Don't Touch Me

'Excuse Me'

"She's coming."

"Head down."

"Jesus, she looks pissed."

All hushed whispers circled around the once rowdy hallway.

"I can't believe this is still going on." Dinah looked to Normani with a heavy sigh.

"It's Lauren, you really want to step on her toes?"

"No one wants to step on her toes," The blonde girl rolled her eyes. "But accidents happen. Besides, I tower over her, I could take her."

"Could not," Ally contributed as she stuffed the rest of her books into her locker. "Lauren could have you on the floor before you could so much as take a step towards her. Remember how quickly she took down Shawn? And he's like six-foot-giant."

"You have no faith in me."

"I do," Ally reassured her youngest friend. "But I also have faith that Lauren is a force to be reckoned with. Whatever's happened to that girl in the past, it's scarred her."

"She's found a victim, oh God," Normani's eyes saddened dramatically as she watched the raven-haired attacker approach the small redhead that just happened to bump into her. "Ariana's screwed."

"Lauren," The red-haired girl held her hands up in front of her in defence. Admittedly, she was well aware of the consequences surrounding touching Lauren Jauregui, no matter the circumstance.

Everyone knew the consequences. And they were severe.

But Ariana had been so completely immersed in the latest headline surrounding Camila Cabello that she'd not bothered to watch where she was going. I mean, who could look where they were going when they were reading that the Camila Cabello would be attending a public school of her choice. Better yet, a public school in Miami. Miami where Ariana was native to. She was fangirling and she was fangirling hard, there was just no way she could have been watching where she was going.

"Yo, Jauregui, come on, man, she's tiny," Austin Mahone decided to voice, instantly attracting Lauren's attention and he flinched back upon meeting the fiery glare shot at him from her cold, green eyes. "Sorry, Ari." Austin shot his eyes to the smaller girl in front of Lauren before taking a step back towards his locker.

"Lauren," Ariana tried again. "I didn't mean to, I'm sorry, I just-"

"What?" The raspy voice of her attacker stopped Ariana short. "Weren't watching where you were going? Too focused on your phone? I don't like being touched, Ariana."

Lauren knew her name, and in most times that would excite Ariana, but not now. Definitely not now. Not when Lauren's eyes were dead as they watched her and her fists were clenched and she was seconds away from striking the redhead.

"Step back, Miss. Jauregui," Lauren huffed out as the monotonous voice of a certain Mr. Cowell rang through the hall.

And despite her previous intentions, Lauren had no choice but to oblige. She took a hearty step back from the smaller girl, but kept her eyes glaring nonetheless.

"What's going on here?" Cowell saddled up next to Lauren and instantly darted his eyes to Ariana for an explanation, but the smaller girl's eyes were trained on firm green ones telling her not to say a single word against her.

"Nothing," Ariana exhaled, knowing the consequences of crossing Lauren were not to be taken lightly. "Everything's okay."

"Are you sure?" Of course she wasn't sure, but there was no way Ariana was telling Mr. Cowell that, not with Lauren as a spectator to everything.