a/n guys, i appreciate every comment and this way i don't feel like i'm alone in this, so if you have some time to spare, feel free to share your opinions c: enjoy!
Lauren's POV
I pulled the key out of the ignition and fished my phone out of my bag. The device was hard to find within all of the books and notebooks and random sheets of paper. Funny how my schoolbag was already a mess and it was just the first day. When I did feel the device with my fingers amongst the other things, I sent a quick message to my favorite brunette, saying I was waiting for her.
I was looking at the door, anticipating Camila. I bounced my leg up and now, excited to introduce the girl to her new environment in which I felt so comfortable. I didn't really realize how much more fun going to school would be for me, until now. The corners of my lips lifted in an involuntary smile.
The two rows of my teeth were revealed even more when I spotted dirty black Chuck Taylors sticking out of the household. Soon, the familiar figure made its way to the driveway, where I parked my car. With her messy hair bouncing freely to the rhythm of her pace, her high-waisted denim jeans and a baby pink long sleeved crop top, Camila looked naturally beautiful. What I noticed only when she got in the passenger seat, was a cup which contained a steaming liquid.
"Hi," the Latina grunted quietly.
"Hey?" I breathed and chuckled after, looking at her questioningly.
"What?" she asked, turning her head to the left, looking incredibly miserable.
"You know, we could always stop by a café and get you coffee, you didn't have to bring it with you." I trailed with a wide grin on my face.
"What are you even ta-oh, my God." She stopped herself from asking me the question that formed in her head after she'd realized what I was talking about. "Yeah, never mind."
"What happened? Weren't you nearly as excited as me about the first day?" I asked curiously, questioning the -lazy and tired, and oblivious to some facts - attitude.
"Oh yeah, I'm still super excited!" she exclaimed with a lazy smile on her tan face.
"Okay," I giggled. "Well, then..why are you so tired? It wasn't very late when you sent me your message."
"To be honest, I'm not sure myself. I guess my sleeping patterns aren't entirely back to normal yet." she shrugged her shoulders.
"Alright," I murmured. "Well, let's go. we still need to get your schedule and your locker combination."
"I'm nervous, Laur." She suddenly mumbled.
"Aw Camz, it's okay." I started and put my hand on her thigh, stroking it delicately. "I promise you, this school is the ideal place for new students. Everyone's really welcoming and helpful. The teachers aren't too hard on you unless you get on their bad side, but that doesn't have to concern you, you're like an angel." I cackled, not wanting to sound too serious or obvious (ha, too late, Lauren). "If it'll make you feel better, I'll try to get you a locker close to mine, hm?" I smiled encouragingly.
"You could do that?" she asked quietly and slowly looking up.
"I'll see what I can do." I nodded my head when Camila finally revealed her brown orbs from the long eyelashes. I winked, too, to enlighten the mood a little bit.
"You're the best," she whispered and took my hand in hers, squeezing it tightly.
"I know," I answered nonchalantly, throwing my hair over my shoulder. "So, wanna tell me about the thing with Dinah yesterday? What were you two so busy with?" I asked merrily, not realizing how tough the topic actually was.
"I helped her with something." Camila replied vaguely.
"Okay?"
"I wish I could tell you more, but it's not my place to do so. I don't know how Dinah would feel." She added regretfully.
"Oh, that's no problem, really. But is everything okay?" I asked immediately.
" It's going to be," she smiled widely and this way, I knew she meant what she'd said.
"Great. She's lucky to have you, we all are." I confessed with a serious face.
"Aw, and I'm lucky to have you guys." Camila cooed and leaned in to hug me. I quickly reciprocated the embrace and wrapped my arms around her neck. I cherished our proximity and I noted how sweet she smelled. It was a mix of floral aroma and something a couldn't put a finger on, even though I'd been trying to name it ever since I met that girl. It must be her natural scent. Damn, do I wish I naturally smelled this good.
The little oasis was rudely interrupted when I felt something warm on my hip.
My hip?
I pulled away abruptly and looked down. There was a dark stain on my navy graphic t-shirt where I last saw the cup which Camila brought to the car.
"You did not just spill your coffee on my t-shirt, Camila." I mumbled with greeted teeth. My jaw clenched and I took deep breaths to keep my composure.
"Oh wow, I did." she gasped.
"No shit!" I shouted, startling the younger girl. I realized I was losing it and a frown quickly replaced every other emotion on my face. "Shit, Camz. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
"No, I'm sorry. I'm so stupid, let me clean it up-" she reached for the wet piece of clothing when I quickly grabbed her wrists with both of my hands which caused her to look me in the eyes.
"I didn't mean to blow up on you, I lost it. I'm sorry." I apologized yet again, making sure Camila was okay.
