Lauren and the girls end up going their separate ways, after mutually deciding to give their teammate some space. Normani and Dinah head to the gym to get in some more training, Ally goes straight home to sleep, and Lauren goes see to the first person she naturally should.
"It's been a living hell. I'm honestly shitting myself just thinking about what that demon has planned for me," the brunette rants, raking her hands down her face miserably.
Brown eyes glare at her, furrowing her eyebrows together as she tosses some more dirty clothes into a communal washing machine. "That 'demon' is renowned around the world as arguably one of the best trainers of the mutant community."
"Yeah yeah, not impressed," Lauren rolls her eyes, waving her hand dismissively. She crosses her arms over her chest, leaning against a wall as she watches her girlfriend do laundry. "She's soul-less, that's what she is."
Tori lets out a laugh and stands up quickly to peck Lauren on the cheek, waggling her finger sternly in the younger girl's face as a warning. She sets the washer and watches as it begins to clean her clothing. "You know that if she walks in, you're dead."
"She's not coming in to do her laundry at night," Lauren shrugs off the warning. "Nobody does. They're too busy either having dinner or studying. It's like 7:30 anyways, I bet she has better things to do. Like burn puppies, or kick kittens."
The blonde walks away and hops up on top of one of the deactivated washing machines, grinning smugly down at her girlfriend. "That's why we have a pig."
Lauren shoots a look of pure shock at her girlfriend, tossing the flattened fold-out hamper at the blonde. "Victoria!"
Tori lets out a shriek and laughs, swatting the hamper away. She adjusts her glasses, pushing them higher up on the bridge of her nose. "I'm just kidding. She's not an animal abuser, she's brilliant and I mean that."
"If it's coming from you, I guess I have to believe it," Lauren sighs, rolling her eyes playfully as she trudges towards her girlfriend.
"It's only to make you guys stronger. I promise, she never does anything just to hurt you. It's always to make you think. Even as kids, she'd play mind games with me. She helped motivate me to never stop thinking outside the box," the physician informs the brunette. She grabs a loose curl that falls into her face and tucks it back into the messy blonde bun sitting on the top of her head.
"I'm still hella stressed," the younger girl complains, letting out a groan as she rests her hands on her girlfriend's knees. Even though they are usually the same sight, Tori sitting on the deactivated washing machine gives her the height advantage, letting her legs dangle down beneath her as she looks down at her girlfriend.
Tori pouts and wraps her legs around Lauren's waist playfully, pulling her closer. "I can tell. You're doing the weird face again."
"Weird face?" Lauren questions curiously.
"Your forehead wrinkles up," Tori elaborates, grinning as she motions to the creases just above the brunette's eyebrows.
"Oh."
"You just need to relax," Tori tells her, swooping down to plant a gentle kiss to her girlfriend's lips.
Lauren keeps her eyes closed, her hands slowly making their way up across the fabric of Tori's leggings to rest on her hips. She hums happily, not bothering to open her eyes back up. "That helps."
"Oh, does it?" The blonde replies, quirking an eyebrow playfully. She leans in and repeats the motion, letting her lips linger for a little longer before pulling away.
Lauren pretends to think before nodding, pulling her girlfriend even closer. She grins, pressing their foreheads together during the momentary separation of their lips. "Yup. Definitely helps."
As things start to heat up, the brunette remembers exactly where they are in a matter of seconds. She pulls away, pursing her lips as her girlfriend lets out a groan of discontent. "Tori..."
"Like you said, nobody does laundry at this time," Tori reminds her, planting a soft ghost of a kiss against the jaw of her girlfriend. "Just relax."
Lauren lets out a sharp exhale and lets her mind go blank, only focusing on the gentle hands rubbing down her shoulders and trailing down her back. Tori pulls the younger girl closer, her lips moving gently against her own. Lauren can taste peppermint, and finds something soothing in being able to associate the taste to her girlfriend. In an eager move, she yanks the blonde forward by the hips, planting herself firmly between her legs as she keeps her head angled up to maintain the connection of their lips. The slender fingers trail forwards from her shoulders, tracing along the collar of her shirt before they loop around the first button of the flannel.
"Be careful," Lauren warns simply, glancing over her shoulder at the door before Tori quickly moves to capture Lauren's lips again. Her mouth is eagerly greeted by an expert tongue, the kiss becoming significantly more heated as Tori makes quick work of unbuttoning the top half of Lauren's flannel. She's not usually one to make out in public places, but this is the first real time Tori seems to be interested in something more than a quick peck. Sure, Lauren's nervous about getting caught, but nobody's really going to be popping up in the laundry room any time soon- so for Tori, she can make the exception.
Or so she thought.
"Chill, I'm getting your damn clothes-"
It's the sound of the pager hitting the floor that Lauren hears and causes her to freeze up.
"Oh my god."
"Shit, Camila," Lauren huffs, yanking the flannel back over her shoulders in an attempt to shield her teammate's eyes from spotting the leopard-print bra she opted to wear today. The girl clamps her eyes shut, hurrying over to the drying machine right by the door and quickly emptying all it's contents into a duffel bag in her hand. Camila has literally seen Lauren half-naked countless times before, so the idea of seeing a lacy bra should be nothing to her, but for some reason, the both of them are incredibly scandalized by the moment.
"Woah, sorry for interrupting! Just picking up my friend's clothes, she was washing but she had to leave before she could... You know what, I should probably stop blabbering and just go."
"Wait, Cupcake..." Lauren starts, knowing they should probably address the super weird moment they just had.
But by the time she turns around, the population of the room is back to two people.
"Cupcake?" The blonde asks curiously, and if she's jealous, Lauren surprisingly can't tell. The older girl chuckles, leaning back on her arms and quirking an eyebrow playfully at the younger girl. "What's that all about?"
Lauren shakes her head. "It's just this thing I do to bug her, don't worry about it."
"I'm not worried. Anyways, back to where we were?" Tori suggests, wiggling her eyebrows provocatively at her girlfriend with a smirk.
"My damn teammate just saw me, shirt off, with your tongue down my throat, and you're still in this kind of mood?" Lauren asks, wide eyed.
Tori bats her eyes playfully, giving a wide goofy smile. "If I don't think about it, I can pretend it never happened."
Lauren laughs at the blonde's response and leans forward to peck her on the forehead. "We had a rough day today, and I'm going to have it even rougher tomorrow. I'm gonna head out and get to bed, okay?"
"Okay, fine," Tori pouts, nodding understandingly. She takes Lauren's face between her hands gingerly and plants a gentle kiss to her lips, adding an extra one to her nose for good measure before unwrapping her legs and motioning for her to go on.
"Bye babe. See you later." The brunette kisses the physician quickly on the cheek before pulling on her jacket and heading out the door.
By the time that she gets back to the dorm, the door is wide open. Lauren sucks in a deep breath, gathering all her bravery before walking in confidently.
