Dressed in slightly baggy sweatpants and a t-shirt, Lauren finally emerged from the bathroom. Camila looked up from her cell phone and saw the raven-haired girl standing in the doorway.
"...Hey," Camila spoke first.
"Hi."
Both of them stood awkwardly in the room together, neither able to really look each other in the eye. What had happened between them after Camila had unzipped her dress was... intoxicating. There was definitely something between them at that moment. A want... a pull... an overwhelming attraction. But Lauren had fought it because a part of her will never forget why she was taking part in this 'friendship' arrangement in the first place.
"I... um..." Camila held out a plastic grocery bag towards Lauren. "You can put your wet clothes in here if you want. I also have some socks for you on the bed. They're brand new. I've never worn them," Camila nervously sputtered everything at once.
Though the tension between them was still heavily present, Lauren smiled lightly, thinking Camila's uneasiness was cute. Oh, God... she thought it was cute. Lauren shook her head and walked towards Camila with her wet dress and heels in hand.
"Thank you," she said, taking the offered bag. She then walked over to the bed and placed the items inside. She then sat down and began to put on the white socks Camila left for her.
Camila silently watched Lauren and could not help but feel a small thrill. The raven-haired girl was wearing her clothes. Lauren looked adorable in her Red Sox t-shirt and sweatpants. Seeing the raven-haired girl this way made Lauren seem more down to Earth and possibly from Camila's middle-class world. It was a comforting thought.
"I thought those pants would fit. They're too small for me," Camila commented.
"Yes, they fit fine. Thank you."
Camila ran a hand through her hair. "Look, Lauren. It's cool with me if you want to go home. You know, with the sink attacking you and everything. I'll understand."
Lauren stood to her feet and raised an eyebrow at Camila. She noticed the brunette seemed a bit self-conscious about the situation. "Are you trying to get rid of me?" Lauren said in almost a playful tone.
"No, I just... I figured..."
"Do you still want my help?"
Camila lightly bit her lower lip and nodded. "Yeah, I do." But truthfully it was more like... 'Yeah, I want you to stay longer so I can be around you longer.'
"Then I will stay and help you, Camila."
The brunette could not help but smile softly at Lauren's generosity, despite the water incident. "Okay, cool. Let's go downstairs," Camila said, leading them out of the bedroom.
As they reached the top of the stairs, the front door opened to reveal Sinu holding a few groceries.
"Hey, Mami," Camila said as she and Lauren descended the stairs.
"Hey, Cammy," she looked up and noticed Camila wasn't alone. "And Lauren, it's so good to..." and then she stopped mid-sentence, looking at them suspiciously. "Cammy, why is Lauren wearing your clothes? And why is your hair wet? What is going on?" she demanded.
Lauren could not help but bite her lip guilty as she saw Mrs Cabello seem to get upset.
"Relax, Mami. I had to give Lauren some dry clothes because the sink in the downstairs bathroom exploded. Water got all over us."
"What?!" Sinu squealed. She placed the grocery bags on the floor before heading towards the bathroom.
Camila and Lauren exchanged glances. An amused look came across Camila's face and she held up a finger. "Wait for it," Camila whispered.
Lauren looked at the brunette confused. Wait for what?
"Oh, my God!" Sinu bellow from down the hall.
"And there it is," Camila smirked. She knew her mother would dramatically freak out. The brunette headed down the rest of the steps and Lauren followed. They met Sinu by the bathroom doorway as the older woman looked on in shock.
"We cleaned it up the best we could, Mami."
"I can see. And with some of my good towels!"
"It was an emergency!" Camila defended.
"I'm sorry, Mrs Cabello," Lauren said. "I only wanted to wash my hands and then..."
"Oh, Lauren it's not your fault sweetie," Sinu said, placing a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder.
"I would have warned her Mami but..."
"I don't blame you either, Cammy. It's your father's fault," she grumbled. She stormed past the girls and headed towards the kitchen.
