Through Her Eyes (Camren)

Chapter 24: Chasing Stars

Every day they planted a seed in a garden that would not grow.

From magazine clippings to kitchen utensils to guitar strings. The shoelace off a single converse, still missing its other. The trimming of a strand of Lauren’s hair. Lauren was unsure what Camila was intending to grow with that – another Lauren?

Camila watched over her beloved seeds, watering them with fizzy soda and reading them stories from upside down textbooks. She wasn’t discouraged when they didn’t grow. Camila would be perfectly happy with them however they were.

Lauren wasn’t so patient. She desperately wished something in the garden would grow. A guitar tree, a Lauren tree, a scraggly weed, anything. It shouldn’t have mattered; she didn’t know what it would mean if something did grow. Camila would have known the meaning behind it, Lauren was sure.

Once, Camila had said she wanted to plant roses. They hadn’t. Of all the seeds beneath the earth, none were for actual plants.

Staring at the bare patch of dirt, Lauren decided it was time to change that.

“What will grow?” Camila wanted to know as they spread the tiny rose seeds through the earth. “Something shiny?”

Having read the directions on the seed packets very carefully, Lauren meticulously placed each seed half an inch below the surface, while Camila scattered them about gleefully. They would all wash away with the sprinklers but Camila looked happy, dirt on her cheek and eyes shining in the sun.

Lauren buried the last seed beneath the surface and flicked the dirt off Camila’s cheek. “You’ll see,” she teased.

Camila blinked.

——-

Camila was watching her.

It was creeping Lauren out a little, if she was honest.

Every time she turned around a corner there were wide, curious brown eyes waiting for her. Having Camila stare at you was like having someone look through your soul. Lauren wasn’t sure what Camila was seeing but it was apparently very, very interesting.

Camila watched her, completely unsubtly, from over the top of a book. She stared at Lauren while eating their meals, so intent that Camila kept stabbing herself with her spoon. Camila watched Lauren while they watched television and Camila watched her when they played video games, resulting in many unsatisfying wins on Lauren’s part.

While Camila had always been focused on Lauren, interested like Lauren was actually interesting, this was different. Camila was looking inside of her, at everything Lauren couldn’t even see herself.

When Lauren caught Camila staring at her as they lay on the roof to watch the stars, she finally returned the gaze.

“This is really kind of weird, just so you know,” Lauren told her, staring into Camila’s eyes while Camila was staring back. Camila twitched an eyebrow. Lauren widened her eyes comically. Camila imitated the motion.

Chuckling, Lauren looked away first. “What are you doing, anyway?”

“Watching,” Camila responded simply, leaning back on her elbows to watch the sky, but Lauren didn’t miss the fact that Camila was still focused solely on her.

She leaned back next to Camila, covering Camila’s hand with hers on the slates of the roof. “Well, that explains it.”

Camila nodded like it actually did. She tilted her head back, exposing her neck and closing her eyes, absolutely blissful. Lauren turned towards her to better see Camila’s tongue flick against her lips, her eyelashes spread against her cheeks.