(AN Y'ALL 100K. SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!! When I first started this fic, I honestly didn't think it would reach this far. I wanna thank Fifth Harmony (OT5 foeva) for existing cause without them, I wouldn't have anything to write about 😂 && everyone who read this and stuck with me. Y'all the real MVP. So here's an update to celebrate!)
The traffic crawled up the hill, a turtle could've moved faster than the cars that were barely moving. Two lines of vehicles, each were capable of surpassing over 100 kilometres were going barely over 20 kilometres every other minute.
In each car, the driver sat with the radio on that played their favourite songs or the news, trying to find out the source of the congestion. Some talked on cell phones or texted.
Eventually, the traffic stopped moving. Persons stepped out of their cars, sighed in frustration and sat on the hood of it; waiting to get back onto their way.
Sirens were heard, but no ambulance was seen. It was just another day in the city. One person's misfortune became the inconvenience of the many.
After about half an hour, realizing she would be going nowhere; Lauren Jauregui stepped out of her Jaguar and slammed the door in frustration, she leaned up against her car, running her hands through her hair; which she now removed from its ponytail, she sighed heavily.
Unknowingly to her, someone was watching her from a car away.
She stayed like that for 15 minutes until she grew impatient, pushing off her car, she stuck her head back into her vehicle and honked it's horn.
"For fucks sake. Hurry up and clear the damn roads!" she yelled in frustration and kicked her car tire.
"You okay there, Miss?" the person asked as they stepped out of their old, run down red sedan.
The woman turned her head to come face to face, with a gorgeous brown eyed brunette. If Lauren hadn't been so madly in love with Camila, she would've definitely tried to get the woman's number.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She grumbled. "Not like we're stuck in traffic that isn't even moving," she gestured with her hands. "Some people have places to be."
"I'm not blind. I can see that we're stuck in traffic," she chuckled which caused the green eyed girl to scoff. "You're not very patient aren't you?" she asked smirking.
"Do I know you?" Lauren asked ignoring the woman's question. She was clearly annoyed that she was being spoken to. She hadn't even had her morning coffee and she wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone.
The brunette laughed. "Nah, you don't." Lauren took her eyes off the woman; she saw that people were starting to get back into their, maybe the road was being cleared up. The CEO breathed a sigh of relief and turned to enter into her car. "But I know you," she said softly.
The green eyed woman hadn't heard it, just like everyone else, she was going to head back into her car, but she was stopped by the strange woman.
"I have this for you," she said as she pulled an envelope out of her pocket and handed it to Lauren who looked at it in confusion.
She furrowed her eyebrows. "Who...who gave this to you?"
The woman just smiled, patted the CEO gently on the back, before getting back into her red sedan. "You're smart, Lauren. Act like it." She winked at her before driving off.
Lauren stared at the envelope for a few seconds before the blowing of horns caused her to realize just where she was. She got into her vehicle and drove off until she reached somewhere she could've pulled off the road.
Lauren tore the envelope open and pulled out the letter from it.
Dearest Lauren,
I'm sorry if you're getting confused but as I said before...it would be worth it. There's a special place that you must go to, where you put your happiness aside and spent the day doing something you never imagined that you would be doing...especially on Halloween.
Signed,
Back to December
"What does all this bullshit mean?" she crumpled the paper and slammed her fist against the steering wheel. "I'm not in the mood for games."
She tumbled the ignition and the car roared back to life.
Lauren got back onto the highway, her foot on the gas, as she sped, weaving in and out of cars. She got to a private road, which was literally in the middle of nowhere; again, she pulled aside and took out her phone.
"Wassup, Lauser?" Dinah's voice boomed through the speakers of the iPhone. "I can't believe you're calling me. I feel so special."
The green eyed woman rolled her eyes. "Dinah, do you remember your family's cottage near Lake Harmony?"
"Yeah I do. I haven't been there in a while though. Why are you asking?" There were muffled voices in the background that the older woman couldn't quite make out. "Guys! Shut up!" Dinah whisper-yelled.
