Riptide (a camren fic)

CHAPTER 16: DTF, DTR? WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE REALLY?

A/N: I'M NOT DEAD. I KNOW I TOOK SO LONG BUT HERE IT IS.
Also sorry if the format is weird???? I'm posting from my phone bc I'm an impatient loser and idk what I'm doing I might have to come back and fix it later so anyway

APOLOGIES FOR THE TYPOS

.

.

.

The rest of the week goes by without any of those more than platonic hiccups. Thanks to Camila's strict and disciplined boundaries.

Or at least she likes to think so.

(Dinah had an annoying habit of reminding her that she and Lauren hadn't really had the opportunity to be alone – completely – to test out said boundaries.)

Not that Camila voluntarily decided to keep her distance.

No. She had been uncharacteristically busy. Which was saying a lot considering she felt she had wasted the majority of her summer doing nothing.

("Especially not Lauren!").

Her mom had put her to work doing chores. Some of which didn't exactly seem necessary.

Like reorganizing the DVD cabinet. Dusting out the garage. Throwing out the cat's litter box.

They didn't even have a cat.

Camila hadn't protested much. Despite the new irritating intrusion on her Lauren time, it was oddly comforting having her mom boss her around. There was a sense of normalcy that hadn't been present in a very long time.

Instead of the dreary mornings of staring up at her ceiling, Camila had been shaken awake with the sound of Celia Cruz blasting throughout the house and the smell of Fabuloso invading her nose.

Her dad had also requested her help with the car in the afternoons. Not that she did much. She had an irrational fear of the sound of the rumbling motor. And anyway, his definition of helping was literally just handing over the tools while she sat and watched him hunch over the engine.

Additionally, with the onslaught of housework, her sister had also provided a new daily ritual. Every morning during breakfast she'd have Camila read over her letters to make sure she was spelling everything correctly. It became something to look forward to as she was eating her plate of eggs. Recently Sofi had taken to considering her opinion on the variation of stickers on the stationary pages.

To say Camila was pleased was an understatement. She had never felt more useful around the house. Dinah had picked up on her attitude as well, teasing her relentlessly.

"You look all glowy," Dinah comments when Camila returns to her room after the morning spent raking up the leaves in the backyard.

They didn't even have a tree back there. And it was Summer. 

"Glowy?" She questions as she heads towards her closet to pick out an outfit. Her eyes scan the unorganized rack of clothes hopefully.

"Yeah, glowy," Dinah repeats in a pointed tone. "And I'm kind of wondering why."

"No reason really," Camila replies, focus landing upon a very familiar flannel. She hears Dinah pad over next to her. She feels her skeptical eyes studying the side of her face. Heat rushes up to her cheeks as she moves her attention over to the next shirt before Dinah realizes what she'd been looking at exactly.

Of course, Dinah notices everything.

"You're going to see Lauren today."

Camila huffs and turns to regard her sharply. "So?"