"Happy birthday, Camzi!"
Slowly, Camila's eyes flicker open to see a pink frosted, chocolate cupcake with a lit up candle placed in the hands of her adorable, green-eyed best friend. "A cupcake for my cupcake," the older girl grins.
"Lauren," Camila smiles from ear to ear, eagerly sitting up in bed and putting on her glasses to see clearly. "This is so cute. Thank you!"
"Make a wish and blow," she rushes to hold it in front of her.
Closing her eyes, Camila wishes what she wished for every year.
"What was it this time? A new car? Puppy? Boyfriend?" Lauren teases with a smug grin, sitting down next to her best friend.
"Jeez, Jauregui, you don't think I'd be a little bit more humble than that?" Camila playfully nudges her.
"Kidding, kidding," she rolls her eyes just before they hear another knock at the door.
"Wow, of course Lauser would beat us in here," Dinah remarks with Ally and Normani by her side.
"Happy birthday, Mila! Brought you breakfast in bed!" the shortest one cheers with a tray of stacked pancakes, bacon, eggs, a banana, and a cup of coffee.
"Wow, Ally, way to show me up," Lauren groans at the appetizing tray.
"The cupcake was adorable, babe," Camila rubs the pouting girl's arm.
"Just adorable?" she whines.
"Sorry for knowing my little cousin's favorite breakfast meal," Ally beams as Camila lights up at the delicious presentation and begins to dig in.
"She's not wrong," she shrugs with a mouthful of food.
"Anyway... what exactly are we doing for your birthday today?" Lauren questions, "well, besides me walking you to class and forcing everyone to wish my bestie a happy birthday."
Camila chuckles, "You do that every year, Lolo."
"Yeah, she threatened us last night that we had to have our birthday posts already made... or else," Normani mentions, joining them on the bed.
"Or else....?"
"Bad things will happen," Lauren tries her best to look scary yet fails to with how cute she actually looks.
Camila cups her cheek, "Aw, baby, you couldn't hurt a fly. You're way too soft."
"No shit. She almost cried when I hid Nala from her," Dinah rolls her eyes while Lauren sinks into a frown.
"I couldn't find her for three days, asshole," she argues.
"Whatever."
"Anywayyyy... we all doing drinks tonight at Stella's per usual?" Ally interjects, seeing as how she was a bartender there and would, of course, get them a round of shots on the house.
"Birthday girl?" Lauren turns to Camila.
"Sounds perfect," she easily agrees and they disperse back to their rooms to finish up their morning routines.
"And now to top it off with your amazing cupcake," Camila bites into the treat before Lauren can leave.
"I just really hope your twenty-second birthday is the best, most unforgettable birthday yet," she smirks, leaning by the door frame.
"Something tells me it will be. As long as I have you by my side," Camila speaks softly and gets closer to the older girl.
Lauren's eyes grow wider than usual as her heart skips a beat due to the proximity. She melts when her best friend pulls her into one of the warmest embraces she's had. Even just thinking about how lucky she was to hug Camila was enough to send her over the moon. "Not going anywhere, Camz. Ever." She nuzzles into the shorter girl's neck as it was probably her favorite thing to do.
"Me neither, Lo."
"By the way, you don't have dinner plans later, right?" Lauren asks hopefully.
"Not that I know of," she shakes her head.
"Good. Now you do," the older girl winks and leaves a smiling Camila.
***
"Hey, did you know it's Camila's birthday?" Lauren asks another student in the lecture hall.
"Lauren," the birthday girl can't help an eye roll after the fifth time Lauren's mentioned it to a random person. She even made her wear a little birthday button which was at least more lowkey than the crown and sash she wore for her 21st last year.
"What? Just making sure everyone knows it's your special day."
"Oh yeah? Why don't you tell it to your little crush over there? Victoria's not next to her," Camila looks over to where Ariana Grande, one of the prettiest and smartest girls in Psychology sits. She and her best friend Victoria Monét both seemed to "rule" the Psych program.
"Why not?" Lauren frowns.
"I don't know. Go find out," Camila shrugs.
"B-but I want to sit next to you today on your birthday," she pouts.
"I know and it's sweet, but you can sit next to me any other day. It's not every day Ariana is sitting alone with no one by her side. This is your chance!" Camila encourages, eagerly grinning.
Lauren peers at her with nervous eyes. She's not usually the type with the most confidence in the world. Honestly, she's never believed a girl like Ariana Grande would ever give her the time of day. She probably doesn't think she knows she exists.
Sure, she finds Ariana beautiful and likes her a lot but quite frankly, the only girl she really wants a chance with is Camila. Although the latter could never know that. They're just friends. Best friends who have questionable tendencies to act upon but never do. At least for Lauren, she'd admire Camila from afar. Loving and caring for her as if they were already a happily married couple.
Oh well. Maybe in another life.
Camila was more interested in boys anyway.
"Oh my god, if you go then maybe Noah can sit next to me," the freshly 22-year-old smiles which makes Lauren even sadder.
"You still like that douchebag?" she scowls at him walking in and blankly staring down at his phone.
"He's not a douchebag just because he's a frat boy," Camila defends.
"Oh no, he's president of his frat so he's the douchiest of them all," Lauren folds her arms with a smug smirk.
"Just go, he's coming in right now," the birthday girl nudges her best friend out of her chair and fakes a cough to grab Noah's attention to the left.
And luckily enough he wasn't accompanied by his idiot frat brothers. With a hair toss and bat of lashes, Camila sits up confidently with her birthday button on obvious display. Also giving herself a mental high five that she put her contacts in today so she could ditch the glasses. "...Someone sitting here?" Noah slowly approaches.
"Nope," she glances at him, trying to play cool.
"Oh, it's your birthday?" he examines her button as he sits.
"Huh?" she fakes surprised and looks down. "Oh yeah, my best friend got it for me," she chuckles and rolls her eyes, ignoring the fact that she was actually trembling just by speaking to him. Hell, even sitting next to him.
"Well then, happy birthday," Noah flashes her a soft smile and she looks at him with just as much interest.
"Thanks, Noah." A blush can't help but creep up so she anxiously turns away again to hide it.
"You know, my brothers and I are having a party tonight at the house if you wanna come. You can have all the free booze you want to celebrate your birthday," he offers coolly and for a minute Camila thinks she's dreaming because, for once in her life, she just got invited to a frat party.
