Assigned Partners

Chapter 8

Trigger warning: self harm mentions

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I shifted my position as my eyes fluttered open, and I glanced around. I was still snuggled up to Normani. We were still on her couch, together under the blanket. Her eyes opened when she felt me shift, and she smiled.

"Morning," I said.

"Morning," she replied.

"I'm really glad I got to lay with you last night. It made it way easier to sleep," I admitted, running my fingers through my hair.

"I'm glad, Lauren," she said, pressing a quick peck to my lips.

I smiled at her, but that was short lived. I heard whispers and giggles coming from the floor. I glanced over there, and I was sure I had heard Normani's name, as well as my own.

"Shit, she hears us. Dammit Mila, why d'you gotta be such a shitty whisperer?"

"That was you, Dinah, I'm perfectly fine at whispering."

"Both of y'all suck at it."

"Ally!"

I couldn't help laughing. I reached for a pillow on the end of the couch, and I chucked it at the girls. Dinah grabbed it and threw it back, nailing Normani and I with it.

"Care to share how this happened?" Dinah asked, gesturing towards Normani and I.

"Couldn't sleep, cuddles were suggest, so we slept here on the couch. It's not a big deal," Normani told her.

I moved off of my friend, and headed to grab my bag so I could get myself dressed and get my teeth brushed and whatnot. I looked down and realized how my sleeves were riding up, and I panicked a little bit, because I saw Camila looking at my wrists. She glanced at me with a concerned look and I just shook my head before heading off to get myself ready.

Once my teeth were brushed, I got dressed in another full black ensemble of jeans and a long sleeved shirt with a fairly low neckline. I liked it, it made my cleavage look amazing. I got my hair brushed , did my makeup and threw on my black choker necklace as well. When I was ready, I came out of the bathroom and saw the other girls had already gotten themselves ready too, using the other bathroom to brush their teeth and do their makeup, and I assumed that they just got changed altogether like they had last night.

"So, breakfast?" Camila asked, rubbing her tummy.

We headed upstairs to the kitchen, and we all worked together to try and get pancakes made. It wasn't going well though. Five people in one kitchen was a little chaotic. It got to the point where Ally kicked us out of it so she could make them herself. From what I'd heard, she was good at baking, so I wasn't surprised that she was able to make some nice, fluffy pancakes as well.

Camila and I sat at the table while Normani and Dinah went back to get syrup, fruit, and whipped cream out of the fridge.

"I saw them Lauren," Camila spoke up, looking a me from across the table.

"Saw what?" I asked, acting as though I didn't know exactly what she meant.

"You know what I saw Lauren, you don't need to play dumb. You don't need to do that to yourself you know."

"Maybe, but I do it. And you can't tell anyone, okay?"

She nodded, and I wondered if it was true. Out of all the girls, I trusted her the least out of the four of them, but I didn't want to be too skeptical about it.

"I won't tell," she told me, holding out her pinky.

I smiled a little bit, and linked my pinky with hers. She smiled back at me. Around that time, the other girls came to the table with the pancakes, plates, and toppings. The smell of the pancakes filled the room, and my stomach growled loudly. Everyone just helped themselves to a few from the platter. I put a little butter, syrup, and whipped cream on mine. The first bite tasted incredible. Everyone at the table was pretty quiet. We all had our mouths too full to really make any conversation, but that was okay with me.