AN: just an old chapter, nothing new. IDEK why I unpublished this lol.
--_--
The loud ringing of Camila's phone wakes her up from a very nice dream -- a dream that has vanished the second her eyes opened, but she can still vaguely recall there's something predominantly green in it.
Half her face still against her pillow while her hand searches for the offending item, she grumbles and groans when she sees that it's Dinah who's calling and it's not even lunchtime yet.
"This better be good, Dinah Jane," she threatens into the phone.
"What did you do to Lauren?" Dinah's loud accusing voice sounds like a megaphone straight to her eardrum.
"Huh?"
"Mani called me, she said Lauren's brother, Chris, called her up and said that he heard Lauren crying inside her room and she won't open the door."
"What happened?!" Camila sways out of balance when she gets out of bed, panicked and concerned.
"I don't know, you tell me!"
"Why do you assume I know shit!?"
"Mani said you're the only one who has hurt Lauren's feelings since her ex, so if she's crying now, that means you had something to do with it."
"Gee, thanks for the assumption that I don't need, you guys," Camila scoffs, a little bit hurt that her best friend can so easily think the worst, as if she didn't know her all her life. "And no, I had nothing to do with it. I haven't even seen or talked to her in weeks! Why don't you ask that Liana girl she's been hanging out with!?"
"Oh... Okay. I'm sorry for accusing you."
"It's fine. Maybe I deserved it."
"Well..." Dinah starts, but Camila cuts her off.
"Oh my god, you're supposed to be my bestfriend and you can't even pretend to disagree with what I said!"
"I want a gift from Santa this year, I don't wanna lie."
Camila rolls her eyes. "News flash, Santa isn't real!"
"How dare you! Take it back!"
"I don't have time for this. Can you ask Mani for Lauren's address? I'm gonna check in on her. I didn't even know she's back home. Last time I checked, she was in Amsterdam. With that annoying girl."
She hears Dinah chuckling and muttering, but Camila is still a little groggy to care about her babbling. She thinks she hears the word jelly and she figured that Dinah's making a sandwich or something. Whatever. After Dinah promises to text her Lauren's address in a few minutes, Camila hangs up and goes straight to her bathroom to take a quick shower.
Half an hour later, Camila finds herself chatting with her Uber driver about La La Land, almost starry-eyed at the sheer romanticism of this entire situation. The conversation starts when Camila tells him that he kinda looks like Ryan Gosling, then he mentions that he has watched the movie and cried like a baby because he has just recently broken up with his girlfriend of six years.
Six years!, Camila exclaims. That's so sad, she frowns.
Not really, he shrugs. We were different people when we started our relationship... We grew apart, and sometimes, it's better to let go and look back on a past relationship with a smile on our faces, rather than force ourselves to be together for the sake of sentimentality, and end up resenting each other. It was a mutual decision, he concludes.
Camila stares at the guy. Indeed, she sees nothing but a bittersweet smile on his face as he recounts his past, and Camila couldn't imagine herself throwing something away that took years to build. She has always thought that an end of a loving relationship equates to pain and bitterness, that a relationship is meant to be forever, and not have an expiration date.
How two strangers could bond over a movie and talk about their personal lives, their versions of love and romance, how open Camila felt talking about her own confused feelings and finding no hint of judgment from the driver, for her, is kind of amazing.
It's a freeing feeling. So freeing that she feels inclined to give the guy her number when she arrives at her destination, not because she's attracted to him, but because real human connection is so rare nowadays that people should learn how to cherish it whenever they find one. And she thinks they'll be good friends.
Just as she's about to step out of the car, she turns around and says, "Well, thank you, Matthew! Solid five stars."
With a final wave, Camila turns around and her breath hitches when she sees the massive gates in front of her, the huge sprawling mansion looking like a scenic postcard in the background, and she gulps when she sees security cameras that seem to be following her when she walks towards the intercom. When a voice asks her what her business is, she introduces herself and tells him she's looking for Chris Jauregui (Normani instructed Dinah to tell Camila to look for Chris because, at this point, Lauren isn't talking to anybody).
A few minutes later, Camila is being escorted by a burly guy in all black, looking like a CIA agent on his day-off, towards the house (the word house feels like a huge understatement) in a fucking golf cart. Camila's very much aware that her mouth is hanging open while gawking at the amazing landscape around her; bushes trimmed to perfection, flowers of different varieties surrounding them -- a beautiful burst of colors that gives life to the imposing facade of the house. Trees line up in a perfect pattern, and there's a beautiful waterfall pond in the middle of the circular driveway. How fucking extra, Camila mentally scoffs.
"Where are the ducks?" Camila asks the serious-looking guy, pointing at the sparkling pond. He shrugs without even looking.
The man parks in front of the giant front doors, waits for Camila to step down, then drives off without a word, leaving Camila feeling like a child abandoned by her dad.