"I get it, Laur. It's alright." She loosened her wrists from my grip and stroked my upper arm. "What do you say I run to my room and grab a shirt for you?" she suggested hesitantly.
I let out a puff of air in amusement, already amused by the situation, rather than angered. "Let me come with you, I'll change in your bathroom."
~
I turned down the volume of the song that Camila played in the car, Miguel's DEAL, when I parked the car in front of our school.
"Okay," I spoke up. I looked at the girl to my right who was nervously playing with her fingers and looking through the window in daze. It didn't gain her attention, so I put her hands between mine safely. This, on the other hand, did get her to turn her head in my direction.
"We're here? Okay, we are." She looked around and bit her bottom lip hard. "We should go, right? I can't be late on my first day. That'd be something, huh?"
Camz," I disturbed her rambling and waited for her to focus her gaze on my face. When I succeeded, I smiled reassuringly. "I want you to listen to me now, okay?" I spoke slowly.
She nodded and silently asked me to continue. "I can't assure you that other people won't look or stare at you. After all, you're not only new, but you're beautiful, too, and that will surely get the others' attention." I said lightly with a smug on my face. She chuckled and I internally high-fived myself for releasing some of the tension she felt at that moment. "I'll be by your side every possible moment if that's what you want. Nothing will happen to you, because basically everyone here is a good person. Besides, the teachers are always ready to protect you, and so am I. The principal is really funny too, and her secretary loves gossips, so feel prepared when you go into that office in a few minutes, hm?" I smiled yet again, wanting everything to go as smoothly for Camila as possible.
"Okay, I feel as ready as I'll ever be. We should go now." She said surely, exhaling. She gathered her things and so did I. We left the car and when the doors were closed I locked it. I walked up to my best friend and nodded in the direction of the building, encouraging her to follow me.
As we happily walked the few meters that were left until the visible entrance, I felt something tugging at the hem of my(Camila's) shirt. I looked down and saw Camila slide her hand in mine. She was looking at me questioningly with her eyebrows raised, asking if it was okay. I grinned and squeezed her hand, stroking her palm with my thumb at the same time.
As I was about to open the door for the two of us, Camila got ahead of me and pulled the large door, letting us get inside. Once I got a proper look on the familiar hallways, lockers and doors, I smiled to myself, feeling happy to be back. I averted my eyes from everything surrounding us and focused them on the small brunette on my right side. She was looking around herself, familiarizing with everything and getting a grasp of a place where she'll be spending the majority of her time these days. Her eyes moved rapidly, jumping from one thing to another. When they finally landed on me, I raised my eyebrows with a gentle smile on my face.
"And?" I spoke up.
"I like it," she breathed, nodding her head a couple of times. "I really do. It feels right." she grinned and looked at me again, after giving some of her attention to the students surrounding us.
"I'm so happy to hear it, Camz." I squealed and pulled her in my arms. Our bags bumped when our bodies touched and we laughed it off, pulling away. Way too soon for my liking, though. "Let's get you escorted to the principal's office, shall we?" I suggested, still smiling widely.
"Sure," she giggled. "It feels so good to not be the center of attention right now. Like, no one's whispering about me, pointing fingers at me and not even one person had given me a rude look or something like that. Why isn't every school like that?" she talked animatedly. Not daring to disturb her monologue, I only hummed in agreement once in a while, to let her know I was indeed listening to everything she had to say.
She could go on for hours, but after three minutes we stood by the office.
"Can you come in with me, though? It's great and all, but I'm still a lil' shy loser." She laughed shortly and rolled her eyes.
"First of all, you're not a loser, and sure. I always keep my promises, Camz." I smiled at her and opened the door for the both of us.
"Good morning, girls, what can I do for you?" Mrs. Morgan spoke up and I smiled just because I was glad to see her.
"Good morning, Mrs. Morgan," I spoke up, looking at the woman behind the desk with a computer.
"Lauren! it's so nice to see you. How was the summer?"
"It's nice to see you, too, ma'am. Way better than I imagined. Actually, I met Camila during summer," I pointed to my friend. "she moved here and it's her first day. We're here to collect all the needed things for her."
"Ah! So you're the one, we've been looking forward to meeting you, Camila. The whole staff is waiting to meet you. Your learning achievements were so impressive, we couldn't wait to have you here." The woman spoke cheerily.
I didn't realize Camila was such a good student, but I was thrilled to hear it. Maybe, for once my friend would actually study with me, instead of laughing at me and calling me a nerd like Ally and Normani keep on doing.
"Ah, it's nothing fancy. Thank you, though. I'm sure I'll love it here. And with Lauren's help, nothing will be too hard." Camila spoke for the first time since we entered the room.
