behind the badass ⊸ a lauren/you story

two | so close, yet so far

"Fuck. What happened?" I groaned, sitting up and rubbing my head. I took a glance around the room and noticed that I was in a bed, but it wasn't mine; I wasn't even in my bedroom or my house for that matter.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," a low voice rasped out. There sat Lauren at the foot of the bed, smiling widely at me.

I jumped out of the covers and ran straight for the door, but I was pulled back by my waist and fell onto the bed on my side. A pain shot through my body and I became weak. I groaned, mutter profanities under my breath.

"Stop," Lauren pleaded, "you're hurt. Please don't try to run away."

"Yeah, no shit. I've been hurting for the past 3 years—a bit more every time you—"

"I know, I'm sorry. Please trust me."

I let out a small grumble and rubbed my temple, all while letting out a sigh and trying to figure out what to say. "Fine," I muttered. "But I'm leaving as soon as I can."

Lauren stared at me blankly, and I could practically hear the gears cranking in her brain. "No."

"What'd you just say?" I challenged.

"I said you're not leaving. Not for a while," she said firmly. I didn't have the tolerance or the power to fight back, so I shrugged and waited for Lauren to speak again. "Lay back, I'm going to bring you some food. Is chicken noodle soup okay?"

I hummed and nodded, getting under the covers once more and propping up the pillows, then resting my head on them. Looking around the room, I noticed the various 1975 and Lana Del Rey posters plastered on the walls—I'm definitely in Lauren's room—she loves them.

The door creaked open, and in came Lauren with a small ceramic bowl. She sat beside me and smiled; I didn't reciprocate. She got a spoonful of soup and brought the utensil up to my lips, egging me on to drink it.

I slowly shook my head, but she pinched my ear, causing me to squeal while she shoved the spoon into my mouth. I almost coughed it out, but managed to swallow before regurgitating.

"What the—"

"Shut up and eat the soup, Y/N," she commanded. "I made it, so if you don't eat it, I'm going to assume it tastes bad and that you don't like it."

I gritted my teeth and scoffed, taking the bowl and slurping down all the soup that resided in it. Lauren smiled. "See? My cooking isn't that bad, now is it?"

"Yeah, no, it's terrible. Can I have some more?" I jested. She rolled her eyes and went downstairs to refill the bowl.

The soup was absolutely amazing, and I had to give Lauren all the credit. She took care of me and even fed me, which made me wonder if she still hated me.

"Hey, Lauren?" I began. "Can I ask you a question?"

She nodded, yes.

"Why are you suddenly so nice—"

"You know, it's been a while since I last heard one of your terrible pick-up lines. I know you have some bottled up inside you, so shoot," she requested, to my surprise.

"Uh... Okay, well, I'm glad I'm not allergic to beauty, or else I'd have to stay away from you."

She blushed and turned away, but I'd never seen her redden from anything I'd said before.

"You okay there? You're getting a bit red," I laughed, bring my index finger to Lauren's chin, slowly lifting it up.

She slapped my hand away playfully and giggled. "Yeah, I'm good."

Neither of us spoke after that, all we did was have an intimate staring contest. She didn't break the eye contact, but she slowly began leaning in. I moved in slightly, too—to the point where she was so close I could feel her breath hitch while it ghosted my lips. I didn't want to fill the gap in between us, just in case it was against her wishes.

It seemed as if she came back to reality in a split second, because she let out a small puff of air before shaking her head and pulling away.

"I, um, you're probably tired. I'll leave you alone," she said quietly, sitting up. Before she took her first step, I grabbed her wrist, causing her to turn around quite abruptly.

"Stay with me. Please," I begged pitifully. She gave me a small smile and tucked herself under the covers, cuddling up to me. I wrapped my arms around her and let out a content sigh before trying to fall asleep.

A few minutes later, Lauren's breath had evened, and she had a tight grip on my shirt, making me smile—she's just like a baby. "You're beautiful," I whispered, kissing the top of Lauren's head, and letting my lips linger for a while. I fell asleep with the green-eyed beauty in my arms—though, never did I ever think this'd ever happen.

~

"Lauren?" I heard someone whisper.

Lauren groaned softly and shifted to turn to the person that spoke. "Hm?"

"Who's this?" they asked. It got silent for a quick second, then someone began poking my cheek, but I continued to fake my slumber.

"Taylor!" Lauren whisper-yelled. "Stop poking her like she's dead!"

I heard a small laugh, then the door click shut. "I'm sorry about her," Lauren sighed. "That's my sister, Taylor. She's less annoying the more you get to know her."

She kissed my cheek and shook me awake, not that I wasn't awake already.

"Five more minutes, Ma," I joked, opening one eye.

She feigned hurt and chuckled, saying, "No, come on. Just for that comment, you're getting up now. Dinner's almost ready."

"Okay," I dragged out lazily. I stood up and stretched my arms and legs while Lauren watched in amusement. "What?"

"Nothing," she waved off dismissively.

I shrugged and walked towards the door of her bedroom, but was attacked and almost fell backwards.

"Sneak attack!" Lauren giggled, arms around my neck and legs wrapped firmly around my waist. It hurt a bit, but I ignored the pain and put my hands under her legs for support, running out of the room with her on my back. She laughed hysterically as I ran downstairs and around the living room, until we were called for dinner. Today wasn't so bad.