Alright guys, it's super late where I am (more like early, it's nearly 5 am!), but I just finished this one, and wanted to share it with you. This is the longest chapter so far, we're talking close to 5k words. Hope it will tide you over until the next update :P ! Once again, thanks for all the votes and comments, you guys are awesome!
And sorry for the mistakes, my brain is fried.
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"So, what are the rules?"
Lauren had been engrossed by her phone for nearly 5 minutes now, she hadn't seen Camila get on the middle seat, and was a bit startled when she felt her breath against her ear.
"Camila, where is your seatbelt?"
"Geez, give me a minute, I just moved! And maneuvering those things with my sleeves is hard!"
Without saying a thing, Lauren grabbed it from her hands and fastened it for her, making sure that it was correctly set.
"Thanks..."
Lauren had a stern expression on her face. Camila was in trouble, and the fact that Lauren was slowly inching toward her ear did not give her butterflies for once.
"If that happens again, bet or no bet, I'll pull you over my knees, understood little girl?"
Camila automatically looked down at her lap and nodded. As she started playing with her sleeves, she could feel tears building up. She knew it had been a stupid move to change spot. Her reasons were even stupider, it had rubbed her the wrong way that Lauren wasn't paying attention to her for some reason.
"I'll let it slide this time, because I didn't actually give you all the rules, but it's the first and last t-... Baby, are you crying?"
It was crazy how this one tear falling on Camila's sleeve had made her tone go from murderous to soft and careful.
"Camzi, look at me, what's going on?"
She knew she had not held back her words, but Camila looked a bit too ashamed of herself for it to be the reason.
"I'm sorry."
"I know."
"No, it's..."
She knew she had to tell the truth, she felt like it was the least she could do after breaking the third rule. Remembering that there was actually someone driving the car, she decided instead to whisper it in her ear.
"You were ignoring me..."
"What do you mean, Camila?"
Lauren was not amused right now. The simple idea that Camila had done it in purpose riling her up all over again.
"...You were on your phone...and you didn't even give me the rules! You haven't even talked to me since we left the hotel..."
"Camila, we left exactly 7 minutes ago."
"I know..."
Camila was whiny, and as much as Lauren wanted to take her in her arms and soothe her insecurities, they were in public. Their newly acquired fame was not the easiest thing to deal with, things were simply not as simple as when they were hiding away in her room, and Camila knew that too.
"Baby, we're in a taxi."
"I know!"
"Watch your tone. You're already in trouble, little girl."
Lauren was back to her calm and firm voice, clearly aware that Camila was struggling. The girl's feelings were all over the place. She was feeling restless and unsettled, and too hot and stifled! It was absurd, and now she was in trouble! And those stupid tears!
"Okay, come here."
"But the driver?"
"The driver will say what he wants, I'm not letting you have a breakdown."
The small girl cuddled against her side as close as she could, relieved to be in contact with Lauren again.
"Do you want to talk about it, now?"
"I don't wat to talk about it, period."
"That's not happening, baby. No more bottling up emotions."
"Is that a rule?"
Lauren finally realized what was going on. The rules! Of course! It was stupid, but Lauren had just felt nervous about them, worried that Camila would change her mind at the realization, and that all this –whatever this was- would come to an end. It was selfish in a way, she just wanted a few more moments. Those past hours had been like a dream come true, and she wasn't ready to pop that bubble, but she had it all wrong. Camila wanted the rules, she craved to be given limits; there was nothing to worry about.
"I'm sorry, baby. I should have given you the rules before we left the room. How about this: I tell you the rules right now and tell you about our afternoon?"
"What if I don't like the rules?"
"We can discuss them if some make you feel uncomfortable, but ultimately the choice comes down to me. Ready?"
Camila nodded in the crook of neck, already feeling a bit better knowing that.
"Alright. First rule: Always put your health and wellbeing first. Second rule: You're not allowed to lie to me. And you're not a good liar so don't even try! Third rule: Don't be reckless. No more seatbelt or suitcase incident, or I'll have your ass. Fourth rule: When I say it's time to go to bed, you go to bed. It's time we start really working on your sleeping schedule. Fifth rule: if at any point you feel uncomfortable, you tell me or use your colors. And final one: no pizza."
