"Stay."
Lauren's breath caught in her throat and she looked down at the smaller girl, who had curled her fingers around her wrist. Camila bit her lip.
"You want me to...?" Lauren trailed off as soon as Camila nodded.
"Are you okay?" the green eyed girl whispered, scooting back on the bed. There were still so many questions running through her head, but her first priority was always Camila. As long as Camila was okay, her questions could wait.
Instead of responding, the smaller girl just tugged on Lauren's arm, making her lay back on the bed. The moment she did, Camila was curled up next to her, burying her head in her shoulder.
It was at this point that Lauren realized how scared the smaller girl appeared to be. She quickly wrapped her arms around the girl, feeling how fast her heart was beating.
"Hey, Camz, breathe," Lauren whispered. The smaller girl lifted her head, anxiety flickering in your eyes. "What are you so afraid of?"
Camila immediately shook her head and buried it in Lauren's shoulder once more. Biting her lip, the green eyed girl propped herself up and scooted back so she was leaning against the headboard with Camila in her arms.
"It's just us," Lauren said softly, absentmindedly running her fingers through the smaller girl's hair. "You can tell me anything, y'know."
"I know," Camila mumbled against Lauren's shoulder. This comforted the green eyed girl somehow. At least Camila was talking. At this point, that was progress.
"I just wanna help you," Lauren sighed, leaning her head back and gazing up at the ceiling. Camila didn't respond. The smaller girl just took a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut.
Lauren couldn't remember how long they laid there for. The comfortable silence between them had nearly lulled Lauren to sleep. But, just as it began to get dark outside, but girls were startled by the knock at the door.
Camila's eyes immediately widened, causing Lauren to grab her hand to reassure her she was okay. The smaller girl met her eyes with a panicked expression.
"Just relax," Lauren whispered, slowly standing up and running a hand through her hair. "I'll be right back," she leaned down and pressed a kiss to the smaller girl's forehead.
Camila watched with eyes full of fear as Lauren disappeared from the bedroom. Wolf immediately appeared at her side, nudging her hand to demand her attention.
Meanwhile, Lauren ran a hand through her hair as she jogged over to the door. The second she turned the doorknob, someone practically pushed the door the rest of the way open.
"What the-?" Lauren began, moments later being cut off by a small blur that whizzed past her.
"Jeremiah what did we talk about!?"
Lauren jumped, whipping her head back around to look at the older woman that stood on the front porch.
"I'm so sorry," the woman breathed, shaking her head. "I don't know what's gotten into him."
Still utterly confused, Lauren glanced back to the hallway where the young boy had disappeared down. She bit her lip, turning back to the woman in the doorway.
"I... I don't understand..." Lauren admitted, furrowing her eyebrows together.
"Oh my god, I'm sorry," the woman quickly shook her head. "My son, Jeremiah, is in Camila's class. He's-,"
"Is he okay?" Lauren interrupted, suddenly remembering how Camila had been the one to carry the smaller boy out of the building. Her heart dropped in her chest at the thought.
"He was pretty shaken up," the woman admitted, running a hand through her short hair. "But Camila took good care of him, I suppose. By the time the police came over to question us he was more than willing to give them answers."
"The police talked to him too?" Lauren asked, glancing back to the hallway where the boy had disappeared and biting her lip.
"Yeah. Just now, actually. Once they left he insisted on coming over her to tell Camila something," the woman laughed somewhat nervously, making Lauren even more confused.
Meanwhile, Camila was sitting nervously on the edge of the bed with Wolf at her side. She perked up slightly when she heard footsteps coming down the hallway, but when the door was flung open, she jumped.
It wasn't Lauren. Looking down, Camila became even more confused when she saw the small boy standing in the doorway. Jeremiah. Something in her was comforted by the fact that he was okay after what had happened.
But then, she was reminded of what had happened.
"Miss Camila! You're the good guy!" Jeremiah interrupted her thoughts, scrambling over to the bed and making even Wolf tense slightly. Confused, the smaller girl looked down at the boy standing in front of her.
