Lauren's POV
"What a day it is today," my dad said as I came down the stairs.
"You look so beautiful, mija," my mom pulled me into a hug.
"Thank you," I beamed feeling extremely happy and excited.
Today was indeed a very important day. I was graduating high school. I couldn't believe how fast time flew by that I would already be at this milestone in my life. Hell, I remember being a freshman like it was yesterday and now I'm done. Done with grade school and I could at last be an adult. Sounded scary but I was ready.
"I remember you when you were just a baby and now you're graduating," my mom teared up, still squeezing me.
"Mama, don't cry your eyes out just yet. The ceremony hasn't even started," I chuckled.
"Okay okay, true. But when you sing your song, I'm just going to lose it," she shook her head.
The principal wanted me and my friends to sing the senior song during the ceremony and we chose "Good Riddance" by Green Day which seemed appropriate. It was going to be after the valedictorian's speech who was none other than the good man himself Shawn Mendes. He was the top of our class as he was super smart and had a perfect 4.0 unweighted and 5.0 weighted GPA. He even had an ACT score of 35.
I was the salutatorian with a 3.98 GPA so close to being valedictorian with him, but I matched his score of a 35. We even applied/auditioned for the same schools which were a ton such as NYU, Columbia, AMDA, University of Michigan, Cornell, and Penn and Florida State. I auditioned via video for all them except NYU. But Shawn also applied to places in California (USC, Stanford, UCLA) where I could never see myself living for some reason. And even Carnegie Mellon University, the top school for musical theater, which he got into and was going to attend. He had just received acceptance mid-April and I was so excited for him; we all were. Carnegie was a tough school to get into especially the musical theater program, but he did it.
I was going to miss him so much and Justin and Troye as well. Justin was going to U of M and Troye was going to Northwestern which were pretty far away from me. Well, at least they weren't all the way across the country. I was also happy that Dorito boy would be out of our lives for good. He was going to Texas State which had a good musical theater program but not near us, thank the universe.
During the ceremony, I knew I was going to cry. It was a very big day for us all and it was sad to let go of these past four years. I've learned and grown so much and would always remember the good times.
"Well, Mani, we finally ended senior year!" I smiled at her while we entered the doors of the building. "And Camz," I chuckled to her by my side.
"I know! I can finally get out of here and study dance! But I will miss this place too," my best friend shrugged.
We went into the bathroom first to of course look at ourselves and make sure we didn't look dusty. What a crime that would be. Good thing the ceremony was going to be in the gym and not the football field because it was way too windy outside.
"China!" Camila ran over to Dinah and koala hugged her as per usual. We had to wait with our class in the spare rooms before walking out to the gym.
"Hi, girls!" Ally jumped around.
"Excited to graduate?" I laughed at her.
"Most definitely. Hopefully you won't trip while walking across the stage, Mila," the shortest joked.
"I've been practicing!" Camila yelped.
"Yeah, she's been practicing in her heels and only fell once," I laughed.
"Yay, Walz!" Dinah beamed, high-fiving her.
"But remember when we taught Mila how to dance in heels at the beginning of the year?" Normani mentioned.
"Oh, wow, she ate it bad a few times," we cracked up.
"Heyyyy, I've gotten better," the brunette pouted.
"True, true," I nodded, side hugging her.
"Oh gosh, you guys are gonna make fun of me all the time when we're living in the apartment," she frowned.
"Nah, I'm more worried about the pranks DJ's gonna pull," Normani sneered.
"Oh yeah, we can all agree on that," Ally chimed.
"Especially the dirty damage she did during the senior prank in Mrs. Spencer's room," I blurted.
"Hey, she had it coming. That was for all the detentions she still gave me after I tried being nice," Dinah waved off as we laughed at how she saran wrapped all of her homeroom and former Geography teacher's classroom. She also used permanent marker on the board and zip tied the desks together.
"But were you really nice?" I jokingly asked.
"...Maybe....not." I could tell she thinking of all the times she acted up especially when she once unscrewed the screws on the teacher's chair, causing her to fall down when she sat in it. Dinah got it on snapchat and was the talk of the school that day. But in the end, she received detention every day for a week.
