"It's okay to not be okay."
Camila rested her forehead against her locker as she stared at the ground. A small puddle had formed in front of her feet of which was from the tears dripping down her face. She was trying to contain her sniffles but her breaths kept getting heavier and heavier, harder for her to breath.
"Mila, are you okay? We heard-" Dinah murmured, sympathy evident in her tone. She placed a hand on her captain only to get it shrugged off by the other girl.
"I'm f-fine." Camila stammered interrupting the taller girl. She forced her eyes shut, a pelt of the salty substance escaping by it.
"Mila..." Normani tried.
"I said I'm fine." The Cuban gritted through her teeth. She clenched her jaw and made a fist with her hand.
"Look, Camila we know what you're going through-" Normani counseled but was soon cut off when she heard a bang coming from the locker making her and the other girls flinch. Camila's fist was driven in the metal panel.
The volleyball setter whipped her head towards her teammates and glared at them. Her eyes were puffy red and her nose flared up.
"No you don't." She hissed. "You don't know what I'm going through. So stop pretending and telling me that you do!"
"Camila, she's our friend too!" Ally spoke up, raising her voice for the very first time ever.
"But she's my best friend!" Camila howled as her breathing became harder to control and uneven. "She's my be-... I-I can't do this." She backed up until her back hit the lockers. "I c-can't be here."
Dinah looked at her best friend and immediately felt despondent for the girl. She saw how hurt and broken Camila was. She took a step forward to comfort her but Camila raised her arm out.
"No, no, no." Camila cried frantically completely breaking down. She slid down and sobbed. "Please." She whispered in a devastated tone. "J-just... just leave me alone. There's nothing you c-can do to make me feel better. I n-need her."
Normani and Ally turned their head at Dinah. They all shared the same look and understood. Camila needed space but they couldn't just leave her so the three girls decided that it'd be best if Dinah were to stay.
"Mila... we can't leave you by yourself, so Ally and I will go to class and Dinah will stay here with you." Normani explained carefully as their captain pulled her knees to her chest. "We'll see you at lunch, okay?"
There was no response. The dark skinned girl looked up at Dinah and sighed in defeat. Dinah flashed a small smile before nodding them off. She gave Normani a small peck on the cheek then let them go on their way.
"We love you, Mila." Ally stated filled with compassion as they departed.
The two girls walked away, leaving Dinah with Camila. The Polynesian ran her hand through her thick hair and looked at her best friend. She slowly prowled next to where the smaller girl sat and stealthily plopped down next to her.
There was awkward tension between the two. Camila wanted to be left alone while Dinah wanted to comfort the other girl but didn't know how.
"I know you say you want to be alone right now, but you and I both know that you don't." Dinah uttered in a concerned voice. "I'm here, Mila. Please let me be here for you."
Camila lifted her head up and craned it at Dinah. She stared at her blankly as her mouth quivered. Her eyebrows were knitted together and her doe eyes filled up with water.
"It's okay to not be okay." The taller girl husked.
And with that Camila spluttered out and let her tears fall freely. She threw her arms around Dinah's neck and rested her face on her chest as she cried.
"Shh...there, there. Everything will be okay." Dinah lulled. She placed her chin on top of Camila's head and wrapped her arm around the smaller girl to draw circle patterns on the girl's back.
"I... I-I need her, Dinah." A small tear trickled down Dinah's face as she listened to her best friend's choppy voice. "I need Lauren."
-
Lauren looked up at the scoreboard and wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. They were down by five points and the other team had the serve. She flickered her gaze at Camila, who was staring at her waiting for her call, and shot her a knowing look.
'Get me up.' She mouthed over to the setter. Camila nodded and turned her head back to the person across the net.
The ball was served and Ally bumped it up easily towards Camila. The setter got under the ball quickly and popped it high for the green-eyed girl. Lauren took long strides before jumping up and hitting the ball down over the net down to the ten-foot line. There was no block or a person waiting to dig up the spike. So once the ball bounced up from the ground, the crowd went wild.
The dark haired girl grinned widely at the flawless play. "YEAH!" She screamed loudly before turning to her team as they all gathered in the middle to celebrate. In the circle, she patted Camila on the back and praised Ally for her contribution to the play.
They got the point so the ball was back in their possesion. It was Normani's serve and everyone was set in her side. As the ball was served over, Normani rushed back to her position and waited for any incoming spikes. The other team were sloppy but were able to bump, set, and spike it over.
