A/N: Just wanted to say thank you again for all of your overwhelming support! 'Lightning' has now reached #433 in Fanfiction! Hope you enjoy this chapter, because I tried to make it fluffy. So, I hope you guys like fluff (or else you wouldn't be here, amiright?).
Lauren returned home bright and early in the morning with her medication in hand. When she walked through the door, the only person in the room was Camila. The twins weren't there, and neither were Ally, Dinah, or Normani.
"Where is everyone?" Lauren asked her girlfriend, who was sitting on the couch twiddling her thumbs around.
Camila answered her nervously, "They wanted us to have some alone time. They've moved the twins and their stuff to the girls's house next door."
"Oh, cool. Now I do recall that you said that I owed you a make-out session later. Am I right?"
"Uh, yes." she responded, with nervousness completely evident in her voice.
Lauren finally began to noticed that something was up, so she asked, "You sound off. Is something wrong?"
"Uh, no. Nothing's wrong. I'm just kind of nervous."
"About what?"
Camila finally glanced up at her girlfriend that stared at her with a confused look etched into her face, then finally answered, "About these reservations that I've made for us tonight."
"The what?" Lauren asked for clarification.
The small, adorable girl in front of Lauren got up from the couch and quickly said, "I'm taking you on a date." She looked back down at the ground, with butterflies erupting in her stomach.
Without a response, Lauren embraced her girlfriend in a huge, warm hug and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. Lauren whispered to Camila, "You are the most adorable little thing that I've ever met." The two pulled apart and Lauren asked, "So where are we going? And when?"
"I've only made reservations for a romantic lunch, rather than a dinner, since we have to get back to the girls and the twins once two o'clock hits. We're also only going to Olive Garden. I'm not sure if you like it or not, but I really have taken a liking to their bread sticks. Is this okay? I can always cancel them if you want..." she trailed off.
"No, no, no! I love Olive Garden! It was a great choice I think. And it really shows that you're starting to get to know me." Lauren smiled at her girlfriend who was not very confident in their afternoon plans. "Plus, they do have killer bread sticks."
Camila gave Lauren a shy smile and a small giggle that warmed Lauren's heart. No matter how many times she looked at Camila, Lauren fell in love even more each time that she did. The butterflies would always fly back to her stomach, and she'd feel like she was walking on air every time she remembered that she had found love with someone as amazing as Camila.
Soon enough, it was time for them to leave, and they both piled into Lauren's car. On the way to Olive Garden, the two played quiet pop music from the radio. They heard their favorite artists like Demi Lovato, Taylor Swift, and Ed Sheeran, which caused them to turn up the volume a little.
They arrived after a twenty minute ride, and Lauren began to open her own door. Camila stopped her quickly, causing Lauren shut her door again.
"What's wrong?" Lauren asked.
Camila gave her a cute smile and responded, "Don't even think about letting yourself out of the car. I want that to be my job. I'm taking you on a date, so I figured that I should hold the door open for you and help you get out of the car."
Lauren smiled at these words, but said, "Are you trying to wear the pants in the relationship? Because I don't see that happening any time soon."
Her girlfriend gave a sarcastic laugh and replied, "But, Lauren. I already do wear the pants in our relationship."
"Yeah? And who says?" Lauren smirked.
"Me." her girlfriend giggled.
Camila exited the car and walked around it, trying to be careful not to fall, then felt for Lauren's door handle in order to open the door for her. Lauren got out of the car, giving her girlfriend a simple thank you, and Camila shut the door behind her. As soon as the door was all locked up, the two girls walked hand-in-hand to the restaurant.
A friendly hostess noticed the two walk in, and she said, "Hey guys! We're pretty full up here this afternoon. Did you happen to make reservations?"
"I did. My name is Camila Cabello, and it was a reservation for two." she told the hostess.
She glanced down at the podium in front of her, checking the binder for all of the reservations that had been made for that day. Noticing Camila's name on the list, the hostess grabbed two menus and said, "You're on the list. Follow me, please."
Both girls nodded at her, then followed her to a table that was placed right by the window with an amazing view of palm trees by the ocean. They each received a menu, and a basket full of bread sticks, and the hostess left them to glance over their menus. Lauren opened hers up immediately, with her mouth watering at every single item on the menu. Camila just sat there since she couldn't see the menu, but Lauren was too enthralled by all of the amazing-sounding things that she could have for lunch.
