By: orphan_account
(2013-08-25/2013-09-24)
Chapter 9
Saturday, December 28th, 2013
Lauren wakes up to Camila tucked into her side. It takes awhile for her eyes to adjust to the sliver of light sneaking in through the window, but when she does she also realizes that Normani isn't in the room.
First, worry settles in, but then she calms down as she realizes that Camila more than likely can hear her heart ricocheting and she smiles at that because maybe Camila should hear it. She wishes she could.
It's nearly ten in the morning and Lauren just wants to stay here forever. Forever right here because; "You don't have to be like me to be right for someone like me." It echoes in her head and she swears she woke up hearing it.
She feels justified. She feels like she's tied onto Camila somehow now because things are just working in the best way possible. They've spoken about it and it's behind them and it's not that it's a relief to Lauren that Camila's being honest, it's like she's holding onto something that used to weigh Camila down and it's just something she'll place into a corner of her mind classified under, 'Why Camila Cabello is the way she is.'
And that's okay. It's not that she's dismissing it, she realizes. She'd never dismiss any part of Camila because you don't do that with people. She'd never do that with Normani. She'd never dare tuck away parts of anyone because how do you do that and expect to get a full picture of anyone? No, she thinks, she could never do that.
Then, there's the topic of Demi. Demi who stole Camila's heart and ran away with it. She had fallen asleep last night listening to Camila's breathing and hoping she was resting alright. That with Pinky resting beside them and Lauren's chest as Camila's pillow, Camila wouldn't have nightmares. She thought about everything Camila had said and hadn't said, she thought about all that Demi had written, especially the part about being in New York soon.
She doesn't know if she should be worried about competing with Demi, but she knows she'll never give Camila up, not after the past few days. She couldn't.
The Miami native looks down at Camila, her hair mussed in a disastrous way and she wonders what goes on behind brown eyes. They begin to flutter and she's convinced that Camila's able to read her mind because soon after that the younger girl is stretching her limbs and looking up at Lauren tiredly.
"Hi." Soft smile.
"Hey there." Lauren replies, attempting to memorize this.
"Hi." Camila repeats again, eyes shutting for a few moments as if to wipe away or gather all the sleepiness she has. Lauren doesn't know if she wishes it away or if she wants to hold this moment because the light brown hue of Camila's eyes and the way she's tucking her arms and legs back into Lauren's makes her feel like she should stay and never get up.
"Hi, silly."
"I liked Camz, better." Camila mumbles, tucking her head into the crevice of Lauren's neck, drowsiness sweeping over as she kisses the skin right in front of her.
Lauren smiles, wider than before and leans her head down to kiss the crown of Camila's head. It's intimate, this is intimate. Something she never let herself imagine, but now that's she's had a taste of it she never wants it to go away. She will never want the absence of this. She promises herself that even when they fight, God forbid, she'd never leave it open so that they both suffer without the presence of one another.
She doesn't realize yet that those times will be difficult, but she's unreasonably stubborn and her mind is set. She'll never walk out on something she wants, especially when that something is one Camila Cabello.
