The Voice (Camren)

21. Reflection

A/N: I bet you weren't expecting me to update so fast

***

Lauren opened the door and entered into the surprisingly quiet studio. Expecting to find Camila doing runs, she saw the girl standing still in front of the piano instead.

"What's the matter?" Lauren asked, a hint of concern present in her voice, as she approached the silent girl. She received no answer.

When she got to Camila's side and saw her phone screen lit up, which still showed Meg's photo, Lauren realized what had happened. She quickly grabbed the device and turned it off, while she spun around to face Camila. The younger woman diverted her gaze towards a random spot on the opposite wall, trying to avoid Lauren's scrutinizing stare. Though Camila's eyes primarily conveyed a blank expression, Lauren noticed there was a puddle of mixed feelings floating on the surface of the dark brown orbs. Unable to interpret them, she decided to speak up again.

"I didn't fuck her."

"I didn't ask."

"Maybe not with your mouth. But your mind is screaming it," Lauren countered.

"Don't pretend to know me, Lauren, because you don't. And don't lie to me, there's no need."

"I'm not lying. I just slept there, that's all."

"Without a bra?"

"I like to sleep naked."

"Alongside another naked woman, right."

"I didn't have sex with her, though!"

"Look Lauren, you don't have to give me any explanation. It's not like I care anyways. Now, if you excuse me, I have to go to the restroom."

Camila promptly​ left the studio, without giving Lauren a chance to reply and headed straight to the bathroom, already feeling a tight knot forming in her stomach. The fast exchange of words between Lauren and her had increased the distress she'd been experiencing since she had seen Meg's picture. After taking long, deep breaths to calm herself down, Camila washed her face with cold water and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She wondered about whether Lauren would be staring at her own image in the studio's big dark-tinted windows, the same way Camila was analyzing herself at the moment, trying to figure out why she was how she was and how that affected her relationship with the other woman. Once she was sure she had pushed all those uneasy thoughts aside and regained the required composure to get back to the studio and be able to go through the rest of the session with Lauren, she abandoned the bathroom and directed her steps towards the music room.

While she was walking down the hall, Camila heard a manly voice shout her name behind her.

"Hey Camila. Wait up."

Camila turned around, unable to identify the owner of the voice, to find that it belonged to none other than Austin Mahone.

"Hey Austin," she replied, a bit puzzled. Why was he talking to her if he wasn't her coach and hadn't even acknowledged her presence ever since the Blind Auditions? Shouldn't he be reahearsing with his team members?

The Latina waited for the boy to get to where she was standing, expectantly. Before Austin spoke again, he shamelessly checked Camila out, from head to toe, and then his eyes undid the already trodden path, to end their blatant trip arriving in Camila's chocolate orbs.

"Did you want to tell me something?" Camila asked as she directed her gaze towards her hands, unwilling to maintain eye contact with Austin.

"Yeah. I kinda liked your show on the VMAs the other day. Those outfits were tight, man! I mean, you and the rest, made some mistakes, but overall was a good performance."

"Well, it was all Lauren's idea so I think you should say this to her, not me," Camila informed the boy. She wasn't in the mood to make small talk, or flirt, or whatever was in the guy's mind (if there was something at all) with anyone at the moment. She just wished that he left her alone, so that she could go back and practice her song.

"I don't think so. The thing is Lauren and I can't stand each other. She's a bitch, you know?"

"No. I don't know. And I really should get back to the studio to rehearse. So if you don't mind," Camila said as she tried to move past Austin.

"Hey, hey, not so fast, girl," the boy stopped her putting her arm in front of her resting his palm on the corridor's wall, preventing Camila from leaving.
"I also wanted to say that I really enjoyed watching you dance", he said as a big smirk appeared on his face.

"Thank you, Austin," Camila replied, blushing due to the boy's bluntness.

***

Not so long ago, Camila had thought about the possibility of Lauren looking at herself in the studio's window and, casually enough, she had gotten it right. After she had left the room, Lauren's​ eyes had followed the younger girl's silhouette until it had disappeared from her view and then, she had stood still, examining her own features reflected on the dark tinted glass. It had been a surprise, and not a pleasant one, when firstly Camila and then Austin stopped ouside, just next to the window she was standing in front of. If the boy annoyed her on a regular basis, seeing him talking to Camila triggered her to unexpected levels. What the fuck was he doing there? And why the hell did he have to talk to one of her team members? Didn't he have shitty albums to record or something like that?

Lauren waited patiently for Camila to end the conversation but when she saw Austin keeping her from advancing with his arm and give her the tenth complete check-out lustful glance in the span of two single minutes, she couldn't take it anymore.

Lauren quickly got out of the studio, and stood in the middle of the corridor with both hands on her hips and an agressive look on her eyes.

"Camila, get back here right now," she commanded. Her tone was authoritative enough for Camila to comply, diverting her attention from rather dull brownish eyes to an electric, mad pair of green ones.