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Camila's pregnant.
Lauren's heart started beating uncontrollably. Her hangover suddenly went away and she was left alone with mixed emotions.
"Jauregui!" Zayn called out from his car. "Get in, I'm heading over to the mall to meet Perrie and the girls."
Lauren stayed frozen, the feeling of uncertainty rising in the pit of her stomach. As soon as she knew it, she threw up everywhere.
Zayn parked his car on the side of the street, running up to his sick best friend and helped her inside her own home. Her father was also curious, but they both knew that she probably drank too much at the party last night.
After throwing up even more, Lauren felt at ease and went straight to bed. She had no clue what to do, or what to think.
"Alright, tell me what's going on." Zayn said, taking a spot next to Lauren on her bed.
"I don't even know" Lauren mumbled face down into her pillow.
"Jauregui. We won our game and we went to the party. You disappear in the middle of the night without saying anything to anyone, and now I see you like this. You hardly get hangovers, but when you do, you're usually complaining or ranting on about things. Now you're barely even speaking and you look paler than usual." Zayn was very observant over his best friend.
"Look," Lauren sat up. "I just don't feel the best today. Please tell Normani and the group that I'm sorry I can't hang out today but I'll get a rain check from them."
Zayn rolled his eyes, getting off the bed. "Whatever, dude. Whenever you feel like talking to me about whatever the hell is going on in your pretty little head of yours, you know where to find me." He walked towards the bedroom door.
"Wait" Lauren stopped him. "I'm sorry." she said, genuinely.
Zayn came back to the bed, giving the girl a hug.
They talked for a couple of minutes about the party and how Zayn went home with two girls and the fact that Austin woke up the next morning furious with a dick on his face.
"Speaking of Austin, how is he?" Lauren asked nonchalantly.
"I don't know man. The month before you left, he had sex with Camila for the first time. He was boasting about it because he kept it to himself for a while. When you did leave, he dropped her like she was nothing. He went to Cancun and what I've heard is that he was non-stop partying over there. Then when he came back, he suddenly has muscle and can actually play football." Zayn shrugged his shoulders. "Now he's easier to get along with and he's the happiest I've ever seen him. Go easy on him this year." He reminded her.
Lauren usually gave Austin a hard time on the field because he couldn't do much besides look pretty for the crowd, and showed off the fact that he was Camila's precious boyfriend in the public's eye.
"Listen, I have to go meet the girls. Feel better and I'll see you tomorrow before Sports Illustrated comes by." Zayn got up and kissed her forehead before leaving.
Lauren was left to her own thoughts.
Austin and Camila had sex in May, around the same time she and Lauren last did it.
Last night, she didn't clarify who's kid it was, and that's what worried Lauren the most. There was a 50-50 chance that the baby inside her soulmate wasn't even hers.
The green eyed girl spent the rest of the day in bed sobering up. She watched two seasons of Orange is the New Black on Netflix and the other college football games that were on, and even re-read the magazines and articles with her in it.
Not that she was conceited and cared about only herself, but now that Camila was pregnant, she had to care about her future as well as the baby's; even if there was a possibility that it wasn't hers.
______
"Superstar, let's go! You're going to be late!" Her father called out from the bottom of the stairs.
"Coming!" She yelled back as she grabbed the last of her things.
The two made their way out of the house and into the car as they drove to the school for the new Sports Illustrated photo shoot and interview.
"So.. Is mom going to be there?" Lauren asked softly, hoping not to trigger any sadness from her father.
"That's what Taylor and Chris told me." He responded, looking out of the driver's window during the stop light. "She'll be there... With him."
"Don't worry Dad. Okay? David's not worth it and I know for a fact that Tay and Chris don't like him either." Lauren grabbed her father's hand, reassuring him.
Michael divorced Clara after he came home from work and caught her sleeping with his long time friend David Carr. The same David Carr who plays for the New York Giants in the NFL.
The two men grew up together, and even played college football on the same team until they went separate ways.
It was devastating for the entire family, especially Taylor and Chris who got stuck living with Clara and David and were only granted 1 day a week to spend with Lauren and their father. The only reason why Lauren is on 'okay' terms with David is because he still has the connections with the NFL, hoping that someday she could play for them.
"By the way, good game last night kiddo." Michael told his daughter. "But remember that college recruits are coming to your games for the rest of the season. Keep tha-"
"That arm long and eyes open." Lauren cut in, knowing what her Father had always said her entire life. "Thanks Dad."
If Zayn didn't have the title as Lauren's best friend, Michael would definitely be there holding it loud and proud. The two were inseparable ever since the green eyed beauty was born. He coached her in football and constantly supported her. They would spend their weekends either at the games, or watching it from their living room TV. Lauren wouldn't replace it for anything in the world.
"Wow superstar, you got the whole student body to come to school on a Sunday." Michael pointed out. There was a sea of students waiting by the football field, as well as other fans from around town.
"CBS 3 News is here too." Lauren started feeling nervous, noticing how many people were there for her.
The pair got out of the car and was immediately greeted by Zayn and some guys from the team. Michael was also close to them, treating the boys as if they were his sons.
"There she is!" Chris came up to Lauren with wide arms. The two hugged and he even spun her around to make up for the lack of sibling-time.
"Hey you two" Lauren giggled, ending with a group hug with Taylor too. "How is mom and David?"
