"Who're you talking to?" Dinah smirked, plopping down on the couch next to Lauren. The green eyed girl had been attached to her phone all morning, and her bandmates had slowly caught on. Lauren whipped her head up at the sound of Dinah's voice and quickly locked her phone.
"No one," she rebutted, running a hand through her hair and checking the time. Dinah didn't buy her excuse though, and the Polynesian girl snatched Lauren's phone out of her hands before the girl had time to realize what she was doing.
"Zayn?" Dinah wiggled her eyebrows and held Lauren's phone out of the older girl's reach. Giving up, Lauren groaned and sunk back into the couch.
"Is there a problem with that?" Lauren rolled her eyes. Meanwhile, Dinah was typing away at Lauren's phone, which the green eyed girl didn't realize.
"He's coming to dinner with us tonight," Dinah tossed Lauren's phone back into her lap. Lauren raised an eyebrow, looking down at her phone. Sure enough, Dinah had just sent Zayn an invitation to go to dinner with them, and he'd replied within seconds. Lauren bit her lip and glanced back up at her bandmate.
"You're welcome," Dinah chuckled, leaning back on the couch and propping her feet across Lauren's lap. "Now you can see how Camila reacts."
"What?" Lauren perked up at the mention of Camila's name. Dinah knew well enough that Lauren wasn't over her. Whether Zayn was a serious attempt at getting over Camila or just a pleasant distraction, she didn't care. She just wanted her bandmate to get her mind off of things for once. Lauren had a tendency to dwell on the negative.
"When he comes to dinner you can see if Mila gets jealous and whatnot," Dinah shrugged. "You know she can't hide her emotions to save her life."
"I don't want to hurt her," Lauren rebutted, sitting up and glancing down at the messages on her phone once more. Uninviting Zayn would be rude, she knew that. Plus, she sort of did want to see him again. It'd been nice to have normal conversation with him.
"That doesn't count as hurting her. Plus, she's the one who's been giving you the cold shoulder. If anything, this is what she deserves," Dinah tossed a pillow in Lauren's direction. "And you need to get your ass out there, too. You're Lauren Jauregui, and you're single. Everyone wants you," she teased, blocking the pillow that Lauren tossed back at her.
Thirty minutes and a plethora of dresses and makeup later, Dinah deemed Lauren prepared for her date. The dark haired girl stood in front of the mirror in their hotel room, spinning in a circle and studying the burgundy dress Dinah had picked out for her. She found it funny how the younger girl insisted on helping her get ready.
"He's gonna be all over you," Dinah clapped her hands, brushing Lauren's hair over her shoulder and making her face the mirror. "Someone else might be too," she winked.
Groaning, Lauren pushed Dinah's hands off of her shoulder and shook her head. "I'm not doing this because of Camila, so can we just stop talking about her?"
"What about me?" The hotel door opened at the same time and Lauren jumped, turning to meet Camila's eyes. The brown eyed girl gave Lauren a once over, swallowing hard when she saw what she was wearing. She hid her shock well, though.
"Nothing," Dinah quickly spoke up for the both of them. "We were just listing everyone who was coming to dinner."
Camila stepped inside the room, tilting her head to the side. "I thought it was just the five of us?" she asked, making every effort to not make eye contact with Lauren, who was doing the same with her.
"Lauren's bringing a date," Dinah smirked, linking arms with the green eyed girl. "Right, Lauren?"
Lauren looked up, biting her lip. Dinah elbowed her hard in the side and she winced, but nodded quickly. "Yeah. Zayn's coming with us," she forced a smile.
Camila kept quite a good poker face, but remained quiet for a few moments before plastering on a smile. "Cool," she nodded once, glancing back at the door. "Well our ride's here... so whenever you're ready. I'll just be... out there," she turned and walked swiftly out of the room without another word.
Dinah nudged Lauren knowingly, wearing a smirk. Lauren, however, sighed in frustration and pushed past the Polynesian girl and out of the room. Dinah quickly caught up with her once they reached the lobby of the hotel.
The car ride was fairly silent. Everyone could sense the tension, mainly between Camila and Lauren. Camila, however, seemed to be the only one who didn't. She gazed contently out of the window, reaching up to trace patterns in the condensation every few minutes.
"Stop," Dinah hissed, bumping Lauren's shoulder. "You're staring."
Lauren tore her eyes off of Camila and turned to Dinah, taking a deep breath. The Polynesian girl sensed her nervousness and gave her a supportive smile, just as their cab rolled to a stop in front of the restaurant.
"Look who it is," Normani nodded towards a group of paparazzi, seemingly distracted by someone else, not noticing that they'd arrived. Lauren craned her neck, realizing Zayn was at the center of the crowd. She bit her lip, allowing Dinah to tug her out of the vehicle.
