Lauren woke up without the presence of Camila the next morning. Groggily, she felt around for her and missed her warm body. She rolled over - right off of the couch she'd unfortunately been sleeping on all night. She was disoriented and obviously not used to sleeping on the slim width of her couch. Camila appeared right when Lauren was in the process of leaning up off of the floor.
"Good morning," she said, taking in the adorable view of Lauren in the morning. Her hair was messy and tousled and her eyes were all squinty. Camila was endeared with her.
Lauren rubbed at her eyes and heaved a great sigh as she steadied herself on the floor. She looked up at Camila, who was towering over her with a steaming hot cup of coffee in her hands. "Good morning," she yawned. "You made coffee?"
"No, my dad did," Camila answered softly. It was apparent to Lauren that she'd just woken up as well - her voice was still husky and low.
"Oh," Lauren nodded. "What time is it?"
"I don't know, like seven..." Camila guessed, because she'd seen her dad dressed and ready to leave. He always left around seven to go out into the work field - but she assumed he was searching for employment now. She then lowered herself onto the couch. Lauren yawned again and rested her sleepy head on Camila's knee. "Did you fall off of the couch?"
"Yeah," Lauren nodded insignificantly, earning herself a raspy giggle from above.
"It's okay. I did too," Camila admitted with the knowledge that she wasn't the only one. Fortunately, she didn't wake her up with the loud thud.
"You don't have an excuse, though. You used to sleep here for the first week and a half," Lauren called her out.
"But lately, I've been sleeping with you in your bed. So I forgot what sleeping there was like," Camila countered with a defiant smile, still holding her coffee with both hands.
"Yeah, I know. It's great," Lauren smiled up at Camila. "We should've slept there last night."
"Probably," Camila seconded and cautiously lifted her mug to her lips. After sipping it once, she set it back down and glanced at the window. "Hey, you know what we should do?"
"What?" Lauren entertained her question briefly.
"We should go outside so we can watch the sunrise - if we're not too late," Camila suggested with a hopeful smile, still holding her mug with childish grace.
"I think that's a great idea," Lauren beamed at the thought of it.
"Come on, before we miss it," Camila coaxed her and set her half-full cup of coffee down on the table and held her hand out to Lauren, who gladly took it to hoist herself up.
-
"I really love watching sunrises and sunsets and stuff," Camila commented blithely, letting out a content breath of relaxation. She was sitting in the middle of Lauren's driveway with the green-eyed girl by her side.
"I don't wake up early enough," Lauren shrugged. "But it's nice whenever I do."
"When you can, you should. It's so quiet and peaceful outside in the mornings. It's beautiful," Camila said wistfully, looking up at the illusion of pink clouds. Due to her sleepy haze, Lauren really wasn't paying her words any mind. She was just enthralled with watching her speak. She was much more focused on her features than what she was saying, but that was a recurring practice.
"You're beautiful," Lauren replied lamely, still finding Camila more interesting to stare at than the rising sun overhead.
"Wow," Camila laughed, but didn't dismiss her compliment. "It's too early for this," she said in regards to the butterflies she was eliciting. It was a lovely thing to be feeling first thing in the morning.
"It is," she agreed and yawned again. "I guess my filter hasn't kicked in yet."
"That's quite alright with me. Who doesn't love unsolicited flattery?" Camila put to her, then doubled over and brought her knees to her chest. Lauren only shrugged, and Camila gathered that she wasn't up for much conversation at the moment. It didn't discourage her attempts, however. "Do you ever just look at the sky and think of what else is out there?"
"Are you high?" Lauren laughed and glanced at her. Why we she being so inquisitive about what was beyond? Like she'd just said, it was too early for this.
"No. I really love the sky, that's all," Camila answered, amused at Lauren's inference. She was high on life, maybe. "It just makes me think."
"What does it make you think of?" Lauren probed interestedly without deterring her gaze.
"Optimism and continuity," Camila stated without missing a beat.
"Elaborate," Lauren mimicked her position with her knees to her chest and encouraged a deeper answer.
"It just reminds me that dark nights aren't the end of the world. Neither are dark days. People can find a lot of temporary things to believe in, but sunsets are everlasting. There's no chance with a sunsets. They just... Are," Camila explained vaguely.