However, the spike was not anticipated. Lauren was late on setting up the block so the ball went through her arms, shooting directly to Camila's direction. The setter was behind the pale girl avoiding to receive any hard balls and with that mindset, her reflexes were not fast enough to block the ball coming at her from colliding with her face.
Camila hit the floor with a loud thud. Lauren looked back with wide eyes as she watched her best friend get smashed.
"Camz!" She called.
The whistle blew signaling a timeout. Everyone in the court circled around Camila while Lauren knelt down beside her. The green-eyed girl lifted Camila's unconscious body and placed it safely on top of her thigh.
"Camz..." Lauren mumbled as she stroked the girl's hair out of her face. "You're going to be okay."
"Out of the way!" She heard her coach yell. He made his way through the crowded space and gave Lauren a look. "Jauregui! Stand up. They'll take it from here." He gestured to the two men standing behind him with a carrier in their hand.
"W-where are they taking her?" Lauren asked.
"The hospital." The coach declared.
The two guys lifted Camila's limp body up to the stretcher and carried her out of the gym. Lauren watched the smaller girl get taken away. She felt a hand in her shoulder and turned her head to its' owner.
"She'll be okay, Lo." Dinah flashed a reassuring smile.
"I hope so." The pale girl replied sadly. She locked eyes with the Polynesian and huffed. "I need to be there when she wakes up. She needs me."
"Then let's finish this game quickly." Dinah smirked.
"Yeah." Lauren agreed, taking one last glance at the door then to the game. "Let's finish this."
-
After the game, the green-eyed girl was the first to pack her stuff and dash out the door. They ended up going to five games with the other team but pulled it in the last game. Lauren hopped on her car and told her parents about Camila's incident. They didn't hesitate to grant their daughter's request to go to the hospital and see how Camila was doing.
Once they were at the hospital, Lauren jumped out of the car and sprinted in to the building. She went straight to the front desk and asked for Camila Cabello. The nurse scanned the girl's name in the screen and told her where the girl was roomed in. She took the elevator up and frantically searched for the room number.
"Lauren?" Sinu called catching the pale girl's attention. Lauren whipped her head at Sinu's direction and jogged towards. "Mija, hey... where are your parents?" She queried when she looked behind Lauren and found no sign of the adults.
"They're parking the car. I came here as soon as the game finished. How is she? Is she okay? What's happening with her?" Lauren spurted out.
Sinu chuckled softly and placed both her hands on Lauren's shoulder. "Mija, calm down. Breathe."
The dark haired girl sucked in a big breath and let it out.
"Camila is fine. She has a mild concussion and need to stay overnight just to make sure everything is stable before she checks out." The older woman explained. "Don't worry okay?"
Lauren nodded understandingly.
"C-can I see her?" She gulped.
"Sure. Ari's already in there..." Sinu trailed off.
"Ariana's here?" Lauren froze. Just at the sound of the cheerleader's name made her shrink. Ariana was the girlfriend of course she was here.
"Hmm. She's been there for a while. You can tell her to get some coffee or food to eat, I bet she's hungry." The Cuban woman informed.
"Okay." Lauren replied in s a small voice. She walked to Camila's room and peeked through the seam of the window blinds. She saw Ariana sitting bedside talking animatedly to Camila and it broke her heart. That should have been her.
"Lauser..." Dinah panted as she grabbed on to Lauren's shoulder. She had her back hunched over and breathed heavily. Lauren twisted her head back and smiled at her teammate. "We... we're here."
A few more footsteps echoed in the hallway causing the green-eyed girl to avert her gaze. She found Ally and Normani running to them. They were still in their spandex and tight uniforms, turning heads as they stopped in front of Lauren.
"Hey guys." Lauren greeted warmly.
"Did... you... see... her... yet?" Ally puffed, trying to catch her breath.
"I'm about to. You guys are right on time, actually." Lauren answered.
"Awe... some." Normani huffed.
The four girls stood in front of the door and were about to walk in when Lauren abruptly stopped them. She turned to Normani.
"Fair warning. Ariana is in there. Be nice." Lauren warned the dark skinned girl.
Normani rolled her eyes and grumbled something to herself.
"Mani..." The pale girl nagged.
"I'll be nice." Normani muttered and that was all what Lauren needed to hear before opening the door and busting in.
