off camera.

chapter twenty five

@cabellojauregui1997 #LaurenIsOurPrincess just look at one of C's videos before she started dating Lauren and then look at one after and u can see the difference... she is the happiest ive ever seen her and Lauren did that @LaurenJauregui thank you for making our girl happy!!

Camila's smile grows as she reads the post, and she tweets the screenshots of the message in her notes app, then screenshotting these lovely tweets and sending them to Lauren via text. Then, she looks through the replies to her own tweet, her heart growing warm at how they're 99% supportive.

@Camila_Cabello this is directed at the tiny 5% of fans who can't seem to understand that my relationship isn't something you can control. this shouldn't even need to be said but i am completely fucking sick and tired of the people sending hate at the woman that i love. this isn't about shipping and fandom, we're real people and it's starting to take a toll on both of us. you claim you're sending hate to her for ME, like you're doing me some kind of favour, like you're 'protecting' me, but in reality, you're doing the opposite. if you hurt her, you hurt me, and between you and her, i'd pick her any day. if this keeps happening, all that you're gonna get out of it is a block, because the moment i see anyone calling her names, telling her to die, or mocking drug addiction and trauma, i'm pressing that block button. i don't care if you've been here 'since the beginning', because lauren has been here for me since i was six. i don't care if it's your shipping preference, you know i have always understood and embraced that kind of thing, but there's a line and a lot of you are crossing it. just stop it, because the only thing that hating on my girlfriend is going to achieve is making you look like an awful person.

@Camila_Cabello #LaurenIsOurPrincess

She doesn't know if Lauren has seen it; she hadn't read Camila's texts yet, but she hopes that this is good enough. She doesn't know if she could handle it if Lauren felt like she couldn't handle it and left her, because even though she's been smiling all week, Camila can tell that it's fake.

Knowing that she's on bypass, she calls Lauren, and as always, she picks up quickly. "Hi."

"Hola, mi amor," Camila smiles at the husky voice on the line, "what're you doing right now?"

"Reading and snuggling with Dash. I picked up a good crime novel yesterday, I'm halfway through it and I think I have an idea of who the killer is." Lauren comments, "Is something wrong? Do you need me?"

"Can I come over?" Camila asks, bracing herself for the no she'd gotten the last time she asked. "It's okay if you're busy, but..."

"Of course you can," Lauren assures her, and Camila lets out a sigh of relief, pushing herself off her bed. She knows how much she needs Lauren right now. "Is something wrong, though?"

Camila worries her bottom lip between her teeth. "Can I tell you when I get there?"

"Okay, as long as it's not something super important," Lauren answers, "shall I get two hot chocolates ready?"

Camila laughs lightly, shaking her head before she realises Lauren can't see her. "Isn't it too hot for that? And no, it's not super important, I just want to be with you."

"It's never too hot for hot chocolate. Besides, my mom always tells me that drinking hot drinks in hot weather can cool you down," Lauren proclaims like it's fact, "I don't know where she got that statement from, because she also says that about drinking hot drinks in cold weather, but still. Hot chocolate is comforting and mine is the best, so..."

"Alright, fine, make your amazing hot chocolate," Camila laughs, "I'll pick up some snacks on my way over. Mostly for me, because you know what I'm like with food."