"Yeah, I'm watching you cause you get me bad," Camila backed away a little.
We continued to laugh and talk about our fondest senior year memories and with our other friends too. We also rehearsed the song we were going to sing on stage.
"Did you hear, Lauren?" Jai asked as he and his brother came over to us.
"What?" I furrowed my eyebrows.
"Luke and I are joining you and Mila in the New Studio on Broadway!" he exclaimed happily.
"Oh my God, really?!" I gasped.
"Yeah, they gave us a last minute offer and we accepted," Luke grinned.
"Yay!! I'm so excited!" I hugged them.
"Us too and we're gonna be joining our friends Zayn and Lucy in their band."
Luke and Jai got into NYU Tisch as well but were first put into the Stella Adler Studio of Acting while Camila and I were in the only musical theater one, New Studio on Broadway. There was an opening and they gave it to our twin pals. Camila and I were even more excited now that we knew at least another person in our studio, better yet two.
"So, it's gonna the fab five and the Brooks brothers in New York. I'm gonna miss you guys so much," I turned toward the other boys.
"It's alright, Laur. We'll still keep in touch and visit. And we got like a whole summer to enjoy in the mean time," Shawn explained.
"Yeah, this summer's gonna be so dope," I grinned since I wasn't going to be grounded this year.
"Folding clothes at Forever 21 is gonna be a blast," Normani rolled her eyes.
"And waitressing at The Cheesecake Factory," Dinah groaned.
"Hey, we'll be in the same mall though," Normani pointed.
"Those sound like good jobs to me. I don't know what you're talking about," I shook my head. "But Camz and I got the best job."
"Yeah, cause it's like your dream," the Poly exaggerated.
"Uhh not my dream but it's still good," I turned to smile at my girl.
Camila and I were going to be working at the community theater we belonged to, co-directing the high school summer musical. We could have participated now in the adult level but Ms. Moreno asked us help direct this one and even pay us so we couldn't have said no. She and I were super close but it was so nice of her to do that for us.
Ten minutes later, it was time to head to the gym. Camila and I sadly couldn't sit next to each other since we sat in alphabetical order but I still stole a few glances at her.
Shawn did an amazing speech that left pretty much all of us crying. His words and the way he delivered them was sincere and passionate. He definitely had a gift of public speaking. What couldn't he do?
After that, was the song. My friends, girlfriend, and I made our way onto the stage and Shawn had his guitar ready to go.
"And now, the senior song 'Good Riddance' by Green Day will be sung by Lauren Jauregui, Shawn Mendes, Camila Cabello, Bradley Simpson, and Ariana Grande," one teacher announced into the microphone.
[Lauren]
Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
[Shawn]
So make the best of this test, and don't ask why
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time
[All]
It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.
[Camila]
So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind
[Camila and Lauren]
Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time
Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial
For what it's worth it was worth all the while
[Brad and Ariana]
It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life
It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.
[Camila]
It's something unpredictable,
[Lauren]
but in the end it's right.
[All]
I hope you had the time of your life.
The crowd cheered as I wiped the tears from my eyes. That was how you sang a senior song.
The rest of the ceremony went on and I watched all my friends receive their diplomas. I got so excited seeing Camila and was glad she didn't trip because there was a chance she would. I watched my girls and boys too. Luckily, I even walked nice and swift to receive my diploma. Finally, I graduated.
We moved our tassels to the other side of our caps and then threw them up in there once it was officially over. There was a gathering in the cafeteria after where we had refreshments and went outside in the sunlight to take pictures. We first did a group pic of the five of us girls then added the boys and Ariana, doing cute and funny poses.
"You two look so cute!" Mrs. Cabello smiled as she took pictures of just Camila and I. We did some pretty adorable poses like me picking her up, us kissing, hugging, my arm around her, and all that.
"Mama, don't you have enough?" Camila lightly groaned.
"Oh, just a few more," she whined. Believe it or not, Camila's mom actually became like our biggest fan. After our talk a couple months ago, she warmed up to Camila and I's relationship and now was one hundred percent supportive of it. She was super happy that we were happy.
