Restart

Chapter 1

A/N: This story might look familiar to you, as it started being posted on 5HFanFiction back in January. Although I submitted through a different (and completely random) name/email at that time, this IS my (Larke/ohdefinitally) original work. After being positive I wasn't going to continue, here we are. Enjoy?

"Good morning beautiful," Lauren smiled as she walked into the room that was filled with a warm glow as the sun rose outside and began to spill in through the cracks of the closed blinds. "Do you know what today is?" She questioned, looking down lovingly into the big brown eyes that gazed up at her.

"School," the voice replied drowsily, matching Lauren's smile.

"That's right!" Lauren responded excitedly, squatting down next to the bed. She picked the tiny brunette up, carrying her in her arms. Lauren couldn't believe that today was already her daughter's first day of pre-school. Kids really did grow up too fast and she was witnessing it first-hand through the completely new and exciting perspective of being a mother. Lauren reached down to stroke the hair of the small head resting on her shoulder, grateful that she was still little enough to hold in this way.

"What should we have for breakfast, baby?" Lauren questioned, setting the small girl down on a chair that sat at the large kitchen table.

"Waffles," the tiny voice answered, bearing a toothy grin as she rubbed her eyes sleepily.

"Waffles?!" Lauren exclaimed dramatically, bringing her hands to her hips. "I don't know, that sounds like a lot of work. I might need some help..."

"I can help, Mommy!" The little girl replied eagerly, shooting her hand into the air; now seemingly wide-awake.

Lauren pulled up a chair next to the place where she stood at the kitchen counter and the girl quickly scurried across the room, climbing up onto the chair with a proud smile on her face. Her eyes lit up as she watched as Lauren added the powder mix and then water into a large bowl before handing her a wooden spoon which she accepted excitedly before plunging into the batter.

Both of the brunettes looked up from what they were doing when they heard the front door open. A smile met each of their lips as they watched a tired looking dark-haired girl saunter into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Lauren," she smiled, squinting in the bright light of the kitchen. "And good morning to you too Laney," she added, walking over to ruffle the girl's hair before planting a kiss on the top of her head.

"Mani, I'm making waffles!" Laney said excitedly, whipping the spoon she had been mixing the batter with into the air and incidentally flinging some of it onto all three of the girls. This immediately elicited a shriek of laughter from the younger girl and the other two couldn't help but smile, as she looked adorable doing so.

"Well on that note I'm going to go get in the shower," Normani laughed, groaning as she began to move again.

"Rough night?" Lauren teased as she stepped away from Laney to retrieve something from one of the cabinets behind her.

Normani began to shoot her a look, but smiled gratefully as she saw Lauren pulling a bottle of aspirin out.

"Take these," Lauren said, handing her a few of the small pills. "The waffles will be ready when you're out. And maybe some coffee?"

Normani nodded gratefully before turning to disappear out of the kitchen and upstairs to have a much-needed shower.

Lauren made her way back over to where her daughter stood, spraying the waffle iron with non-stick spray before helping her pour the batter onto it. The younger girl rested her hand on her chin as she stared at the appliance anxiously, waiting for the waffle to cook. They repeated this process several times before they had filled an entire plate with fluffy, golden brown waffles. The two sat down at the table to eat and Lauren watched with a smile on her face as her daughter drenched her own waffle in syrup, watching the sticky liquid coat her plate with wide eyes. Lauren dug into her own as she heard Normani come back down the stairs and into the kitchen.