Camila kicked at a pebble as they walked, occasionally looking over at Lauren with an idiotic smile on her face. She was relieved that the older girl wasn't unhappy with her.
"What's gotten into you?" Lauren raised an eyebrow when she caught Camila staring at her. The smaller girl's face grew red and she giggled nervously.
"I am happy, that is all," Camila shrugged.
"You're about to be even happier," Lauren smirked, tugging on Camila's hand and leading her across the street. "Cause' we're here," she turned the corner and pointed to the frozen yogurt shop. Camila's face lit up and she practically dragged Lauren through the large front doors.
Camila shivered as soon as they set foot in the store. Noticing this, Lauren slipped her leather jacket off and laid it across Camila's shoulders. The smaller girl looked up at her in shock.
"But this is yours, Lolo," she said softly, trying to shrug the jacket back off her shoulders. Lauren simply laughed and shook her head.
"I want you to wear it," Lauren helped Camila slip her arms into the jacket, feeling butterflies in her stomach from seeing the smaller girl in her clothing.
"Banana," Camila smiled widely, spotting the banana flavored yogurt machine and grabbing a cup. Lauren did the same, keeping a close eye on Camila as she dispensed a large amount of frozen yogurt into the small bowl.
"What are you getting?" Camila asked, shuffling back over to Lauren with her bowl in both hands.
"I dunno," Lauren shrugged and handed her cup to Camila. "Surprise me."
"Okay!" Camila hummed, switching her bowl with Lauren's and slowly scanning the row of machines. For her, this was a big deal. Lauren had entrusted her with this mission, and Camila was determined to pick the perfect ice cream flavor.
Her eyes landed on the picture of a strawberry above one of the machines and she smiled. She liked strawberries. Ally had let her try a chocolate covered strawberry once, and then the smaller girl had to hide the remains from Camila because she kept begging for more.
That was it! Chocolate covered strawberry. Camila internally fist bumped herself for her amazing discovery.
First, she hopped to the chocolate machine, filling up half of the cup with strawberry flavored frozen yogurt. Then, she took a few steps to the side and topped it off with chocolate yogurt. Adorning a wide smile, she turned around and skipped back over to Lauren.
"Chocolate covered strawberry," Camila chimed, handing Lauren her cup and taking back her own. Lauren looked down and giggled.
"You're too smart for your own good," she teased. Camila crinkled her nose, heading over to the topping bar. Lauren followed and watched as Camila added a stack of banana slices to the top of her cup.
"I love bananas," Camila laughed softly and held her cup up to show Lauren. "Are you getting anything?"
"Nah," Lauren shook her head and nudged the other girl towards the counter. "I think what I've got is good."
"That is boring," Camila shook her head and turned back around, plucking a gummy bear from the toppings bar and placing it on top of Lauren's ice cream. "Mr. Bear," she nodded once.
Before Lauren could reply, Camila quickly gasped and turned to grab another gummy bear. She placed it next to Mr. Bear, and sighed in relief.
"What?" Lauren laughed, raising an eyebrow.
"Mr. Bear was lonely. So I got him another Mr. Bear," Camila nodded once, pointing to the gummy bears.
"What about Mrs. Bear?" Lauren asked, tilting her head to the side. Camila just giggled and shook her head.
"Mr. Bear is not into that," she laughed quietly to herself and padded over to the counter. Lauren quickly caught up with her, placing her chocolate covered strawberry and gay bear frozen yogurt on the scale. After paying for their food, Camila led her over to one of the circular booths in the back of the store.
They sat in comfortable silence for a while, Camila happily devouring her ice cream, while Lauren took small bites and watched Camila adoringly. Mr. Bear and his partner sat happily on a napkin between them. Lauren didn't have the heart to eat them.
"Talk about a throwback," Lauren broke the silence, listening to the old song that was playing softly throughout the store. Camila furrowed her eyebrows and listened for a moment.
Suddenly, she was met with an overwhelming rush of familiarity.
Camila shuffled her white cheer shoes against the pavement. Wiping her eyes, she glanced back at the group of girls behind her. She quickly slowed her pace, not wanting to appear too excited about going out for frozen yogurt.
"My hair was a mess today," Harper rolled her eyes. "Coach made me use way too much hairspray for the game." Camila bit her lip, moving her hands up to comb her fingers through her hair. Did her hair look okay? She hadn't even thought about it. She had been too excited to perform.
"Scott was practically making heart eyes at you from the stands, Mila," another one of the girls, Caitlyn, spoke up. Camila internally grimaced. She didn't want to think about Scott at the moment. Or ever, really.
