just a dream (camren)

nine

            

October 14th 2016

Camila looks herself over in the mirror again, smoothing out the dress she's wearing. She sighs at her reflection, hoping she's dressed appropriately for her evening out with Lauren. She'd really wanted to look nice, and Lauren hadn't told her a dress code, so she decided smart casual was the best way to go.

She's triple checking her makeup when there's a knock on her bedroom door. She swallows the lump in her throat and gets up, opening the door with a smile. Lauren is stood there, in a casual black dress.

"Hey, Camz," Lauren grins, "you look good. Come on, the reservations are for seven."

"Okay," Camila smiles, grabbing her purse from her dresser. It already feels like a date, even though Camila knows it's not, and that's something she's got to remind herself of. "We're going to have to stop at a cash machine so I can get some money out."

Lauren rolls her eyes, scoffing. "You don't need to-"

"Lauren," Camila cuts her off, "before you start being all stubborn and insisting on paying, I'm going to be stubborn and insist on halfsies. You're seventeen, and sure you have a job, but you still shouldn't pay for me."

Lauren studies her for a moment, but nods. "Alright. There's a cash machine by the restaurant that we can stop at."

Camila smiles, proud of herself. She's always found it hard to say no to Lauren – it's like Lauren has some sort of special mind control over her. "Good. Anyway, um, thanks for inviting me out tonight."

Lauren shrugs. "You don't need to thank me. I figured it'd be fun to spend time with you. Even if it's mostly because of the mean restaurant who wouldn't let me out of the reservation."

"Did you find out why Lucy cancelled on you?" Camila asks. "You said you weren't sure-"

"I don't really want to talk about that," Lauren interrupts her as Camila says a quick goodbye to her parents. "She's just... being weird around me and I don't know what I did."

Camila's stomach drops, her guilt heavy in her chest. She knows it's because of her. If Camila was Lauren's girlfriend, and Lucy was going on a not-date with her, and constantly hanging around and asking Lauren to do things when she obviously had a crush on her, she knows she'd be upset too.

Not that Camila thinks her crush is obvious, but that's a whole other issue.

"Maybe you should... spend more time with her or something," Camila tries suggesting. "We could cancel and you could go talk to her and-"

"Camz," Lauren cuts in again, "it's okay, really. I spend plenty of time with her, and if Lucy was worried about that, she'd talk to me. We've always been good at communication. That's why I don't understand her lately and how quiet she's being. But I'm sure it'll pass."

"As long as you're sure," Camila says, but she's uncomfortable with the idea that maybe she's the one causing problems. She wants Lauren to be happy, and if she keeps inviting her out to dinner, Lucy will be mad, and Lauren won't be happy. "Can I use your aux cord?"

"Sure," Lauren nods, and Camila grabs it, plugging her phone in. She scrolls straight down to The 1975 and shuffles the artist, thinking back to the early Fifth Harmony days, when she would actually hang out with Lauren on their breaks. Back then, they were inseparable.

Sometimes she'd get a random text from Lauren, asking to go out on a drive with her, and they'd listen to music and just be in each other's presence. She hadn't realised how much she'd missed that.