It's been nearly a year since Lauren first went to one of Keana's parties, yet here she was again. With Lucy by her side, she leaned on the car door looking at the large house. It was on the rich side of their neighborhood and Lauren has never really ventured out this far, seeing as she still doesn't have a car.
She felt a pair of lips on her cheek, breaking her out of her thoughts. Lauren turned her head to be met with the same pair of lips on her own in a sweet kiss. Caught off guard, she breathe in through her nose, before it ended all too soon for her taste.
"Thank you for coming with me," Lucy said once Lauren opened her eyes.
Normally, Lucy would head to all of Keana's parties and tell Lauren about it afterwards. This was only the second time she has actually asked Lauren to come with her, and of course Lauren wasn't going to say no. Even if she didn't really like Keana.
Lauren shrugged, "It's no problem."
Lucy flashed her one of her award winning smiles causing the familiar butterflies to erupt in her stomach before grabbing Lauren's hand and leading her inside the house.
They weaved through the many people in the house until they made it to the bar area. It resembled a mini bar even with someone managing it. The guy behind it flashed Lauren a small smile and she gave him a shy one before turning to Lucy.
"I'm going to find Keana," She told Lauren. "I'll be right back."
Before Lauren could protest, Lucy squeezed her hand and disappeared into the crowd of teenagers. The bass of the music traveled through Lauren's body as she watched everyone jump around and dance with their friends. She glanced back at the bar and thought why not enjoy herself while she was here.
She sat down on one of the stools, the bar guy already looking at her almost expectantly. She glanced around at the various drinks already littered around the counter. Lauren didn't know any of the types of alcohol so she shrugged to herself before speaking.
"Uh, I'll take whatever you recommend."
"Not much of a drinker, huh?" The bar guy teased as he began preparing something.
Lauren shook her head, noticing his British accent. "Not really no."
The bar guy nodded. Lauren watched as he poured some liquid in a cup before adding something else. He mixed the two liquids around before pouring it in a smaller cup. "That girl you were with; she's your girlfriend?"
Lauren shook her head matter-o-factly, after being in denial for nearly a year, she's accepted that Lucy would never really be hers. "No, she's my best friend."
"Yeah? For a second I thought you were gay," The bar boy smirked as he gave Lauren her drink.
Lauren chuckled, "Oh, I am."
The boy froze for a split second as defeat showed on his features and his smirk disappeared before he covered it up with a small smile, "Um, I have to talk to someone really quick but enjoy your drink."
Lauren frowned as he left. It was nice to have a little company for a bit. Either he was going to hit on her or he's a homophobic asshole; Lauren didn't know or really cared. She was over it as quickly as it started.
She glanced at the drink in her hands. It was a clear liquid with a lemon to the side. Lauren has never drunk alcohol before so this was a new experience for her. She has always avoided it due to her mothers words that always linger in the back of her mind, telling her not to drink.
"Fuck it," she mumbled to herself before taking a sip.
Immediately she wanted to spit it out, the drink burning the back of her throat, but she forced herself to swallow it down. She set the drink down and looked at it with disgust. How can people even drink that, she thought. Though a tap on her shoulder give an answer.
Lauren swiveled around on the stool she was sitting in to be met by Lucy and Keana. Though they've never really talked, Lauren always paid attention to the girl in particular. She would watch as her dark curls bounce off her shoulders or how her smile would just lighten up a room. Lauren envied her; but she was polite nevertheless.
"Babe, this is Keana," Lucy said, causing Lauren's heart to flutter as she motioned to her friend. "I noticed you guys have never formally met."
The taller girl stuck out a hand and smiled, "It's nice to finally meet you in person." She joked.
"Same to you," Lauren shook her hand and gave a small smile.
Lucy bounced on her heals and clapped her hands together, "Yay! Now that you've formally met, Lauren, want to join us for some beer pong?"
Lauren thought for a few moments, almost shocked that Lucy when included her. They might be best friends but they weren't the same as they were a few years ago. Lauren could feel them drifting apart slowly and there was nothing she could really do to salvage what they had.
Lauren shook her head, she didn't really feel like being a third wheel, "No thanks. I'm just gonna hang out here."
"Oh, come on Lauren," Keana tried. "It'll be fun."
"That's alright," She gave a polite smile. "You guys go ahead. I got some people to meet anyway." Lie.
Lucy sighed dramatically as she grabbed Keana's arm. "Loosen up Lauren," she giggled. "We'll see you."
