The Stage Door (Camren/Norminah)

Falling Back Together

"Yeah well," Lauren smiled, flipping Camila onto her back as she hovered over her, hands pressed firmly on the mattress at either side of Camila's head. "You are the straw to my berry, my love," she whispered in a low raspy tone, leaning down to capture Camila's bottom lip between her teeth, their songwriting adventure lost as Camila dropped Lauren's journal and tugged at the bottom of the t-shirt the girl was wearing.

---

"Are we still dating?" Dinah asked from her spot on the end of her bed, head down and eyes trained on her feet as Normani emerged from the bathroom.

Normani stopped instantly in her tracks, hand frozen on the handle of her dresser drawer as she turned to look at Dinah, taking in the tears that were falling from Dinah's eyes and dropping like rain in a small puddle on the floor.

"I feel like you've been avoiding me and-"

"I sleep in your bed every night," Normani reminded her and Dinah's head snapped up at the comment.

"There's more to a relationship than sleeping in the same bed," Dinah whispered. "Every single time I ask if you wanna go for a date you make up some bullshit excuse about homework or-"

"And when I ask you, you say you have to work," Normani countered quickly, cut off again by Dinah before she could say anything else.

"You have my work schedule, so tell me," Dinah yelled, standing up off the bed. "Why do you only ask me about days you know I have to work?"

"Dinah, I-"

"If you don't want me, tell me," Dinah sobbed, her chest heaving rapidly. "I lost my family, I chose you over them and you're acting like I mean nothing to you," she had barely managed to get the words out when she was enveloped in Normani's arms, falling slightly against her, feeling defeated.

Normani took a breath and pulled back, bottom lip stuck between her teeth, "I just don't know how to do this, you chose me over them and I'm so scared you're going to regret that decision, so I've been avoiding spending time with you, I know that sounds shitty, but I'm worried you're gonna spend time with me and realize I'm not worth the absence of your family."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Dinah scoffed loudly.

"Is it?" Normani sighed, "Is it stupid that I'm completely in love with you and completely terrified you're gonna change your mind? I don't know what to say to you to make everything okay and I'm scared you're gonna change your mind because-"

"You love me?"

"Are you really that surprised?" Normani asked as she looked at Dinah's wide eyes and open mouth. "Seriously?"

"You haven't exactly been acting like you do," Dinah said pointedly as she pulled her hand away from Normani's. "You've been treating me like some kind of disease for a while now and-"

"I didn't know how to help you!" Normani screamed, tears forming in her eyes. "I didn't know what to say or do and you shut me out and it hurt me and then we talked about it, but I just I didn't know how to fix all of this," she said walking over to Dinah's dresser and holding out the framed photograph of Dinah and her family. "I am the reason they aren't around anymore, I fucked up your life Dinah! I fucked up your life and I hate myself for it and I'm just sitting here waiting for you to hate me for it too!"

Dinah closed her eyes and sighed, making the few short steps to where Normani was standing, snatching the photo from her hands and staring at the faces smiling back at her from behind the glass. "They made their choice," Dinah whispered and Normani stood and watched as Dinah's eyes turned black and she turned and threw the photo at the wall beside them, the shattering glass loud through the otherwise quiet dorm room. "They chose to walk away, you didn't make them do anything, that was their decision and, and-" The anger coursing through Dinah was hot and heavy, "And it would have happened eventually, I couldn't hide who I was forever, if it wasn't you, it would have been some other girl somewhere down the line of my life, but you know what?"