"What do you mean there's no chance?" Lauren furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"Like, they don't depend on anything. Rainbows always have to depend on the rain to come out, you know? And I've seen a lot of rainy days that didn't have a rainbow afterwards. The whole flower saying is the same, they presumably only grow from the rain - when you look at it that way. Sunsets don't depend on anything at all," Camila tried to articulate the jumbled thoughts in her mind, but wasn't really satisfied with her execution. She tried to think of how to improve it.
"Oh, I get it," Lauren nodded slowly, letting it resonate with her. It was strange, but it made sense.
"Yeah, they happen every single day. It's not determined by a bad time. It'll be there, regardless of the weather. And I like to think that was about... Life, I guess," Camila mumbled, careful not to get too ahead of herself. She was doubtful of if the green-eyed girl was even listening to her, but didn't mind it much if she wasn't.
"Life?" Lauren questioned.
"Yeah. It's resolute. There can be good connotations and bad ones, but they always end with positivity. No one ever says anything bad about a sunset. They just accept it and appreciate it for the simple phenomenon that it is," Camila concluded happily.
"Shit," Lauren responded in some distant form of awe. "Yeah, you're right."
"It keeps me going. Like, that's how I know my family will get through this. We're just going through a rough patch. I'm trying not to go into any more mental breakdowns like the other night..." Camila mentioned begrudgingly. "So, this is what I have to tell myself to keep myself sane."
"I believe it too, Camz," Lauren showed her support by reaching out to take Camila's hand into hers.
"I'm sure my dad will get another job really soon and everything will go back to normal," Camila said positively, although she didn't buy it for a second. She knew that was far fetched. But fake it until you make it, right?
"Yeah, probably," Lauren agreed from obligation. Much like Camila, she knew that was a long shot. But it wasn't fair to shoot her good hopes down with her pessimism and reality.
"It's really nice out," Camila changed the subject as she took it upon herself to look up at the sky that had resorted to its usual hue. The sunrise was over.
"Martin would love it," Lauren smiled to herself. She considered her large dog and decided to include him in the moment. "Hey, do you want to go walk Martin with me?"
"Sure," Camila agreed eagerly, viewing it as a way to spend even more time with her. Aimlessly walking around the neighborhood didn't particularly seem like her idea of a good time, but she was sure she'd find a way to enjoy it if Lauren was there with her.
"Alright, I'm gonna go wash my face and brush my teeth and stuff before I go. Then I'll go get him," Lauren announced as she stood up from the driveway and dusted her butt off.
"I was planning on doing that too," Camila nodded and followed suit.
-
After washing up and changing into some presentable clothes, the two girls found themselves in Lauren's backyard. Lauren was struggling to latch the leash onto an excited Martin. He was pawing at the ground and vibrating with anticipation. He fucking loved walks. They were essentially the highlight of his days.
"We can go if you just... Let me... Fuck - Stop moving," Lauren huffed as she struggled in putting on his leash. It was more like a harness, because Lauren didn't believe in letting him strangle himself against the strain of a leash around his neck. "Camz, can you help me?"
"I don't know why you're trying to put him on a leash anyway. Everybody knows that if he really wanted to go at something, your little ass wouldn't be able to hold him back," Camila laughed obnoxiously and crouched down to help hold him down.
"Who asked you, though?" Lauren grumbled, but laughed too. "God, it would be like those scenes in Beethoven."
"He'd literally drag you, Laur. You wouldn't stand a chance," Camila laughed some more, so tickled by the thought of poor, helpless Lauren holding onto the leash in vain, dragged unmercifully down the street by Martin.
"He's done that many times before. Then it's like he feels bad or something because he comes back and licks my face to make up for it," Lauren playfully glared down at the animal that had just allowed here to fasten the final clip.
"Chasing cats?" Camila assumed as she stood up.
"Squirrels, actually. This little baby loves cats," Lauren said lovingly as she ran her hand down his coat. "Let's go, boy. Ready for a walk?"
Martin yelped and leaped forward, throwing Lauren slightly off balance. She released the leash immediately when he jerked her arm somewhat painfully.
"He's going to rip your arm off," Camila warned her with a smirk.
