September 6th, 2016.
When Camila wakes up the next day, for a moment, she'd forgotten about her weird dream. She's a little too groggy to realise what had happened, and when the details of the dream come back to her, her eyes widen and she nearly falls off her bed when she goes to grab her phone.
She doesn't even have to look at the date. The thing that really freaks her out is the text she has from Ally, because over the last year, the only thing Ally had texted her was reminders about being on time, and those texts weren't even directly to her, they were in the group chat.
Allycat (6:54AM): Hope you feel better today, Mila! I'm making Dinah call round before school to pick up the leftover cookies from last night, hopefully they'll put a smile on your face.
Camila blinks down at the screen, not believing that the text is real. It can't be. Maybe Ally had made a new friend called Mila and she'd baked them cookies. Because she definitely can't still be dreaming.
She remembered going to sleep last night. She'd asked her mom to drive her to the store for some over the counter sleeping pills, and she'd taken two and snuggled down in bed. She even remembers her dream from last night, too – she was performing her first ever single, except the audience was composed of hundreds of copies of the Fifth Harmony girls.
She's pretty sure she can class that as a nightmare, but this is something else entirely. Everything is too vivid and too real and while it seems like it is real, it can't be. Alternate universes aren't real, and only crazy people walk around claiming that they've hopped into some alternate universe in their sleep.
She just has to figure out how to wake up. Maybe she needs to speak with all of the girls on good terms and then her subconscious will be satisfied. She doesn't know. Either way, she decides that today, she's going to talk to Lauren and Normani. If it means it'll help her wake up, then she's going for it.
"Are you serious?" Camila jumps when she hears Dinah's voice, and the younger girl waltzes into her bedroom with an amused smirk. "You're not ready yet?"
"I was just, uh," Camila bites down on her bottom lip and shrugs, "picking out something to wear."
"Still acting weird, huh?" Dinah narrows her eyes. "Whatever. I'll push you for answers later. Let me pick out what you're wearing now."
Before Camila can protest, Dinah has headed over to the closet and started raking around. "I can dress myself, Dinah."
"You'd be a fashion disaster without my help," Dinah rolls her eyes, "Which bow do you want to wear?"
"No bow," Camila says, a little too quickly, "I think they're a little too childish."
"And you're not?" Dinah snorts. "Mila, bows are your thing. I don't know who you're trying to impress or whatever by not wearing one, but they're cute. I'll pick one for you."
Not wanting to argue, Camila lets Dinah pick out her outfit, and decides that she'll get rid of the black bow that Dinah makes her wear once she's out of the Tongan girl's sight.
As Dinah picks out her clothes, Camila feels horrible, because it sucks that the last time they do this is going to be in some weird dream that she can't seem to wake up from. Out of all the girls, she misses Dinah the most. Lauren is a close second, but Camila had been missing her for a while; Lauren had distanced herself a long time ago.
"Dinah," Camila asks her friend after she changes into the summer dress Dinah had picked out, "Can you help me talk to Lauren today?"
Dinah frowns at her. "Jauregui? You don't have a thing for her, do you? I'll hit you if you do, because you need to stop crushing on people who're taken."
Camila cringes, but if she says no, what will she use as her excuse? She needs to get to Lauren, and she's a little worried about doing it on her own. So, lying through her teeth, she nods. "Um, yeah. I like her."
"You're an idiot," Dinah huffs, "not only are you after a girl that's taken, she's one of the most popular girls in school and doesn't know you exist."
"Not true," Camila counters before thinking, because her Lauren knows she exists. Even if they weren't talking as much over the past year, Lauren was always civil. "She knows me."
Dinah snorts. "Sure about that?"
"Yeah, yesterday when I-" Camila cuts herself off, because if she tells Dinah that she couldn't find a classroom, the Polynesian girl would definitely go back to interrogating her. "I got a little confused and she helped me out. And she knew I was a junior."
Dinah shrugs. "She probably just guessed. Anyway, let's go, because I want to get started on the cookies Ally gave us."
"Wait," Camila says before she follows Dinah out of the room, "Are you going to help me with Lauren or not?"
"Like I said, girl's taken," Dinah rolls her eyes, "so you're on your own. Besides, I thought you liked Shawn?
Camila's face betrays her; she pulls a disgusted expression before she can help it. Shawn's like a brother to her, so the thought makes her feel a little sick. "Uh, no."
"Damn," Dinah says, "got over that one fast, Mila."
"Uh... yeah," Camila nods in reply. "I guess so."
When they arrive at school and go their separate ways, Camila tries her hardest to locate Lauren. She checks the locker she'd seen her by yesterday, but there's nobody there, and she's running outside to check the school's courtyard when she bumps into someone.
Literally.
She lands flat on her ass, and she sighs, because she thought her days of being clumsy and tripping at every possible opportunity were over. But when she looks up at her assailant, she doesn't feel as bad.
Normani.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Normani helps her up, and Camila feels a distant pang in her chest. She'd missed Normani's friendship, but they'd never been the same after the solo work and those leaked texts. "Didn't mean to walk into you. You're... Karla, right?"