"Mami, Papi said it was only a temporary fix," Camila said, following her mother.
"Temporary," Sinu repeated. "It's been temporary for two weeks now!" She picked up the house phone and began to dial. "Cammy, can you grab the rest of the groceries? I have to call your father."
"Alright, Mami," Camila said in defeat. There was no stopping the impending argument between her parents.
She turned to Lauren and the raven-haired girl gave her a small smile of understanding. "I'll help with the groceries."
"Thanks."
Camila and Lauren hauled in the last of the groceries and Camila suggested they study out on the back porch. Sinu was on the phone with Alejandro and there was no way they would be able to concentrate while hearing all that fuss. Camila felt embarrassed that Lauren had to witness that.
The two of them sat in a large porch swing that fits up to three people and had their math books in their lap. Lauren noticed throughout their study session, that Camila seemed to zone out at times. Lauren would ask her a simple question and the brunette seemed and distracted and would have Lauren repeat. The raven-haired girl also noticed that when she would be working out a problem, she could feel Camila staring at her, but when she would look up, the brunette would avert her eyes. Lauren was beginning to feel like this study session was for another purpose. What? She was not sure. The eerie part about the whole thing was they actually worked well together... when Camila was paying attention that is. Lauren still could not get over the fact that Camila was not discouraging her presence nor bickering with her. It was... different.
Camila's cell phone had rung and she excused herself, standing on the other side of the porch from Lauren. "What's up, Mendes?"
"Hey. How's the sexy studying going?" He teased.
"I'm hanging up now."
"No, wait!" Camila smiled as Mendes believed her bluff. "I'm calling for a good reason."
"And that would be?"
"Hailey and I are going to play miniature golf tomorrow around 1. Hailey wanted to know if you wanted to come with."
"And be a third wheel. No way."
"Well, there's an easy solution to that, Camila."
"Which is?"
Mendes scoffed. "Don't play dumb. You already know."
Camila's eyes ventured over to Lauren who was busy at work, solving out a math problem. She bit her lip.
"Ask Lauren," he pushed.
"Nah, I can't. Then it would seem like a double date..." Camila murmured, trying to keep her voice low.
"Camila, just do it. We'll just be a couple friends hanging out. She might have plans tomorrow anyway and can't even come. What do you get to lose?"
"Urgh... fine," she growled. Camila turned towards the raven-haired girl and covered the receiver with her hand. "Hey, Lauren? Mendes, Hailey and I are gonna to play mini-golf tomorrow. You uh... wanna come with us?"
The raven-haired girl's face seemed to light up and Camila felt her heart warm at the sight. "I've never played before but, yes. I'd be delighted," Lauren grinned.
Camila gave a nodded and turned away from the raven-haired girl. "She said yes. You happy?" Camila hissed into the phone.
"Are you?"
"Bite me." Camila heard the sound of Mendes's laughter before she hung up her phone.
After about two solid hours of math and Lauren, Camila's brain felt like mush. They headed inside and saw Sofia and Hayley in the kitchen raiding the pantry for snacks.
"Oh, look who it is," Hayley smiled as she saw the two girls enter the house. "You guys have a nice shower together?"
"What?" Camila frowned, feeling her cheeks grow hot. Lauren was embarrassed by the odd comment as well.
"Yeah, nice going with the sink, Lauren. You tryin' to flood out our house or somethin'?" Sofia chimed in.
Lauren was put off by Sofia's comment at first, but when she noticed her playful grin she realized she was being sarcastic. Something she picked up on while being around Camila. She chuckled lightly. "Apparently so."
"Good thing Cammy was there to save you." Hayley walked over to Camila and leaned her shoulder into the brunette's side. Camila rolled her eyes as she clenched hands into a fist and dramatically held it to her heart. "She was your knight and shining armour," she said in her best head over heels impersonation.