"Camila, we need to-"
A slightly familiar voice rings through the room, cutting Lauren off entirely. "She stuck you in a fucking water coffin?"
The snort followed by a Camila's raspy tone assures Lauren that she is not, in fact, in the wrong dorm room. "It was melting by the time they finally got to me. I'm lucky the glass was thick, or else they would have really been in trouble- oh. Hey Lauren."
The smaller foreign girl spins around, grinning widely with big doe eyes at her friend's roommate."You're Lauren? Oh, it's so nice to finally meet my replacement."
The green-eyed brunette laughs, holding out her hand. "I'm assuming you're Jade?"
The cheery smile on the girl's face is enough to light up a Christmas tree. "That would be me!"
Camila watches the exchange before clearing her throat, speaking pleasantly but with her usual level of sassy hot-headedness. "Jade was just here to pick up her clothes. Whatever she was doing conveniently took enough time to not allow her to walk across campus to the laundry room, but somehow be done in time so she can just walk to the building next door and pick it up."
"I finished studying!" The girl defends herself, tossing her hands up with a shrug and a playful smirk. "What can I say, I have a weird internal clock that determines when I'm productive or not."
Lauren quirks an eyebrow at the girl, heading over to their kitchenette to fish out the pita chips from a cabinet. "Wait, for real?"
"No, she's full of shit," Camila grins, earning a glare from her long-time best friend. The foreign girl takes a moment to look around, before pursing her lips in the best attempt to hold a casual conversation.
"So, is um-"
"No," Camila immediately cuts her off, rolling her eyes, "she's not fucking here, JJ."
The brunette narrows her eyes with a pout at her friend, before plucking her clothes out of the girl's hand. "Anyways, thanks for picking up our laundry. Nice meeting you, Lauren."
The captain waves politely, munching on the salty chips. "Same to you, Jade."
"I'll meet up with you soon, Mila," the girl promises, giving her friend a quick hug before clutching the clothes to her body and heading out the door.
"Bye, JJ," Camila calls out happily, seeing her friend disappear down the hall to head to the Delta dorm. She shuts the door and wordlessly comes over to Lauren, grabbing a few chips of her own to munch on.
"She seems nice," Lauren tells her.
The smaller brunette rolls her eyes, keeping her focused trained on fishing out only whole pita chips instead of the crushed up bits. "Don't."
"Don't what?" Lauren questions, squinting at her teammate in confusion. While she usually won't admit it, she she always knows when she's done something to piss Camila off. In this case, she genuinely doesn't have a single clue.
"Do that thing," Camila hisses, still trying to avoid looking up at her roommate. "You look into my eyes, tilt your head, and do the thing."
"I do the thing...?"
Camila sighs. "The thing where you try to figure me out."
The older brunette replies almost instantly. "Can you blame me for trying?"
Camila looks up, biting her lip as she focuses on the wall ahead of her, still ignoring Lauren's gaze.
"You're my teammate," the older girl continues. "I have to 'do the thing.' It's my captainly duty to know how all my teammates work and how to keep them in tip-top condition. I need to know how to help each of them."
Lauren stops and sets the bag down, craning her neck to force Camila to look at her. Brown meets green, and Lauren works her very hardest to get Camila to understand the genuine concern in her voice.
"Help me help you," the captain pleads. "Or a the very least, understand you."
Camila lets out another sigh, her breath shaky as she takes a moment to choose her words wisely.
"Did you ever stop to wonder why I'm with Ariana?"
Lauren shakes her head. "Never crossed my mind."
Her heart laughs at her within her chest, a taunting that irritates her brain.
Hah. Filthy liar.
"We're good for each other," Camila explains, looking back down at the floor. "There are never any serious lows or insane highs in our relationship, just a few bumps here and there. One of the reasons why we work is her power."
"The resistance?"
"She's invincible. Nothing can hurt her."
Lauren thinks for a moment, going back to when she had transformed into Ariana herself. She had spent hours with Camila, but not once did the heat radiating from the younger girl's body ever hurt her, even when things got increasingly intense between them.
Camila takes in another deep breath, motioning between herself and the taller girl back and forth.
"My power is one of the reasons you and I don't work, Lauren."
And slowly but surely, things begin to make sense.
"Is that why you wouldn't hug me, after the lake?" Lauren asks softly, trying desperately to get Camila to look back up at her. "Why you got so upset after we wrestled, why you let go of my hand during Dinah's day? Is that why you seem so hesitant to touch me all the time?"
Camila lets out a humorless laugh, and all Lauren wants is to see those pools of melted chocolate light up again. The sadness and guilt overcoming the smaller girl's gaze is destroying Lauren from the inside out, and she's sure she'd do absolutely anything to return the fire to the girl's eyes.
"Jade's ability is known as adaptive reaction," Camila explains. "If I'd get a little too heated up, her body would figure out a way to cancel it out. It could turn her to stone, to ice, grow thicker skin. She could always figure out how to cancel me out without thinking about it."
Lauren's eyebrows furrow together as her brain makes easy work of the girl's words. "That's why you flipped shit when she moved. You didn't want me as a roommate for a reason."
Camila clenches her fists, her jaw hardening as she narrows her gaze down at the floor. She shakes her head in disappointment, clamping her eyes shut. "Jojo is right. I'm terrified of the guilt that would come over me if I did something."
Lauren's voice becomes increasingly softer as she puts the pieces together. "Your entire mean-girl thing is just to keep me at a distance?"
A shaky breath escapes the younger girl's lips, her gaze focused on her two hands as she holds them in front of her. Her gaze is that of disgust as she stares at her open palms. "I'm scared I might-"
"What, burn me?" Lauren asks, almost too aggressively. She motions to her wrist where Camila had grabbed on earlier, and where the red scar of the burn should be, her skin was pale and completely smooth.
Camila bites her lip, her voice raising as she finally looks up at Lauren and lets the truth come out.
"I don't want to hurt you."
And in that moment, it feels like the world revolves around them and only them.
Lauren feels her heart pound, and the words come to her almost as naturally as her breathing does.
"Trust yourself, Camila."
Without warning, Lauren reaches out and puts her hands on the girl's shoulders. Camila flinches at the sudden contact, but when she sees that Lauren is just fine, she lets out a shaky breath.
"I trust you, Camila," Lauren murmurs, staring deep into the warm pools of mahogany brown staring right back up at her. "I trust you."
The younger girl winces, her soft breaths keeping a steady rhythm as she tries to remain calm. "I can't trust myself just yet. It's taken years to get where I am now."
"However long it takes, you're my teammate, Princess. I'm not giving up on you," Lauren tells her, burning holes into Camila's soul with as much determination as she can muster. "And that's a promise."
Lauren could swear on her life that Camila was leaning in (for a hug or a kiss, the world may never know), but the younger girl jumps away as soon as they hear the rapid knocking on the door. The familiar voice calls out from the other side, a cheery accent to match the cheery personality.