Before Camila could even decide whether to knock or wait for a butler to greet her, one of the door swings open and she comes face-to-face with a tall, handsome bearded guy, looking extremely charming and friendly. Without even needing an introduction, she knows this guy has to be Lauren's brother; the similarities are striking, and they both exude too much confidence and appeal.
"Hi! Camila, is it? I'm Chris. Mani said she can't come today so she's sending you instead."
He offers a hand and Camila shakes it, but Chris laughs and pulls her towards her and gives her a hug. Normally, she would have been creeped out by this, but it's a quick non-gropey hug and it surprisingly made her feel less nervous, as if she has known him for a long time. It's also amusing to see how warm he is, while Lauren almost breathed fire when they first met.
"Is Lauren okay?" She inquires politely as she steps inside.
"She's not letting anybody in, and I haven't heard a sound this past hour..."
The interior of the house is even more impressive, and it's just the fucking foyer, for god's sake!
Of course, Camila knows Lauren's family is rich (especially after Dinah educated her all about the Jauregui fame and fortune), but she never imagined they were this rich. Like her middle-class upbringing couldn't grasp the idea of such luxury even if somebody explained it to her in great details. And yeah maybe Lauren has been obsessed with Camus and Harley, and her stuff are obviously expensive-looking, but other than her car and her personalized turntable and her villa and her books, Lauren really doesn't seem to value any material things and hasn't really flaunted her wealth, so Camila sometimes forgets she's even rich. Her phone is still the same grubby-looking iPhone that's all scratched and cracked (but Lauren insists still works properly), and she hasn't even bothered buying a new car (she says that she only really cared about Camus). Lauren may be arrogant and a bit of a jerk, but Camila doesn't recall a time she has ever boasted of her family's wealth (maybe except when she dragged Austin from Philosophy class and reminded him who he's talking to). So, seeing this whole ass ostentatious wealth around her is a bit shocking.
"This way..."
Chris leads her to an elegant stairway, and a couple of doors, a turn in one corner, another staircase, and finally, they stop in front of a large door at the end of a carpeted hallway, and Camila waits for him to knock or something, but he only stands there looking at her expectantly. So she knocks tentatively, but no one answers. She turns to Chris again and she sees him shrugging and raking his longish hair with his hand -- so strikingly like Lauren -- then pulling out a key from his pocket.
"It's locked, she has been ignoring us the whole morning -- but at least I don't hear her crying anymore. Here, use this," Chris hands him the key, then retreating as if ready to flee. "I'm not supposed to use that key unless it's an emergency, but since I feel like somebody should check in on her it's considered an emergency... But I still don't wanna be the one to open the door -- get me?"
"Wait, where are you going?!" Camila asks.
"If I open that door, I might get murdered. Lo can be scary sometimes," he says. "It's why I asked for Mani's help, she's less likely to kill her friends." Chris laughs as he backs away.
"You can't expect me to just barge in her bedroom unannounced, you're her brother!"
"Um, no thank you, I value my life, Camila. The last time Lo found out I sneaked into her bedroom, she hit my head with her softball bat."
"What the fuck! That's so cruel!"
"Well, we were kids..." Chris shrugs. "Sometimes I still randomly black out and have seizures -- Mom said it's because of the head trauma..."
"Oh my god, how awful!" Camila gasps, walking towards Chris to comfort him, then frowning when he starts to laugh, his voice booming loudly in the hallway.
"God, you're too cute, Camila! I was just kidding. Well, she did try to hit me with her bat, but I outran her. Although, she got her revenge by putting dog poop inside my favorite sneakers."
So this stupid prankster shit runs in the family. Camila rolls her eyes. "I'm starting to think you deserve it," she huffs.
"Yeah I don't want that to happen again, so I'll leave you to it..." Chris slowly walks backwards as he speaks, his hands linked together behind his head. "Later!"
"Wait, Chris!" Camila gulps, but he has already disappeared into the corner, and Camila isn't too keen on trying to find her way out of this maze-like house, so she takes a lungful of breath and grits her teeth as she faces the door once again.
The way she fidgets and swallows nervously while she stares at the silver door knob with obvious trepidation one would think that she's about to open a portal to hell. Well, it's Lauren's door, so it's probably Camila's own version of hell.
After several seconds of staring blankly at the door, Camila decides that she's being stupid. Why is she even dreading anything? It's just Lauren!
"Lauren?" she calls out, her knuckles rapping at the door a couple more times.
When there's no response, Camila sighs and decides to use the key Chris gave her.
Slowly, she pushes the heavy door open and feeling like Alice sliding down the rabbit hole, except that it's a door and she's simply walking inside, Camila goes in with a little thumping of her heart. She's nervous because this isn't Room 727; this is Lauren's territory, and Camila doesn't know how Lauren acts when she's in her own turf. Like, if she can act like the world's biggest jerk in a dormitory, imagine how worse she could be in her own house? Well, she was nice when they went to her villa once, but they were with friends then.
