publicity stunt ⊸ a lauren/you story

seven

Lauren's sweet smile soon turned into one of guilt before she shook her head and walked away, rubbing her temples. I was going to question her, but seeing her frustrated was a sign I should probably just leave it for now. All I heard before she got on the bus was: "I don't hate you. I'm sorry."

It didn't explain her strange attitude towards me—at all—but it kept me satisfied for the time being. At least she doesn't hate me.

I followed her on and watched as she walked to her bunk. The four other girls were looking at me with raised eyebrows, silently asking what happened, but I just shook my head. "Everything's okay," I said shortly, joining them in their conversation thereafter.

The night was like any other—nothing really happened. We just drove and drove as we made our way closer to Fairfax, Virginia. In all honesty, I was loving being on tour. And knowing Lauren doesn't actually hate me makes it even better. I was just overthinking things—like always.

***

"Rise and shine, ladies! We have arrived!" Ally's voice chirped happily as she clapped around the bunk area to get us up.

I opened the curtain to see Ally's slippers and Lauren, smiling at me from across the small aisle. I returned the smile and mouthed, "Good morning."

"Morning," she mouthed back politely. Her gaze traveled up to Ally who was still being obnoxiously loud for ten in the morning. "Ally, calm your tits. We're still driving."

She laughed but crouched down to Lauren and I's level. "Yeah, but let's get hype! Another day, another show! Woot, woot!"

We all groaned simultaneously, then slowly made our way out of the bunks, getting ready for the day. There was a line for the bathroom on the couch, so we were all patiently waiting for Dinah to get out as we were on our phones.

The green-eyed pop star took the seat next to me and grinned from ear to ear. It was kind of freaky to see her mood change so suddenly, but if I've learned one thing on tour, it's that Lauren's mood swings—a lot. "Hey, Y/N."

"Hey, Laur."

"How'd you sleep?" she asked. For once, it seemed she was genuinely interested. It wasn't fake.

I shrugged, turning off my phone and setting it down. "As good as you can sleep on a tour bus, I guess. How 'bout you?"

She nodded and looked to her feet. "Same, same."

My phone went off, signaling I had a text, also cutting off Lauren and I's conversation.

Kylo Ren 😈

GUESS WHAT

WHAT IS IT?

YOU REMEMBER ETHAN??

oh yeah😂that kid that always tries to say hi to me? what about him?

he's not a kid, he's actually pretty cute

but anyway, he asked me out. what do I say?

I don't know, it's up to you. idrk/c

well next time I know not to ask for your opinion 🙄

but come on, seriously. please just give me some ideas. idk what to say