They say silence says more than a thousand words and as the two girls sat in the stillness that gave them both a sense of tranquility, neither could find it in them to disturb it, mostly in fear of saying something wrong, but Camila knew better.
''Thanks Lauren, for being here.''
Lauren smiled but before she could say anything, Camila added, ''You're a good friend.''
Her smile slightly faltered, but she forced herself to recompose and nodded her head in acknowledgement. She wiggled her fingers out of Camila's grasp and exhaled, before looking at her phone.
''It's getting late, I should be home soon...''Camila let out a breath through her nose and closed her eyes, nodding in agreement. Neither girl wanted to leave each other's side but there were still too many broken pieces between them for comfort.
Lauren stood up from the floor, and Camila followed, leading her down the stairs and just before Lauren could leave, she turned around and looked at Camila and awkwardly opened her arms. Camila grinned and reciprocated the girl's embrace, and in the process gave her a small kiss on the cheek to which Lauren's face burned in response.
As Lauren started driving home, she decided that the night had been thoroughly bittersweet. Although Camila was starting to let Lauren in, her biggest fear was getting friend zoned in the process so even if Camila wanted to call Lauren her ''friend'', she had to prove that she wouldn't have it.
When Lauren got home, she expected everyone to be asleep but she was surprised to find her mother up, drinking coffee in the kitchen. She checked her watch and noticed that it was 11:00 p.m, but she knew it didn't really matter anyway considering that her mother was her own boss. She owned a flower shop which made Lauren's rose purchases- an easier reach.
Clara looked up from the book she was reading and smiled warmly at her daughter, ''Where were you?'' Lauren exhaled, ''I was over at that girl's house, the one I was telling you about the other day.''
''Ah, Camila, am I right?''
Clara knew Lauren inside and out, and sometimes that was a good thing, more usual than not, this was one of those cases. Lauren never had to ''out'' herself to her mother, Clara just knew, but Lauren still feared telling her, even if she made it obvious by talking about Camila constantly, and then the random rose purchases this week made things clearer than not, and she was surprised she wasn't getting questioned about it, but she figured it would just be awkward if she was.
Lauren nodded at her mom, and she took out her phone to find a text from Normani.
Hey Laur, same thing, same time, tomorrow?
Lauren looked at her mom who was staring back with a small smile on her face, ''Is it her?'' Lauren narrowed her eyes and shook her head,
''Hey mom, can I get another rose tomorrow morning?''
Clara looked at her daughter and seemed stuck in thought for a second, ''Why don't you do something different?''
''What?''
''Yeah I mean, how long will it go before a rose starts to lose its meaning, do something different.''
Lauren's face scrunched up in thought but for the most part, she was confused by the suggestion.
''Well, like what?''
Clara tapped her fingers on the mug of coffee that she sheltered with her fingers and a smile spread across her face and Lauren could swear she saw a light bulb pop out over the top of her mother's head.
''I have an idea, but we'd have to go to the shop now, and make Normani come, ain't no way I'm staying up all night.''
Lauren's eyebrows furrowed but she gave in anyway, anything for Camila.
Lauren called Normani who groaned at the thought of staying up tonight especially to ''work'' but agreed anyway, she was so single she felt like it was her duty to help Lauren get the girl.
Clara led both girls inside, and gave them a list of all the flowers in the shop and their meanings.
Normani and Lauren looked at each other with confused expressions and then looked back at a smiling Clara. Clara nodded at the list and said, ''Roses are beautiful, hun, but I think if you really want to say something, you should put more thought into your choice of flower. Each and every flower in here represents something, and they individually say some things that we can't bring ourselves to, so I gave you that list so you can find some of the flowers that say what you want to tell Camila, and I thought it'd be cute if you made a flower crown with the flowers you choose.''
Lauren and Normani both exchanged excited grins and nodded urgently at who was practically a mother to both of them. Lauren hugged her mom and brought her attention back to the list. A few of them made her smile so much that even her eyes mimicked her mouth and after showing Lauren and Normani how to actually construct a flower crown, she left Lauren with the key and said to make sure to lock the shop before returning back to the house. The two girls nodded, hardly even paying attention to her anymore which caused Clara to smile before leaving.
''I can't wait to see her face, Mani!''