Lauren gave a small wave as the walked off together hand in hand. She sighed deeply as she ran her hand through her dark locks, peeking back at her barely touched glass.
Mulling over what just happened, Lauren figured she'd need something to get her through the rest of the night. Lucy was right; she needed to loosen up. So she drank.
–
After two more drinks, Lauren was still sitting alone at the mini bar. The party had seemed to die down a bit before it randomly picks back up. Lucy and Keana never came back and Lauren was tired. She wanted to go home but Lucy was her ride.
Lauren sat, tracing her finger around the edge of the glass. There was a new person managing the bar and it was a girl named Ally. She was kind enough to Lauren to let her spill everything that was going on in her mind. Plus she was tipsy so her boundaries were falling.
Ally and Lauren talked for a good while and even exchanged numbers. Just by the way she exerted herself, Lauren could tell Ally was trustworthy. She needed to get stuff off her chest anyway.
Lauren couldn't remember how many drinks she's had but and she kept looking behind her for Lucy and Keana. After the third time she turned around she gave up on finding them. Instead she stared at her glass, getting lost in her thoughts. She been at this party for a little over an hour and she's been sitting in the same exact place.
"Baby girl, what's your name!" an obnoxious voice practically yelled into her ear and her shoulder was grabbed, startling Lauren. "Let me talk to ya, lemme buy you a drank!"
"What the fuck?"
Lauren finally faced the stranger and stared at her. Her first thought was that she was really pretty. She had brown doe eyes that were filled with excitement as she stared back at Lauren. Soft brown curls traveled down her shoulders and Lauren skimmed her eyes over a small petite body.
"You know me, I'm–" the stranger started off again only to be interrupted by another stranger.
"I am so sorry!" The girl said. "She's drunk and she's been wondering around," She glared at the brown haired girl. "Sorry again."
Lauren simply shrugged. Her head was starting to hurt and there were too many strangers. Standing next to the brown eyed cutie, as Lauren called her in her head, was a taller, blond haired girl. Lauren though she resembled Beyoncé with her thick body type and tanned skin. She was beautiful nevertheless.
"Oh, Hey Dinah! Hey Camila!" Ally's bubbly personality returned as she noticed the two girls besides a very confused Lauren. "I didn't know you guys were coming."
"Mani dragged us here, insisting that we go with her only for her to leave us the minute we walk though the door," The blond said.
Lauren realized that was the same thing Lucy did and snorted to herself. All eyes turned to her for a moment before Ally spoke up again.
"I see you guys have met my new friend Lauren," Ally smiled excitedly.
Dinah, who Lauren assumed was the blond, chuckled, "Not exactly. Mila came over shouting T-Pain lyrics at her. She's drunk as hell."
"Hey, I was singing beautifully for your information." The other girl jabbed Dinah in the ribs.
Dinah smacked her arm before bringing her attention to Lauren, sticking out her hand. "Sorry about her again," Dinah rolled her eyes. "I'm Dinah."
Lauren stared at her big hand for a moment before actually making a move to shake it. The only thought Lauren had was that Dinah was squeezing her hand too hard.
"Lauren," She nodded.
"And this is Camila," Dinah placed her hands on her shoulders as she waved.
Dumbly, Lauren waved back and thought back to how cute she looked with that little smile on her face. This was one of the longest times Lauren has gone without Lucy being the focus and it was quite relaxing if she were being honest. She didn't feel the urge to check behind her or drink her thoughts away.
"Lauren, you okay?" She heard Dinah ask. "We kinda lost you there."
Lauren's head snapped up as she faced the two girls again. They were both looking at her expectantly as Lauren focused her green eyes on them. She glanced at the bar and noticed Ally was gone.
"Wha...uh, yeah," Lauren answered. "Where's Ally?"
"She had to go tend to a few people," Dinah told her. "Anyway, we were wondering if you wanted to join us and a few friends for a game of Truth or Dare."
Camila nodded enthusiastically, residing Lauren of a child. She shrugged her shoulders as she glanced back at her glass. There was only a bit of liquid still settled in the bottom so Lauren drowned it before turning back to the duo.
Dinah was now looking into the crowd and Lauren followed her eyes until she found something she didn't want to see. Lucy was dancing with Keana, but it had more of a sexual touch to it making Lauren want to throw up. She tore her eyes away. She needed to be away at from them. From Lucy.
"Yeah, sure," She told Dinah and Camila, finalizing her decision.
-
Truth or Dare was never one of Lauren's favorite games. She didn't really care for it or minded doing the wild things she was put up to. But she soon realized that with Dinah it's impossible to get out of things.
