As the girls makeup artists did their work, Camila felt the sudden heat of someone watching her. Once her eyeshadow was finished, she opened her eyes and looked in the direction of the glare and found herself looking at Lauren from across the room.
Even though it had just been an hour ago that the shower incident happened, Lauren hoped the feeling could just pass by already and things could go back to normal. Each time they glanced at each other, it all this weird tension. Not sexual, but rather confusing tension. This was so odd. Hopefully the photoshoot would distract her for a while.
In the next half hour, they were all finally done with hair and makeup and were all ready for the shoot.
They were all decked out in white for the Seventeen photo shoot, luckily time went by smoothly, Lauren was standing besides Dinah the entire time and Camila was sandwiched between Dinah and Ally with Normani at the far end. They had done so many photo shoots like these for years now, that posing now came naturally. Compared to the beginning when the photographers basically had to teach them step by step how to smile or how to stand, they seemed like naturals now.
"That's a wrap with the white outfits." The photographer for Seventeen said snapping his camera shut. He signaled to his crew who quickly got left their positions by their cameras and turned up the light, switching the current blue background into a pink.
The girls stepped aside letting the crew organize and headed to the dressing room to change into their last outfit. This one was all black. Everything was going fine and they were almost wrapping up when he called out what Lauren had drastically been dreading.
"Camila, stand next to Lauren."
Lauren forced a smile as Camila stood besides her. The fans blasted right through her band mates hair, giving her a small whiff of her strawberry shampoo, a reminder of what had happened earlier that morning. She tried to ignore it as she focused on the cameras. She didn't know if she was just nervous or if it was Camila's presence but she felt like the flash from the cameras were giving her a headache.
Her thoughts were interrupted when Camila leaned forward, pressing her backside against Lauren. It didn't bother her much until the younger girl suddenly leaned back and crashed her body into Lauren's. She could smell the fragrance of her hair twice as much and now she could feel her on her own body. Lauren tried continuing to smile but instead said quietly, "Camz stop." Hoping that the camera man hadn't noticed.
Camila moved away from her and they continued smiling and posing for the camera. Lauren hoped the camera hadn't caught those shots and if they did, she hoped they wouldn't be leaked. Harmonizers shipping camren had hit a small nerve in the past, but now she felt like it bothered her for a whole other reason. She didn't even want to think about that right now.
"That's a wrap!"
The girls all thanked the staff, got dressed and headed into their cabs. Luckily the interview wasn't too complicated, Seventeen wanted to shoot an individual "OOTD" Behind the scenes shoot. Which was recorded in no time. Avoiding Camila, Lauren decided to wait up and catch a ride in the second uber with Normani.
"Are you okay?" Normani asked as they finally sat down, noticing how quiet she had been the entire time.
Lauren nodded at her friend, "yeah I'm fine, just thinking."
"Anything specific?"
"No not really-" she looked down noticing her phone had received a new text message from the one person she was avoiding.
Camila Cabello:
Hey is everything okay?
Lauren Jauregui:
Yes, why?
Camila Cabello:
Just seems like we left things off really awkwardly.
Lauren Jauregui:
Yeah... This morning was a mistake. I think we went a little too far.
Camila Cabello:
You're right. I shouldn't have pushed you to turn around and I shouldn't have asked to.. you know. Really sorry about that.
Lauren Jauregui:
It wasn't all your fault, I shouldn't have agreed. I just don't want to get all delusional with the camren thing.
Camila Cabello:
You know I've been thinking, maybe that's why it was so weird for us and different compared to the other girls. They get shipped with each other, but you and I? We get shipped extra romantically and sexually. We felt like we were in a spectacle and let that affect everything this morning. Maybe we were noticing something that was never there, because we already had the idea stuck in our heads because of camren.
Lauren Jauregui:
You're right! That makes perfect sense.
Camila Cabello:
Exactly. So we're okay?
Lauren Jauregui:
Totally. See you when we get back.
She placed her phone back in her purse feeling like the weight on her shoulders was finally gone. Camila was totally right. She was freaking out over nothing. With a smile, she turned back to Normani who was checking her twitter.
"So how's your day going ma'am?"
Normani put her phone down with a smile and turned to Lauren. "Guess who fav'd my tweet?"
"Who girl?!"
-----------------------------------------
As Lauren and Normani talked about Rihanna's new album, their own new album 7/27, and gossip from their hometown, they finally arrived to their temporary home, the tour bus.
"Hey everyone," they both greeted as they entered.
Luckily their crew got a separate tour bus. Although the girls adored them, it was nice just being the five of them in the bus. Dinah and Ally were sitting on the couch eating sandwiches while watching a movie, meanwhile Camila was sitting on the small table eating a bowl of cereal. Once their eyes met, Lauren felt that weird tension again in the back of her neck, but she managed to smile politely.
Grabbing a bowl once she heard her stomach growl from skipping breakfast, she added fruity pebbles and poured some almond milk. She was going to sit on the couch, but realized that Dinah had stretched her legs out, leaving no room for anyone to join. Walking regretfully, she placed her bowl down on the table across from Camila.
Camila looked up in surprise from her phone, but left it aside once Lauren sat down.
"Nice day, huh?" Camila asked as Lauren began eating. Camila wanted to slap herself. Had it really gotten to the point that they had to talk about weather because it was so uncomfortable?
"Uh, yeah." Lauren nodded awkwardly. "Really nice day."
