Oneshots and Other Assortments

Alren

A/N: This is one of the very first oneshots I ever wrote. When I unpublished all my works a while back, I deleted this one before actually using my brain and just unpublishing everything. So compared to some other stuff, this probably isn't my best work but I figured I'd repost it since I re-posted 80% of my other work.

Read and enjoy. :)

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Lauren walked into the house, roughly pulling the door closed in irritation. Ever since she had confirmed her (amicable and mutual) break up with Lucy, the annoying and overzealous 'Camren' shippers had returned in full force to harass her on social media.

Yes, she and Camila had been hanging out since the five had hashed out their grievances over Camila's departure from the group. Yes, she may have at one point felt those kinds of feelings toward the younger girl, but they were gone now, it was only a mutual platonic, best friend kind of love the two felt for each other; and even that was still a work in progress, since they were still rekindling their friendship. They were not dating. They hadn't ever dated. There was no chance of them dating in the future. Period.

Now, Lauren just wanted to go throw herself on her bed and hide under the blankets (a childish move, yes, but fuck it if she couldn't have a moment like that every once in awhile) in an attempt to not take her frustrations out on the other girls. They didn't deserve her anger, and she really wanted to just avoid them until she didn't feel like exploding at any second. What she really wanted to do was light a joint, but after the incident at the airport Ally made her swear not to smoke weed again (or at the very least not often and never carry some with her ever again if she insisted on continuing), and for some reason Lauren really wanted to keep that promise.

If it had been anyone else, the raven haired woman would have just blown them off, but there was something about Ally asking her that made Lauren want to listen. She couldn't explain it. Maybe it was the look of disappointment in the shorter woman's eyes after everything was settled. But that couldn't have been it, because Normani, Camila, and Dinah all gave the same looks but Lauren was unaffected. So what was it about the older girl that Lauren felt compelled to listen to her?

Sighing, she stepped away from where she was leaning against the door, walking towards the staircase. She was definitely ready to change out of her jeans and shirt and into more comfortable clothes and binge watch something on Netflix for the night. As she was passing the living room, however, she heard sniffling coming from the room. Confused, because she didn't think anyone else was home, and slightly concerned, she backtracked and entered the room, finding Ally tucked into the couch, knees drawn to her chest and head lying in between them.

"Ally?" Lauren called softly, walking towards the couch and carefully taking a seat next to the older blonde. "What's wrong?"

The other woman shook her head, wiping away a few stray tears. "It's nothing," she replied hoarsely, and Lauren could tell she'd been crying for a while.

"It's not nothing if you're sitting here in tears," the raven haired woman argued, wrapping an arm around the blonde's shoulder and pulling the other woman into her side. "Now come on, tell me what's wrong."

Ally sighed, leaning further into the younger woman's embrace. "It's dumb," she mumbled. "I was just looking through pictures and videos from some of our recent performances, and some of the comments just got to me," she explained. "It doesn't matter, though."

Lauren frowned, looking down at the woman in her arms. "It matters if it upset you," she reasoned. "What did they say?" she inquired.

The older woman sighed. "Lauren, it doesn't matter," she repeated.

"But you matter to me, and I want to know what upset you."

Ally sighed, realizing she wasn't getting out of the conversation. She laid her head on Lauren's shoulder. "People kept saying that it would be better if I wasn't in the group anymore," she admitted. "That you, Dinah, and Normani as a trio would be better off than the four of us a group."

Lauren tightened her hold on the older girl. "They're wrong," she stated. "They're so fucking wrong, Ally. You are just as important in this group as DJ, Mani, or myself," she promised, pressing a kiss to the blonde's temple. "Nothing would be the same without you," she whispered.

"But how do you know?" the older girl asked, pulling back. "How do you know that you three wouldn't be better off without me?"

Lauren felt her heart break at the conviction in the girl's voice. "Who would take that epic high note in 'This Is How We Roll'? Or would take the lead in 'Gonna Get Better'?" she reasoned. "Ally, you are a vital part of this group. We wouldn't be one without you." She let out a short laugh. "Plus, who would make sure the three of us didn't do stupid shit to get in trouble?"

"You mean like getting arrested for having weed and missing a flight to another country?" Ally deadpanned.

"Exactly. Come on, you keep the three of us sane and out of trouble. We need you, for the music and as a friend." Lauren blushed, looking away.

"What?" the older girl asked, looking at the younger girl confusedly.

"It's nothing," Lauren mumbled. At Ally's expectant look, she sighed. "Okay, fine. I was going to say, even if some of the fans don't want you around, I still do. Because, because I love you," she admitted shyly, casting a quick glance at the other girl.

Ally smiled, wrapping the younger girl in a hug, kissing her cheek. "I love you, too, Lo. Thank you, I feel better now."

The black haired girl nodded. "Good. Want to go watch horror movies in my room?" she asked. "I stole some food from Dinah's stash the other day, so there will be snacks." She grinned cheekily.

Ally laughed loudly. "Don't let her find out. She'll murder you, and I'm too short to stop an angry Dinah Jane."

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A/N:  Hopefully you enjoyed, maybe let me know what you think?