"Mila, Jesy's in the mood for pizza and she told me to tell you that you're invited to make it a slumber party of 3 if you want."
Camila takes a step away from Lauren, clearing her throat as she allows herself to smile gently.
"I'm gonna go spend the night at Jade and Jesy's if, that's okay. I just think I need some time to clear my head."
The older girl nods, scratching at the back of her neck with an approving nod. "Yeah, Cupcake, I think that'll be a good idea."
Camila hurries over to the door, yanking it open to reveal a beaming Jade standing happily in the hallway."
"I'll be right out, JJ," the brunette assures her friend. "Let me go pack a bag really quick. I need to go get my toothbrush and whatnot."
So she slips into the bathroom, leaving Jade in the hall and her teammate standing alone in the room.
Lauren plays with her thumbs awkwardly, before coughing to break the tension. "Do you, um, want to come in?"
The cheery girl immediately takes up Lauren's offer and steps right into the room. "Thanks!"
"Your teammate is cool with Camz coming over? The same one who shoots dirty looks at us when we're training in the same general vicinity?" Lauren questions, leading the other girl to laugh. It reminds her of Ally's laugh, a glorious sound that could revive the dead if she tried hard enough.
"Oh, the girls don't see Camila as part of the threat individually," Jade assures her, brushing off the comment with a good-natured smile. "They're kind of competitive, they only hate her when she's with you guys."
"So which one of my teammates do you have a crush on, again?" The captain asks curiously, crossing her arms over her chest as she leans back against the counter.
Jade gives a cheeky grin and flops backwards onto Camila's bed. "The one with the brown eyes."
Lauren glares at the older girl. "They all have brown eyes."
"Exactly," Jade pokes her tongue out at the brunette playfully. "I can't go around telling people all my secrets."
"But if you tell me, I could help figure out if she's interested and put in a good word for you."
As soon as she realizes the valid point, the British girl's eyes go wide.
"IT'S-" Jade starts to shriek, until Camila appears in the doorway of the bathroom and chucks a dirty sock straight into her face.
"We'll tell you when the time is right," Camila cuts her off, grinning as she grabs a banana off the counter and peels it on her way out the door. "C'mon, Blabber-Mouth."
"Bye again Lauren!" Jade sing-songs, as she follows out the door.
"Have fun Jade," the green-eyed girl laughs, standing in the doorway as she waves to the girls heading down the hall. "See you tomorrow, Princess."
So she's just about ready to start her Case Studies homework when her pager buzzes at her, and seeing as she hasn't gotten entirely into study mode just yet, she decides to check it.
1 NEW MESSAGE
Camila: we're even now.
Lauren: ?
Camila: you've seen me making out shirtless, i've seen you making out shirtless. the score is 1-1. let's keep it at that
Technically, the score is 1-2, she thinks to herself, before replying with a grin.
Lauren: sounds like a plan to me
At the end of the night, she tries not to worry about how Camila will sleep tonight, as she signs to an empty room just for the hell of it. She slips her headphones over her ears and tries not to think about what horrors her trainer has in store for her tomorrow as she drifts off to sleep.
In the morning, the roommates are the first to meet up in front of the building, waiting expectantly for the other three. Camila holds up one hand submissively, using the other hand to munch on her favorite fruit.
"I won't bring it up if you won't."
"Bring what up?" Lauren questions, with a quirked eyebrow, because honestly, there's a lot that went on yesterday. From Camila's melt-down to her confession to catching Lauren and Tori making out, Lauren's pretty sure she could be referring to quite a few different things.
Thinking it's a joke, Camila laughs and waves as she spots the rest of the girls coming outside. Lauren desperately wants to ask to clear up her confusion, but she simply bites her tongue and follows the rest of the girls to their first class.
The day flies by, and everyone is jittering in anticipation as they prepare for their final day of hell.
"Last day," Camila sighs, cli'mbing up the stairs on her way to the simulator room. "I think I'm gonna miss this.
"I'm not," Normani huffs, letting out a snort as she follows behind Camila. Dinah, who was at the front of the group, happily holds the door open for the rest of her teammates.
"Yeah, can we please get this over with and go back to the usual stuff?" Ally begs, blowing a kiss to the hybrid as she enters the room. Dinah follows Lauren as the girls all line up for the final trial of the week.
"Well girls, it's been quite a week," the trainer starts, before handing out the earpieces one by one. As she gets to Lauren, she grabs her chin with one hand, tilting it to examine Lauren's face. "Sweet little captain, there's a reason I saved you for last."
The girl rolls her eyes, waiting for the captain to release her grip on her face. "Oh joy."
"Jauregui, step forward," the woman instructs, turning her back on the girls and sauntering over to the control panel. The captain takes a deep breath, and after looks and touches of encouragement from her teammates, she does as she is told.
Lauren finds herself on a bridge, her skin instantly tingling as the raindrops gently mist her skin with every tiny droplet. She feels right at home in the familiar humidity, looking around to take in her surroundings.
Behind her is a gaping hole where the rest of the bridge should be, but seems to be blown out. Off in the very distance, she can see a tram coning towards the gap, full of people screaming for their lives as the breaks refuse to work. Lauren feels her face grow pale as she bolts towards it, processing a proper plan in her head.
"We all know you do well under pressure, but this simulator isn't always like the real world. How can you plan things when they don't happen in an exact pattern? Are you easily overwhelmed, Jauregui?"
The girl grits her teeth as she keeps running, but stops just short of the hole, unsure how to cross it. "Not at all, ma'am."
"I'll send in your girls one at a time," Jojo explains. "Do with them as you see fit."
It's a mere matter of seconds before the trainer continues talking, her voice entertained yet aggressive through the earpiece.
"There's a car flipped over, survivors are still inside. What do you do?"
Lauren turns on her heel to spot the car and heads over to the wreckage, making quick work to will a stream of water up and under the car, using it like a hydraulic system to lift it up off the hood. She can see the passed out family inside, blood staining each of their bodies, but their chests all still rising and falling.
Before she knows it, a head of blue curls pops up besides her, a welcome sight for sore eyes.
"Chameleon here," the girl grins, "ready to help."
Lauren smiles in return, motioning to the overturned vehicle. She speaks quickly, trying to prepare for whatever Jojo will throw at her next. "The car is propped up by the ice, but it'll melt soon. Get them all out, heal them up, and take them away from this area. It's dangerous for them.
"I love when you get bossy with me," Normani grins, sending a playful wink at her teammate as she works to pry open one of the doors.
"Quit flirting and get to work," Lauren replies, laughing as she slaps her friend on the ass and jogs away from the wreck, fully confident that Normani will be able to handle herself.
The trainer's voice rings out once again as the rain goes from a light drizzle to a slightly heavier pace.
"There's a man threatening to jump off the bridge, what do you do?"