Now, she feels like a mouse about to walk into a trap.
She tries to think of several witty comebacks she could use if ever she finds herself the recipient of Lauren's sarcasm -- because with Lauren you never know what side of her you'll get when you wake up in the morning.
She decides to keep the door open so she could make a quick escape in case Lauren chases her with a bat.
Her eyes automatically zooms in towards the center of the room -- Lauren's bed -- and she sees a human-sized lump under a lush-looking blanket. While slowly walking towards the mysterious lump she assumes is Lauren, she looks around, noting how different the ambience is from the decor she saw outside.
While the house was more along the lines of clean, modern, white, elegant, Lauren's room is the exact opposite -- messy, dark, full of character. Knowing Lauren, she probably did this on purpose just to spite her mother and make a statement. Her walls which are littered with paintings and portraits and posters are charcoal black, except for a light grey accent wall where her built-in bookshelf is in, her ceiling is a splatter of colors a la Jackson Pollock, even her sheets and curtains are black. This room definitely has more personality than the entire living room she passed by a while ago.
She would have observed a lot more but Camila hears a faint whimper coming from the mystery lump, so she walks towards the bed instead.
"Lauren?"
When she hears no answer she lifts the sheet up to take a peek and what she sees makes her heart melt just a little bit. Under the blanket, in a semi-fetal position, is a sleeping Lauren, with Nala cuddled close to her chest; her nose a little red, her eyes puffy as if she just spent a good chunk of time crying and rubbing them, her mouth slightly turned down. She's wearing headphones and Camila could hear faint sounds coming from it -- it's probably why Lauren couldn't hear her knocking and calling her.
"Lauren?" she sits on the edge of the bed as she lightly shakes Lauren's shoulder.
She stirs, but her eyes remain closed.
Camila then tugs on Nala but she feels a resistance and she sees Lauren's hands gripping Nala's legs; seconds later, Lauren's eyes snap open, her brows furrowing as if ready to glare at the person who dares try to steal Nala away from her.
"C-Camila?" Lauren squints, rubbing her eyes as if unsure whether she's seeing an apparition or not.
"Hi." Camila smiles.
"What are you doing here?" Lauren asks groggily, removing her headphones as she sluggishly sits up.
Camila notes that she's still gripping Nala quite possessively.
"Dinah called me, she said you were crying this morning? What happened?"
Then Lauren's face crumbles as she recalls what happened, her thick lashes covering her eyes as she looks down, staring into her lap, her lips quivering just a bit, and Camila wants to hug the fuck out of her.
"I killed Camren!" Lauren says in a loud whisper, as if she doesn't want to speak but she also has to force the words out of her mouth.
"What!?" Camila exclaims. "Oh my god, Camren is dead!?" She looks around in panic, expecting Camren's fishy corpse floating in its tank, but then she sees the fish still alive and swimming.
Well, it's partially hidden behind the plants and decoration, as if it's sulking, but Camila can see its tail wiggling so she's pretty sure Camren is not dead. Unless that's a totally different fish -- wait, no, it's Camren, all right, it has the same judgmental look that seems to be reserved for Camila.
"Lauren, what the hell are you talking about? Camren is alive."
Lauren sniffs, her lips are starting to tremble again as if she's gonna cry any moment, and she says in a small voice, "She physically survived, but I killed her soul!"
Camila stares at her roommate in complete confusion. "Did you take something?"
"Take what!?" Lauren snaps angrily.
"Drugs!"
"No, I didn't!"
"Not even weed?"
"No!"
"Then tell me what happened because I'm confused."
"Okay, I'll tell you!" Lauren flips her hair irritably. "You better listen coz I don't want to repeat any of this shit."
"I'm listening."
Lauren sighs.
"Okay, so I put my finger in the tank, right --just on the surface, coz I wanted Camren to kiss my finger...." Lauren starts to sniff loudly as she recalls her traumatic experience, her eyes wide like a puppy, and her lips quivering like a just-strummed guitar string. "So she kissed my finger like three times -- coz she's a good fishy and she loves me -- and on the third time I decided I had enough fish kisses, so I pulled my finger out of the tank really fast and -- and --" she whimpers again. "Little did I know, Camren has decided to hold out her kiss and so my -- my f-finger came out of the tank with her still stuck to it -- but before I could put her back in the tank she stopped holding on and -- and she -- she -- she flew to the other end of the room and I started crying and screaming and I had to dig through a pile of books and pillows and clothes to find her! A-and... And w-when --"
"Ok, breathe, Lauren... That's it, one more time, c'mon... We don't want you losing consciousness in here..."
