I was in the gym with Normani doing push-ups. It was something that we always did together. Normani ended up getting in a fight with a random kid just to get a two week suspension just to keep me company. Her initial punishment was going to be detention, but Mani made sure she beat up the boy Luis so bad that he ended up in the hospital.
"I think we're good for today" Normani said sprawled out on the floor.
"I'm all sweaty" I said turning over to sit down beside her.
"You're supposed to sweat it means you're actually doing some work" Normani said.
"But I'm going to the movies with Maia" I said.
"As in an actual movie theater?" Normani asked sitting up.
"Yes," I said.
"That's a big step. Are you sure you're ready for that? I thought we talked about taking it slow with her" Normani said.
"You talked about and I only nodded my head. I didn't agree to it" I said.
"Touché" Normani said.
"I like making her happy" I said.
"Do you know what movie you're going to see?" Normani asked.
"No," I said.
"Just make sure it's not some shitty ass chick flick. Ally forced me to go see the Age of Adeline and the only thing in that movie that made me sad was when the dog died" Normani said.
"Chick flick?" I asked.
"Yeah it's these movies that make girls cry. It actually works to show girls your sensitive side. I suggest watching the Avengers: Age of Ultron instead" Normani said.
"But we already saw it" I said.
"Maia doesn't know that. Trust me on this" Normani said winking at me.
"I wouldn't believe a word that comes out of Normani Kordei Hamilton's mouth" a familiar voice said from behind us and we both turned around.
"If it isn't Victoria Loren Kelly, you still owe me money" Normani said standing up.
"Who's Victoria? That's Tori" I said getting up also.
"Her name is Victoria, she just goes by Tori" Normani said.
"The only person that calls me Victoria is my mom and I still can't believe you remember that I owe you money" Tori said. "It was just twenty dollars"
"Hand it over Tori and it's actually sixty dollars now since I added an interest fee" Normani said.
Tori rolled her eyes and dug in her pocket and counted the money out in Normani's hand.
"You're such a hustler" Tori said.
"Yeah whatever you just think about that next time you borrow money from me" Normani said taking the money from Tori and then handing it to me.
"But it's yours" I said.
"Yeah and I'm giving it to you for your date tonight" Normani said.
"It's okay my dad will give me money" I said.
"I'm not taking no for an answer" Normani said forcing the money into my hand.
"Oh you and Maia are going on a date?" Tori asked.
"Yes," I said.
"That should be interesting" Tori said and Normani raised her eyebrows questioningly at Tori.
"Why do you care?" Normani asked.
"I don't" Tori said.
"You're lying" Normani said.
"If you think so but you should totally come to the college party on campus tomorrow" Tori said to Normani.
"We'll be there" Normani said.
"I didn't even tell you that much information about it yet" Tori said.
"I have to go Mani" I said starting to make my way towards the exit of the gym.
"Just text me the details and we will meet you there" Normani shouted over her shoulder as she followed me out of the gym.
When Normani dropped me off at home, I immediately ran to the bathroom to shower and changed into my normal attire of skinny jeans, T-shirt, and a beanie. I remembered what Normani said in the car about being prepared just in case something more happened after the date. I was opening my drawer and pulling out a condom when my mom cleared her throat behind me. I dropped the condom on the floor and tried to hurriedly put it into my pocket.
"Lauren Michelle, what are you doing?" my mom asked when I turned around to face her.
"Nothing," I said.
"What did I tell you about lying?" my mom asked.
"I'm sorry" I said.
"Now tell me the truth" my mom said.
"I have a date with a girl that I like" I said.
"Oh, what's her name?" my mom asked.
"Maia and she's Australian" I said excitedly.
"She's not pressuring you into doing anything that you don't want to, is she?" my mom asked.
"No," I said.
"Then why are you taking a condom with you on your date? Don't lie either Lauren Michelle" my mom said.
