Paper Towns (A 5H Fanfic)

E i g h t

Day 0: The Song

Dinah slid the key into the key slot and opened Camila's hotel room door. As they all took a step into the room they noticed traces of Camila everywhere. Socks left on the floor, a pile of shirts and sweaters on the bed, an assortment of make up items in the bathroom, a pair of Beats headphones on the night stand and a paper back copy of 'If I Stay' sat on the bed.

"I swear if she put another hidden message in a book I'm gonna rip my eyes out." Dinah said before walking into the bathroom and away from the book.

Ally walked over to the bed and flipped a few shirts around, checking under each piece of clothing for any clues.

Normani stood across the bed from Ally and picked up the book on the bed. "Well there's no hidden message in the book DJ." she said to Dinah. "There is a message though."

Dinah's head popped out from the bathroom and Ally and Lauren's heads shot up as well.

"It's for you." Normani said as she handed the book to Lauren.

Lauren raised an eyebrow and took the book in her hands.

Lauren will know what I mean. Home - Edward Sharpe and Magnetic Zeros
With love, Camila

"What does that mean?" Normani asked.

***   ***   ***
It was raining as the tour bus drove through the Pacific Northwest, on their way to Canada. The sound of rain was calming, especially after a highly intense show in Seattle. It was well past 2am and Camila couldn't sleep. They were on their first tour and the girls had been on the road for a while now and she was stating to miss her family.

Camila scrolled through tumblr and mindlessly reblogged pictures and gifs that caught her eye. She saw Lauren was online at that exact moment as well. At this point, she was starting to realize her and Lauren ran on the same sleeping schedule which was basically no sleep at all.

Camila slid out of her bunk and crawled across the isle to Lauren's bunk across from her own. She drew open the curtain slightly and peaked into the dark bunk, nothing but a bright iPhone screen lit the bunk. Camila thought about asking Lauren to talk for a little but decided not to. She shut the curtain and slid back over to her bunk when she heard a familiar, raspy voice.

"Camz?" Lauren called from her bunk. A more raspy voice than usual, a mix of her voice being shot from singing tonight and being tired.

Camila didn't respond. She was fine. Just needed to sleep. She'd wake up in a new place, see new fans, sing for a crowd and feel good again. Hopefully.

"Camila?" Lauren called again. Her voice was getting closer to Camila's bunk curtain. The curtain was drawn back suddenly and Lauren's green eyes were eying her, full of concern. "Are you ok?"

Camila sighed. "Just tired but not able to sleep. I'm fine." Lauren raised an eyebrow, she knew Camila wasn't fine. "I miss my family." she confessed. "Sofi is growing up and I can't be there to see it. My family is having cute family dinners and I can't be there for them. I can't watch Sofi grow up and it sucks."

"Scoot over." Lauren said abruptly. Camila did and Lauren slid into the bunk with her. "I know what you mean. My dad sent me a picture the other day of the family vacation I didn't get to go to." She mumbled and picked at a bracelet on her wrist, a fan gift. "Taylor had her first kiss last week and she called me but I could only talk for five minutes because we had to go on stage. I just wish I could be part of their lives like I used to be able to."

"I hate going back home and feeling like I'm on the outside because I wasn't there for an inside joke that everyone else is in on." Camila explained, starting to get choked up. "I love touring and doing this for a job but I wish I didn't have to sacrifice being part of my family for it."

"Hey but we're all a family here." Lauren replied. "You have us." Lauren yawned, a wave of tiredness hitting her hard all of a sudden.

"If you're tired you can go to bed. I kind of just want to listen to music and think." Camila said with a small smile to Lauren.

"Goodnight Camz." Lauren said as she rolled out of Camila's bunk.

"Goodnight Lo." Camila responded. She pulled out her headphones and plugged them into her phone.

A few seconds of the John Mayer song Camila was listening to went by when her phone vibrated with a new text.

{2:40am} Lern Jergi: if you're still feeling homesick listen to Home by Edward Sharpe and Magnetic Zeros. Good shit for your mood.

Camila smiled and instantly typed in the song on YouTube, then drifted off to sleep.

***    ***    ***
"I sent her that song when she felt homesick on our first tour." Lauren finished explaining to the girls.

"What? So she's homesick? So she went home?" Normani asked.

"She went back to Miami?" Ally questioned. "Her parents would've said something wouldn't they?"

"I don't think she went to her house." Lauren replied. Remembering a time Camila and her talked about their little getaway spots in Miami.

Oddly, they had a few of the same spots they liked to go to. One, included an abandoned building that wasn't the least bit creepy or gross. It was fairly clean and probably livable.

"I think I know where she went." Lauren spoke up as she pulled her phone out of her pocket.

"Woah. Lauren." Dinah said. She put a hand on Lauren's to stop her from dialing. "Your lead is a few Camila clues, the cops know what they're doing. Just tell them in the morning."

"I don't want to wait. We don't even know if Camila is alive at this point. Why wait to try and find her?" Lauren shot.

"Just wait until the morning Lauren." Normani added. "It's the cops job to find her, not ours."

"We have rehearsal tomorrow anyway. We should get some sleep." Ally said.

"Fine. But if they don't find Camila alive I blame you guys." Lauren said as Dinah pushed her a little towards the door.

A/N:
That was a fun little flashback to write. Lauren and Camila's bunks seem to always be across from each other so I just figured why not give some Camren shippers something cute and something they probably do and or have done in the past in real life.