"Uh..." Camila nods, "I prefer Camila."
"I'm Normani," Normani flashes her a warm smile, "anyway, sorry again for running into you. You look like you're in a hurry. Late for your first period?"
Camila hadn't even thought about that on her quest for Lauren. She looks up at the clock on the wall and realises that she's almost ten minutes late for her first period class. God, she misses not having to worry about these things.
Eventually, she nods. "Yeah. I don't even know what class I have, to be honest. Timetable changes and all that..."
"I get it," Normani replies, "I have a free period now. You need help finding the room?"
Camila nods, thankful for Normani's help, and opens up the school's website. She logs in again and checks her schedule, a little confused when Normani grimaces down at it. "What's wrong?"
"The teacher you have," Normani explains, "she'll literally murder you for being late. Seriously, my best friend got a week's worth of detention last year for being two minutes late."
Not liking the idea of detentions – seriously, she hasn't had to deal with this stuff since she was like, fifteen – Camila decides to do something she wouldn't normally do. "I think I'll just... skip this class, then."
"Wise choice," Normani smiles, "I was heading over to the library to study. You could join if you want? Actually use your newly acquired free period to study?"
Not wanting to pass up a glaringly obvious opportunity, Camila nods. "Yeah, definitely. Thanks for the offer."
"It's no problem," Normani says, leading Camila in the opposite direction, "my friend and I were just going to listen to music and play iPhone games. Maybe we can help you study and do something productive."
Not wanting to sound too eager or inquisitive, Camila frowns. "Your friend?"
"Oh, you probably won't know her," Normani replies, "her name is Lucy. She's my best friend's girlfriend."
"Oh, that's sweet," Camila tries not to make it sound too forced, but she feels a little spark of jealousy somewhere in her chest. "How long have they been together?"
"A year," Normani answers, and Camila's stomach drops, "they've been off and on sometimes, but they're mostly going strong."
"Nice," Camila half-heartedly comments, "you're friends with both of them?"
"I met Lucy through Lauren, but yeah," Normani nods, pushing open the library door, "so, what're you going to study? Like, the class you're missing, or something else?"
"I don't know," Camila shrugs, "it's only the second day. I won't miss much."
"True," Normani laughs as they approach a table with one other girl on it – Camila recognises Lucy straight away, "Hey, Lucy. This is Camila. She's skipping class and clearly a bad influence on both of us."
Lucy sends her a welcoming smile, and Camila tries to push down whatever jealousy is bubbling at the pit of her stomach. She's over her Lauren, anyway. They could never be together, especially after she'd split from the group. But if she can have a little time in a dream... she wouldn't be opposed to that.
"Hey," Lucy smiles, "It's nice to meet you, Camila. Why're you cutting class?"
"Didn't want to get yelled at," Camila shrugs, "I would've been late."
"Makes sense," Lucy agrees, "so... Mani tells me we're bringing the class to you today. Calculus to be specific."
Camila groans. She'd never been good at math, and this is a dream, anyway. She shouldn't have to do math in a dream. She's going to wake up soon, anyway. Once she makes friends with Lauren. "Screw calculus."
Normani grins. "You know, Camila? I think we're going to be good friends, because now I don't feel obligated to help you with your math. And I suck at math."
"Dinah's great at math, though," Camila comments, forgetting that Dinah and Normani don't talk, "she'd be able to do it all for me."
"Dinah?" Normani asks her, and Camila frowns. "Is she a friend of yours?"
"Yeah," Camila nods in reply, "she's my best friend."
Lucy smiles at her. "Well... do you and your friend want to come to a party this weekend?"
Camila almost turns them down. She hates parties, but she realises that it's an obvious opportunity. If Lauren's best friend and girlfriend are throwing a party, she'll probably be there. Besides, her Lauren loves parties. Maybe this Lauren will too.
"Sure," Camila smiles, "we'll be there."
-
She tells Dinah about the party at the first opportunity she gets. She expects her friend to roll her eyes and make more comments about how she's trying to get a girl who's taken, but instead, Dinah grins at her.
"You're the best, Walz," Dinah announces, and Camila feels like she's been kicked in the stomach. Hearing Dinah say things like that hurts a lot, because she knows she's not going to say them again. "I could kiss you right now."
"Uh..." Camila backs away a little, "no offence, China, but I'm not into you like that."
"Nope, you're into Jauregui," Dinah points out, and Camila knows that her lie is going to bite her in the ass. "But I'm overlooking the fact that this is probably part of some weird scheme to make her notice you because you've gotten us an invite to a bomb ass party."
Camila shakes her head. "It's not a weird scheme. I literally just ran into Normani and Lucy, and they invited us. Don't make it weird."
"You already made it weird by befriending the other woman," Dinah rolls her eyes, "I don't know where your usual social awkwardness has gone, but I'm appreciating it a lot."
"It's not a big deal, okay?" Camila sighs. "I'm not going to try and split them up. I've seen how happy Lucy makes Lauren and... I like seeing her happy. She used to look at me like that, but-"
Dinah interrupts her. "What? When have you ever spoken to Jauregui?"
