I Like Girls Who... Never Mind, I Like Guys

Torn

If it was anything, it was awkward. Their friend group had split apart, and while Eleanor still tried to hang out with them, Louis still felt like he barely saw her. Him, Zayn, Perrie and Lauren had started sitting with Liam, Harry and Niall at lunch, which made it a little easier- Niall was hilarious, Liam was pretty kind, and Harry was, well, Harry- but he still missed Eleanor's jokes, Taylor's good advice, how easy it was to talk to Shawn, and embarrassing Lauren in front of Camila, who was currently ghosting her.

"I texted her last week asking if she wanted to hang out- not even romantically, like, watching a movie or having a sleepover- and she was like, No, I have to babysit my sister. Then, I'm scrolling on Instagram and I see her post a selfie she took with Ariana, Taylor and Selena at some party." the dark-haired girl said, before sipping her coffee. "I decided not to say anything about it, instead, I asked her if she'd like to go to Six Flags with me a few days later, and said I'd pay for it- all of it- but this time she told me that it was her dad's birthday and they were going out to dinner, so I was like okay, maybe next time."

"Let me guess," Zayn said, "she was once again making something up?"

Lauren let out a frustrated sigh, "Yeah. Her dad's birthday is in October- I clearly remember her younger sister talking to me about her dad's weird obsession with pineapple anchovy pizza, because that's what they'd eaten for dinner a few days before Halloween, all for his birthday."

"So what was she actually doing?" Harry asked.

"She was out for dinner with Mahone. How do I know? I happen to have a fucking part-time job at the restaurant they went to. Luckily, I didn't have to serve their table- I wait for a different section- but I just can't deal with this."

"Maybe she'd already made all those plans, but she didn't want you to feel left out," Liam said. "You should talk to her."

Lauren bit her lip, "I thought the same thing."

"Until..." Louis said, waiting for Lauren to finish her train of thought.

"I talked to her neighbor, Dinah, who she's really close to." Lauren said, "who revealed that Camila was apparently really bored all the time and therefore hung out with Mahone a lot. Dinah said that Camila told her that she wanted to ask him out."

"Dun dun dun," Louis sang dramatically, shutting up when Harry elbowed him in the ribs.

"Because Dinah's her best friend, and best friends often try to embarrass one another, I decided to text Shawn."

"Oh, there's more?" Niall asked.

"Yup, there's more," Lauren said, before continuing. "And guess what he told me?"

"What?" Niall asked. 

"That I should break up with her before I'm broken up with."

"Break up with your girlfriend, cuz I'm bored," Perrie sang. When everyone looked at her, the blond shrugged. "What? Oh, right, shit! Sorry, Lo. Ariana's a real good songwriter, and I guess her song got stuck in my head. We were writing songs in Music," she explained. "I'll boycott her songs, though- if you want me to."

Lauren shrugged, "I really don't care. You do you. All I know is that I'm pissed at Camila, and I'm nervous about what Shawn said."

The rest of their lunch period went by rather quickly, and as Louis and Harry walked down the hallway, Louis looked to his boyfriend, asking, "You'd never do that to me, yeah?"

"You mean ghost you? Nah. Honestly, I'd be more concerned about you doing that to me," Harry pointed out, and Louis frowned.

"What do you mean?"