"Lauren is personally one of my favorite students in this school, but don't tell anyone." The woman whispered to Camila after leaning in a little bit. I heard it all, and I'm sure the two other females were aware of it, but Mrs. Morgan was just this kind of person. We've grown much closer in the last school year. When I didn't feel like being around too many people, I would come to her office and share my lunch with her. It may seem a bit weird, but this woman was one of the very few people that managed to make me smile during the day. And for this, I'm utterly grateful. God knows where I'd be right now, if it weren't for that one smile every day.
"So you two feeling good? Lauren, how's it going?" she asked for a small glimpse to my life and I gladly let her.
"It's been going way better, ma'am. We should catch up, I missed chatting with you!" I exclaimed happily.
"I was just about to suggest that. I suppose this time you'll be spending lunch with our new student right here, but I'll make sure to get you some time during one of your homerooms." She said quietly and winked, not wanting the principal to hear everything. I chuckled freely and agreed. "Anyway, Camila, dear. Here are your things. Let me just switch one more thing. You two want lockers next to each other, huh?" she looked up expectantly, smirking at us.
"It'd be great, actually. Thank you so much." Camila chimed in shyly, smiling gently.
"No problem, honey. Here it is." The woman handed the documents to Camila and smiled assuringly. "Now I'm sure the principal is anticipating you, you can go now or during lunch, that's up to you."
Camila looked at me hesitantly, as if asking for opinion.
"You could go now, so we could spend the lunch break together. I'll wait over here, alright?" I spoke calmly, sensing she was growing nervous again. I reached for her hand and squeezed it lightly.
"It'll be okay," I whispered in her ear and pushed her lightly towards the door. Camila nodded and smiled at the both of us. She knocked on the door firmly three times and after a permission from the other side, she went inside.
Mrs. Morgan and I chatted while Camila was inside, talking about the basics with our principal. Their meeting didn't take longer than ten minutes and when she left the room, a gentle smile was tugging at her lips.
"Everything went fine and dandy in there?" the woman asked curiously.
"Absolutely," Camila guffawed and looked at me. "Should we go to our lockers now?"
"Sure," I smiled I directed my gaze to the woman. "Thanks again see you later!"
"Bye, Mrs. Morgan. Thank you!" Camila bid the woman goodbye and once again, slipped her hand in mine. A volcano of butterflies erupted in my stomach and an involuntary grin took over the thin line my lips were forming just a second ago.
"Bye girls, have a good day!"
I let Camila out first and I closed the door behind me, clutching onto the girl's hand tightly. Her hold was so strong, I felt I wouldn't be able to just let her go, anyway.
"Where to, miss?" she asked, smiling cheerfully.
"This way," I nodded to the right and smiled in return, happiness and excitement was radiating from both of us and I could feel this year would be the best one at school yet.
"So how do you know the secretary so well? You two seemed pretty close." Camila started.
"Oh, yeah. We've grown closer last year. She helped me get through everything after the accident." I answered openly. "We'd spend every lunch break together, that's why she mentioned it earlier."
"Oh, that explains it. She seems so down to earth. It's so lovely of her to help you like that."
"I know, right? she's amazing." I nodded in agreement. "Look, she assigned you a locker right next to mine. Her level of greatness is now the highest one possible." I spoke up, noticing the number on Camila's locket and the sheet of paper I quickly glimpsed earlier.
"Really? Awesome!" Camila laughed happily but her smile faded when her phone started ringing and she saw who the incoming caller was. She cleared her throat and greeted anyone who on the line. "Hey, what's up?"
I didn't want to invade her privacy and looked around the hallway, trying to spot someone familiar. Maybe I could rebuild some friendships, or at least show others that I've changed for the better and I'm not the same person I was a few months ago. Before I did notice anyone though, Camila was already putting her phone to the pocket on the back of her jeans.
"Sorry, it was Dinah. She had a question."
"That's alright. Is she already at her school? Where does she go anyway? I don't think she mentioned it." I wondered out loud.
"She's not going today. She's actually transferring, she's getting a fresh start." The brunette filled me in with vague details.
"That's exciting. Do you know which school she'll transfer to?"
"She's thinking of this one, considering we're here. Plus, she heard all the good things about it from you and Mani. I think she'll settle on it." She answered with a smile.
"It'd be so fun if she actually came here!" I exclaimed.
"I know!" Camila chimed in with just as much excitement and laughed freely.
Both of us already started putting our books to the locker. I was done sooner, but that's because Camila struggled with her combination a bit too long. She insisted to figure it out by herself though, so I let her. In the meantime I studied her schedule, curious to see in how many periods we'd see each other. I compared the timetables and I squealed in happiness, earning Camila's stare.
