Beneath the heavy curtain of his eyelids, he dreamed.
He dreamed of Lauren's smile, her laugh, her touch. The way she would say his name. The way she would always light up at even the littlest, most insignificant of moments that the two had together.
He dreamed of her lips against his, melding and meshing together. He dreamed of how she would be. How her breasts would feel pressed against him; how her legs would feel wrapped around his waist; how her hair would feel between his fingers; how her lips would feel against the side of his neck, his chest; how she would moan his name as she came.
"Oh...Y/n..."
And the two would collapse on top of one another, panting and knowing that it was right. And they should've been doing this the whole time.
Y/n woke up with moisture dewing his brow, the sheets soaked in sweat around him. Hazel orbs narrowed, looking down and realizing that his body had reacted to the way the dream had effected his psyche. He got up, headed to the shower to take a particularly cold one.
Thank goodness Camila had left earlier, he realized with a relieved sigh as he walked into the bathroom, not before grabbing a clean t-shirt, shorts, and boxers.
He turned the water on and stepped into the shower, shivering when the icy water came into contact with his skin, goosebumps automatically forming at the touch. Y/n closed his eyes and just...wondered.
He wondered about where their relationship was headed. What would become of him and Lauren? He was beginning to feel awfully attached to the girl, and really couldn't imagine being away from her for a long period of time. But then there was Camila...
Y/n thought back to the hickeys he saw last night. The way Camila kissed him passionately, but still had guilt hidden in her eyes, even after they made love.
He shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts. No...Camila wouldn't cheat. Never. But, even though that's where he stood with that, he couldn't help but have that annoying feeling that he was missing something vital. Y/n finished up in the shower, back to his normal, pre-Lauren dream self, and dressed before coming out of the bathroom, looking and feeling refreshed.
Y/n styled his damp hair back, as he usually did, and sat down on the edge of the bed, contemplating what to do. He didn't have much of anything planned. Maybe sketch a few things... He did have one thing he wanted to do.
There was an art gallery being held in Paris in a couple of months. Y/n wanted to submit a piece of his work to be shown there. The portraits that got shown there every year brought instant recognition and fame to their artists. He had entered before, but never had he been chosen. The piece of artwork for the art gallery had to be submitted in just two weeks.
He already knew who he wanted to paint.
Lauren.
The first picture he drew of her was absolutely breathtaking, but it was only in pencil. The art gallery required something to be painted, in a frame. The object had to be a person. And with her bright, vibrant, forest green eyes, Lauren would be a bold statement for any artist to behold. Now...Y/n just had to ask her if she was willing...
Willing to be his model once more and also...willing to do it nude.
The gallery was one of the breeding grounds for all the up-and-coming artists in America, and they showcased specifically nude paintings. Y/n gulped when he thought of the first time he saw Lauren in next to nothing, then dismissed it. Didn't want what happened in his dream to happen to him now. He didn't want to have to take another shower.
Y/n's thoughts drifted to the gallery, and how everyone would marvel at the dark haired, green eyed, exotic beauty. Her features were very desirable. Pale skin, taut limbs, slender physique. Certainly, if he painted her right, she would be the talk of the gallery.
And, frankly, if Lauren wasn't willing to do it, that was that.
No other woman had given him the inspiration to paint, to sketch, to draw, the way Lauren had, without even realizing it. Strange, he knew, but it was the truth. Of course, he could paint Camila, but...he didn't want to, for some reason.
He sighed, closing his eyes. Immediately, the cheery grin, the large emerald eyes, the dark hair, popped into his mind and he felt his heart lurch within his chest.
Y/n needed another hit of the drug that was Lauren Jauregui.
"A-A-Achoo!"
Lauren was lying on the couch, clad in a baggy t-shirt and sweatpants. The waitress was almost buried underneath at least two layers of blankets. Tissues were scattered around her, and a box of Kleenex was sitting, almost used up, in the center of the coffee table. Next to that lay a bowl of half-eaten chicken noodle soup, courtesy of Mani's cooking skills. Thank goodness someone was able to put soup in the microwave without spilling it all over everything.
Her face was flushed, she knew that much. But though the color on her cheeks indicated she was hot, she was shivering, teeth clattering together pathetically. She inhaled sharply, then sneezed once more in a violently comical action. Lauren reached out to the Kleenex and grasped several sheets and then blew her nose into it while groaning, her voice altered by her nose being stopped up.
Yes, she had a cold.
And a very bad, annoying cold at that.
Normani had left her this morning, a giddy mess, to go set up her wedding with the planner. Not before setting Lauren up on the couch in front of the television, remote within reach, a bowl of soup at her disposal, and two boxes of tissues to get her through the day. Not to mention burying the girl in blankets to keep her warm.
