fragile ↠ camren

prologue

it was just a simple hi but it sounded like her voice was ready to break.

"Hi."

Lauren whipped her head in the direction of the faint introduction. She ran a hand through her jet black waves as she stood up from her sitting position to face the source of the fragile voice. The raven-haired woman saw a petite female, probably about her age, who looked like she could break if she got yelled at. The woman was in a tight gray sweater and a modest plaid skirt with black stockings. A very cute outfit for such an adorable woman, she thought to herself. Chestnut brown eyes stared nervously at her and she snapped out of her trance. The woman nervously toyed with her chocolate brown waves and ringed it around her finger slowly.

"Oh, sorry." Lauren bit her bottom lip in embarrassment as her cheeks grew red. She had forgotten to respond to her.

"Are you new here?" she questioned with a cool grin.

"Yeah.. Um.. My parents moved here from California.. I'm not quite used to the weather." the brunette was now struggling to make eye contact and she tapped her foot softly against the ground. Lauren swore she felt her heart begin to break. What a delicate thing the woman seemed to be. She took a deep breath and noticed that the brunette's lavender perfume smelled quite familiar -- she wore the same brand last night.

"Well, I can show yo-" she was rudely interrupted by her best friend of five years, Dinah.

"Lauser!! Hey girl! Who's this? She's so quiet, is she okay??" Dinah crudely remarked as her chestnut gaze was fixed on the California native. The smaller girl took a few steps back and tears begun to well up in her eyes and her throat was probably tightening up in fear. Lauren had to bite her tongue to prevent herself from scolding Dinah.

"This is..... Actually, I didn't catch her name." she calmly spoke to Dinah, in an attempt to deescalate the situation. She didn't want her to cry. It would hurt her so much.

"Camila.." Camila managed to croak out. Lauren couldn't help but wonder why Camila was on the verge of tears. Maybe she truly was overly anxious. She really wanted to help her out. The brunette seemed like a lovely person.

"Are you okay? You look like you're going to cry." Dinah spoke relatively loudly, blissfully ignorant of the volume of her voice. The chocolate-haired woman let out a sharp sniffle as the whites of her eyes begun to turn a light red color from tearing up. Her hands began to slightly shake as she tapped her hair a bit faster.

"I just.. have severe anxiety... and I'm in a new environment. P-Plus, I have no friends here.." Camila managed to get out and it was obvious the girl wanted to run away.

"I can be your friend." Lauren spoke up with a confident smile. The duo made quick eye contact and Lauren swore it felt like time stood still. It was almost like there was a small hint of happiness in the brunette's eyes. She savored the happiness. Then Camila looked back at her shoes.

"I'd like that. By the way, I like your shirt." Camila said, her voice a little less nervous and she felt something in her almost glow and light up with warmth. Her face was now enveloped in hot, red blush as she gulped sheepishly. She heard Lauren let out a small laugh and for once she didn't feel so afraid. A small smile couldn't help but creep up on her soft lips. Camila's body tingled with a good, warm feeling that she hadn't felt in months.

Maybe that was her heart telling her she made the right choice.