"We have..3 periods together! No, wait. We have gym at the same time but we don't have the same teacher, so we're in separate groups. But we have homeroom at the same time!" I informed the confused brunette excitedly.
"That's not too little, right?" Camila asked timidly.
"Definitely not, I always had only like one period with Mani." I answered, scanning the words printed on the sheet of paper. "Wait, they changed the English Literature teacher."
"Is it bad?"
"I can't tell you that, because last year I didn't have Literature." I answered the girl's questions with ease.
"What did you have instead?"
"This speech class. It wasn't too bad, it gave me confidence. But I'm sure I'll prefer Literature."
"Mhmm," she only hummed.
"But we have it together in like, 10 minutes, so we should get going." I added quickly.
"Really? Phew," she sighed heavily and I laughed. She closed her locker, took her bag from the floor and started her walk confidently and with her head high.
Only if she went in the right direction..
I couldn't stifle the laughs escaping my mouth, but I wondered if I should tell her. It'd save us time, but I'd have so much fun.
"Um.." I cleared my throat. "Camz?" I called her before she got too far to hear me. She turned around abruptly and raised her eyebrows.
"You coming or what, Jauregui?" she asked with a hint of humor in her voice, feigning annoyance.
"I don't wanna be rude or anything, but.." I started, grinning.
"Spill it," she crossed her arms and smiled in return.
"We're going t-there." I stuttered, fighting against the laughs, pointing my finger in the opposite direction.
She dropped her shoulders and started walking again. Not even stopping by my side when she was passing me, she murmured "I obviously knew it. I was just testing you."
I face palmed myself and burst out laughing. She's unbelievable.
"Sure you were," I jogged to her, the distance between us growing quickly because of how fast she was walking.
"Just shut up and don't tell the girls about it." She mumbled, side-eyeing me.
"But why not?" I chuckled.
"No need to embarrass me, okay? Okay." She quickly answered. "Can you just lead the way? I'm obviously lost here." She sighed and looked at me pleadingly.
"You're too cute," I giggled and kissed her forehead. "It's right here, look." I took her hand in mine and let her enter the class first. There weren't too many people inside, so it meant we could get basically any seats we wanted.
"Where do you want to sit?" she asked, smiling gently at me.
"Next to you." I answered, not realizing how smooth it sounded.
"Now who's being cute!" she threw her arms in the air, but made sure to get a hold of my hand right after it. We chuckled freely and she lead us to the back of the class. We sat on the left side of the room in the second to last row. There were five more minutes until the bell would ring, so I fished my phone from my bag and made sure to put in on the silent mode. Camila threw all of the documents on the table and I found the paper with her schedule. I decided to take a picture of it, wanting to be able to wait for the girl by the door the first few days, in case she didn't know how to get to her next class.
"Whatcha doin?" Camila asked.
"Woah, what's with the accent?" I widened my eyes and cackled.
"Dunno, probably a mix of Ally and Dinah." She chuckled.
"I want to know your schedule. So after this, I'll walk you to your Science class and I'll make sure to be there again before you leave, and then we'll walk to French together. Okay?"
"Lauren, you don't have to do all this-"
"Stop, I want this to be as easy and pleasant to you as possible, okay? Let me help you." I disturbed and reasoned with her.
"You're too good for me." she shook her head, smiling gratefully. She started leaning in, looking down at my lips. My pulse quickened and I could feel my heartbeat beat against my ribs rapidly. She then looked me in the eyes and at this moment, time stopped. My eyes, never leaving hers, dug deeply into her soul emanating from the dilated pupils and gold irises.
The blaring sound of the bell broke the connection and I averted my eyes from hers.
"Thanks, Lauren." she whispered, kissing my cheek hurriedly.
"Y-yeah," I stuttered out after clearing my throat to get my voice back. "No problem, Camila."
a/n guess who's back. yeah, it's me lol. hi guys, to anyone who's still here - thank you. life's been hectic, AGAIN, and i don't even know how to explain my absence to you, sorry babes. one reason for not being able to write was definitely halsey's concert and my post concert depression, that was exhausting. but so worth it, god. she's the most beautiful creature my eyes have ever seen, no joke. she's so small and funny and adorable and hot and god, why did i even start talking about it, now i won't be able to stop. okay, i'll stop now. i hope you liked it and keep your fingers crossed, maybe next chapter will be here by the end of the weekend, who knows. +fun fact: i wrote the whole thing today. so that means i didn't write fanfics for basically two months, how crazy is that. if writing random poetry at the back of my notebook in German class counts, then i guess it's not that bad, because there's been a lot of that. ANYWAY, have a good day(evening/night) and stay positive, loves <333 pola.