"Shut up, dick weed," Camila frowned, pushing her away. "It was an accident and I took care of it."
Hayley grinned at them. "Right."
Suddenly, the muffled shouting of two people could be heard coming from the other side of the house.
Camila sighed heavily, knowing it was her parents. "I take it Papi is home?"
"Yea," Sofia replied. "They've been arguing over that sink for like the past half hour."
Lauren sheepishly lowered her eyes. Even though Sinu had reassured Lauren that it was not her fault, the raven-haired girl still felt uneasy about the situation. If she had not touched the sink then none of this would have happened. Camila's parents would not be arguing.
Camila caught the troubled look on Lauren's face and became concerned. "Hey, you okay?"
Lauren looked at her shook out of her thoughts. "Oh, yes. Yes, I'm alright."
Before Camila could say any more, Sinu suddenly stormed into the kitchen, shaking her head. The room became silent as all four sets of eyes cautiously watched the older woman standing over the stove. One thing the Cabello children knew was to not mess with their mother when she was a wild beast ready to pounce at any moment. Finally, she looked up and all three of her children internally flinched. They never knew what to expect after their parents had a sparring match.
"Dinner will be reading in ten," Sinu calmly said.
Lauren watched as all three of the Cabello kids seems to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Lauren?" Sinu asked. The raven-haired girl snapped her head towards Sinu. "Why don't you stay for dinner? I feel as though we owe you, especially with the craziness of the bathroom sink," she politely smiled.
"Oh, Mrs Cabello I would love to. But I really must get home. My mother and I have dinner plans tonight."
Camila grimaced, worried about her mother's reply.
Sinu tried to hide her disappointment and gave a nod. "Well, alright. Sorry, you can't join us... but at least let Cammy drive you home."
"Huh?" Camila's heart leapt into her throat. This would mean more alone time with Lauren. And that meant, alone in a small space. The last time they were in Lauren's car together she could not take her eyes off the beautiful raven-haired girl. Well, her legs anyway. Now, she was expected to drive with her biggest distraction only inches away from her?
"That's nice of you to offer, but not necessary," Lauren smiled. "I can call my driver."
"Lauren, please. Let Cammy drive you. It's the least we can do."
"But Mami, she said she can call her driver," Camila argued.
"It's called being considerate, Camila." Sinu scolded, glaring at her daughter. "Plus, she helped you study."
Camila knew her mother was already agitated from arguing with Alejandro so she knew not to push against her mother's wishes any longer. "Yes, Mami."
"You can use my car."
The sun was beginning to go down as Camila and Lauren pulled away from the front of the Cabello home. Neither one of them really had anything to say to one another. Mostly, because in the back of their minds they were both still thinking of that intense encounter between them in Camila's bedroom. Camila tightened her grip on the stirring wheel before letting go, trying to build up her courage to speak.
"Th... thanks again for coming over to help."
"I'm not sure if I was much help," Lauren replied with uncertainty.
"What do you mean? I'm gonna pass my test with flying colours tomorrow because of you."
"I'm not referring to that. I'm talking about the incident with the sink. I never meant to be the instigator of an argument between your parents."
Camila glanced at the raven-haired girl, seeing the dejected look on her face. The sight broke the brunette's heart. "Lauren, trust me when I say that was not your fault. And you were not in any way the cause of their argument. My parents fighting... it's like a daily thing for them. I don't think they can even function with each other if they are not arguing."
Lauren smiled lightly.
"In fact, their lives depend on arguing!" Camila exaggerated.
Lauren allowed a small chuckle to escape her lips and she softly smiled at Camila's humour. The brunette was actually making her feel better. Camila smirked at her and felt a flutter in her stomach as she heard Lauren laugh.
"So, are you done feeling guilty? Because you have no reason anymore," Camila spoke earnestly.
"Yes. I'm done," Lauren responded with a small smile.
"Good."