"You're not the bad guy!" Jeremiah continued, trying to get his point across. Camila tilted her head to the side slightly.
"You're a good guy, Miss Camila! You saved me!" Jeremiah grabbed her hand. "You saved us from the bad guy!"
"What?" Camila asked quietly. Nervousness flickered in her eyes. Jeremiah's enthusiasm had taken her by surprise.
"You kept the bad guy away," Jeremiah nodded quickly. "And you even tried to help the bad guy!"
"Oh," Camila whispered, memories flickering before her eyes. She bit down on her lip to try and keep herself calm.
"You're like a superhero," Jeremiah's eyes widened at his new analogy. He crawled up on the bed, taking Camila by surprise. "Did you know that, Miss Camila? You're a superhero. A real life superhero."
"I am?" Camila raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah," Jeremiah nodded proudly. "I think you're even cooler than Spiderman!"
Meanwhile, Lauren stood in the foyer with Jeremiah's mother, discussing what they'd heard about the shooting. Both girls were just as equally clueless when it came to what exactly went on in the building.
Lauren paused mid-sentence when she heard noises coming from down the hallway. She exchanged glances with Jeremiah's mother before taking a few steps towards the source of the noise, holding her breath.
Camila was laughing.
Lauren bit her lip to hide her smile. She'd missed that sound. The green eyed girl jumped when the bedroom door flung open once more, and she quickly moved away to pretend like she hadn't been listening.
"I told her, mommy!" Jeremiah ran back out into the living room with a proud smile on his face. "I told her she wasn't the bad guy!"
"What?" Lauren spoke up, causing the small boy to turn around and look her up and down.
"Are you the princess?" he asked, tilting his head to the side innocently. Lauren raised an eyebrow.
"Am I what?" she asked, looking over at his mother, who was just as confused as she was. Jeremiah giggled and shook his head.
"The princess, silly! Camila's princess!" Jeremiah rolled his eyes, as if this was supposed to be common knowledge. "She has flowers right here," he pointed to his shoulder, nodding excitedly.
"And she also has magic powers," he lowered his voice, as if what he was about to say was top secret. "She's made out of the ocean because she's so beautiful and powerful. But sometimes, if you look at her eyes for long enough, you can see the ocean in them," he nodded proudly.
Lauren's cheeks turned bright red and she was thankful it was dark enough outside to hide her blush.
"Who told you that?" Lauren asked, glancing back down the hallway. She stifled a laugh when she saw Camila's head quickly disappear back into the bedroom.
"Miss Camila did," he nodded. "She always tells us stories before naptime. The princess story is my favorite because she's not a boring princess."
"Oh..." Lauren bit her lip and nodded softly.
"So it is you!" Jeremiah gasped, jumping up and pointing at Lauren. The green eyed girl was confused at first, until she saw her hoodie had slumped down slightly to reveal the very top of her tattoo. Her eyes widened, but she quickly composed herself.
"Maybe," she smirked, raising an eyebrow at the younger boy. "But if I told you, that would ruin the magic of it all," she winked. Jeremiah giggled.
"I get it," the small boy glanced back to his mother before turning to Lauren and returning the wink. Giggling, he moved closer for her and tugged on her sleeve, signaling for her to bend down. Lauren did so, and he stood on his tiptoes to cup his hand around her ear.
"At the end of the story, after the ocean princess defeats the evil troll, she saves the flower princess from her tower and breaks the spell the evil troll put on her," Jeremiah pulled away to glance at his mother, making sure she couldn't hear them. "And then she kisses her," he whispered, an excited smile on his face.
Lauren failed to hide her bashfulness. She stood up quickly, running a hand through her hair and biting the inside of her cheek to keep herself from smiling like an idiot.
After saying her goodbyes to Jeremiah and his mother, Lauren took a few moments to calm herself down before slowly heading down the hallway. Wolf followed after her, nearly tripping her as he weaved between her legs.
She pushed the bedroom door open slightly, finding her wife sitting on the edge of the bed with her head hung down. Camila's hair brushed past her shoulders, falling in front of her face.