"I think we did well," Camila said softly, trying to turn the conversation in another direction. She pushed through the doors and into the frozen yogurt shop, smiling softly.
After grabbing her cup, Camila grew confused. Upon turning around, she realized all of the girls had already sat down without getting anything. Camila furrowed her eyebrows and walked over to them.
"What are you guys doing?" she asked, tilting her head to the side and holding up her cup. "Aren't we getting froyo?" Practically all of the girls crinkled their noses and shook their heads.
"Not during cheer season," Sydney explained. Camila raised an eyebrow.
"Well then why did we come here?" she asked.
"For that," Harper smirked, nodding towards the door, where the entire basketball team was filing into the store. Sydney grabbed Camila's arm and tugged her down into the booth. The girls quickly scooted over to make room for her. Camila sighed softly and placed her empty cup on the table in front of them.
"We're wasting our time just to watch boys?" Camila asked in disbelief. Hell, she'd much rather watch girls. One girl in particular. But she wouldn't say that aloud. Ever.
"Not just any boys," Harper scoffed, shaking her head. "Only the most angelic faces to ever grace Miami," she swooned, earning nods of agreement from the other girls. Camila crinkled her nose in jealously as she watched the basketball team all pile their cups full of the sugary substance.
"Oh my god, Mila, is that a hickey?" one of the girls practically squealed. Camila whipped her head around and looked at the blonde in confusion.
"What are you talking about?" she asked, quickly bringing her hands up to cover her neck. She couldn't possibly have a hickey. Her and Scott barely kissed.
"Not there," Harper shook her head and leaned across the table, pulling down the shoulder of Camila's unzipped jacket and pointing to the mark on her shoulder. "There."
Camila's eyes instantly widened and she snatched the material out of the girl's hand, quickly covering up the bruise. She scanned the faces at the table, meeting eyes with Sydney pleadingly.
"Who the hell gives someone a hickey on their shoulder?" Sydney directed her question at Harper. Camila sighed when the other girls laughed, silently thanking Sydney for diverting the attention away from her.
"I dunno, maybe Camila's into kinky stuff," Harper shrugged and drummed her fingers on the table. Camila grimaced and pulled her jacket further over her shoulders. Sydney kicked her foot under the table, waving her hand and signaling to her that it was okay. No one had caught onto anything.
Camila still felt the need to cover her tracks, though. "I fell the other day during practice," Camila shrugged and looked down at her feet. "That's probably what it's from."
"Did coach see?" Bethany looked up from her phone for the first time that night. "You know, if you keep goofing off in the gym, you're never going to get center flyer next year." The jealously radiating off of the girl was palpable.
Camila simply shrugged. She honestly didn't mind what position she held on the team, as long as she got to cheer. It wasn't even her favorite thing, but it gave her a place to be other than her house. She needed that.
"Look who it is, Mila," Harper smirked and nudged the smaller girl's arm. Camila gave her a look of confusion, turning around and looking at the door. Her hands balled into fists when she saw Scott enter the store.
"Hey babe," he smirked, spotting Camila and the other cheerleaders in the back of the room. Camila bit her lip nervously, but stood up when he walked over to them.
"Hey, what are y-?" Camila began, but was cut off by Scott pushing her against the wall and practically shoving his tongue down her throat. She shivered. Public displays of affection weren't generally her thing.
"Scott," she warned, pushing her boyfriend off of her and quickly wiping the back of her mouth with her hand. His actions earned an array of hoots and hollers from the girls at the table, which caused Camila's face to turn bright red. She felt overwhelmingly uncomfortable with everyone's eyes on her.
"Loosen up, Mila," he chuckled, ruffling Camila's hair. She scoffed and took a step away from him, shaking her head.
"I've got to go home," she lied, pretending to check the time. "My uncle's expecting me back by 9."
"9?" Scott laughed. "You're such a liar, Mila. Tom doesn't give a fuck what you do." His words hit her harder than they should've and Camila looked down at her shoes embarrassingly.
Everyone envied her for having such a lenient guardian. But what Camila really wanted was someone who cared. Not Tom. He didn't care. Not Scott, either. No, she wanted someone who craved to be around her. Someone who was actually interested in what she had to say. She felt tears well up in her eyes when she realized how alone she truly was.
Sighing in defeat, she sat down slowly. Scoot slid into the bench next to her, pulling her into his side. Camila tried to hide her discomfort. She would just have to get used to this.
"Camz," Lauren snapped her fingers in front of the smaller girl's face, making Camila jump and widen her eyes.
