"I'm doing it Dinah."
Those words were enough to lift the Polynesian girl's spirits the whole day. She crushed Lauren in a tight hug and spoke non-stop about how she wanted the gig to be perfect for Lauren. Shawn looked at Lauren with uncertainty, his look asking if she was gonna be alright.
Lauren reassured him otherwise. She spent the past few week trying to sing again slowly ever since Shaun visited her, it sparked something in her to follow what her heart wanted. She knew she wanted to sing, but her own fears were just stopping her. In front of the mirror at first and then to her mom. She decided that she was ready enough to perform in an actual gig much like the old days.
"I'll introduce you to a friend of mine, she'll play the piano for you." Dinah said.
Lauren looked at the lunch table where Camila sat and their gazes met and Camila smiled at her. Lauren felt her spirits go even further up. She told Camila beforehand that she was performing and she immediately said she would be there to support, without even asking. That gave her the confidence to really go through with it.
The thoughts of a possible flashback still crossed her mind but she realized that if she just looks at someone she knows, it would stop her mind from wandering. And she knew her friends were coming so she felt reassured at the least.
When school was over, she was whisked to Dinah's house via Shawn's car. The Polynesian girl wanted to do her makeup for her and Lauren obliged. Dinah lived a bit farther from their school, their house was a bit run down but the first thing Lauren noticed were her younger siblings milling around.
They all called out Dinah's name when they saw her. Shawn high-fived some of her siblings and Lauren smiled at them.
"This is my friend Lauren, you be nice to her okay?" Dinah called out threateningly to which her siblings laughed.
Lauren saw Dinah's mom together with her grandma and greeted them. They made their way to Dinah's room which is actually a room she shared with her younger sister. It was jam packed with various items and clothes but it seemed to match the girl's personality.
"Okay Lauren sit," She motioned to the chair in front of the dresser. "Let's make you beautiful."
"Are you saying she's ugly?" Shawn teased, sitting on Dinah's bed. Lauren giggled at the banter.
"Nah I meant beautiful-ler. Now keep quiet Mendes, this is girl stuff." Dinah ordered as she started with the primer then the foundation.
Lauren was quiet and kept still, she didn't even realize almost an hour passed as Dinah started spraying hairspray on her. Lauren coughed and looked in the mirror and she saw someone she forgot existed. Her eyes had dark eyeliner and eyeshadow on that made her green eyes look electrifying. Her lipstick was a shade of dark red that she thought looked like wine. Her make up, together with her jet black hair made her seem more intimidating than she ever looked.
She turned to Dinah. "Dinah who am I?"
Dinah smiled proudly, "Badass singer Lauren Jauregui. The one and only."
Shawn looked at her and widened his eyes. "Wow Lauren, you got stage presence already."
"Oh look at the time, we have to get to the bar. Shawn the keys to your car." Dinah said as she kept all of her makeup paraphernalia. They all said goodbye to Dinah's mom and siblings as they went into Shawn's car. The sky was dimming as afternoon started to turn to night.
They arrived at the bar and it was called the Sound Garage. There were already some people outside, smoking. Shawn parked near the back exit. Lauren followed behind Shawn and Dinah.
They came in the backroom where the small backstage was. There was a guy who was the sound producer working on the wires. Shawn put an arm around Lauren and she found herself face to face with an older girl with blonde hair in dreads.
"Lauren, this is Ashlee, she's a friend of mine. She'll handle your instrumentals." Ashlee grinned at her and shook her hand, Lauren shook her hand as well.
"What are you singing?" Ashlee asked.
"If I ain't got you by Alicia Keys," Lauren said and Ashlee nodded, looking impressed.
"I can do the piano so you don't need a minus one anymore." Ashlee offered.
Dinah and Shawn enveloped Lauren in a group huddle.
"Laur, Shawn and I are so incredibly proud of you. We hope you kill it tonight, and just remember if you get scared we're there in the audience. We'll cheer you on!" Dinah said.
"Go Lauren, I know you can do it!" Shawn cheered.
They disappeared in the curtain that separated the stage from the rest of the bar. It was a little bigger than the last bar she'd been in. She wouldn't lie to say that she felt the nerves already but she tried not to think about it.
Ashlee was on the keyboard and on low volume she played it for Lauren as she sang along softly. Ashlee nodded to encourage her and she felt comforted knowing it was Ashlee who was gonna play for her.
The sound technician motioned to them that in five minutes it was starting. Lauren couldn't believe that she was still opening the gig, as it was Dinah's connection that did the job. She silently prayed Camila would really be there even if the other girl promised.
