dry. Normani helped, wiping her thumbs underneath her eyes.

"But regardless of Camila," she said, "You need to think very seriously about this and decide what's right for you. It's a big decision. You can't just make it on a whim out of fear."

Lauren nodded gravely, and Normani kissed her forehead assuringly.

--

Lauren had been a bundle of unsteady nerves all day long. Throughout her classes with Camila she had stared at her intensely, trying to imagaine how she would break the news to her. Camila caught her looking at her often, glancing over at her and making Lauren's heart pound a mile a minute, before quickly looking away awkwardly. Lauren just couldn't seem to look away. It seemed she was already thinking of Camila in a completely different way. Just a few short weeks ago, she was a cute teenage girl that she, a seventeen year old girl herself, hooked up with meaninglessly, as was allowed in youth. But now, every time Camila caught her staring at her, she was staring at the woman who had put life inside of her.

It was at the end of the day, as Lauren left her seventh period English class, that she decided she would tell her. She strode past her own locker without notice, on a mission as she walked in the direction towards Camila's.

Lauren turned the corner and stopped, staring at Camila who was already at her locker. She was laughing with Ariana, pecking her lips between sentences, looking happy and content. The two really were the emblem of poster perfect high school sweet hearts. And Lauren felt a pang, reminded of what she had been to Camila. Lauren was her object of lust. And evidentally, as she had proven a couple of weeks ago, nothing else. Ariana was the one she loved with her heart.

Camila was wrapping her arms around the blonde when she spotted Lauren staring at her, and the green eyed girls heart tweaked again when she saw the fear that rose in the brown ones. Camila gave her a look that very clearly told her she did not want her to be in the presence of her girlfriend. Lauren swallowed and walked slowly towards them, trying to seem as casual as possible as she approached the duo.

Ariana turned around, away from Camila giggling and spotted Lauren for the first time. Her giggle dwindled away and the intensity of her smile dropped a bit. She was always weary of Lauren, prepared for insult, but that didn't stop her from saying,