Camila P.O.V:
"Isn't it boring to come here often?"
I hear that low, raspy, under-tone, behind me, recognising it so quickly that it was almost like second nature to me.
I swirl around, missing a whiplash by a thread.
"Lauren." The name slips out even before I could comprehend that I'm saying it.
She chuckles, all low and husky, one of her hands resting on the doorway frame and the other on her hip, bent slightly outward as a result of the position she has chosen to stand in.
Only her silhouette is visible as strangely, there is this warm, incandescent light flowing into the room from the doorway, and also from the windows. I become aware of the fact that we're standing inside the nurse's room.
Why? I have no idea. But, I decide to go with the flow.
Her hand slides down from the doorway frame, making her stand upright, her hips straightening out simultaneously, making the hand resting on it fall elegantly down her sides.
She starts moving towards me, and it's more like a Panther strutting towards its prey rather a human's walk. It's slow, deliberate, dainty, and somehow eerily sensual.
The more distance she covers between us, the more clearly the light from the window illuminates her side and for the first time, I take a good look at her.
Her feet are covered in grey, spool heels, with her legs wrapped up neatly in stockings. A grey skirt-suit's skirt hugs her hips so tightly, yet delicately that it makes my lungs constrict. Her white shirt is precisely tucked-in, with her coat nowhere to be found, sleeves rolled-up a little to allow movement and circulation. But, something in me tells me that the first three buttons on her shirt that are un-done, leaving her collarbone bare and visible, is not for either feasible movement or for air circulation.
I swallow thickly with the clean view of her lithe neck, floodlit by the glow from the window. Her hair, however, is a different story. It contrasts the neatly tucked-in shirt by haphazardly falling down her shoulder, little wisps of it flying to the side as a gentle breeze flows in through the window.
It's imperfectly perfect.
And my mind instantly provides that it's perfect just because, she is perfect.
"Control your eyes, Cabello." I hear her voice again, but this time, closer than ever before. It's neither commanding nor annoyed, but rather sybaritic and playful, with a hint of a raspy-drawl.
My eyes snap to hers almost immediately. Only then, I become hyper-aware of our sudden proximity she has achieved, close enough to notice her lips, accentuated with a thin layer of gloss, forming the subtlest smirk known to man-kind, her nose-ring gleaming in the glow, in-turn with her glazed-over eyes, shining with a rare twinkle.
"Lauren, what-" I begin, but her finger finds my lips in no time.
"Shhhhh . . ." She shushes me softly with her sound barely above a whisper. "Now's not the time to lecture me, Camila . . ." My heart picks up pace with my name falling from her lips, just as her finger cascades down from my lips, immediately flattening her palm out and finding solace against my chest.
My eyes get drawn towards the said hand as she smoothens her way up to my shoulder. I notice the way her lips fall apart, admiring her own ministrations above my chest.
Everything just falls right into place.
"Now's the time . . ." She whispers, finding no need to raise her voice above that tone with our proximity, and my eyes snap back to hers, eager to hear more of what she has to say. She looks at me through her eyelashes, her eyes flashing for a moment with something entirely out of the boundaries in which a normal human interaction should be, and my stomach does a back-flip.
Suddenly, she catches hold of my shirt collar with her hand that was previously on my shoulder, and pulls me unbelievably close to her with just a single lunge. I stagger forward and my hands naturally falls on her hips for balance and I immediately notice her take a ragged breath in.
I feel her lips move mere millimetres away from mine, "Now's the time to punish me . . ." She whispers and my brain goes bananas.
Kaki!
My eyes widen and my whole body shakes, just as she makes a move to pull me closer, her shirt collar rising and falling to the beat of her breathing, the trajectory of her lips clearly fixated on meeting mine.
Kaaaakkkiiiiiiiii-
I lean in closer, pulling her towards me by her hips to finally, FINALLY get a taste of the lips that has been haunting me since the beginning of this whole escapade-
KAAAAAAKKKKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-
I jolt awake and sit up straight.
My bed bounces with my ministration.
I hear a giggle beside me.
I turn around to see Sofi sitting on my bed, smiling from ear to ear. "Today's my early morning solar system presentation at school, remember, Kaki??" She asks in an innocent tone.
I look around aimlessly and then mentally slap myself on the head.
