"We got our full packets for the camping trip today. What did your mom decide about the it?" Shawn raised a brow as he sat next to Camila in their literature class the next day, Friday.
"She said she's letting me go. Only because she wants me to get a good lab grade this semester." Camila explained, "Did you talk to her or anything recently?"
"I mean, not about the trip, no. We did talk about how amazing her sandwiches are though." Her best friend laughed and Camila felt the desk behind her shift.
"Lauren?" She questioned, turning in that direction.
"Hey, I just got here, what are we talking about?" The girl asked in a raspy voice.
"The camping trip. It's so we can get the samples we need for the inquiry lab." Shawn explained.
"Oh yeah. Sounds like fun. I hear we get to bring tents and everything?" Lauren asked.
"Yeah but that's not the only thing people bring. Last year the juniors brought a shit ton of alcohol. I'm surprised they didn't get caught." Shawn rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, they can be pretty stupid sometimes." Camila laughed.
Ms. Steinfeld closed the door to the class room and began walking back to her desk. "Okay, today we're starting our first project, so get your behind in a seat please, Mr. Foley." she raised a brow and Justin sat back down.
"Sorry teach," he smiled and sat down.
"Okay, so our project is going to be on the Trojans and the Greeks. Now that we're reading The Iliad and learning about the Trojan war it's important that you have a clear grasp on what heroes and characters contribute during the war and their respective alliances." Ms Steinfeld explained while she began to turn on the projector. "You'll be working in pairs."
Camila smiled and Shawn turned her way and brought a hand to touch hers. It was just understood that they would be partners like the had with every other project in high shool.
"However, the pairs must be of either boys or girls. Boys, you'll cover the Greeks, Girls will cover the Trojans."
Camila's smile fell and she shrugged "Next project we'll work together, I guess." Her mind began to panic a bit as she wondered who would want her as a partner, but she was interrupted when she felt a tap on her shoulder.
"Want to be my second half?" Lauren leaned forward and whispered in her ear.
Camila smiled and nodded, bringing her hand back and over her shoulder and holding Lauren's hand for a second before reaching to set up her brailler and take notes on the project.
__________
"It's awful. I'm stuck working with Justin on this stupid project. It doesn't even make sense to divide us up by gender. I'm calling bullshit." Shawn complained to Camila as they sat in the courtyard waiting for Lauren.
"Jesus, I feel bad for you. He's not the worst out of them though. Just be thankful that Brad isn't in our class." Camila laughed and nudged him.
"Camz," Lauren approached the two, "You said your parents aren't getting home until late tonight?"
Camila and Shawn stood up. "Yeah, my parents always work late on Fridays. I usually stay at my abuela's house but she had an appointment. My parents agreed to let me stay home alone for once."
"You wouldn't want to go with me to grab a bite to eat and work on the project, would you?" Lauren offered.
"I don't know that my parents would let me." Camila sighed.
"Since when did that ever stop you, Mila." Shawn gave her a gentle nudge and Camila smiled.
"I guess I don't have to tell them. That's one way to get them off my back about simple things." The brunette nodded. "I'll go."
"Awesome. There's this pretty great café by the beach my mom and I went to when we first visited here. I was thinking we could work there." Lauren offered. Camila put her hand out, feeling for Lauren's arm and held on to it as she let go of Shawn's.
"That sounds great." Camila smiled back and turned to Shawn. "I'll see you on Monday, okay? Good luck working with Justin, alright?"
Shawn laughed and sighed, "Yeah yeah, I'll do my best. You girls have fun."
Shawn walked off and Lauren looked down at Camila, who had the same blank stare forward with a smile. They only took a few steps out of the courtyard before they were stopped.
"Oh, damn I didn't know Cabello swung that way." Justin laughed.
"Damn, I couldn't have hit that before she was a lesbian? Is it too late?" Brad laughed as he waited for a response from either of the two girls who had stopped walking.
"Just don't pay any attention to them, Mila." Lauren tried to calm her down. Camila huffed and they kept walking.
The first few minutes they walked in silence. After all, Camila didn't really want to talk after being teased like that. Usually they only did it around Shawn who didn't care because they were best friends of course. Nothing could change how he felt about her. But something inside her just panicked when they made fun of her in front of Lauren. Lauren was her new friend. She didn't want her to run off just because some of the popular idiots made fun of her. Her thoughts were interrupted when the pale skinned girl beside her spoke.
"You know, you have really nice eyes." Lauren brought up suddenly. Camila raised a brow and laughed awkwardly.
"Yeah? If only they worked." She joked shyly. "They're not that nice, I hear. Everyone says blue eyes are the prettiest. But, I guess I can't say I have a preference."