Lauren chose to ignore her friend's last statement. "I was um - wondering if I could head on there. But I don't have a key. Do you think the security would let me in?" she queried.
The Hansens, had bought a little cottage near Lake Harmony many years ago; so whenever it was the holidays; both families would go there and spend some time together, occasionally it would be the group of friends along with Lauren's younger sister.
They hadn't been back there in years, the last being Halloween many years ago. Over the years, as the women grew up, they chose to go clubbing instead of spending time in the outdoors.
"Why do you want to go there? It's been years." Dinah asked.
Lauren sighed heavily. "Listen, can I go or not? I'm not in the mood to explain to you every little aspect of my life."
"Well...I guess you can try." She sighed, "Just tell the security that I gave you permission."
"Okay. Thank you. Bye." She didn't wait for a response; she hung up and drove off. It only took a couple of minutes until Lauren came to a halt near a security booth, which had a barrier blocking the road from unwanted guests from entering.
"Hi. I'm Lauren Jauregui. I'm headed to the Hansen cottage. Dinah Jane Hansen gave me permission."
The security nodded. "Yes, Ms Hansen called a few moments ago. You may proceed." The man dressed in the security uniform stepped out of the booth, handed Lauren a key then approached the barrier, to allow her vehicle through. "Have a good evening, Miss Jauregui."
***
*Hansen Cottage*
Slamming the car door shut, Lauren pulled the cottage's key out of her pocket and jabbed it into the lock. The door opened and she entered the Lake house, to be greeted to the aroma of flowers. Dinah's family was always fond of that; it made them feel as though they were back home in Tonga.
Lauren ventured further into the room. She was hit with a sense of familiarity. This was one of the places she and Camila had spent some time together. The cottage was well kept as there were persons who came in every so often to clean it.
This cottage held a lot of memories; for Lauren especially. She walked around the living room and stopped when she came across a bowl of candy that was situated nicely under the framed photograph of both Camila and Lauren; dressed up in their costumes a few years ago. The woman furrowed her eyebrows and picked up a candy bar. The receiving of letters was starting to creep her out. She couldn't understand why someone would want to be doing this in the first place.
Shuffling was heard coming from inside. Was someone here? Dinah said she hadn't been back here in years. So how was there fresh candy in here? Everything should've been spoiled by now.
"HELLO?!" Lauren yelled out.
She placed the candy bar down and grabbed the nearest makeshift weapon; which was lava lamp. She then went to move around the cottage to see if she found anyone.
Upon opening every single door, she turned up empty handed.
There was rustling coming from outside and the green eyed woman could've sworn she saw a hooded figure staring right at her. The moment she shut her eyes and opened them back, the figure was no longer there.
Slowly, Lauren tiptoed and peered through the window.
No one was there.
"God. I must be going crazy," she muttered to herself.
The green eyed woman headed back into the living room. She stopped in front of the picture over the bowl of candy and removed it from the wall. She held it in her hands and stared at Camila. The younger version to the woman she was still hopelessly in love with, was dressed up in a Princess Jasmine outfit while, yet again, the green eyed woman was in a vampire costume.
The younger Lauren had her arm slung over Camila's shoulder, whilst the both girls were baring toothy grins. Dinah and Normani had planned a Halloween party and they sort permission from the Hansens to have it in the cottage.
Besides the girls, they invited a couple others of their college friends. A party wasn't something Camila had been looking forward to, but at the ending of the night, it turned out to be a lot better than expected.
*Flashback*
"Please don't tell me your dressing up as a vampire AGAIN, Laur," Ally rolled her eyes as she laid her costume our on her bed. She was dressing up as Cleopatra, whilst every year Lauren would go as a vampire because she claimed that Count Dracula was her alter ego. And every year, the girls would scold her and tell her that she was uncreative.