"A-and when I found her flopping beside my jacket I-I tried scooping her up but she kept on flopping and jumping out of my palm -- because I know she's mad at me and she felt betrayed and she obviously don't want anything to do with me! -- but on my third try I managed to scoop her up and put her back in the tank... And she swam away from me and hid behind her ship -- now I think she's m-mad at me... I feel so bad..." Lauren sniffs sadly, her nose and cheeks are all pink, her eyes glimmering with unshed tears.
"Lauren, it's not your fault. It happens. My cousin Mildred had a Betta fish before, and it jumped out of its bowl one night and Mildred woke up next morning and accidentally stepped on the dead fish." Camila says in a consoling tone.
"What the fuck!" Lauren says, her voice even raspier than usual due to her distress. "That's not even remotely comforting!"
"All I'm saying is, you saved Camren. It's not your fault. It was an accident."
"Yeah, one that I'll never live down! I bet Camren will remind me forever that I killed her!"
"You didn't kill her..."
"Her soul is dead! I look at her eyes and all I see are black dots of nothingness staring back at me."
"Oh, goodness gracious, Lauren, get a hold of yourself. She has perfectly normal fish eyes!"
Lauren purses her mouth and glares at Camila, which of course makes Camila feel bad so she takes a deep breath and rubs Lauren's knee in a calming manner.
"Don't blame yourself..." Camila whispers.
Lauren frowns. "Yeah, well, I blame you!"
"Me!?" Camila puts her hand on her chest, surprised at the sudden accusation.
"Yes, you!"
"I wasn't the one dipping my fingers in her tank asking for fish kisses!"
"If you didn't give me Camren then I wouldn't even have a pet and I wouldn't care about stupid things! So it's your fucking fault for making me care!" She crosses her arms angrily, but she's also hugging Nala so she kinda looks stupid trying to look intimidating but failing miserably. "I don't like caring too much," she adds in a small voice.
"Lauren, don't be melodramatic," Camila says patiently, patting Lauren's arm. She's used to her lashing out whenever she feels agitated about her own emotions, and Camila has learned to adjust accordingly. "Camren seems fine. And caring about another living thing is not a bad thing, you know."
Lauren looks down once again, all the random spurt of bitchiness draining out of her and replaced by her real emotions.
"She's mad, she won't even look at me."
"Oh, Lauren, she's not mad. Camren is a sweet fish!"
"After I put her back in her tank, I put my finger in the water for her to kiss it, but she didn't!" Lauren complains. "Now she doesn't even care, she won't look at me and she won't pay attention anymore!"
Moving forward, Camila sits beside Lauren and pulling her into a side hug, and Lauren automatically puts her head on Camila's shoulder, sniffling and breathing heavily. Camila places her hand on Lauren's cheek, her fingers tracing Lauren's cheekbone and jawline -- just the way Lauren likes it.
"It's gonna be alright, Lo. She's just a little bit shook up. I'm sure in a few days --"
This agitates Lauren again.
"A few days!? That's too long! Camren could be dead by then! And I'm left alone knowing that she hasn't forgiven me!"
"Camren won't die in a few days. Remember, you googled the life span of a Betta fish and it could live up to three years?"
"Well, she's traumatized now so I probably took away a whole year of her life." Lauren mutters, but it's significantly less sad now so Camila keeps on caressing her cheek.
"Soon enough, I promise you, she'll be back to kissing your finger. You're a good pet owner," she reassures her.
Camila's hand moves from Lauren's face to her thick hair and she hears Lauren hum softly when she gently rakes her fingernails against her scalp. This goes on for several minutes, neither of them saying a word.
"I don't get you," Camila eventually says. "Your brother is literally afraid of you, people are scared of pissing you off, you can get away with anything by way of intimidation, and yet that same Lauren also cries the entire morning just because she thinks her fish is mad at her. How are you the same person?"
"What, I love Camren. That's all." Lauren shrugs.
Camila smiles. "You're too adorable."
"Whatever," she nuzzles against Camila's neck and shoulder even more while Camila continues her gentle stroking.
When Lauren doesn't say anything after a while, Camila squints sideways and sees that Lauren's eyes are closed, her breathing even and soft, and half of her body is basically snuggled up to Camila, with Nala pressed in between them.
Oh, she definitely knows how to calm Lauren down.
====
An hour later, the two of them go to the kitchen to grab something to eat and finds Chris head stuck inside the refrigerator, his butt sticking out.
"Grab me some orange juice, Chris." Lauren says, sitting on a swivel chair and resting her arms on the smooth surface of their island counter.
Camila sits next to her.
Chris briefly looks up from the fridge door, bends down again, then reemerges with a triumphant look as he brings out a couple of beer bottles in one hand and orange juice in the other.
"I'm gonna ask Noah to cook something --"
"--Noah is our private chef," Lauren tells Camila after seeing her questioning look.
"-- is pasta okay?" asks Chris.
A private chef? Camila mouths incredulously, to which, Lauren just shrugs.