"You zoned out," Lauren laughed softly. Camila, on the other hand, took a deep breath and blinked a few times. It took her a moment to realize where she was. Everything slowly fizzled back into reality, and she bit her lip anxiously.
"Is something wrong?" Lauren grew worried, grabbing Camila's hand and running her thumb over the back of the girl's palm. Camila met Lauren's eyes and debated what she should do for a moment.
"I am just cold," Camila lied, tugging the leather jacket over her torso and shivering for effect. Luckily, Lauren bought it. The green eyed girl glanced down at their nearly empty froyo cups and stacked them on top of each other.
"Good thing we get to go home and cuddle now," Lauren laughed softly and stood, holding out her hand for Camila's. The smaller girl nodded and took her hand, allowing Lauren to lead her as she threw away their trash and then exited the small shop.
Lauren fished around in her pocket, making sure she had enough money before hailing a taxi. The car ride was fairly silent. As they neared the house, Lauren heard Camila gasp.
"Lolo," Camila quickly turned and tugged on Lauren's sleeve, tapping the window with her other hand. Lauren raised an eyebrow, studying as Camila began tracing downwards lines on the window.
"What are you doing?" Lauren asked, unbuckling her seatbelt and scooting over. Camila tapped on the window once more. It was then that Lauren saw the small white flakes drifting down from the sky.
"It is snowing," Camila smiled widely and turned to face Lauren. "The sky gave us a present."
Lauren giggled, pulling Camila into her side and kissing the small girl's forehead. "Y'know, I used to hate snow," she confessed. Camila practically gasped.
"But why?" the smaller girl raised her eyebrows.
"It was just a nuisance," Lauren shrugged and absentmindedly traced circles in Camila's palm. "But then you came along, and I guess you've sorta helped me see that everything is beautiful."
"Duh," Camila crinkled her nose. Lauren feigned disbelief and nudged the smaller girl playfully.
"Look, Lolo," Camila ignored her actions and quickly turned back to the window. "The snow is... shimmery!" she clapped her hands, proud of herself for using the new word she had learned. The events of the hours prior were completely forgotten.
"Woah," Lauren whispered, scooting closer to the window and watching as the snow at the bottom of the hill reflected the moonlight. Camila was right, it was shimmery.
"It's beautiful," Lauren said softly.
"No," Camila shook her head and turned to Lauren, studying her face for a few moments. "It is pretty. You are beautiful." Lauren's cheeks grew bright red and she was thankful that it was already dark out.
"We're here," Camila noted, pointing to the building. Lauren paid the driver as they rolled to a stop, and by the time she looked up, Camila was already standing outside the car. Both girls hurried inside the warm building.
Camila pushed open the door to the apartment, gasping when she saw the window in the back of the room. It was snowing even more now. She practically sprinted across the apartment and pressed her hands against the cool glass, staring intently at the scene before her.
Lauren sighed contently, turning one of the dim lights in the living room. The apartment lit up just enough so that she could see. Camila turned around and smiled widely.
"Come look, Lo," she said softly. Lauren joined her at the back of the apartment. Camila immediately found Lauren's hand and laced their fingers together.
After a few minutes of silence, Lauren turned to Camila and squeezed her hand. "Can we go upstairs? I wanna talk to you about something."
"Is it bad?" Camila asked worriedly after turning to face the taller girl. Lauren shook her head, and tugged on Camila's hand. She led her upstairs without another word, as Camila grew worried.
Lauren closed the bedroom door behind them. Camila bit her lip, shuffling over to the bed and hugging a pillow to her chest once she sat down.
"You look nervous," Lauren laughed softly and sat down on the edge of the bed. Camila remained silent and Lauren furrowed her eyebrows. "Hey, don't be nervous," she scooted next to Camila and patted the space beside her.
"Did I do something bad?" Camila asked, timidly crawling next to Lauren and lacing their fingers together. "I did not mean to."
Lauren quickly shook her head and tugged one of her blankets over their feet. "Just because I want to talk about something doesn't automatically mean you're in trouble," she said quietly. "It just means I wanna talk about something when we're both not distracted by other things."
"Oh," Camila hummed softly and began picking at a loose strand of string on the blanket. "What is it, then?"
"Well..." Lauren took a deep breath. "Remember when we were in the store and you wanted me to buy the beanie for you?" Camila nodded softly, looking down. She was ashamed of how she'd acted earlier.
"Hey, no, it was my fault," Lauren grabbed her hand and cradled it in her own. "I shouldn't have put you on the spot like that. It wouldn't been a better idea for me to talk to you about it first."
"About what?" Camila asked, shivering when Lauren ran her thumb over the back of her palm.