"WHAT?? How long is this bet supposed to last??"
Lauren burst out laughing, she knew that one would get a reaction out of her.
"I'm kidding! It wouldn't be fair, you already have no chance of winning; I might as well make it last a bit! How does a week sound?"
"Deal, and for your information, I will win!"
"Of course you will."
"Don't say that...I can be good!"
"Baby, I know how good you can be for me or others, but when it comes to you..."
"I'm just...not used to thinking like that."
"I know, that's why I want to do that for you. Would you let me, baby? Make sure you're good for yourself?"
Butterflies were exploding through Camila's stomach. She was always trying to deal with things on her own by fear that she would bother people; but here, Lauren was offering. She wanted to do that for her, she wanted to be that person. Once again rendered speechless by Lauren, she nodded.
"Any rectification?"
"No."
"Good, how about I tell you about our afternoon, and what I was looking at on my phone instead of looking at you?"
Camila blushed, she couldn't explain why she had felt that way, but she was glad that Lauren's attention was back on her, nonetheless.
Lauren turned back on her phone, and showed her screen to Camila.
"'Tricks to help children sleep?' I'm not a child, Lauren!"
"Yeah, well grown-up stuff hasn't really been working, now has it? We've tried everything: breathing patterns, meditation, acupuncture points, no phone nor TV before bed, exercising more in the morning, and I know you even tried those hypnosis videos on YouTube!"
"That doesn't mean that kid stuff would work!"
"Does it mean, though, that we shouldn't even try?"
"...I guess not."
"Stop pouting, look how cute those microwaveable plushies are! It has lavender in it to help you relax and sleep better! They sell them at the mall, we'll check it out! They also suggest ceiling projectors, apparently it's pretty great, and don't whine, they have some for adults too, cause it works for everyone! That, a big blanket, and some toys and we should be good."
"Toys??"
"Don't make that face, I've seen how much you enjoy playing with Sofi! And I was thinking like adult coloring books, maybe a puzzle or something and kinetic sand."
"I thought I was supposed to be sleeping, not playing!"
"Yes, but you were right about something, without TV or your phone you were pretty much left with nothing to do, and reading only makes things worse because you never put a book down before finishing it! You said it yourself, you were growing restless laying down in bed for long periods of time! So instead, before bed you can take your mind off things by doing a little activity!"
"You really thought it through, huh?"
Lauren got even closer to Camila's ear.
"I always think of you, baby. I wasn't ignoring you, I was just figuring it all out before showing you. I'll never ignore you on purpose again, okay?"
"...okay."
Camila's voice didn't sound convinced, it broke Lauren's heart that Camila might even think she could do it again.
"How about this, if I ever do it again, I'll let you send me to the corner and spank me, alright?"
Camila stared at Lauren's face for a while, trying to detect any hint that would show she wasn't being sincere, but she couldn't find any.
"Pinky swear?"
"Pinky swear."
Once done, they didn't disconnect their fingers.
"We're supposed to meet the girls at forever 21, we can hang out with them, and then we'll go see if we can find everything we need, alright?"
"Okay."
She felt a bit drained, she might even have been able to fall asleep right there against Lauren.
"You can't fall asleep, you know that, right?
"I know, I just feel really tired."
"Tell me what you want to do at the mall."
"I want to go to Cold Stone and get banana ice cream."
"We definitely can do that. What else?"
"I don't know."
"You don't need anything?"
"Toothpaste...and fluffy socks."
"Right, we wouldn't want you to be out of fluffy socks!"
"They just look so comfy! Mani has some; I want some too."
"Alright, we'll get you fluffy socks."
Lauren brought their still joined hands to her mouth and kissed it.
A few minutes later they were at the mall, and making their way toward Forever 21, hand in hand. Finding the girls was pretty easy, they were neither the quietest nor the most discreet in general.
"Hey! You guys made it!! Oh, Camila you look so cute!"
Ally was the first to notice them, and went to greet them with a hug.
"How do you feel, Mila?"
"I'm good, Ally. Thanks! I feel a lot better."
"Yo, sleeping beauty! How was waking up?"
"It sucked, CheeChee! I wanted to go back to sleep, but Lauren wouldn't let me."
