behind the lights | camren

Chapter Eight

"One more take for the final kissing scene, action!" The director beckoned, doing his signature clap that automatically sent the actresses on cue, and ready to complete the final scene of the movie.

Lauren squinted her eyes in the light of the blaring sun, pushing her wispy hair out of her face like she had thirty time before. Lauren met gazes with Camila, who's shoulders were turning the color of rubies, because the Los Angeles heat was unbelievable, especially since they had been filming the same damned scene for hours now.

As she stepped closer to Camila, Lauren recited her line, "So where do we go from here? Is this goodbye?" Lauren inquired, forcing her face to screw up into a frown.

"Being alive in the technological era must be a sign of fate," Camila stated, fiddling with the strap of her purse, "There's always Skype, and I'll promise to call you or write you or God, I'll do anything to talk to you," Camila exhaled, forcing silent tears down her cheeks, "And once we're both eighteen, we can get the hell out of where we are, and live together," Camila clasped Lauren's hands, "It's going to happen."

Lauren nodded, audibly choking back tears. Faking despair wasn't difficult, considering the fact that the perspiration from the heat could be passed off as mourning the loss of someone special, but the audience didn't have to know that.

"Promise to remember me?" Lauren questioned, holding out her pinkie.

Camila wrapped her smallest finger around Lauren's, and whispered back, "I promise."

They shook their tiniest fingers together, and a disembodied voice off stage beckoned for Camila's character. Camila let go of Lauren's finger, and then wrapped her arms around her neck, standing up on her toes to plant a kiss on Lauren's lips. Lauren acted surprised, but then relaxed into the peck on lips, and waved Camila off when she turned to walk away, and into the sunset.

"Cut!" The director called, "Take five while I watch this back, hopefully we don't have to do this ever again."

Lauren silently thanked God that they had a few minutes to themselves, because she needed to lay down on the ground and place a water bottle against her forehead as soon as possible. If the temperature wasn't bad enough, Lauren was decked out in heavy blue jeans, cowboy boots, and a plaid shirt that was tied just above her belly button. She was currently the walking stereotype of a Southern Belle, and she couldn't help but ask herself how the hell country people put up with this every day.

"Come here, sweetheart," Ally called, holding up an ice pack while she simultaneously fanned herself off, "Let's pray this is your last shot. You're going to have a heat stroke."

"I'm fine, mom," Lauren joked, because sometimes, Ally was like her overbearing mother.

Camila jogged over to join them, a sweating bottle of water dangling from her fingers. Lauren felt a bit vexed for her girlfriend, because she was decked out in a leather jacket and black skinny jeans, which probably wasn't much better than Lauren's get up.

"Hey, Cam," Lauren cheered, her overall aura changing from miserable to elated in a matter of seconds.

Camila popped down on the grass next to Lauren, stripping off her jacket as she rested her head on her girlfriend's shoulder.

"It's so fucking hot," Camila moaned, nesting her head farther into the crook of Lauren's neck.

Lauren petted Camila's sweat drenched hair, "I know, babe, hopefully this is all over soon."

When Lauren stopped being all lovey dovey with Camila, she turned her attention back to Ally, who's face was reeking with confusion, and her slanted eyes were daring Lauren to give her an explanation.

"What...I don't," Ally muttered out, cocking her head to the right like a confused puppy, "Lauren, is this why you've been such a push over lately? Are you guys just really friendly now, or are you doing it behind my back?"

Lauren automatically blushed a bright red, because again, Ally was like her mother, and sex definitely wasn't something she wanted to discuss with her. Plus, Lauren was a bit sober to the fact that she and Camila hadn't had sex yet, and had barely gone further than the kissing stage.

"No! God, no," Lauren boiled, her hands sweating for a completely different reason now, "We're uh, dating, but it's kind of on the down low."

Ally's eyebrows furrowed together, "Lauren, sweetheart, I don't know if you have a concussion or something, but you guys have been dating in the public eye for a few months now," Ally said slowly, like Lauren was a young child who didn't know any better.

"Wait, you didn't tell Ally that we're together?" Camila asked, obviously offended, "Why would you keep us a secret? Are you ashamed of me?"

"No! It's not that, Camila, I promise," Lauren scurried to formulate an answer, "You're definitely nothing to be embarrassed about, I just didn't," Lauren bit her lip, afraid of admitting the truth, "I'm scared, and you know that."

Camila frowned, "You can't be scared forever, Lauren."

"Well right now isn't forever, you have to give me time, and I'm not educated or well bred in relationships, you're my first, Cam," Lauren confessed, and now, she was the one that was ashamed of her lack of experience in the dating department.

"God, I'm sorry I snapped," Camila apologizes, "It's a million degrees out, and I'm lashing out on you and you're the only thing that makes me happy and fuck, we're both so bad at relationships," Camila laughed at her own expense.

"Then we can be awful at this together," Lauren commented, smiling a bit, "Unless you're insinuating that we break up, then I might be a little heartbroken."

Camila shook her head rapidly, "Oh, no! No, we're going to make it through this, even if we have no idea what we're doing."

Lauren grinned at this, and her sentimental side skipped a beat.

"Lauren, Camila!" The director called, "I think this will suffice, but let's see your input."

The girls trotted through the grass over to the camera, which displayed tinier versions of themselves on the screen. The shot was clear, the sun wasn't blinding the focus, and all in all, they looked good. When the kissing scene was built up, Lauren almost screamed, because she somehow felt like she was watching her own sex tape.

"So?" The director asked as a tiny Camila walked off into the sunset.

"It's a wrap!" Camila yelled, stealing his line, and the entirety of the cast erupted in applause, and some even immediately grabbed their things and started heading toward some shade. Camila hugged Lauren koala bear style, and exclaimed, "I cannot believe I just finished filming my first movie, it's probably the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Lauren rocked back, asking sarcastically, "Even more than us?"

Camila pulled back, "You're included, without the movie, I would never would have met you."

"I honestly can't even imagine what that would have been like," Lauren admitted, remembering how just a few weeks ago, she had been wallowing in her own misery and confusion, and then, she and Camila made things official.

"You know," Camila started, her arms still around Lauren's neck, "Seeing us kiss on screen was kind of hot."

Lauren giggled, and closed the space between them, planting a more romantic and involved kiss on Camila's lips, and when they were later hanging out in Camila's trailer, Lauren felt like she had opened a new chapter in her life.