For the past four years, all Camila really focused on was homework, exams, getting the best marks she could to get into her dream school and then her dream job. But now that undergrad was coming to an end in just a couple months.... and she finally got her acceptance letter to Columbia... why not have fun for once?
"You can bring your friends too if they're down," Noah added.
"Oh.. um, thanks... w-we'll be there," she's thrown off at first but decides that it's her birthday and she can do whatever the hell she wants. If she has to drag them to the frat house by the ankles, she will.
Yeah, today was definitely her day.
"Uh... is anyone sitting here?" Lauren approaches Ariana who sat front and center of the lecture room.
"Victoria is sick today so no, I guess not," she answers, casually filing her nails and smoothing out her ridiculously long hair extensions pulled up into an incredibly high ponytail.
"Oh... I hope she feels better," Lauren says, hesitantly setting down her books.
Ariana looks at her for a moment, somewhat taken back, and smiles. "That's really nice of you to say."
But Lauren frowns in confusion. "Why wouldn't I? It's the right thing to say."
"I don't know. Maybe I just hang around a bunch of jerks. I mean, half these people seem too intimidated to talk to me," she explains with a sigh. Lauren bows her head in shame because she's been sort of part of that half who feel like they'd just get rejected if they even approached Ariana. "It's always rumors here and scandals there. No one gets the correct impression," she sulks.
"Um, if it makes you feel any better... I-I don't believe any of the rumors," the Cuban-American shakes her head and bites her lip.
The girl with the high ponytail raises her brows at the compliment. "Really?"
"Well, I try to see the good in everyone. No one should be judged like that before getting to know their heart," she continues.
"Aw, Lauren, that's the sweetest thing." Lauren's breath hitches then and there but even more so at the fact that Ariana actually knew her name.
"U-uh, th-thanks," she turns to look away with an obvious flushed face.
"Alright, class, let's begin," the old professor comes in to start the lecture, but only for Lauren's eyes to be glued to her notes and Camila's glued to Noah's.
***
"Yes, still set for seven-thirty. Okay... great, thank you so much," Lauren pushes the end call button on her phone before a sneaky Dinah comes knocking on her bedroom door.
"So, you think tonight's the night?" the tall blonde smirks with arms crossed.
Lauren shrugs her off, playing clueless. "What do you mean?"
"You know damn well what I mean, Ralphy," Dinah makes her way in to sit on the Latina's comfy bed and to pet Cleo.
Lauren turns down the background music of Rosalía and avoids eye contact with her friend. "Whatever you think or hope is going to happen tonight will not happen. Ever. Ever in a million fucking years."
"Aw, you're just sad you don't have the balls to make anything happen, huh? You've known this girl for how long?" Dinah teases.
"Only three years... almost four," Lauren answers quietly, picking up Nala to cuddle with, "but again, it's nothing like that. Camz and I are strictly just friends. Only will ever be just friends. Like, you honestly think she'd want to be with me? In a real relationship? That's the last thing that would ever cross her mind," she gets rather frustrated the more she rants and almost rips Nala's tail off.
"Woah, slow down. You don't have any proof that she wouldn't at least consider going on a date with you. At least one date just to see if there could potentially be something there," the younger girl reasons.
"And you don't have any proof that she would consider the idea. This isn't a date by any means. I'm just taking my best friend to a restaurant she really likes for her birthday. I get her her favorite margarita, some good Mexican food that reminds her of home, maybe take her on a walk on the beach which she loves, and then we call it good. Then we can all go out to Stella's where we get even more wasted." Lauren stood proud and tall of her well-thought-out plans.
"Okay, but you really did just plan that as if it were a whole ass date," Dinah chuckles and Lauren groans. "Aww, come on, Lauser. It's cute! It's okay to show her you like her and would do anything to make not just her birthday but any day special."
"She wants today to be the best so it's my job to do that," the brunette shrugs. "Besides, who knows if I'll even see her on her next birthday?"
"I can't imagine you being without her at any time. You two are soulmates. Even if you don't know it yet," Dinah presses once more.
"With how much she wants to move to New York and how much I don't?" Lauren's brows raise, "I'm not sure if it's gonna happen. Nor do I know that I could actually get into a graduate program."
"What the hell are you talking about? You're getting into Harvard and you know it. Hell, you already got into Stanford, already one of the best schools for Psychology."
"Look, you and Normani are set for life. You're getting married in June, will have an amazing LA beach house, raise beautiful children while being wealthy, badass surgeons. Ally's gonna own a Fortune 500 company and live lavishly in SoCal. Camila, a successful psychologist in New York City. And me?"
"A successful psychologist as well. Doesn't matter where you end up, you'll be making that coin and living so well off you're not even going to remember the life you lived before," the Tongan grins, optimistic from head to toe.
"Let's hope," Lauren shrugs, also laying down to pet her little French bulldog. "If I could ever wash away the memories of my childhood, I'd do it in an instant."
"I don't doubt that. But that was almost two decades ago. You're twenty-two going on twenty-three... still a whole life ahead of you," Dinah says. "A whole life... with Camila."
"Don't you have homework to attend to, almost doctor?" Lauren snaps as Dinah just laughs on her way out of the room.
***
"Oh my god, you guys!" Camila comes through the door with the brightest smile she's had in a while.
"Damn, look at you," Dinah lowers her glasses to check out the petite Latina twirling around the kitchen in a bright yellow sundress, sporting shiny, dark, long curls and a vibrant, stunning full face of makeup.
"This has been the best day of my life," Camila admits wholeheartedly.
"I mean, with the way you look it must be treating you quite well," the blonde smirks from the counter.
"I didn't want to accept the money but my mom already paid for the nail, hair, and makeup appointments... and for the dress," she smiles down at her outfit.
"Hey, DJ, I got- woahhh," Lauren comes in next, eyes automatically fixed on Camila's beautiful face and figure. "...What's all this for?"
"Just some glam for what is the birthday of all birthdays," Camila beams which makes Lauren as well.
"Well, it's about to get better because-"
"Oh wait, hold on. Noah just texted me the deets for tonight," the birthday girl smiles down at her phone. "Oh my god, I can't believe I just said that."
"Noah?" Lauren frowns, automatically anxious at the sound of that boy's name.
"Yeah... forgot to mention that he invited me out to a party tonight... and you guys too," Camila smirks excitedly at the two.
"B-but we're celebrating your birthday I...I thought?" Lauren stammers.
"We will but at his place with a bunch of other people," she shrugs.
"People we don't know."