"Ah, so no kiss of true love to break the spell?"
"Shut it, DJ!"
Camila started chasing after Dinah. She had confessed her feelings for Lauren to her one night, and since then she was constantly teasing her about it.
"Don't break anything!"
"These two are impossible! So how is Mila?"
"She's good, Mani. Not as good as she might say she is, but she definitely feels more rested and has a better appetite."
"So, DJ told us you guys slept in the same room?"
"Yeah, she wasn't too pleased when I went to put her back to bed. She was annoyed at me so she decided that if she couldn't be on her phone or watch TV, neither could I! So she followed me back to my room."
"As if having your little Camzi beside you could ever annoy you!"
Lauren could feel herself blush, Normani had figured out her feelings for Camila a long time ago, and never missed an opportunity to mess with her.
"So how did you manage to make her sleep?"
Having an answer prepared for that question, would have been great... Sadly she didn't have one.
"Well, uh, we had a bit of a heart to heart about the accident and stuff, we both cried, and I think it just drained her."
Normani had her classic "bullshit" face on.
"I know you're lying, but I'm not sure I want to know the truth. But, good for you guys!"
Lauren's blush only intensified. That was exactly why she was so careful with her tumblr accounts now. A few months ago, she had meant to show Mani a post she had liked, but she didn't check which one was open, and Mani got a very colorful peek at Lauren's secret.
"It was nothing like... It wasn't like sex-"
"Nope! I think we can close the subject. It's all good, I mean if anything, it's awesome if it helps her!"
"What are you guys talking about?"
"Nothing Ally, wow, this dress looks awesome on you!"
Lauren sent a thankful smile to Normani, who just winked back at her.
"Lauren!! Look, they have pizza-themed socks!"
"Baby, they have pizza-themed everything! And you can't buy 5 pairs of pizza socks."
"Why?"
"Because you also want fluffy socks, and we're not buying that many socks, you have plenty already!"
"But-!"
"No but, choose 2, and put the others back!"
"How about three? I really want the "all I care about is pizza" ones."
"Nope. Two, end of the story."
Camila sulked back toward the sock aisle. Lauren watched her go with a smile, then felt 2 pairs of eyes on her.
"Since when does Camila ask anyone if she can buy stuff?"
Thinking back on it, it was true that Lauren had never actually asked Camila to check with her. She tried not to overanalyze the moment, but it had to mean something, right?
"I...She had Sinu on the phone coming here. When she told her we were going shopping, she was told not to spend too much. I'm just making sure that she does as she was told!"
"Oh! That's nice!"
If Ally was easily swayed, the same could not be said about Normani. She didn't comment on it in front of Ally, but she was wearing her thoughts on her face.
"So, I'll go take a look around, see you guys!"
Going through the aisles, she didn't see much for herself. Now that she was mostly shopping online for shirts and sweaters, she wasn't as attracted by what stores had to offer, preferring giving her money to small stylists and artists. She was about to join back the girls, when her eye fell on a pink graphic t-shirt with "Being Bad Ain't Easy" written on it. It put a smile on her face just imagining the face Camila would make seeing it! Without a second thought she grabbed the right size, and went looking for the girl.
Camila was sitting on the floor, still in the sock aisle. Lauren wondered how undecided could someone be about pizza socks, but on closer inspection, what Camila was looking at wasn't pizza socks. It was a pair of pink pointelle-knit crew socks with a white ruffled lace trim.
"Those are cute."
It made Camila jump. She hadn't heard Lauren approaching, it was a bit late now to try to hide what she was holding.
"It would extra pretty with your high heeled boots and a skirt."
"...You think?"
"I'm sure."
"...You don't think they look too childish?"
"Isn't that part of the appeal? Give me that, here, it's a gift now."
"Thanks Lauren."
"You're welcomed, baby. Now get up, the ground is filthy!"
She helped her up, and kept her hand in hers as they were making their way toward the checkout. They did a few more shops with the girl, Lauren even found Camila a pair of fluffy socks: it had the face of a koala on it, and had little fuzzy ears poking out on each side.