"Better tell Noah to add Hawaiian pizza to the menu, we got an alien in our presence... Oh, ask him to make us some banana shake too!" Lauren tells Chris, giggling when she sees Camila's face lighting up and excitedly bouncing on her chair like an alert puppy waiting for her master to throw the stick so she could fetch it.
"Wait, didn't you date a Noah?" Camila asks after Chris disappears into the door, which Lauren says leads to the main kitchen.
Camila whistles. "Jeez, how many kitchen do you guys need?"
Lauren shrugs and sips on her juice.
"So... is pizza-Noah the same Noah you dated before?"
"Yeah."
Camila makes a face. "Is there anyone left in this world you haven't slept with?"
"Sure, my brother."
"Are you implying you slept with your sister?"
"I'm sure you'd love to know more huh," Lauren smirks.
"Gross, Lauren."
"What's your deal, anyway? What does it matter if I slept with the chef?"
Camila purses her lips. "Nothing. Pour me some juice, please."
"You pour it yourself."
"I'll pour it on your head!"
"Try it and I'll fucking --"
The door opens and in comes Chris, informing them that the food will be served poolside, then he drags them towards the back of the house.
When Camila says she's not bringing a swimsuit, Lauren says it's not a problem because they have a shit ton of swimsuits inside the pool house -- new ones in different sizes, of course -- because Taylor always has friends coming over and sometimes they forget to bring suits, so she basically ordered an entire swimsuit collection, then dumped them in the drawers, with the price tags still on.
Lauren grins when Camila says yes -- she can already imagine how that ass will look in a bikini.
Camila chooses a white and gold two-piece swimsuit.
When she walks out of the pool house, Chris is already in the pool, while Lauren, looking sizzling hot in red bikini (like seriously oh my god red is truly Lauren's color -- the way the blood red fabric against her pale skin pops -- the way the red seems to bring out the greenest shade of green in her eyes -- oh fuck look at the way she's putting on sunscreen!), with her aviators on, and her beautiful hair tied up in a messy bun.
Camila's swooning.
"Need help with that?" Camila asks, standing at Lauren's side and casting a shadow over her flawless body.
Eyeing her, Lauren smirks as she hands her the lotion, sits up, faces the opposite direction and says, "yeah, you can do my back."
Gulping nervously, Camila squirts a copious amount of lotion, rubs her palms together, then gently runs her hands all over Lauren's back, making sure not miss even half an inch of skin. She even inserts her fingers under the fabric of Lauren's top -- which doesn't mean anything, duh, she just likes to do a thorough job!
"Nice stroke," Lauren smirks. "Firm and deep. Thanks, sweets!"
She returns the lotion.
"Here, let me do you. Lie on your stomach."
The second Lauren touches Camila's wrist, she isn't able to say anything else other than croak a nervous "Okay..."
And while Camila is busy relishing the warm feel of Lauren's hands on her back, Lauren is about to die just staring at Camila's half-exposed butt while she rubs lotion on her back.
She doesn't know how or why, but Camila's ass is fucking hypnotic. There's no other word for it -- she's hypnotized, and she can't stop staring at it jutting out so beautifully. Her hands crawl slowly down to Camila's waist, taking her time to memorize the dip in her lower back, then, squirting more lotion onto her palm, she takes a deep breath as she runs her hands down Camila's hips and to the back of her thighs.
Sensing no resistance, Lauren's hands move upward, casually cupping the bottom part of Camila's ass -- the part where her thighs meet her butt. But Camila doesn't say anything. Emboldened, Lauren even dares to move a bit higher, so now she's blatantly squeezing Camila's ass and oh god she swears she's so close to kneeling and just fucking lick her all over.
Then, Chris yells and tells them to hurry, and Camila almost jumps up in fright, and Lauren half-scowls at her brother for being such a fucking nuisance.
But the moment is gone, and both of them look at each other with a tiny shrug and a wry smile, and they join Chris in the pool.
Much later, the sound of wheels rolling down the stone pathway catches Camila's attention. She looks up to see a red-haired girl wheeling a cart towards the small table where their things are and starts placing their food and drinks on it. Chris whoops excitedly as he gets out of the pool, while Lauren waits for Camila to stop choking and coughing out the pool water she has accidentally inhaled when Lauren dunked her head underwater. It's just a tiny prank.
Finally, they're out of the water and Lauren quickly hands Camila a fresh towel to make up for almost drowning her, which the latter accepts with a grudging murmur of thanks and a whole lotta glaring -- but, at the sight of the pizza, she forgets all about the drowning incident and skips happily towards the table.
They're all having a fun time, especially since Chris has been telling stories about Lauren, while Camila is eating it all up and saving them in her memory bank so she could use it in the future, when Lauren's phone starts vibrating on top of the glass table and Camila sees that Keeks is calling and that ugly ass looking picture flashing on the screen. wiping her mouth and hands, Lauren picks up her phone and excused herself from the table and walks several steps away from them, Camila's eyes following her and hearing Lauren greet her -- too excitedly, in Camila's opinion.