Lauren looks up immediately, spotting the person gripping to the scaffolding. She groans and furrows her eyebrows, not at all sure how she might handle this one.
Moments later, Dinah drops in, landing powerfully on the balls of her feet and even indenting the asphalt of the bridge road. She looks up at her captain, clearing her throat with a goofy salute. "Agent Hansen, reporting for duty."
Lauren lets out a content sigh at seeing the trust brawns of the group and motions to the man on the scaffolding. "I'm going to yell up to the guy up there." She points to their teammate over farther, who is turning a young boy into Lauren, then back to himself after a few moments of healing himself up. "You go help Mani pull the people out of the car."
Dinah furrows her eyebrows as she counts the bodies, then processing how many seats would have been in the car. "They're all out."
Lauren glances over just to make sure, before waving her hand dismissively. "Then just stand here and wait."
She cups her hands around her mouth, ready to yell up to the man, before her trainer's voice in her earpiece completely cuts her off.
"That tram is about to derail and take 50 passengers to their watery graves. What do you do?"
Remembering the tram from earlier, she knows that this is issue practically made for one teammate in particular.
"Dinah!"
The hybrid zooms past her, running at full force to clear the massive jump as if she's just hopping over a crack in the pavement. "Already one step ahead of you!"
Seconds later, Ally pops up next, landing with a dainty gasp and a giggle right next to the captain. Lauren groans in relief and grabs her hand, motioning up to the guy in the framework.
"He's threatening to jump. Can you handle it?"
Ally nods, a determined pout coming over her adorable features as she lifts herself up on a forcefield. "On it," she assures the captain through her earpiece.
Jojo's voice is heard one last time.
"Your teammate has lost her grip and is in a dangerous situation. What do you do?"
And then time seems to freeze.
Camila pops up right in front of Lauren, barely managing to smile at her teammate before tipping backwards and disappearing beneath the edge of the bridge. The other girls all start to notice how calm they are about their situations compared to Lauren, who is breathing so heavily, each girl can hear it loud and clear through the communicators.
"Lauren, you never told us your greatest fear," Ally points out slowly, making the realization as the man finally agrees to just stop and think about his choices.
Running towards the edge, everything tunes out to Lauren as she rushes to Camila's rescue. She grabs a suspension cable from the wreck and lashes it out in front of her, hoping for a miracle.
"Haven't you guys figured it out?" Jojo questions in disbelief. The girls remain quiet, feeling a bit embarrassed by their trainer's patronizing reaction. "Unbelievable. You're so busy following your leader's perfect instructions that you forget to notice patterns. Things like this will get you killed in an operation."
"Notice the way Lauren pairs you all up. Normani is always with Ally, Dinah is allowed to move freely, and Lauren typically works with Camila."
"She's canceling out the opposites," Normani murmurs, her voice soft.
"What Normani lacks in offensive abilities, Ally can make up for. What Ally lacks in stealth and agility, Normani is more than talented in. Dinah Jane is the most well-rounded out of the group, with former training prior to this, and works just fine with simple instructions. Camila is headstrong and passionate, but impulsive. Her partner has a gift for thinking things through. Lauren is undereducated and lacks good reflexes. Her partner makes up for this with her vast education and that same quick impulsiveness."
"Okay, so Lauren is good at covering weaknesses and reinforcing strengths. I don't understand how that's a fear," Dinah instantly defends her captain, letting out a grunt as she struggles to keep her feet on the ground as she holds the tram in place.
"Think of the past simulator trials we've done," Jojo tells them. "Now, how many of those have resulted with fatalities?"
"None," Ally immediately answers. "If someone dies she makes us start over."
"And when it comes to eliminating the target, who is always the one to get their hands dirty?"
"Well, it depends," the eldest continues. "There was that one time where Mani had to execute the one villain with her gun. That other time, Dinah just ripped his head right off. There was also that one time where Mila and I trapped that lady in a forcefield and just made everything inside it blow up-"
Dinah is the one to make the connection, her voice low.
"But Lauren has never killed anyone."
"This purity of heart will work against her," Jojo warns. "What happens when a mission is on the line and she finds herself unable to sacrifice a life for the safety of millions? What happens when someone is holding her at gunpoint and she can't bring herself to kill them?"
"She pairs you up to keep you safe," the woman continues. "She sees the vulnerabilities in everyone and works at her very hardest to keep them protected and handled. "
"That's why she's always asking if everyone else is okay," Normani adds, the pieces clicking in for everyone as the trainer continues to unfold the mystery that is Lauren Jauregui's greatest fear.
"When Tori and Brad examined her blood work, her body showed elevated signs of cortisol."
"That's the stress hormone," Normani explains, turning a little boy into Dinah with one hand and his mother into Lauren with the other. She furrows her eyebrows. "I did a report on it in middle school."
"We thought it was a medical condition at first, but then we realized it wasn't producing any of its usual symptoms. Her body is literally under constant stress, with the desire to keep people safe. The same way Dinah doesn't sleep; the same way Camila's temperature is naturally elevated to levels dangerous to most humans. Part of Lauren's power is her undying desire to ensure the safety of those around her."
Jojo pauses.
"Lauren Jauregui's greatest fear, ladies, is that of death by her hands."
"She can't let people die if she's involved," Ally translates, eyes widening in surprise.
"Her fear stems from the immense care for living beings, leading to guilt when life is lost. Her body physically cannot stand the idea of someone dying because of her."
Dinah lets out another grunt, her grip on the floor slipping. "Okay, I've got it handled, but the engine on this thing is powerful."
"I got you, Camz, I got you," Lauren murmurs to her teammate, lying flat on her stomach and holding the cable firmly in her hands as she works to try and hoist the girl back up and over the edge.
"Lauren, are you listening?" Camila hisses, narrowing her eyes at the captain, who seems lost in her own world.
"I can't help, DJ," Ally replies apologetically. "I'm with the jumper."
A smashing noise can be heard in the background before Normani responds. "There's another car wreck over here. The dad's gone but I can still get the girl alive. I'm not available."
Camila glances down at the old suspension cable holding her up, then at her captain. She takes a deep breath, realizing the measures they're going to have to take.
"Lauren, let go."
The captain stares down at the brunette as if she's crazy, mustering all her strength to try and pull her back up. "I'm not gonna fucking let go, Camila."
"There's water underneath us! If I fall in, I'll be okay," Camila assures her, before taking a slightly more gruesome guilt tactic. "But if that tram goes in, they'll sink and every last person will die. You need to help Dinah Jane."
"You can't swim though," Lauren instantly objects, her eyes pleading silently with Camila to not do this.
"One you guys finish, Dinah can come get me, Ally can use a field to fish me out, Mani can turn me into you and get me to breathe- Lauren, it's okay. I got over my fear. It's time you get over yours."
"I don't want to lose you."
"And I promise, you won't."
