behind the lights | camren

Chapter Thirteen

"Lauren," Ally beckoned, her tone defeated and heartbreaking, "Come on, it's the big day. You're going to have to get out of bed sometime," Ally stated, knocking once again on the locked bedroom door.

"Go away," Lauren muttered, spreading herself around in her lonely, king sized bed.

Ever since Lauren and Camila had their falling out over a cliche misunderstanding, Lauren had retreated to her bedroom. Cancelled appearances, missed interviews, and shying away from the media became Lauren's life for the last few weeks. One night, Ally let her stay home alone, and in that time, Lauren took a pair of scissors to her hair, and snipped away the lengthy waves. When Ally stopped by the next morning with a chai latte and a bagel, her mouth fell agape as she stared at Lauren's straight, shoulder length hairstyle.

The reason for the sudden change was that Lauren couldn't stand looking in the mirror anymore. Her appearance was exactly the same when she was with Camila, and Lauren couldn't help but recall how Camila's long fingers used to brush through her tangled hair. Lauren felt helpless in the situation, and hair was a factor she could change, so she did.

On a good day, Lauren would accompany Ally to small events, like going out for lunch or visiting a bookstore. Ally begged Lauren to go out and see the light, letting the sun flash against her face so brightly that Lauren wished it would burn her face off.

The media was in a craze, releasing exaggerated articles and headlines featuring the worst pictures of Lauren, with large, bold text that read 'America's Sweetheart is now America's Tragedy" plastering magazines. Ally tried her best to accumulate the papers, and had Lauren's PR team control what articles could and couldn't be released.

Hashtag Camren eventually wrapped up to an end, with Camila tweeting passive aggressive messages aimed toward Lauren, and made up lyrics, which Lauren could only assume were material for her new songs. On a warm august night, Camila played at an end of summer bash, and performed a cover of Justin Timberlake's 'Cry Me a River', saying it was dedicated to a certain girl who broke her heart. Lauren had to switch off her laptop, and spent the night weeping into her pillow.

Ally rapped on the door again, sighing incredibly loud before saying, "Lauren, please. You have to go to the movie premiere, you're the main attraction, everyone is going to be looking at you," Ally assured, leaning her head against the closed door.

Lauren tossed the blankets aside, swung her feet over the bed, and stomped over to the locked door. She swiped the lock open, and pulled the door back with great force.

"No one is going to be looking at Lauren Jauregui the actress, everyone is going to be focused on Lauren Jauregui, the ex girlfriend of Camila Cabello, who is also her co star. The media circus is going to be at an all time high tonight, and I really don't want to deal with it," Lauren snapped, blinking back tears, and recalling how many times she tried to explain the situation to Camila.

The whole situation was useless, and even though Lauren attempted to straighten their relationship out in great lengths, Camila didn't believe her. Lauren had learned that pictures are worth a thousand words, and sometimes, the words are better left unsaid. Pictures can tell an entirely opposite, imaginative story than their actual context.

"All publicity is good publicity," Ally tried, forcing a sympathetic grin.

Lauren shook her head, "I can't go there tonight and see her, making the camera her bitch as she shows off her infinitely beautiful features and smiles like there's nothing wrong. I can't take cast photos with her and plaster an excited expression across my face. God forbid I have to sit through that movie, and watch us fall in love, both on screen and behind the lights. I can't fucking do it," Lauren finished, and by time she finished speaking, tears were spilling down her cheeks.