Happier

5

Lauren still thinks the fact that Camila's Seattle apartment is called the Compartment is sort of lame, but damn, it's a really nice apartment.

It really is a huge office building- the outside looks clean and modern and sleek, with a parking lot in front of it with two Lamborghinis, a Maserati, a Toyota Camry, and a beat-up looking red truck. 

"I fucking hate that truck," Camila says as Dinah pulls into the parking lot. Normani laughs at this, raucous and carefree. "Don't we all? It's so ugly."

Lauren's still gaping at the expensive sports cars. Normani turns around front her spot in the passenger seat and grins at Lauren's shock. "The Maserati is Ariana's. The Lambos were 'birthday presents' for me and Dinah."

"Birthday presents?!" Jesus. Lauren has never gotten anything that fantastic for her birthday. "From who? Your sugar daddy?"

Camila starts laughing, taking Lauren by surprise. "Well, some people would call me that, yeah."

Lauren stares at Camila. "You bought them two Lamborghinis?"

She shrugs. "Least I could do. Not like it really made a dent in my bank account."

"It was definitely not the least she could do," Normani interjects. "It was doing the most in every sense of the word."

Camila waves her hand, as if she's trying to dismiss the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on those cars. "You guys deserved them."

"Hell yeah I did," Dinah mutters under her breath, causing Lauren to snicker. She might've just met Dinah, but the girl is one of the funniest, most shameless people she has ever met. Something about her over-the-top arrogance and sort of crass sense of humor is really appealing to Lauren.

Then there's Normani. She and Dinah have the same sort of extremely high confidence, but Normani's startlingly sharp wit and her general ease when talking sets her apart exponentially. Where Dinah is funny brashly and obviously, Normani says very matter-of-fact things that wouldn't seem funny, but because they're coming out of Normani's mouth they're suddenly hysterical. She's just funny without trying to be, which Lauren thinks is the best kind of funny.

The car's engine switches off.

A long, contented sigh escapes Camila's leaps. "I'm so glad we're here," she murmurs.

"We're glad to have you," Normani says softly. 

"Speaking of which." Dinah nods towards the outside, where a tall, skinny brunette is racing towards the car.

"Oh my god!" Camila shrieks, nearly making Lauren fall out of her seat, and then she's flung open the door and into the brunette's arms.

The brunette throws her head back and laughs. Camila is hanging off of her frame like a koala, legs wrapped around her hips. "Cami, holy shit," she says, like she's annoyed, but the huge grin on her face gives her away.

Camila plants her feet firmly around and hugs the girl like a normal person, but it last so frickin' long that Lauren turns to Dinah and Normani and asks, "Who's that?"

Dinah, with a wicked smirk on her face, mumbles something unintelligible. Normani has a matching smirk, but she answers Lauren's question. "Oh, that's Lucy. She and Camila, uh, go way back, if you know what I mean."

Lauren catches Normani's drift and immediately wishes she hadn't.

-

So besides Normani, Dinah, and Lucy- ugh, Lucy, who is just as nice as she is pretty- there's Shawn, cute and soft-spoken, Troye, whose welcoming smile made Lauren's stomach settle, and Ariana, five feet of energy, dirty jokes, and weirdly smooth pickup lines. They're all super sweet and super excited to meet her, so she's okay around them. Not immediately comfortable, but not, you know, overwhelmingly tense around them.