Lauren instantly grew concerned, and she slowly sat down on the bed next to Camila. Placing a hand on the smaller girl's shoulder, she gently brushed the hair out of her face.
Camila was smiling.
Lauren let out a sigh of relief, unable to stop the smile that spread on her own face. She'd missed that. What had changed, though?
"Well that was unexpected," Lauren laughed softly, making Camila look up at her quietly.
"I am the good guy," Camila nodded softly. "I remember."
"What?" Lauren raised an eyebrow, suddenly becoming confused. She watched as Camila's face fell slightly.
"I-I..." Camila quickly shook her head. "I do not want to talk about it right now."
"Later?" Lauren asked hopefully. Camila looked up, scanning her wife's face hesitantly. She sighed and gave her a soft nod. Lauren struggled to hide her relief.
Yawning, the green eyed girl laid back on the bed. Camila turned around and sat cross legged, studying Lauren's face. She was still playing everything over in her head.
Lauren could tell Camila wasn't fully in the moment. She was off somewhere in her head, she could tell by the distant look in her eyes. Biting her lip, a mischievous smile spread across her face.
"So a princess, huh?"
Camila's eyes widened and she snapped her head back over to look at Lauren, who couldn't help but laugh.
"What?" Camila tilted her head to the side, even though she had already heard what Lauren said. The green eyed girl raised an eyebrow.
"Tell me about this ocean princess Jeremiah told me all about," Lauren laughed softly. Camila's cheeks grew bright red and she hid her face.
Giggling, Lauren sat back up and gently pried Camila's hands away from her face. The brown eyed girl bit her lip, trying to look down and hide the soft smile that had graced her lips.
"C'monnnn," Lauren whined playfully, reaching up and kissing the bridge of Camila's nose. "I wanna hear about this princess."
"She is pretty," Camila said quietly, making Lauren smile.
"Yeah?" the green eyed girl sat up and laced their fingers together, prodding Camila to go on.
"Yeah," Camila nodded, a soft smile forming on her face. "But... but that is not all."
"It isn't?" Lauren raised an eyebrow.
"She is pretty on the outside because she is pretty on the inside, that is how it works," Camila smiled shyly when Lauren squeezed her hand.
"And... she is the ocean princess. But only some people know that, because she lets them see the ocean in their eyes," Camila reached up and traced her fingertips across Lauren's cheek.
"What about the flower princess?" Lauren giggled. Camila's face grew bright red.
"She.... uh... she..." Camila shook her head and looked away to hide how flustered she was. "She lives in a tower. But a bad troll guards it, and he put a spell on the tower so no one can get in."
"But then one day, the ocean princess sees through the windows of the tower and she sees the flower princess. And the flower princess is sad, because the troll is mean," Camila bit her lip. "But then, the ocean princess saves the flower princess from the tower, because she has the seal of the flower on her shoulder, and she is the only person who can break the spell on the tower."
"The troll comes after them, but the ocean princess teaches the flower princess how to fight the troll. And they live happily every after," Camila nodded softly, looking up and meeting Lauren's eyes once more.
"That's funny. I think you forgot a part," Lauren whispered, a small smile forming on her face as she leaned in slightly. "Don't you?"
"I dunno," Camila giggled shyly, involuntarily lifting her shoulders. "What is it?"
"I recall a kiss happening," Lauren squeezed Camila's hand, now only inches away from the girl's face. "Prior to the happily ever after, that is."
"That would make it a good story," Camila giggled, her eyes flickering down to Lauren's lips.
"We'll have a happily ever after one day, Camila. I promise," Lauren whispered, locking their pinkies together before cupping the back of her neck and pulling her into a gentle kiss. She felt Camila smile against her lips and couldn't stop herself from doing the same.
--
a/n: hey look things are getting better wow shocker
lmao ily guys a lot. thanks for always being so sweet and wonderful and amazing. be nice to yourselves.
- lena (lenajfc on twitter, tendermoonlight on tumblr)