It was just a dream.
Crap.
It felt so real, though.
Oh, dear god! Why am I having inappropriate dreams about Jauregui?!?!?!
I decide to answer Sofi first, "Mhmm!!! Of course I remember it!! I'll be ready in 10 minutes. Can you ask mami to find something to eat for both of us, pequeña?" I smile and rub her belly softly with my fingers.
She giggles again. "Si, Kaki. Come soon!!"
She jumps down from the bed and runs out of the room.
I sigh, flattening my palms against my face and rub slowly. It calms me down a little. I look over towards my window, and dawn is nowhere to be seen. My little clock on the bedside table reads '5:46 AM'
I sigh again. I missed my alarm at 5:30, I guess. I promised Sofi that I'll drop her at school early today for her presentation and I slept through my alarm like a doofus. Stupid dream!
Nowadays, these dreams are getting wayyyyyy outta hand. And clearer.
It's getting tougher for me to forget them too. My dreams are mostly vague and disoriented, but when it comes to Lauren, they somehow attack me with HD quality and a 'Do not forget it' spell.
It's insane, honestly.
I really don't want my gay sub-consciousness to conjure up an obsession with a person who hates my guts to the moon and back. It's unhealthy. And lame.
And inappropriate as heck!!
Shut your crazy, non-sense brain, Camila!!!!!!!
I throw aside my blankets and jump out of bed.
><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><
In the blink of an eye, it's Wednesday already.
How did we get here? What are we tryna achieve? What is the purpose of life?
Oh, don't mind me. Just some daily existential crisis to begin my day with.
I walk towards my locker, finding it difficult to manoeuver myself through the ranks of students.
It's been an intense week already, honestly. What with all the drama, and the chitter chatter of rumours flying here and there, makes me wanna ask, 'Where can I find a kilo of calm?'
George Stamp coming out as a racist, Lauren dumping him, Dinah talking non-stop about Normani Kordei and her 'iconic' ketchup-punch, people theorizing that Lauren dumped George cuz she found out that she stuffed his pants, a student at the nearby school fainting due to dehydration-
Phew!
The list goes on.
"Hey, Chica!" I hear Dinah's crystal clear voice through dozens of student chatter. "You ask out Jauregui yet?"
"Dinah!!" I snap. "Don't you have anything else to torture me with, at all?!"
She shrugs. "I am going to pester you until you finally think it's a good idea, Chancho."
I roll my eyes. A glimpse of today's dream comes wafting over into my brain and I immediately shoo it away.
"Hey, listen-" I lower my voice suddenly and Dinah bends in along with me too, curious about what topic or gossip I'm about to tell her. "Have you seen my favourite, lucky pen?? It's missing somehow-"
"God damn it, Mila!! I thought you were gonna spill some hot tea!!" Dinah groans and slaps my hand.
I laugh out loud.
"You should've seen your face, D-mac!!" I chirped and now it's her turn to roll her eyes. "But seriously, though. Where did my pen go-"
My sentence cuts short abruptly, as suddenly without warning, in a deft motion, I get turned around and pushed up against the locker doors beside mine by someone. Dinah drops her bag in shock and I close my eyes immediately, bracing myself for the upcoming danger.
"Where are you taking me this week, Cabello??"
Lauren Jauregui.
I open my eyes and yup-
Of course it is her.
I look down and both of her hands are on my shirt collar. Exactly how she held it in that godforsaken dream. But, a little more aggressively.
Get a grip, Karla!!!!
I swiftly make out that one of her hands is holding my favourite pen. The catch? Well, my pen is open and she's holding it against my throat, about to stab me-
"Oh, hey, Jauregui!" I cheer out, completely disregarding the position she has me on. "Good morning to you too!!"
Her nose flares up.
Ohhhhh boy . . . not a good sign.
She shakes me sharply and my head bangs against the locker.
"Hey!" I call out. "Watch it. There's no need to get this aggressive. You can just ask me and I'll tell you."
"Well, you haven't really been telling me about this project that I'm also a part of, now, HAVE YOU?!" She inches the pen's tip closer to my neck.
"Leave her alone, you psycho!" Dinah screams and pushes Jauregui off of me. "You wanna get to her?? You get through me."