Baring fake fangs and a terrible rendition to Dracula's accent, "I'm going to drink your blood. Blah, blah, blah," Lauren dodged a pillow that her friend threw at her. "Bitch...I just so happen to love dressing up as a vampire okay. I think I look hot," she playfully flipped her hair.
"You do," Ally winked. "But it's over used," the other girl stuck her tongue out like a five year old causing the older girl to laugh. "What's your girlfriend dressing up as?" she asked smirking.
The raven haired girl playfully shoved her friend. "She's not my girlfriend. But she wouldn't tell me. Something about it being a surprise. I think Dinah knows, but she wouldn't tell me either." She pouted.
Ally sent a wink. "She's not your girlfriend yet."
Both girls had been out on a few dates so far. They were casual dates, which Camila quite enjoyed. Lauren had no intentions of rushing into anything with the brunette because she knew a relationship would be a whole new playing field and she wasn't sure if the girl was up to it as yet.
As much as she loved going on dates with the girl, Lauren wanted to make it official because she really didn't see herself wanting to be with anyone just yet. But again, she had some self restraint and wanted to ensure that Camila was okay with what was going on between them, until she took it a step further. "Let's get dressed then head downstairs and see if there's any last minute prepping we need to do."
Lauren nodded and grabbed her 'costume' and headed into the bathroom leaving Ally to change in the bedroom.
***
After thirty minutes the pair was ready and went in search of the others. People had already gathered downstairs, music was playing through the speakers; it wasn't loud enough to have to yell over the music, some of their friends were already chugging down some of the concoction that Dinah and Normani had made.
Ally swore off drinking because being the most responsible of everyone there, she wanted to ensure that everyone apart from having a good time, remained safe.
The girls spotted Normani; clad in an Egyptian 'mummy' costume, at the far end of the living room who was engulfed in conversation with this guy from her dance class; everyone and their mothers knew Normani had a crush on him, except for him of course.
The girls decided against interrupting them. Ally spotted a group of her friends when they entered through the door and she excused herself from Lauren to go greet them. A guy, who the green eyed girl had never met, came up to talk to her. His eyes were already glossed over causing the girl to wonder just how much he had to drink. He must've only got here, so it wasn't possible to be drunk already. Right?
"Wanna dance?" He asked as he removed his red solo cup from his lips. The song that was currently playing ended and switched to another more upbeat one. The guy was reeking of alcohol and even though Lauren drank; which was occasionally, she found it to be a turn off and pretended to not hear the guy hoping he'd take a hint and walk away; which eventually he did.
She thanked the gods and went to grab a drink. Dinah and Camila weren't anywhere to be seen. Sipping on her drink, she walked around and mingled with some of her friends. Lauren felt someone gently tap her shoulder and when she turned around, that was it. Her breath was caught in her throat and her jaw was practically on the floor.
"Hi," Camila said shyly when she realized Lauren wasn't going to say anything. She looked down bashfully.
"Camz..you..you look. Wow," Lauren stuttered as her eyes ran over Camila's body. The younger Cuban was dressed in a blue Princess Jasmine costume with a tiara on her head. She had a side braid to compliment the outfit. "Just..wow," the girl breathed causing the brunette to blush furiously.
A chuckle escaped one of Lauren's friends along with Dinah; who was dressed as a spy, had a shit eating grin on her face. She sent a wink Lauren's way before walking off to hang with her friends. "Real smooth, Casanova." Lauren turned to glare at her friend who smirked back in response. "What Lauren here is trying to say, 'Camz', is that you look beautiful and you left her speechless." Camila blushed even more. "I'm Alexa. It's nice to meet you."
Camila looked up to be met with brown eyes staring at her. "I'm Camila. It's nice to meet you too." They exchanged warm smiles. Lauren's friends excused themselves after chatting for a while and left the girls to talk.
The green eyed girl hadn't once said a word. She kept admiring Camila and the way she looked so effortless in such a simple costume. It was only now that she realized that everyone was dressed in rather sexual costumes except her Camila, it was a nice change. She looked adorable.
"Lauren?"
