No More Broken Hearts (Norminah Fanfic)

No More Broken Hearts Pt. 1

"Ally! Let's go! We're gonna be so late!" Normani yelled out to her roommate and best friend. "I'm coming Manibear" came the faint reply from down the hall. Normani sighed and checked the time on her phone once more. 8:15. If they hustled, they could get from their apartment to the campus just in time for their 9:00 classes. Ally wanted to get an apartment way across town, but she never wanted to get her ass out of bed early enough to ensure they wouldn't be late for class. Couple that with the fact that she still didn't have her license at age 21, and here is where Normani ends up. Every morning is spent nagging Ally until she finally emerges from her room, and Normani is forced to speed so they can make it on time.

Normani and Ally had been friends since Normani was in 3rd grade and Ally in the 5th. The pair had met in gymnastics class. Normani, being the phenomenal gymnast she was, was promoted from the Little Darlings to the Junior Misses. Due to her young age, she got her first taste of bullying from some of the older girls in the class. They had pounced on her like a cat as soon as she'd been introduced by the instructor. Normani had never been treated so poorly in all her life. She was always the popular one. She was about to break down in tears, when a short, but undeniably sassy girl stepped in between Normani and her tormentors and sternly told them to leave her alone. "Get away from her" she'd said quietly, never raising her voice. You could tell that this girl was respected, whoever she was. The three other girls shrank away without a protest. "Hi! I'm Allyson, but everyone calls me Ally" the short Latina greeted bubbly, smiling at her. "What's your name?" Normani had never been so grateful in her entire life. She smiled shyly at Ally before saying "Normani" and giving her a nervous wave. "Normani is a pretty name" Ally responded brightly. "Come on Normani. You're my friend now" Ally had said, taking Normani by the hand and leading her over to the rest of the class. Despite the age difference, the two became inseparable after that. Even when Ally had moved from Houston to UCLA in California for college, the pair had maintained their close bond. Normani would forever be grateful for her Ally Cat, as she affectionately called her.

Ally had held Normani's hand through every uphill battle in her life thus far. She'd always been there to pick up the pieces whenever Normani needed a kind shoulder or an uplifting word. Ally had seen Normani through the worst period in her life: her first true heartbreak. Normani sighed a little as she thought about the girl she had fallen so deeply in love with in high school. Dinah Jane, or DJ as she was known, had been Normani's whole heart. She put the spring in Normani's step, the color in her world. They hadn't meant to fall in love, it had just happened. Neither girl had never even remotely had feelings for someone of the same sex, but something between them had just clicked. In true teenage fashion, Normani thought they were going to be together forever. Forever never lasts as long as one thinks it will though.

Normani had been so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't hear Ally come scrambling down the hall towards her. "Hello...earth to Manibear!" Ally called out, snapping her fingers. Normani broke out of her trance and looked down to check the time. "Shit, Ally! It's almost 8:30! You really have to start waking up earlier girl. You know I don't like being late to school!" Normani hurriedly ushered Ally out the front door, locking it behind them before they rushed down to her car. Ally looked over at Normani and studied the look of pure concentration on her face as she weaved in an out of traffic, speeding towards the campus. Normani was definitely not her peppy self this morning. "What's weighing on your mind, Mani?" Ally questioned her friend. Normani threw a quick glance in Ally's direction before answering her dryly. "Dinah" she quipped. There were no secrets and lies between them. They knew each other too well. Ally's heart sank a little upon hearing the name "Oh" was all she said as she nervously picked at her nails. "Manibear, don't you think that maybe-" Ally began. The hard look Normani pinned on her was one Ally was all too familiar with. Ally put her hands up in surrender and said no more. Even though it had been nearly two years since Normani had seen or heard from Dinah, Ally knew the girl was still engraved in her heart. Normani needed to move on, but that was never going to happen if she couldn't stop thinking about Dinah. Obsessing and picking over every detail of their breakup every five minutes. Ally looked back over at Normani again. She had a stern expression on her face, and she was gripping the steering wheel tightly. "Mani?" Ally threw out cautiously. "Yes?" Was the harsh reply. "I love you, boo. Mean it" Ally said genuinely. Normani smiled over at her friend. "I love you too, Ally Cat. Mean it". They grinned at each other, locking pinkies as they had done since childhood, before spending the rest of the drive in comfortable silence. "You'll find your way, baby girl" Ally mused silently. All she wanted was to see her friend happy again. She hoped that day would come soon.
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"I just want to go cuddle up in my bed with some ice cream and Netflix, that's all" Normani complained to her friend and lab partner Lauren Jauregui. "Oh my God, some pizza, ice cream, and Netflix would be even better" Lauren huffed. "But alas, we're stuck here in this hell hole" she gestured at the medical laboratory around them. "Indeed" Normani quipped, placing another slide under the microscope. Normani and Lauren were both biology majors, on the track to med school. Part of their degree entailed quite a bit of work in the research lab on campus. Normani began humming as she looked through the microscope studying the slide of the specimen and taking notes in her lab journal, absent-mindedly beginning to sing her song out loud. Lauren glanced over at Normani, taking in the sweet melody she was now singing quietly as she was doing her work.