weak ➸ camren

chapter 26 ➸ do it again

Camila glanced up from her book when she heard the door of the bus creak open. Her heart stopped when she saw Lauren enter first, followed by Dinah and Normani. It was the day after her fight with Lauren. Camila had moped around the bus all day.

Lauren didn't even send a glance Camila's way. She walked straight past the small brunette and disappeared into the back lounge. Camila bit her lip and looked back down at her book. She didn't want to face Dinah and Normani, either. If Lauren hated her, she wouldn't bother the older girl.

The smaller girl furrowed her eyebrows when she realized the book was upside down. Biting her lip, she glanced back up at the two girls who were whispering back and forth.

"Is she performing tonight?" Camila asked hesitantly, meeting Dinah's eyes. She was relieved when neither of the girls snapped at her.

"She wants to," Dinah shrugged and sat down. Camila nodded. No one had told her what happened once they broke up her and Lauren, but she had a general idea. Knowing that Lauren was good enough to perform calmed her down, though.

"I'm gonna go get ready," Camila sighed, closing her book and tossing it aside. She'd been reading the same paragraph over and over for the past ten minutes, not being able to focus on anything.

Without another word, she slipped on a pair of shoes and exited the bus. She heard footsteps approaching her and smiled nervously when Dinah appeared at her side.

"You two just need to give each other some space right now," Dinah said, slinging her bag over her shoulder and following Camila into the venue.

"She shouldn't have gone through my stuff," Camila muttered, still feeling the need to stick up for herself. "She could've just asked me about it first."

"But would you have answered?" Dinah raised an eyebrow. Camila met her eyes and instantly looked away. She didn't answer.

Camila disappeared into the dressing room that had her name on it, locking the door behind her and tossing her bag onto the table. She pulled out her journal and flipped open to a new page.

After digging around in her backpack for a few moments, she found a plastic bag she'd packed with a handful of almonds. Camila knew better than to start a show on an empty stomach, she'd learned that before.

She popped an almond into her mouth and grabbed a pen, bending down over the notebook and writing the date in the upper corner. Scrawling one tally mark for the almond she just ate, she set the pen down and began getting changed into her stage outfit.

Ten tally marks marked the page once Camila was changed. She insisted on doing her own makeup for the stage. Only she could cover up the dark circles under her eyes properly.

After adding the finishing touch of hairspray and dabbing on a light shade of lip gloss, she grimaced at her appearance in the mirror. No matter what she did, she was never truly satisfied with how she looked. She was exhausted.

"Five minutes, ladies!" a voice rang out from the other side of her door. Camila looked at herself in the mirror one last time before making her way out into the hallway.

Normani and Ally were already hanging around backstage. Camila stood awkwardly in the corner, not wanting to start pointless conversation with them. Soon, Lauren and Normani joined them and Camila's mind transitioned into stage mode.

Halfway through the show, Camila stole a glance at Lauren. The green eyed girl looked confused. Following her gaze, Camila's eyes landed on a certain someone watching them from the balcony. Zayn. She scowled.

Lauren didn't take her eyes off of him for practically the entire show. Camila's anger was boiling. She felt... jealous. The small girl tried to shake it off, plastering on a smile and forcing herself to keep her eyes off of Lauren for the rest of the show.