Chris grabs Camila's attention, asking her if she likes to play pool, and she tells him that the only game with balls she can manage without any accidents is pinball.
She looks to her left again and she sees Lauren grinning like a doofus and Camila has a fleeting urge to push her down the pool. When the words 'yeah let's meet soon!' floats in the air like suffocating smog, Camila decides to focus her full attention to Chris, who seems to love the sudden intensity of Camila's gaze on him. He too has this obsession with his hair, raking it with his fingers every few minutes -- an act that reminds Camila of Lauren.
Minutes later, Lauren comes back to the table, frowning when Camila refuses to look at her and slaps her hand away when she tries to touch her knee under the table.
And so it goes on -- Chris trying to impress Camila, Camila trying to ignore Lauren, and Lauren watching Chris trying to impress Camila and Camila trying to ignore Lauren.
Lauren's bored and so over it. "I'm taking a shower," she says blandly.
She walks away, unaware that Camila is staring at her retreating back feeling bad for ignoring her.
--__--
Sometimes, you could be having the best day of your life only for it to be ruined by one tiny unfortunate incident. It's like fate doesn't want you to be fully happy, so it just has to fuck it up just a little bit.
Camila could have easily listed down this day as one of her most fun days so far -- save for the minor (totally normal and expected) squabbles she had with Lauren, of course -- if only she left Lauren's house like maybe thirty minutes earlier.
While Camila is showering in the pool house, Lauren's parents came home from their trip a few days earlier than expected due to some business stuff Clara wanted to personally take care of. As a rule, whenever the parents are in the house, the Jauregui family has to dine together -- after all, the family that eats together, stays together.
Camila could have punched Lauren on the throat for announcing she has a friend over, thus she'll be joining them for dinner. She really would have preferred to skedaddle out of the Jauregui mansion before the appetizer has been served, because just from what Lauren has been telling her about her mom, Camila isn't too thrilled to meet the person who has given her daughter too many issues. And she would have declined, really. In fact, she was so ready to say no, but then Lauren stared at her with those big expressive green eyes and pouty lips and she started sniffling again and mentioned that she's still sad about Camren and that she needed some emotional support to get her through dinner, and so, what can Camila really do other than say yes?
That's how she got herself in this most miserable hour of her life dining with the Jaureguis. The tinkling of shiny silverware against their pretentious fine china only adds to Camila feeling out of place, especially with her less than casual attire of midriff top and old skinny jeans (although Lauren assures her that it's fine, and she even wears basically the same thing to not make Camila feel awkward), which earns a full five second head-to-foot stare from Clara herself.
By the time the gourmet salmon is served (Camila had to try it, she doesn't want to seem rude or something), Camila has established that out of the two, Clara is the more stern and serious parent, while Mike seems friendlier and warm. She has also met Taylor, Lauren's sister, and she's a nice girl as well, and they briefly bonded over pop music and Ryan Gosling, to which, Lauren scoffs disdainfully and turns to Chris instead.
But their playfulness seems to vanish the minute they all gathered in the dining table, and Camila feels like she's been sucked into a Twilight Zone episode where people are actually robots controlled by a zombie in Clara's body. It's a jarring experience, to say the least, and it worsens once Clara decides to focus her attention on Lauren.
"Look at you. You look like a penniless hobo with that unruly hair and -- and --- what are you even wearing? And did you get more tattoos and piercings? My god, Lauren, could you be any more disappointing?"
"My body, my choice," Lauren grumbles, refusing to look up from her food.
"How do you expect people to respect you? How do you expect to run a multi-billion company if you look like a juvenile delinquent?"
"Easy. Don't give your company to me. I didn't ask for it anyway."
"You ungrateful --"
"Honey, you have to taste the shrimp. It's to die for!" Mike's booming voice pierces the thickening tension between Clara and Lauren.
But Clara ignores him and continues to nitpick every little thing about Lauren, it's a surprise that Lauren hasn't left the table yet.
"And can you stop refusing security? You're too irresponsible, you don't care about anything, even your safety."
"I'm in college! I don't want some stupid goons following me around all over campus! And as if I don't see Russ and Steve lurking around my dorm." Lauren scoffs.
Camila doesn't know whether she should laugh at the situation or wish that the floor will open up and eat her before dessert is served. It's just so funny how different Lauren's family life is, arguing with her mom about her security details and inheriting the family company. It all seems so unreal to her. But even if she can't relate much to it, she now gets why Lauren hates going home. As much as she seems to adore her siblings, just over an hour of family time already shows the crack between Lauren's relationship with her mother. They're too different. And while Mike seems to be the good one, he seems to let Clara run the show, only occasionally butting in to diffuse tension.
