Thirty minutes later, Dinah plopped back down on the couch beside Camila, offering her a plate. The smaller girl glanced at her tentatively before reaching out to take it.
Dinah laid a piece of pizza on Camila's plate, giving her a soft smile before leaning forwards beside Normani. The dark skinned girl had found Lauren's laptop and was currently trying to log onto their Netflix account.
"This has got to be the only time I'm not going to complain about watching Friends," Dinah whispered, glancing back at Camila, who was holding the plate up and studying her piece of pizza.
"Don't push it," Normani said quietly, her eyes fixed on Camila, who had picked off a small piece of the crust and popped it into her mouth. The two girls high fived subtly, relieved that they'd managed to get the girl to eat something.
"Which one is the funniest one?" Dinah asked, pushing Normani aside and taking over control of the computer. She scrolled through Friends episodes, looking to Normani for an answer.
"How am I supposed to know?" Normani whispered, shaking her head. "Just pick a random one," she nudged Dinah's shoulder.
"Fine," the Polynesian girl clicked a random episode and tilted the laptop, making sure Camila could see it from where she was sitting. The two other girls scooted back onto the couch.
Camila didn't audibly acknowledge their choice in shows, but she did lean forward slightly so she could see the screen. Dinah and Normani exchanged glances before leaning back on the couch and pulling out their phones.
Both girls weren't paying much attention to the episode, which is why they were taken by surprise when rather loud noise echoed through the room. They both jumped, but when they realized it was the computer, they didn't think much of it.
That was, until they heard a whimper come from the other end of the couch. Camila had her head buried in her knees, her arms wrapped tightly around legs to make herself as small as possible.
Normani immediately hopped forwards to pause the show, where one of the characters was scrambling to clean up the large piece of furniture he had knocked over. Dinah, on the other hand, quickly scooted towards Camila and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, hey, it's alright, it was just the s-," Dinah began, but was interrupted when Camila practically dove forwards and buried her head in Dinah's shoulders.
Dinah quickly moved to wrap her arms around the smaller girl in an attempt to comfort her. She couldn't even tell if she was crying, all she knew was that Camila was shaking worse than she'd ever seen, and the smaller girls breathing was short and rushed.
"Mila, Mila," Normani quickly shook her head, shutting the laptop and moving on the other side of the couch to rub circles in the girl's back. "Hey, Mila, you're okay. Deep breaths."
"Her heart..." Dinah mouthed, nodding to get Normani's attention. "She's like... terrified," the Polynesian girl whispered. Camila's hands clung tightly to the back of Dinah's hoodie, balling the material into her fists.
Normani bit her lip, giving Dinah a sympathetic look. Neither of them liked seeing their friend like this.
"Look, Camila," Normani hopped to her feet. Dinah watched as her roommate quickly locked the front and back doors, drawing all the blinds shut and trying to get Camila's attention. "Look, we're safe here," she sat back down on the couch, placing a gentle hand on the smaller girl's shoulder.
"Do you have like... classical music?" Normani turned to Dinah.
"You're kidding, right?" Dinah scoffed, raising an eyebrow at the girl.
"I don't know!" Normani whisper yelled, scanning the room once more. "I just thought it would help... I don't know, calm her down or something."
"Check Lauren's phone," Dinah nodded towards the table. "She's all sappy and lame like that."
"Good idea," Normani nodded, retrieving the girl's phone and sitting back on the couch. Camila had calmed down slightly, but she was still holding onto Dinah for dear life, with her head buried in the other girl's shoulder.
"Shit," Normani groaned. "She has it password protected."
"Give it here," Dinah rolled her eyes. Normani complied, watching as Dinah studied the phone for a few minutes before tapping 4 numbers. Moments later, she was scrolling through the music app.
"How come she told you her password?" Normani gaped, crossing her arms.
"She didn't," Dinah laughed, looking up. "Her password was Camz. It wasn't that hard to guess."
"Oh," Normani said softly, looking down at Camila. Dinah had one hand around the smaller girl, and her free hand was scrolling through Lauren's phone.
"Of course," Dinah laughed, rolling her eyes. When Normani raised an eyebrow at her, she held up the phone.
"She has a playlist dedicated to getting Camila to sleep," Dinah rolled her eyes and studied the phone once more. "How lame."
"Well let's hope it comes in handy," Normani snatched the phone out of Dinah's hands, earning a half-hearted glare from the older girl. She pressed play, and 'Gracious' by Ben Howard quietly filled the room.
The minute the song began playing, Camila lifted her head slightly. Dinah glanced down at the girl before looking over at Normani in surprise.
"She's calming down," Dinah mouthed slowly, using her free hand to point to Camila. The smaller girl sighed softly, resting her head back on Dinah's shoulder and squeezing her eyes shut.
"Nope, no way," Dinah shook her head. "She is not falling asleep on me," the Polynesian girl tried to lift Camila off of her, but the smaller girl looked up at her innocently.
"Ugh, fine," Dinah glared at Normani when she laughed. Sighing, the youngest girl leaned back against the couch and allowed Camila to rest her head back on her shoulder.
About an hour or two later, all three girls had fallen asleep. Surprisingly, Camila had managed to doze off for a while.
It didn't last long, though. She was woken up by a loud ringing in her ears, making her bolt upwards and gasp for breath. The smaller girl's hands shook and she frantically looked around the room, finding the other two girls dead asleep on the couch.
