Assigned Partners

Chapter 12

Trigger warning: self harm mentions

--

Throughout the rest of the week, I couldn't help feeling watched. It felt like everywhere I turned, Austin or Adrienne were present, keeping their eyes on me. It was frustrating. I hated having to live this way, feeling like I needed to live my life watching my back with every step taken. It's been getting hard to handle. I've felt so low the last few days. There's been a darkness looming over me since my first encounter with Austin at school, but it's grown immensely since then. It's hard to smile anymore.

Friday, Normani and I are presenting our music project. I'm scared. I know that I'm going to fuck up or get laughed at. Those are the only things that could possibly happen. Normani has been trying to tell me that I sound amazing, but I don't believe her. She's my friend, and I'm pretty sure that it's just her job to try making me feel good.

Come to think of it, all the girls have been treating me a little differently since the day I threw up at school. It seems like they're being extra nice. I don't know how to react to that. I think that they're all curious about why I left Miami, even though they haven't actually asked me. Dinah almost did during lunch yesterday, but I caught Ally giving her a disapproving look while shaking her head.

When I woke up this morning, I was more than thankful that it was the weekend. Normani invited me over, and she told me to bring a bathing suit so we could swim outback in the pool. To say I felt nervous would be an understatement. It would only be the two of us though, so I felt like I could probably trust her. The only bikini I could find was a light blue colour. I cringed at it. Blue is nice, but it's not black.

I chose to wear it under my clothes, and brought a full change of clothes for after. I drove over to her place and knocked on the door slowly. She was quick to open it, pulling me inside. I was pulled close to her, her arms coming around me tightly.

"I'm glad you came. When I asked I was worried you you turn me down. I remember you telling Ally and I that you were a crappy swimmer who didn't like wearing a bathing suit."

I swallowed hard. I had said that, hadn't I? "I wanted to see you. And I'm not as bad at swimming as I said I was," I admitted.

"Why did you say it then?"

"Just because.."

She shrugged. "Okay. I won't push."

Normani peeled off her clothes to reveal a white bikini. I couldn't help admiring her body. Being a cheerleader kept her in shape, and she was just breathtaking. I felt my face heat up as I looked at her, so I quickly averted my gaze before she could catch my staring.

I slipped off my clothes as well, standing there nervously in my bikini. Normani looked over me, and her face fell.

"Lauren," she said softly, "Is this why you're always in long sleeves?"

I nodded, and I flinched when she wrapped her hand around my wrist. She brought it to her lips and pressed a few soft kisses there.

"You can talk to me, you know that right? I'm not judging you, and I'm not going to. You mentioned a past of harming, but I didn't think you'd still be doing it. I hate knowing that you do this to yourself babe.."

"Babe," I repeated, the corners of my mouth tugging up into a small smile.

"Babe."

Normani took my hand in hers and lead me out into the back yard. The pool was in the ground and had a small fence around it. The pool wasn't ginormous, but it was definitely a good size. She and I got the cover off and gave the pool a quick skim before she jumped in. I giggled and watched as she wiped the water out of her face.

"Come on Lauren," she called, splashing a bit of water towards me.

I dipped my toe in and scowled at the pool, but I still told myself to do it. I jumped in to the water. It was colder than I was hoping it would be but it was sort of refreshing. It was a warm day. I swam towards Normani and splashed her the way she had tried to splash me. She laughed, and pulled me closer.

"Just so you know, I think you look gorgeous in blue," she told me.

"Really?"

She nodded. "It's a nice change from black. Colour looks good on you."

I grinned. "I'm glad you think so, Mani."

She and I just waded around in the water for a bit. It was relaxing to do. For a short while, we spent our time jumping into the pool, climbing out, and repeating. Letting loose was a lot of fun. After a while though, my fingers started to get pruned, so I knew it was time to get out.

Normani climbed out after I did and we both realized that we hadn't brought towels out with us. We decided we would just run up to her room as quickly as we could without slipping, and we'd grab towels from the linen closet along the way. Neither one of us fell, which I was relieved about. I tried off and frowned, realizing that I had left my clothes in the car. I wrapped my towel around me and went to get them, before coming back in.

"You know, those don't look like they'll be that comfortable to wear considering that you were just swimming. I know I always prefer super comfy, baggy clothing after I swim," she told me.

"I know, but they were the first things I found.."

She smiled, and went into her dresser, pulling out a soft, loose, black t-shirt and tossed it to me. I looked at her curiously.

"Wear it. It's alright. And you know, you don't need pants.. I won't be wearing any. By the way, can you help me with this? I tied it too tight."

I nodded and moved closer to her. She wanted my to untie her bathing suit. Holy shit. I tried to keep the shake out of my hand as I untied her top. Once I did, she took it off. I nervously looked away as she tugged her own shirt on. No bra, just the shirt. She slipped her bottoms off and I couldn't help the way my heartbeat quickened.

She tugged on panties, and it occurred to me that I hadn't started changing yet. I peeled off my own bathing suit and pulled my panties on, Normani's shirt she'd tossed me being put on right after that. I turned and saw her standing closer to me. I was about to say something to her when I felt her lips on mine.

She walked forwards, and moved me up against the wall. I returned the kiss, wrapping my arms around her neck. I couldn't believe this was happening but I definitely liked it. She ran her hands up and down my sides before slipping them under the bottom of the shirt I had on. She didn't move them any higher than where my ribcage ended, and I wasn't sure whether I was disappointed by that, or thankful that she wasn't going to just help herself and feel up my chest.

"Mani.." I managed to get out as we parted for air.

"Lauren.."

"I.. Wow."

She nodded, and pulled me over towards the bed. She crawled on first, and pulled me on top of her. We resumed where we left off, her lips reattaching to mine in a heated kiss. She kept her hands on my lower back. They inched a little lower and she broke the kiss for a moment.

"Can I?" she asked.

I nodded and she moved the down to my ass, squeezing gently. I whimpered softly, and pressed a few kisses to her neck. She and I kept this up for a good forty five minutes. Around then, I moved next to her, my face quite flushed from everything. My lips tingled slightly and I felt like I was dreaming all of it.

"How long are you staying for?" she asked.

"I don't know. How long do you want me to stay for?"

"All night," she admitted to me.

"Let me call my parents," I told her.

I got up off the bed and grabbed my phone. I dialed my house's number and asked my parents if I could stay. I wasn't too surprised that they said I could. I'd had such a good time the last time I was at Normani's and they knew that. The call ended quickly and I grinned.

"I'm yours for the night."

--

a/n: This chapter was a lot lighter and happier than the other last few have been, and I hope you enjoyed it!