HMU

twenty four

Lauren sat on the bus, her father stuffing his bag under the seat beside her. The bus wasn't quite as full, their row of three empty on the end. She stared down at her phone, frowning when she didn't see any messages. She hadn't even gotten to say goodbye this morning -- she'd thought they were leaving in the afternoon. She texted the girls, but none of them answered.

Tucking her phone into her pocket, she crossed her arms over her chest and glared out the window. It wasn't fair. Why did she have to be the only one just out of range? Why did she have to have these stupid feelings for Camila? Hopefully it would all be settled by the next semester.. if things went the way she was hoping.

A few.. no, four running figures grabbed her attention and she sat up, narrowing her eyes in an attempt to focus in on them. When she realized who it was, she immediately stood from her seat and climbed past her dad without much warning. She briefly heard his call of, "Be back in ten minutes at the latest, mija!"

"There you are!" Dinah said when the group stopped beside the bus. Lauren stepped off, looking at the four with a wide smile. "You weren't kidding when you said there was a giant Viagra ad on the side of the bus in your texts."

"I was scared I wasn't gonna get to see you all." Lauren stepped forward into a group hug, closing her eyes as she murmured. "I'm gonna miss you nerds."

"You won't miss us for that long." Normani said as they all pulled back, smiling along with the rest of the girls.

"What?" Lauren's smile wavered, her brows tugging together in confusion.

"We're visiting you next month." Camila chirped happily, "Remember? You told me about that week long break you were looking forward to?"

"Wait, for real?" Lauren watched them all nod excitedly.

"We talked to your dad about it and everything. We tried to ask him for a hotel near you guys, but he insisted we stay in the guest rooms at your house." Camila explained.

"That's..." Lauren didn't know what to say. She thought it'd be months until she'd get to see them again. Instead of trying to speak, she squealed in excitement, jumping into another group hug.

A knock on the window behind Lauren's head had her pulling away once more, seeing her dad tapping his watch. He waved to the girls before leaning back out of view.

"O-Okay." Lauren turned back to the bus. "I'll see you girls.. next month." Lauren smiled happily as she boarded the bus, finding her seat and waving at them through the window. She saw Camila waving rapidly at her phone, and opened hers, seeing the message in their chat.

Mila: ILL NEVER LET GO, JACK

Lauren chuckled, deciding to play along. Breaking out the old acting skills, she grasped dramatically just above her heart, placing a hand on the window as the bus began pulling away. Camila did the same, causing Lauren to break character at how goofy the girl was.

The realization hit her when they pulled out of sight -- she'd have to tell Camila how she felt a lot quicker than she'd anticipated.

---

Finah: there she goes

Finah: camren's better half

Finah: 🤧🤧🤧🤧

Mila: ROOD

Finah: ❤❤

Mila: request denied, i only accept emoji hearts from lauren

Lauren: ❤❤❤❤

Mila: 💕💕💕💕 yay

Finah: dATE