Buzzed Hearts

87: it's not that serious

WHILE JEREMY AND OLIVER enjoy what the city holds, Camila is stuck in music rooms with her ChamberFest ensemble. Though most would assume that there would be little talking during these rehearsals, Camila finds herself in endless arguments.

"If you touch my rosin I'm going to put this foot up your—"

"Keep your foot down, Louise, I'm not into that at all," Kenneth says, and swipes Alison's rosin instead.

"Yeah, Louise, leave it for your boyfriend," Richmond joins in.

"Louise? She can't get a man," Alison teases.

Much like her old group of friends, Camila is surrounded by petty bickering that is oftentimes more frustrating than amusing—solely because they are on a schedule and are expected to perfect this symphony piece in a week.

"You guys are staying extra, right?" Camila asks while she packs up her binder.

Louise nods. "You joining us for dinner?"

"No, I have plans with Jeremy," she tells them.

"You keep saying this boy's name but we really don't know who he is," Richmond says.

"I plan to keep it that way." Camila laughs and is out the door, coat sleeve only through one arm.

For once, she is hesitant in jumping into friendships. Much like a group project, this ensemble gathers only when needed and convenient. And for once, she is hesitant when texting Laurent—always hitting the delete button and turning off read receipts so she can formulate her reply.

The days that he's been gone, Laurent shockingly initiated quite a few things. Such as:

L: hey can we call?

L: we don't have to if u don't wanna

C: Wait, I need to find my earphones.

They called for approximately half an hour before Camila said goodnight and went to bed. This small question struck up an odd routine—talking over the phone either twice or three times a week. It started out hesitant. Laurent would ask her how her day went, how the weather was, and what she ate. Then, their conversations stretched out later into the night, where they got back into the hang of talking one-on-one.

"So, do you like him?" Jeremy chews on his gummy bears. He tosses the bag of candy back to Oliver. "I mean, do you still like him. Fuck's sake get your shoe off my couch, Knight."

They're in Jeremy's apartment, rented and tiny, still bare other than the necessary furniture.

"I don't know," she shrugs. "Can we not talk about him?"

"Yeah, can we not?" Oliver pipes up.

Jeremy rolls his eyes. "You're only salty because he took first place in the all-star competition, not you."

"Competition is healthy," Oliver replies shortly.

Camila laughs and sighs. "I just want to take it slow."

"Slow? Slow? You guys aren't even a thing, stop taking it so seriously. He'll be nearby soon so you should stop wallowing. C'mon we're going out."

"Where?" Oliver doesn't even look up from his phone. He missed his flight three days ago to Australia and just decided to bum with Jeremy, his reasoning being he wants to explore America's biggest city more. In some ways, he reminds Camila of Laurent. Too relaxed yet oddly not.

"Both of you have been depressing me so we're going to go get burgers. There's this place I found a few days ago and I get chills every time I think about it."

"I'm vegan," Camila reminds him, a fact he often overlooks, simply because there is absolutely nothing he won't scarf down and has never understood people who...couldn't.

"Go eat a leaf," he replies. "I'll buy you a salad."

"Solid date," Oliver says.

"He's paying for me, not you," Camila says.

"Oh yeah, I really need someone to buy me a salad," Oliver jokes.

"Can you guys stop making fun of me? I'm right here and it's rude."

"Sorry Jer, let's go. I'm starving," she says.

"Whatever."

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hi guys! VERY long time no see but i'm back now and hopefully updating lots every week! i'm apologize for this huge delay and it's been so long since i've written so i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter :-)