''Me neither! You HAVE to get a picture of her in it, she'll look so cute!''
''Do you think she'll wear it? What if she just leaves it in her locker...''
Lauren's face dropped slightly but Normani wouldn't have it.
''Laur, It's Camila we're talking about here, she'll wear it, you know she will. Why don't you make one for yourself as well? You two can match.''
Lauren beamed at the idea, and agreed, so after Normani and Lauren scrambled around the shop looking for the flowers that Lauren had picked, they split the jobs with Normani making Lauren's crown and Lauren making Camila's.
Because the two girls had no experience in the art of making crowns out of flowers and vines, they took longer than they thought they would, but finally were able to finish them after the fourth or fifth try. Lauren hoped and prayed that she made it to the accurate size of Camila's head, and not too little or too big, but either way, she was hanging onto the phrase, it's the thought that counts.
When they finished, Normani and Lauren cleaned up after themselves and noticed that it was almost four in the morning. They groaned at the idea of being up in three hours but they let the idea of seeing Camila's smile at the gift subside the reality of the unfortunate position they were in now.
Normani told Lauren she'd just sleep over at her house so that they'd just head to school together in the morning.
After locking up, they groggily made their way to the Jauregui household and knocked out on the couch, not having the energy to go up the stairs.
The next morning, Clara awoke before anyone else and smiled at her daughters on the couch, and her heart melted at seeing Lauren clutch onto the crowns to her chest with a small smile planted on her face.
After giving the girls 15 minutes extra to sleep, Clara told the girls it was time to get ready for school and Lauren shot up from the couch rushing upstairs with Normani following groggily behind her causing the older woman to laugh.
The girls took a good 45 minutes to get ready before kissing Clara on the cheek and rushing off to the campus to beat Camila, just as they had the previous days. They were relieved to have gotten there before her, which gave Lauren the opportunity to write a small note and drop it into Camila's locker.
Normani and Lauren took the few steps to get to their lockers and watched the front doors expectantly.
After about ten minutes, Camila walked in wearing a light white sweater with jean shorts and a bow in her hair, it was an effortless look, but still made her look beautiful none the less.
Lauren's breath caught at the simplicity of the girl, and it only made her shine ten times brighter in her green pools. Camila had her face buried in her phone as she texted away; walking towards her locker, and Normani and Lauren began to make their way over to her as she put her phone in her pocket to put in the combination. She had a determined look on her face that Lauren hadn't noticed before and it made her heart flutter.
Finally, Camila got it opened and the note fell out, so she bent down to pick it up and it read,
"turn around"
Camila flipped the paper to look for anything else she might've missed and when she found nothing, she did as she was told and there stood Lauren blushing holding something behind her back and Normani was staring at Camila with the goofiest grin across her face and it made Camila return an amused smile and a quirk of the eyebrow.
Lauren tapped her foot nervously and looked at Normani who got the clue and said ''Oh! Right, right, I'll just be over there.'' she pointed towards a nearby bench and sat down facing the two with her head in her palm, the goofy grin still in place.
Lauren rolled her eyes playfully and whined, ''MANI!'' Normani furrowed her eyebrows, ''Hey, I did not stay up all night to miss this, now go on.'' She gestured for her to continue with her hands.Lauren exhaled a shaky breath, and cleared her throat.
''I didn't want you to get bored of the rose gesture, so I went with something new, it still involves flowers, because I think they're lovely, and you deserve to get one every day which brings me to today's gift'' she rambled. Camila softly smiled, and she nodded for the girl before her to continue.Lauren exhaled and looked at Normani who nodded encouragingly as well.
''What I'm about to give you is composed of seven different flowers, I would've put more but I wanted you to get these particular ones first, and have you think over them, analyze what I'm trying to tell you, understand it, before I move forward with everything else I want you to know, about the way I see you.''
Camila's eyes sparkled at Lauren's last words and moved closer, encouragingly, once again.
Lauren brought her hands forward, presenting Camila with the flower crown and watched intently as Camila's eyes looked at the gift the way little girls look at Barbie dolls at the store.