The idea of letting her teammate plummet into the water below absolutely destroys her, so Lauren refuses to even consider it as an option.
Camila recognizes this stubbornness and knows she'll have to take matters into her own hands.
So with an apologetic look resembling the one Lauren gave her during their first ever simulation, she unclasps her fingers and lets go of the cable.
Lauren doesn't really remember much after that. All she knows is that she froze the tram in it's tracks, allowing Dinah to demolish the engine and rip open the metal doors to release the passengers. Ally comes down with the man on a forcefield, and as soon as his feet touch the ground, they're back in the simulator.
She's so overwhelmed as they return to the real world that all she can really manage to do is throw up, gagging up the contents of her lunch onto the cold tile floor of the room.
Nobody flinches, nobody turns up their nose in disgust. The only way to describe the atmosphere is completely and utterly defeated.
"Hopefully this week has worked to humble each and every one of you," Jojo starts, not even remotely concerned with the captain on the floor. "Back to regular training tomorrow. Get the hell out of my sight. Dismissed."
And Lauren can now understand why Camila nor Dinah wanted any sympathy.
For girls like Normani and Ally, who are naturally in touch with their emotions, getting over the experience would be easy. But Lauren feels so broken, so insignificant, and so vulnerable, that she really doesn't want to even see anyone's face right now.
She gets up on her own, wiping her mouth clean with her wrist and hurrying to gather her things.
"Good work team. See you tomorrow."
And with that and not even a glance back at the girls, she's gone.
The dark grey sky helps Lauren feel calm and broody as she lays in her bed, curled up in a ball with her headphones on and a book in her hands. After her pager buzzes for the millionth time, she hisses and finally checks it.
5 NEW MESSAGES
Ally: I've got a batch of vegan peanut butter chunkies just screaming your name. Hurry before Dinah inhales them all. Hope you're okay. Lots of love xoxoxoxox
Normani: does that offer of helping me get ready for my date still stand ? Brad's taking me out and i'm trying to get laid (:
Camila: spending the night with ari and Z, they got back a few minutes ago. don't miss me too much. no healthy food on my bed
Normani: okay that was my dumb attempt at making a joke Jesus is going to kill me so is my grandma and my mother oh lord please just let me know that ur alive and well and not sulking to LDR or somethin
Tori: Camila just called me. It was impossibly awkward. She told me what happened though. Do you want me to come over?
Lauren puts her pager on silent and turns her music up even louder. She wants to block out the world, to just sit by herself like she has been for the past hour, listening the her music and enjoying the clouds and immersing herself in her book. She wants something, anything, to distract her from the horrors she had to endure that day.
When her pager buzzes despite being on silent, Lauren knows this is an official alert that she's not allowed to just ignore. She groans and checks the pager again, opening the message immediately.
Jojo: Meeting
Jojo: Now
Lauren: what, forget to taser me at practice?
Jojo: Captain's meeting. Going over important things.
Lauren: I'll be at your office in 10
Jojo: You'll meet me by the amphitheater in 5
The girl rolls her eyes and forces herself up and off the bed, grabbing the first sweatshirt she sees off the floor (damn, they really need to clean) and slipping on a pair of sneakers before heading outside.
She hurries across the quad because she knows that her trainer is probably serious about the 5 minutes thing. The cloudy dark sky hisses angrily before releasing the heavy rainfall, and honestly, it's the best thing that has happened to Lauren all day.
She steps down past the grass into the stony steps of the theater, not worrying about slipping. When a sharp pain hits her right in the hip, she watches the stone fall to the ground and whips her head up to meet the hazel gaze of the older woman, standing happily beneath a black umbrella.
"Come on, Fishcake. I wanna show you something."
The girl, soaking wet but not unhappily, follows behind her trainer with a hiss. "That was beyond inhumane, Jojo."
"It was a pebble, calm down."
"No, not the rock, the fucking practice you've put my team through."
"Don't generalize," Jojo chastises, seeming incredibly calm despite Lauren's increasing rage. "All the girls seemed fine to me today."
"How come you love to pick on me, especially? You're always so much tougher on me and everyone else has noticed," the younger girl informs her, clenching her jaw as she feels the frustration building.
The trainer chuckles, lacking any compassion whatsoever. "You're the captain, get used to it."
"I've been doing this for barely 6 weeks!" Lauren snaps, following the older woman down the trail behind the amphitheater and into the woods. "This is my first time doing half the stuff you throw at me and do you ever hear me complaining? I work my ass off to be a good leader and it's like all you notice are the fucking mistakes I make."
Jojo slows her pace, glancing over at the captain from over her shoulder. "I expect more from you Lauren, not only as a captain, but because of who you are. You're just like me, kid."
"I am nothing like you," Lauren spits venomously, her fingernail digging into her palms as she clenches her fists.
"I beg to differ," Jojo chuckles, before waving at the girl and shushing her. "Now shut up and listen to my story."
"I had a team just like your's, just a few years back. Rank 1. Professor Mitchell, Miss Benson, Miss Bellisario, and another girl named Lucy.
"We were the best team of our time. Our trainer was a brilliant man, but he was used to training Rank 2's. Therefore, we were a bit underprepared, but an incredible team, nevertheless.
"One day, we faced this thing. I ended up facing a choice. Lucy, or the civilians."
Her voice soft, Lauren finds herself lost in the story, surprised the trainer would even mention anything about her life, much less a significant event in it. "What did you choose?"
"I didn't make the choice for myself. I didn't get to."
She watches as her trainer takes a deep breath, holding the umbrella above her head as she stops, turning to face a small clearing.
"Lucy just let go. And I had to let her."
Lauren finally realizes where they are, glancing up to see the tombstones scattered all around the clearing. The first that stand out to her are the two identical Kelly headstones, side-by-side and each belonging to one of Tori and Noah's parents. She looks back up at her trainer, who is staring out at the graves with a nostalgic expression and a clenched jaw.
"I quit after that. I came to train other high-risk teams, Rank 1's and 2's, to teach others how to avoid the same mistakes I made. I'm trying to help you learn from my mistakes. I'm trying to help you understand the greatest lesson I never learned until it was too late."
"Teammates come first?" Lauren guesses.
"No. Sometimes, sacrifices will be made. They will need to happen. You need to learn that you can't save everyone, Lauren."
Green eyes trace over the tombstone, the name "Lucy Hale" permanently etched into her mind.
The energy shifts to a significantly less depressing one as the trainer quirks an eyebrow, keeping her gaze focused on the cemetery. "By the way, how good of an idea is it to be dating your team physician?"
Lauren blinks in surprise before answering confidently. "It's a good one if you like her."
"Oh trust me, she's smitten with you. When we go over stats at home, all she can do is gush about how amazing you are."
The trainer pauses.
"I doubt your dedication though, Jauregui."
Lauren takes offense to this, immediately defending herself in a snappy tone. "I'm just as interested in her as she is in me."