Lauren turned her attention outside the window and could not help but feel... giddy. She was giddy, and Camila was the cause of it. What a drastic turn of events for them. And today was just bizarre. Camila Cabello seemed to be actually putting forth an effort to be friendly... but why? Lauren tried to rack her brain. How could someone go from despising you one day to transforming into a commendable, likeable person the next? The raven-haired girl also wondered when Camila was finally going to tell her the true reason for bullying her. She was tempted to bring it up again but changed her mind. Camila wanted to be the one who decided when that would happen and Lauren had agreed to that.
They were silent the rest of the drive to Lauren's house. Both lost in their own thoughts. Soon Camila was pulling up to the large home, taking the curved driveway and stopped the car.
"Thank you for the ride."
"Sure... all compliments of my mother who practically forced you to ride with me."
Lauren smiled softly. "It's fine."
Camila chuckled lightly.
Lauren was about to open the passenger door but her curiosity got the better of her. "Camila?" Lauren asked, looking down at her lap. "Do you really have a math test you had to study for?" When Camila hesitated in answering, Lauren looked at the brunette.
Camila chuckled nervously. "Yeah," she shrugged. "I mean, why else would I invite you over?"
The corners of Lauren's lips ghosted a smile and she gave a small shoulder shrug of her own. But it was much cuter than Camila's. "To spend more time with me, perhaps?" Lauren guessed.
Camila's eyebrows twitched and her heart tightened. Lauren had hit the nail right on the head. Camila tried to shake off the feeling. "You think I like spending time with you?" she jokingly asked.
Lauren eyed the brunette curiously as if trying to read her behaviour and Camila felt as though Lauren had caught on to her game.
"If you had asked me that last week, I would have had a precise answer to that question. But as of lately... I'm not so sure."
The two of them stared into each other's eyes. Lauren was looking for a reason why Camila seemed so suddenly charming to her and Camila was searching for an inkling of acceptance. Camila took in Lauren's appearance. Despite the hand me down clothes, untouched makeup and frizzy hair, the raven-haired girl still looked beautiful. Actually, make that beautifully adorable.
Lauren felt her heart thumping a tad faster than usual as she saw a warmth she had never seen before in Camila dark brown eyes. Lauren knew she could easily get lost in them... if she allowed herself to. There was definitely something there and both of them felt it.
"Goodnight, Camila," Lauren finally said.
Camila swallowed. "Goodnight, Lauren," she softly spoke. "S... see you tomorrow."
"Tomorrow," the raven-haired girl nodded.
Lauren finally broke their intense eye contact and climbed out of the car. Camila blew out a heavy breath and watched Lauren head towards her house. She smiled at the sight of Lauren in only white socks, jogging up to her front door. She waited until the raven-haired girl was safely inside before pulling away.
The following afternoon, Camila, Lauren, Mendes and Hailey met up at the mini-golf course. Before hitting the course, Mendes practically begged the girls to play in the arcade section first. Camila had no problem with it and the other two readily agreed.
Camila hopped on a racing game while Mendes and Hailey engaged in a shooting game. Lauren was not a gamer whatsoever but happily watched, trying not to think too much about the strategy of each game. At least that's what Camila told her.
However, minutes later when she saw Hailey and Mendes playing what they called air hockey, her interest was piqued. Lauren walked closer to the table after watching them complete a game. "May I try?"
"Sure," Hailey smiled, handing Lauren the mallet. "Have you played before?"
"I'm afraid not. But it looks rather intriguing," Lauren said, eyeing the surface of the table.
Hailey grinned at her and looked at Mendes who was on the opposite side of the table. "Go easy on her Shawn. She's a newbie to this game."
Mendes gave Hailey a wink before looking at Lauren. "Not a problem. Do you understand what to do?"
"Yes, I think so. I've been watching."
"Okay, cool. Let's do this."
Camila had grown tired of the fighting game she was playing and went to look for her friends. She soon spotted them at the air hockey table and a grin spread across her face. Was Lauren playing? She never thought she'd ever see this.
