off camera.

chapter ten

Lauren hums as she drives. "I just think that there's a line between supporting someone and stalking them, and some people... seem to cross that line."

Camila is quiet for a moment, and she asks what's really on her mind. "Um... are my fans making you uncomfortable in some kind of way?"

"No, not really," Lauren shakes her head, "it's kind of intimidating that you have all of these people looking up to you, but... but it doesn't make me uncomfortable because it's never changed you. You're still just Camila."

"Well, good," Camila answers, smiling a little, but her theory that it's the fans, that Lauren actually reciprocates her feelings, is out of the window. "And a Camila always needs her Lauren."

Lauren laughs. "Was that supposed to be cute?"

"I think you'll find it was cute, Lauren Michelle," Camila retorts, sticking her tongue out at Lauren, but the older girl doesn't seem to care. "So, let's talk about juicy gossip."

"Isn't that supposed to wait until the sleepover?" Lauren asks. "You're not getting anything out of me until then. We have to have watched at least one iconic movie and be all giggly and playing fuck marry kill when we start to gossip. That's just how sleepovers work."

"Well, I'd rather watch Game of Thrones, since that's kind of our thing now," Camila says, and she's happy she'd been watching it with Lauren; she lets her know when a gory part is coming up so Camila can look away, because she's never been good with blood. There was a particular scene that Camila had peeked through her fingers at, after Oberyn had battled The Mountain, and she thinks she'd almost vomited. "So, tell me, when is Daenerys going to sail to Westeros?"

"Spoilers, Camz," Lauren smiles knowingly, "You know you won't get anything out of me."

Camila just smiles, and without thinking, she blurts out, "Sorry I didn't call sooner. My mom was kind of intense with the family bonding since I'd been away for a while."

"It's okay. I spent some time with Lucy, and obviously Thanksgiving itself was family time, and I was busy helping my mom with the cooking," Lauren assures her, "it's probably best you waited until today; yesterday would've involved sucker punching someone for a discounted laptop."

Camila snorts, the mental image of Lauren punching people for laptops more than a little amusing. "Well, all violence aside, did you get a good deal?"

"I did, actually. I needed a new laptop, the battery on mine was really dying, could barely make it through my long days at college," Lauren replies, and Camila wonders if she actually did punch anybody in the Black Friday madness. "Anyway, I'll make you my famous hot chocolate when we get back, then we'll get in pyjamas and snuggle and watch whatever you want."

"It sounds dumb, but it means something that we're hanging out here, you know?" Camila says without thinking. "Like, it's just... nice that I'm going over to your house. I can't remember the last time I did that; I think it was for your quinceañera."

"I'm sorry, Camz," Lauren says, and Camila hadn't meant it to get her to apologise. "And you know I'm doing everything I can to make up for all of that-"

"I know, I didn't say it as like, a bad thing," Camila shakes her head, "it's just making me really nostalgic, coming over to your house for a sleepover. Besides, you know you're always going to be like my soulmate, right? My little saviour, my rock, my favourite person to cuddle-"

"Okay, okay, I get it," Lauren cuts her off with a soft laugh as she starts backing onto the driveway, and Camila is hit with another wave of nostalgia at seeing the Jauregui household, "and I get what you mean about the... the soulmate thing. We've always just had this connection..."