Lauren stumbles a little but then turns around swiftly. "For fuck's sake-"
"Language, Jauregui!" I immediately warn her.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." She pushes my pen over to me, in front of my face. I take it back from her. "I thought you wouldn't tell me anything, anymore."
I frown. "Why wouldn't I?"
Did she just do a full 180, but with her attitude?! What- WHY?!
She fidgets her fingers a little before awkwardly picking up Dinah's bag and handing it to her. "I don't know . . ." She doesn't meet my eyes. "I just thought you wouldn't do this project anymore."
"And whose fault is that, Miss. Quick-fuse?!" Dinah sasses, with her hands on her hips.
Lauren instantly turns to Dinah with a furious look.
I struggle to find a solution to hold on a little while longer to her sudden change in mood, "Uhhhh . . . I'll be taking you some place innocent, Jauregui."
Lauren's attention snaps back to me. "Innocent?"
"Yeah." I nod. "It'll be pure, innocent, loud, chaotic and super-duper fun!!" I clap my hands in excitement, only to notice her unenthusiastic face. "What?"
"Are you really gonna make me do this?" She sasses.
"I promise, Jauregui. It's going to be awesome!!" I cheer, beaming from ear to ear.
"Whatever, psycho." She turns to walk away.
"Look who's saying that!!" Dinah throws at her retreating form.
Lauren simply flips her the finger.
I sigh and face-palm.
><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><
"Feisty." Dinah says randomly as she sits on the desk to my left.
"Huh??" I mumble, already seated on my desk, flipping open my English textbook, trying to find the exact page Mrs. Stevens stopped in last class.
"Your wife, Chancho. She's feisty. And a bully."
I groan for the millionth time. "Not my fault." I say, giving up on correcting her 'wife' comment.
"You need to stand up to her better."
I look over at her. "I do, though."
She gives me a look and throws her hands up instantly, "Oh, hello, my dear wifey!! Good morning to you!! Let's play catch together!!" She screeches out in a mock voice, apparently mimicking my actions from before. Then she puts down her hands to say, "That didn't look like you were standing up to her, Walz."
I roll my eyes and go back to flipping the textbook pages. "I had it under control. And besides, she doesn't behave like that when it's just the two of us. All of that-" I gesture my hand towards the probable direction in which the locker hallway was situated, "All that drama, was just to make her look tough in front of others. Nothing else. Notice how her demeanour changed immediately after I reassured her that she can ask me stuff anytime??"
Dinah raises her eyebrows exaggeratedly in defiance. "Whatever you say, Chancho."
"But, thanks for having my back out there, D-Mac." I smile softly, turning towards her.
"Well, Miss. Bambi, unlike you . . ." She looks up and smiles too, ". . . I know exactly how to handle bullies. You're just unlucky that you have her as your wife." She shrugs.
I laugh before reaching over and punching her playfully on the arm. "She's not my wife, Dinah!!"
"Sure." She mumbles and looks back down to her textbook.
I shake my head and sigh.
Minutes go by as students file into the classroom for English class.
It's not long before I notice Lauren making her way into the room. I take in her baggy, yellow hoodie and jeans as she scans the space for available places to sit in. Her gaze finally fixes somewhere before me and I realise that the desk in front of mine is empty; just like it was in the last English class.
I try hard not to curse silently as she makes her way over.
It did not help near the lockers and it certainly will not help if she sits before me; the memory of the dream I had is still fresh in my brain.
She throws down the books she was carrying on top of the desk and pauses for a little while. So far, I've been pretending to ignore her, but now the random pause in her ministrations makes me look up to check what was happening.
And I certainly did NOT expect her eyes to be focussed on my hands, handling the pages of my textbook.
I frown.
What is it with her and her obsession with my hands, huh?? That day in my room, I saw her staring at them. Then, that Biology lab incident where she was literally boring holes into my arms. And now, this.
As if jolted awake from a revere, her eyes snap back to mine and I can see the exact moment she realises that I've been watching her stare at my hands for the past minute.
She immediately averts her gaze away from me and turns around to sit down on the desk in front of me, but not before I stole a quick glance at her cheek turning a slight shade of pink, under the well-lit classroom light.
Interesting.
