you don't have to say i love you (to say i love you)

"Karla Camila - tell me you didn't forget. I know you're a little absentminded sometimes, but you remembered, right?"

The thing is, Camila did forget.

She doesn't say it out loud, but her mother lets out a sigh on the other end of the phone like she can sense it and Camila winces. She flops back onto the sofa and tries to contain her own sigh as she runs a hand through her hair. Ally spares her a concerned look from the other couch.

"No, of course I didn't forget," she lies poorly. "How could I have?"

"You've always been a forgetful thing," her mother says, thankfully sounding more amused than upset. "Didn't one of your friends buy you that calendar for Christmas?"

Lauren got it for Camila's birthday, actually, and it was a gag gift to cover up the real gift of One Direction VIP passes to a concert. Camila hated Lauren for about five minutes that day (but not really).

"You promised to be at your cousin Angelica's wedding," her mother interrupts Camila's thoughts. "You promised months ago."

Camila vaguely recalls a phone conversation with her mother in a dirty club bathroom after a few shots where her mother mentioned weddings anddates. Camila had agreed easily – Lauren was just outside and Camila didn't want to keep her waiting.

"Right, I know that," Camila tells her mother. She watches Dinah nearly knock Normani off a barstool and the squabble that ensues. She smiles.

"So you'll be here, right?"

Any amusement Camila was feeling evaporates and she pulls away from the phone to groan into a pillow. Ally looks worried again, but Normani and Dinah roll their eyes at her.

"It's been really busy these last few weeks," Camila begins, but halts when her mother cuts her off.

"You promised," her mother whines, sadness spotting her tone. "Your cousin Angelica is really looking forward to seeing you at her wedding."

"Alright," Camila folds, "yeah, fine, I'll be there."

"Karla," her mother warns, sensing the hesitation in Camila's voice.

"I'll be there!" Camila says more firmly, her voice chipper and loud enough that Lauren finally pokes her head out of the kitchen with a confused look on her face.

Camila's mother laughs and Camila smiles at the sound. She really does miss her mother, if she's being honest, even if her mother can be overwhelming at times. Camila relaxes onto the sofa, zoning out as her mother prattles on about dresses and tuxes and flowers and other things that Camila figures must make a wedding perfect.

Dinah lands on top of Camila, knocking the breath out of her.

"Walz, I'm breaking up with you," Dinah says seriously as she shoves a cookie in her mouth.

"China, what the fuck-"

"Karla!"

"Ally's cookies are better than yours will ever be – I'm leaving you for her," Dinah says, not looking put out.

"Sorry, Mom," Camila says into the phone, unceremoniously dumping Dinah onto the floor. "It's just – well, it's Dinah," she explains, like that's a legitimate excuse. Dinah's been her best friend for years, way before they went to college together, so Camila's mother is definitely familiar with the wild and loud explosion of a person that is Dinah Jane Hansen.

"Of course," Camila's mother says, like that makes sense. "Oh, and don't forget, you said you were going to bring a date."

That brings a bitter taste in Camila's mouth. She did have a date in mind when she'd originally been told about the wedding, as she'd been dating this guy and they were really hitting it off. Austin was sweet and charming and he really swept Camila off her feet. It was naïve, maybe, for Camila to think they'd go to a wedding together that was months off, but young love and all that.