"Lauren, wait u—!"
"Mija, oh my god, you're alright." Camila barely had time to think before her mother's arms were thrown around her, and she was pulled into a tight hug — just as she caught the last glimmer of Lauren disappearing down the hallway.
"Mom?" the brown eyed girl sputtered out, feeling her mother pull them apart and start looking her up and down to make sure she was alright. "Wh-what are you doing here?"
"That's the way you greet your mother?" the woman raised a testing eyebrow at her. Camila quickly shook her head.
"I-I... sorry. I'm just tired," she sighed, fighting the urge to glance back down the corridor where Lauren had disappeared to. The elevator beside them dinged once more, and moments later she was being pulled into her father's arms.
"They called us and told us what happened. We left as soon as we heard," her mother explained, reaching up to brush Camila's hair out of her face. "We drove overnight. I packed you a new bag and tried to remember everything you needed."
"Oh... I, uh, thank you," Camila said softly, noting the duffel bag her father had set down beside her.
"Dude, Camila you have to see this, the rooms have fucking b—,"
Justin froze when he reemerged from one of the rooms in the hallway and realized the smaller girl had visitors. Camila's eyes flickered back and forth from them, and she glanced at her parents in uncertainty.
"They, uh, balconies," Justin nodded towards the bedroom, giving Camila a dorky smile. The smaller girl couldn't help but laugh. He mouthed a 'sorry' before giving her a thumbs up and disappearing back into the room from which he came.
"Don't worry, we're not going to keep you long," her father laughed, squeezing her shoulder. "Go get some rest. You're doing okay though, right?"
"Yeah," the smaller girl nodded, unsure of whether she was even lying or not anymore. "I... yeah. I'm good."
Ten minutes later, after exchanging teary goodbyes and 'I love you's, Camila was left standing by the closing elevators doors, duffel bag in hand.
305, she repeated to herself, slowly walking down the hallway and dragging the bag behind her. She turned down the next hallway, following the descending numbers until she arrived in front of a closed wooden door. A small whiteboard hung beside it, with 'Camila Cabello and Lauren Jauregui' written on it in green marker. She shivered.
Swallowing her fear, Camila gripped the metal doorknob and opened it slowly, peering into the room. Her eyebrows furrowed together when she realized Lauren wasn't anywhere to be seen.
She stood in the doorway, taking a moment to study the room. The ceilings were quite high, she noted. Three of the four walls were painted a dark turquoise color. The forth wall was plain black.
It was quite large in comparison to the last room she'd stayed in. The beds were full sized, even. Just as Camila moved to place her things down, a movement out of the corner of her eye startled her. The curtains were moving in the wind. The wind?
Raising an eyebrow, Camila set her bag down and slowly moved towards the door. She pushed the curtain aside, and her breath was instantly taken away.
A beach. A literal beach.
Camila moved forwards, opening the sliding glass door slightly and stepping out on the balcony. She was instantly overwhelmed with the smell of saltwater and the gentle sound of the ocean. Although something else caught her eye.
Something else that — in her mind — was slightly more captivating than the scene in front of her.
"Hey," Camila managed to whisper, biting her lip and standing nervously in the doorway. A few feet away from her sat Lauren, with her wheelchair up against the balcony, and her head resting atop her arms on the railing. The dark haired girl didn't even flinch.
"Are you okay?" Camila spoke once more, fighting the urge to throw out a rushed apology and flee. She was tired of that.
"Do you think they're happy?"
Camila's head shot up upon hearing Lauren's raspy voice finally make an appearance. She furrowed her eyebrows, watching as the green eyed girl stared out at the shoreline with tired eyes
"Who?" Camila asked, feeling somewhat more confident as she pulled one of the plastic chairs up to the balcony beside the girl. While Lauren's eyes were focused on the waves, Camila's brown eyes were studying the older girl's face.
"Them," Lauren simply nodded, and Camila glanced down to where she had motioned, her eyes landing on a small family who had spread out a blanket in the sand.
"Who are they?" Camila asked, tilting her head to the side. Lauren shrugged.
"I was just asking if you thought they were happy," Lauren mumbled, pursing her lips and keeping her eyes anywhere but Camila. The smaller girl bit her lip.
"They seem happy," she shrugged, glancing at the family once more. "Why?"
"What if happiness doesn't even exist?" Lauren spoke after a long moment of silence. Her words caused Camila to sit up slightly and look at her in shock. "What if we're all just pretending, thinking that we're missing out on something that everyone else has? What if we're all too scared to admit it?"
"We're sitting in front of a beach and that's what you're thinking about?" Camila turned to face her, tilting her head to the side.
"Forget it," the girl grumbled, making Camila instantly regret her words. Luckily, when Lauren moved to roll her wheelchair backwards, Camila reached out and grabbed the handle to prevent her from moving any further. This earned a heated glare from the girl beside her.
"No, Lauren, I don't think that happiness is a myth," Camila sighed, reluctantly releasing her grip on the wheelchair. Surprisingly, the girl didn't move any further. "I think it's most definitely real, and it's most definitely out there."
"But what if it's all pretend?" the green eyed girl ran a hand thought her hair, averting her eyes away from the girl beside her.
"Then we're all some pretty amazing actors, I suppose," Camila shrugged, resting her arms atop the railing and gazing out at the shoreline.
"Yeah," Lauren simply whispered, letting her words linger in the empty air between them.
"I, uh, I can ask to room with someone else," Camila added after the silence became too unbearable. "I'm sure there's r—,"
"You meant it, right?" Lauren interrupted her, pushing her words aside and lifting her head to finally look at Camila. "You meant it when you said that I don't gross you out?"
"How could I look at you and be grossed out?" Camila laughed in disbelief, subtly looking the girl up and down. "That isn't possible."
