off camera.

chapter twenty one

"Do you feel better?" Camila asks, reaching across the table and resting her hand on top of Lauren's. "I hope you do."

"Not really," Lauren sighs, meeting her gaze. Her eyes are a little glassy, but they're still just as green. "You're right, though. I shouldn't think about it for the rest of the night."

Camila watches her in amusement as she grabs her lighter and starts playing with it, flicking it on and off. "Do you want me to go get you a snack or something? I don't know if that's like, a stereotype, but I'm pretty sure you're supposed to get hungry, right?"

"Eh," Lauren shrugs, blowing out the little flame on her lighter, "not really. And I'm sorry. I know you don't like it-"

"You didn't know that I was just going to show up, and honestly, I don't mind. I know it's not out of control like before," Camila assures her, "I mean, you smoking a joint is like the equivalent of you drinking a glass of wine to lay off some steam, so I don't care, honestly."

Lauren meets her gaze, and smiles the cutest smile. "Okay. That makes me happy. That you get it. Can we cuddle?"

"Maybe after we've aired you out a bit, I still don't like the smell," Camila laughs, and Lauren nods, putting her feet up on her plastic chair and hugging her knees to her chest. "Talk to me. Tell me something funny."

"I don't know, I'm sleepy," Lauren yawns as if to emphasise that, "don't you think it's interesting how like... so many things had to happen for us to meet? Like, I had to be born, you had to be born, that boy had to be born so I could rescue you from him. But then... I don't know, I like to think that I could meet you no matter what the circumstances. In every version of reality."

"And there's the stoner talk," Camila chuckles lightly, "but I like what you're saying. That we'd meet even if we went to different schools, if we'd never met in that same context."

"Mhm. Hopefully they're all meet-cutes. Clumsy ones, knowing you," Lauren meets her gaze and smiles softly, her whole face lighting up. Somehow, she still looks a little sad because of her essay, but otherwise she's okay. "Then again, maybe in the other universes, you're not clumsy. Maybe in the other universes, I'm the YouTuber, not you."

Camila shrugs; there's probably a different version of the world out there, where the script is flipped. "Yeah. Maybe. Come on, I'm going to get you some deodorant and maybe some chewing gum and then we can snuggle."

Lauren's nose crinkles in annoyance. "Are you saying I smell?"

"Yep, like weed, so let's get that smell away," Camila pushes herself off the chair and grabs Lauren's hand as she passes, pulling her in through the balcony doors. She finds both deodorant and a pack of Tic Tacs on Lauren's dresser, and grabs it, passing her a couple of mints and telling her to close her eyes as she sprays her over. "There, all better."

Lauren smiles at the words. "You'll cuddle me now?"

Camila looks her over in total adoration. "Yeah. I will."

Lauren sends her one of those lopsided, adorably toothy grins of hers, and she grabs Camila by the shoulders and dives onto her bed, pulling the younger girl down with her. Her head falls onto one of Lauren's pillows and her heart flutters when the tips of their noses brush.

Resting her hand on Lauren's waist, she traces gentle patterns across her girlfriend's skin under her shirt. Lauren watches her in total fascination, clearly fighting to keep her eyes open. "It's okay, you can take a nap if you want."

"Want to spend-" Lauren pauses, yawning, "want to spend time with you."

"Yeah?" Camila smiles, pulling her in for a soft kiss and tasting the Tic Tacs on Lauren's breath. "You're cute. Tell me about... your day."