The girls sat in silence for a while longer, Camila taking deep breaths and trying to calm herself down before they went back inside. Ally was the first to speak up after their food got to the table.
"So tell me about your life, Lauren, what do you do for fun?" she asked with a warm smile, and Lauren had to genuinely think about the question for a moment. She was sure 'get drunk and leave a certain someone voicemails until I fall asleep' wouldn't be an acceptable answer.
"I'm a pretty boring person, really. I paint and stuff, or go to the gym, or read. That's about it," she shrugged, feeling somewhat embarrassed that she wasn't exactly an expert at anything.
"God, you and Mila both. I don't get what you guys see in books. They're so boring," Ally laughed, taking a bite of her food.
"They're an escape," Lauren and Camila both spoke up at the same time, repeating something their third grade teacher had told them when a boy had picked on Camila for reading her book instead of playing at recess. Lauren saw Ally shoot Camila an unidentifiable look, and Camila raised a threatening eyebrow at her.
"So is there anyone special in your life?" Ally questioned, ignoring the warning glance from Camila.
"I have a boyfriend, yeah. Keith," Lauren shrugged, not really in the mood for talking about him.
"Do you love him?"
Camila kicked Ally under the table, but Ally trapped Camila's foot between her legs and stopped her from doing it again.
"Yeah, sure, I guess," Lauren said, twirling a noodle around her fork. She looked up just in time to see Ally giving Camila a sympathetic look, but quickly looked back down before she got caught.
"Go Spiderman!" Rowan cried, breaking the silence and flinging a noodle across the room, which landed on the next table over. This earned them a few judgmental glances from the occupants of the table. Lauren and Ally burst into laughter while Camila scolded her daughter, apologizing to the family at the next table.
--
Dinner was over rather quickly, with all three girls rushing to finish before Rowan pulled another 'Spiderman' and got them kicked out of the restaurant. Lauren insisted on paying, arguing with Camila that she should be able to make up for the years they missed. As per usual, Camila gave in.
Now the girls stood in the parking lot, Rowan tugging on Lauren's hand to try and show her the shiny rock she had found on the sidewalk. Lauren laughed and agreed, following the small child and showing interest.
"I'm taking Rowan with me," Ally stated, shooting Camila a look once Lauren was out of hearing distance.
Camila's head shot up and she furrowed her eyebrows, confused at Ally's comment.
"What?"
"I'm watching Rowan for the next couple hours."
"I never asked you to...?"
"I know," Ally shrugged. Camila noticed she was nodding her head over at Lauren, smirking in Camila's direction. Camila got the hint.
"No you're not."
"Yes I am, Mila."
"Ally-"
"I'm not arguing with you."
"But-"
"You died, Mila. That girl thought you were dead. She hasn't seen you in years. You know she's dying to be able to talk to you without having to censor herself around Rowan. You owe this to her."
Camila looked down at the pavement, rocking back and forth on her toes.
"Camila..."
"Make sure she's in bed on time."
"You plan on staying out past her bedtime?" Ally smirked, nudging Camila playfully.
"Oh god, Ally. Don't even go there," Camila groaned, giving Ally a menacing glare and causing the smaller girl to laugh.
"Lauren is pregnant!"
Both girls turned their head around to see Rowan running towards them, a small white flower tucked behind her ear and an exhausted Lauren following close behind her.
"What?" Camila laughed, looking down at Rowan.
"She has a baby in her tummy!" Rowan exclaimed, running over to Lauren and pointing to her stomach.
Both girls looked at Lauren for an explanation, and she just rolled her eyes. "My boyfriend called and Rowan heard me say that I had a food baby in my stomach," she shrugged.
Ally burst into laughter, composing herself before leaning down to correct Rowan and explain what Lauren actually meant. Camila stood still, forcing a laugh and keeping her eyes off Lauren.
She had to stop getting so jealous of Lauren's boyfriend.
"Mommy, I wanna watch a movie," Rowan chirped, tugging on Camila's sleeve and looking up at her expectantly.
"Hey Ro, you're gonna come hang out with your Aunt Ally for a bit, is that okay? I have tons of movies that we can watch. And ice cream." Ally smirked, winking at Camila before kneeling down to match Rowan's height.
"Ice cream with gummy bears?"
"I'm sure we can figure something out."