A couple hours later, Lauren could see that Camila was getting tired, she was leaving less and less her side and would even lean on her from time to time. The girls were excitedly making their way toward a M.A.C store when Lauren decided it was time to take a small break.
"Guys, we'll sit this one out, we'll be over there on the benches."
"Alright, see you later!"
"Come on, let's take a break baby."
Camila was exhausted, her brain scrambled by all the sensory stimulations around her. So much noise, and people, and smells, and worst all: things to see. She couldn't decipher one shop from the next anymore, she felt nearly nauseous. It felt good to finally sit down, and when Lauren told her to lie down, she did as she was told. To block out the world, she put her head on Lauren's lap and pushed her face against her soft stomach.
"It was a bit too much, wasn't it? You need to tell me when that happens! There is no need to overwhelm yourself."
Camila stayed silent, just nodded, loving the feeling of Lauren's soft sweater rubbing against her face.
"Alright, put this on."
Turning around, she saw the dangling earpods, and put them on. Soft chill music was playing, the absence of lyrics was a relief. Now, all she could feel was the music, Lauren's hand going through her hair, and her perfume on her sweater.
She was between sleep and awake when the girls must have come back. She could feel Lauren talk to them as the pattern of her breath changed, making the sweater rub her face differently. It felt good, so she nuzzled even closer. Sometimes she wished she could just borrow into Lauren forever. Things were just so much easier when she was with her. What finally woke her up for good was when someone took off one of her earpods.
"Come on, Baby. The girls are going back to the hotel, say goodbye."
"Bah Gaz"
Her words were muffled by Lauren's sweater.
"Camzi, come on, get up, and say bye."
She whined doing it, but she did get up, and hugged everyone goodbye.
"You guys ain't going back with us?"
"Nah, we wanted to check another store before leaving, and I promised Camz some Cold Stone; but we'll be back before dinner! I'll text you guys, be safe."
As soon as they were out of sight, Camila sat back down on Lauren's lap.
"Baby, you know we can't do that here. Come on, let's go get you some banana ice cream to wake you up."
Camila was not having that whole "no-touching in public," it was ridiculous! Especially after spending 20 minutes with her head on her lap. In rebellion, -and maybe also because she was tired and a bit cranky, and wanted Lauren close- she latched onto her hand and let Lauren guide her to Cold Stone. A double scoop of banana ice cream with slices of bananas, peanut butter and chocolate shavings later, Camila was much more content. She felt so full she could explode, but the sugar rush was making her feel energized.
"Alright, bathroom first, you are a mess! Next time we go grocery shopping, remind me to get some baby wipes, we really need to invest in those."
"It started melting too fast! It's not like I could do anything about it!"
Before she could do it herself, Lauren had wetted some paper hand towels and was clearing her face from the remains of her ice cream.
"I could do that."
"Doesn't mean I couldn't do it too. Come on, first top: Barnes & Nobles."
After much whining and stomping about not being a kid (how ironic!), Camila ended up picking two color by number coloring books: Dogs in Hats by Nona Meyers and the first volume of the great Disney classics, which, surprise, surprise, was actually in the kid aisle! An aisle that Camila insisted on visiting after declaring that the adult one was boring, and that she didn't want to color fish or butterflies.
Their final stop was a toy store. Lauren found the kinetic sand right away.
"What color do you want?"
"I don't care, this is stupid."
"Camila."
"Ugh! The galaxy one!"
It was a bundle set with blue, purple and black sand. A good choice according to Lauren, so she decided to put it in the cart and kept walking. She ignored Camila's attitude, and just grabbed her hand, dragging her further into the store.
"Oh! Puzzles, great! Which one do you want?"
"I don't like puzzles."
"Camila, why are you being so difficult?"
"No, I really just don't like puzzles! I'm always like sitting on the piece I'm looking for or losing the last one, and you need to like sort through them first... there's nothing relaxing about puzzles!"
"Ok, my bad, I see your point. Oh! I know, what about a perplexus?"
"A what?"
"It's basically a sphere with an obstacle course in it, the goal is to make the ball go through the whole course without dropping it. Wait, let me find one."
The second it was in Camila's hands she started trying it. At first just to get the idea, but then because it was pretty addictive and challenging. Lauren couldn't hold back a self-satisfied grin.