Lauren had always had a competitive streak, but that involved tennis, crochet, and fencing. Not arcade games. But despite the fact that she was clearly losing this game to Mendes, she was having fun.
"Oh, gosh darn it!" Lauren said in frustration as Mendes scored on her once again. A chuckle sounded behind her and Lauren was not surprised to see it was Camila.
"Having some trouble there?" the brunette asked.
"No, I've got it."
Lauren attempted to block Mendes's next shot but the puck easily slid past her and into the goal.
"Okay, here." Camila stepped over to Lauren and stood close behind her.
The raven-haired girl felt a shiver run down her body at Camila's close proximity. She glanced over her shoulder at the brunette and furrowed her brows. "What are you doing?" she breathed, trying to control her voice.
"Helping you, because you look like a hot mess," Camila smirked. "Now, put your hand on the mallet."
Lauren gave a small eye roll before turning forward. She daintily placed her fingertips on the mallet, gripping it with only her thumb, pointer finger and middle finger. Camila saw this and chuckled. "What?" Lauren questioned.
"Well, here's your first problem. You're not holding the damn thing right." Camila placed her hand over Lauren's pressing the raven-haired girl's hand down so she gripped the mallet fully. "See, you gotta grab it, like this. Hold it in a firm grip."
The raven-haired girl felt a warmth spread through her body as she felt Camila's hand over her own. The brunette herself was trying to stop herself from trembling as Lauren's back was pressed against her front. Camila looked across the table and caught the knowing smirk on Mendes's face.
"Alright, Mendes, we're ready. Show us what you got," Camila challenged, getting her and Lauren's stance ready.
With Camila's skill, Lauren managed to score enough points to catch up to Mendes's score. As Camila aggressively guided her around the hockey table, blocking or attempting shots, the raven-haired girl found herself giggling. The brunette could not contain the smile on her face, knowing she was the cause of Lauren's giddy laughter. They were having fun.
For the final and winning goal, Camila helped Lauren bank the puck smoothly against the side wall and it quickly swept by Mendes, going into his compartment. He lowered his head in defeat but had a grin on his face.
"That's game!" Camila declared, pumping her fists in the air. "Suck it, Mendes!"
Lauren laughed and shook her head while Hailey clapped her hands with a smile as she enjoyed watching the match.
"Yeah, yeah," Mendes grinned, waving them off. "Good game, Lauren. Even though you cheated."
"Hey. It was fair and square," Camila smiled back.
"You guys ready for some mini-golf?" Hailey asked.
"For sure," Mendes smiled. "Let's go get the equipment."
As Hailey and Mendes walked off, Lauren turned to Camila and smiled shyly. "Thank you for helping me, Camila."
The twinkle and genuine kindness in Lauren's emerald eyes made Camila's heart flutter. She stuffed her hands in her pockets and gave a crooked smile. "Yeah, sure. It was no problem. We're supposed to be friends, right? Well, no friend of mine is gonna to put a game of air hockey to shame."
Lauren snickered softly but she noticed that when things became intense or serious when they were alone, Camila always seemed to toss in a joke. This attempt to suppress the tension between them often worked, but Lauren wondered when that moment would come when Camila could no longer hide behind a light joke.
"Well, look who it is," an approaching voice said.
Camila and Lauren turned and saw a teenager that was slightly buff, tall and had brown hair. Lauren had never seen him before, but from the annoyed look on Camila's face, the brunette had. Lauren also concluded the guy attended their school, given the letterman's jacket he was sporting with their mascot and colours.
"What the hell do you want Matthew?"
Matthew Hussey was one of the biggest assholes Camila had ever encountered. He was self-centred, arrogant, and thought all the girls in school wanted to sleep with him. He was a jock in every sense of the word and Camila could not stand him. It was hard enough playing pick-up games of ice hockey with him. But she could not avoid him because they were in the same league. There was no way she was going to give up a game she loved because of one dickhead.