"One day, probably," Lauren seconded as she rubbed her shoulder.
"Are you okay?" Camila asked sympathetically, holding onto the arm that Lauren wasn't tending to.
"Yeah, he just nearly yanked it out of its socket, that's all," Lauren tried a joking approach.
"He's just really excited," Camila excused the dog that had turned around, patiently waiting for them to come along.
"I know. He needs to calm down. It's so weird. We go on a walk at least four times a week and he acts like he hasn't been on one in ten years. He's this excited every time. It never gets old to him," Lauren said in the process of unlocking their gate. She opened the door and let Martin out, then held it open for Camila.
"That's adorable," Camila grinned.
"When you were with Oswald, did you walk him yourself? Or did someone else do it?" Lauren questioned, but for perhaps the first time ever, she spoke of Camila's privileged past with no malice to her tone. Her words weren't accompanied by an unmistakable presence of contempt.
"No, I walked him most of the time. He's a good size for me. I actually had control," Camila giggled, taking in the sight of Lauren and Martin. At the moment, it seemed like he was walking her.
"That's so cute," Lauren smiled and put some strain against Martin's leash to show him who was boss. He didn't really pay it any mind.
Camila walked beside Lauren as Martin trotted in front of them. Every so often, Lauren would find Camila marveling at her. When she'd turn and catch her in the act, she refused to look away. Instead, she'd either smile or make a funny face at her. Lauren mirrored her behavior more often than not. Lauren was completely smitten with the girl by her side, as was Camila. Tentatively, Lauren slipped her hand into Camila's as they continued to venture further out into the neighborhood.
They were steadily approaching the small lake in the center of Lauren's neighborhood. It was a nice area that was surrounded by benches, tables, and a pathetic excuse for a playground. While Lauren was shaking her head at the structure, Camila grew immensely excited by the sight of it.
"Oh my god, can we swing for a little?" Camila pleaded with the girl at her side. She completed her request with an adorable little pout to further convince Lauren.
"You are such a kid," Lauren laughed, but led her over to it anyway.
"Excuse you, I'm trying to enjoy my summer," Camila stuck out her tongue as she giddily approached the swing set.
"Fair point well made," Lauren nodded and tugged slightly on Martin's leash to get him to follow. Martin was more interested in sniffing around the grass than whatever Lauren was trying to force him to do. She released him and trusted him to stay within the area. "Wait for me," she called as she stepped over to join Camila on the swings.
"I love swinging," Camila said as she excitedly gripped the chains.
"Me too, but wait. One of these is broken. Some kid tried to swing over the top bar and he snapped something up there. So it swings lopsided now," she explained as she tugged gently on the chain to see if it held up. "I wouldn't swing there if I were you. It's dangerous and I don't want you to fall."
"Oh," Camila frowned. There were only two swings, and part of her wanted to race Lauren to see who could get higher the fastest. Her plain was foiled now. They'd have to take turns. "Dang it."
"You can swing first," Lauren offered.
"Lets do it together," Camila suggested instead. "Come here."
"We are so going to break this," Lauren snorted as she followed Camila's lead and sat down. The smaller girl lowered herself into Lauren's lap tentatively, blushing at the act. Lauren snaked her arms around Camila's sides protectively as Camila held onto the chain.
"You have to believe," Camila admonished her playfully and kicked away from the ground, moving them slightly.
"We're too tall, Camz. We're hardly moving," Lauren pointed out.
"That's because you're not trying. We can't move if your feet keep dragging across the ground," Camila snapped playfully, moving her legs up with her foot.
"Fine," Lauren said as she lifted her feet slightly. She pushed the two of them the same way Camila had, and was surprised by the difference.
"See?" Camila looked back at her with childish delight.
When they began to gain height and pick up speed, Lauren tightened her hold on Camila. Camila was laughing from pure joy alone, and Lauren was having a blast just because she was feeding off of Camila's energy. This was surprisingly working out much better than they expected. They weren't going very high at all, but it posed a precaution because they were doing it together. Lauren wanted to keep her safe, so she dragged her feet against the ground again.
"Lauren," Camila whined and whipped back to glare at her.
"We might fall," Lauren explained her actions quietly.
