HMU

forty one

Lauren followed everyone into the house after they arrived back from dinner. Dinah was holding Ally's phone above her head while the smaller girl tried to jump and reach it, the other two watching and laughing. Lauren hung her jacket on one of the hooks by the door, shaking her head in amusement.

Her head snapped in their direction when she heard Dinah shout, "Ow!" And drop Ally's phone back into her hand. "She stepped on my foot!"

"You might be a bajillion feet tall, but I still have my stubby feet." Ally crossed her arms over her chest, smiling mischievously up at Dinah.

Dinah laughed, "You just admitted to having stubby feet." Ally's smile faded and she glared at Dinah playfully as the five of them entered the living room.

"Oh my.." Normani walked over to the clear cabinet under the tv, looking at the wide variety of board games. "Is that Jenga? Oh, bitch, you know we're playing that." She grabbed it from the cabinet, setting it onto the coffee table.

Dinah and Camila ended up fighting over who got to build the tower, Ally cutting in and saying they could switch off on adding the layers. Lauren rolled her eyes, leaning back against the couch and pulling her legs up underneath herself. Camila was on the floor in front of her, Lauren taking the opportunity to admire her side profile as she built the tower with Dinah. Her tongue poked out slightly as she concentrated on evening out the tower, making Lauren smile at how cute she was.

Once the game was set up and they started playing, Lauren could tell easily that Camila would be the one to knock it down. She had no idea what she was doing, picking random pieces from all over the tower with no real strategy. When Lauren saw her go for a piece that would surely knock it over, she leaned forward and whispered in her ear. "Not that one, babe. Take the middle one below it." Camila blushed, accepting Lauren's help and pulling out the piece she'd suggested.

"No cheating!" Dinah glared at Lauren.

"It's not cheating, I'm just giving advice." Lauren shrugged.

"Why would you even help her?" Normani said as she started her turn. "You could've won." Lauren had learned that these girls were very competitive when it came to games. Lauren generally didn't care if she won or lost, as long as she had fun. Yeah. She was one of those kids.

She shrugged again. "I like helping Camz." She leaned forward when it was her turn, grabbing the piece Camila had been going for.

"But-"

Camila cut off as the tower came toppling down, a few pieces tumbling into her lap. While the other three were celebrating their win, not noticing the piece Lauren had taken was the same she'd warned Camila about, Camila turned around to face her.

"Why'd you do that?" She whispered so the others couldn't hear.

Lauren glanced at the girls. "Look how happy they are."

Camila didn't need to look to know that the others were enjoying themselves. "You could've let me do it."

"But look how happy you are."

Camila hadn't even noticed she was smiling, letting out a quiet chuckle and turning back to the group.

"Let's play again?"

---

It was sometime past midnight when Lauren could barely keep her eyes open, heading up to bed for the night while the others stayed downstairs and played for a little longer. She changed into shorts and an old shirt, crawling under the covers and closing her eyes. She smiled when she heard the girls laughing downstairs, probably at the game of Twister she'd left them in.

She could feel herself falling asleep when suddenly, her phone vibrated on the nightstand next to her head. Her eyes shot open, wondering who could be texting her at this hour.

She relaxed when she saw it was Camila.

Mila: were u surprised

Lauren: yeah:) im glad u guys r here

Mila: yay

Mila: that makes me happy

Mila: ill see u tomorrow. im goin to bed too. gnight :)

Lauren: wait camz

Mila: ?

Lauren: ur sharing a bed with ally right

Mila: yeah

Lauren: i remember what u said about her kicking in her sleep

Mila: yeah lmao ill just kinda ignore her and shove her away

Lauren: why don't u just come cuddle in my room?:)

Lauren: i don't kick

Mila: really? :))

Lauren: ill see u in a few

Lauren shut her phone off, glancing at the door every few moments as she waited for Camila. She wanted to know what it felt like. She wanted to know how it felt to sleep and wake up next to Camila Cabello.

Minutes later the door was pushed open gently, Camila stepping quietly into the room. She smiled when she saw Lauren, padding quietly across the room and climbing under the covers on the other side of the bed. Lauren turned to face her, watching as she got comfortable. Camila's eyes met hers when she realized Lauren was watching, and she swore she saw her blushing.

"Hey." Lauren whispered, not wanting to disrupt the quiet of the room.

"Hi." Camila giggled quietly.

"You're cute." Lauren stated, making a little more room for Camila only to motion with her arms for Camila to close up the gap between them anyway. She wrapped an arm around Camila's waist, nuzzling her face into her shoulder.

She felt Camila giggle again, "I'm glad I don't have to stay with Ally this week. That would've been brutal. I feel bad for her future partner."

"Who said you're sleeping with me for the rest of the week?"

Camila tensed, not realizing Lauren was joking. "O-Oh, okay. Sorry for assuming-"

"I was kidding, Camz." Lauren laughed, her voice coming across muffled. Camila relaxed, gaining enough confidence to start running her fingers through Lauren's hair. Lauren sighed happily, the sensation lulling her to sleep.

She barely heard the whisper of, "Goodnight, Lolo," before she drifted off into a cozy slumber.