behind the lights | camren

Chapter Fourteen

"France is so beautiful this time of year, don't you agree, Lauren?" Ally asked, her wedged heels clacking against the stone encrusted roads of the foreign country, "One time, Troy and I took a trip here with some friends, and we kissed directly below the Eiffel Tower, it was the most romantic thing that ever happened to me," Ally gushed, nudging into Lauren, "I might still have it, hold on," Ally said, digging her phone out of her over the shoulder purse.

Lauren listened to Ally babble on about her perfectly magnificent love life, and Lauren couldn't held but focus on the large diamond ring that adorned her finger. In late September, Ally returned back to her ocean view apartment to find Troy standing alone in a room full of candles, tears in his eyes when she walked in. He popped the question, professing his love for her with great detail, and obviously, she obliged.

Their engagement was still going strong two weeks later, and when Ally wasn't talking business with Lauren, she was whipping out her planning binder, sifting through the pages. She had already claimed Lauren as her maid of honor, and Dinah would be standing next to her in line. Lauren was elated when Ally gave her the news, but after a while, the endless wedding dreams got a bit boring, and Lauren found herself zoning out more often than not.

The seasons had changed, and after a few more well managed, fairly equipped movie premieres, Lauren and the rest of the cast were flown up to Paris, France to do more promotion. The movie was an instant box office hit, racking up five star reviews and unconditional praise from the media. Lauren was proud at the creation, and finally allowed herself to watch it at the Miami Premiere, and that was only because she would be attending with her family. Lauren could act like a spoiled brat in front of Dinah and Ally, but she knew her parents wouldn't put up with it. Though sitting through a lesbian film with her parents was unbelievably awkward, they were proud nonetheless, and congratulated their daughter on her groundbreaking role.

While everything else was looking up, the only downside to the situation was Camila. After Lauren's last blowout went viral, she got pegged as emotionally distraught, and one magazine even wrote an open letter to her, begging her family to check her into therapy. Lauren had calmed down after a while, forcing terribly awkward smiles and standing stiffly next to Camila became the new normal. Lauren found herself yearning to call Camila hers again, to be able to hold her at night and come home to Camila in her bed, watching terrible reality shows, but as quickly as it came, the love was gone.

"Look, I found it," Ally stated, shoving her iPhone 6 into Lauren's face, "We need to get you a boyfriend or a girlfriend while we're here. Not even, maybe a fling, so you can get a picture like this. Or we could take one, like a best friend photo! And Dinah can come too, wouldn't that be fun?" Ally asked, and Lauren frowned, because her best friend was too innocent for this world.

Lauren shrugged her shoulders, "I feel like that type of thing is for people in love, you know? Why waste a romantic moment with someone you're not even sure you're going to be with forever. And plus, I'm not in love with anyone at the moment," Lauren lied, her heart figuratively sighing as it yearned for Camila.

Ally quietened up, and then asked in a hushed voice, "You're not in love with Camila anymore?"

"Love is something beautiful, it shouldn't make you want to curl up in a ball and die," Lauren answered, shielding her eyes away from the sun.

Frowning, Ally responded, "Do you think being in love is full of grassy meadows and rainbows? If you do, then you've spent too much time with your nose in a script, because love is about sacrifice and the ability to accept each others faults, and love them in spite of that," Ally lectured, "Now let's go get some ice cream."