Worthless (Camren)

"Lauren... thank you."

"There's nothing going on between Normani and me!" Lauren yelled to her retreating back when she finally regained her voice. In the almost emptying hallway it carried like a bell. Several heads turned curiously.

Oh great. Like she didn't have enough to deal with.

The rest of the day dragged unmercifully, and Lauren sighed with relief when she finally pulled into the driveway in front of her house. She knew what she would find when she went inside: a spotless kitchen with the lunch dishes washed and put away, a cup of hot tea waiting for her on the table and–

"Good afternoon, Lauren!"

Her favorite part – Camila in the hallway, waiting to greet her by the door.

Camila wasn't kneeling, just standing in the hallway, and Lauren knew she only came here when she heard the car, but she did this every day without a fault. They had talked about it, she told Camila time and time again that she didn't expect her to run to the door to meet her every time she came home, or to take her coat to hang it up, but Camila so clearly enjoyed this part of her day that Lauren couldn't deny her the pleasure. Especially when she secretly adored it, too.

"Thank you," she said when Camila took het scarf and draped it neatly over the hanger. "How was your day?"

"Very good, thank you," Camila replied with a smile. "I listened to some music today like you told me I could, and I enjoyed it very much. But–" she hesitated and Lauren frowned, immediately worried.

"What? What happened?"

Camila looked unsure, her eyes set down and head bowed in an automatic pose of slave submission. "I noticed some dust on your shelves when I was choosing the music to play, and I cleaned it." When Lauren didn't say anything, confused, Camila added quietly. "I know you didn't tell me to clean your shelves, I apologize."

Oh.

"You thought I'd be upset with you because you cleaned my stuff?" Lauren asked incredulously.

Camila glanced up at her. "Some masters don't like their things touched without permission."

I'm not a master, Lauren wanted to say, I just want to help you. But she knew by now that it wasn't what Camila needed to hear.

"Well, you are allowed to touch all of my things," she said instead. "That are out in the open," she added after a beat. There were definitely some notebooks and things deep in her drawers that she didn't want Camila to see. Or anyone, really. "And thank you for cleaning my shelves. But you don't have to do it, you know. I can clean my room myself."

"I like doing things for you." Camila sounded shy, her eyes big and earnest as she looked up at Lauren, and something fluttered in Lauren's chest, warm and affectionate.

"How about those cookies now?" She asked before she could say something that would make Camila uncomfortable. "I'll just go change first. Could you prepare the ingredients? The recipe is on the fridge."

Camila nodded eagerly and nearly skipped to the kitchen.

"Did you have time to work with your book today?" Lauren asked as she sifted the flour ten minutes later. Beside her, Camila was carefully cracking eggs into a small bowl.

"I did, yes. I work with it every day like you told me to."

"So what are you on right now?" Lauren wasn't regularly checking her progress, leaving Camila to work by herself for now. That first book was mostly simple reading exercises and basic math, and Camila had looked through it and declared she remembered doing similar things with her brother back when she was a child.