"Meh, blue eyes are overrated. So are green eyes."
"Aren't your eyes green?" Camila asked curiously as she held on firmly to her arm.
"Yeah... And just how do you know that?" Lauren asked with a laugh.
"Well... Shawn talks about you a lot is all. I don't think he has that much of a crush on you but he does say you're really attractive." Camila smiled.
"Oh really? Green eyes are overrated regardless." Lauren shrugged. "Everyone says I look super intimidating because of them."
"I wish I looked intimidating. Everyone sees me as fragile." Camila shrugged.
"Well I don't think that's because of your eye color." Lauren argued.
"Yeah but my eyes do have something to do with it." The girl sighed. Lauren took a moment to try and sense what she was feeling.
"You know, I think people just want to help you sometimes. Don't be afraid to let them. Although, I do know how it feels to have an overbearing mom. Mine's one of the worst when it comes to that." She was so caught up in talking that she forgot to warn Camila about the step ahead. The brunette tripped but was able to stay on her feet and not fall over.
"Camz! I'm sorry, I just completely forgot to warn you." She apologized, helping her up.
"It's alright, you'll remember next time." Camila shrugged. She reached behind her for her back pack, where her cane was folded up. She whipped it out and let it snap together before they continued to walk and she waved the cane in front of her just in case.
__________
The two girls picked a table outside when they got to the café. Lauren did it for the view, since the sun was still up and the waves looked gorgeous splashing up against the sand. Camila did it for the sound, smell, and feel. The beach always had a certain atmosphere that made her feel at home. Ever since she was a little girl and they moved here, she always loved when her parents walked her down to the beach and she'd just lay there in the sand, fully immersing herself in the setting. Unlike every other place she'd been to, the beach had so much to surround herself with. So much to touch, hear, and smell.
"Have you seen that video of the dog going into the water the first time and..." Camila smiled awkwardly as Lauren stopped her sentence midway. "I'm so sorry I keep forgetting."
"It's alright, I get it a lot. Really don't worry about it." Camila laughed lightly.
"So uh, do you know anything about the Trojans? Cause I'm kinda lost." Lauren admitted and Camila sighed and shrugged.
"I know of the Trojan horse but thats about it." She admitted.
The waitress came to hand them their food and drinks. Lauren thanked her before looking back at Camila, who was listening to an audio book on her iPod with one ear bud in.
"Can I ask you a question? I don't know if it's rude or not, but if it is please tell me." Lauren spoke, refraining from eating.
Camila paused her audio book. "Sure, I guess."
"How long have you been like this? Blind, I mean." The raven haired girl asked as she furrowed her brow.
"Always." Camila shrugged with an innocent smile. "I was born like this." She explained further and felt to table for her plate.
"So you don't know what Shawn looks like? You've never seen his face?" Lauren asked with a small laugh, bewildered that Shawn had always seen his best friend but Camila had no clue as to what he looked like.
"Nope, never." Camila sighed in a dreamy way. "Although I have an idea of what he might look like."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, well... when I have enough physical interaction with someone I get to know more about them. I know Shawn really well. He has a sharp jaw like mine. Scratchy cheeks, he constantly has to shave. He has a big nose, I tease him about it a lot." Camila laughed.
Lauren smiled at her, admiring how close the two were. "You two really are close."
"Yeah, we've been best friends since we were 3. It kinda feels like we're soul mates sometimes." Camila smiled and then decided to change the subject. "Jesus, I really don't want to do this project."
"God, me neither." The green eyed girl sighed and continued to eat. "Hey, you know what? We should go to the movies!" She suggested. Camila's expression made her realize exactly what she said. "Shit, I did it again."
"It's fine, it's fine." She said sincerely.
"I promise I'll get better about it." Lauren sighed.
"No, no let's go. It sounds..." she looked for the right word, "fun."
"Alright then. The movies it is. There's a showing of The Lucky One at around 6. There's nothing quite like a rom com to finish off the school week right? We could finish up eating here and then go on over." She suggested with a bright smile.
"Wait... I don't have any other money on me." Camila sighed, playing with her hands on the table. "Maybe we could go tomorrow? Or another day."
"Nonsense, I'll pay for your ticket, you can pay me back on Monday if you want." Lauren admired the way the girl's face lit up as she smiled and her eye brows raised in return.
"Thanks, so much. I mean, not just for the ticket but for volunteering to work on the project with me. Even if we didn't get much done today." The tan skinned girl laughed.
"Not a problem. It's what friends do."
( a/n : I liked this chapter a lot. It was really cute in my opinion but thats probably biased since I wrote it haha. Enjoy! Sorry for typos! )