A Light in the Dark

Chapter 42

A/N: Hi guys! I used a little bit of Ronan Keating's When You Say Nothing At All  in this chapter. Enjoy!

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"You really thought of everything, didn't you?" Lauren asked her as she accepted the mug of hot chocolate that Camila gave her.

"Sure did," she chuckled and poured some of the sweet drink into her own mug from the Thermos bottle. "Honestly, blankets are fine and all, but sitting on a rooftop in November? That practically screams  for hot chocolate."

Camila watched how Lauren carefully brought the cup to her lips, taking a sip. How could something so ordinary look so cute? She shook her head and looked to the candles that bathed the rooftop in a warm and slightly wavering light. She needed to get a grip.

"Not as good as mine, but it's okay," she heard Lauren's playful voice and snorted.

"Of course it's not, you still haven't revealed your secret ingredient," Camila replied, before she glanced back to Lauren who raised an eyebrow at her.

"But it's a secret!"

"Does that mean you'll never tell me?" she asked incredulously.

"Well, it's a family  secret. I can't do anything about it," Lauren told her smugly. "You'll have to become a Jauregui to know it."

She bit her lip and tried to suppress a smile. Lauren was making this way  too easy for her. "If that's a marriage proposal, I regretfully have to decline, Lauren... Don't you think we should start dating first? You know, get to know each other more before we plan on spending the rest of our lives together?"

As soon as Lauren had heard the m-word, her head snapped around to face her, with an expression of pure shock as her cheeks started to turn into a crimson red.

"Wh-what?" Lauren squeaked and rubbed her neck with her free hand. "N-no, that's not what I... I mean, not that I don't... I just... no, wait, I'm not..."

Not being able to hold back her laughter anymore, Camila chuckled amused and shook her head. How could Lauren even think that she was serious?

"Ugh, shut it, Camz..." the green-eyed girl muttered and placed the mug on the ground so she could bury her face in her hands. "Why am I so embarrassing? I'm always making a fool out of myself... always..."

"Welcome to my world," Camila replied carelessly, grinning widely at Lauren. "You're talking to the most awkward person there is, I doubt that you're anywhere near the record I set. You won't get any sympathy from me."

"Hey, you're supposed to say that it was not embarrassing!" Lauren whined, slowly lifting her head.

"Well, but it kinda w-" she stopped herself as she received a glare from the still blushing girl. "It was totally not. Nope."

"You suck," Lauren groaned, running her fingers through her hair.

Camila frowned at the response. Lauren's voice missed the usual playful undertone... something was not right. Others would have probably not noticed it, but something was off. She watched Lauren intensely for a moment and suddenly noticed the faraway look in her eyes.

Camila knew  that look. She had seen it countless times in the mirror. Lauren was seriously beating herself up for a stupid comment like this. What was going on?

"Lauren..."

She slowly reached out and grasped her hand that was fumbling with the zipper of her leather jacket. Why didn't she wear a coat in the first place? Lauren always tried to look as badass as possible... even though she never acted that way... well, around her at least. But this was not the time to analyze that.