"I've already fallen," Camila claimed before her mind could stop her. Immediately after that slipped out, she turned away from Lauren and blushed. She was surprised by her own candor. What an idiot.
"I have too," Lauren smirked and grazed her finger along Camila's hip, sensing her embarrassment.
"Why do I even speak?" Camila laughed and tried to dismiss it as soon as she recognized it. Now that they weren't moving much besides a subtle sway, Camila took the liberty of repositioning herself. She sat sideways with her legs on one side of Lauren's and let her gaze wander back towards her face.
The older girl had gotten significantly more nervous now that Camila was brazenly staring at her. To escape from her unfaltering focus, Lauren took the liberty of checking on Martin. He was steadily sniffing out the new territory, merely dragging the leash behind him. Once she saw that he was safe and not stirring up any mischief, she turned her gaze back to the girl that was already staring intently at her. Because she was promptly in her lap, Lauren didn't have much distance between the two of them. Camila broke into a grin, which Lauren eventually mirrored. She couldn't do it while she looked her in the eyes, though. She had to look away.
"Why are you so nervous around me?" Camila asked softly, feeling somewhat guilty about how tense and uneasy Lauren seemed. If anything, she felt that she should be the one being nervous after being so cheesy.
"I'm not," Lauren lied and made it obvious by how high pitched her voice was.
"Lauren, I can feel your heart beating," Camila informed her with a sympathetic smile. It was so endearing to her. Lauren was such a sweetheart.
"I'm just not used to this, I guess," Lauren admitted, but forced herself to maintain eye contact.
"Take it easy," Camila offered another smile, hoping to let Lauren's guard down.
"I'm trying," Lauren returned shakily, trying to keep her nerves to a minimum.
"You are so cute," Camila complimented her fondly.
"Thanks..." Lauren mumbled and ducked her head down a little bit to hide from Camila's persistent gaze. She peeked up at her for a second and saw how Camila's eyes lifted from her lips quickly, as if she was trying to play it off.
She'd made note of how often Camila's eyes continuously flickered to her lips. It was painstakingly obvious that she was longing to kiss her. Lauren decided to grow a pair for once. Their second kiss was credited to Lauren's endeavor. In a shy, slow move, Lauren had pitched forward to peck Camila on the lips. She was a grinning fool afterwards. Camila was intoxicating in every sense of the word. Camila happily settled her arms loosely around Lauren's neck as she laughed from sheer exhilaration. She was surprised in the best way. Following that conversation, she hadn't expected a kiss at all. Lauren was thrilled with herself. While Camila was excitedly giggling, Lauren felt compelled to lean in for another. The second one was much more calculated and time consuming than the first. Lauren took her sweet time in reveling in the foreign feeling of another mouth on hers. She loved it.
"That was better than the first one," Camila smiled shyly, resting her arm around Lauren's neck. She was talking about the one from last night.
"I think they're all amazing," Lauren added. "I really like kissing you."
"Then kiss me again," Camila softly instructed her with a gleam in her eye. Lauren waited a second to see if the invitation was serious before she went for it. They were staring at each other in close proximity as Camila's deep exhalations tickled her lips.
In an act merely on impulse, their lips were connected once more. Lauren shocked herself with the urgency of her gesture, but not a single part of her regretted it. Camila's lips were soft as she kissed her slowly. A few seconds was all it took to find their natural rhythm. A soft hand came to rest on the nape of Lauren's neck as Camila gradually got more into it. She kind of guided her through it as she decided to deepen their kiss. Camila's tongue slowly probed through her lips, then they were clashing. It was a new feeling, but one Lauren felt she could definitely get used to. Camila was the first to bow out of it, and Lauren didn't blame her. They both needed to catch their breath. Only bearing a shy smile, Camila reached up and brushed over Lauren's bottom lip with her thumb.
"Okay, I'm counting that as my first kiss," Camila announced as yet another smile took over her features.
Lauren responded with a hug. She enveloped Camila's body tighter than she already had been and settled her chin on her shoulder at the odd angle they were in. Some weird things were going on inside of her now, and she thought she might've actually squealed if she didn't have much self restraint. This moment was a whirlwind for Lauren. She felt so much and she didn't know how to express a fraction of it. So she just embraced the girl she was finally going to allow herself to fall for. When Camila reciprocated just as tightly, Lauren was confident that she actually would catch her this time around.
