The party at the Alpha Sigma Phi frat house was in full swing by the time Camila decided to step out. She denied her Big's request for her to stay, Chelsea trying to convince Camila to have a few drinks and let loose, because that's what a good Big does and what kind of Sorority sister would the girl be if she didn't try to convince her underage Little to get slightly intoxicated at the first big party of the year, but Camila insisted she had to leave and Chelsea gave in and let her go with a hug and her first real piece of sisterly advice.
"Don't let the Sorority eat you alive, don't let it swallow you and make you forget there are more important things outside of Alpha Delta Pi and more important people."
On the tour of the Greek Village, Camila had confided in Chelsea about her fight with Lauren and though she had been mad at the beginning of the tour, by the end she realized that maybe, just maybe Lauren's fear of being forgotten wasn't as misplaced as Camila thought. Rush week had been a blur and pledging Alpha Delta Pi while at the same time trying to get a grip on her University classes, Camila had allowed her relationship with Lauren to take a back seat. She barely knew what Lauren had been up to for the past week because she had been so immersed in her new found freedom and lifestyle. So maybe this argument wasn't Lauren's fault at all.
She took a few minutes, admittedly not long, to try and find Normani and Dinah to say goodbye. She had lost them in the crowd somewhere between the limbo competition and the conga line, but she knew they were having fun so she just sent Dinah a quick text and headed out of the Alpha Sigma Phi house pretending not to notice the hoots and hollers from various Frat brothers who were checking her out as she walked by.
Camila also ignored the weird look that the woman behind the counter gave her when she walked into the flower shop dressed in tight white shorts and her azure blue t-shirt that had been cut into a crop top, showing off Camila's abs Alpha Delta Pi written across it in white with the Greek symbol below it. Honestly, for anyone who didn't know that Rush week had just ended, Camila looked weird with her hair down in messy curls and a azure blue and white flower crown adorning her head, the colours complimenting the jewels stuck on her face, outlining her eyes. Making a beeline to the sunflowers, Camila picked out the nicest one and brought it to the counter, paying the woman who was still giving her weird looks as she handled Camila back her change.
As planned, Camila stopped to pick up pizza on the way home, ordering it before she left the party so that she wouldn't have to wait once she got to the pizza parlour, the want and need to get back to Lauren as quickly as humanly possible at the forefront of her mind.
When she got home, she balanced the flower on the pizza box and adjusted her book bag on the shoulders as she fumbled with the keys in an attempt to open the apartment door without causing to much noise. She succeeded in doing so, Lauren hadn't even looked up from her books when Camila walked in, she had her headphones in and her Art text open in front of her while she wrote in her notebook, laptop sitting on the coffee table. She was sitting cross legged on the couch, her back against the arm and Camila couldn't help but notice that Lauren had never looked more to her like a university student than she did in that moment. She had on her reading glasses, new ones that Camila vaguely remembered Lauren telling her she ordered and her hair was in tight curls, a style she had never seen Lauren wear before and Camila assumed Lauren had been bored before classes and decided to try something new, but what stuck out the most was how dark Lauren's hair was, she had seen it that dark before, but the summer had faded out the black dye back to a brown hue and Camila wondered when Lauren dyed it and why she was just noticing it now. With guilt for her lack of attention paid to Lauren over the last week, Camila set her book bag by the door and slipped off her Converse before making her way towards Lauren. The green eyed girl finally looked up as Camila placed the pizza box next to Lauren's laptop and she watched as Lauren pulled the headphones from her ears and looked up at Camila. Noting the red tint to the skin around Lauren's eyes, Camila realized she had been crying so she silently leaned down and pressed a kiss to Lauren's cheek, handing her the sunflower.
"I'm sorry," Camila whispered as she pulled back, her breath hot on Lauren's skin. "You look so beautiful. Your hair is dark again, I like it."
"I dyed it a few days ago," Lauren mumbled as she dropped her gaze down to her lap and Camila sighed sadly because she hadn't meant to ignore Lauren or make her feel like she didn't matter, but yet she had. Camila bit her lip and reached down to pick up Lauren's text and her notebook, sliding them down the length of the couch so she could sit in front of Lauren, mirroring her fiancée's cross legged position.
"I ignored you this week," Camila said softy and Lauren just shrugged, trying to play it off like it wasn't a big deal, but Camila knew it was. "I got caught up in pledging and I got caught up in my classes and I ignored you and that wasn't fair. I am so sorry, Lauren."
Lauren took a breath, chewing on her bottom lip before she lifted her head to look at Camila. "At first," Lauren began in a hushed tone. "It wasn't a big deal, because you seemed genuinely happy and it was nice to see, but then I got my haircut and you didn't notice and then I dyed it black again and you still didn't notice or say anything, then I told you I was getting new glasses the other day and when you got home all we talked about was Rush and you didn't ask to see them. It felt like you didn't care."
