I groggily roll to my side, wiping my eyes when I see the time. 5 a.m. Lovely. Time to get ready for school. I don't really want to get ready for school because I don't want to go.
The week's almost done, anyway. Can't the universe cut me some slack?
I'm about to give into sleep's calling when I hear my phone beep with a notification. I blink my eyes open and grab my phone.
The bright screen hurts my eyes in the dark but I pry them open because it's from Lauren.
Right now: Emerald Eyes: Sleepyhead, you want to walk to school with me? I'll be ready in 5?
I inwardly groan, crinkling my nose and squeezing my eyes shut. I don't want to go to school but I want to walk with Lauren because... well, Lauren.
My phone: I don't want to go to school. Why don't you just come over and we can sleep together?
I send it and the second I do, I regret it. I immediately type a follow-up text.
My phone: Not like that. Like, rest together because waking up at 5 a.m for school is hard.
Oh god. I should really make a note that tells me that sleepy-Camila isn't the best at speaking her words and shouldn't be allowed her phone.
My phone vibrates with another message a minute or so later.
Right now: Emerald Eyes: As much as I would love to, it's Thursday. Come on, it won't be that bad. Meet me outside.
Much to my displeasure, I get out of bed. Blindly, I peel my clothes off and grab a shirt and some pants. I don't know if they match or not but I don't really care.
I wobble down the stairs, fixing my hair as I stumble. Shoving my lunch bag into my backpack, I head out the door.
The cold air hits my face and I grimace. I see Lauren standing behind the step, like she was just about to step up. She's typing something on her phone.
"Good morning." I grumble, shutting the door behind me.
Lauren lifts her eyes and smiles when she sees me. She stops typing and puts her phone away.
"Good morning, Camz." She grins but her smile falters when she sees my clothing choices. "What are you wearing?"
"Umm," I say, looking down at my mint green shirt and gray jeans. "Clothes?"
Lauren laughs softly, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Here." She takes her backpack off, sliding her jacket off and handing it to me. "Keep it."
I take the jacket, looking it over. It's black and on one side of it it has the words 'The 1975' in white block letters. On the back, it's the cover for their newest album.
"All day?" I ask, dropping my backpack and slipping the jacket on my body to hide my green shirt. I zip it up, feeling much warmer.
"However long you'd like." Lauren shrugs and before I can say 'thank you', she gestures to the sidewalk. "Come on, school starts in thirty minutes."
"Not more walking." I complain, jutting our my bottom lip.
"You're so stubborn at 6 a.m." Lauren smiles faintly. She opens her arms and at first, I'm thinking she is asking for a hug but then she says, "I'll carry you but you can't complain for the rest of the day."
I narrow my eyes at the girl. "For the whole day?" She nods and I sigh. "Fine."
She picks me up so my legs are wrapped around her waist and my arms are snaked around her neck. She holds onto me by my thighs and I rest my face in her neck.
I could sleep here if I had enough time.
My backpack sags uncomfortably on my back but other than that, it's quite nice. Lauren's arms feel safe; like home. I smile against her her skin.
"Okay, sleepyhead, what time did you fall asleep?" Lauren asks, her raspy voice in my ear making me shiver, despite her warm jacket.
"I don't know." I scoff, shutting my eyes. "Some time around ten, I think."
"Not too late, that's good." Lauren says in response.
"What time did you go to sleep?" I echo the green eyed girl's question.
"My mom tells me to go to bed at nine." Lauren briskly replies.
"Your mom?" I furrow my eyebrows, blinking my eyes open.
"Yeah." Lauren drawls, a hard edge to her tone.
"Do you guys get along?" I mumble, afraid of the answer.
Lauren laughs but it's humorless and brittle. "No, we don't get along. My parents... they don't see things like we do. My mom hates me. My dad... puts up with me."
I frown, my features dropping with concern. "Why?"
"They're stupid." Lauren says simply. "It's because we fight a lot. All the time, actually."
"What do you guys fight about?"
"Something that happened last year." Lauren sighs, grasping onto me tighter. I'm pretty sure it's for comfort. "They still bring it up."
"What happened?" I ask.
"Something that cost me a few friends." Lauren sighs but then shakes her head. "But it's in the past now."
"I can't believe your parents hate you." I murmur disbelievingly. "How could anyone hate you? It's crazy."
"When you really think about it, it's not that crazy. A lot of people strongly dislike me." She says it like it doesn't matter; like she's used to it.
That's the saddest part.
"I'll never hate you." I promise her, lifting my head to kiss her cheek gently.
"Thank you." Lauren whispers, humming softly. I rest my head back down, pressing my face against her neck. "It means a lot."
"Of course. You're incredible. I don't know what your parents see." I crinkle my nose at the idea of Lauren going home to a family who doesn't like her. It's terrible.
"I know exactly what they see." Lauren sighs. "And it's not their daughter."
