Journals (Camren)

Chapter 22

By the time Lauren actually left Camila's house last night, it was about nine o'clock. She settled on the idea that she would go home and talk to her mother, but Camila reeled her back in and they ended up kissing and cuddling in her room for three more hours. Lauren didn't know how that happened. They always managed to do that, but she wasn't complaining. In fact, she was grateful for it. Everything they did was helping to further stall the dreaded conversation with her mom.

When she returned home, no one was downstairs. She had the liberty of escaping to her room without a word. Camila had the same treatment. When she went down to eat a late dinner, she joined her parents on the couch. Sinu didn't even give her a second glance. Nothing had changed. The atmosphere was normal and comfortable. It was a breath of fresh air to Camila.

On Tuesday morning, she found that she was winded again. As soon as she set foot on the bus, the looks returned. Even in the relative darkness, she could see them. She had half a mind to just ask them what the hell they were looking at, but she couldn't get up the nerve. There was a reason they were staring, and she was pretty sure she knew, but why they cared so much was beyond her.

Instead of clambering towards her usual seat in the middle, she plopped down in the first seat and immediately laid down. Her book bag served as a pillow and she slumped over to rest on top of it pathetically. Camila wasn't typically one to get so upset over such things, but it was getting under her skin. She thought she'd reacted so heavily to it yesterday because she was just having a bad day, but it was happening again. And she'd had a great morning. She woke up to an adorable good morning text from Lauren, followed by a surprise breakfast, and the bus wasn't even late today. The day was off to a great start. And everything was just erased by those fucking idiots.

The bus pulled off and Camila's mood steadily declined. The closer they got to school, the more the foreboding feeling in her stomach worsened. When the bus came to Lauren's stop, she could sense her presence. It dawned on her that she'd literally undone everything they worked to fix yesterday, in only a matter of minutes. Part of her wanted to tell her just to get it off of her chest. Lauren always knew what to say to make her feel better about certain things. Camila knew she would have some words of wisdom regarding her newfound issue.

As soon as Lauren passed her, she lifted up to see her. Her girlfriend looked around for Camila, then she accidentally made eye contact. Shit. Camila laid back down quickly, but Lauren was already on her way over.

"Why are you sitting up here?" Lauren asked as she sat across from her.

"Someone was in my seat," Camila shrugged.

"There was nobody over there when I came..." Lauren said mindlessly.

Damn it. "Oh, well I guess they moved then," Camila trailed. Maybe she should've checked before she went with that story. It suddenly dawned on her that she'd been lying to Lauren quite often. Well, only little white lies; Petty ones that didn't really matter much. She didn't want to make a habit of it though.

"Yeah, probably. But good morning," Lauren grinned. "You look beautiful today."

Camila smiled. A genuine smile. Lauren had that effect on her. And that was another reason why her day was going so well before she got on the bus. When she passed the mirror, she found that she was actually pleased with her reflection for once. "Thank you. You're beautiful every day," she responded cheekily.

"Eh, I'm alright," Lauren brushed her off.

"Yeah. You're alright," Camila teased with a smirk. Then she sat up and looked over at Lauren.

She'd said she was beautiful without even looking at her. But she never needed to. Lauren looked flawless, all the time. Even on her "bad days". Even when she was in the most unflattering position, wearing the ugliest clothes, making the weirdest face - she was perfect. And today, she was dressed casually, wearing all black. Her leather jacket and black skinny jeans and combat boots fit her style nicely. The outfit was completed by a nice black beanie. Camila had a cool rocker girlfriend and she loved it.