"I know an apology doesn't change anything," Camila said, placing a hand on the side of Lauren's face, her thumb stroking across her cheekbone. "But I am so sorry, I didn't mean to get caught up and-"
"I couldn't sleep."
"I know," Camila sighed. "I didn't know that was why, and-"
"You didn't ask."
"I know," leaning forwards, Camila rested her forehead against Lauren's and stared into tired eyes. "I'm so sorry, I'm sorry I didn't notice your hair cut or that you dyed it and I'm sorry I didn't ask about your glasses, which I love by the way, and more than that I'm sorry you couldn't sleep because I made you feel less important than everything else I was doing." Lauren nodded her head sadly and Camila pulled back just enough to be able to connect her lips with Lauren's, hoping to ease some of Lauren's pain. "Chelsea, my Big, told me to remember there is life outside of Alpha Delta Pi, she told me I was wrong for treating you like you were second place and she was right, I was so wrong this week in how I acted towards you and I didn't even realize I was doing it and that makes it so much worse, but I've been thinking a lot and I have an idea."
"An idea?"
Camila let out a small laugh when Lauren's nose scrunched up, showing her confusion, but she nodded for Camila to continue talking as she reached up a hand and starting poking at the jewels on Camila's face. "They're itchy," Camila whispered, causing a smile to form across Lauren's face. "But Dinah literally glued them to my skin and I'm worried they may never come off."
"They make you look like a mermaid."
"They make me feel like a moron."
Lauren threw her head back and laughed, before moving to place the flower Camila had bought her on top of her computer. "Thank you for the flower by the way, I really appreciate it," she told Camila as she grabbed at the box of pizza, pulling it closer.
"It's the least I could do," Camila admitted. "I feel horrible, I really, honestly did not mean to hurt your feelings."
Nodding her head, Lauren gave Camila a smile and shrugged, "Can you tell me about your idea?"
"Of course," Camila said quickly, watching Lauren flip the lid on the box of pizza open, taking a slice and handing it to Camila before getting one for herself. "I'm gonna be busy, between working at the bookstore on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings and with my classes and the Sorority events and meetings, but I know you'll be busy too, with work and your own classes and the gallery thing I overheard you telling Ally and Normani about, which by the way I want details on." Lauren said nothing, she just bit into her pizza and let Camila talk. "We are both going to be busy, but I don't want our relationship to take a back seat because of it, I don't want to feel like we're going backwards because our schedules won't allow us to move forwards, so I have a proposal."
"And that would be?"
The curiosity in Lauren's voice was clear and in Camila's mind, completely endearing, so she swallowed the mouthful of pizza she had been munching on and continued. "Sunday, I want Sunday to be our day. No school work, unless it's absolutely necessary for us to study, but if one of us is studying so is the other, we do it together. No Dinah, no Normani, no Ally. No Sorority and no work, just us. We can sleep in and make breakfast together when we wake up, we can go to galleries or the mall or the beach, or stay inside all day in our pajamas and watch movies. Talk, catch up on what we've missed through the week, things we didn't get a chance to talk about or share. Sunday will be our day. You and I."
"Every Sunday?"
"Every Sunday."
"No matter what?" Lauren asked hopefully and Camila nodded with a smile on her face.
"No matter what," she confirmed. "So what do you think?"
"I want twenty minutes every night before bed too," Lauren added. "Twenty minutes to give each other a brief overview of our day."
"How about twenty minutes, each."
"That sounds perfect," Lauren agreed. "Thank you and I'm sorry for just assuming you forgot about our plans tonight."
Camila let out a sad laugh and swallowed, tilting her head to the side. "I didn't exactly give you a reason to think I remembered, so I completely understand. I'm sorry, Lo."
"It's okay."
"It isn't," Camila challenged as she leaned in. "But thank you for saying it is," Lauren closed the gap when Camila stopped talking, revelling in a moment so sweet being shared between them before she pulled back.
"We had our first real issue as an engaged couple," Lauren noted. "I think we handled it well."
"We are mature adults," Camila joked, causing Lauren to laugh loudly and shake her head. "But I have a question."
"Shoot."
"Do mature adults get high and pig out on pizza while watching Orange is the New Black?"
"Well I mean," Lauren shrugged. "If we added a couple glasses of wine to class it up, I think that it would be a perfectly acceptable way for two mature adults to spend their night."
---
Dinah: This party is getting crazy! You're missing out, Chancho!!
Camila: I'm glad you're having a good time, but I'm with Lauren and that's better than any party
Camila: Picture MSG attached
Camila: My happy place in a single photo
Dinah: You're so cheesy, but tell Lauser I say she's a total babe
Camila: Will do! Have a good time Cheechee, behave
Dinah: I think we've surpassed the art of behaving when Mani and I started doing body shots
Camila: Oh boy, do you two have a ride home?
Dinah: Ally is gonna pick us up when she's done her date night with Hannah
Camila: Okay, good! Night China
Dinah: Night Walz