"Oh I bet," Jojo deadpans sarcastically. "But besides this being incredibly unprofessional, it's also immensely rushed and unplanned."
"I've known her for 6 weeks," Lauren counters. "I'd hardly call it rushed."
"A month and a half, good for you. But I see you, Lauren. I'm in your head, I know how you think because it's the same way I think," Jojo tells her, glancing over at her momentarily before shaking her head. "I know what you would be like if you were in love, and I'm not seeing that here, with Tori."
Lauren tries her very hardest not yo say something to the trainer that she'd regret, so she keeps her tone as polite as possible. "With all do respect, ma'am, as similar as you think we are, we're different people. My feelings for Tori are genuine and real, and I don't know what you see, but I intend to be the best girlfriend I possibly can be to her."
The trainer pauses before answering, in a serious tone with an obvious protective instinct. "That's my sister, you hear me, Jauregui? She already fell for someone who ditched her for the first hot piece of ass to come by that douchebag, and I had to pick up the pieces after that dick broke her. You break her heart, and I'll break you."
Lauren nods solemnly. "Understood."
The trainer looks over her again, before her eyes land on the Academy crewneck she has on. She smirks. "You know that's Camila's sweatshirt, right?"
"I just grabbed the first jacket off the floor," Lauren explains.
Jojo nods, before shrugging. "You guys are good together."
"Excuse me?" Lauren shrieks, her eyes nearly bugging out of her head.
"Demi told me that she was sure you guys would end up destroying each other. 'Too different,' she told me. That's why, during the first simulator, I was surprised that you picked her to work with. But I was in good faith to make you captain. You're turning her into something incredible. You guys are perfect partners, you're good together."
Lauren's mouth forms the shape of an "o" after the explanation, immediately feeling embarrassed that she completely misunderstood the compliment. She doesn't really know how to respond, which is a good thing, because Jojo eventually sighs and pats her gently on the back.
"I don't think you're a bad leader, kid. My dad does't make mistakes when it comes to putting teams together. I don't make mistakes when it comes to picking captains." She lowers her voice, leaning in so she can add one last thing. "Don't let it get to your head, but you're easily the best leader I've ever trained. You make my job easy, Lauren. You have a true gift."
Before Lauren can answer thankfully, the trainer gives her a gentle shove, pushing her away playfully.
"If you get cocky I'll stick you right in another fun simulator," she threatens. The woman smirks and motions for her to go on. "Get the fuck out of my sight and go enjoy your Friday night."
The younger brunette laughs and playfully salutes to her trainer. "Yes ma'am."
She's not sure who to call or text first, but as she's walking past the amphitheater and into the quad with the pager in her hand, it suddenly goes off.
1 NEW MESSAGE
So she opens it, heading back out towards her dorm as the rain soaks her skin.
Dinah: When we were training at the camp, I had two roommates, and a friend across the hall. Zayn, Tristan, and Niall. They were brothers to me.
Lauren's a bit confused as to why Dinah is telling her this, but she remembers that Dinah hates non face-to-face communication, so this must be significant. She reads on.
I was the original hybrid, therefore the strongest. I was forced to snap their arms for reasons that were not revealed to me. I had to break them in 6 different spots, then do it again, and again. It killed me to hurt them like that.
The story is starting to confuse (and slightly concern) her, but she continues.
But they were never upset with me. And so I asked why they weren't upset with me. Tristan explained that he was actually grateful. Each time the bone broke, it would grow back stronger. Eventually, they'd have bones as solid and strong as mine.
And the comes the ultimate Dinah wisdom Lauren is starting to love from her.
Then Zayn explained it to me this way. Strength cannot not come from strength. The only time you can learn to be strong is not in the absence of weakness, but in its acceptance.
Being here with you guys made me realize what that really means. I only hope it helps you as much as it helped me. - Dinah
And Lauren finally cries.
She lets the tears mix with the rain pelting her face, just letting out the frustrations of the week and the genuine, moving emotion of the sweet text.
Ally: Whatever Dinah just sent you must be very important because she let Mani have the last chunkie so she could finish that text. Mani's heading out on date #2 with Brad now. We love you, Lolo <3
Lauren: thanks for the concern, just gonna take the night off. love you guys too.
After a hot shower and a long night of sleep, Team 5 moves into Saturday practice as if nothing had happened.
The confidence is back, but instead of being happy with it, the team becomes motivated. They push each other to be better, to test their own limits, to figure out what they can accomplish for themselves and for their team.
During their run, which is across the quad and not around the track this time, Lauren notices that all of Camila's scratch marks are completely gone. The captain lets out a sigh of relief for this. But Camila starts to sweat, makeup melts off her skin to reveal horrible black and blue welts along her neck and down her spine. Lauren feels the back of her neck burn, her fists balling up and her jaw clenching at the sight. She reminds herself that she has no reason to be upset, that Camila's sex life is her own and Lauren has no control over that.
Today they train out by the lake, since Jojo wants them to enjoy the mud left from the heavy rain last night. It even begins to drizzle right as they begin training, which elates Lauren and Dinah but makes the rest of the girls groan in protest.
Dinah seems the most at home, demolishing the obstacle course in half the time it takes the rest of her teammates. Jojo only seems to keep approving, grinning proudly at the hybrid as she crosses the finish line with minimal effort. Her eyes lock with the emerald green gaze of the captain, and she gives a nod of approval as her sign of encouragement. As a whole, most of the girls manage to get through and only get their feet dirty.
Jojo generously cuts practice short that day, insisting that the girls have earned it due to the tough week. Everyone is shocked at their trainer's kindness, but Lauren feels proud of herself for having this kind of effect on the generosity of her trainer.
So the trainer leaves and the girls all are getting ready to go as well, until Normani insults the one thing Dinah will not stand for.
"Yeah, you might need to hit the gym, DJ," the blue-haired girl informs her, grinning mischievously. "You're looking a little flabby."
Ally's eyes go wide, obviously knowing the effect this comment will have on the hybrid. "Oh no."
Dinah spins around, pouting as she lifts her arms up and flexes. Even through the long sleeves of the warmup, the girls can all see the defined musculature in the youngest girl's powerful arms.
Camila leans in towards Lauren, cupping her mouth so the others can't hear. Lauren keeps her arms crossed and her gaze focused on the slightly vain girl happily examining her body.
"In case you haven't noticed, I think Mani is obsessed with Dinah's body," Camila points out, whispering into her ear with a chuckle. "She's fit herself, but every chance she gets, she has Dinah flexing or lifting something."
"Can you blame her, though? She's fucking cut from marble," Lauren responds, motioning to the youngest team member. She grins. "Mani's the only one smart enough to figure out how to enjoy the view without seeming weird about it."
"She's going out with a lab assistant. Stationary workers aren't exactly known for their physiques. My girlfriend is the exception," Lauren continues, letting out a snort. "Mani's just getting her fix elsewhere. It's innocent."