"I wanna help you... be a better person," Lauren tried to string her words together so she wouldn't confuse Camila. "I want you to be able to do things like that on your own."
"You want to fix..." Camila continued her sentence by bringing her hands up and knocking on her forehead. "My brain."
"No," Lauren quickly shook her head and reached out to bring Camila's hands away from her face. "You don't need to be fixed. You aren't broken."
"But..." Camila sighed and looked down. "Why did you get mad?"
"I wasn't mad," the green eyed girl looked down at their hands anxiously. "I just... I want you to learn how to do those things. So you can take care of yourself."
"But why?" Camila tilted her head to the side and studied Lauren's face.
"What happens if I'm not around and you don't have anyone to help you?" Lauren looked up. Camila's eyes widened and she quickly shook her head, moving forwards and burying her head in Lauren's shoulder.
"I want you to stay around," Camila's small voice squeaked out, and Lauren physically felt her heart breaking. She wrapped her arms around the small girl and rested her chin on Camila's head.
"I know, baby," Lauren whispered. Camila lifted her head slowly and wiped her eyes.
"I'm gonna stay around. For as long as I can," Lauren quickly interlocked their pinkies and kissed Camila's hand. "But I want to be around to see you do these things. I want you to learn how to be independent. There's no better feeling than being able to do things for yourself."
"But you w-" Camila stopped speaking abruptly when a small noise escaped her lips. She quickly cupped her hands over her mouth and widened her eyes in fear.
"You will s-" Camila slapped her hands back over her mouth when her chest spammed again, making her bounce slightly on the bed. Terror flickered in her eyes and she quickly curled up into a ball.
"I am breaking," Camila whispered, shaking her head. She covered her face with her hands just as her body jolted for a third time. A small whimper escaped her mouth.
Lauren had to bite her lip to sustain her laughter. She quickly shook her head and tried to pull Camila's hands away from her face.
"You're not breaking, babe," she giggled. "You just have the hiccups."
"The wh-," Camila cupped her hands over her mouth when another hiccup escaped her lips. "The what?" she asked quickly this time to beat the next hiccup.
"The hiccups, Camz, it happens to everyone," Lauren laughed softly. Camila furrowed her eyebrows.
"It is not-hiccup-funny," Camila pouted, jutting out her bottom lip and crossing her arms. Seconds later, she hiccupped again and hugged her knees to her chest.
"Camz," Lauren bit her lip to hide a smile and she pulled Camila closer to her. "It's fine. Everyone gets the hiccups, it's not big deal."
"I don't like them," Camila mumbled, shaking her head. The bed bounced slightly when she hiccupped once more. Lauren couldn't help but giggle.
"Here," Lauren crawled across the bed and snatched a water bottle off of her nightstand, handing it to Camila. "Drink something. It'll make the hiccups go away."
Camila eagerly brought the cup to her lips, throwing her head back and downing practically half the bottle in three gulps. She stooped drinking when she hiccupped once more, causing water to dribble down her chin and onto her shirt.
"Now they will be gone?" she asked as Lauren reached out to wipe the water off of her chin.
"Probably," Lauren shrugged. She wasn't used to having to explain something as trivial as the hiccups to someone. Poor Camila had been terrified.
"That was easy," Camila laughed softly, but was met with another hiccup mid-laugh. She huffed, letting her hands fall to her sides. "You-hiccup-lied," she muttered, cupping her hands over her mouth.
"Sometimes they've just got to go away on their own," Lauren bit her lip and opened her arms, motioning for Camila to scoot closer. The smaller girl practically crawled into Lauren's lap, wrapping her arms around her shoulders and burying her head in Lauren's neck just as another hiccup made the bed jostle slightly.
"There's other ways to get rid of the hiccups, y'know," Lauren said softly after a few moments of silence. Only Camila could manage to make Lauren feel bad for her when she had the hiccups.
"How?" Camila mumbled against Lauren's hoodie, trying to hold in another hiccup but failing.
"You could hold your breath, or do a handstand, or scare them away," Lauren said, beginning to list tricks she'd learned on getting rid of the hiccups.
"Scare them-hiccup-away?" Camila asked, keeping her head buried in the crook of Lauren's neck.
"Yeah, like you get someone to g-" Lauren began, but was cut off by her bedroom door being burst open. Camila screamed, snapping her head up and colliding the top of her head with Lauren's chin.
"I'm not drunk!" Dinah slurred, practically tripping over her own two feet and into the middle of the bedroom. "Don't trust anything that Normani s-"
"Dinah Jane," Normani groaned, appearing in the doorway. She grabbed Dinah's arm, dragging her out into the hallway and passing her off to Ally, who was waiting by Dinah's bedroom door.