"Oh well, bigger the better, right?" Camila comforts her friend as Dinah sends Lauren a look. "Think about it. We're finally gonna be out of our comfort zones. With people who have legitimate social lives. This is our chance!"
"Girl, speak for yourself," Dinah sassily comments and leaves them alone in the kitchen.
"I don't care about any of that, Camz. What I want is for you to be happy. Genuinely happy," Lauren says seriously, taking the younger girl's hands.
"Aw, babe, that's so sweet," her heart warms at how much her best friend cares about her. "And I am. The guy of my dreams actually knows I exist which makes me the happiest girl in the world. It's what I wished for. And what I always wish for."
Admittedly, Lauren's own heart crumbles at the word "guy." Sure, it's been a long time coming but still inevitable. Camila was going to eventually fall for a boy. Hadn't happened until now but today was the day. And Lauren has to watch... all hope for a future with Camila thrown out the window.
"Don't worry... there'll probably be a ton of hot girls at the party," the shorter brunette smirks, nudging her with a few winks.
"Sorority girls?" Lauren winces. "All rich, stuck-up, social climbing whores... worst of all, straight?"
"Well, when you put it like that..."
"Probably the same type of girls that called me 'dyke' in high school," Lauren rolls her eyes.
Camila sinks into a frown, upset and a bit guilty because she knew Lauren would be the one to hate the idea the most. "I'm sorry, Lauren... I... you know what?" she shakes her head, "you're right. It's not us. We don't have to-"
Now Lauren feels guilty as she swallows a lump in her throat. "No, it's okay," she interjects with closed eyes. "I'll go. For your birthday. But only for your birthday. Never again."
"Really? ...Are you sure?" the younger Latina slowly smiles again.
"Not entirely but for you... anything." Next thing she knows, her best friend is thrown into her arms in which she instinctively wraps her own around her protectively. Like the perfect fit they were always made to be.
"You're literally the most amazing person I've ever known," Camila mutters sincerely. "I love you."
"I love you more," Lauren whispers back.
"Okay, I gotta go call him. See ya later?" the birthday girl pulls away after such comfort.
"See ya," Lauren nods off, watching her prance off like a peppy teenager.
Why should she be upset? Her best friend is happy. That's all she should want for her.
Lauren embarrassingly pulls out her own phone and begins to dial just as Dinah comes back into the kitchen. "Cancelling the reservation?" she asks smugly.
"Yup."
***
"Damn, ma. I can't believe I get to marry you," was the first thing Dinah says to her fiancée once they arrive at the frat house.
"You're telling me," Normani smirks back in the tight black dress she's in.
"Okay, we get it. Some of us are gonna be single forever," Lauren says back but not looking at them. Instead, her eyes are glued to Noah Centineo approaching Camila.
Of course. Dude is dressed in a blue collared shirt, colorful shorts, fancy designer belt, and brown loafers. Douchebag.
"Aw, Ralphy, you never know... some of these srat girls could be gay," Dinah smiles.
"Or bi at least," Normani adds.
"In my dreams," Lauren sighs and walks to get a beer. Some girls look her way but not for very long. Honestly, her best guess is that most are Freshmen and Sophomores just trying to look cool, getting drunk and high with these guys. Who could blame her though when they're acting completely wasted to the point of passing out and or letting half the fraternity take them upstairs one by one.
Maybe she should just keep an eye on all their drinks in case one of these idiots tries to slip something in. Boys can't be trusted. She's learned that long ago.
"You've seriously never been to one of these before?" Noah asks after a sip of his red solo cup. They've been making small talk while waiting for their turn for beer pong.
"Not... really," Camila tries to hide her embarrassment seeing as how she was now a 22-year-old college senior and hasn't once been to a single frat party. "Just too busy with school, I guess." And yeah, maybe parties weren't the only thing to care about in college. "And my friends. We spend every waking moment together. Like a family. Mostly with nights spent in... studying," she chuckles, again feeling like the world's biggest loser.
"Is this just your way of saying you don't have much of a social life?" Noah teases.
Camila sighs and hides her face, "You caught me. I've only really had four super close friends in the past four years here, including my cousin who's in a master's program. I got a full-ride and could only maintain it if I kept up a certain GPA. If I'm not at home, then I'm at the library, reading with my dorky little glasses on till it hits 2 am and I'm forced to go home."
Noah laughs but finds it endearing that she's always been this quiet, sweet girl. He now takes pride that he can break her out of her shell. "Well, on the bright side you're gonna graduate in only two more months with a 4.0, go off to New York at an Ivy League graduate school, and live out your dream. Sounds like all that anti-social life and years spent in the lib paid off."
"Guess it did," she nods and takes another drink.
"Although, you could've still done both like me," he mentions with a shrug.
"What?" she frowns.
"I got into Stanford on a football scholarship but despite what everyone thinks, I had to perform well in school to keep my placement. It was hard at first but eventually got easier when I finally figured out how to balance the books, babes and booze after being football captain, President of my fraternity, and top of the neuroscience program, you're looking at Harvard's next admit into its medical school."
Camila nearly choked on her drink at the revelation of Noah Centineo getting into one of the most prestigious medical schools there is, if not the most. "Harvard medical? ...Seriously?"
"A lot of people have that reaction," the frat boy chuckles. "I mean, I could always stay here but Harvard's the best of the best, right? I didn't work my ass off for second place."
A little cocky, Camila thinks, but she did like a man with goals and ambition. Plus, he must have serious brains, after all, making him more attractive than ever before. It also makes her think about how her best friend Lauren applied to Harvard.
"Wish I could do the same. I feel like I haven't really lived yet, you know? Hopefully, I can once we're in the real world," she says.
"Hey, you're living in the real world right now, Camila. Maybe you should stick with me and I'll show you the ropes," he smirks, guiding her along to the beer pong table as it was now their turn to verse another couple.
"We are both moving to the east coast next semester," she grins back.
"Me and you against the world," Noah raises his hand up for a high-five and when their hands touch he takes hold of it as if that didn't already make a Camila a blushing mess.
Lauren, planted in the kitchen, continues to scan the living room for potential danger, looking like a fucking nark. But who cares? She was getting too old for this shit anyway. Dinah and Normani were getting drunk and dancing on each other, rejecting any guy that came their way. Ally eventually shows up to the party but with her own boyfriend who was, in fact, an alum to the frat's chapter. So, Lauren keeps to herself. She sips on a Coors Light and rolls her eyes at all the fucked up things that come out of these frat boys' mouths. Especially the pledges so desperate for a nut.