"I just don't know what to do with you, Lauren. You act like your life is a curse, as if what I do and what I envision you to be is something so embarrassing for you, and yet you reap the benefits of my hard work."
"I wish you'd just stop meddling so much."
"Not until you have some direction in your life! Writing silly stories or drawing indistinguishable objects and calling it abstract paintings is not a life fit for you. Do you think people will respect you if you continue to indulge in your fantasies about unicorns and dragons and witches and wizards? Grow up, Lauren. You think I would have gotten your grandmother's respect if I stuck to writing silly poems that no one will read?"
"I don't need to earn your respect, or anybody else's. This is my life and I don't need validation from other people to know that I'm worthy of respect."
Lauren's voice is shaking, her hand is gripping her fork quite tightly, while her other hand is clenched on top of her thigh.
"You're my daughter," Clara's tone has gone a smidge softer. Nothing too noticeable because her expression remains stone-cold, but the hint of emotion is there. "I know what's best for you, and you deserve to --"
"I decide. Not you. Period." Lauren angrily pushes her food around, a bit of peas jumping out of her plate.
Camila, without even thinking, grabs Lauren's hand under the table, squeezing it as if wanting to convey that what her mother is saying is irrelevant. She smiles when she sees Lauren take a deep breath and briefly returning her smile.
But then Clara speaks up again and Lauren's face darkens once more. Camila never lets go of her hand.
"Are you a cavewoman? What am I paying that expensive university for if you can't speak like an educated person? And why are you two holding hands?" Clara points at the direction of their hands under the table. "Are you two dating?"
Camila tries to let go of Lauren's hand, but Lauren tightens her grip. She looks around the table; Taylor looks like she'd rather shave her head and eat her hair than listen to this entire drama, while Chris' gaze flickers between Clara, Lauren, then Camila. Mike is still busy eating his food, as if this kind of situation is common table conversation, although he briefly looks up with mild interest at the mention of them being together.
Lauren half-glares at her mother. "Just a reminder, I don't care what anyone thinks about where my happiness should come from, and I will always do what I want with my life. You're already controlling my career path, are you gonna meddle with my love life, too?" Lauren's scowl deepens. "Is that eloquent enough for you, mom?"
"So, it's true, then? This," she points at Camila, who's visibly shrinking like a leech bathing in salt, "is your girlfriend?"
"Um, no, ma'am --" Camila tries to explain but gets cut off by Lauren.
"-- None of your business."
"It is very well my damn business! If you get distracted --"
"I won't." Lauren scoffs.
Clara looks at Lauren as if deciding what to say next, then her eyes shift to Camila who's now holding Lauren's hand with both of her own. She sighs.
"Fine," Clara relents. "Just make sure you won't get distracted. School first, Lauren."
After that, it's like the entire room breathes a sigh of relief. The clinking sounds of utensils resume, and a quiet chatter amongst all of them slightly lifts the mood up. Even the staff seems to know it's safe to serve dessert.
As if nothing happened, Mike jovially invites Camila to join him at the parlor so she could look at some pictures, and the way Lauren groans only makes Camila say yes.
It's the best decision she has made so far. Mike shows Camila baby pictures of Lauren, complete with humorous anecdotes. When he shows her a picture of Lauren in a yellow Teletubbies costume (she's Laa-Laa), he explains how it's her favorite teletubby, and she had a phase when she only responded when people called her Laa-Laa, but Taylor, who's a couple of years younger, kept saying Lo-Lo, and since then, that has become her nickname.
"That's cute," Camila grins at a sulking Lauren, who's sitting at the far corner of the room with her arms crossed. "Do you still have your costume, Lo-Lo?"
"Of course not!" Lauren scoffs.
"Actually, she does. On her sixteenth birthday, Chris gave her a custom-made Laa-Laa costume as a gift. It even has a button you can push and it'll sing the Teletubbies theme song." Mike laughs when Lauren stomps her foot loudly. "I'm sure she still has it in her closet --" he leans towards Camila and whispers conspiratorially, "Lo-Lo loved it so much."
"I'm going to bed!" Lauren huffs.
=====
"Stay the night."
They're back in Lauren's bedroom; Camila clutching her purse, almost ready to go, and Lauren leaning against her door.
"Why?"
"It's late. And I want you here."
"Why?"
"Why not?"
"No monkey business?" Camila eyes her suspiciously.
"No...?" Lauren says in a slightly questioning voice, as if trying to figure out if it's the correct response. "We can watch a movie or something."
"I'm gonna sleep here?" Camila glances at Lauren's king-sized bed.
"You can sleep in one of our guest rooms, if you want. I can have it cleaned up."
"No. I can sleep here." Camila says.
Lauren smiles. Then she skips happily to her closet and starts looking for some sleep clothes she could lend Camila.
"I'm just gonna tell my mom I'm sleeping over a friend's house."