Realising her slip up, Camila shakes her head quickly and tries to make amends. "No, that's not what I meant, I mean... she used to be single, so she could've looked at me like that. You know?"
"That's not what you meant," Dinah corners her, and Camila has no idea how to talk her way out of this. "Whatever you're hiding, stop it. I'm your best friend and I'm fucking worried. Just talk to me, please?"
Camila huffs and rests her head in her hands. "You wouldn't believe me if I did. I wouldn't believe me."
Dinah puts a comforting arm around her. "Try me. I trust you, Chancho."
"You'll think I'm crazy," Camila warns her, and honestly, if she wasn't so desperate to rant at someone, she wouldn't be saying this at all. "If you really want me to tell you... promise you won't laugh?"
"Promise," Dinah says, pulling her towards the cafeteria doors, "let's go somewhere more private. And Walz? I already think you're crazy, so there won't be any harm done."
Dinah leads her into a deserted classroom, and sits on the teacher's desk. Camila leans against another desk and sighs. "Don't laugh when I tell you this."
"I won't, jeez," Dinah rolls her eyes, "come on, Walz. Just spill already."
Camila sucks in a deep breath and nods. "I'm dreaming."
Dinah blinks at her. "Uh... what?"
"Like, right now," Camila continues, "I'm dreaming. None of this is real."
Dinah stares at her for a moment and laughs. "Okay, clearly you've watched too many conspiracy theory videos. This is real, Chancho. We're not in some weird version of The Sims."
"No, I don't mean like that," Camila persists, fully aware of how crazy she sounds. "Like, this isn't my life. I don't- I went to sleep one night and woke up here, and I'm sixteen and in school and you, Ally and Mani are in Miami and everything is wrong."
Dinah looks at her like she's grown another head, and when she opens her mouth to speak, Camila cuts her off.
"Just hear me out, okay?" Camila says, and Dinah nods slowly. "Okay. Well, alright, so... I'm nineteen. For starters. But that's literally the tip of the iceberg. You, me, Ally, Normani and Lauren- yes, Lauren Jauregui – are in a girl group. Like, a famous one. We all met on the X Factor and we were put together in a group. Didn't win, we came third, but out of all the acts on that season, we were the most successful. Like, we have millions of fans. From everywhere.
"The night I feel asleep and woke up here... I left," Camila slowly replies, "the group, I mean. To be a solo artist. You were the only one I was still on relatively good terms with, and you're from California. Not Miami. Only Lauren and I are from here. But I woke up here and Ally's baking cookies for me and Normani is being nice to me and Lauren's super quiet and elusive instead of dorky and cute and she's still dating Lucy and everything is so weird."
After a long silence, Dinah finally speaks. "You haven't... smoked anything weird, right?"
"Dinah," Camila sends her a pleading look, "you promised you'd believe me and you wouldn't laugh. I'm not going crazy, and I know it sounds like I am, but I'm not. I just woke up here."
"I mean... I'm not laughing," Dinah carefully replies, "but... it's just- not what I expected. I don't think anyone could expect that."
"I know," Camila mumbles, "I know it's crazy. But you have to believe me. You said it yourself, I've been acting differently. That's because I'm not sixteen. I'm nineteen and this is all a dream and I'm going to wake up feeling better but I don't know why my subconscious is torturing me like this because I miss you guys so much."
"You- uh, miss us?" Dinah frowns. "Like... me and Ally?"
"And Mani and Lauren," Camila finishes, "you were my best friend. Lauren was... something. Mani and Ally stopped being my friend a long time ago. And none of you will pick up my calls. I deserve it, too. But I don't deserve this."
"Okay, look, Walz," Dinah pulls her in for a tight hug, "I admit that you've been acting different since yesterday. But this is... too much. Because I know this isn't a dream. You've been my best friend since we were five-"
"No, I haven't," Camila protests, "I've been your best friend since we were fifteen. We met four and a half years ago."
Dinah pulls away and sends her a comforting smile, "Look... I don't think you're totally crazy, okay? Have you hit your head or-"
"No," Camila interrupts, shaking her head, "I just woke up after- after I officially left the group. I miss when things were good between us all, you know? When Mani and Ally were like my sisters. When you and I were closer than ever. When- when Lauren... when we would hang out in my bunk and watch movies and- and kiss in the boring parts. I even miss Lauren's gay panic. Just... everything."
"Okay," Dinah lets out a long sigh, "god, I'm probably going to be branded as crazy too, but... I believe you, alright?"
Camila looks up in surprise, her eyes wide, "You- you do?"
"Yeah, Walz," Dinah squeezes her hand, "I believe you. And... if you need any help... I'm here."
Camila jumps on Dinah and gives her the tightest koala hug she's ever given. "I love you, Dinah Jane Hansen."
"Jeez, cool it with the affection," Dinah shoves her off with a reserved smile, "but I love you too, Chancho."
-
I JUST MISS CAMINAH SO MUCH OKAY LIKE I GENUINELY THOUGHT THAT DINAH WOULD WISH CAMILA A HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND IM STILL SAD SHE DIDN'T OK BYE