"Hey, what are you doing here all alone?" a blonde guy who Lauren knows to be a dumbass says to her.
"Move it along, Steve," she groans.
"Playing hard to get as always," he nods like he's ready to continue the chase after her. Steve still hasn't quite picked up on the fact that Lauren's a lesbian. Like, for real. And when Lauren had to seriously explain it to him, he answered with the usual "you just haven't met the right guy yet."
"Hey, Steve-o," Noah enters the kitchen, looking for another beer.
"Hey, man. What's up?" he greets back.
Now that Lauren sees Camila is free for a bit, she takes her chance to finally go speak with her but only before she hears something that makes her stomach churn.
"You got a condom?" Noah slyly asks his brother.
Steve smirks and nods, pulling a long strip out from his back pocket. "How many you need?"
"Woah," Noah looks surprised while Lauren scowls in disgust. "Got a new girl. Super fucking hot. Like a ten."
"What sorority is she in? Are her sisters tens, too?" he asks.
"She's not in one," Noah smiles. "She's... different. Good different."
"Man, guess I've been looking in the wrong places. Wasting my time on these tri-delts."
Noah laughs, "Maybe. Now, I'm gonna go give her her birthday present," he rips off about four of the condoms and makes his way back over to the birthday girl.
"Camz," Lauren gets to her before Noah can.
"Hey, Lolo!" Camila stumbles a bit from how much alcohol she's had. "This is the best night of my life!"
"...Really?" Lauren awkwardly laughs because this party has been nothing but a waste of her time.
"Yeah, wanna take a shot with me?! We have to take one for my birthday!" Camila takes her by the hand to the bottle of her favorite tequila.
Lauren sighs but relents, "Okay, but wanna head out after? It's getting pretty late."
"What do you mean? The night's just begun!" the younger one pours up two shot glasses to the rim and hands one over to her best friend. "Cheers!"
"Cheers," Lauren hesitantly takes the shot but does so anyway, not being able to resist Camila's request. And the fact that she looks absolutely stunning tonight. Her happiness is beautiful on her.
Lauren finds the birthday girl in her arms once again but only because she was rather an affectionate drunk. Very affectionate. "I'm so lucky to have you in my life, Lo. I wish you were coming to New York with me."
Although the older brunette holds her close and protectively, her eyes dart to the floor. "You don't know how much I'm gonna miss you."
"That's why you gotta get into Harvard," Camila leans in to hold Lauren's face in her hands. "I need you closer than 3,000 miles away." Lauren gives her a tight-lipped smile and grabs hold of the hand that's on her cheek. "Good news is that if you get into Harvard, I can visit to see both you and Noah."
Lauren's face drops. "...What?"
"He got into the med school there. It's a double win!" she exclaims happily although she didn't register that Lauren didn't appreciate that she was still thinking about him while talking to her.
And now he was coming over to steal her away. "Camila," Noah gives her a look to join him on a walk to the upstairs.
"Be right there," the birthday girl winks and turns to Lauren. "Well... I gotta go."
"Um, Camz? Do you... r-really think that's a good idea?" she eyes her nervously, trying her best to prevent her from going to that room.
"Why wouldn't it be?" Camila looks confused.
As if it isn't obvious. "Well, let's see. He's president of the frat and bringing you upstairs to his bedroom?"
"And..."
"And he wants to sleep with you, Camila!" Lauren snaps, causing to startle her friend. "He wants to strip you away from your innocence."
After a few blinks, Camila stands confidently. "Isn't that what tonight's all about?"
"Huh?" Lauren frowns.
"Lauren, I'm not a little kid anymore. I'm a 22-year-old woman... i-if I want to do that stuff, then I can. And I will." Camila throws down the beer can and turns away from her to follow Noah.
But not if Lauren can help it. This trash bag was about to take her best friend's virginity. Something that should be protected and reserved... for Lauren... maybe. At least she's someone who actually cares about Camila and would make her first time special. Not this moron who is just gonna use her and get rid of her like she's nobody in the morning. "Camz!" Lauren stops the Latina in the hallway.
"What do you want, Lauren?" the birthday girl turns around annoyed.
"You don't want to do this. Trust me, I've been there," Lauren presses. "You're gonna regret it."
"How do you know?" Camila folds her arms defensively.
"Because men are trash. He doesn't care about you. He just wants to fuck you!" she raises her voice.
"Maybe I want him to!"
"Seriously?" Lauren looks at her like she doesn't realize what she's saying. "Camz, you're drunk. Just forget this bullshit."
"No, I know what I'm doing. Just leave me alone." Again, Camila turns on her heels and her back toward Lauren.
With one last shot, the older girl grabs her by the wrist, "Camila! Come on!"
"For fuck's sake, Lauren! Why are you doing this!?" Camila pushes her back.
"Because I care about you!"
"No, you're just jealous because a boy actually likes me!" she shouts although it can still barely be heard over the loud music.
"Are you kidding me?!" Lauren's eyes grow extra wide.
"You're just mad that somebody likes me and nobody likes you!" As if Lauren's heart isn't already on the verge of shattering... that might have just done the trick.
"Camila...." she whispers, swallowing the biggest lump in her throat.
"You're always in my business and you care too much sometimes," the birthday girl states.
"Care too much? I'm literally one of the only like five people in this world that care about you," Lauren says.
"At least the others know boundaries-"
"Mila, you coming?" Noah opens up the door to his bedroom, getting impatient.
"On my way," she says, even more annoyed.
"Fine, go have your fun. But don't come crying to me tomorrow when he acts like you don't exist anymore," Lauren grimaces.
"Won't need to."
"Fine. Let me just go care less about you," Lauren begins to head down the hallway, trying her hardest to look strong despite her quivering lips.
"Good! Have fun with your lonesome self!" Camila lets out a deep groan and frustratingly opens Noah's door, slamming it shut.
"What was that about?" he furrows his brows.
"My friend's just being annoying," she huffs and sits down on the bed, rubbing at her temples.
"About...?"
"She just," she shakes her head, getting up to look out the window to the starry night. "I don't know... I love her but I just wish she didn't have to be so... concerned all the time. She looks out for me and protects me but fails to give me space when I need it."
"Damn. That is pretty annoying," Noah nods and leans back onto his bed and reads his clock at 11:59.