She watched as Lauren continued eating. She was keeping her head down as she ate to refuse eye contact. Camila was grateful for that because it gave her a few seconds to stare at the girl across from her. It was weird, there was so many things about Lauren she hadn't noticed before. She had a few very visible freckles on her rosy cheeks and her lips were very plump. She had such nice eyelashes as well. She also saw that Lauren had a little eyebrow twitch when she was focused on something. As she studied her, she noticed Lauren kept craning her head to look at the TV behind her.
"If you want, you can sit besides me," Camila offered. "You'll end up hurting your neck from all the head turning. I can see the tv perfectly fine from here."
Lauren looked conflicted. Sitting next to her in the tiny table meant they would be touching side by side. "Are you sure?"
Camila nodded, looking in her green sparkling eyes. "Don't be silly, of course. Come sit." She said patting the empty seat besides her.
Slowly, Lauren rose and brought her almost finished bowl of cereal besides Camila. Although it was highly uncomfortable, she sat half her body on the seat and the other half dangling on the air, she hoped the younger girl wouldn't notice, but at-least now there was a small space between their bodies.
She continued eating, watching the movie, but she couldn't focus. If she was asked, she wouldn't even had known the title of the movie. All she was doing was looking at the bright screen, but paying attention to the breathing's of the girl next to her.
"Lauren?" Camila whispered besides her. Lauren turned and looked at her with discomfort in her face. "Why are you sitting so far away? Move more and you'll fall off your seat. I can see your leg shaking in pain."
Lauren looked down at her bare leg and saw that Camila was right, her leg was starting to shake and numb from all the weight it was carrying. She laughed breathily, pretending she hadn't noticed, but scooted closer to Camila. She ignored the fact that their legs and shoulders were touching. She gave Camila a soft smile and returned her attention back to the movie. She was finally able to focus on the movie, until she felt Camila's hand grab her own under the table.
"Camila, what are you doing?" She asked looking down, finding herself intertwining her fingers with Camila's. She was surprised by how perfectly their hands fit with each others. She didn't push her hand away, or let go.
"What?" Camila said innocently rubbing her thumb on Lauren's fingers, "We always hold hands. It's nothing new."
"I don't think you remember, but we haven't held hands since x-factor days."
Camila felt a slight jab of pain at the memory. How close they used to be, but that was all ruined because everyone assumed they were a couple from how affectionate they were with one another. Neither of them cared at first, but it started getting worse. Worse until their management told them to avoid contact in public or interviews. They got so used of ignoring each other in front of lens, that it actually affected them behind cameras. They each found solace with the other girls and began spending less time with each other. They were still close, sure, but compared to the sisters they used to be, now they felt like distant cousins.
"Yes, I remember," Camila replied. "But who says we can't be as affectionate as we were before? Hell look at them-" she nodded her head towards Ally who was watching the movie with Dinah sleeping on her chest. They held hands comfortably with no care in the world. "Why can't we be like them again?"
Lauren looked at her band mates with a smile. It did look innocent enough.
"Okay fuck it, why not right?" She gave in, scooting closer to Camila and leaning into her chest. It felt a little weird, but it was probably because they hadn't held hands in such a long time.
Time went by peacefully, until eventually Ally fell asleep on the couch, who was joined by a freshly showered and sleeping Normani. Lauren felt herself beginning to get sleepy. She turned her head, ready to excuse herself from Camila and go take a nap, but she noticed a mischievous glint in Camila's eye.
"What?" Lauren asked with a giggle. The younger girl shook her head and smiled.
"This is nice. I missed us."
"I missed us too," she replied with a yawn. "Let's pick this back up some other time, i'm going to head to my bunk and take a quick nap." She let go of Camila's hand and was about to stand when she felt Camila pull her back.
"Wait," Camila whispered. Her eyes flickered down to Lauren's lips which Lauren licked without realizing. Camila bit her lip as she stared at the plump bottom lips in front of her.
Lauren felt herself freeze in her, seat the same way she had stood frozen in the morning. Her mind kept telling her to run, but her body was begging her to say. Camila, with a sudden feel of bravery, moved her face closer to Lauren's.
"Just sit still, don't move," she whispered hoarsely. Lauren gulped, feeling the hairs on the back of her hair rise but she nodded her head.
This wasn't going to be good.
Camila cleared her throat and moved closer, sliding her hand on Lauren's thigh. Luckily she was wearing little shorts that gave her a lot of area to work with. She started by cupping her hand on her knee and slowly making a trail that was going up towards Laurens inner thigh, leading Lauren to gasp quietly.
Lauren bit her lip harder each time Camila went higher on her leg, she was sure her lip was starting to bleed, but she didn't care. Neither of them broke eye contact as Lauren sighed quietly, Camila was starting to use her fingertips as she explored the area of skin on Lauren's leg, feeling the want to now explore somewhere else. She wasn't sure what she was doing it, but hearing Lauren moan softly was a sign of victory to her that made her feel something foreign in her own pants. She licked her lips as she stared at Lauren bite her lip. Was her touching her leg causing this much pleasure?
Although Lauren had been completely still the complete time, she started stirring in her seat, lifting her pelvic up in order for Camila's hand to reach a little higher. By now, her mind had gone completely blank. She didn't care about boundaries anymore, all she cared was that this felt too fucking good to ignore.
She looked at Camila who was watching her every move and every sigh with dark eyes. The world seemed to stand still and the only people were the two of them. They didn't feel like friends anymore, this feeling was entirely different, and Lauren wasn't sure what it was, but she wanted to find out. They both licked their lips in hunger, for something that wasn't food, and began leaning in. Their lips were about to touch, when they heard a sleepy voice behind them ask,
"What are you guys doing?"