f.m. ~camren

chapter 26

After the initial friendly visit, Camila and Lauren resume communicating on a regular basis. They exchange texts throughout the week and make a ritual of meeting up for a couple hours on Sundays. Work also picks up at HYPE-R Records as expected and Camila is relieved to use it as an excuse to limit the time her and Ariana have for each other. They talk on the phone a maximum of fifteen minutes on any given day, usually right before bed, and it's generally taken up by Ariana venting about the tension between her and the producer of her previous album who she accuses of having a conflicting vision for where she wants to take her new music. Camila gives up on trying to get a word in by the third time Ariana calls, and gradually tunes her out more with each conversation, preferring to let her mind drift towards Lauren who has been a much better listener from the beginning.

Following three weeks of careful negotiating and planning, Stella announces four bands the label is interested in contacting for further screening. Camila is assigned to handle two of them, splitting the work evenly for the first time she can remember. She is indifferent about working with the first group she is assigned, Painted Turtles. However, her nerves spike up upon being assigned to handle Rust the Nail as well. Jennel has contacted her a couple times since Rock Shock, but it has only been for invitations to nearby shows which she turns down because they occur during late hours on work nights. Camila pushes her concerns about working with the group aside because she knows their potential to be signed is in her favor and calls Jennel first.

"Hello?" Jennel answers after a few rings.

"Hi Jennel, this is Camila Cabello from HYPE-R Records. I'm calling regarding your band, Rust the Nail," Camila opens, keeping it formal for the sake of professionalism.

"Hey babe, calling to offer us a deal?"

Camila cringes at the term of endearment, but quickly dismisses it.

"We are interested in having the band tour our facilities, do a bit of recording in the studio, and meet with some of the label staff. If you want, take some time to talk it over with the guys first and plan on getting back to me by tomorrow so we can move forward and work out logistics."

"I'm sure the guys will be down with it. We may have to cancel a show or two on the road, but it would be a fair trade for some exposure through the label," Jennel reasons.

"Great! I'll let my boss know you're on board, and if you call me tomorrow morning I should have details ready to set up the first meeting."

"I'll look forward to seeing you," Jennel replies with a sense of flirtatiousness in her tone.

"Yeah, see you soon," Camila responds awkwardly before hanging up hastily.

Camila has a longer conversation with the lead musician of Painted Turtles because she has to do a cold call, introducing herself and the label from scratch. Her confidence increases as they sound gradually more interested throughout the call and finally agree to set up the first meeting. When she reports the news back to Stella she learns that one of the other two bands turned her down, effectively giving her the upper hand over her boss who will now only have one band and one chance to mentor the next group that will be offered a full deal. Unfortunately, it also means Camila will be much busier with her attention being split between two groups.

When Ariana calls her before bed, Camila jumps in quickly to share her news about working with the two bands because she is using it as an excuse to avoid flying out to see her as planned. Ariana completely ignores Camila's excitement about the project and jumps right into pouting about being separated from her girlfriend longer than anticipated.

"But MiMi, you promised..."

"I thought we agreed you would bury that nickname, Ari," Camila cuts in, changing topics.

She hears a deep sigh on the other end.

"Camila, I miss you. Don't you miss me, too?"

Camila regrets pausing too long as her girlfriend makes her own interpretation of the silence and switches to an angry tone.

"Why are you acting so indifferent about all of this? Are you still seeing that Lorraine chick? I trusted you to be committed to us but how am I supposed to believe that when you seem so unaffected by the distance between us," Ariana accuses.

"Her name is Lauren, but this isn't about her. This is about me and my career which happens to be just as much a priority in my life as yours is to you. That's why I expected you to understand but I guess that was a poor assumption," Camila counters with similar venom.

Ariana doesn't respond for a while and Camila considers hanging up on her until she eventually speaks up again.

"I'm sorry. I was out of line to suggest you're cheating on me. I guess it's easier to accept that I won't get to see you for a while longer if I'm mad at you," Ariana confesses with a tone of apology.

"We'll figure it out for another time," Camila insists, doing her best to sound enthusiastic about rescheduling.

They wrap up their conversation shortly afterward as both feel themselves crashing from a long day at work.

Ariana doesn't call Camila the next couple nights, but she doesn't allow herself much time to dwell on it as preparing for the bands' arrival at HYPE-R leaves her in a perpetual state of stress. Not even Dinah or Lauren manage to hear a peep from Camila until the weekend at which point they're ready to send out a search party. Lauren is the first to crack and stop by her apartment on Saturday, a day ahead of their usual meetings.

Camila looks disheveled when she answers the door, apparently having fallen asleep in her work clothes from the day before after returning from a particularly late night in the office.

"Dinah will be pleased when I report back that I've found you alive and almost in one piece," Lauren teases as she hangs up her jacket on Camila's coat rack.

Camila groans softly, lacking the energy to speak as she heads into the kitchen to turn on her coffeemaker. Lauren makes herself comfortable in Camila's living room, flipping through options for something to watch on the TV while she allows her some time to wake up. When the coffee is done, Camila brings an extra mug for Lauren while she sits down beside her on the couch, although she remains quiet until a full episode of That 70s Show has played all the way through.

"I don't think the coffee I keep around is going to be strong enough. I'm exhausted," Camila announces while peeking at the bottom of her now-empty mug.

"It's the afternoon and you still seemed dead to the world when I came to to door. If I didn't know any better I'd think you were hungover."

Camila nods to acknowledge Lauren as she gets up and returns to the kitchen for more coffee.

"It was after midnight when I got in from the office last night," Camila almost shouts from the other room as she is refilling her mug with her favorite caffeinated substance.

"I almost considered going in this morning, too, but I felt like shit when my alarm went off," she continues to explain as she reclaims her spot on the couch.

Lauren shakes her head in disbelief.

"I know you've picked up more responsibilities recently, but if you don't still give yourself some breaks, or at least get proper sleep, you'll burn out quicker than you think," Lauren cautions.

"Don't worry. This isn't permanent. I'll only have a couple weeks of overtime to put in to make sure everything goes smoothly," Camila defends.

Lauren shrugs.

"Isn't that what they all say in the beginning? Then the next thing you know, you're waking up at 40 wondering where the time went..."

Camila rolls her eyes before setting her half-empty mug on the table and leaning back on the couch for better comfort.

"We're not even pushing 30 yet. I have plenty of time to snap out of it before my mid-life crisis."

Lauren begins to open her mouth to respond when they are interrupted by the buzzing of Camila's cell phone.

"Sorry. I gotta take this," Camila explains politely before stepping into her room for some privacy.

AN: I sat on this one for a while. I don't really know what free time is anymore. Adulthood bites sometimes.