"Yeah, for once I wish she was... just... different," she confesses while looking at the stars. "And most of the time, I wish I was different too." Just as she says that, a shooting star shoots across the sky, causing her to lightly gasp in awe as she's never seen a sight like that before.
"Andddd midnight. March fourth now," Noah says.
"Well, that wraps my birthday up, huh?" Camila breathes with a chuckle.
"Guess so," he eyes at her sauntering towards him. "Glad I got to be the one you shared it with."
She smirks and sits down between his legs, nerves building but nevertheless excitement. "I wouldn't want it any other way."
***
It was 2 am and Lauren was still at the frat house. Not sober, of course. After about six more drinks she downed from being infuriated with Camila, she let herself go. The party grew the more she became intoxicated. So much she even got lucky with some girls who lined up to make out with her. Maybe not all sorority girls were straight.
Although it didn't matter. None of it did. No matter how much she got "lucky," none of them were Camila. None of them were the girl she had feelings for ever since the day they met. The one she tried to save from making a big mistake she knew she'd regret.
Because she loved her.
________________________________
The sound of Friends plays in the background, acting as an alarm to wake a sleeping Camila from her dreams.
"Mmmm," she groans at the bright sunlight hitting her half-lidded eyes.
That's funny. Noah watches Friends when he wakes up as she does. And or to fall asleep to and wakes back up to it playing.
"Noah?" she opens her eyes and sits up, but the bed seems bigger than how she remembers it last night. So does the bedroom. She could've sworn it was a lot different. It now looked fancy, high-end and a bit feminine with light colors and artwork on the walls. It looked like it could belong to a young woman her age (with money) and nowhere close to a frat boy room."Maybe I really was that drunk," she mutters to herself and runs a hand through her messy hair.
"Hey, babe," Noah, shirtless and in boxers, enters the room with a bowl of cereal in his hands.
"Uh... hi," she greets, just wanting to figure this out. "Is... is this your room?"
He immediately frowns, "What?"
"I mean... did we fall asleep here last night?" she asks.
"Uhhh, yeah?" he chuckles like it was a silly question. "Where else would we fall asleep?"
"Oh.. sorry, I just don't remember it being like this," she rubs at her head, feeling like a clueless idiot.
"Are you feeling alright, babe?" he sits down next to her. Calling her 'babe' already?
"Not really, I think," she answers and Noah sets down his bowl to examine if there were any bumps on her head. Which Camila of course finds sweet, especially when he kisses her on the forehead.
"What do you remember from last night?" he asks.
"I remember it being my birthday... we were at a frat party... yours to be exact," she points and Noah already shakes his head.
"Woah woah woah," he stops her. "Today is October 30th. It's nowhere near your birthday."
All she does is study him but it's either him or her that acts like they're completely joking. Although both were completely serious. "Wait," Camila leans over to grab her phone which was actually also different, an iPhone X and not her shitty old iPhone 5S. But it's there she reads that it really was October 30th. Still the same year but very different day. "H-how is this possible?"
"So... you did lose your memory?" Noah asks.
"What? No, it's just... no. I know for a fact that it was my birthday yesterday and I-I didn't hit my head. I just-" she frantically says but to only confuse Noah even more. "Wait, where even am I?" she gets up but then internally freaks when she realizes she's only in one of Noah's T-shirts and underwear. "Shit," she hurries to finds her own clothes.
"Our house, Camila," he gets up, growing scared as well.
"Our house?" her eyes shoot open at him.
"...Well, you paid for it. I'm just... you know," he shrugs with a smile.
"So we're not married?" she whispers.
"Oh no, not at all," he shakes his head. "I mean, not yet at least."
"This is my house...." she gasps to herself, looking around the rather luxurious room. Where in the hell did she get the money to buy herself this? Was she rich in this life? Or... dream?
That's it.
"Oh... who am I kidding? It's just a dream," she realizes and laughs to herself for being dumb. "All of this is just a dream. A very... good dream," she glances back to Noah still half-naked.
"Now you think you're in a dream?" Noah eyes her.
Her face falls and then she snaps, "Help me make sense of this, Noah. Where the fuck am I?!"
"You're in your house, Camila! Where else?!" he shouts back.
"This isn't my house! I'm either in a dream or a different universe," she scurries out of the bedroom and down the long hallway to see the rest of her expensive property. A full white cabinet kitchen with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, huge living room with massive couches and a 70-inch flat screen on the wall.
Noah follows after her. "Look, I think when we were... you know... last night, you hit your head on the headboard and knocked out some of your memory."
"If that happened, how could hitting my head on some wood be this severe? I literally don't know anything about how I could possibly be here," she explains seriously.
"So... you don't know that you're a world-famous pop star, Camila Cabello," he begins, the Latina becoming even more shocked, "who lives in a Calabasas mansion and is dating Noah Centineo, a famous Hollywood actor?"
It takes a minute for Camila just to register any of the words that fell from his mouth. "What... the fuck?" she deadpans, frozen still.
"What? I think I qualify for that title," he shrugs. "I mean, a lot of my movies are Netflix originals but-"
"No, Noah, what the hell did you just-" Camila, too panicked in the moment, runs outside to see the front end of her home where it rests a fancy Range Rover and BMW convertible. She then frantically runs back into the home but another room, still trying to find answers. She goes through them all until she finds it. It really was true. An actual in-home studio right in front of her eyes. Turning on the lights, the control room lights up as well as the sound booth. "No fucking way," she breathes, slowly pacing around what has to be a fantasy.
How in the world is she a famous singer? The only person who ever heard her sing was her mom when she was younger and maybe Lauren once or twice. She didn't even let her grandma hear her. This wasn't her dream... all that much. In her real life, music was only a secretive hobby that could never be realistic. Ever. She was supposed to be a psychologist. That's it.
"No no no no," she shakes her head, approaching the wall that held what is a 7x platinum plaque for a song called 'Havana.' Also, many other plaques and awards that include VMAs, BBMAs, and AMAs.
So she was this successful.
She puts down a copy of Billboard magazine with her face on the cover before Noah reaches her again. "Remembering now?" he questions, hands in his pockets.
Sighing and putting down the magazine, "Not one bit."
"This doesn't make sense," he says, also frustrated. "Come on, you have a whole legacy here. You're... you. You're Camila Cabello."
"The Camila Cabello I know is the complete opposite of this, okay?" she points up at a plaque. "I don't know who you know, but I'm not her. I don't sing. At least not in front of others let alone millions of people."