"Alright, you'll have all the time to play with it once we'll be back, put it in the cart, baby."
Camila was reluctant to do it at first, but her curiosity was picked to see what else Lauren had in mind, maybe it wasn't so bad. Admittedly, there were a couple toys she had always dreamed of owning. It could just stay between the two of them. This time she was the one to grab Lauren's hand.
"See? It's not so bad! Let's go check out those plushies now!
The brand had a ridiculously large selection, ranging from pink bunnies to unicorn onesie-wearing glittery sheep. That was way worse than the pizza socks situation, how was she supposed to only pick one? She turned back to Lauren, clearly overwhelmed by the task.
"Wow, okay, that's a lot to choose from. How about we go progressively, pick all the ones that you like, and then you'll eliminate them one by one."
That did seem easier. It lasted a good fifteen minutes, Camila going back and forth from the aisle to the cart. Lauren was glad to see that nobody seemed to have recognized them, so she could let Camila take her time.
She was down to three, a very soft elephant, a blue dragon and a pink unicorn. She looked pleadingly at Lauren.
"No Camila, three is too much, you have to make a choice."
"With that kind of attitude, we wouldn't be in a successful girls band now, you know!"
"With that kind of attitude, you'll end up in the corner. Now pick."
She was holding all three of them, looking heartbroken, as if she had to sacrifice one of her own children.
"Sorry Mr. Elephant, you have a lot of talent, just not the x factor."
Lauren amusedly rolled her eyes at her antics, quickly committing the plush to memory, just in case she had to buy a gift for Camila. She wanted to cave, she really did, but she had to show Camila that she didn't come back on her words, and would set limits and not back down from them.
"Okay, we're good."
"No, I said one, Camila."
"The dragon's not for me, it's for you. It's a gift."
"Oh is it?"
"Yup, cause you're a dragon, and you're in love with the unicorn."
"So you're the unicorn to my dragon?"
"Duh!"
Such a smartass! Lauren had forgotten about that video and subsequent tweet, or rather she had repressed it really well. To hear Camila refer to it was making her heart flutter in the best way. Making sure that nobody could see them, she pulled her arm over her shoulder and kissed her temple, staying there a bit longer to take in the smell of her shampoo now that wasn't wearing Lauren's beanie anymore.
"Camz, why does your hair smell like a baby's head?"
"I read on tumblr that is was really great for your hair. I've been losing a lot of it since the accident, so I bought a bottle to try. I tried it for the first time today. Does it smell good?"
"Smells like heaven! New rule: you have to use this forever."
"How is that a fair rule?"
"Oh, that's not part of the bet, just in general."
"So I have rules to follow in general, too now?"
"Apparently."
Camila slapped her stomach in retaliation, which earned her yet another smack on her thigh, but Lauren didn't bother moving from her spot
"No hitting! Other general rule if you hadn't noticed! It's not Johnson & Johnson, is it?"
"Mustela, less chemicals."
"Good choice!"
Lauren was addicted. She felt like she had to pinch herself, this couldn't be real! Honestly, if she had known, she would have reblogged those posts months ago so they would appear on Camila's dash sooner! She had to calm down, especially now that it seems like there appeared to be an actual possibility that Camila might be tempted by the lifestyle. Slow and steady was the only way to go.
"Could we...Would you mind if we went to look at the Legos?"
It was easier to ask with Lauren this close, she didn't have to look at her face. Yet, she definitely felt her smile against her temple, a smile quickly followed by a kiss.
"Good idea, Legos are awesome!"
Once again the choice was huge, but when her eyes fell over the box, she knew it was the one. She could vaguely hear Lauren talking behind her, but she wasn't listening, her feet already making their way toward the box.
"...This is amazing! See that? They even have some for adults-. Oh! That's a really good one! A three in one on top of that, great job, baby!"
I was a tree house building set, the pieces could be assembled in three different ways.
"My cousins had a lot of them, but they were all mixed together, and I could never figure out what the pieces were supposed to be."
"Then it's high time you get your very own set."
"It's okay, we don't have to take it."
"Nonsense, there's it's in the cart, too late now!"
As much as she was trying to repress it, Camila was getting excited. They were just toys, but for the first time she wasn't dreading going to bed.
