A Light in the Dark

Chapter 8

"You're kidding."

"No, I'm not!"

"You're being ridiculous."

"Come on, Camz! This is gonna be so cool!"

"Absolutely not!"

"Think about it as a mini vacation!"

"No, Lauren. You're crazy! I can't just leave like that!"

"It's only for the weekend... pretty please?" Lauren pouted and Camila quickly averted her eyes. She knew better than to look at her whenever Lauren tried that tactic. Because she always gave in. Every time.

"I have to work. And I can't afford it anyway. Remember?"

"But... but I already bought you a plane ticket..."

Her head snapped back to Lauren. Did she just hear what she thought she heard? "You what?"

"Um..." Lauren rubbed her neck. "Surprise?"

She couldn't believe this girl... but then again, with her recent behavior...

It had been a couple of days since the movie night in Lauren's apartment. To her utter surprise, she got along really well with Lauren's friends. They somehow all just clicked. She had found out that Normani wanted to become a dentist and was going to NYU as well. The greatest shock, however, was that Dinah already knew her. Apparently, they were in some of the same music classes. She really should start paying more attention to her surroundings. That couldn't be healthy.

They had watched movies the entire night and Camila had found herself joking around with the others. She hadn't even thought about her problems once as long as she was surrounded by the girls. She had fun. And after a very late brunch, the three girls had gone back to their respective apartments, but not before exchanging numbers with her first.

It had been weird. And it still was. Now she had actually people to talk to, people who were genuinely interested and not playing some cruel joke on her. Dinah even went so far as to sit next to her now during their music classes. That had been strange too.

It was a routine for her to silently sit there and work on her music, so she had to get used to the new circumstances, to have someone next to her who talked and joked with her. Dinah brought out a whole different side out of her. She had always been known as studious, quiet and serious. But with Dinah, she discovered that she loved to laugh and to just goof around. She felt braver. She didn't care about what others might think of her when the tall girl was by her side. Dinah had the ability to make her feel safe and accepted.

And Lauren? That girl had been on an entire different level. The crush, she had on her, was slowly but surely growing and Lauren didn't help matters since the green-eyed girl wanted to be around her as often as possible. Though, Camila knew the reason behind it and understood.

But this?

She knew that Lauren had promised her sister, Taylor, to visit her on the weekend. And as much as Camila enjoyed Lauren's company, she had been glad to get a little alone time. Although, she probably wouldn't have really been alone since she somehow had always one of the other girls with her when Lauren was busy. It was a weird coincidence and she started to become a little suspicious about it.

"I'm not flying to Miami with you, Lauren!"

There was really no way in hell that she was even setting one foot in her hometown.

"Why not? You can take the weekend off! It's gonna be awesome! Camz, you can't tell me you don't miss Miami Beach!" Lauren raised her eyebrows challengingly. "The palm trees? The warm sand under your feet?"