"Millions of people who love you," he smiles.
She rolls her eyes and sits down in the chair, holding her head in her hands. "Can you just give me the run down? You know, just in case I'm here for a while before I wake up?"
"Um... sure," he shrugs off, forced to still follow along with whatever this was. "What do you want to know?" he sits down beside her.
"Where am I from?"
"Miami," he nods.
"Okay... that's normal," she also nods. "Do I still have six other siblings?"
"Yeah, but..." he looks at her awkwardly.
"But what?" she raises her brows.
"You rarely see them," he mutters. "Or your mom. She has a boyfriend though."
"A b-boyfriend?" she stammers in disbelief, beginning to shake from such a thing.
"Yeah, Daniel."
"My mom hasn't dated anyone after my dad died. She said she wouldn't." Already, she hates this universe. Not talking to her mom when she usually talks to her at least three times a day? Not even to her little brothers and sisters, Nick, Damian, Sofia, Valeria, and Arabella? What kind of person was she?
"Well, I think she's happy with him? You haven't spoken in a few weeks. You're usually too busy to even give them a call," he explains.
Her heart pains at that fact. "Remind me to call her as soon as we're done. How did we meet?" If it wasn't in college.
"On the set of your music video for 'Havana.' We were love interests," he answers with a smirk. Of course they were.
"Alright. Who else is in my life?"
"Um, well you have a couple of famous friends but don't really like parties," he tells her.
"That hasn't changed," she rolls her eyes.
"Ariana, Shawn, Ally, Dinah-"
"Ally and Dinah?!" her eyes widen.
"Yeah-"
"Woah, wait," she squints. "Ariana... who?"
"Grande."
"She's famous? She went to my college," she says. "A-and Shawn who I assume is Shawn Mendes is this guy who used to be my neighbor Freshman year."
"Yeah, you guys are close. Really close," he huffs, a bit annoyed at the mention of him. Camila picks up on jealousy from the start.
"And Dinah and Ally are famous?"
"Ally's doing well music career-wise," he replies, "Dinah has her music thing going but she's more famous being associated with Normani, also a famous singer." Damn, how did everyone she know end up being pop stars?
"Are they still together?" she grins happily.
"Married," he says.
"Wait, I missed the wedding?" her face sinks into the biggest frown. "I was supposed to be a fucking bridesmaid."
"You were."
"Yeah, but... wait, wait, wait," she finally remembers the person most important. The person she really wants to know everything about and one of the last people she's seen before all of this. "Where's Lauren?" her eyes concentrated on his in a serious stare.
Noah thinks for a minute but doesn't have a real clue on who she's referring to. "....Lauren who?"
"Jauregui," she states as if who else would she be talking about?
"Oh, the model who's dating Ariana?"
The atmosphere fills with dead silence.
And again, Camila can barely even move after that revelation. "...Excuse me?"
***
"Dinah! Well, if it isn't my favorite person!" Camila grins over FaceTime with her very good friend.
"Damn, Walz, what's got you being so nice?" she chuckles.
"I just never been so happy to see your face and hear your voice," Camila says, finally breathing at a normal rate. After two hours of having a panic attack and crying session, she's outside by her pool under the shade speaking to Dinah... someone who's actually familiar.
"That's so sweet, nugget," the blonde smiles. Lauren used to call her nugget, too. Already does she miss her like crazy and that's why she needed Dinah.
"So, uh... what are you doing? How's Normani?" she asks.
"Oh, you know... music stuff. We're actually going to a Halloween party tomorrow night at Ari's house. You and Noah should obviously come if she hasn't said anything to you yet," she says.
Camila frowns and looks at her texts which funnily enough actually has a text from her. Party at Ariana Grande's house. "Uh, yeah, she texted me about it. We'll be there."
"Good!"
"And so... Lauren?"
"Lauren Jauregui? What about her?" she asks.
"She's like... obviously coming, right?" she tries her best to sound casual and not highkey weirded out and distressed at the fact that Lauren's a famous supermodel dating one of the most successful superstars of their generation. You know, no big deal.
"I'd assume so," Dinah says. "Unless she has something else going on. But I don't know."
"...Are Normani and Lauren close?" Camila asks since that's initially how she came to know Normani. Camila met Lauren who was already friends with Normani while Camila met Dinah who set her up with Normani.
"I don't know about close but I think they got to know each other during the Sweetener tour," she says. So, it really looks like Lauren's only really close to Ariana. Which makes the most sense. Still sucks when they used to be a best friend group of five. Ally only really had a relationship with Camila because they were family. She sadly wasn't friends with the others. "Oh yeah, I heard about you doing the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show this year, right?"
"I am?" Camila's eyes widen but Dinah frowns. "...I mean, I am! Yes, you heard right."
"That's so amazing, Mila. I can't wait to see what you got planned," Dinah compliments.
"Yeah, me neither," the Latina chuckles with a shrug. Victoria's Secret Fashion Show? Really? Her???
"Well, I gotta go into rehearsal. See ya tomorrow?"
"You bet! Can't wait!" Camila beams before they hang up.
What bummed Camila out the most had to be the fact that she and Lauren didn't even know each other in this life. They didn't have each other's phone numbers or Snapchats. Sure, they followed each other on Instagram but didn't exactly "like" one another's pictures. They just... weren't friends. At all.
But it was her fault, right?
If this wasn't a dream, which the more it dragged on convinced her she actually woke up in another universe, did she really wish for her life to be different? Or well, Lauren to be different? She didn't believe a shooting star could really be magical.
No, of course not. There has to be an explanation for this.
***
"So..." Shawn leans back in his chair, smirking at Camila during a lunch date. Well, not necessarily a "date" since Noah wouldn't approve but a couple of friends having an afternoon meal together. They were presumably close.
"So..." Camila nods awkwardly. In real life, she didn't know Shawn. They only had shared one class together Freshman year and lived down the hall from each other. They spoke maybe a few words to each other at most. She had no clue who he really was.
"I've got a lot of ideas for our performance at the AMAs," he finally says.
"Our performance... oh like, together?" So, that must be what Roger, her manager, was texting and calling her about all day.
"I was thinking it can be like our music video," he continues which causes Camila to make a mental note to watch that. Hell, to watch all of her music videos and study up on her entire discography.
"Yeah, totally," she sends back another awkward grin.
"Are you okay?" he senses something's wrong.
"Uh... yeah, I just hit my head last night so my brain's acting weird," she shrugs off.