"CHANCHO!!!" Dinah exclaimed, plowing down Ally and Lauren out of her way. She sauntered over to the petite girl on the bed and bent down to hug her. "I was so worried about you! How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine, Cheechee." Camila giggled as she hugged her giant teddy bear. She looked over the tall girl's shoulder and saw her favorite girls standing there. "Hey team." She beamed.
"I- uh- I'm just going to go." Ariana whispered to Camila. She felt out of place and didn't really want to be the odd one out. She stood up from the chair and gave her girlfriend a small peck on the lips. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah. I love you." Camila hummed.
"Love you too." Ariana said half-heartedly. She strolled out of the room without making any effort to greet the other girls.
When the door shut the other girls moved closer to Camila. Lauren stood at the foot of the bed while the other two squeeze on the chair beside the Cuban-Mexican.
"How's your face mi Camilitia?" Normani spoke in a baby voice.
"Hurts." Camila mumbled. "That girl had a strong arm."
"Don't worry, Mila. Lauren over here got you back." Ally pointed at the girl in the end of the bed. "Right, Laur?"
"It wasn't intended." The dark haired girl mumbled timidly.
"Yeah right." Dinah scoffed. "You basically aimed for her face."
"I didn't!" Lauren defended, giving the tall girl a pointed look.
Camila watched her teammates bicker and laughed quietly. She was glad they had come to see her because as much as she loved Ariana, all the cheerleader could talk about was gossip going around school. Her throat felt dry so she rotated her body and reached for the water bottle on the table next to Dinah.
Lauren noticed Camila's movement and scampered over to the table beating Camila to it.
"Here, let me." She grabbed the bottle and handed it off to the injured girl. She smiled adorably to the setter and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "I got you, babe."
Camila raised an eyebrow at Lauren and rolled her eyes playfully at the excessive flirting. "Thanks."
"EXXXXXXCUSE ME." Dinah wrapped her large hand on Lauren's face and pulled it back. "Do you see me standing here? 'Cus it don't seem like it." She tilted her head at the green-eyed girl and shot daggers in her way. "You're stepping on my foot and you are all kinds over my personal space, hello."
It was true. Lauren was basically pressed between the bed and Dinah's front but wasn't aware of the proximity until the tall girl pointed it out.
"Oh. Sorry." Lauren slipped out of the tight spot and went over to where she was before.
Ally and Normani snickered to themselves before continuing to talk about the game to Camila. The five girls chatted up until they were picked up by their parents basically forcing them to leave.
"Bye Mila! Get better." Dinah, Ally, and Normani waved as they exited the door. Lauren and Camila waved them goodbye.
The dark haired beauty stayed a little longer having permission from her parents and Sinu. She pulled a chair over to the bed closer to the brown-eyed girl and rested her elbows at the edge of the bed.
"So, how's your head feeling, babe?" Lauren beamed.
"Better... I guess." Camila replied with a hint of mischief in her tone. She blinked a coupled times and looked at Lauren quizzically.
"Camz, are you okay?" The green-eyed girl panicked.
"Uh..." Camila brought hands to massage her temples and shut her eyes.
"Camila." Lauren stated firmly growing more anxious to her teammates peculiar actions. She scooted alongside the girl and reached out.
"W-who's Camila?" The brunette stuttered. She opened one of her eyes and glanced at Lauren. "Who a-are you?" She tried to stay serious but as soon as she saw Lauren on the verge of her seat, she started cracking up.
"Oh my fucking god." Lauren exasperated. She slapped Camila's arm and growled. "Fuck you! I actually got worried there for a minute."
Camila held on her stomach as her laughter echoed in the small room. It was a mean prank but she couldn't help herself.
"So... Sorry, Lo." She apologized. "I had to."
"No you didn't!"
"You knew I was fine. You've been here for hours." Camila said with an impish grin.
"Well, maybe something happened."
"I would never forget you, Laur."
"Promise?"
"I couldn't even if I tried." The brown-eyed girl said truthfully.
"Good, 'cus I don't want you to forget me. You know, your wife."
Camila groaned. "Quit it with that! That's never going to happen."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yes."
"Oh yeah?"
"YES!"
"One day, Cabello. You'll be mine."
"You're annoying."
"Get use to it, babe."
"Don't call me babe."
"Baby?"
"No."
"Baby! Baby! Baby, NO!"
"Stop."
"Thought you always be mine."
"Lauren Michelle."
"Karla Camila."
"Fuck you!"
"Yeah, fuck me."
"God, you're infuriating."
"God, you're adorable."