off camera.

chapter six

"Yes, yes," Camila rolls her eyes and stands up, holding out a hand to help Lauren up, and the older Latina takes it, not intending on letting go as they walk out into foyer. Almost as if she can sense Lauren's nerves, Camila smiles, kissing her cheek again. "You'll be fine. You look absolutely stunning, so you don't need to worry about the pictures."

Camila holds her hand as they get into the car, and makes sure to sit next to her. Lauren practically snuggles her the whole way there, and she knows she's probably coming off as clingy, but it's not like this is new for them. When they were children, they were always snuggling at any chance they got.

When they get to the venue the event is being held at, Lauren can't help but feel a little out of her depth. Even though Camila had been so sweet and reassuring, she doesn't really know how this kind of thing works, and she knows that people will be wondering why the hell she's even there.

Dinah exits the car first, walking the carpet solo, and Normani follows her, meeting her date, a guy named Val. Then Ally, who meets up with her boyfriend Troy and takes his hand as they walk down the red carpet. Camila sends her a reassuring smile, watching as they walk, stopping for pictures and surrounded by photographers, yelling at them to look in every single possible direction at the same time. It's all very overwhelming, especially the flashes of the cameras.

"We're good, okay," Camila assures her, bringing Lauren's hand up to her lips and kissing the back of it. "Just a nice, slow walk down there, and then we're in the building and we can sit down and watch the movie."

"Have you done this before?" Lauren asks once they're told to start walking. She winces a little at the flash of the cameras; her eyes have always been sensitive to light. "You know, walked a red carpet."

"Once," Camila replies, and takes a moment to pose for a few pictures before they're told they can move along, "I like to pretend it never happened, though. I was seventeen and I dressed like a math teacher."

Lauren snorts, and Camila gives her a soft elbow to the side. "What? That's funny."

"I don't know anything about fashion," Camila rolls her eyes, "Dinah and Mani pick everything out for me nowadays. Otherwise I'd have shown up in skinny jeans and a plaid shirt."

"Wow, what a lesbian," Lauren teases her, and poses for a few more pictures with Camila, knowing that she'll probably look awkward and squinty and out of place, but not caring, because it doesn't matter what some jerks on the internet say. Camila had invited her to this event, not some other super popular YouTuber who could give her exposure.

She's grateful when the pictures are over, and they're ushered inside to their seats. Camila and her plus one are situated between Dinah and Ally, so Lauren feels comfortable around the people she knows.

"Can I, um..." She trails off, not sure if it's appropriate here, "can I rest my head on your shoulder?"

"Duh," Camila smiles, wrapping an arm around her waist, and Lauren rests her head on Camila's shoulder. "Hey, remember that time you said if I was a guy, I'd be the best boyfriend ever?"

Lauren cringes. "Yeah. Sorry about that. Especially because I said the d slur. I guess I thought if I acted like I was disgusted by liking girls, I'd make myself look straight. I probably really upset you and I'm so sorry about that. I know how you... um, felt. Back then."

She keeps it light, casual, and most importantly, past tense. While there have been some vibes she'd usually pick up as flirting, there's a huge part of Lauren that doesn't believe she's good enough for Camila, and she finds it hard to believe that Camila could ever feel romantically towards her again after the way she'd treated her and how toxic she'd been.