The amount of pain in her words makes my heart break. I frown unwillingly and hug her neck tighter. I can feel her heart beating against mine. This is how it should always be.
"Lauren..." I exhale slowly, nuzzling my face farther into her neck. She relaxes somewhat and that makes my heart skip a beat.
I wonder if she can feel it, too.
The bell dings as we approach the school. We don't meet up with Dinah or Normani but I do see that Dinah notices us over Lauren's shoulder and gives me a pointed look. Then a hint of amusement graces her lips as she disappears with Normani into the crowd.
"Do you want me to carry you into english?" Lauren asks into my ear, entering the building. I can see the doors be forgotten behind us as we stroll forward.
"Mhmm." I nod, humming under my breath. Lauren doesn't respond, she just turns into the correct corridor to travel to Mrs. Gomez's classroom.
"I want to change seats in english. Sitting by Luis gets tiring, he's such a vanilla character; hits on every girl he sees and still can't get a girlfriend except for the pathetic hooks up he can pay for occasionally." Lauren complains and I can imagine her rolling her perfect eyes.
The thought of any guy or girl, for that matter, touching Lauren makes my blood boil. I hate the idea of anyone flirting with her—making any moves. Instinctively, I grasp onto the back of her shirt protectively.
My little heart decides to pipe up from in my ribcage in its tiny voice. Why don't you just make a move on her yourself? Ugh, I'm just going to leave my heart out of this. Or, at least, try.
"I see the happy couple is flaunting around the hallways." Austin's voice makes me nauseous.
Lauren doesn't stop walking, she keeps strolling forward at the same pace as before but I do feel her heartbeat spike. "You're lucky I'm holding Camz or else you'd be looking uglier than usual."
"Yeah, sure." Austin scoffs, keeping up with us. "You're all bark, no bite, Jauregui. Set your precious girlfriend down and show me your worth."
"Get a life." Lauren chuckles dismissively, but I can hear the hint of fear in the background of her voice. I plant a soft reassuring kiss below her ear, subtle enough for Austin not to see but just enough so she can feel it.
"Take your own advice. See? No worth." Austin narrow his eyes when Lauren doesn't show him up. He's practically asking for it.
"I may have no worth, but Camz does, so if you could please let us pass. Thank you." Lauren sneers, trying to shoulder her way past Austin. It doesn't work, however, because he is like a wall.
"Not on my watch." He rolls up his sleeves, balling his hands into fists. "Own up."
He begins to corner us, his eyes smoking with anger. I'm not sure why he's so angry; because he is jealous that Lauren holds my affection and he doesn't? Upset that Lauren is apparently gay? Who even says she is? But, damn, I hope she is.
Austin is about to speak again—and he claims that Lauren is all bark, no bite—when a familiar, cheery voice sounding very angered says from nearby.
"Why can't we all get along?"
Thank god, it's Ally. She's normally slightly late most days and I'm so glad one of those days is today. One day last week, she explained that her problem is that her alarm will ring and she'll turn it off but then just fall right back to sleep.
When Austin doesn't respond or do anything, Ally continues. "Back off my friends, Austin." She squints her brown eyes. "Don't think I don't hear your nasty words. We all do. But no one truly cares so get out of here before you start caring."
It may be Ally's tiny person or maybe just her sudden appearance but Austin does back away from Lauren and me. I feel my spirits soar and flash a huge grin over to Ally who doesn't notice it because she has her eyes glued on Austin.
"You're too small to beat me in a fight." Austin says, most likely trying to convince himself.
"And you're smart enough to score higher than Lauren on a test." Ally retorts, glaring daggers at the taller boy. Austin gulps and scrambles off in the opposite direction.
"Thank you." Lauren lets out a sigh of relief and I can feel her cheeks against my face grow into a large smile. "It means a lot."
"Nah, it as nothing. He's a total jerk, anyway. Deserves it." Ally shrugs, dipping her head before heading off to class.
Lauren and I finish our walk to english, sneaking in before the second bell rings; signifying that anyone who isn't in class yet is tardy or late.
I can see Lucy glowering at Lauren when she sets me down in my seat. I give her a shy smile before she waves goodbye and moves to sit by Luis. I watch as he gives her a nasty smirk, his eyes roaming places I'd rather not have them be.
Lucy has her eyes on me; I can feel them. But whatever they might hold for me, may it be passion, love, lust, or even sorrow, isn't important right now. All that matters is how Luis is talking with Lauren, his body too close for comfort and his motives making me nauseous.
Maybe I should listen to my heart for once. I mean, it's basically screaming in my chest, using my ribcage as prison bars as it bangs itself against them.
Flirt-Ville, here I come.
-~-
It's the middle of science period and I have yet to make a move on Lauren. She just looks so content, her pencil moving flawlessly across her paper with her one earbud in. Her eyebrows are gently knitted tighter in concentration, her bottom lip being pulled in between her teeth.
