The Voice (Camren)

16. Performing

A/N: I know I'm late to the party, but Lauren came out and I couldn't be any happier for her :)

***

All heads turned to the Cuban-Mexican, who was absolutely overwhelmed. Kissing Lauren Jauregui in national television was not something she had expected to do when auditioning for The Voice.

"What do you say, Ms. Cabello? Would you have a problem with that?" Lauren ambivalently asked.

Camila's usual light brown complexion turned as pale as Lauren's, while she tried to process the impactful news. Lauren immediately noticed the discomfort the girl was experiencing and softly approached her, placing her hand on Camila's forearm and squeezing slightly to calm her.

"No, of course not" Camila answered, raising her head and looking directly into Lauren's eyes. She couldn't refuse. That was definitely not an option because if she did she woukd either be labelled as an homophobic person, which she obviously wasn't, or the rest of the girls would suspect something was going on between her and the coach. She quickly turned her worried expression into a excited one, pushing her turmoil of thoughts and feelings into the back of her head and heart, respectively.

"Ok. Everyone remember we are performing in 30 mins. Make sure to listen to the stage manager's instructions.  Now, take a break" Lauren commanded. "Camila, I would like to have a word with you"

Lauren headed to the corridor outside the dressing room with Camila following her shortly after. They walked down the hallway until they were far enough not to be heard by any of the dancers. Honestly, Camila didn't know what they were doing there. To her, everything was cristal clear, there was nothing to talk about. They stood in front of each other for a few seconds, before any of them spoke up.

"You don't have to do it, you know? If you feel uncomfortable, I can ask another person to do the part. I don't want you to kiss me... I mean, I want to but not this... Nevermind. Just tell me if you'd prefer not to do it" as she spoke, Lauren's confident aura completely vanished and for the first time since Camila had met the green-eyed girl, she could tell she was nervous. And a bit flustered too!

"I... Lauren, my mom is gonna be watching and I  don't think it's a good idea"

"I understand and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you in front of everyone. In my defense, I'll say I had no idea who was the closest person to me in that part of the choreography" Lauren apologized.

"It's ok, Lauren" Camila felt as if she had to confort Lauren, so she reassuringly placed her hand on her coach's shoulder, who immediately relax under the younger girl's touch.

"I guess I'll just ask Normani to do it" Lauren quickly recomposed herself, erasing every single trace of the vulnerability she had shown in a matter of milliseconds. "It's not as if we haven't kissed before" she said, a smug smile dranw onto her fluor lips.

"Wait what? Normani and you have...? What?" Camila exclaimed in utter disbelief.

"Why do you act so surprised?"

"I'm not acting, I am surprised. I thought she was straight"

"So did she" Lauren laughed sarcastically. "But no girl can stay straight around me. That's a fact"

"I am-"

"You what?" Lauren interrupted Camila's protest, smiling triumphantly.

"I am thinking we should go back. I don't wanna miss the great Lauren Jauregui performing, do you?" Camila winked at her coach, deflecting her question. She turned on her heel and made her way back into the dressing room, where the rest of the girls were already waiting.

***

The performance was an absolute success. Everybody loved it. They received an standing ovation from the crowd, full of famous personalities from the film and music industry. On top of that, Lauren won three VMAs out of three nominations and delivered a beautiful, inspiring speech about the importance of feminism and women's education. She was no doubt the star of the show and Camila could tell she was enjoying every second of it.

After Lauren had received her third Moonman, all the team moved backstage to celebrate. Bottles of champagne appeared out of nowhere and soon they all were toasting Lauren. Camila decided not to drink, aware of the fact that she'd be home in a couple of hours. When the alcohol seemed to have run out, Lauren went to the photocall to pose with her newly obtained silver astronauts. After a series of single shots, she insisted to take a group picture with all her team members from The Voice. And so, Camila found herself trapped between Louis and Ariana, with what seemed a thousand paparazzi tirelessly pressing the shutter release of their cameras. The flashes were quite annoying but Camila tried her best to smile as professionally as she could.

***

Camila was in the dressing room, removing the remaining make-up on her face. She had already taken off her costume and put on regular clothes: a white, turtleneck sweater; blue, skinny jeans and back converse. When she was done, she walked decidely down the corridor towards Lauren's dressing room. The door was partially open, so Camila glanced inside and yup, Lauren was there alone. She had also changed into a black party dress, since she was hosting her own VMAs afterparty. If Lauren had looked smoking hot in her show costume, this dress took her attractiveness to a whole other level. Camila knocked twice and without waiting for permission, she entered the room, walking directly towards the green-eyed girl. If Lauren was surprised by Camila's sudden appearance, she didn't let it show.  Camila stood in front of her coach, grabbed her hips and softly kissed the Latina's lips, which quickly reciprocated in a similar tender manner. The two girls kissed until the need for air was greater than their need for each other.

"What was that for?" Lauren asked, staring intensely into Camila's eyes.

"Kiss for a kiss" she simply replied.