Afternoon Run (Camren)

nine; ❝busy night❞

Lauren takes her denim jacket off and places it on a hanger on the wall, then she goes back to my bed and rests with me. I lay my head on Lauren's chest as she runs her hand through my hair.

"The nerve of that place," Lauren mutters. "I'm so sorry."

"It wasn't your fault," I tell her and I feel her release a breath, as if she were worried that I wouldn't have responded that way.

No other response from me would make sense though. I'm the kind of person that will try to make peace with what I'm given. Lauren, on the other hand, is a fighter and will try to make change through larger efforts.

"You're right. It was Niall's and Shawn's fault," she hastily says. "Shouldn't they have looked more into that restaurant and how welcoming they are?"

I sit up on the bed and I frown as I say, "It was the fault of the place. They didn't know that the restaurant wasn't going to allow us there. It wasn't like the place was going to publish on their website, 'we're homophobic! Don't come here!'"

"I know, I just don't want to believe that in this day and age... people can behave like that. It's easier to blame people than to blame those kinds of ridiculous ideas."

  She sighs deeply and I try to give her a comforting smile as I play with a strands of her hair and I try to hug her.

"I'm annoyed too, Lauren, but it doesn't mean that you can just blame Shawn and Niall. It isn't their fault, it's just the way some people are. We can't change them even though we wish we can."

"Why do people have to be homophobic?" Lauren asks.

It was the question that I had always asked myself, even when I thought I was straight. Despite my best attempts to come up with answer, I never could figure it out.

  "I don't know," I respond honestly, "we can't control other people's behavior but we can control how we react."

  "How are we supposed to react?"

  "We can try to not let their actions affect us. We can ignore their stupidity and hope that the world will change for the better," I tell her.

  "What if the world doesn't change?" She asks me, and this time, fear is in her eyes.

  "Then we change our reactions again, and this time, try to put our anger into some good. We can try to fight against this. We can't necessarily change anything in the world right now, but one day, we will."

"You're right. How are you always right?" She says comfortably.

She's warmer now, exuding a vibrant sense of energy and a better mood. I know that this issue will continue to bother her, even if she doesn't want to admit it, but I'll be there for her.

"It's a gift," I choose to tell her with a laugh.

Lauren leans up to me to connect our lips in a slow yet passionate kiss. I move my hand to cup her jaw, effectively deepening our kiss. Our bodies get closer and our kisses seem to have more of an effect after each one.

We spend the night together, content with each other and our love for each other.