"I'm sorry about her," Normani laughed softly, looking at the two girls on the bed. Lauren had her hands cupped over her chin, and Camila had her eyebrows furrowed, rubbing the top of her head. "What did I just walk in on?"
"I have the hiccups," Camila muttered, turning to Lauren and observing the girl's expression. "Did I hurt you?" she asked quietly, suddenly becoming concerned. The brown eyed girl gently cupped Lauren's face in her hands and tilted her chin upwards.
"I should be asking you the same thing," Lauren laughed, tapping the top of Camila's head lightly. She took Camila's hands in her own and turned back to face Normani, who raised an eyebrow at them.
"Where'd you guys even disappear off to?" Normani asked, placing a hand on her hip suggestively. Lauren's face grew red, but Camila beat her to an answer. She crawled off of the bed and smiled excitedly.
"We got yogurt," she explained. "The frozen kind. With Mr. Bear. And then we came back here and... we talked. And then I hiccupped. It was the best day ever."
"The best day ever?" Normani laughed softly, Camila nodded. After a few moments, though, she shook her head to take back her answer.
"Tomorrow is always the best day ever," Camila glanced back at Lauren, smiling like an idiot.
"Why tomorrow?" Normani and Lauren both asked at the same time. Camila giggled, as if the answer was obvious.
"Because tomorrow is always a promise for another day with her," Camila turned around and pointed to the green eyed girl on the bed, blushing slightly.
Lauren's face instantly turned red, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't hide the smile that spread across her face. She realized then that tomorrow was her favorite day, too. If it meant having another day with Camila.
"Y'all are gross," Normani teased, nudging Camila's shoulder playfully. "I'll leave you to it, then," she smirked and winked at Lauren, who sent her a warning glare. Normani ignored her, laughing and slipping out of the bedroom.
Camila giggled quietly and hopped back onto the bed. Lauren raised an eyebrow.
"Looks like Dinah really scared those hiccups outta' you," Lauren smirked. Camila paused for a moment, her face lighting up a few seconds later.
"It is a Christmas miracle!" Camila exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air and falling back on the bed. Lauren raised an eyebrow.
"It isn't Christmas, goofball," Lauren laughed, lying back on the bed so her head rested on her pillow. Camila frowned and crawled to the space next to her girlfriend.
"It is a... just a miracle," Camila giggled. She curled up in Lauren's side and sighed contently.
"We never finished talking..." Lauren said softly. Camila lifted her head and thought for a few moments. She slowly reached up and traced her fingers over Lauren's jawline.
"You can help me..." she whispered, thinking for a second before continuing. "You can help me. But, you have to promise to still sing to me every night."
"Of course I promise," Lauren laughed and kissed Camila's forehead. "Only for you."
I'm a phoenix in the water
A fish that's learned to fly
And I've always been a daughter
But feathers are meant for the sky
And so I'm wishing, wishing further,
For the excitement to arrive
It's just I'd rather be causing the chaos
Than laying at the sharp end of this knife
With every small disaster
I'll let the waters still
Take me away to some place real
'Cause they say home is where your heart is set in stone
Is where you go when you're alone
Is where you go to rest your bones
It's not just where you lay your head
It's not just where you make your bed
As long as we're together, does it matter where we go?
So when I'm ready to be bolder,
And my cuts have healed with time
Comfort will rest on my shoulder
And I'll bury my future behind
I'll always keep you with me
You'll be always on my mind
But there's a shining in the shadows
I'll never know unless I try
With every small disaster
I'll let the waters still
Take me away to some place real
'Cause they say home is where your heart is set in stone
Is where you go when you're alone
Is where you go to rest your bones
It's not just where you lay your head
It's not just where you make your bed
As long as we're together, does it matter where we go?
Lauren's voice quieted to a whisper once she finished the song. Camila hummed contently and snaked her arms up the sleeves of Lauren's hoodie, seeking warmth in the chilly apartment.
"Goodnight, Lo," Camila whispered. Lauren shivered at the feeling of Camila's soft breath against her neck.
"Night, princess," Lauren smiled, pressing a kiss to the top of Camila's head. She pulled the blankets over them, closing her eyes and appreciating their little world of bliss while the snow blanketed the streets around them.
-
a/n: yay for long chapters and lots of fluff!! this is to make up for all the angst in the past few chapters. as always, let me know what you think, and have a wonderful day bbies <3
- lena (@lenajfc on twitter, forbrighterskies on tumblr)