She sneezed again and regretted the lapse in judgement that had her playing in the pond on her and Y/n's little outing yesterday.
Ring, ring, ring!
Lauren's emerald eyes, heavy lidded and tired looking, widened marginally before realizing that she didn't have her phone within her reach. She actually had to get up from her comfortable position now. "Ugh," She groaned lazily as she rose from her makeshift sanctuary as the sounds of the latest drama on Maury unfolded.
Ring, ring, ri -
She cut off the third ring by picking up the phone and pressing the talk button, "Hello?" Wow, she really did sound cruddy. Coughing, she waited for the reply.
"Lauren?"
Her heart stopped in her chest. She would know that voice anywhere, "Y/n!" Her attempt at cheerfulness was trumped by the fact that her voice sounded so congested and sickly. Yeah, no doubt Y/n would be attracted to that. She thought with sharp sarcasm. "What's up?"
"Are you sick, Lauren?"
"No... Why, how could you ever think that?"
"You sound like you have some kind of disease." He joked lightly, "And a serious one."
Lauren laughed along with him, "Actually, I've grown a couple of warts. I think it's due to hanging out with you so much."
She heard him chuckle throatily over the other line. Chills ran up and down her spine, and she was pretty sure that those weren't caused by her current cold. Y/n replied, "Hm, I'm a frog now, huh?"
Lauren only laughed in response.
"But seriously," Y/n said, his voice alive with concern, "Are you alright?"
Lauren coughed, "Y-Yeah..." She trailed off as a shiver erupted down her spine, "I just have a cold...ya know, from going in the water like a dummy yesterday. Apparently, you were right about me catching cold." She laughed with irony, twirling a strand of limp dark brown hair in between her fingers. As if to reiterate her point, she gave a rough cough after she was done speaking.
"I'll be there in a few minutes."
"Wh-What!" Lauren shouted, but then before she could form a more coherent protest, she coughed several raw times in succession. She caught her breath and continued, "Y/n...No, that's really not neces- " The dark haired woman was cut off by another fit of coughs.
"Yes. It is." Y/n said with utmost seriousness into the phone. Lauren could hear the shuffling of feet around his apartment and the sound of him putting his arms through his jacket with the phone stuck between his ear and his shoulder, no doubt. "I'll be there as fast as I can, alright. Just unlock the door for me."
"Y/n, please you really don't have to- "
"Lauren, don't even try to deter me. I'm coming. I'll see you there."
Click.
The line went dead. Lauren gazed at the phone with incredulity, thick brows knitting together in confusion as she pressed the button to lock the device. Her heart was suddenly beating frantically, at a pace that almost was identical to the syllables in "Y/n Y/Ln." She groaned as she walked back to the couch, but not before unlocking the door for him. After that task was done, she flopped on the couch as some woman screamed at her supposed "baby daddy" and slapped the "whore" that slept with him.
She watched this pattern repeat for a while, wondering how the hell someone could sleep with twenty men in one week- that's what this one "teen out of control" claimed, anyway- and sipped some of her cold chicken soup.
That's when she was interrupted by the creaking of the door opening to her apartment.
A part of her wanted to scream and run around, due to the fact that she was alone and because she was watched way too many horror movies in her lifetime. Another part, a more rational part, knew it was Y/n, and her heart sped up double time as she thought of him in her apartment. Just the two of them.
Alone.
She shook her head as she coughed. No, that was stupid to even think that way. Y/n had a girlfriend. And it's not like he would find her sexy in the least bit right now since she was a walking disease.
"Lauren?" Y/n's soft voice called out.
"Over 'ere." Lauren ventured, her voice sounding even more cruddy than before. She tried to clear her throat, but to no avail. The dark haired woman sighed and then yawned.
She heard his soft, gentle, cautious footsteps approach. In a reflexive move, she turned her head in time to see him round the corner to peek in the den, where she lay curled up on the couch, unrecognizable in the mass of blankets that surrounded her except for the tell-tale mop of dark brown hair that emerged from atop the pile of quilts. "Hey," She said somewhat shyly, feeling stupid for not have taking his advice yesterday and staying the hell out of that water. "What's up?"
Y/n walked swiftly over to the front of the couch, blocking Lauren's view of the current bitch-fight going on. He held out a hand and placed it on her head. His hand was freezing, no doubt from the recent cold spell they've been having. But, despite the coldness of his hand, where he touched her, Lauren felt warm. And this feeling wasn't due to the cold, she knew that much.
"You're burning up."
"That's what Mani said." Lauren offered lamely, "So she buried me in blankets and made me chicken noodle soup."
"Where is she anyway?" His voice held an edge to it.
"She had a meeting with the wedding planner. She's marrying Dinah, by the way."
Y/n totally ignored the bit of information meant to throw him off guard, "And she left you to fend for yourself."