"Your... brain?" he frowns.
"Long story," she sighs. "Um... you did the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, right?"
"Yeah, last year."
"Well.. uh, how was it?" she asks curiously.
"Nervous about yours this year?" he smiles.
"L-little bit," she almost whispers because yeah, she was freaking the hell out seeing as how it was in less than two weeks.
"It wasn't bad," he shakes his head. "I had a lot of friends there actually. Ariana was backstage hanging out with Lauren obviously-"
"Wait, Lauren was there?" Camila nearly chokes on her water.
"Yeah?" Shawn looks at her strangely. "She's an Angel. Of course she was there."
"Oh my god," Camila sits back in her chair to digest more unbelievable information. She really couldn't catch a break today. "I mean..." she stares back at Shawn who probably now believed that she was off her rocker. "Oh my god, I can't wait to see her," she smiles as a cover-up. "It's been... a while."
"You two friends?" he asks while eating.
"We... used to be," Camila lies.
"Didn't know that. What happened?" he questions.
Shit. Now, what else could she say? "Um, you know..." she shakes her head, trying to come up with something fast. "A falling out. We both got super busy with our careers and just kept seeing each other less and less, you know?"
"That's fair. That happened with a lot of my friends too. Sucks," he nods.
"Totally," she looks down at her lap, pulling up another Google search of the model, adding "Victoria's Secret."
She concludes that she's obsessed with the results.
"Uh... Camila? ...Camila," Shawn snaps her out of her long stare.
"Sorry, what?" she quickly looks up.
"You... kinda.. got something," he gestures toward the drool that drips down from the side of her mouth.
"Shit," she whispers and wipes it with her napkin.
She couldn't tell if this image was real or not but she sure as hell hopes so. This is what Lauren Jauregui looks like? THIS?! A dream-like goddess with the most amazing body she's ever seen? And it doesn't stop there at the green eye's beautiful face and long, gorgeous locks.
Lauren's always been beautiful but this is something else. The Lauren she knows and loves would never. She's too much of sweet, adorable puppy with a dorky side who collects coins and is obsessed with sci-fi and superheroes. Hell, she plays Fortnite on Friday nights. But this Lauren could probably run her over with a car and she'd say thank you a million times.
"Goddamn," she breathes, deciding she wants to see more. A lot more.
"Also in Playboy?" she whispers, having to honestly fan herself. She needs to see her ASAP.
"What are you reading?" Shawn asks.
"Sorry, just looking at... something," she picks up one of the menus and continues to fan. "And it's hot out."
"Okay..." he looks down with a frown. "You sure you're alright?"
"Yeah, positive. Um... so are you going to Ariana's party tomorrow night?" she questions.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world. Her Halloween parties are legendary," he smirks.
"What do you mean by that...?" Camila's eyebrows furrow.
______________________________
"Baby, you're supposed to dress up in a costume. You're already an angel," Ariana says to her girlfriend upon greeting in their massive shared bedroom.
"Then how else are we gonna be a devil and angel pair?" Lauren smiles down at her in a black and red devil's costume also enthralled at her gorgeousness.
"Aww, opposites attract," the shorter girl's arms wrap around the taller one's neck to meet in a kiss.
Nearly five years as a couple and they're still stronger than ever. Lauren was even thinking about getting her a ring one of these days.
It all started the moment they laid eyes on each other when Ariana performed at the 2014 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. It was Lauren's first show and while walking down the runway, Ari could not stop staring. Especially at that Cuban ass. Lauren, only 18 and the youngest, newest VS model at the time, thought Ari, also still breaking into the fame world, was beautiful as well. They spent the rest of the night getting to know each other... a month later, they were official.
"Oh, shit. Sorry, guys." The makeout session was interrupted with someone at their door.
"Shawn!" Ariana squeals and runs over to hug him tightly. "So glad you made it!"
"Of course," he nods and then goes to hug Lauren.
"Hey, thanks for coming," she says during the embrace.
"Yeah, you guys look amazing," he compliments.
"You as well," Lauren replies at his vampire costume.
"Thanks... some other people are downstairs, too. Normani, Camila..."
"Oh great, let's go!" Ariana eagerly takes Lauren's hand and they all descend the staircase of Lauren and Ariana's mansion. It mainly belongs to Ariana as she'd keep it if they were to break up, but that wasn't happening any time soon. They're too much in love.
Camila spent all of last night thinking of ways to get Lauren's attention tonight. She settled on a Captain Marvel costume as it was one of (her) Lauren's favorite superheroes, hoping this Lauren would be just as captivated.
"Wifey! I missed you!" Ariana sprints over to crush the younger Cuban in a hug.
"...I missed you too!" she replies with a pastry still in her mouth. Also, questioning why she just called her "wifey." But then again, she clearly notices that Ariana still pretty much looks like the "real" one but about 50 million dollars richer. Camila can't believe that pony-tail got even longer.
"You look so good! Who are you?" the hostess asks.
"Oh, um, Captain Marvel. A superhero," she nods and looks toward Lauren who was on her way over, but not looking at her exactly.
"That's awesome. Babe, you know my wife, Camila," she re-introduces the two.
"Nice to see you again, Camila," Lauren smiles but all Camila could do was almost choke on the pastry after seeing how her best friend looked. That and she had to resist from tackling her into a koala hug with how much she missed her. "Even though, you know, you're 'married' to my girl."
"Y-yeah, totally," she finally swallows as she's fixated on Lauren's everything. She actually looks a few inches taller than "her" Lauren at about 5' 7" or 8" despite the high heels. Makes sense when she's a fashion model. "Wow, you look.... really amazing."
"Thanks, you too," the green-eyed woman is surprised at first by the generous compliment before turning her attention back to her girlfriend with an arm around her waist.
"Is Noah here?" Ariana asks Camila. Oh yeah... him.
"Yeah, he's like... somewhere... else," Camila isn't entirely sure since she sort of ditched him at the door. Too impatient to see Lauren.
Ariana just smiles and nods while Lauren is looking elsewhere, pretty uninterested. She probably didn't even look that much at Camila's costume. "Cool! Well, save me dance later?"
"You bet," Camila speaks and watches as they both walk away again. But all her eyes could focus on were their hands. Lauren and Ariana's entangled hands seemed to never let go of each other. Five years together and they were still attached at the hip. They were that couple.
Lauren didn't even seem to let her eyes wander anywhere besides either on Ariana or the person they were both talking to.