After Lauren was pulled away from the bar, she was dragged upstairs to a bedroom that was already occupied by a few teenagers; a beautiful dark skinned girl named Normani and two other boys who no one knew, but they somehow snuck their way into the friend circle.
"Alright Lauren, since you're new to this, I should let you know that we only have one rule," Normani explained as Lauren nodded, feeling her headache grow. "If you don't want to answer a Truth or do a Dare you can pass, but you have to take a shot. Easy right?"
"Very," Lauren murmured and nodded again.
Camila clapped her hands together and handed everyone a shot glass without dropping it and laid a bottle of whiskey in the middle of the group. Everyone watch in amusement as Camlia and Dinah argued who gets to spin first and Lauren had to cover her mouth to suppress her giggling. Eventually, Dinah got the upper hand.
The music could be heard through the walls and Lauren bobbed her her slightly as Dinah spun the bottle. And, of course, it landed on her. She stared at it for a moment to see if it would spin again then noticed Dinah's smirk.
"Alrighty, Lauren, choose your form of embarrassment," The blond grinned. "Truth or Dare?"
"Dare," Lauren answered with no hesitation.
"Hmm," Dinah looked around the circle for a moment. "I dare you to make out with Camila for, like, two minutes."
Before Lauren could even process a thought Normani groaned, "Jesus Dinah go easy on her. This is her first time playing with us."
"It's okay," Lauren said with flushed cheeks as she made eye contact with the Cuban next to her. "I'll do it."
She raised her eyebrow in a silent question and Lauren nodded subtly as she turned her body to face her. Camila did have nice lips. And they did look really soft. And pink.
Without registering anything Lauren leaned in once she saw Camila closing her eyes. There lips met in a sweet kiss first. Lauren was surprised by how soft Camila's lips actually were and she wanted to taste more of them.
Once they pulled away Lauren smirked as she went in for more. She captured Camila's bottom lip, cradling her face, and sucked on it. She felt Camila's had grip her knee as she moaned softly, only loud enough for the green eyed girl to hear. That, plus the fact that she was a drunk, fueled her fire and she pressed her lips harder against Camila's.
Apparently the smaller girl wasn't expecting that and tangled her hand in Lauren's hair, pressing back with as much pressure. Her tongue entered the warmth of Lauren's mouth and they battled for dominance, tuning everything out. It was just the two of them and Lauren didn't want to stop anytime soon.
But unfortunately they had to.
Dinah clapped her hands and Normani and the other guys whistled and rooted them on towards the end of their time. Reluctantly, Lauren pulled away, smiling shyly, feeling light headed. Camila winked before bursting out in laughter, the green eyed girl following suit.
"Well, damn," Dinah said dramatically. "That was hot!"
Camila laughed shyly, "Shut up."
"Anyways, before we end up having an orgy," Dinah said causing everyone to laugh. "Who's next?"
The rest of the game continued on with stupid dares and not that many truths. Lauren skipped her turn multiple times, not really up for doing anything else. Through the time, she and Camila continued to share glances and touches. Lauren didn't know if it was because of their mini make out session or the alcohol but she didn't really care. She was happy. Even though she didn't know these people and just met them that night, they made her feel welcome and that was more than she could ask for.
–
It was late well into the night when the party started to simmer down. The music was turned down some and through the room that Lauren was in it sounded like a low hum. The two random guys left and Lauren was actually sad their presence was gone but she didn't really care at the same time.
She was laying on her back, staring up at the ceiling with Camila by her side. They talked some more and Lauren decided she was a cool person. They even traded numbers and Lauren felt like she was trying to hit on her half the time but she didn't think about it too much.
Normani and Dinah were seated against the wall and they all listened to Lauren as she rambled on about different topics in her drunken state. And somehow they got to the topic of Lucy and Lauren ended up spilling everything. How she was in love with her best friend no matter how Lucy treated her.
"I just can't help the way I feel about her," Lauren finished up solemnly.
"Damn," Normani was the first to speak up after she finished. "That's...a lot."
"Have you ever tried to find somebody else?" Camila asked softly.
Lauren sighed and covered her face with her hands. "I can't. Everywhere I go I see Lucy and it just ruins everything."
"So you don't want to love her?"
Lauren immediately tensed up, "Yes, I do–No, I just..." She groaned loudly and sat up, avoiding the question completely. "I have to pee."
She got up, wobbling a bit before she stabled herself, and trudged out the bedroom door in search for the bathroom. She actually said that just so she could escape answering the question but she figured she could just hand out in the bathroom anyway.