Her heart was pounding against her chest as she stood up slowly, hugging her hands around her torso. The room was nearly pitch black and she was biting her lip so hard that she thought she would draw blood.
Camila gazed pleadingly at the two sleeping girls, willing for one of them to wake up. The smaller girl whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut and taking a slow step forwards.
She paused and opened her eyes cautiously, scanning the room. When nothing jumped out of the shadows, she took a few quick steps forwards. Pause. Look around.
She felt her way through the darkness, jumping slightly when Wolf brushed against her leg. His eyes reflected the light in the darkness, making them glow slightly. Camila watched as he pawed at one of the hallway doors, slipping into the room. She followed.
The room was dimly lit by the moonlight coming through the window. Camila narrowed her eyes, tracing the outline of the figure on the bed. Lauren.
The smaller girl bit her lip, slipping into the dark room and standing still for a few moments. Quietly, she retrieved Lauren's blanket that had fallen on the floor and gently laid it back over the girl.
Camila looked down at her hands, holding them up in front of her and watching how much they were shaking. She couldn't seem to calm down no matter how hard she tried.
Unsure of what else to do, and not wanting to wake Lauren, the small girl carefully circled the bed, crawling onto the opposite side and sitting cross legged. She looked over her shoulder, studying the moon that was glowing high in the sky.
She flinched when Lauren moved slightly in her sleep. Camila whipped her head back around, afraid that she had awoken the girl. She sat frozen for a few moments until she concluded that the girl was still asleep.
Camila studied her, watching as Lauren's chest rose and fell slowly. Subconsciously, she began to breathe along with Lauren, mimicking the older girl.
Camila gasped when something brushed against her arm, quickly calming down when she realized it was only Wolf. The old white cat nudged her hand, demanding attention.
Biting her lip, the smaller girl tore her eyes away from Lauren and scratched behind Wolf's ears. The cat sprawled out beside her, yawning widely and claiming his spot on the bed.
Camila gazed back over at Lauren, admiring how content she looked. The smaller girl allowed her eyes to scan the room absentmindedly. Big mistake.
Camila whimpered. Everything around her had the potential to be something bad. The shadows appeared as if they were moving and she inhaled sharply, scooting further onto the bed.
She stole a glance at Lauren, who was still fast asleep. Hesitantly, she let her hand slip off of her lap and inch towards the girl. She kept an eye on the shadows while she found Lauren's hand, locking their pinkies together gently.
The small girl held her breath, scared that she had awoken the older girl. When Lauren didn't stir, Camila exhaled slowly and forced herself to keep her eyes on Lauren, away from the shadows.
--
Lauren was awoken the next morning by a beam of sunlight invading her eyelids.
She groaned, rolling over and covering her face. The green eyed girl grew confused, though, when she felt a blanket covering her legs. Camila always stole the blankets in the middle of the night.
Camila.
Lauren sat up quickly, rubbing her eyes and cursing herself for falling asleep for so long. She looked around the room, feeling her heart drop in her chest when she realized Camila hadn't joined her.
She pulled her hair up into a ponytail, hurrying out of her bedroom. She nearly missed the figure sitting on the floor across the hallway, and she nearly screamed out of shock.
"Oh my god," Lauren caught her breath and brought her hand up to her heart. "Wait... Camila?" she whispered, eyeing the small girl that was sitting across from her door. Wolf was curled up in her lap, and Camila glanced up at Lauren anxiously.
"Hey," Lauren softened her voice, looking down at the smaller girl. "Uh, is it okay if I... join you?" She motioned to the floor next to the girl.
Camila gazed up at her before scooting over slightly. Taking this as her approval, Lauren slid down against the wall next to the girl and pulled her legs underneath her.
"How'd you sleep?" Lauren asked after a few moments of silence. Camila's eyes traced her up and down. The smaller girl shrugged slightly.
"Good?" Lauren tilted her head to the side. Camila blinked a few times before shaking her head.
"Bad?"
Camila shook her head again, making Lauren furrow her eyebrows together.
"Did you sleep at all?" Lauren suddenly realized what Camila was alluding to. The smaller girl bit her lip and looked away, which was enough of an answer for Lauren.
"Hey, it's okay..." Lauren whispered, she reached out but caught herself, drawing her hand back. "Hey Camz?"
The smaller girl looked back up at Lauren quietly.
"Is it okay if I.... you know... touch you?" she asked softly, unsure of what her answer would be. She didn't want to do anything wrong and scare the smaller girl even more.
Camila nodded softly, already scooting closer to the older girl. Lauren let out a sigh of relief.
"I called your doctor yesterday," Lauren said softly, gently wrapping an arm around Camila's shoulders and pulling her into her side. "Is it okay if we like... go talk to him today?"
Camila tensed, looking up at Lauren nervously. She shrugged ever-so-lightly, telling herself to trust Lauren's decision.
"I just... I don't really know..." Lauren sighed and shook her head. Camila looked at her in confusion but the green eyed girl just dismissed her words and leaned her head on Camila's shoulder.
"We'll figure something out," Lauren whispered, hoping her words would prove to be true. Camila took a shaky breath, fighting the tears that were threatening to spill over.
--
a/n: i love you don't hate me
- lena (lenajfc on twitter, tendermoonlight on tumblr)