Her eyes glow in a certain way under her dark brown hair; a mixture of focus and confusion. Honestly, it's pretty hot. Realizing that I haven't even started my work, I decide it's pointless and I should start flirting.
About time, I know.
I clear my throat before scooting my tall chair closer to Lauren. "Hey," I crack a small smile.
Lauren smiles softly, her eyes changing from focused and confused to attentive and soft. "Hi." She hums, her eyes now fixed on me.
"Uh, I just had a question about number one." I say, scooting slightly closer. Just enough so she won't notice but I definitely do.
"Yes?" Lauren asks, peering down at my paper.
"What does chemical mean?" I blurt out, not really thinking because of how close the green eyed girl is. Lauren's features turn confused briefly but then they relax.
"You're such a jokester, Camz." She giggles softly, going to go back to work on her paper but I grab her arm gingerly to get her attention. I slowly slide my hand down to her's.
"Can't you, at least, explain it?"
Lauren furrows her eyebrows slightly before nodding. "Of course." She hums slowly. "Uh, so a chemical—"
"Sorry, what?" I cut her off, faking confusion. "I can't really hear you."
"Oh, sorry." Lauren scoots her chair closer so now our legs can touch under the table. "Okay, so a chemical is compound or substance that's been purified or prepared, especially artificially."
"Artificially means...?" I trail off, gesturing with my words to another question.
"Well, artificial is something that occurs when the help of people, not naturally. So artificially is the same, just with a suffix. It's also an adjective so it's how to describe something." Lauren sums up. "Make more sense now?"
"Yeah..." I drawl, picking up Lauren's band slowly. She watches our hands whole time. "So if someone were to wear fake nails, they'd be artificial?" As I say this, I'm caressing Lauren's fingertips gently with the inside of my palm.
"Y-yeah." Lauren gulps, nodding rapidly. She seems nervous at my touch.
"Okay, yeah, it makes sense now. Thank you." I smile, letting go of Lauren's hand slowly. She doesn't immediately pull it close to her, which I suppose is a good sign.
"Of course. Anything, anytime."
I notice her face falls as she says this and a strand of her dark brown hair loosely hands over her right eye.
"You okay?" I hum, planting my hand on her forearm. But this time, is isn't meant for flirting; it's genuine concern.
"It's... it's nothing." Lauren shakes her head, chewing on her bottom lip. "Just a stupid thought."
"Nothing that comes out of you could be stupid. Tell me." I coax softly, boring my eyes into her's. But I don't do it to be intimidating, I do it with worry.
Lauren sighs, glancing over to meet my gaze for a spilt-second. "Fine." She murmurs, tangling her hands in her hand while her elbows are on the table.
She doesn't speak right away, so I give her time. Her eyes fix intently on something in the distance; visible or not. She then opens her plump lips.
"Do you trust me?"
That's all she asks. Four simple words have my heart pounding. Her eyes meet mine and they don't leave this time. Her face is turned toward me and I feel like I'm in the spotlight. Her spotlight.
"What?" I cough, furrowing my eyebrows ever so slightly.
"That's what I'm worrying about; if you trust me or not." Lauren says sadly, doubt flickering in her emerald eyes.
"Lauren," I hum assuringly. "Of course, I trust—"
"Don't lie. I hurt you before and now we are hanging around again like nothing happened." Lauren whispers, getting closer. "I told you to go away. That you didn't matter to me. How can you trust me after I said those things to you? How could you even trust me when I just explained chemicals?"
"Because you said you didn't mean them." I say, shaking my head at her accusations. I croak the rest, "You didn't mean them, right?"
"Of course, not! I would never mean those things. You're incredible, Camz. I just... I'm confused and scared. I need to know, truthfully, do you trust me?"
I know that my honest answer is that, yes, I do trust her; how could I not? But she won't see it like that. She'll think I'm lying.
"Meet me at the park after school."
"What?" Lauren's sounds stunned with confusion because this wasn't one of the answers.
"Meet me at the park after school." I echo my words from before. School gets out early today for teacher meetings so that's perfect for today.
"Which one?"
"The one opposite of the way to school. The one with the forest outlining the edge." I respond.
Lauren nods. "Alright. What time?"
"One o'clock on the dot."
__
A/N: hallo! I'M SORRY. It's been, like, 8 or 9 days since I updated. I've been busy. School is a lot, the stupid update for the iPads, and the fact that I didn't write at all the last two days. I had things to do that were very important. It was my friend's birthday and then Stranger Things season two came out.
So, I'll really try to make it in under 6 days next time. But if you enjoyed this chapter anyway, please star it. Thank you so much and have a magical day! I love you! :)
~StrangeBlob
(P.s: I didn't edit this because it's eight or nine days late so if you see any mistakes, let me know. Thank you!!)