A few moments later, their waitress came to wait on them. She introduced herself as Mary, and took their orders for drinks and meals. Lauren ordered a simple plate of spaghetti, and Camila answered with the classic saying, "I'll have what she's having." As they waited for their food, the two mowed down on the bread sticks, finishing them in two minutes. When there were no crumbs left to be eaten, the two just decided to talk about everything.
"So how did things go at the hospital? Are you feeling any better since last night?" Camila asked her girlfriend, who sat in front of her admiring her beauty.
Lauren answered, "I feel a lot better since last night. They prescribed me with antacids to level my stomach's acid levels, so I'm not in as much pain as I was initially. The ulcer should heal up completely in two to three weeks, and I'll be off of my prescription in eight."
"That's great!" Camila smiled, happy that she didn't have to worry as much as she had been in the past twenty-four hours. "I'm really glad that everything turned out fine. I don't know what I'd do without you in my life."
"Same here, Camz. You're my everything, and I'd be lost without you to guide me."
"Me too, Lauren. Literally." she made another blindness joke, reminding Lauren of the optic nerve surgery that was now being practiced.
"Hey Camila," Lauren started, "I saw something interesting on the news last night as I was resting. There is a new surgery being practiced where a blind person could have new optic nerves implanted. This would give the person the ability to see. Isn't that amazing?"
Camila's face lightened up at the thought of her being able to see for the first time. To glance upon Lauren's face for the first time was all that she could ever want. No. She didn't just want to see her face, she needed to. Camila wanted to see herself, and what people looked like. She wanted to see colors, and shades, and everything in the world around her. If she could see, she'd be able to do all of the things that she couldn't before, and the fact that there was actually hope, made her excited. She had always wished for this to happen one day, but her mom always told her that she should forget about it and that there was no hope for her to ever be able to see.
"But there's a catch." Lauren told her, causing her to raise an eyebrow with interest. "You would need a donor. It would have to be someone who has passed away, and I don't know anyone who has. I could request for you to be put on the list, but that could take years. It would probably be a very costly procedure as well. But Camila, I promise you that one day, you will look upon my face and think of me as the person who allowed you to do so."
Camila sighed in disappointment, knowing now that there was nothing that she could do yet. "It's okay, Lauren. I've lived with it this long, and I wouldn't mind dying this way either. Vision would be nice, but living without it is doable. Thank you for being so kind, but please don't stress over this. Okay? Will you do that for me? I don't want you to be burdened with more stress than you are already suffering from."
Lauren replied, "Sure, Camz."
Their conversation was interrupted by the waitress bringing over their spaghetti for them, which didn't last on their plates for long. The two were so hungry, that they managed to finish in five minutes. When the waitress returned to ask about how their meal tasted, she was shocked to see that they had already finished. She disappeared around the corner of the room, then quickly returned with their check.
Camila insisted on paying for the meal, since it was her idea to go on the date. She handed the paid check and tip back to the waitress and thanked her for her service. The two finally left the restaurant together, then made their way back to Lauren's old house. No one was there when they arrived, so Lauren insisted that they finally have that make-out session that she owed to her girlfriend.
The two sat together on the couch, and Lauren placed her arms around Camila. Lauren moved in slowly for the first kiss, but Camila crashed their lips together just to get to the point. The girl was desperate for this kind of activity, which hadn't happened in a while. Both girls moved their lips together, causing sparks of pleasure to shock their whole bodies. Camila pushed lightly on Lauren's torso, causing her to lay down on the couch. She climbed on top of her girlfriend, then moved her lips to her neck and started to suck lightly on Lauren's soft skin, causing her to let out a quiet moan.
Just as Lauren began to move her hands down Camila's sides, there was a knock on the door, causing Camila to roll off of Lauren and onto the floor. A moment later, Normani came through the door with a surprised look on her face.
"Did I interrupt something... important?" she asked, feeling extremely awkward.
"Uh, no, no. It's fine, don't worry. What's up?" Lauren questioned her shocked friend.
Normani responded, "The girls and I have put Laurie and Cameron to sleep, and they suggested that we practice our auditions for 'The Voice'. Are you guys up for it?"
Camila and Lauren both got to their feet and nodded their heads to agree with the idea. The three girls left Lauren's old house together, then proceeded to Normani's to work on their auditions. Since there was now a surgery that could help Camila, Lauren was only more tempted to win the competition. That way, she'd have the money part down for the procedure, but she'd just need to find a donor.