"Aww, look at you beauties!" my mom snapped photos as well.
"Thanks and thank you, Mrs. Cabello," I smiled at her once we were done.
"Querida, call me Sinu," she lightly squeezed my shoulder.
"Really?" I raised my eyebrows.
"Of course, usted es una parte de la familia," she said and my heart fluttered.
I then took pictures with my immediate and extended family.
"Lauren, why don't you invite Camila's family to our party later?" my mom suggested.
"Can I?" I questioned.
"If they're not doing anything."
I looked over at Camila where she was taking her pictures with her parents, grandparents, and Sofi, doing the cutest poses ever.
"Hey, babe," she greeted once she was done.
"Hey, do you and your fam wanna come over to my family's party later?" I invited. "It's gonna be in our backyard with a big Cuban meal served."
"They would like that," she smirked. "Yeah, I'll ask them, sounds great. If we're not intruding or anything that is."
"Oh no, not at all. My mom even suggested it. And your mom said that I'm a part of your family. Our families are becoming pretty close."
"Yeah, they are. I'm so happy about that," she grinned.
While she went to go ask them, I felt a tap on my shoulder, causing me to turn around.
"Congrats, Lauren," Keana said as I froze a little bit, shocked that she was here.
"Uhh h-hey, thanks," I stuttered.
"Sorry the rest of my family couldn't be here but I thought I'd at least come. And we're sorry we can't make it to your graduation party either since we'll be in Puerto Rico, but here's your card," she handed me an envelope with my name written on it.
"Oh, thanks, Keana. So, you really drove four hours for my graduation?" I questioned still in disbelief.
"Yeah, I figured why not? And this is probably gonna be the last time I see you for a pretty long time. My parents, grandparents, and I are moving to Los Angeles in two weeks and when the summer's over, I'll be going to school in Spain. My dad got a new position and my grandparents have some health problems so they need to be close to them."
"Wow, that's crazy. Sorry to hear that about your grandparents. So, you won't be back in Miami for a while?"
"Nope and even if I was, you'd be in New York," she said.
"That's true," I nodded.
"Well, I don't want to keep you. I bet you have a lot of family time to spend," she started to leave.
"W-wait, you don't have to leave," I grabbed her hand. "I'm having a family party later if you want to come and stay especially since you have a four hour drive back."
"That's alright. I'm actually going to visit my...friend...kind of," she said softly.
"What do you mean?"
"I've been seeing this girl for two months who lives in Fort Lauderdale and so I'm visiting her as well. We're gonna spend the week together before I leave. We're not girlfriends since I'm gonna be leaving but we like each other."
"Two months?"
"Yeah," she whispered.
I looked down because we were together for two months before she left me. Now, she was doing it to this other girl.
"Well, then...um....alright," I brushed it off. "I wish you good luck and see you...whenever I see you. Hopefully again," I chuckled.
"Goodbye, Lauren," she moved into hug me.
"Bye, Keana," I hugged, rubbing her back.
"Good luck to you too and Camila," she pulled away, waved and left.
"Hey, you okay?" Camila came up behind me, resting her chin on my shoulder.
"Yeah, let's go."
To be honest, I was quite sad to see Keana leave. Not just leave here but really leave. She wasn't going be visiting Miami anymore or at least not as much as she had no reason to. But I was going to be in New York mostly from now on anyway. Still, she was even going to be out of the country in Spain which is far away. Keana was a big part of my life. A bigger part than I thought and when she said she was leaving, I couldn't help but feel a little hurt. And we were finally becoming actual friends again. Maybe she'll always be a mystery.
___________________
"Hey, guys!" I greeted the Cabello's as they appeared at my door. They were here for the cook-out that was at my house.
"Hola, Lauren," Alejandro and Sinu greeted with Camila and Sofi behind them. "We brought Mojito cake!"
"Ooh gracias!" I beamed, taking it from them and welcoming them in. "Mi mamá preparó arroz con leche."
"No puedo esperar!"
