Time To Grow

Chapter 1

"No.. no, this can't.. this can't be happening.."

Sitting in the bathroom of the tour bus, Lauren had hot tears rolling down her cheeks. She wasn't one who usually cried over things, not when she knew that people would be able to hear her. She swallowed hard, and stared down at the pregnancy test in her hands. One time was all it took to turn her life completely upside down. One time was all it took.

Lauren stared at the pink lines on the test indicating that she was pregnant. She didn't know if this was some sort of karma for anything bad she had done in the past, or if she just had the worst luck in the world.

She wasn't ready for this. She was eighteen years old, she wasn't married, and her career was just starting to really take off. She couldn't be having a baby. What would her family say? What would the other girls say? What would the fans say?

She and Brad weren't even together anymore. They broke up ages ago, but one night of weakness when he was in town, and this is what happened. They had used a condom, but for all she knew, something could have been wrong with it. Maybe it broke. Maybe there had been a small hole in it. Maybe it wasn't on properly. She didn't know. Luckily there was only about eight more stops on the tour, so she didn't have to worry too much about becoming super pregnant while they were on the road. She didn't know what was in store though, and that was scary.

"Lolo, you okay?" Dinah called to her from outside the door.

She wrapped the test in toilet paper and put it in the trash can. She washed her hands, and splashed some cool water on her face, drying off before opening the door.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

Dinah eyed her curiously. Lauren was clearly upset about something. Her eyes were red and puffy, and the way her voice sounded was a dead giveaway.

"Are you sure?" she asked, placing a hand on Lauren's shoulder. "You know I'm here for you if you need me, right?"

"I don't want to talk about it, Dinah.. Okay? I'm just gonna go lay down," she said weakly. She sighed, and walked away from the taller girl. She went to the back, and climbed into her bunk, curling up into a ball.

Lauren was scared. She closed her eyes, and a few more tears spilled down her face. Maybe she'd wake up and this would all be a dream. She hoped that none of it was real.

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"Lauren, it's time to get up, come on."

"Camz, five more minutes.."

"Normally that's Dinah's answer, but even she's awake.."

"Dinah's awake before I am?" she asked.

"Yeah. Ally wanted to wake you up about half an hour ago but Dinah said we should let you sleep."

Camila extended a hand out to Lauren, who reached out and took it in her own as she got out of her bunk. She was still dressed in her clothes from the day before, and her makeup was streaked down her face. Camila's face had concern written all over it.

"Lauren, why are you still in the clothes from yesterday?"

"I was just too tired to change. Honestly, everything is fine, I promise."

Lauren dropped Camila's hand, and rummaged through her clothes. Camila walked out to be with the others in the front of the bus, where they were having their makeup done. Lauren got herself dressed, and brushed through her hair. She headed to the small bathroom, using the toilet, washing up, and getting her teeth brushed. After that she was headed to sit up with the rest of the group, the ladies who did their makeup, and a few parents.

"Morning sleepy head," her mom said, wrapping an arm around her daughter, pressing a kiss to her temple.

Lauren smiled, and hugged her dad tightly. Once she let go, she took a seat next to Dinah, who pulled her close. Dinah rubbed her friend's arm gently, sitting quietly before Normani spoke up from a seat across from them.

"Girl, you look like a raccoon, why did you leave your makeup on last night?" Normani gestured to Lauren's face, and the other people sitting there turned to glance at her as well.

"I just forgot. I was tired." she said, shrugging.

Lauren never forgot to take off her makeup. In fact, she was the one who would go around the bus with makeup wipes for everyone. Nobody decided to comment after that though, and within twenty minutes she was ready, her makeup done, her hair looking better than it had when she ran the brush through it when she first got up.

They had to head into the venue in a few minutes to get ready for the meet and greet, the soundcheck, and the show itself. Everyone was talking over each other, and something about it was just overwhelming for the green eyes girl. A nauseous feeling washed over her, and she got up, going back into a quieter area of the bus where they all would go when they needed some space. Lauren had her head in her hands, and she took deep breaths.

She was only in there for a minute before Dinah was back there, wrapping her arms around her. Lauren leaned into the embrace, and let her arms move to go around her as well.

"Something's wrong, Lauren. You don't have to tell me what it is, but I can tell. Don't even try and deny it Lo."

Lauren nodded. "I'm fine."

"You can keep telling yourself that. But if you decide to let me know for real, you know where to find me. C'mon though, Mila and Mani are itching to head in there, and Ally won't shut up about how excited she is to see everyone."

That sounded about right for the three of them. Dinah stood first, and pulled Lauren up as well. She took the older girl's hand in hers, and lead Lauren back out to the rest of the group, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.

Lauren was thankful for her band members. They were her best friends. Deep down, Lauren knew that maybe she would be alright to just come clean. But then again, it could wait until later. Right now she had to focus on getting through the day without any more nausea, and without giving anything away.