Lauren's vision was slightly blurred and she tripped every now and then but she searched every room upstairs before she decided to go back downstairs. Her head was pounding by the time she made it down the stairs. Skimming her eyes around the teenagers that still lingered, she saw something she really really wished she didn't see.
It was Lucy. With Keana. They were seated together on a sofa making out. Their hands were tangled in each other's hair and Lauren actually felt like she was going to throw up. She forced herself to tear her eyes away and she felt and overwhelming anger consume her. Lauren pushed her way through people until she was finally outside. Away from everyone and anyway from the sweaty smell and away from Keana and Lucy.
Lauren tripped when she felt a pair of arms steady her shoulders. She faced Camila, about to say something, but the alcohol traveling up her esophagus was first. Lauren immediately doubled over and let out her insides as she felt Camila pull her hair back and rub circles on her back.
She coughed some and felt tears sting her eyes as she finished throwing up. Camila helped her stand up and she immediately wrapped her arms around the small Cuban. She let herself cry, not really caring that Camila had to see her like that. She felt heart broken.
Camila continued to rub her back and whispered that everything was going to be okay even though Lauren knew it wasn't. At least not for her. After some time, Lauren finally calmed down and pulled away from Camila. She glanced at her now soaked shoulder and apologized meekly.
"It's okay," Camila shrugged, more concerned about Lauren than her shirt. "Do you feel a little better?"
"I feel like shit," Lauren cracked a small smile. "But, um, thank you."
Camila shook her head, "It's nothing. What happened back there?"
Lauren's face fell, "I saw Lucy kissing Keana in the way to the bathroom."
Lauren felt herself get choked up again. She knew Camila didn't know what to say by the look on her face so she ranted.
"I just don't fucking get it." She frowned. "Am I not good enough? Is Keana just better at everything because I just don't understand. I treat Lucy like she's fucking gold but here I am still on the back burner. Did she just think of us as a damn experiment for her to get ready for Keana while I have to sit her and watch because I'm supposed to be her best friend and support her?"
Lauren sighed loudly as she kick a rock harshly. She felt the tears come back and she didn't even bother stopping them.
"Am I not good enough for her?" Lauren said through a sob as Camila engulfed her in a hug again. "I just feel like shit and I love her and that can't even compare to anything Keana can give her. It's not fair. It's not fucking fair."
She let herself fall against the gravel and Camila traveled down with her. She continued to say that it wasn't fair and Camila continued to reassure her.
"Lauren, look at me," She grabbed her face and forced their eyes to connect. "What Lucy does is not your fault okay? It's a reflection of her and if she decides to choose someone over you she's truly missing out. I've only known you for some hours but you're one of the coolest people I've ever met. Don't you even think you're not good enough. Ever. Just because Lucy doesn't give you the credit you deserve, you will always be enough here," Camila moved one of her hands over Lauren's heart. "And to anyone who has the pleasure falling in love with you."
After Camila finished what she had to say Lauren felt the tears come down harder as she buried her face in her neck. She never knew how much she needed to hear those words until Camila spoke them. She then realized she doesn't need Lucy's validation and acceptance to prove her worth. All she needed was her hear and support from her friends.
–
It was past one when Lauren finally made it to the comfort of her own bed. She fell asleep in record time but was woken up by a someone sliding into her bed. Lauren didn't even have to guess to know it was Lucy. She assumed she climbed up her window but Lauren pretended to be sleep. She couldn't deal with Lucy right now. After that talk with Camila she didn't really want to see her for the first time in forever.
Lauren felt Lucy's arm wrap around her and they held her tightly. She let a kiss on the back of her neck and her Lucy murmur softly. Like she knew. Like she was acknowledging the feelings Lauren had for her. She said it twice before placing another kiss on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry, princess."
–
ahh I've finally finished part two!! I hope this wasn't rushed or anything bc I've been working on this all weekend and I want it to be perfect kinda.
I'm glad you guys are liking the story!! this is making me really happy you guys asking me to update is strangely exciting lmao.
soooo finally ot5 are introduced and there's that little bit of camren. are y'all team laucy or team camren???
also what Camila was telling Lauren is something you all need to know. you don't need one persons validation to know that you're worthy or love or just living. you being the way you are is enough and no one can decided that for you.
I'm always all over the place in authors notes lmao but yeah remember you are #worthit <3
thank you all for reading and voting! I really appreciate it. I apologize for any mistakes and I hope you all enjoy this part. also if you have suggestions feel free to hmu
- malia
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