She sits down. But, she doesn't sit down. She crashes down. And that in-turn shakes my desk violently too, rolling my pen down to the ground and one of my book comes flying to my lap.
"Whoa! Easy there, Tiger." I say, bending down to pick up my pen.
Before I could even come back up, I feel Lauren turning in front of me and I hear a feeble "Sorry." thrown at me over her shoulder.
I shuffle back up almost immediately, banging my head against the desk's edge, hard, my eyes as wide as saucers.
Wait- WHAT DID SHE JUST SAY?!
"What?!" I ask her, trying to hide the enthusiasm in my voice but failing terribly, too surprised to even notice the pain coming from my head.
She looks over her shoulder and without meeting my eyes, throws the question I asked her back at me. "What?"
"What did you say?!" I exclaim, my face lighting up like a Christmas tree, from glee.
"Nothing." She replies and turns back around, facing the front.
I groan. "Oh, come on!!" I flatten my palm against my head and rub the portion ringing with pain from the bang. "You said something, didn't you??"
"No . . ." I almost hear her smile.
"Jauregui!!"
She throws her hands up and turns fully to face me. "What, woman?!"
"Admit it!!" I bellow, just so that I could hear her say it again.
"Never!!" She shouts, her eyes struggling to meet mine now more than ever.
"Aha!! Gotcha!!" I exclaim, my hand fervently rubbing my head, and my other hand pointing at her. "You said you'll never admit it, which means you did say it!!!"
She rolls her eyes and turns back around. "You're giving me a headache, Cabello."
"And you, said 'Sorry'!!"
"No, I did NOT!!"
"Yes, you did!!! Deny all you want, Jauregui. I heard it."
"You wouldn't have heard it, cuz I never said it!!"
"Oh, I heard it-"
"Shut up, you two!!!" Dinah yells out and cuts me off in the middle of my sentence. I fall silent. "The real headache is for me!!!"
I immediately notice how silent the entire classroom is and how everybody's attention is on us.
Lauren was getting the hold of it too and surprisingly decided to stay quiet.
Mrs. Stevens walks in just then and notices the pin-drop silence.
"Well, if it isn't my lucky day!" She frowns with a pleasant surprise. "I've never seen y'all being this obedient before."
Everyone looks at one another, not daring to give away the fact that it was drama which made them this silent.
"Let's start our class, shall we??"
><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><
I notice Ally Brooke standing up from across the room and making her way towards our table.
I sit up straight immediately, nudging Dinah to do the same.
"What?" She asks me, completely clueless about Ally making her way to us.
"Hi, Dinah! Hello, Camila!" She chirps reaching us, making me like her instantly.
"Hi, Ally!" I give back, equally.
Dinah smiles up at her.
"Would y'all like to come sit with us over there??" Ally gestures behind over to her table where Lauren and Normani Kordei are seated. I look past Ally to notice Lauren looking over at us and rolling her eyes whereas, Normani is just busy texting on her phone.
But, even before I could respond, Dinah does.
"With Jauregui and . . . Normani Kordei??" She asks, pronouncing Normani's name as if it's ethereal.
I stifle a chuckle.
Ally gives her a questioning look. "Yes . . . You don't have to if you don't want to."
"We'll come!!" Dinah blurts out, before Ally could even finish her sentence. I look over at her with a frown on my face.
She's sooooo whipped, oh my god!!
"Great!!" Beams Ally. "Here, let me help you with the trays-"
"I got it, thanks." I say politely and pick up my tray whereas, Dinah just shoves hers on top of mine, her eyes solely fixated on the person at the table to which we were shifting to.
The nerve!!
Ally looks at Dinah weirdly and then at me to mouth, "Is she okay?" silently.
I smile and nod letting her know that it was quite alright. Ally smiles and leads us towards her table.
Normani looks up briefly as we approach, smiles at me (which I'm not sure is real or fake-) and then goes right back to texting. Lauren has a scowl on her face clearly showcasing that she isn't on par with this idea of bringing us to their table. And that further solidifies with the sentence that comes out of her mouth.
"We don't need new company, Ally." She growls and crosses her arms over her chest.
Ally laughs awkwardly and turns to me. "She doesn't mean that." She tries to soften the blow.
"I've been around her enough to know that she definitely means that, Ally." I smile, so that she wouldn't feel bad and understands that I already know Lauren's a tough nut to crack.