"I just came over to say hi," he slyly grinned. His eye racked up and down Lauren's body and a pleasing looked came across his face. "I don't think I've met you before. What's your name, sweetie?"
Camila took a protective step in front of Lauren, blocking her from Matthew's sight. "Her name is none of your business," the brunette assertively stated.
"Whoa. Cock-blocking much? She your girl or somethin'?" He frowned.
"Back off unless you wanna lose some teeth."
"Chill, Cabello," he said, holding up his hands in surrender with a smug grin on his face. "I just wanted to introduce myself to your fine-lookin' friend. Or is it girlfriend?"
Camila felt the anger in her begin to rise to its boiling point. Matthew's grinned even wider. "Yeah, that's what I thought." He leaned in closer to Camila's face. "Cabello's a big ole dyke..." he snickered.
Suddenly, the brunette forcefully shoved the jock in the chest, causing the larger teen to stumble backwards a few steps.
"Camila!" Lauren called out in a panic, instinctively grabbing onto the brunette's arm.
A menacing glare came over Matthew's face and he heading towards Camila again.
"Hey!" Mendes interjected, coming over to his friend's aid. He stood next to Camila and stared daggers at the large jock. "There a problem here, Camila?" he asked.
"No, Mendes. I got it," she said, not taking her eyes from Matthew.
The jock let out a bitter chuckle. "It's not over, Cabello," he said backing away. "Fuckin' bitch..." he muttered before exiting the building.
Lauren looked down and realized her hand was still gripping Camila's triceps and she immediately let go.
"You guys, okay?" Mendes asked.
"Yeah, we're cool," Camila replied, stretching her neck to one side.
Hailey came over and leaned into Mendes's side. "That was very attractive. You protecting your friends," she cooed.
Mendes tried to hide his grin and he smugly shrugged. "I'm a stud like that."
Camila shook her head and Lauren smiled.
"Well, let's see how you do on the golf course, stud," Camila chuckled.
Mendes happily handed Camila a putter and ball and Hailey did the same for Lauren. Soon they were heading towards the course. Hailey and Mendes walked ahead as Lauren and Camila walked side by side behind them.
Camila glanced towards Lauren before sheepishly averting her eyes towards the ground. She had heard how terrified the raven-haired girl had sounded when Camila had pushed Matthew away from them. Camila knew she really had to learn how to control her temper sometimes. "Sorry, you had to see that," she mumbled.
"Who was he, Camila?"
"Matthew Hussey," she tiredly sighed. "He's had a grudge against me ever since a scored a goal on him during one of our community hockey league games. He doesn't like being one-upped by a girl. The fucker... I'm sorry it freaked out when I pushed him."
"Well, he has a much bigger skeletal structure and far more muscle mass than you. And the outcome of a fight between the two of you would have been... not good."
"Not good? Is that your nice way of saying he would have pulverized me?" Camila smirked.
"You could say that."
"I wouldn't have gone down easy."
The raven-haired girl shrugged. "I...also, perhaps... did not want to see you get hurt."
Camila raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Really?" Camila couldn't stop the amused smile that played on her lips. "Are you saying you... also, perhaps... care about me?"
Lauren looked at Camila before rolling her eyes. She smiled softly. "Don't flatter yourself, Cabello."
The brunette laughed heartily as they joined Hailey and Mendes at the first hole.
A/N: I hope you don't mind me making Camila's current love interest into the bad guy here. I don't mind their relationship and it is none of my business but I don't have a good feeling about it. To be honest, if this was Written as Lauren being the bully I would have picked Ty :P. Anyway, I hope nobody is triggered too much and please don't leave any triggered messages behind. It starts to turn into a pet-peeve.
Don't forget to click the little star and share the story with your friends. And remember you are enough.
Have a great day-J<3