Yours Truly

Part 22 (Final Chapter)

"Can we just not go to college and form a girl group?" Dinah asks with a lighthearted laugh.

Lauren gives her an incredulous look. "And name it 'Fifth Harmony'?" she teases sarcastically.

But apparently her friend can't understand sarcasm because Dinah just nods her head enthusiastically. "That's a good one, Lauren! We should definitely do it."

Normani, Camila, Dinah, and Ally's individual laughter rings into the night and suddenly, it's the best sound Lauren has ever heard. She sits there with a happy smile on her face. She's really going to miss this.

——

Waking up Normani and Dinah the next morning was one of the hardest things that Lauren, Camila, and Ally have ever done. They refused to budge and at one point, Lauren actually thought they were dead because no matter what they did to them, they didn't react in the slightest. Between the three of them, they tried just about everything whether it was sitting on them, nudging them, tickling them, patting their faces, tugging their limbs, screaming at them, etc. Dinah and Normani were absolutely resilient little monsters.

What finally woke them up was Camila pouring water on top of their heads. Never has Lauren seen Dinah and Normani's eyes crack open faster and never has she ever seen them filled with so much hostility. Camila looked like she was scared for her life when they both shot up from their beds with the most vicious looks on their faces. Hell, Lauren was frightened too and she wasn't even the one who their anger was aimed towards.

The next 10 minutes were basically spent with Normani and Dinah chasing a hysterically crying and pleading Camila around the room.

Once Ally and Lauren played mediators and everyone calmed down, they packed up the car and along they went back home. This car ride isn't much different than the car ride up here. Ally is driving, Normani fell asleep as soon as her head leaned back against her pillow, Camila is rambling on about some weird dream she had last night that involved her being friends with a personified banana, Dinah is making the playlist for the duration of the car ride, and Lauren is staring at her bright-eyed girlfriend while holding her hand. Lauren couldn't have asked for better people to be cramped up in this tiny ass car with.

But miraculously, Camila's detailed commentary about her adventures with the walking and talking banana eventually wore her out because then she just silently sprawls across the back seat with her head resting on Lauren's lap and legs on top of Normani's lap. Camila looks up directly at Lauren and smiles softly before mouthing, "I love you." Lauren caresses her cheek affectionately as she mouths those three words back. Then just like that, Camila's eyes closes and before Lauren knows it, she's sleeping.

"You owe me 5 bucks, D," Lauren says to her friend with a smirk. "I told you she would fall asleep on the way back."

Dinah rolls her eyes and grumbles underneath her breath as she takes her wallet out of her purse and aggressively fishes out a crisp five-dollar bill. Lauren blows her a kiss once she snatches it out of her hand and puts it inside her own purse.

Then she places her hand on top of Camila's stomach and leans her head against the window. She smiles down at Camila peacefully dozing away. Might as well try to get some shut-eye since she's off girlfriend-sitting duty now.

—

Lauren trudges in through her front door lugging her suitcase behind her, totally drained. Long car rides tend to do that to her.

Her dad is sitting on the couch watching TV when she walks in and he immediately smiles widely at her in greeting and hops out of his seat to help Lauren.