That relaxes Ally, a tad bit.
As for Dinah??
She hasn't taken her eyes away from Normani since we arrived here.
Ally gives a quick introduction to which Normani looks up and smiles at both of us again, and then immediately goes back to her phone.
I sit facing Lauren and Ally as Dinah moves in auto-pilot to sit beside me facing Normani.
"Wipe your drool." I whisper in Dinah's ear, as subtly as possible, but she pays no heed.
"So . . ." Ally begins and I look over at her. "I see that you and Lauren have a project together??" She tries to start a conversation with me but Lauren immediately chimes in.
"And, it's confidential." Lauren spits out and glares at me to remain quiet about it.
I do no such thing. "No, it's not. And it's not a project either, Ally."
"It IS a project." Lauren cuts in again.
"It's Jauregui's detention." I say as calm as possible, without looking at her. As if she didn't even interrupt me.
"No, it's not!"
I dial it down a little figuring that maybe Lauren is not willing to talk about it. But, something in me tells that she's just embarrassed that she got properly owned with this detention and is ashamed to be working under me. Either way, I dial it down.
"We call it a project even though Mr. Black doesn't think so." I say.
"It is NOT- wait what?!" Lauren cuts herself off, as she let what I said sink into her thick head.
"We work together, as a team." I shrug. I feel Lauren's icy glare impaling the corner of my vision, but I don't look at her at all, my focus solely on Ally.
Ally looks like she's at a tennis match, watching us talk back and forth.
"Quit talking about it, Cabello." Lauren demands, her voice falling into a low growl.
Normani puts her phone down in order to listen better, finding the drama going on at the table more interesting than the one going on in her phone. Ally just giggles again awkwardly.
Normani speaks up. "So, you both always stick together?" She gestures between me and Dinah.
"Yes." I smile. "Except when we have different classes, of course."
Dinah just nods along grinning from ear to ear.
Both Dinah and I have our trays empty, having already eaten our lunch. Lauren is still shooting daggers at me, her half eaten sandwich still on her plate. Ally's tray is nowhere to be found and Normani is munching on an apple.
"What are your elected subjects, may I ask?" I request politely, towards Ally and Normani.
"Mine's Advanced Politics." Normani answers. "And Ally does Hotel management and Food tech."
"Good ones!" I chirp.
Awkward silence.
I finally take this chance to look over at Lauren, to inspect what the heck her problem is, but as soon as I look over at her, she ducks her head down and picks her nails.
Seriously, what's wrong with her?!
She's grumpier than usual and has already found 3 excuses to pick a fight with me; which is a little high compared to her normal 2 excuses.
Adding to that, when she strikes up a conversation with me, she's coming off rude and obnoxious (her usual self), but when it's the other way around, she retreats into this metaphorical shell and is passive about her interaction?!
What's going on???
She hasn't met my eyes this whole day. I know she's the type of person to never back down from a staring match to the point where the other person either look away or pees their pants.
But, this is completely strange.
I frown.
"You're the chattier one, I see." Normani breaks the silence.
"Actually . . ." I look over at Dinah. "Dinah here is the chattier one. But, for some reason today, she's acting up." I hint a little playfully.
Dinah immediately glares at me, trying to be subtle but failing miserably.
What is up with everyone glaring at me, huh?!
Dinah coughs a little, with the whole table's attention on her. "I'm fine, Mila." She says and ducks her head immediately too.
"You guys call each other pet names too?!" Ally suddenly chimes in, excitedly.
"Yeah." I beam. "There're loads and loads of names we call each other. I think y'all do that too?? And Normani's name is shortened to 'Mani', right??"
"Yes!!" Ally squeals. "Lauren came up with it actually."
"Yeah, I heard her call her that and for a moment I thought she called her 'Mami', which in Spanish is 'Mother', but also a little inappropriate when said with a different pronunciation."
"I know!!" Ally basically yells in excitement. "Lauren and I know Spanish. Perks of being in Miami High for this long, I guess."
I immediately turn to look at Lauren.
She knows Spanish?! Cool!!
She thinks it's her turn now to ignore me, I guess, cuz she's completely avoiding eye contact.
What is up with her?!