"Mmm?"
"Can you..um..can you not drink tonight?" Camila asked shyly as she was looking at the almost empty cup in the girl's hand. "I'm..not you know..comfortable being around alcohol.." she mumbled out the rest. Knowing the girl's past, Lauren nodded her head and threw away her cup without even protesting the girl's request.
They walked around and Lauren introduced Camila to someone of their guests. She noticed just how uncomfortable the young Cuban seemed and she tried to ignore it but she couldn't. The entire atmosphere was a no-no to Camila. The pungent smell of alcohol, the sweaty bodies, the loud music, it wasn't something the brunette had liked especially the alcohol. Due to her father being an alcoholic, she hated it.
"Do you want to dance?" Camila asked. She wasn't much of a dancer and she wasn't sure if Lauren was one but she wanted to make this night okay for the girl.
Growing up, she didn't have any friends, which meant she never went to any parties, so this was all new to her. She wasn't quite comfortable being around this atmosphere either, but she wasn't going to let Lauren know. Their time together, the green eyed girl was always the one making compromises and doing whatever Camila wanted. She wanted Lauren to be interested in her; even though the green eyed girl was clearly into her, the brunette was always having her doubts.
Lauren saw the hesitance when the girl asked and she smiled softly. "Camz," she shook her head. "You don't want to be here do you?"
Camila's eyes opened widely as she looked into Lauren's green ones. "I..I do..Why would you ask that?"
"Because you look so uncomfortable," she laughed softly. "Why did you agree to be here, if you didn't want to?" Lauren slipped her hand into Camila's without a warning and this was one of the few times she hadn't flinched. The brunette intertwined their hands and smiled softly when she looked down at them.
"I..I guess it's because you seemed so excited. I didn't want to ruin it for you. I don't really like parties and being around alcohol," she sighed. "I've never really did the whole Halloween thing either. So I guess I'm just not used to this."
Lauren reached out with her free hand and stroked the other girl's face. She smiled at how thoughtful Camila was being. But she mentally scolded herself for not realizing sooner that the girl wouldn't have had a good time at the party. "Can you go wait for me by my car? I'm going to go grab my keys and tell the girls we'd be heading out." She didn't wait for a response and she ran back upstairs to grab her things.
"But Lauren..." Camila furrowed her eyebrows and looked at the spot where Lauren disappeared to. She sighed and walked out of the cottage. "Why couldn't I have just kept my mouth shut?" she muttered to herself as she lent up on Lauren's Evoque. "I'm so stupid."
"No you're not," Camila jumped. "You're adorable." Lauren draped her jacket over Camila's shoulders and opened the passenger's door for the girl to get in. "And you're very sweet for wanting to come to the party even though you don't like it. But let's do something the both of us would enjoy doing, yeah?"
The girl sat in the passenger seat and watched Lauren close her car door. It was only when she entered on the driver's side, the older Cuban saw the confused expression plastered on Camila's face. "What's wrong?"
"I..I thought you wanted to be in the Halloween party?"
Lauren started the engine and drove off. "I wasn't really having a good time if I'm being honest. I spent most of the time looking for you and then when I realized you were taking forever to get dressed," she teased. "I went to mingle with some friends and continued thinking about you. It doesn't matter if I'm not at the party. I'm just glad I'm with you."
Camila felt her heart practically melt at the girl's words. They weren't girlfriends and she had no problem with whatever they were currently. Friends who had a romantic interest in each other and went out on dates?
Probably.
Slowly, she was started to feel and believe Lauren's actions when she admitted her feelings towards her. It was still hard for her to believe but she was trying. "I'm glad I'm with you too, Laur." She took her eyes off the road for a split second to look at Camila, sending her a smile, she turned back to face the road. "Where are we going?"
"Well you said you've never done the whole Halloween thing before and I mean, we're a bit too old for the trick or treating, so how'd you like to hit up a few gas stations; buy a ton of candy and we can drive around for a bit?" Lauren asked with a cheesy grin on her face. "It's practically trick or treating but just in an unconventional sense."