I avoided eye contact with my mom as I started to get anxious. "Because I really like her and I want to do other stuff with her" I said fidgeting with my fingers.
My mom sighed. "Lauren Michelle, we talked about this already" my mom said.
"I know but I'm not a baby anymore" I said.
"It's her choice if she wants to do that. Don't pressure her into doing anything she doesn't want to. You hear me?" my mom said.
"Yes," I said.
"Okay, if it's okay with you then I would like to meet Maia" my mom said.
"Really?" I asked.
"Yes since she seems to make you happy" my mom said kissing the side of my head.
"But you didn't like Camila and she made me happy" I said.
My mom's body became tense at the mention of Camila's name. "Camila Cabello isn't a good person sweetie" my mom said.
"Yes she is" I said.
"Lauren Michelle do not argue with me" my mom said.
"But you're wrong" I said.
"Go downstairs and talk to your dad while I get ready to meet your friend" my mom said.
I didn't argue with her, but did as I was told and went downstairs. My dad was watching TV, but looked up when he saw me enter the room.
"How much you need kiddo?" my dad asked pulling out his wallet out of his back pocket.
"I don't know" I said.
"I'll give you a hundred just in case you go out to eat afterwards" my dad said handing me a hundred dollar bill.
"Thank you" I said taking the money from him. I was about to walk over to the kitchen counter to take my medicine but my mom stopped me when she came downstairs.
"No sweetie those are your brother's. You're going to be off your medication for a while" my mom said.
"But I need to be normal" I said.
"You are normal Lauren Michelle and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise" my mom said kissing me on my forehead.
"Clara, quit babying her" my dad said from the couch.
The doorbell ringed before my mom could respond back to my dad. My mom managed to beat me to the door and I stood behind her trying to see Maia when my mom opened the door. To say she looked like an angel was an understatement, but my mom answering the door caught her off guard.
"Oh, hi you must be Mrs. Jauregui. I'm Maia Mitchell" Maia said holding her hand to my mom.
My mom ignored her handshake and pulled Maia into a hug. I wasn't sure what my mom was saying, but it sounded like she was telling her thank you. My mom finally let Maia go.
"You can call me Clara. Come on in" my mom said practically pushing Maia into our house.
My dad got up from the couch to greet Maia. I stood behind nervously as my dad started a conversation with her.
"Are you new to Lauren's school?" my dad asked.
"Oh no I've actually been going to the school for a while uh... Mr. Jauregui" Maia said.
"You can call me Mike and do you have classes with Lauren?" my dad said.
"Um... yeah Biology" Maia said.
"Maia, can we talk privately for a bit?" my mom asked.
"Mommy no" I said starting to panic about what my mom would possibly tell her.
"Calm down Lauren Michelle" my mom said as Maia followed my mom to another room.
It was twenty minutes later when Maia finally came out of the room with my mom behind her. I was already walking out the front door and Maia had to run to catch up with me. I drove us both to the movie theater and made sure to open the car door for her. We were walking side by side to the movie theater and then I felt her hand slide into mine. I couldn't help but smile and she kissed me on the cheek.
"What movie do you want to watch?" I asked as we waited in line at the ticket booth.
"Whatever you want to see, it doesn't really matter to me" Maia said.
"But the girl is supposed to pick the movie" I said.
"If it matters so much we can watch Pitch Perfect 2" Maia said.
"I didn't see the first one" I said worriedly.
"We will watch it when we get back to my place" Maia said when it was our turn in the line.
I told the girl in the box office that we wanted two tickets to see Pitch Perfect 2 and paid for them. As we walked to the concession stand, I started to get nervous.
"Do you want anything?" I asked.
"Not really" Maia said.
"We can share a large popcorn and a large drink" I said.
"Lauren, it's okay we don't have to" Maia said.
"But we have to" I said starting to panic.
People were starting to stare at us and Maia let go of my hand to cup my face, so that I could stare directly at her.