They're all expecting for Dinah to just brush the comment off, but her reaction pleasantly surprises all of them.
She turns and steps directly in front of Normani, blocking her off from walking to the bags. The hybrid has a viciously charming grin, obviously ready to start some trouble.
"If I were going flabby, I obviously wouldn't be able to do this."
Normani's eyes go wide as Dinah starts to reach out for her, back pedaling rapidly to try and get away.
"No, Dinah, stop, if my hair gets mud in it-"
Before she can finish the sentence, she lets out a scream as she slips backwards, grabbing onto Dinah's wrist for support. Unfortunately the two lose their balance and fall back into the thick mud with a splat.
Lauren immediately bursts out laughing, Camila letting out a holler as the two start to wrestle.
"Dinah Jane, I told you!" Normani shrieks, slapping the girl on the arm as Dinah happily sits in the mud.
Dinah is still smiling as she defends herself. "You slipped and took me down with you!"
Ally watches the pair and lets out a groan. "Oh god, I'm going to have to wash those warmups twice..."
"Lauren, a little help?" Normani pleads, as Dinah easily overpowers her and pins her down in the mud.
"Oh hell no, I'm not getting that dirty for you," the captain hisses.
Normani glares at the slightly younger girl, wriggling around in a futile attempt to escape the hybrid's grip. "I did the thing for you, now I'm cashing in a favor!"
Lauren groans and tosses her head back, knowing she is now obligated to help. "Ugh, I hate you, Chameleon."
So Lauren lets out another groan and dives in, clinging onto Dinah's back and trying to take her down. The hybrid grins and simply tips backwards, effectively splashing Lauren's entire backside and ponytail into the wet sludge while pulling Normani on top of her.
"Camila Cabello, to the rescue!" The younger of the remaining clean teammates yells, launching herself into the mess of tangled bodies all squirming around in the mud. She shrieks and laughs as the cold mud hits her body, landing on top of Normani. Lauren lets out a grunt, seeing as she's on the bottom of the pile, which Dinah notices and immediately gets up. Lauren remains latched on to her back, Normani clings to her front, and Camila pulls down on the hybrid's arm with all her might. The girls all try to work in unison to tip the beast over, but Dinah simply laughs and stands her ground, leaning instead of tipping.
Ally furrows her eyebrows, tired of the aggressive horseplay in the mud. "All of you, out right now!"
Three pairs of brown meet green, and they all know exactly what to do without speaking a word.
Camila leaps up and grabs Ally by the arm, pulling her backwards as all the girls sit up and engulf her body in a massive, squirmy hug.
Ally groans and gets up, slapping Dinah on the arm and pointing to the lake besides her. "Go wash up."
The hybrid's eyes go wide. "I don't wanna go in there, there's crabs."
The entire team turns to stare at her in disbelief, and Camila is the one to vocalize their thoughts. "You're a 5'8 military machine capable of lifting nearly a whole ton and yet you're afraid of fucking crabs?"
"Children," Ally huffs, standing up with a dignified attempt at pulling her hair into a ponytail. "I'm dealing with children."
As they all get out of the mud and step onto the dock, Lauren simply brings up a stream of water from the lake, rinsing off each of her teammates to the point where they wouldn't stain anything they walked on. "We're still gonna have to all shower, but at least we won't get the carpets dirty."
So they all head back to the Epsilon dorm, heading happily into Camila and Lauren's hallway after Lauren sucks all the moisture from their bodies outside. Camila searches for her pager in her pockets as Ally tilts her head curiously.
"Hey Mila, how come your pager says 'C. CABELLO' instead of 'K. CABELLO?' Shouldn't it use your real name?"
"It uses the name on file," the girl shrugs, unlocking the door. "My file just says 'Camila Cabello,' not the entire 'Karla Camila Cabello Estrabao' business. It's too much work. They do the exact same thing for Rita Volk, because I don't think her real name would fit on file."
After they all get settled down, Lauren is the first to head into the shower, but she knows it's not a good sign when she sneezes. Lauren Jauregui never sneezes.
She groans and immediately feels the shivers coming on. She tries to prolong her shower for as long as she can, but she eventually has to leave the warmth of the bathroom and return to the dorm room. She heats the air around herself, trying to keep the shivering at a minimum to keep anyone from noticing.
"You look like shit," Normani chuckles, poking fun at her friend's poor condition.
"Just because I regenerate doesn't mean I can't get a cold," Lauren hisses, her teeth chattering at some points. "When it hits, it hits fast and it hits hard."
"I know just the recipe!" Ally shrieks, the outburst startling Dinah enough for her to fall off the bed.
Lauren laughs, partly because of the hybrid now laying on the ground, and partly because she is happy that her friend will be able to finally use all her motherly skills. "Thanks Sunshine."
The eldest team member makes herself right at home and searches through every cabinet and pantry in the girl's kitchen. After a thorough examination, she click her tongue in disapproval.
"Okay, you guys don't have any vegetable stock flavoring so I need to make this in our dorm," she explains, immediately heading over to grab her jacket and toss Dinah's to her as well.
"Yeah, I'm not getting sick," Normani chuckles, blowing a kiss sympathetically to her teammate as she gets ready to head out with the other two. "I love you, Lo, but I don't know what some mutant virus might do to my normal-person body."
Dinah gives another one of her wide-toothed, goofy grins. "I like helping Ally cook."
"She's really good at peeling and chopping vegetables," Normani confirms, letting out a chuckle.
"We'll be back soon, okay?" Ally assures the remaining two, before standing up straight and clearing her throat. "Nurse Allyson, on the job!"
"Thanks guys," she tells them, nodding appreciatively as she lowers herself onto the bed.
Lauren laughs as the three bolt out the door, leaving her roommate to shut it and smirk at her captain, who is curled up on her bed. The older girl narrows her eyes at the brunette, clutching her blanket to her body.
"I'm miserable," Lauren hisses.
Camila grins, nodding her head. "I can tell."
"Quit laughing," Lauren pouts.
"It's funny. I could stab you with a knife and you're fine but one little flu virus and you're out for the count." Camila can't help but laugh again, before clearing her throat and heading over to the kitchenette for a glass of water. "Do you want me to call Tori and get her over here?"
Lauren debates it for a moment, before shaking her head. "I don't want to get her sick."
"Oh, well aren't you uncharacteristically considerate." Camila snorts, taking another sip of her water as the pager beeps. She pulls it out, her dark eyes glancing over the message before relating the information to Lauren. "Ally is gonna be a while with that soup. Dinah's sprinting across campus to get her some tofu from the student store."
"I don't mind. The less people in here while I'm contagious the better."
"How noble of you," Camila rolls her eyes, letting out a chuckle. She pauses, biting her lip before she speaks a little more seriously. "Tori thinks you're mad at her."
Lauren props her head up onto her pillow with her arm, raising an eyebrow at her roommate. "Do you constantly talk to my girlfriend?"