"Well...I guess you could put it that way."
The artist stomped off, not before taking the now cold and stale chicken noodle soup with him. She winced when she heard the plates crash into the sink. Lauren was certain he'd broken something, but she couldn't find the energy to care. She was feeling lethargic, and now that Y/n had gone into the kitchen, she had a clear view of the "baby mama drama."
She heard the water come on, then Y/n rummaging through the kitchen cabinets for something. Then Lauren listened to a satisfied, "There!" and heard more running water. All the while, the drama intensified on Maury...
"Oh, no you di-n't, bitch!"
"Oh, I just did, girl!"
SMACK!
Lauren laughed as the girl's glasses flew off her head as one of the overly large women slapped her. But, laughing had a price, and she coughed vigorously, keeping on for at least a minute before Y/n rushed in with a cold towel and a glass of water. "Here."
The waitress looked up, blinking innocently, "Y/n..."
"Take it."
Shaky hands reached out and grasped the glass of water, while Y/n laid the cold compress over her forehead, causing her to sigh with contentment as the icy towel made contact with her heated skin - funny, she thought she was cold, of all things. She shivered as the water from the towel ran down her head and neck. The artist then held out his large hand, two pills sitting in it, "Take this as well. Tylenol."
"Ah, yes," She'd forgotten they had Tylenol. Lauren took the pills gratefully, gulping down the water afterward. She then sighed contently and leaned back into the cushions of the couch, more comfortable now than she had been hours ago...when Y/n wasn't there.
"Would you like to try eating some soup?" Y/n asked politely, "Well, warm soup, that is."
"If you don't mind..." Lauren said, feeling bad that Y/n had to wait on her like this when he shouldn't have to, "Please..."
Hazel orbs softened as he nodded and walked into the kitchen.
"Kisha ain't my kid!"
"You shut up and take responsibility, you good for nothing!"
"You the town bicycle! How am I supposed to know that's my kid and not Ray Ray's or Ben's or Jason's?!"
"Shut up!"
A loud, trilling laugh erupted from Lauren's throat. Then, like some kind of sick process, she coughed in repetition several more times. She could hear Y/n roaming around in the kitchen once again, not doubt looking for the soup. She blinked lazily, unwilling to look away from the fight on the television, but she did anyway. "Y/n?"
"Yes?"
"Soup's in the first cabinet to the left of the sink."
Y/n laughed nervously, as if he had been looking everywhere except where Lauren just said. "Thanks, babe."
Her eyes widened. Babe? Did he just call me...babe?
Her heart started to go double time and she placed one hand in the valley between her breasts as if to calm it. But, of course it didn't work. She inhaled a shaky breath and knew she was blushing automatically. Babe? How could such a simple term of endearment make her heart accelerate like that? And this feeling, the feeling of despair that just washed over her like a heavy fog... That simple word caused that as well, and Lauren was puzzled.
She heard the buttons of the microwave being pushed a bit after Y/n ran the necessary water into the bowl of chicken noodle soup. Then she heard the definitive buzzing of the old microwave as it went to work heating up her food. Lauren found herself enjoying the normality of it all. Having a guy take care of her until she felt better... She enjoyed it more that she thought she would.
Two minutes later, the microwave dinged and she knew her soup was ready. Lauren heard Y/n open the door to the microwave and inhale through his teeth as if he had been burned. "You okay?"
"Yeah, just fine!" He called back, his voice strained.
She heard the padding of his feet against the floor of the kitchen, as they switched from the tile to the wooden surface. The bowl clinked slightly against the plate it was sitting on. Y/n set the food down in front of her. She looked and saw that he had hastily cleaned up some where he spilled it, as well as put a few crackers on the plate, alongside the bowl. She looked up at him, emerald eyes happy, "Thanks!"
Y/n placed the bowl onto the coffee table in front of Lauren and she shifted in her blankets, freeing her arms from the confines of the warm coccoon. Sighing, but drawing a series of coughs as she did so, she looked up at the artist and laughed through it, "That's - cough - very- cough - nice of - cough - you - " She couldn't finish, for she was enveloped in an all-out coughing fit.
As she was quieting the majority of the coughs erupting from her chest, she felt a slight pressure on her head as Y/n placed his hand on her head. The same, uncanny tingling worked from the point of contact, spread from the place where he had his hand to every part of her body. She shivered at the feeling, although pleasant, it scared her.
"Are you cold?" Oh, no. He noticed.
"N-No," Lauren ventured, a slight stutter marring her words. She snuggled deeper into her pile of blankets.
"How are you going to eat when you do that?" Y/n asked, amused.