"Mom's alright, she still thinks she's some hot young MILF or something. David is... The same usual arrogant ass wipe." Taylor said bluntly.
"Hey, watch your language little one." Lauren playfully booped her sister's nose. "Are you guys still hanging out with Dad and I after all this?"
"Of course, anything to get out of that house. It always smells like beer and disgusting sweat. He never washes his bag or clothes after he comes back from practice." Chris said, getting a disgusted reaction from his sister's.
Minutes went by as the three siblings talked, before Lauren got pulled away from make up artists. The photo shoot came and camera's started flashing as the audience watched.
Lauren was usually the star of the party since she led her team to state championships. But she felt that she was on the rise to fame.
Zayn and a couple of other guys on the team also got their hair and makeup done to join Lauren. Sports Illustrated wanted to show the 'stars' of Riverbank High School Football.
"Where's Mahone? Isn't he supposed to be here?" Wesley asked.
"There." Drew pointed out Austin on the side of the field, talking to Camila. It looked like she was about to cry, and Austin looked like he just got told that someone died. "$5 they broke up" Drew said.
"I'll take you on that." Zayn jokingly added.
Lauren looked more intently on the couple on the other side of the field. Austin had his right hand on the back of his neck and the left one dragging his left cheek down. Camila was wiping a tear from her eye, and Lauren had a thousand thoughts running through her head about what they could possibly be talking about.
All she knew was that Austin hugged Camila sweetly, before running over to the group to join them in pictures.
The interview was next. Each boy had their own questions being asked, but the star of the day was truly Lauren.
She she sat down on a tiny stage with a table connected to many microphones. Lauren couldn't believe that it was actually happening because she only saw the pro's do interviews like this on television.
The audience was full of students and families, along with people from the news and Sports Illustrated.
Interviewer: "So, Miss Jauregui. It's your senior year. Looking back, do you feel like there is anything you would have done differently?"
Lauren didn't have much time to think, "Not really, no. Maybe on the hardest days of practice I would change the fact that we could get a nap time in between" she joked. "But in all seriousness, I believe that the way I have trained and grew up is what makes me such a great player."
Interviewer 2: "Could you elaborate on that?"
Lauren nodded and swallowed the nervous lump in her throat, "My father played for his high school and college team, and then started coaching in the NFL for the Miami Dolphins. When he had me, it was inevitable that I was going to be a football child. We would spend weekends watching the games, and he would even take me their practice every once in a while. By the time I was around 12 years old, I tried out for my middle schools club team and I made it to first string quarterback. The guys back then always teased me but once we got winning streaks, they started to respect me. I moved here to Alabama my freshmen year of high school and immediately, all the guys treated me equally and it was nice. I guess the teasing from before led me to want to prove everyone wrong. Hence why I said I wouldn't have changed a thing."
Lauren noticed everyone listening closely as she spoke. She was getting more nervous by the minute, until she saw Austin and Camila in the back corner of the room. He held her from behind as they watched Lauren do her interview.
Interviewer: Miss Jauregui?
Lauren was brought out of her gaze, "Sorry, what was that?"
Interviewer: I asked if you already know where you would want to go for college.
"Uhm, not exactly. I want to keep my options open and hopefully recruiters will come see me play and maybe give me a full ride through college."
Interviewer: What if you were offered a spot at University of Southern California? Reports came out saying it's been your dream school. Would you accept it and leave your hometown?
She shrugged, "That's a really good question. I have some amazing friends here. My family and other loved ones are here too and it'd be such a tough decision. I guess there are so many factors to deciding, because it would mean leaving so many things behind."
Lauren looked over at Camila who now looked even more sad, hurt even.
The interview went on for another couple of minutes. Once it was over, Lauren was asked for autographs and to take pictures with fans and other people from around town in the parking lot.
With the entire event coming to an end, Lauren finally had time to escape.
"Camz." She ran after her secret lover who was putting stuff into the trunk of Austin's car. "Here." Lauren handed the girl an envelope.
"What is this?" Camila asked quietly.
"You probably thought that I was too drunk the other night. I was, but I was still able to remember most of what happened. I wanted to say thanks for bringing me home safely.. And I wanted to let you know that I'll do everything in my power to help you out."
Camila opened the envelope, revealing at least $200 in cash.
"Lauren, I can't take this."
"I heard when you're pregnant, you get insane cravings. So there's some money for food and whatever else. Oh and you're going to need nutrient pills so I have those too." Lauren went through her bag. "Here. I know it's not much for now but I promise I'll do everything and anything I- Why are all your clothes here?" the green eyed girl noticed all the luggage and loose clothing in the Austin's trunk.
"Lauren.." Camila said softly, with her head to the ground. "My parents found out and they kicked me out. They sent me to my grandparent's house in California but then they sent me back here. My parents still didn't want anything to do with me. So Austin and his family took me in."
Lauren's heart started to break.
"Did you tell him?" She asked, receiving a small nod from the shorter girl.
"I told him earlier before the photo shoot. He was- I don't know. He was happy I guess."
"Who's is it." Lauren stated, more than questioned. Her anger was rising up, "Who's baby is it."
"Hey guys" Austin walked up to them with a big smile on his face.
The green eyed girl took one last look at Camila's hurt expression.
"Congratulations, baby daddy." Lauren said to the boy, and stormed off.
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