"Anything else?"
"No, thank you, that's already a lot."
"Let's just have a look around before checking out, okay?"
They did a quick round, talking about the toys they used to love, and those they never understood.
"I had this aunt that would always buy me a porcelain doll for my birthdays, I hated those things! My mom finally took them out of my room when I refused to sleep in it anymore, because I felt like the dolls were watching me!"
Camila was giggling away at her story.
"My favorite thing was Play-Doh, though! I could spend hours playing with it! I still do when I babysit my cousins."
"I've never tried, I mean, once! In our first apartment in Miami, there was carpet pretty much everywhere, so my mom wouldn't buy us some. When we got the house, she finally bought me a set, but turned out Sofi was allergic, so I donated it to our church."
"What? No, we're getting you a set! Play-Doh is so great, Camzi! I mean I'm really impressed at how selfless you were even at a young age, but we need to rectify this right now!"
Lauren grabbed the classic Fun Factory Deluxe Set. It was actually a really good idea, Camila would be able to use the molds with the kinetic sand, too. They had spent over an hour in the store by the time they came out, arms full of bags.
"Are we going back, now?"
"Nope, you still need toothpaste."
"I'll use yours."
"Come on, I'll let you sit in the shopping cart! I have to grab a few things."
It was great, Camila didn't remember how fun it was to just sit in the cart. She was quietly playing 1010! on her phone while Lauren was grabbing whatever she needed. It did completely change the grocery shopping experience, why did kids wanted out so badly? In there she didn't have to worry about anything, or maybe just that some stranger didn't grab the shopping cart. She lifted up her head, and it was indeed Lauren pushing it and smiling down at her.
"Hey! Doing okay in there?"
"Huh-uh."
"They don't have any good ceiling projectors, but how do you feel about a Sherpa throw blanket? Sounds good."
"Yeah, those are super soft, Ally has one."
"Alright, which one to do you want."
"Whichever, I'm tired of choosing. You choose, I'm all out."
And Camila did look tired, which was a good sign as it was nearly 6 pm. Taking some time to consider the options, Lauren finally chose a pink one with a sort of maze textured pattern on it. It was pretty heavy and was extra soft and fluffy.
"Good?"
Camila pulled up her sleeves to try it out, and it was perfect. The difference in textures on the pink side felt really good, and the other one was super soft.
"Perfect."
"Okay, time to go back now."
They were waiting for their Uber in a corner outside. The temperature had severely dropped since they had gotten there, so they were huddling close together, their bags littering the ground around them.
"You'll have to tell me how much I owe you for all that, Lauren."
"Uhm, like three cheek kisses, if I'm not mistaken?"
"No, but seriously."
"I'm very serious, I wanted to do this for you, Camz."
"Thank you."
"It's nothing, it wasn't actually that much."
That, Camila knew was a lie.
"No, I mean... Thank you for helping me, lo."
"Always, baby."
Lauren winked at her, and the butterflies were back.
"Well I guess there's only thing left to do now."
"What is it?"
Camila put her arms around Lauren's neck and put three lingering kisses on her cheeks, then nuzzled close.
"I'm so glad I have you in my life."
"As long as you'll want me, I'll be right here."
"Then I hope you're comfortable, this might last a couple eternities."
They were back in their bubble, none of them were worrying about who might see or what might happen. They weren't sure where they were going with this, but it didn't matter, they had each other.
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Alright! Let me know what you think! This one took a lot out of me, I feel like I birthed this monster! Suggestions and comments are always welcomed!
On another note, I like to work with visuals, so I have pictures of everything the girls bought at the mall. Would you guys like to be able to see them? And if you do, do you know some sites or something that I could use to upload them? I was thinking of maybe creating a tumblr for it, if it was something you were interested in. I don't know, I just don't really like putting pictures directly in the text, and I think you're limited to six by chapter so that wouldn't work anyway. I'm sort of rambling now, but let me know!
Also (after that I promise I'll leave you guys alone! Pinky swear!) I would really love to know what country you guys are from! I know, I can see the demographics in my stats, but I'm just curious to know where those who comment are from, just to get an idea of our time difference!
K, love you, bye!