"Deal, Allyson."
"It's Ally, silly."
"Allyson."
Ally laughed and picked Rowan up, hoisting her on her hip and looking back and forth from Lauren to Camila.
"You girls have fun," she smirked, winking at Camila before turning and carrying Rowan back to her car, on the other side of the parking lot.
Camila watched them walk away for as long as she could, using it as an excuse to not turn back and face Lauren. The dark haired girl cleared her throat, scaring Camila and forcing her to turn around and meet her eyes.
"What was that about?" Lauren asked, looking more relaxed than Camila had expected her to be.
"Huh?" she mumbled, glancing back at Ally's car, which was now pulling out of the parking lot.
"I dunno, she was smiling and acting all weird."
"That's just how Ally is," Camila forced a laugh, shrugging her shoulders.
"So what are we supposed to do now?" Lauren asked. She was confused at the sudden shift in Camila. The other girl seemed visibly tenser than she had been before.
"I-I don't know," Camila bit her lip.
Lauren needed to ease the tension. It wasn't comfortable. She thought for moment.
"Well what do you do for fun around here?" the taller girl asked, walking over to Camila's car and nodding for the girl to follow.
Camila laughed at her question, sliding into the driver's side of the car and shrugging. "Nothing, to be honest. Unless you want to go to Rowan's favorite park, but that's about all I know." She laughed and rolled her eyes.
"Works for me," Lauren shrugged.
"Wait, really?" Camila asked quickly, turning to face Lauren with confusion evident in her face. She had just been joking.
"We haven't talked in years, Mila. I'd be fine if we spend our time in a prison, for all I care."
"Well if you say so..."
Lauren laughed, hitting Camila's arm playfully. "Shut up and drive."
Camila giggled. The tension was starting to go away, no thanks to her. Lauren always knew what to say to make Camila feel comfortable. No one else did. This time they were spending together was whisking her back to a few years ago, when it was just them. Lauren and Camila. Camila and Lauren. No complications. She had missed that. She had missed her.
More than she was willing to admit.
--
The car ride was quiet for the most part. At first it was awkward. Both girls felt pressured to say something. But soon it became comfortable, Lauren and Camila both grew used to the absence of sound.
"Deer," Lauren noted, nodding out the window and breaking the silence to point out the animal in the field next to them.
"Where?" Camila asked excitedly, nearly swerving the car.
"Calm down, weirdo. It ran into the trees," Lauren laughed, reaching over to straighten out the steering wheel. Their hands brushed for a moment and Camila jumped, swerving the car slightly again.
"Shit. Sorry," Camila muttered, focusing on the road. "Your hands are cold," she lied.
Lauren just laughed and shrugged it off.
"Y'know one time when I was little, my dad and I were at the park, and there was a baby deer all by itself, and it was super skinny. So my dad called Animal Control and we went to visit him the next day and I-"
"-got to help feed him. I know Mila, I was with you," Lauren laughed.
"Oh. Yeah, right," Camila mumbled, resolving on keeping her mouth shut for the rest of the car ride.
A few minutes later, they found themselves pulling into the empty parking lot that bordered a small park. Lauren exited the car first, looking at Camila, who hesitated before following suit.
"I know there's some trail in the woods over there. I dunno where it leads but..." Camila trailed off, shrugging her shoulders.
"We should start walking, then."
"Right."
Camila jogged to catch up with Lauren, who was already a few yards ahead of her. She smoothed out her shirt, combing her fingers through her hair before walking beside the taller girl.
They walked for a while in comfortable silence, which Camila was thankful for. She was almost positive that if she hadn't had that time to calm down she would've blurted out something she didn't intend on saying.
A certain three word phrase.
"You just gonna stand there?"
Lauren's voice snapped Camila out of her daze, and she looked down at the girl. They were now on the bridge that the path led them to. She hadn't even realized Lauren had sat down until she looked next to her and realized she wasn't standing there.
Camila laughed softly, sitting down next to Lauren and letting her feet dangle over the edge of the bridge. Lauren got up for a moment, walking over to the edge of the path and grabbing a handful of pebbles. She returned, spilling them in the space between both girls.
"Try to hit that plant over there," Lauren nudged Camila, dropping a pebble into her palm and pointing to a fern that stood out of the running water.