Camila's goofy response is almost instant as she grins at Lauren, staring her straight in the eyes. "Only about you."
The captain swear she feels her heart pound a little faster in her chest, but it's probably nothing.
The younger girl laughs and shakes her head before giving an honest answer. "No, it's mostly just been yesterday and today. She just wants to make sure you're okay. She says you haven't talked since Friday morning."
"I'll call her later."
"Okay."
"Thanks."
"Don't worry about it. Get some sleep," Camila instructs, before studying her roommate's face intently. She furrows her eyebrows, smirking the slightest bit. "Damn, you went downhill fast. You really do look like shit."
Lauren glares at her roommate before rolling her eyes and turning to face the wall. Camila chuckles and goes to do her own thing in her own bed, pulling out her laptop and sliding her earbuds into her ears.
Lauren's teeth begin to chatter against each other, and no matter how hard she tries to fight it, her body won't stop shivering. She can only heat the moisture in the air so much, and even with the thick blanket and her fluffy sweats, her body's natural cool temperature is not working in her favor.
She clamps her eyes shut, trying to focus on something warm. Unfortunately, as she opens her eyes, there's no sunlight shining onto the wall she faces. It's only the dim gray of the rainy mid-day sky.
And then her body freezes.
She hears the sigh, but it's the shift of weight in her bed that makes her realize what's really going on. The blanket gets pulled down to allow entry, and before she knows it, slender arms are gently making their way underneath Lauren's waist and around her hips to both rest on her stomach and pull her close. The blanket goes back up over their shoulders, and legs tangle together to keep her feet warm as well. She can feel a soft breath on her neck, she can smell the comforting scent of vanilla and cinnamon, she can feel the warm brown eyes focusing in on the tiny hairs on the back of Lauren's neck.
Camila is cuddling her, and Lauren's body goes from 0 to 100 in seconds.
And then she says something that makes her nearly lose her mind.
"Take off your shirt."
Lauren's eyes bug out of her head, her voice a hissing whisper. "WHAT?"
"Your hoodie is too thick, it's not gonna let the heat go through," Camila explains, her voice unnaturally calm for such a strange request.
"Are you sure this isn't some weird fantasy you've always had?" Lauren teases, before asking a serious question. "Plus, is this safe? What if I get you sick?"
"Shut up. You're freezing and I'm trying to warm you up," Camila explains. "My white blood cells are on steroids, remember? I can't get sick."
Lauren lets out a deep breath. "Do you trust yourself enough to do this?"
"If you've learned to trust me in a just a few weeks, I think I can too," Camila murmurs, before pulling on the hood of her roommate's jacket. "Now, listen to me. I know what I'm doing. Just take off the hoodie."
"My arms hurt," Lauren whines playfully.
"Are you fucking kidding me?"
Lauren grins and scoots away for a moment, unzipping the jacket and tossing it away from her body onto the floor. She's not wearing a lacy bra, so that was good planning on her part, but for some reason she feels much less exposed than when Camila had caught her with Tori.
Her breath hitches as she feels Camila's front press into her back, her hands gripping her stomach to pull her in even closer. Camila's whole body is warm, but not to the point where she would burn Lauren's body. It's easily the most enjoyable sensation Lauren has ever experienced, the way Camila's heat counteracts with her own cool skin and balances her temperature perfectly. The younger girl tries to keep her hands still, but within minutes, she's absentmindedly stroking her fingers along the contours of Lauren's stomach, softly feeling where the muscles of the captain's abs indent.
The feeling of Camila's fingertips and nails gently tracing her body sets her skin on fire, as if every nerve in her body is extra sensitive. Overwhelmed with the sensation, Lauren tries her very hardest to come up with something to talk about in an attempt to distract herself. So she blurts the first question to come to mind, clamping her eyes shut.
"Are we friends?"
Camila doesn't seem phased by the strange question, taking a moment to consider her answer. "No."
"I've considered you a friend since you told me the that thing on Thursday," Lauren confesses.
"After you met Jade?"
"Yeah."
"I hate you, and you know that."
Lauren can't help but chuckle, letting out a soft sigh. "I know."
There's a pregnant pause, and Lauren can practically hear Camila thinking. After a few minutes of heated silence, the younger girl's voice comes out as a quiet murmur, nearly a whisper. "But if you're willing to have a friend that hates you, then I guess we can be friends."
And it's the first real, major victory Lauren has ever had with Camila, in their strange relationship which she can now happily label as a sort-of kind-of friendship. So she smiles massively at the wall, unknowingly leaning back farther into Camila's grip. The younger girl doesn't fight it, instead clutching her roommate closer to be able to keep her warm.
Lauren decides to poke a little fun with the girl, testing her limits.
"You know, I sing to you every night."
The younger girl groans, pressing her forehead into Lauren's shoulder. "Shut up."
"I'm just saying, I wouldn't complain if you reciprocated the gesture," the captain continues, grinning at the irritated response that feels so natural between them.
"I'm fucking spooning you," Camila hisses, giving Lauren's stomach a gentle smack to prove her point. "What more could you possibly want?"
"Fine, fine," Lauren sighs. "Forget I asked."
Eventually, Camila moves her head to gently rest it on Lauren's shoulder. There's an exaggerated sigh, then softly, almost inaudibly, the raspy tone of her voice comes through and sends shivers down Lauren's spine.
"Lady, running down to the riptide
Taken away to the dark side
I wanna be your left hand man
I love you when you're singing that song
And I got a lump in my throat
'Cause you're gonna sing the words wrong"
The words fade into a slow murmur, eventually dissipating into a whisper as Lauren's eyes flutter shut. Moments later, the girl swears she feels something on her shoulder, a gentle ghost of contact from the lips Lauren has kissed before.
She's not sure how she's supposed to react, if it was a mistake or on purpose or if she's supposed to turn around and do something-
"The sopa is here!"
And then Camila is out of the bed, tossing Lauren's hoodie back over to her and hurrying towards the door.
The older brunette manages to get the article of clothing on before the rest of their team bursts into the room, Ally carrying her first-aid kit in her hands and Dinah lugging the giant pot of soup in her's. Normani has a giant fluffy blanket in her arms, smiling compassionately down at her sick teammate.
"Don't worry Lolo, we're all gonna nurse you back to health. I called Tori, she'll be here soon. Every single one of us is gonna help, okay?" Ally assures her, the massive smile on her face enough to cure cancer. She points to the pyrokinetic, who is standing on the other side of the room with her arms crossed. "Even Camila."
Dinah looks over at the slightly older girl with a hopeful smile. "Right Mila?"
"Yeah," the girl nods, her big brown eyes boring into Lauren's intensely. "You're right."
YOU ARE READING
Glory And Gore (5H AU)
FanfictionAll credits go to the original author! Copied from 5hfanfiction on tumblr.
