Three Is A Crowd

Chapter 2: Moist Brownies

What Lauren has soon come to realize, after deciding to overlook all the neon pink bows and hyperactive childishness, is how entertainingly cute Camila is, what with the pouting and stomping and eye-rolling she keeps on doing as if to remind Lauren that her presence is definitely unwanted. And it makes her feel fulfilled, knowing how much effect she has on Camila. She loves pissing people off, it's one of her natural talents, and it's something that she has perfected through the years.

She isn't even sure why she was so rude to her when they first met, because Camila is not that bad; upon reflection, she knew she was being extra when she shot down Camila's attempt at friendship, or civility, at least. Maybe she was projecting her anger at her parents towards her, maybe she was annoyed at Camila's messy ass room, maybe she was mad at the world for caging her in a situation she never dreamed to be in, and Camila was the perfect punching bag that reminded Lauren of her predicament. So yeah, too bad Camila was an easy target at that moment, and Lauren simply took the opportunity to throw in the knockout punch.

What she doesn't take into account is Camila being an adorable puppy that Lauren soon found her to be, so now, she is having a crisis.

All the time she has spent (or wasted, according to her bestfriend, Normani) people-watching, she has observed all the different kinds of human beings, and Camila falls under the type of what Lauren likes to call "puppy dog humans"; where the person is naturally warm, kind, and full of bouncy energy that radiated outwardly. Like a puppy, Camila adores human touches and interaction, has the innate need to please others, and has a welcoming aura that automatically accepts people with open arms. Most importantly, due to their good hearts, puppy dog people have the tendency to forget the wrongdoings done to them after a short while, as they come back again and try to wanna "play" or "get belly rubs". It's like, no matter how many times you kick a puppy, after it's done crying in a corner, it comes back to you an hour later; all cute big eyes, dangling tongue, and wagging tail, and basically begging for your attention again.

Camila, despite all the pouting and complaints about Lauren's "awful manners", still tries to befriend her because she's obviously too goddamn pure and friendly.

After only three days of living together in the same room, Lauren already has a map to Camila's personality. And, she's not gonna lie, she's highly amused.

At first, she thinks of just ignoring her and live the way she initially planned: attend her classes, party hard, indulge in a couple of hook-ups, while staying unattached. But she realizes soon enough that Camila is the best entertainment she has ever encountered in a long while, and she wouldn't waste such a golden opportunity to play with her new toy.

Plans have changed.

Annoying Camila is now her life goal.

***

Camila hastily runs out of the bathroom, while struggling to button up her pants, upon hearing the incessant knocks at the door. She glares at Lauren who's laying so casually on her bed, reading a book, as usual, with her feet propped up on Camila's swivel chair, as if she couldn't hear the loud noise.

"You couldn't even get your lazy ass up to get the door? Really, Lauren? I was peeing!!" She stomps her foot dramatically as she marches towards the door.

Without looking up from the page she's reading, Lauren waves her hand dismissively before flipping Camila off, which makes the brunette red in the face, like a tomato about to explode.