sometime around midnight (it ends and starts)

2013

For about an hour, they sit there in companionable silence, each lost in their respective universe, but all good things must come to an end. All too soon, Dinah Jane walks in with a UNO deck in her hand and a giggling Normani behind her.

"Alright, nerds!" She places the deck on the table and claps her hands. "Enough with all that boredom; the second most popular 5H ship is here to entertain y'all!"

Lauren throws a pillow in Dinah's general direction and Camila sets her book down to glare at her friend. "Reading is not boring! It's way more interesting than spending all your time on social media!"

"What Camz said," Lauren offers with a dismissive hand gesture, face still hidden in the pages she's trying to concentrate on.

"Nuh-uh!" Dinah steps closer, takes the book away from her hands and sets it down, still open, next to the cards on the table. "None of that attitude! You already had your intellectual camren time, now it's playtime!"

"Maybe you guys should be the ones having intellectual time," Camila grunts, pushing Lauren's legs off of her lap. "A little culture never hurt anyone, you know?"

"Whatever," Normani says, sitting on the nearest chair. "It's not like this bus is stopping anytime soon, you can read later."

Camila sighs, exchanging a pointed look with Lauren. The others just don't get it, they never have.

There's a planet that's just Lauren and Camila, and everyone else orbits around it.

*

instead of stressed i lie here charmed / 'cause there's nothing else to do / every me and every you

Camila looks up from her MacBook, spooked by the creaking door, but smiles when she spots Lauren moving towards her.

They're in L.A., in one of Epic's apartments, and Camila's gotten used to keeping her room unlocked. Just in case. For nights like this.

"Whatcha doing?" Lauren asks, snuggling up to her and kissing her naked shoulder.

"Meeting Ariana today made me miss Victorious," she replies, pressing play after leaving a peck on Lauren's cheek.

"You two got along great, and hella fast too." From the corner of her eyes, Camila can see Lauren pursing her lips. "She was all over you the entire time."

"Don't be jealous, Laur," Camila teases, elbowing her. "You're number one in my heart."

"I'm not jealous."

"Sure."

"I'm not!"

"Shut up, this is the episode where Jade and Tori go on a date and you're distracting me."

"Go on a date?" Lauren scoots even closer, staring at the screen for the first time. "Are they gay?"

"I wish they were."

Camila wishes a lot of things were gayer, in fact, and as she notices Lauren exchanging texts with Luis, she forces herself to focus all her attention on Tori and Jade swirling around to Take a Hint.

*

i was there when you fell from the clouds / and landed in the desert / there was a thunder inside of my heart

Camila tends to think of love as grand gestures of magnificence and passion. She thinks of chocolates and flowers and stuffed animals; special dates where both people are dressed up and the dinner goes a bit over budget but no one can be bothered to care.