"I can't believe you're an adult," Camila giggled, watching as Lauren threw the pebble, successfully missing the plant by a mile.
"I still throw like a child," the green-eyed girl chuckled.
"You're crazy."
"I know."
--
"How's my family?" Camila asked softly, breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen over the two girls as they sat and tossed pebbles into the river.
The question took Lauren by surprise, and she turned to face Camila, tilting her head to the side.
"You sure you want to know?" Lauren asked tediously, biting her lip.
Camila raised an eyebrow, turning to face her so both girls were now sitting cross legged with their knees touching. She nodded softly.
"It was pretty bad for a while, if I'm being completely honest. They didn't take it well. They seemed..." Lauren paused to think. "Angry. They didn't understand why you would... do what they think you did."
Camila swallowed hard, nodding to allow Lauren to keep talking.
"I used to go over every day. Your mom was devastated. I ended up cooking them dinner almost every night because your mom could barley step foot in the kitchen without crying."
Camila saw something flicker in Lauren's eyes. Pain.
"Thank you... for taking care of them," Camila half-whispered. Lauren nodded, not making eye contact with the other girl.
"And then one day, they just stopped letting me in. They said being around me reminded them too much of you. That whenever they saw me, they always expected to see you right by my side, and-" Lauren cut her sentence short to clear her throat.
"We haven't really stayed in contact since then. I thought they'd come around eventually. I mean, they were like my second family. But they never did. The last I heard of them was that..." she grew quiet.
"That... what?" Camila half-whispered.
"Your mom is pregnant."
Camila clasped her hands together and forced herself to take a deep breath. Lauren kept her eyes directed in her lap, breaking a stick into tiny pieces to keep her hands busy.
"Oh," Camila finally said, her voice cracking. Lauren noticed this and looked up slowly.
"I shouldn't be thinking like this," Camila whispered, looking away from Lauren.
"What?" Lauren leaned in, placing a hand on top of Camila's. The girl tensed.
"I shouldn't be... I don't know... I shouldn't feel replaced."
"I knew you would think that."
Camila turned back to face Lauren. "Huh?"
"I know how you think, Camila. I was your best friend at one point, y'know."
"Was?" Camila asked quietly before she realized what she had said. She felt Lauren's hand grow cold on top of hers.
"I-I just figured... it's been years," Lauren tried to explain.
Camila nodded.
"You are."
Camila sent Lauren a look of confusion.
"I still consider you my best friend," Lauren took a deep breath. "I just figured you didn't."
Camila couldn't help but laugh, shaking her head. "We've been out of contact for years and somehow you still know I would get excited over something as small as seeing a deer. I think that's saying something."
Lauren smiled softly, squeezing Camila's hand before placing her hand back in her lap.
Camila couldn't help but shiver at the loss of contact.
"I think a baby will be good for your parents."
Camila bit her lip, staying quiet.
"I really do, Camz," Lauren continued. Camila bit her cheek to keep herself from smiling at the old nickname. "I don't think they're trying to replace you. They just... they had so much love left to give you. I know that sounds cheesy, but I think it's a good thing that they have a new baby to take care of."
"Rowan's an aunt," Camila gasped, looking up at Lauren, causing them both to giggle.
"I don't think they could replace you if they tried, Mila."
"I'm sorry," Camila blurted out.
"What?"
"For leaving you."
"You did what you had to do." There was an edge to Lauren's voice, and Camila didn't like it.
"I could've done something."
"You made sure Rowan was safe, Mila. I get that. You shouldn't have to apologize for that."
Camila nodded softly, focusing her eyes on the slow moving water under them.
--
"It's getting late."
Camila looked up at Lauren, realizing it was nearly pitch black out. She jumped to her feet and Lauren did the same.
"Shit. Ally's gonna think we ha-" Camila shut herself up .
"Think we had what?"
"...had trouble getting home," Camila lied, shrugging her shoulders and walking down the path. Lauren followed.
--
a/n: so today the song "fools" by lauren aquilina came on my 8tracks and if you want a song that perfectly describes this fic, you should listen. it's such a good song too omg. so here's chapter seven! i'm so happy you guys are liking this :) rowan cracks me up tbh, i don't even know where i got the inspiration for her character from lmao. let me know what you think! have a good day bbies <3
- lena (@lenajfc on twitter, txrches on tumblr)