"I-I—," Lauren bit her lip, looking away. But Camila could've sworn she saw a blush spread over the older girl's cheeks, causing her to smile softly to herself.
"Have you ever been to the beach?" Lauren asked, changing the subject for the sake of her composure. Camila raised an eyebrow, glancing out at the scene before them and nodding softly.
"Of course. My family goes at least once a year," she shrugged. "Everyone goes to the beach."
"Not everyone."
This caused the smaller girl's eyebrows to shoot up, and she gave the girl a questioning glance. "You've never been to the beach?"
"Is that weird?" Lauren looked at her, confusion evident in her features.
"Yeah," Camila laughed nervously, shaking her head. "You're kidding me, right? Everyone's been to the beach."
"Everyone but me," Lauren shrugged, resting her head on her hands atop the railing. "It was always just me and my mom. We couldn't afford fancy vacations. Even if we could, she would've been too sick to go on them."
"I-I, uh, she... she—?"
"Leukemia. Took her when I was 14," Lauren interrupted her, watching as Camila's eyes practically shot out of her head. "Yeah. I wasn't lying when I said I understood what you're going through."
"Oh," Camila let the word fall out of her mouth quietly, feeling a pang of sadness for the girl. Lauren had lost her mom in the same way she would lose her, Camila realized, biting down on her bottom lip to try and push the thoughts out of her head.
"So I guess you can't really blame me for thinking that happiness is non-existent," Lauren added, letting out a soft sigh. For the first time in a long time, Camila found herself at a loss for words.
Before she had a chance to respond, Camila's phone buzzed and interrupted their conversation.
[10:01 — Normani] Everyone's going down to the beach, you should come along. Meet us at the elevator?
Camila's face lit up and she turned to Lauren excitedly. "We're going to the beach," she nodded curtly, standing up and grabbing the back handles of the girl's wheelchair.
"Can't."
Upon hearing the single word, Camila paused, tilting her head to the side. "What?" Lauren just sighed, turning her head around and shaking her head at the girl.
"Wheelchairs don't work in sand, genius," she said, laughing nervously.
"Well, then I'll ask one of the nurses for crutches," Camila shrugged. Lauren shook her head once more.
"Do you want me to completely faceplant?" the dark haired girl raised an eyebrow, motioning for Camila to forget about it. "You go."
"I'm not leaving you," Camila shook her head, plopping back down in the chair beside Lauren. As the green eyed girl opened her mouth to argue, Camila pulled her phone out of her pocket once more.
[10:03 — Camila] not right now, bud. sorry.
"There has to be a way that you can go to the beach," Camila sighed, leaning against the railing and letting her eyes trace the shoreline.
"Camila, it's fine," Lauren laughed nervously, shaking her head. "Really."
"No it's not, Lauren," Camila snapped back, taking the girl by surprise. "I want to be able to go to the beach with you. There has to be a way."
"There's plenty of other things we can do together," Lauren spoke up, watching as Camila's face fell slightly. The brown eyed girl sighed in frustration, pulling her legs up underneath her in her chair and gazing quietly at the ground.
"What?" Lauren noticed Camila's frustration and immediately grew concerned. "It's not that big of a deal, Camila," she leaned forward slightly to try and get a better look at the girl's face.
"It's stupid," Camila shook her head. "Forget it, you're right. There's other things we can do besides the beach."
"You know, when you tell me to 'forget it', it just makes me even more curious," Lauren laughed, biting her lip and studying the girl's face. "Seriously, why is it bothering you so much?"
"I just... it's stupid," the girl sighed, laying her head back against the chair and gazing up at the sky. "I've just always had this vision of having a first date on the beach. Like... with candles and blankets and music... I don't know." She hung her head down, letting her hair fall over her face.
"That's not stupid," Lauren spoke up after a few moments of silence. "I-It's cute. I...yeah. That's a cute idea. I'm sure it'll be great."
"Well, yeah, I mean... I was hoping you'd be there," Camila laughed nervously, her eyes moving down to her lap shyly. She saw Lauren's head shoot up out of the corner of her eye.
"Me?" Green eyed flickered up to meet brown.
"Are you really that oblivious?" Camila laughed, her eyebrows curving together and she looked at Lauren in disbelief.
"Huh?"
"Lauren, we kissed," Camila bit her lip, suddenly growing nervous. "Right?"
"I know, but... I just... sometimes people kiss and it doesn't mean anything, right? That's a thing people do, right?" Lauren tilted her head to the side, still unsure of herself.
"Maybe," Camila shrugged. "Not me, though. I don't kiss people unless there's something there."
"So there's something there?" Lauren questioned her once more. "Something... something here?" She motioned between the two of them.
"Well... yeah," Camila whispered, suddenly letting her insecurities get the best of her. "I mean, there is for me... at least. I'm not gonna lie." She hung her head down, nervous to see Lauren's reaction. She was sure that she'd made her feelings painfully obvious by now.
"So it's mutual, then," Lauren nodded once. "Does that mean I can... you know... kiss you again?"
Camila's head shot up and suddenly Lauren was turning to face her, bringing her hand up gently to curl a finger underneath her chin. The moment Camila gave her a soft nod, she was left breathless as the girl leaned in to crash their lips together, causing Camila's entire world to be thrown upside down.
"Does this mean we can have our beach date?" Camila whispered after they pulled apart, both girls left in shock once more by how intoxicating it felt. Seeing the hesitancy in Lauren's face, Camila was just about to jump forwards to take her words back when the green eyed girl nodded.
"Yeah," Lauren whispered, swallowing her fears. "We'll find a way."
--
a/n: hi i'm grumpy and sick here's another chapter ily
- lena (lenajfc on twitter, txrches on tumblr)