"Dinah and I are the only odd girls out." Normani says suddenly, and Dinah nearly chokes on the water she picked up to drink. "Y'all can go to hell."
Ally gasps exaggeratedly and I do the same too.
"How dare you insult my niña like that?!" Ally says in mock shock towards Normani, referring to me as her child.
Dinah giggles out loud and I stifle one.
I chime in the fun too. "And how can you insult my Mami like that?!" I say but my eyes widen immediately and I slap my hand over my mouth, just as I finish the sentence.
Crap!
I used the wrong pronunciation-
Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod-
Ally and Normani look at each other for a moment and they burst out laughing.
I sigh.
"Sorry, Ally!!!" I blurt out, feeling my face get hot.
"It's okay, mija." She says and continues laughing.
I chuckle a little and Dinah looks a little lost on what is going on but joins in on the fun anyways.
I look over at Lauren and-
Whoa.
She's a whole different story, altogether.
Her back is as straight as a rod, with an alarmed look on her face – no sign of mirth at all. She's completely still and when I meet her eyes, she immediately stands up.
"I'll be right back." She says picking up her tray, and rushes away from the table towards the restroom.
Nobody even notices her leave – their sole focus fixated on laughing non-stop.
I frown.
This is sooooo unlike Lauren.
She always takes advantage of a situation in which you can make fun of someone when they mess up. In this case, I messed up and I know she very well knew that I messed up, as according to Ally, she knows Spanish too.
Is she doing okay?!
I get up suddenly, unable to take the suspense anymore. "I- I'll go wash up!" I blurt out and make my way to the canteen's restroom, depositing my tray at the counter collecting used trays. Nobody notices me leave either.
I open the restroom door and am instantly greeted with the sight of Lauren bent over the common sink. Judging by the lack of rush in the stalls and the middle of lunch break, students are still having their lunch; which gives the whole restroom to Lauren and I.
I move towards one of the sink to wash my hands, just to do something with myself. I see from the corner of my eyes that she lifted her head up to acknowledge my presence in the room.
I turn off the tap, knowing very well that I couldn't keep washing my hands forever to pass the awkwardness. I look around for tissues but then it strikes me suddenly that they are kept at the far side of the sink in this restroom; which requires for me to cross Lauren in order to reach it.
Dang it!
Should've given more thought to the hand-washing idea, I guess.
Relax, Chica. What could she possibly do to you?
She could kill me.
True. But, she has already tried that. Three- No. Four-? No- Countless number of times.
I sigh silently, making up my mind.
My breathing ragged, I slowly make my way towards the far side of the restroom to the place where the tissues are kept. I cross Lauren safely without event, and get to the tissue stand.
My hands are half dry by the time I wipe it with tissue; dry from all the contemplating I did. I crumple up the used tissues in my hand and look around for the trash-can to dispose my tissues in, and again, but this time more painfully, it strikes me that the trash-can is kept under the 3rd sink in this restroom; exactly under the sink Lauren is bent over.
Ladies and gentlemen, I've officially confirmed that God doesn't like me.
Turning my whole body into stone, I make my way towards the sink with a sudden burst of confidence that I didn't know I had in myself.
But, only as I near it, I realise that the trash-can is not immediately below the sink but is actually situated even deeper, mostly closer to the back wall under the sink. So, if I had to dump the waste there, I had to bend double and go half way under the sink to actually dispose it.
Which genius put the trash-can that far under the sink, huh?!
I look around the restroom floor and it's littered with used tissues.
Makes sense.
But, I'm stuck with an ultimatum. Either dispose the tissue on the floor and violate my oath of always finding the trash-can and disposing waste, which I've been keeping up since 2nd grade, or, literally go into the personal space of a ticking time-bomb.
I make my decision almost instantly.
I would never, ever, violate my oath.
Time-bomb it is.
I cover the rest of the distance towards the sink and just as I come up behind Lauren, she stands up straight and turns around to face me.
I put on my emergency brakes to avoid a catastrophic collision, and I stop right in front of her face.
I pull back almost instantly and take a step back.
"How long have you been standing behind me?" She asks, breaking the long silence filling the restroom air.
"I wasn't." I reply, a tad bit too quick, which makes her eyebrow raise.