"Hey listen its okay. I'm not her. I'm not forcing you to do anything you don't want to do" Maia said.
*Lauren's Flashback*
"But I want to play my video games instead" I whined.
Camila snatched the game controller from my hand and threw it across the room. I stood up to go retrieve the game controller, but Camila's words stopped me.
"I swear to god Lauren if you go get that controller you're going to wish you didn't" Camila said glaring at me.
"Sorry," I mumbled and sat back down as she searched through my drawers.
"I fucking hate your mother. I know she hid them" Camila said angrily.
"Hid what?" I asked.
"Shut up Lauren" Camila snapped.
I did as I was told and left my room to go downstairs to get a bowl of ice cream. I grabbed a bowl from the cabinet and placed it on the counter top. I took the ice cream scooper out of a drawer. I retrieved the ice cream from the freezer when Camila came down the stairs.
"We're going to the movies" Camila said.
"I don't want to go to the movies" I said.
"Funny, I don't remember asking you what you wanted to do" Camila said.
"I was going to eat ice cream. Do you want some?" I said.
Camila grabbed the ice cream and tossed it in the trash. I wanted to yell at Camila, but I knew better not to. So instead I did what I did best which was listen to what she said to do while silently crying to myself. I couldn't let Camila hear me cry or it would only make her angrier.
"I can't stand your bitch of a mother" Camila yelled angrily in the car as I drove us to the movies.
When we arrived at the movie theater, I tried to hold Camila's hand as we walked to the movie theater but she only pulled her hand away and then hit me. So I ended up keeping my hands to myself. Camila didn't ask me what movie I wanted to see, but instead chose a movie that I hated. When we went to the concession stand, I didn't think Camila wanted anything so I started walking in the direction of the theater where the movie we were seeing was playing. That was the worst mistake of my life.
"What the hell are you doing?" Camila asked frustrated.
"Going to watch the movie" I said.
"I wanted something from the concession stand Lauren. Are you too stupid to realize that?" Camila said.
"But you didn't want ice cream so I thought you weren't hungry" I said.
"You thought I wasn't hungry" Camila said raising her voice.
"I'm sorry" I said quickly knowing what that look in her eyes meant.
"In the bathroom now" Camila said smirking at me.
My eyes got wide with fear. "No, please. I said I was sorry" I said.
"The more you stall Lauren the more you make it worse and piss me off more" Camila said walking to the handicap stall.
I couldn't help the tears that ran down my face as I prepared myself for what happened next. It was like it always was whenever Camila got mad at me. She would take me to the handicap stall and then lock the door. She would turn off the lights so that I wouldn't see her and then she would hit me and if I cried it would only make it worse. Then afterwards she would apologize and then I would be forced to lie to my mom when she asked me what happened. Normally Camila would know when to stop, but this time she didn't until I actually passed out. When I woke up, I was in my bed. I tried to sit up, but I was in a lot of pain.
"Who did this to you?" Normani asked sitting on the floor in my room.
"I-I c-can't say" I said.
"I know it was her Lauren. I just thought you were going to tell me is all" Normani said.
"She didn't mean to. I made her angry" I said.
"Stop defending her and stop blaming yourself" Normani said.
"But it's the truth" I said.
"Lauren, I found you on the fucking sidewalk. She left you on the sidewalk in front of your house. If your mom saw you out there, I'm sure you could imagine what she would do" Normani said.
"Don't tell her" I said.
"I didn't. I just made up a lie saying that your sparring match got a bit intense" Normani said.
"Thank you" I said.
"Lauren, you have to understand that Camila isn't good for you" Normani said.
"But I make her happy" I said smiling at Normani.
"Oh Lauren you need to be happy too. It can't only be one sided" Normani said getting up from the floor and kissing me on the forehead.
"I love her" I said.
"A person you love should never do this sort of thing to you. There's always room to love another" Normani said.