Camila giggled and shook her head. "You're really weird, Laur but also very sweet. I guess we can do it."
"Well we were going to do it whether you want to or not." She chuckled.
After a few minutes of driving, Lauren came to the first gas station. Initially, Camila wasn't into it but after the third gas station, she had one of the hugest smiles on her face, when they cashed the candy and left.
She may have missed out the going from house to house as a kid, but this was the next best thing, and nothing could company to doing this with her sort of girlfriend. They bought a wide variety of candy until Lauren thought it was enough because they might just be giving themselves diabetes.
***
"Okay...um I think that's the big dipper there," Lauren pointed at a random cluster of stars that looked nothing like the little dipper.
Camila giggled. "No it's not! That looks like literally nothing," she fed the other girl a piece of her crunch bar then took a bite herself. Halloween turned out to be a lot better than expected.
The couple drove around for a while, until Lauren came upon this secluded area. There were only a couple other cars in the area, so they weren't exactly alone; hopefully if they were being hacked to death, someone would see and come to their assistance.
"You couldn't let a girl pretend right?" Lauren laughed and tore open another candy bar. "Okay, I think this is my last one. I'm stuffed."
"It's literally the last one, Laur. I can't believe we ate all that," Camila looked at the wrappers they had scattered on the blanket they were sitting on. The girl took a bite from the Twix bar Lauren was holding, when she wasn't looking.
"Hey! That's mine," the Cuban stuck her tongue out. "Real mature, Camz." She laughed.
"Let me be the first to say, that this is the best Halloween I've ever had," she threw herself down to star up at the stars. The sincerity lacing her voice and the huge smile on her face, made it hard for Camila to question it, so she smiled and looked down at her lap.
They stayed in silence for a while, just enjoying the company of one another, until Lauren sat up and stared at Camila.
"You're absolutely beautiful. You know that right?" The brunette blushed furiously at the comment. "And you're even more beautiful when you act like you don't know it."
Camila took a deep breath and moved closer to Lauren, even though the girl was a few inches away. Her heart was hammering in her chest. She had never been the first person to initiate a kiss, it was always the raven haired girl but tonight, when words failed her, she knew the next best thing she had to do.
Camila brought her face closer to Lauren's, the shock was evident in the emerald eyes, but she didn't say anything.
She gently took hold of the older girl's waist, with the other hand going behind her neck; her fingers began to play with the hair at the back of Lauren's neck.
The older girl's eyes fluttered closed at the sensation and had to concentrate on what was going to happen, instead of melting at the delicious tingle Camila's fingers were sending through her body.
Each time the brunette touched her, she couldn't help but swoon. The sparks it elicited were something that words couldn't have even begun to describe.
And before she knew it, warm, soft lips were on hers and she was kissing her right back. It wasn't something either girl ever thought they would get used to, because every time they kissed, it felt like the first time all over again. Eventually, Camila pulled away leaving Lauren breathless.
She opened her eyes slowly to be met with brown ones already looking at her intently. "I adore you so much, Cabello. You have no idea." She brought the girl's hand to her lips and gently kissed each knuckle.
"I adore you too, Jauregui. So much."
*End of Flashback*
She hadn't realized she was crying until she saw the clear drops on the picture frame. Sniffling, Lauren wiped at her nose and she dried the tears from the picture.
If Lauren could've wished for anything, she would've wished to go back to that day, or simply any other day where she still had Camila in her life. It wasn't the same being here, and living her life without her.
Whoever was doing this was sure as hell making it a lot harder to move on from the girl who left and broke her heart. Maybe that was their intention. Or maybe it was just to have her hurting even more. She didn't know.
But what she did know, was that even after all these years, she still adored Camila Cabello.
***
Who do you think is playing this game with Lauren and why? I wanna hear your theories. 🤔
Hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Don't forget to comment and vote.
PS Happy Early Halloween! 🎃 👻