Wings

Binding Beauties

Hello all,

Here we are again with another late update :) I am so sorry, my mind has been all over the place lately and with finals as well as other sucky parts of life I became really distracted. I knew that I had to keep writing this story not only for you all but for myself. I know that this is an intriguing story for you all because it involves Fifth Harmony and Laurmani but this has been a test for me as well. I'm trying to push myself as a writer and I figured why not leave one more mark in the fiction world before I begin more personal ventures in my writing. It is because of all of that that I'm going to continue writing my story and give it my best until the very end. 

Now on to the details that you all really want to hear: I know that you're all probably displeased with this relationship that's sprung between Normani and Leigh Anne but I don't want you to worry. I've been saying from the beginning that things are going to get better and they will. Right now, Lauren is hurt because of what she's done and she's not really ready to go out and try to fix things but in this chapter at least she's on her way. And as far as Leigh Anne and Normani go here, she's helping her with her own pain. Normani shouldn't have to hurt alone waiting for Lauren, especially if she doesn't know that she's on the way. 

Just please bear with me into this last haul of chapters ahead and see for yourself. 

Thank you as always for the lovely support.

XXXXXXXXX

Three weeks later

Lauren had not been on a plane since she was 8 years old and she hadn't recalled everything feeling so small. She sat by the window in a section by herself and stared out at the tarmac. She'd had to beg her parent's to let her go to New York on her own, she didn't want anyone else with her distracting her with ideas to explore and have fun while she was down there.

Still they'd only agreed to allow her to go if she brought a friend but both Dinah and Ally were flying home for spring break so she'd promised to keep Keana around once she arrived.

She felt nothing as the plane finally took off and the world below her began growing smaller. She was neither excited nor nervous about her impending travels or the fact that the finals were in four days. She had to keep her mind clear which meant leaving her emotions at the gate back in the airport until she returned. She'd only briefly tapped into the part of herself that felt and wanted and dreamed and longed when she'd entered into the semi-finals and then again when she decided to go to New York. Lauren had been punishing herself in all areas of her life over one aspect, thinking her betrayal towards Normani was worthy of a sentence that seemed worse than death. A lifetime of averageness.

She'd soaked in all of the hurt and regret and self-loathing and built up her walls so that it couldn't get out and wreak havoc in anyone else's life. Underneath all of the guilt and shame was the girl she used to be, the girl she'd sacrificed in order to survive in her mind and Lauren had underestimated her strength. The girl had only needed to hear that it wasn't the end for her dreams once to enter the poetry competition and again to go to New York after she'd already decided against it.

The new Lauren that occupied her body had spent restless nights up trying to find a way to continue down the road she'd been on since the breakup but to no avail. Even she could not control her selfish desires to be great by any means necessary that she had always carried with her in the forefront of her mind. She had thought the bones of her past had been buried deep enough but the truth was that she'd purposely left some just below the surface unknowingly just in case an opportunity to be the old her again ever presented itself.