*End of Flashback*
I blinked a few times staring into Maia's eyes and she smiled at me.
"It's okay" Maia said letting go of my face.
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"I'm positive now let's go see this movie" Maia said pecking me on the lips before interlocking our fingers and we both walked to the movie hand in hand.
During the movie, I was so confused about what was going but whenever Maia laughed at any part in the movie that I got this fluttery feeling in my stomach. Even though it was dark in the movie theater, I couldn't help but stare at Maia's lips.
"Are you okay?" Maia asked when she realized I was staring at her and not the movie.
"Kiss," I said.
"You want to kiss?" Maia asked.
"Yes," I said.
Maia leaned in close to me and our lips connected. I wasn't sure if Maia intended for it to be a quick kiss, but that wasn't what it turned out to be. It turned into a heated make out session that caused Maia to moan into my mouth. We were forced to stop when someone cleared their throat next to us. Maia pulled away and bit down on her bottom lip.
"No," I whined.
Maia shushed me. "We have to stop or we will get in trouble. I promise we will continue after the movie" Maia said.
"Okay," I said.
Maia kissed me on the cheek and then rested her head on my arm as we watched the rest of the movie.
We were now back at Maia's place and I was hesitant at first to go because I wasn't sure if her parents would be there or not. She told me that they weren't and we went to her room. We were on her bed in a heated make out session. I started to get that strange feeling again that I did whenever I was with Camila. Maia was straddling my waist when it happened.
"Oh," Maia mumbled against my lips and I immediately stopped kissing her.
"Sorry" I said.
Maia chuckled. "It's okay Lauren. It's perfectly normal to get a boner when you're aroused" Maia said pecking me on the lips.
"You aren't mad?" I asked.
"Why would I be?" Maia asked looking at me confused.
"I did it when I wasn't supposed to" I said.
"That's the story of every guy's life babe" Maia said.
"I don't understand" I said when Maia got off of me and turned on her TV using her remote.
"It's natural Lauren. You shouldn't feel bad about having a boner" Maia said.
"No, not that" I said.
"What?" Maia asked.
"You didn't call me a freak or yell at me" I said.
"Why would I do that?" Maia asked.
"Because everyone else does" I said.
"People don't understand or like the idea of something different. There's nothing wrong with you Lauren. You're human just like everyone else and we all have our flaws" Maia said.
"I have two" I said.
"Flaws also make you who you are and I love whatever those flaws may be" Maia said.
"Can we kiss again?" I asked.
Maia chuckled. "As much as I want to and I really do. We can't. You weren't the only one who got turned on while kissing and I promised your mom that I will take things slow with you" Maia said.
"She told you?" I asked.
"She didn't have to" Maia said.
"She told you I was not normal?" I asked.
"You are normal Lauren and I don't care about anything else. I really like you so that triumphs anything else" Maia said.
"Okay," I said.
"So let's get started on watching Pitch Perfect, shall we?" Maia said pecking me on the lips before turning to face her TV again.
"Yes," I said smiling at her.
After we finished watching Pitch Perfect, I left because Maia had school the next day and I didn't want her to be tired. I pulled into my driveway when I noticed Normani standing on my porch. I hurriedly got out of my car and ran to her. Normani was in tears and her nose had blood coming from it.
"Mani, what's wrong?" I asked stepping towards her.
"I did something bad Lauren and now everyone is going to know about my secret" Normani said sniffling.
"Mani you aren't bad. You are good" I said.
"I'm not" Normani said.
"I will be there for you like you are there for me" I said and hugged Normani as she cried in my arms. I rested my head on top of Normani's.
I wanted to comfort Normani, but I wasn't sure what to say. As I looked down the street, I saw someone standing there but it was hard for me to make out who it was. When a car drove past and their high beam lights flashed on the person. My entire body became tense. I blinked my eyes a few times to see if it was really the person I thought it was, but when I looked again they were gone.