Talk Me Down (Camren)

Chapter Twenty

           

"Can't we just rewind to Christmas?" Camila groans as she sits down in the passenger seat of Lauren's car. "I don't want to go back to school."

"Too bad," Dinah says from the backseat. "School's started, get over it. You can't spend every single day hiding in your room watching Netflix and turning Lauser into as much of a hermit as you are."

Lauren raises an eyebrow. "Do you want me to kick you out of the car?"

"You wouldn't," Dinah rolls her eyes, "Mani and Ally would question where I am and then you'd get in trouble."

"I'd tell them you were sick this morning and I had to drop you back at home," Lauren smirks. "They'd believe me. I'm trustworthy. So don't be a bitch to my girlfriend, thanks."

Dinah snorts. "I'm messing with her, Ralph. Not my fault she's sucking you into her hermit ways."

"I'm not a hermit!" Camila defends herself. "I just enjoy the indoors."

"Yeah, she just enjoys the indoors," Lauren reiterates, "we don't all go to a party every single night of the week like you."

Dinah laughs. "You used to go to like, at least one per weekend, and now when I invite you out to a party with me, Mani and Ally, you're like, can't, got to finish a TV show with Mila."

"First off, I don't call her Mila. That's a lame nickname. Camz is much better." Lauren replies, glancing back at her friend in the rear view mirror. "Second, most parties are the same, anyways. You've been to one, you've been to them all."

"You don't really turn down parties to hang out with me, do you?" Camila asks with a frown. "Because you don't have to spend your Fridays with me. I can always hang out with my sister."

Lauren rolls her eyes. "I want to hang out with you, nerd. You're my girlfriend."

"But I don't want to seem like one of those weird controlling girlfriends who stop their significant other from doing what they want because I'm a jealous bitch or something," Camila rambles, "I trust you, it's not like you'd cheat on me, so you can go to any parties you want."

"I know that," Lauren replies, "but I want to spend my Fridays with you."

Camila blushes. "Okay. Good. I just- I wanted to make sure that you wanted to stay in with me because you actually wanted to..."

Dinah snorts. "You two are ridiculous. Walz, accept that Lauren is your co-hermit and you're going to live happily ever after in the land of the introverts."

Camila rolls her eyes as Lauren pulls up outside of Normani's house. "I'm not a hermit."

"You kind of are," Normani says as she gets in the car. "But it's cool. We love you anyways."

Camila pouts. "You're all ganging up on me. I'm telling on you to Ally."

"Hey, I'm defending you." Lauren interrupts. "Tell on them, not me."

"You weren't included in that, babe," Camila sends her a warm smile, "because you're actually nice to me. You're my co-hermit."

"So you admit that you're a hermit?"

Camila laughs. "Shut up, Dinah."

They pick Ally up, and when they finally arrive at school, Lauren holds her hand as they walk to class, and it means so much to Camila, because honestly, little twelve year old Karla would've killed to hold any girl's hand, let alone have Lauren Jauregui walk her down the hallway, holding her hand with pride.

They sit at a desk together in the middle of the classroom, and Lauren still doesn't let go of her hand. When she catches Camila's eye, she smiles, and gives her a quick peck on the lips before rifling through her backpack for her music folder.