"Hey," Zayn smiled, waving off the paparazzi and following them quickly inside. Lauren gave him a nervous smile, glancing behind them to make sure Camila had made it inside safely. They were led to their table, where Dinah shoved Lauren in the seat next to Zayn. Unfortunately, that spot was also across from Camila.
"The names on this menu are so fucking ridiculous," Zayn chuckled, leaning over and pointing to one of the small paragraphs on her menu. "How do you even pronounce that? It's pasta, not a foreign language."
Lauren giggled, looking down at her menu and nodding in agreement. Her and Zayn complimented each other well, as Normani and Dinah made clear to her throughout the night. Soon enough, their plates were brought to the table. Zayn had ended up ordering for the both of them, insisting that she try one of his favorite seafood dishes.
"Oh my god, this is actually really good," Lauren gaped with a mouthful of food. She quickly cupped her hands over her mouth, but Zayn only laughed at her. Her face grew red and she quickly finished chewing her food.
Zayn got along with the other bandmates quite well, too. All except for Camila, who didn't speak a word the entire meal. However, she didn't seem to look at anyone, either. Lauren glanced up at her, wondering if she was doing this out of jealously.
Her napkin slipped out of her lap and she absentmindedly bent down to grab it. When she lifted her head to sit back up, she caught sight of something underneath the table. More specifically, in Camila's lap. A notebook.
Narrowing her eyes, Lauren saw Camila's small hands clutching one of the crayons from the children's menu, and writing something down carefully. She bit her lip and sat back up.
The next time she stole a glance at Camila, the girl was staring intently at her half-eaten plate of food, before looking back down at her lap. By the movement of her shoulders, Lauren could tell she was writing something down once more. She felt increasingly worried, but also felt someone kick her underneath the table.
Dinah glared at her, noticing that Lauren was zoning out on Camila instead of paying attention to Zayn. Sighing reluctantly, Lauren allowed the boy to engage her in a conversation about the paparazzi, which she slowly gained interest in.
Once the dinner was over, Zayn insisted on paying for the meal. Even after Lauren insisting it was alright, he wouldn't take no for an answered. Eventually, they all gathered outside to say their goodbyes. Except for Camila, who pushed straight past all of them and crawled into the back of the cab.
"I had a really good time tonight, Lauren," Zayn said once they were alone. The other three bandmates had slipped away when Lauren wasn't paying attention.
She smiled softly with a small nod. "Me too, surprisingly," the green eyed girl ran a hand through her hair.
"I guess I'll talk to you later tonight," Zayn took one of her hands. "That is, if you still want to see me again after this."
"Of course I do," Lauren laughed, rolling her eyes. The boy in front of her laughed, opening his mouth to say something else, but he was interrupted by the beep of a car horn.
"That's my ride," he nodded towards the black car. "I'll see you later, Lauren," he said, bringing her hand up and kissing the back of her palm. Lauren shivered, losing her words and watching as he jogged over and slid into the back of his car.
"I'll take him if you don't want him," Normani smirked once Lauren joined them in the cab. Camila didn't acknowledge her presence.
Lauren laughed nervously and shook her head. "I'll point him in your direction if it doesn't work out," she teased, stealing a glance at Camila, who was staring intently at her phone.
Sighing in frustration, Lauren resorted on staying quiet for the rest of the car ride. She didn't know what Camila's problem was, but she didn't want to contribute to it any more that she might already have.
The girls slept on the tour bus that night, having to drive through the night to reach another part of California. Lauren lay awake, having a deep conversation about feminism with Zayn over text. The more she talked to him, the more she realized that he had a great mind, as well.
She'd thought everyone had been asleep when the bus rolled to a stop. After all, it was 2 in the morning. But the minute the bus was parked, she heard rustling in the bunk across from hers and then soft footsteps leading back to the bathroom.
Out of curiosity, the green eyed girl pried open her bunk curtain and shone the light of her phone across the narrow hallway. The light illuminated Camila's open bunk. And that's when she saw it. The notebook Camila had been writing in at dinner.
Without thinking, Lauren carefully reached across and snatched it out from under her pillow. She opened it, slowly flipping through the pages and feeling her heart drop straight into her stomach. She knew it'd been too good to be true.
Pages upon pages were filled with precise food journals, counting calories and grams of fat in each meal Camila had consumed in what looked like the past few weeks. Upon further investigation, Lauren realized that Camila definitely wasn't eating as much as she was supposed to.
She heard the sink running and quickly scrambled to shove the journal back under Camila's pillow, closing her bunk curtain just as she heard the bathroom door creak open. Holding her breath, Lauren waited until she was sure Camila was back in her bunk to let out a long sigh of frustration.
She couldn't help but blame herself.
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a/n: here's chapter 24! sorry it took so long, i've been enjoying the summer weather a little too much lol. have a great day bbies!!
- lena (@lenajfc on twitter, txrches on tumblr)