Throughout the evening we all bonded together and ate delicious homemade food. Camila's family and my family got to really know each other and talk about a lot of things. Sofi even played with my younger cousins. Camila and I joined them and played on the swing set, bounce house that we rented, and trampoline, just having a blast. Later in the night, we had a bonfire, sang songs and continued to have more fun.
A little bit later on, Camila and I decided to go up stairs and onto the roof. No, I wasn't planning on smoking a joint. We just went up there to talk.
"Such a beautiful night," I sighed, gazing up at sky that was not quite fully dark but the sun had gone down.
"It is," Camila agreed next to me. "I want to sing to you," she sat up and looked at me.
"Sing to me?" I sat up as well and she nodded.
"Yeah. Be right back," she stood up and climbed down to my room. I patiently waited for her not being able to hide a smile. "Okay, I got it," she reappeared, holding my guitar.
"Aw you're gonna play the guitar?" I asked.
"Yeah, I've been practicing," she grinned proudly.
"Okay, what are you gonna play?"
"I've been wanting to sing and play you this song for a while. While we were broken up and just dating, I practiced this song because it's one of our favorites. And whenever I hear it on my playlist or something, I think of you. It basically describes everything I feel about you, Lauren. How I love you. How I'm so completely in love with you, unconditionally. We've been through so much this year. There was pain, tears, and brokenness, but I wouldn't trade it for the world, to be honest. I'm going to remember it all and be thankful and happy how much we fought to be back to where we are. That is sacrificial love. Breaking up no matter how much it hurt and how much we didn't want to, but to better ourselves to be the best we can be for each other. And we're the best for each other, Lauren. I don't want anyone else on this planet. I just can't see it. What we've been through proved it too that we can get through anything and everything. You're my everything and my love...our love is endless."
She hadn't even sung the song yet and she got me crying. "That was beautiful, Camila. We have been through so much and it's crazy how much our lives have changed just by being together. But a good change. I'm honestly so better because of it. You've helped me become a way better version of myself than I had ever imagined. Thank you for loving me," I looked into her eyes. "I never felt so loved in my life and never thought I would have someone like you that would. You're everything I could ever want and beyond that. I'm so blessed that you've given me a purpose to be happy in this life and to take care and love myself. You've done what I thought would be impossible for me. And now, I'm the best...we're the best and we can be partners, friends and lovers, today and all of the days that follow because I honestly don't want to be by anyone's side other than yours. I'm there for you and we're there for each other...always."
"I love you so much," she whispered through her tears.
"I love you so much more," I leaned in and kissed her lips. "We'll never stop."
After that, she started to play the song "Tenerife Sea" by Ed Sheeran which I knew was going to make me bawl.
You look so wonderful in your dress
I love your hair like that
The way it falls on the side of your neck
Down your shoulders and back
We are surrounded by all of these lies
And people who talk too much
You got the kind of look in your eyes
As if no one knows anything but us
Should this be the last thing I see
I want you to know it's enough for me
'Cause all that you are is all that I'll ever need
I'm so in love, so in love
So in love, so in love
You look so beautiful in this light
Your silhouette over me
The way it brings out the green in your eyes
Is the Tenerife Sea
And all of the voices surrounding us here
They just fade out when you take a breath
Just say the word and I will disappear
Into the wilderness
Should this be the last thing I see
I want you to know it's enough for me
'Cause all that you are is all that I'll ever need
I'm so in love, so in love
So in love, so in love
[6x:]
Lumière, darling
Lumière over me
Should this be the last thing I see
I want you to know it's enough for me
'Cause all that you are is all that I'll ever need
I'm so in love, so in love
So in love, love, love, love,
So in love
You look so wonderful in your dress
I love your hair like that
And in a moment I knew you, Lauren
I laid with her for the rest of the night on the blanket of the rooftop, thinking about what the future held for us. And feeling forever grateful that I had her as the love of my life.
A/N: Well, that's it! Wow, to be honest, I can't believe I wrote a fan fiction. I never thought I would but I loved it and will obviously do more.
Thank you so much to anyone who has read this! I love you all who took their time and read my work. It makes me so happy 😊❤️
Look out for the sequel soon!
Much Love,
Carly (BabeLoRegui) 💖💕