Right when they separated, Camila felt something on her cheek. It was wet, and she figured that Lauren might've accidentally spit on her somehow. It was easily dismissed, but she soon felt the same sensation on her arm. She looked up at the sky in annoyance and assessed how cloudy it was. It was definitely going to rain.
"Laur," Camila drew her attention by softly tapping her on the shoulder.
"Yes?" Lauren responded with a smile.
"As much as I love this right now..." Camila put it out there first. "It's about to rain."
"So let it rain," Lauren shrugged and stroked her thumb across Camila's lower back. "We don't have anywhere we need to be."
"I like the way you think," Camila beamed and made herself comfortable once more.
Lauren kept a watchful eye on Martin periodically, but trusted in his serenity each time she looked over at him. The leash was a hassle they never really had to go through. Martin didn't respect it anyway. He was ultimately running the show and Lauren understood that. While officially granting him his independence, Lauren tuned back into the girl in her lap. The drizzle was falling at a calming rate. It wasn't disturbing. In fact, Lauren actually quite liked the atmosphere they were in. With her fingers absentmindedly grazing against Camila's lower back, Lauren spoke her mind.
"Guess what," she pitched to Camila with a goofy smile.
"What?" Camila pressed, oddly getting used to the feeling of the rain around her.
"I really like you," Lauren announced with unwavering confidence.
"And I really like you," Camila seconded and connected their lips for a third time. Nearby, Martin had realized it was raining. He was barking and jumping and yelping all the same. The entire time, he was running with his mouth wide open, trying to drink it. He disturbed their kiss and they broke away with laughter. "And Martin really likes the rain."
"I know. He's a nut," Lauren giggled and looked at her big fluffy idiot frolicking in the grass.
"We should follow Martin's lead. He knows what's up," Camila said in the midst of her laughter, referring to the way he kept bouncing about. She slipped off of Lauren's lap and minicked what Martin was doing. She began to jump and spin and appreciate the rain alongside Martin. Lauren watched from the swing in amusement, looking at her two favorite beings together. Without anything to lose, she soon found herself joining them.
She grabbed Camila's hand and let loose. Camila attempted to dance with her and twirl her around, but Lauren was laughing far too much to do it properly. Martin was jumping up on them. His paws were getting dirty as the grass shortly turned to a muddy slush, and neither girls minded at all. They were all dancing and having a merry good time just flailing about. As the shallow puddles started to form, they leaped into them in gracefully. Lauren's hair was wet and sticking to her forehead, as was Camila's. Their clothes were damp and their shoes were getting muddy, but their faces were shining. Neither girl had ever been in so much bliss before. And it lasted for a while. Together, they spent a good fifteen minutes dancing in the rain. Camila felt a lot like High School Musical.
After they'd tired themselves out, they set off for home. Camila challenged Lauren to a race, then they bolted back down the neighborhood the way they came with Martin bounding after them. Lauren hadn't felt this free in months. The wind and rain were whipping against her face as she raced home, but it was exhilarating. Her heart and muscles were aching, but she didn't care. The adrenaline coursing through her veins was nothing in comparison to what Camila elicited when they kissed.
A/N
I loved the second half of this chapter omg
And sorry to annoy you with yet another sunset conversation, but I had to lol.
I successfully binge wrote like 4 chapters this weekend lmao but they're all about this length so it's not much but
QOC: Have you ever kissed in the rain? If you haven't, do you think that people romanticize the rain? Bc I do lmao.
Another question: Since an overwhelming amount of you really wanted me to bring in Darren, I'm wondering what you want to happen once he arrives? Lol I feel like the obvious thing is to break up, but I mean wig his personality. Do you want him to be really nice and perfect or do you want him to be a grade A fuckboy? I feel like it'll be funny af bc either way, Lauren's going to hate his fucking guts. You'll definitely get your dose of jealous Lauren in the upcoming chapters.
( FUN FACT: OH MY GOD I GOT ALL A'S ON MY PROGRESS REPORT FUCK YEAH THIS HASNT HAPPENED SINCE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL HOLY SHIT )
I love you all. Take care of yourself xx