I fumble in my mind for words used for a possible explanation. "Tissues- the trash-can is under . . . I need to-" Before I can even finish a coherent thought, she grabs the crumpled tissues from my hand, bends down, disposes the tissues into the can and stands up straight again.
"Done." She says, her chin tucked-in.
What-?!
What's happening right now???
What am I missing???????
"What?" I ask, completely clueless.
She looks up for a brief moment and then steals her glance down again. "You wanted to put the trash in the trash-can, right?"
"Yeah . . ." I draw out, not completely understanding. "But, why'd you do it?"
She shrugs and pauses for a moment before answering. "For grades, I guess."
I nod once. But, is it just me or is it not making sense to anybody else still??
"Right . . ." I draw out again, squinting my eyes a little.
I saw her dispose the tray along with the sandwich in it right into the tub for trays rather than separating her wastes. If she was doing it for grades, she would've got that one right too.
Also, this whole project is about making her behave in a civil way for real and not 'just for the grades'. So, even if she thought that people weren't looking when she disposed her tray, she should've done it right all the same.
"Jauregui?"
"Hm?" She hums, finding the floor more interesting.
"Are you- Are you okay?" I stutter out, not entirely sure if I'm allowed to ask that, or if that's the question I'm willing to ask.
"Yeah." She mumbles, still avoiding my eyes.
I frown.
That's it.
I'm not taking this anymore.
She has barely seen me properly this whole day and that's somehow bothering me a lot. I don't even know why.
"Look at me." I say.
"Hm?" She hums again.
"I said look at me, Lauren." I place two of my fingers under her chin and gently but firmly lift her face up towards me.
I feel her breath hitch in her throat the moment I do that and her eyes snap up to me.
But, in a split second, the reverse happens as my breath gets stuck in my throat as I finally, FINALLY, take a good look at her eyes.
Realisation sinks in as I struggle to look away. "Are you . . ." I begin to ask but get drowned again. "Are you wearing something for your eyes??" I somehow complete my question with the little amount of make-up knowledge I possess.
Something thin, dark and alluring is applied perfectly on both her top and bottom lids, making it pop in the most stunning way possible.
HOW DID I NOT NOTICE THIS BEFORE?!
It's not uncommon for students of Miami High to wear make-up but, I've never worn it and have never seen Lauren wear it before either.
My heart-rate quickens exponentially, with my breathing coming out in short gasps.
I stagger back a little, with the comprehension of the amount of hold this single piece of accessory has on me.
I never knew I was an 'eyes' girl, that is, until now.
"Do you . . ." She begins to ask, but then stops herself. "I- I gotta go . . ." She whispers, her gaze fixated on me, the corner of her bottom lip between her teeth, and yet, she doesn't make a move to actually go.
I find me in conflict with myself to take my eyes off of her. The yellow of her hoodie brings out the green in her eyes even more now than before, and honestly? It's captivatingly enchanting.
"You still haven't answered me yet . . ." My voice is more pleading rather than stating. Even though I know the answer for my question, I want- no, need to hear her confirm it.
Her eyes shift constantly, struggling to decide on which one of my eyes should it fix its attention on; and I've never seen a person do something more attractive than that-
Her breathing is heavy, almost like it's hard for her to decide whether to keep the air in or expel it out too.
At this point, I'm pretty sure that I'll faint if she calls me 'Camila' again, with that soft, raspy tone; just like she did before in my room; in the nurse's room; and in my dream.
Pretty sure.
But, before I could even process what was happening, both of her hands are on my chest, softly pushing me away, and she's making her way out of the restroom in a flash.
I find myself staring at the empty sink, short of breath.
What just happened?!
A million questions waft around in my brain.
I'm dang sure that she was wearing make-up for her eyes, but why did she try to hide it?
Why is she wearing it anyways? I know it's none of my business and she can do whatever she wants, but it is just genuine curiosity people!!!
Why did she try to deny wearing it??
Why did she avoid my question about it?
It looked like she wanted to say something more, but held herself back. What was she tryna say? And why did she hold herself back from saying it?
What is "Do you . . ."????? Do I what??????
Why did she run away abruptly?!?!
Oh my god, my over-thinking head is gonna explode-
--//--
(A/N: 5K?!?!?!?! Are you kidding me people?!?!
Phew!
-Ragz)