"Uh..." Lauren thought for a moment, and then freed herself once more, "Right." She leaned over and grasped the bowl, which was still slightly warm and brought it into her lap, while Y/n sat beside her, his arm around her on the back of the couch. She felt her heartbeat increase as he did this, and she wondered idly why his arm was around her. She didn't mind, though.
Before her hands could grasp the spoon, strong hands reached out in place of her own and took hold of the utensil, "Here." He held it in front of her lips, waggling it slightly.
A fresh coat of red adorned her cheeks, and again it had nothing to do with her sickness, "Ah..."
Y/n just smiled and fed her the soup. Her lips closed around the spoon and he felt something tingle in his stomach and work its way down. She then put her hand over the artist's and took the spoon from him, "As much as I enjoy your determination to treat me like I'm terminally ill...I can feed myself."
The artist's lips quirked to the side in a smirk, "Maybe I was enjoying that, though."
Lauren blushed brighter.
Hazel orbs looked into her emerald ones with something Lauren couldn't describe. She now realized how close they were- how very close they were. How easy it would be to lean up and press her lips against his and claim him as her own. The attraction was almost palpable in the air between the two of them and it almost seemed a crime to not capitalize on their close proximity...
Lauren shook her head, getting herself out of that. No, you idiot. Don't even think about it. He's got a girlfriend. Taken is what he is! Ugh. You always have to fall for unattainable guys or douchebags.
She hadn't noticed that his hand had moved to hold a tendril of her hair between his thumb and index finger. "Lauren." He spoke softly, in dulcet tones that made her belly quiver.
"Yeah?" She asked as she shoved a spoonful of chicken noodle soup down the hatch.
"I was wondering..." Y/n said, not tearing his gaze from her face. She automatically looked away, not wanting to gaze too deeply into his eyes and lose her self-control. No. "...did you like posing for me?"
She blinked. "Um..." Deep inhale, "I...yeah. Yeah, I did." No use to lie, she figured.
Y/n felt his heart pang powerfully in his chest after she said that. Not even during the throes of passion with Camila did his heart pound like that, seemingly trying to break free of his chest. "Would you like to do it again?"
"I..."
"Before you answer that...there's a gallery in Paris. They offer support for the finest paintings and the artists featured there go on to do huge things in the world of art. Though...the object of the paintings is rather...primitive. Like you would have to be..." Y/n gulped as his mind flashed to an image of Lauren standing in front of him, wearing that silky nightie he bought for her, "...nude."
If Lauren thought her face was red before, it was a flaming torch now. She thought her cheeks would spontaneously catch fire. The dark haired girl broke her vow of not looking at Y/n and whipped her head around, meeting his intense hazel with her own confused ones. Y/n started to rattle off some condition...he was basically saying if she didn't feel comfortable, then he wouldn't make her do it. Whatever she was comfortable with. As long as she was happy.
But, as Y/n explained in an embarrassed manner about the conditions and everything, Lauren found herself excited. She was getting tingly all over. Her hands twisted into the fabric of the blankets around her and the soup sat forgotten on her lap. Her blush was now that of flustered excitement, barely controlled. Her forrest green eyes were widened and her lips parted. She couldn't believe she was actually about to say yes to this. It was something no one could believe she would do, but...in some sick way, she actually wanted Y/n to see her exposed, naked. Vulnerable.
She wanted him to see her. Though she knew it wouldn't lead to anything, she just wanted him to see...wanted him to be happy. More important of all, she wanted him to be happy. She wanted this painting to launch his career as a renowned artist.
"I'll do it."
Y/n looked at her as if she had grown a second head, "Seriously?"
"Yeah!" Lauren said in her raspy voice that Y/n had found to be quite cute, "I mean...how often would you get to pose for an artist? And...well, if this means so much to your career...I want to help with that. I want to help you with your career as much as I can. If possible."
His heart had taken to doing flip-flops in his chest instead of the frantic beating around. She was going to do it? She was going to do it! He didn't remember the last time he felt this kind of elation.
In a motion so swift that Lauren's hair flew behind her as if she were on a motorcycle, Y/n crushed her against his chest in an embrace so full of life and happiness that Lauren felt like crying. Tears of joy, of course. Her heart started to skip sporadically in her chest and she was sure Y/n could hear it. "Thank you, Laur." He said in a voice that made the chills race up and down her spine once more. Her skin prickled where his breath touched her neck.
Lauren hugged him back as tightly as she could, savoring this moment, not even thinking about the repercussions of her feelings for this wonderful man...
Y/n kept his arms around her just a little too tight, but too tight was not tight enough in his book. He planted a chaste kiss on her cheek and felt the skin warm up even more underneath his lips.
And the two just sat there, in each others' arms, the picture of happiness.
To anyone looking in on their moment, they'd think of a couple in love.
But, as much as the two involved in the moment wanted it to be the truth, they knew it was everything but.