"Great. I'll drive you home tomorrow." Lauren hands her the clothes and a spare toothbrush.
Thanking her, Camila then locks herself in the bathroom.
A short while later, she comes out wearing Lauren's old shirt with JAUREGUI (and under it a big number 7) on the back, and a grey sweat pants that says wifey on her butt.
"Looks good on you." Lauren smirks. "You can keep those if you want."
"Maybe I will," Camila walks towards the bed where Lauren is half reclined against the headboard. "They're comfy."
So, your family is nice... mostly." Camila settles under Lauren's blanket.
"I saw Chris flirting with you."
Camila turns to her side, smiling and poking at Lauren's cheek. "Don't worry, you're still my favorite Jauregui."
Lauren scoffs. "As it should be."
"Papa J is a strong contender, though... I don't know. He's cuddly."
"Get your things, I'm driving you home." Lauren huffs and tries to sit up, but Camila grabs her hand, giggling.
"C'mon, what are we gonna watch?" Camila casually interlaces their fingers, ignoring the curious look Lauren throws her way.
"Can I just watch you sleep?" Lauren grins, loving the way Camila's thumb rubs circles on her skin.
"Ew, don't be a creep."
"You drool when you sleep FYI."
Lauren grins as she gets out of bed, successfully dodging a pillow attack. After saying good night to Camren, she jumps back in bed, remote control in her hand, and makes sure Nala's sitting atop her little pillow.
"Come cuddle me, Lo-Lo."
"Ugh, you're not allowed to use that nickname."
"It's cute," Camila grins. "Suits you."
"No, it doesn't." Lauren says grumpily, but she smiles when Camila snuggles up to her side.
Thirty minutes later, Lauren and Camila are both snoozing, one head on top of the other.
--_--
A/N:
don't forget that Camren the fish (@ CamrenTheFish) has a Twitter account where he sometimes share tiny (canon) secrets before you read it in tiac. And if you want a little Camren PoV, check out my new Two Is Company chapter (Prisoner of Azkaban). 🐟💚
(in case you didn't know, part of Lauren's story about Camren was her own tumblr story about her fish. And Camila with the uber driver is partly based on her real life story).
And I just want to clear things up, because I've read a few comments from previous chapters about Lauren pressuring Camila into doing things. Like the weed thing ("peer pressure") from Ch.8, and the bet thing ("forcing" Camila to give in) after Camila got back from the school pool.
First of all, Lauren's character is one who constantly pushes boundaries. She doesn't care about morality that much, and she also doesn't want to limit herself by social norms. She's hedonistic. So, of course she's gonna try getting Camila to do it. I'm not saying she's right, I'm saying it's Lauren.
BUT, it's not peer pressure or forcing herself on her (believe me, I've known peer pressure, and telling Camila ONCE that weed isn't bad and she should try it is NOT peer PRESSURE), why? Because Lauren never physically forced Camila or insisted repeatedly or shamed her. She taunts and teases WHILE observing Camila's nonverbal behavior. If Camila had said a firm NO to the weed offer, Lauren would have stopped bugging her (example: when they referenced Lauren wanting to share with Camila her weed or cigarettes, but Camila refused, and Lauren was like "okay suit yourself" without any fuss). And in previous chapter where Camila seems hesitant to Lauren's advances, but at the same time, she's undoing her towel all on her own -- that's the difference between peer pressure and simply reading the signals.
Especially in a romantic or sexual situation, sometimes, there's this unspoken "dance" where one likes to act coy, like a prey, while the other acts like a predator. To Lauren, that's how she sees it. Camila NEVER showed she's uncomfortable. Yes, she was confused, but it's her choice, it's her own desire winning over her confusion, especially when she's already initiated things before. So, in Lauren's eyes, she's trying to see until when she can get away with things that she wants, with Camila doing things of her own volition. If Camila said no, Lauren would have stopped. But no, Camila was blabbering nonsense that's so obvious she's trying to convince herself, and not because she doesn't want to do it. And Lauren knew that.
Now, was Lauren right for pushing boundaries when she knows it's wrong to meddle in a relationship? Of course not. But like I said above, her morality is skewed. They're both wrong, but Lauren never forced herself because Camila wanted it as well -- they're both adults.
Lauren was being Lauren because that's her character -- she knows it's wrong, but she doesn't care; she's pushy, but not rapey. She pushes as much as she thinks she can push, but she never forces Camila. She doesn't pressure her. She knows how to read Camila, always letting Camila set the pace. She even let Camila leave when she wanted to leave. And Camila always comes back to her. On her own.
Everything that has happened in this story was because Camila LET IT happen.
The only victim in this story is poor Mr. Snuggles.
Sometimes, we need to consider the story and characters and how they think and act towards each other, because theories and and standards get muddled or bent when human emotions are mixed in certain situations.
💚💚 thank you @ vollchecker for the lovely poster! 😘😘