behind the lights | camren

Chapter Seven

The sun broke through Lauren's open windows, casting a lovely, yet blinding light across the white adorned bedroom. Lauren shielded her eyes, her hangover kicking in full force, as she threw herself out of bed to close the french doors that lead out to her balcony. As she slammed the doors shut, the room was lulled with complete and utter silence, drowning out the sounds of chirping birds and the rustling of leaves outside.

Lauren sighed, padding across her bedroom floor and out to the kitchen where she hoped to find a one, two, or maybe twenty headache pills.

Silently, Lauren wondered how she had made it into her apartment the night previous. She was absolutely piss drunk, and Lauren barely even remembered getting into the limousine last night, so as she twisted open the cap of the medicine bottle, she heard something move behind her.

Turning around, Lauren's eyes glanced over a dark brunette head of hair facing away from her on her couch. Lauren's stomach twisted in knots out of fear, and she let out a blood curdling scream, causing the girl to leap up. The girl whipped around, her hair half stuck to her face, with her clothes disheveled on her dainty body, and then Lauren realized it was Camila.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Lauren demanded, her voice a bit hoarse from both the scream and from the alcohol consumption.

Camila cleared her throat, her eyes innocent and sleepy, "I got your texts last night, and I messaged you back, saying that I would be here when you got home to help you get settled. When the limo dropped you off, you were passed out, so I had to pinch you awake. Don't you remember? I made you a glass of warm milk and helped you get into bed so you wouldn't feel totally useless when you woke up this morning," Camila explained, and slowly, memories from the night before came crashing through Lauren's brain.

Suddenly, Lauren was taken back to only a few hours earlier, where she was relaxing on her couch with a warm mug contently resting in between her hands. Camila was across from her, smiling and talking nonsense, and Lauren recalled smiling, and getting butterflies as she spoke.

But then, a feeling of dread washed over Lauren as the provocative texts flashed through her mind, and a sticky grime of guilt started to eat up her stomach.

"Barely," Lauren lied, tipping her head back and swallowing the pills down dry, "I appreciate it, though."

Camila nodded pleasantly, standing awkwardly in Lauren's penthouse living room. There was an unacknowledged tension resting between them, eating at their new found friendship, and casting an undeniable barrier which neither of them wanted to cross. In the back of her mind, Lauren wanted to ask why Camila had come to her rescue and treated her like a damsel in distress, like the messages she had sent weren't totally friendship crushing.

Neither of them a word, so Camila pursed her lips and said, "I guess I better be going, I don't want to be a burden."

"Camila wait," Lauren blurted, not sure what she was going to finish her sentence with.

Camila stared up at Lauren, her eyes glistening with wonder and hope, and Lauren bit her lip harshly, almost to the point of drawing blood.

"Yeah?" Camila queried, moving toward Lauren.

"What I texted you last night," Lauren started, gulping slightly.

"Don't worry about it," Camila said, her spirit wilting like a flower in the winter, "You were drunk, and we're just friends. It's okay to be a little confused sometimes, we all are," Camila replied weakly, averting her eyes away from Lauren as she headed toward the door.

Lauren gripped her forearm, and said, "I meant it."

Camila sighed, "Lauren..."

"I'm serious, Camila, don't leave me hanging like this," Lauren demanded, her eyes stinging with tears that were begging to be released, "You can't tell me that when we kissed, you didn't feel it. The fire, the power, the chemistry was there Camila, I fucking felt it. I've kissed about twenty people in my lifetime, and I've never experienced as much passion as I did, even though I only kissed you one time. For once in my life the entire world wasn't weighing down on me, and you're the reason."

Swallowing hard, Camila loosened her arm from Lauren's grasp, and choked out a response, "Stop fucking with my feelings, Lauren," Camila snapped, "First, you think I'm absolutely deplorable, then we make amends and become friends for a good three hours, and then we're making out. How are we going to survive, Lauren? Because I'm afraid that if I walk out right now, you'll detach yourself from me, and this will all be forgotten. You're so finicky and confused, and I honestly don't want to be caught in the middle of it. You're not going to break my heart, Lauren."

"I'm scared, Camila!" Lauren shouted, tears overflowing down her reddened cheeks, "Don't you get that? I kept finding reasons to hate you because I thought you were the prettiest and most confident person I had ever met! I want to protect you and kiss you and hold you all at the same time, and I've never wanted someone like that, Camila," Lauren whispered out through her manic state, "I'm so afraid."

Before a beat had even fallen between them, Camila was grabbing Lauren and pulling her close, lessening the spaces in between them. The action took Lauren by complete surprise, but she sucked up her tears, and embraced Camila with all of her might.

Neither of them said a word, and as Camila backed away, Lauren couldn't help but be aware of how close their faces were, and how Camila's pupils were blown black with want, and how inviting her lips looked. Lauren tested the waters, leaning closer to Camila's face, and when she found no resistance, Lauren smashed their lips together.

There it was again, crash, boom smoke.

Winding stalks of affection and relief grew in Lauren's stomach as she exchanged intimacy with the only person she had ever shared a bond with. Camila kissed back, her puffy lips dominant, overlapping Lauren's thinner, swollen ones. Camila was totally in control, while Lauren felt helpless under her spell, falling into submission when Camila brushed her hands through Lauren's long and tangled hair.

Camila backed away from the kiss, her arms still dangling around Lauren's neck. Camila let a smile dance across her flushing lips, and Lauren could tell that whatever they had was definitely real, because no amount of acting could ever mimic the way someone's eyes gleam when they're undoubtedly and completely yearning for someone else.

Lauren returned the fond look, but then she sobered up, and asked, "What does this mean for us?"

"Well," Camila said, biting her lip and tossing her hair over her shoulder, "We're definitely not enemies, and if we're going to be friends, we have to stop falling for each other."

"I can't help falling in love with you," Lauren admitted, and suddenly the room was quiet enough to where Lauren could hear her own heartbeat, which had synchronized with Camila's.

"Then why don't we make this official?" Camila asked, "The whole world already believes we're dating, so why the hell not?"

Butterflies began to cocoon out of Lauren's stomach, and while the offer sounded like everything she had ever dreamed of, she had to remember that Camila was a girl, and she wasn't sure if she could do this. Of course, it was illogical, because the entire world already knew the were together, but now it was real, and not just another promotional relationship.

"Okay," Lauren agreed, taking the final leap into falling, "Let's do this."

Lauren kissed Camila again, and couldn't keep herself from giggling while they embarked into a new relationship together.