Infatuation (Camren)

ten

Lauren walked stiffly into the kitchen, having just gotten home, relieved that her family, even though they were back from the vacation she decided to not join, were not home and were out doing God knows what. She grabbed a glass out of the pantry and pushed the water dispenser in the side door of the refrigerator, filling it up.

"Lauren?" Normani's soft voice asked tentatively as she entered the kitchen. Of course, there was always Normani, whom always came in and out of the Jauregui house as she pleased since she was a child, had a key, presented to her by Clara and Mike when she was 13.

Lauren said nothing. She walked over to the counter and set down her glass, picking up a bottle of ibuprofen.

"Lo?" Normani asked again.

Lauren continued her silent mission, unscrewing the childproof lid, pouring out two round pills into her head.

"Do you have a headache?" Normani gestured to the medicine.

Boy did she ever. Lauren popped the pills in the back of her throat. She lifted the glass of water up, preparing to swallow the medication down. Suddenly her eyes bugged and she ran to the sink, spitting the pills out. They had just started to dissolve, and left a nasty taste on her tongue.

"Plech."

"I'm pretty sure those are okay to take when you're pregnant. As long as it's the recommended dosage, right?" Normani said, understanding her friends thought process.

Her eyes flashed. "How the hell should I know?" Lauren snapped. "I'm seventeen, Normani! I don't know anything about this!"

"It's okay." Normani soothed, moving closer, "So, did you talk to Camila?"

"Obviously I talked to Camila!" Lauren snarled.

"And?" Normani's curiosity was too great for her to acknowledge the dangerous look in the younger girls green eyes that she had come to know so well.

Lauren looked ready to lash out, and for a second Normani feared she was about to fly off the handle. But then her eyes instead filled with sorrow, and she shook her head softly.

"Please, Mani. I don't feel like talking." She pushed her aside gently and left the room.

"Lo." Normani followed her, "You don't have to talk. But if you need anything, I'm here."

Lauren didn't reply and shut the door to her bedroom, locking it before Normani could enter.

--

Camila stared up at her ceiling, laying back on her bed. She missed Lauren. She had become her first bad habit over the weeks of their relationship, if it was right to call it a relationship. Throughout the course of those weeks, Camila hadn't even realized how big a part of her life Lauren had become. She had built all her free time around her, and when she couldn't be with her, she spent most of her time thinking about her, and what her next encounter with her would be like.

When Lauren stopped seeing her, she had started craving her body like mad. That was understandable. She had gotten use to having her on demand any time, day or night. But she had begun longing for her in other ways as well, ways she wouldn't have imagined. The more time she had spent with her, the more Camila had grown to care for her, to a far greater extent than she would have thought possible. All her previous thoughts and assumptions about her were altered drastically. "Bang-able" changed to beautiful. Arrogant changed to confident. Overdramatic changed to passionate. Whiny changed to sensitive. Manipulative changed to clever. Catty changed to witty. And those fake mega watt smiles for which Lauren Jauregui had been infamous for had given way to a smile just as bright, but one that was utterly sincere, and never failed to make Camila feel spectacular.