She felt the nerves once more as she heard the sound of many people in the other side of the curtain. She was getting lost in emotion when she felt Ashlee grip her wrist and she was brought back to reality. She looked at her dark eyes.
"You can do this," she reassured her. Ashlee had no idea what happened to Lauren but those words meant a lot to her already. She nodded.
She positioned herself on the center of the small stage. The technician gave her a thumbs up and she nodded, the curtains parted. She was met with a blinding spotlight at first. When her eyes adjusted, she realized the people, the crowd. She saw Dinah and Shawn in the middle near the front and they gave her a round of applause along with the room.
Her eyes tried to search for Camila but she kept on squinting cause of the light, until it dimmed a bit. She took the mic from the mic stand.
"Uhm hi," she said a bit softly. "My name is Lauren and I'll be singing you a song tonight. I haven't done this in a while so I hope you like it anyway."
She looked at Ashlee as she started to play the piano. The music filled the room and the crowd silenced a bit. Some people live for the fortune...
Her eyes went to Dinah and Shawn as they smiled at her in reassurance.
Some people live just for the fame...
She felt her voice quavered as she went on. As her eyes scanned unfamiliar faces, she felt her vision falter as she started to see the all too familiar blue-gray eyes belonging to the angelic face she tried so hard to forget. She felt herself stiffen up in the stage.
In panic, her eyes went to the side and there she saw leaning against the wall, standing up was her favorite brunette. Her eyes met the girl's warm chocolate eyes and she felt her panic ease off her as if someone let go of their hold on her. Camila's lips were curled to a smile and Lauren felt the calm as she looked at the girl, giving her a look of reassurance.
She found herself smiling as she continued, she even paced the stage as she finished the song. She was greeted with a loud applause and she smiled as she forgot how good it felt. Ashlee came up with her and bowed and she hugged the older girl, who made her more comfortable performing.
"Thank you, have a great night everybody." She said one last time as she went down the stage. Shawn and Dinah came up to her and hugged her.
"Knew you could do it Lauren!" Shawn remarked.
"Slay me, Lauren. Wow those pipes got me goosebumps! If I was Simon Cowell I would give you a yes!" Dinah said which made both Shawn and Lauren laugh.
Lauren's mind wandered to Camila as she excused herself from her friends. She navigated her way around the dark bar towards the girl who was still at the side.
"Thought you weren't gonna show up," Lauren said as she approached Camila.
Camila put her arms around her neck hugging her and Lauren smelled her all too familiar scent from the shampoo that she used. She wrapped her arms around Camila's waist and she can't deny that if she could she wished they could stay like that for the rest of the night. Camila pulled back with a sleepy smile on her face.
"You look beautiful tonight," Camila remarked. To which Lauren said thanks, a bit dumbfounded.
"I'm so proud of you Laur, you killed it. Now I know how much of a phenomenal singer you are. Lauren Jauregui, weed princess, academic genius, Miami's Van Gogh, and now singer extraordinaire." Camila said to small claps.
Lauren laughed, blushing. "You make me seem greater than I really am."
"Because you are great, if you don't downplay yourself. I can see how great you are. I wish you can see it too." she said that with a hint of sadness in her voice and Lauren tried not to think then of how it must make Camila feel that she always puts herself down.
"I was actually nervous for a bit, I almost got a flashback, but then I saw you." Lauren said, a bit shyly.
Camila put an arm on her shoulder. "I have that effect on people, I hear." she joked, flipping her hair back. "But yeah I'm glad I was here to see you sing. And knowing I helped you be calmer that's-that means a lot."
"Want me to get you a drink?" Lauren offered, pointing to the bar.
Camila shook her head. "I'd rather not, I know you keep away from alcohol so I'll respect that."
Lauren felt a hand around her back and turned to see Dinah with Shawn and Ashlee. Dinah seemed to see Camila's presence and suddenly Lauren felt the tension around her brew. Shawn seemed a bit cool though she saw apprehension in his eyes, Ashlee the only one who wasn't part of the tension.
"Lauren we want to celebrate your performance, we're going to the local diner. Want to come?" She asked, pointing with her thumb.
Lauren turned to Camila, who had an unreadable expression on her face. Dinah probably saw the hesitation in Lauren so she said, "Camila can come if she likes. What do you say?"
Lauren was just about to turn to Camila when she felt Camila hold her by the hand. "Yeah we're going." Lauren played it down but she wasn't chill at all inside. She turned to Camila but Camila muttered just for her to hear, "It's fine. We're celebrating you, not me."
Instead of using Shawn's car, they ended up walking as it was just a block away. The diner was relatively empty. They took one booth near the entrance. Dinah sat with Shawn on one side as Lauren sat between Camila and Ashlee.
