Love Me, Please (Camren)

Chapter 17

The day they matched was not the day Lauren first saw her.

There was a day much earlier that Lauren never talks about. A time when she saw Camila and felt that pull in her heart, telling her she was the one. In order to match, they needed to look into each other's eyes. But Cabello wouldn't even look in her direction.

It happened at a party, at Camila's frat. Lauren was there with her friends and they were having a relatively good time getting drunk on cheap beer and a gross concoction of hard alcohol mixed with fruit juice. Lauren saw her flirting with someone, hand on the wall above the girl's head, leaning in. The spark of jealousy she felt was uncalled for until she felt the ache in her heart and knew what it meant.

They've been taught since they were toddlers to recognize when they finally met the one. Lauren remembers how they'd always talk about it at school, reciting the signs and symptoms until everyone knew them by heart before the age of ten. She remembers the quizzes and exams asking about soulmates, all the research the quizzes and exams asking about soulmates, all the research they've done and the studies they've read. She remembers everything because she's been socialized to prioritize it, to always pay attention to the fluttering of her heart and the feeling of nausea in her stomach. To feel that pull deep in her core when the time comes. She recognizes the feeling easily because she's been brought up to pay attention to it, to expect it eventually, and to cherish it. To celebrate it.

So she approached them. And she said something she knew both of them heard but only the girl turned to look at her and just laughed mockingly. Camila Cabello didn't even give her the time of day.

Going up to talk to a complete stranger wasn't something Lauren normally did.

In fact, it was something she never did.

So the fact that she was taking a risk and being courageous was a big deal. Then, to be rejected like that...

It was a mistake she would never make again.