Paper Towns (A 5H Fanfic)

T w e n t y T h r e e

Day 3: The Flashback

Lauren drove now. It was five in the morning and they were finally entering Miami. She told Dinah to get some sleep so the rule of whoever is in the passenger seat needs to be awake while the driver is was officially broken.

No one was awake and no one was on the road. It was peaceful. Just Lauren and her thoughts. It seemed like a good idea but it didn't feel like it after a while. Lauren remembered one extremely rough night. It wasn't as big of a blur as Camila thought it was for her. She remembered most of it. That night was the lowest low Camila and her had hit in their friendship. This was the fight from the note Camila had talked about. This wasn't just their lowest point in their friendship but it was also the highest point in their friendship.

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"Hi. Are you ok?" Camila asked as she watched a drunken Lauren stumble into the hotel room. Lauren nodded and said something completely inaudible. "Do you want help?"

No response. Lauren walked along the wall then fell face first onto the bed Camila was siting on. The closest bed to the door, even though it wasn't hers.

Camila scooted across the bed to the end of it where Lauren laid face first. She picked up Lauren's head and put it on her lap then started playing with her hair.

"Camz stop." Lauren mumbled, her eyes were shut as she rubbed her forehead. "Camila, stop spinning the room. I'm gonna fucking throw up if you don't." she rotated herself so her face was buried in Camila's stomach. "It's bright in here." she mumbled.

"Are you gonna be ok?" Camila softly asked while Lauren groaned.

"Camz I love you." Lauren thew her arms around Camila and smiled into her stomach. "You're a really good friend you know? Like you just always know what to say and when to say it. You're so sweet and like.." her voice trailed off.

Camila tried not to laugh. Lauren was completely wasted. This was the first time Camila had seen her like this, probably since the U.K had a drinking age of eighteen and the U.S. was twenty one.

"Life is good right now. Like busy and full of fun. Tonight was fun you know. I had a good time." Lauren finally let go of the hug she held Camila in and flipped so she was siting up. "You know you're a good friend. Did I tell you that?" her drunk state was spilling so many things so fast. "You're like SpongeBob. He seems cool. Like he seems like a good friend." Lauren laughed and made Camila laugh too. "I'd befriend him."

"I'd befriend him too." Camila agreed.

"You know I love you but like not how some fans think I love you." Lauren's green eyes, though hazy, stared straight into Camila's eyes. "We're friends. Like nothing more. Never have been never will be."

"Separately single." Camila giggled. Remembering how Lauren and her made that clear in an interview and now made a fandom joke out of that phrase.

"VERY separately single Camz. Very." Lauren corrected, holding a finger up. "It just makes me so fucking mad. We're friends. Why is that so hard for people to get?"

"Preach it Lo, preach it." Camila teased.

"And you." Lauren's tone changed. Her dark green eyes seemed darker. She looked less like a lost puppy now and more like an angry police dog. "You're to blame too you know. You're not innocent."

"What? Why?" Camila asked.

"Everyone loves you. You're the fan favorite, you're the media favorite. You're called adorable and sweet and funny. You're fucking Camila Cabello and everyone fucking loves you. And then there's me. I'm the dark one, I'm the intimidating one, I'm the bitch of the group. I fucking hate you." Lauren mumbled.