Lauren smiled slightly and felt the courage to continue,
''As you can see, I put Cherry Blossoms which according to my mother, represent spiritual beauty. Before, when I saw you in the hall, I knew you were beautiful, it was a given, I didn't have to second think that, but after getting small glimpses as to who you really are, I began to realize that the beautiful face comes with a surprise center as well. I no longer see you as a physical form, I see you beautifully, and it makes me want to get to know you better, find out more. After that, I put Angelicas, which represent inspiration, and I think that speaks for itself, because you truly are inspiring, not only the story you unnecessarily confessed to us, but simply the courage you had to get up there, stand up to me- who was a monster to you, says just how courageous you are, and you are also an icon of inspiration to all those holding in struggles just like you had, looking for their voice. Then, I added Fern Petals on each side which represents fascination because I am irrevocably fascinated by you and literally can't wait until and if you give me the opportunity to have your full effect, because I know you'll never cease to fascinate me with who you are, how you are, your ways, and just point blank, your being. Next, I added Sunflowers which carry many meanings but two of its meanings are what stood out to me the most which made it a no-brainer to add them here, one of the meanings is unique beauty, which is something I think you possess. You aren't someone who people instantly notice, but I did. And I'm not saying that to get points with you, I mean it. Your beauty is the kind that gets further and further appreciated as time goes by, the kind where you find new reasons to find you beautiful each and every time someone studies your face, your quirks, the way you go about life. This flower speaks for the person who noticed you from afar, and only hopes they're guessing everything correctly, as to who you are. I don't want to put the pieces together myself, I want to be accurate, I want to legitamently know everything about you, but until I can, I add these flowers to let you know that from afar you look and are immensely beautiful in my eyes. The second meaning of the sunflower is faith. Sunflowers are always searching for its sun, its light, blindly, faithfully, and I hope one day you can have faith in me to depend on me, to trust in me, faithfully, and blindly. I also added these flowers which are known as Mountain Ash flowers which carry the meaning, ''with me, you are safe.'' And with everything I've done to you, I know how unconvincing that phrase might seem, but I can assure you that you are. Because your worst of storms have already gone by, and this time, I won't stand around and let it trample you. This time I'll protect you from others, from the world, and from myself. These purple petals that you see here are called Wisteria flowers, which represent- mutual trust. I hope one day I can be rid of the burdens I know I still carry, and that you'll open up to me, the same way I'll open up to you if you give me the chance. I want you to trust me, just as much as I want to trust you, and I hope we reach that point in our lives together someday, hopefully sooner than not... Lastly, I added Plum Blossoms which represent keeping your promises. Just like I intend on keeping every promise I make to you with this crown, as well as any promises I make to you in the future. This crown itself is a promise. It may not seem like it, but it is, it's a promise to always be there, as whatever you want me to be. I'll be there to hold you when you cry. To smile along with you, and join you in happiness. To be the person you needed me to be before. This isn't me promising that I'll be the fairytale person you probably assumed I was before you saw the uglier parts of me, but it is me promising that I'll never give up on you the way others did. This is a promise to fight all your dragons and demons alongside of you. Consider it, a promise to be your female knight in not so shining armor, a friend, a hero if need be.'' She finished with a soft smile.
Camila looked at her and for the first time in the past few dark days, she looked at Lauren the same way she used to every morning as she watched her enter the school. For a brief moment, the world around them subsided and Lauren knew she did something right.
Camila's eyes reflected adoration and she shook her head biting her lip, trying very hard to hide the smile that was forcing its way through her face but the happiness she felt in those few seconds defeated the fight, and she smiled at Lauren in a way that Lauren then decided to be one of her favorite Camila smiles.
''May i?'' she asked, gesturing to the crown.
Camila nodded and bowed her head slightly to give the girl better access, and Lauren gently placed it on her head. It fit perfectly which caused a face-eating smile to attack her face. Camila hummed in delight before throwing her arms around Lauren in a tight embrace. When they let go, Normani walked over with the second crown and handed it to Lauren.
Camila looked at her curiously and averted her eyes to the second crown in a questioning look.
'' Reason number four out of sixty as to why you shouldn't take the pills, because you'll never be alone again. If you allow me to fill that vacancy, you'll never face a battle by yourself again, you'll never take on any of your demons without me there by your side...'' she paused as she began to place the crown on her own head.
''and you'll never feel public humiliation again, not without me.'' She finished, planting a chaste kiss on Camila's forehead.