Serendipity // Camren

Chapter 21

It was déjà vu all over again.

Camila's hand was tucked into the crook of Lauren's arm as they led the way out of the bar, Dinah laughing as she helped a wasted Normani out behind them. Even though Lauren's car was parked in the alley behind the club, they went out of the front door so they could help Dinah get Normani into their car, and that was when they hit the wall of cameras.

"ARE YOU TWO DATING?"

"CAMILA, DID YOU SING?"

"LAUREN, WHAT ABOUT YOU?"

"WHO GOT THE MOST APPLAUSE?"

"Fucking hell," Lauren muttered as she glanced back at Dinah who was far enough behind her and Camila to not be included in any of the photos that were being taken. Dinah seemed genuinely unaffected by the cameras and she was glad that the dancer didn't react to them at all. She was pretty sure that no magazine would buy a picture of just her friends leaving a bar, but she hated the idea of dragging them into this side of her world. The photographers were moving around, constantly shifting in front of them as she tried to blaze a trail through the crowd to the parking lot where Dinah had said they'd parked. The cameras moved with her, a fluidity to their motion that was almost poetic in the way that they took two steps back for every one forward that she took. At least she had enough of a reputation to garner that level of respect.

Dinah, however, was not unaware of the cameras and had, in fact, experienced more than her fair share of paparazzi while she was working on the videos of some of the biggest musical artists. She knew the focus was on Lauren and Camila, and she knew that Lauren would be torn between wanting to protect her and Normani, and protecting Camila. And Camila needed to be Lauren's first priority. Never mind the fact that once the two stars left that the cameras would go with them, leaving her alone with her still-singing girlfriend so that she could get them home.

"I got the moves like Jagger, got the moves like Jagger," Normani sang drunkenly, drawing everybody's attention to her. That was the song she got up and sang right before they'd left the bar.

Dinah took advantage of the distraction Normani provided and caught Lauren's eye, telling her with a look that she was okay to get Normani home by herself. She had been hoping for a more traditional goodbye, she really had missed Camila and it had been so nice to spend some time catching up with the brunette, but, for now, this was what needed to happen.

Lauren caught the silent message Dinah was sending her and she nodded once in understanding. She held Dinah's gaze and mouthed, 'text me later', before she abruptly changed direction, tightening her hold on Camila's hand as she began moving away from the parking lot and in the direction of the back alley where her car was parked.

"You have got to be kidding me," she groaned when she spotted her car. There were four more paparazzi surrounding the vehicle, spaced out for an ambush should she and Camila exited the bar via the back entrance. Great. Just great.

"WHO ASKED WHO OUT FIRST?"

"CAMILA, IS LAUREN THE FIRST WOMAN YOU'VE DATED?"

"LAUREN, WHAT DOES IT FEEL LIKE TO KNOW YOU SNAGGED BROADWAY'S BIGGEST STAR?"

"DID YOU TWO HOOK UP BECAUSE OF THE MOVIE?"

Lauren sighed and bit the inside of her cheek to keep from rolling her eyes. At least, from the questions being shouted at them, she knew that nobody from inside the club had shared how affectionate she and Camila had been. She was still glad that they weren't hiding, but she was more than a little annoyed at this level of intrusive scrutiny. They were just two people in a relationship. Did they really warrant this sort of interest?