Camila's mission now: get Lauren alone.
"Hey, there you are," Noah approaches Camila with a bright smile, dressed in his Captain America costume. He thought it'd go together with hers but it didn't really. "Did you try the sausage rolls? They're amazing!" he offered one up to her.
The Latina just sighs and accepts anyway. Not that she didn't like Noah but turns out he wasn't the brightest of the bunch. And to think he got into Harvard medical school in her real life. Sad that it only took less than a day to decide she didn't want him.
"Want to dance?" she asks once she glances over to Lauren and Ariana grinding with each other near the DJ.
"Sure!"
Camila takes his hand and leads them closer to not just the hostesses but Dinah and Normani who were also dancing sensually. Nothing's changed there.
A slow song eventually came on throughout the night. As Camila danced with Noah, resting her head on his chest, her head turned and again, brown eyes hooked on the green eyes, hooked on Ariana's own browns.
The more Camila stared at her "best friend," the more her heart sank at the fact that they really were practically strangers in this life. Shouldn't they be dancing together? She thought she wanted Noah but Lauren looked so into in someone that wasn't her. Sounds greedy but she couldn't deny she loved Lauren's undivided attention on her almost always.
"You are so perfect," Noah lifts Camila's chin up so that they meet eyes.
Not gonna lie, they were pretty. But staring into the green ones were just so much better. All Camila could do was let him kiss her for a few seconds until she pulled away and looked back over to Lauren.
But she was gone. Finally.
"I'm gonna go get a drink. You want one?" Camila asks.
"Yeah, sure. Surprise me," he nods and lets her go.
Lauren was seen also getting a drink poured for her in which Camila strides up to do the same. "Lauren! Hey!" she acts a tad over-excited at the pretty brunette.
"Oh, hi, Camila." Again, Lauren is thrown off at first but plays it cool. "Um, how are you liking the party?"
"It's amazing like always!" Camila states with a bright smile and when Lauren awkwardly sips from her glass, the former realizes to tone it down. C'mon, Camila, act like you know how to talk to people, she thinks.
"That's... that's good," the taller woman nods.
Camila finds it weird that she's actually intimidated by Lauren. Her own best friend for crying out loud. Should she even keep talking to her? "Uh, well, anyway... I hear you're gonna be at the Victoria's Secret fashion show again this year."
"Yep. My sixth one as a matter of fact," Lauren says.
"Wow, that's amazing," Camila responds just as kindly.
"And you're one of the performers, right?" she asks in return.
"Looks like it," the shorter brunette sends a tight-lipped smile this time. "I'm really nervous though."
"I'm sure you'll do great. I saw you perform at the Grammys earlier this year and you really know how to put on a show. Don't sweat it, alright?" Lauren grins and for once, Camila's hit with the same type of support she's always had from her best friend. Her biggest fan even.
She melts at the sweet words. "That's so nice of you to say, Lauren. You know, I-"
"Oh, hey, sorry. I gotta go say hi to Billie over there. I'll catch you later though," Lauren gives her one last nod before almost sprinting over to practically tackle Billie Eilish into a bear hug.
Immediately is Camila felt tossed aside to the person most important in her life. "She's friends with Billie Eilish?" she sighs as she watches the two act like they're the best friends here.
"Hey, you! Thanks for the drink," Ariana comes to swipe the second glass of liquor from Camila's hand.
"Oh, of course," she laughs off.
"So, tell me! What's been up with you lately?" Ariana throws an arm over the Cuban's shoulder and they walk toward the outside.
Fuck, Camila thinks. What was she supposed to say when she had no idea how this Camila really lived? She tried to do as much research as possible on her identity but it still may have not been enough. Just go with what you know, I guess. "Well, I released that song with Shawn Mendes," she begins casually.
"Oh yeah, I love that song," Ariana smiles as she combs through her long-ass ponytail. "And the video is soooo..." she sends her a smirk.
"It's something," Camila nods since she just saw it herself. She never pictured herself doing that in private let alone on camera.
"Was Noah jealous? I mean, you guys were really close. Like, really close," Ariana asks, not resisting the teasing grin.
"He was alright about it, I guess," the Latina shrugs since she wasn't exactly sure herself. Maybe it was a thing that just went unspoken. Maybe they have that trust. "Shawn and I are just really good friends."
"Must be," Ariana still doesn't buy it and why would she? Camila's apparently called Shawn Mendes a little brother for years and now this happens? "Let me just say if it were me, and Lauren went and did that shit, or vice versa, I don't know if we'd be here right now."
"That's probably fair," Camila almost whispers.
"But no, it's good that you and Noah have that trust in your relationship. Not that Lauren and I don't trust each other but I... you know, can be a little on the jealous side," the pop star admits, eyes wandering over to Lauren chatting with other friends by the pool.
"I mean, I don't blame you. She's around dozens of drop-dead gorgeous models in lingerie, right?" Camila mildly teases.
"Honestly, a few of them have been on my radar for a while now, but I just don't want to stress Lauren out about that," she shakes her head. "Like, Sara, Stella, and Martha are so nice and I love them but... everyone has their own kind of insecurities," she sighs, ducking her head.
Now, Camila could come back with a "what the hell are you talking about? You're Ariana freaking Grande!!!" but since she was apparently famous herself, she should talk to Ari like another vulnerable human being, right? Shouldn't everyone?
"I know how you feel," Camila decides to say instead. "The person closest to you can practically wake up and not care less about you the next day." Even though it's all my fault, she also thinks.
"Yeah, it's sad. But Lauren and I are actually in a good place. Really good place. I love her so much," Ariana smiles as she adores her girlfriend from afar. "And she loves me so much."
Camila swears she can hear the sound of her heart break. Which was weird. Why did she feel like that now? "You guys are perfect for each other," she fake smiles.
"Aw, thanks, baby," Ariana grins and wraps her in a hug. "But don't worry, she won't come between our marriage, right?"
Camila just laughs along, "Not at all."
Although she may have looked happy, her eyes screamed the opposite.
It just wasn't fair. Lauren didn't know who she was. She was supposed to love a man she really didn't love. She was best friends with some people she didn't know herself. Everything was fucked up. It was all different. Too different.
But this was what she wanted, right? The fame. The fortune. The guy of her dreams. Lauren not caring anymore. It was everything she wanted at one moment but ended up being her worst nightmare the next. It was never worth losing her best friend.
And it all took one wish.