They soon ordered their food and after that was done, Lauren felt the tension as Dinah and Shawn were doing small talk about Shawn's biceps. Lauren turned to Shawn.
"How did you and Ashlee meet?" she asked. Ashlee perked up and answered for him.
"Shawn does singing before when he was around ten and I was fifteen I always played guitar or piano for him. He used to perform in talent fairs and all. We were in the same music organization at my old hometown, that's where we met." Ashlee said.
"Ashlee is an amazing guitarist, she helped me get to where I am today. My biggest mentor." Shawn said.
Lauren kept looking at Camila, to see if she was uncomfortable, but it was hard to read what was on her mind. She didn't let on.
"Shawn," Camila spoke for the first time in the diner, and everyone at the table turned their heads towards her. "Ariana says thank you for the flowers."
Shawn looked shocked at first that Camila addressed him, then he started to blush. He was frazzled. "Uh, oh that's cool."
Dinah slapped him. "Cool? Now she knows it's not a secret anymore. What happened to the mysterious persona huh?"
"Ariana said Shawn should ask her out, she'd like that." Camila spoke again. Shawn couldn't stop blushing and smiling like a school boy. Lauren found that so endearing.
"Thanks Camila." He said, his genuine smile showing.
The food came and they started eating. Lauren realized the singing made her hungry, pretty soon Camila and Ashlee were having a very animated conversation about SNL. Dinah was trying to beat Shawn in who could eat the fries faster. Shawn won to Dinah's dismay.
Dinah used her fork to sound on her milkshake glass. They all stopped what they were doing.
"Anyone want to make a toast for Lauren for tonight?" She asked.
Camila was the first to raise her glass. She looked at Lauren as she did. "To Lauren, for killing the stage tonight. It was a small thing, but it's going to get you to where you want to be. Who you really are. And we all saw that tonight." She said with pride in her voice. Lauren felt her heart soaring, a bit misty in her eyes though she tried to stop it.
"To Lauren," Ashlee, Shawn and Dinah said, all with their raised glasses of milkshake.
Lauren laughed at their toast. Pretty soon when they were done eating, they were just conversing and Ashlee was retelling her story of when she almost got caught by the cops for speeding on the highway and Shawn and Lauren were both holding their sides from laughing. From the corner of her eye she realized that Camila and Dinah were gone. She looked to the side and saw the two were outside the establishment.
She leaned a bit to get a better view. They both had serious expressions on. She wanted to know their conversation because that was the first time she saw Dinah look so serious and concerned. Dinah tried to fidget but Camila held her back in place. She looked like she was trying to make Dinah calm. Lauren was so confused.
She then saw the two hug it out. The hug lasted much longer. Dinah seemed to have something in her eyes and Camila helped wipe it off her face.
The two came back a few minutes later as if nothing happened. Dinah resumed laughing as she listened to Ashlee's story. Lauren turned to Camila who rested her head on Lauren's shoulder.
"Everything okay?" Lauren asked gently.
"Mm yeah, Dinah and I just talked." She said.
They soon paid the bill and parted ways, Lauren hugging them all, grateful to make a new friend in Ashlee. Shawn offered to drive Lauren home but she declined and said she would rather walk home with Camila since it wasn't too far from their homes.
They walked the street, under the lit lampposts and it was quiet. They didn't talk but the whole time Lauren kept thinking of what could have transpired between Dinah and Camila.
"So you and Dinah are now friends?" she asked as they were nearing the curb near their street.
"We're on good terms again." was all Camila said. She was being very hard to read that night which sort of bothered Lauren as it was so unlike the bubbly girl she knows. Lauren thought their conversation on the night they hiked allowed her to completely see through Camila, but she was wrong.
"Is that why she cried?" Lauren pushed further, hoping for a straight answer.
"Lauren, tonight is your night. Don't bother yourself too much with anything else that's going on. Don't want to steal your thunder, that would be too selfish of me." She kicked at the pebble on the ground. "Dinah and I are okay now, that's all there is."
"Well if that's the case then I'm glad you're friends again. Maybe you can sit with us during lunch." Lauren piped up, getting kind of hopeful.
Camila giggled and Lauren was happy her mask was lifted even for a second. "Maybe."
Camila crossed the street to walk to her house and Lauren watched as she walked towards hers.
"Goodnight Lauren, remember you shined tonight!" Camila called out, smiling before going inside her house.
Lauren smiled at that. She was shining, and coming from Camila she felt like the brightest god damn star in Miami.
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A/N: This chapter was interesting, let me know your thoughts!
-Sofia