Paper Towns (A 5H Fanfic)

T w e n t y

Day 2: The Game

The girls pulled up at the field and hopped out of the car. Normani looked down and realized she looked like she could walk a runway in her clothes, they all did. They needed to change.

"We cannot go to a baseball game like this." Normani explained.

"I mean I think I look fine." Lauren smiled as she looked down at her plain black t-shirt and white jeans.

"Lauren, do we care?" Ally jokingly said. Lauren gave Ally a straight faced glare but Ally just shook it off.

"Let's buy shirts in there! Put jean shorts on and let's go." Dinah exclaimed to the girls.

So in the parking lot of a Braves game, the girls all slipped into different pairs of shorts and threw on tank tops and t-shirts to look more casual.

Once inside the field, they went straight to the team store and bought shirts. Normani and Dinah bought matching shirts. Dinah and Lauren bought baseball hats, which was an odd purchase for Lauren because she never wore hats of any kind but why not?

"We look good." Ally said in a low voice.

Dinah pulled her phone out and took a selfie of the girls for Snapchat. They left the team store and were on their way to their seats. It was the top of the sixth inning so they still had a little bit of time to sit down and enjoy the view and the game. Their seats were in the two hundreds and in the outfield but it was as good as they could get so last minute. None of them really understood baseball. All but Lauren, since she played softball. Lauren tried explaining some rules to Ally while Normani and Dinah took another selfie.

Bottom of the sixth inning with two outs. It was almost time for Normani to get up there and sing.

"Ready?" Lauren asked, she tilted her head up slightly since her baseball hat covering her face.

Normani sighed. "As ready as I can be I guess."

Ally went with Normani to the sign in area, leaving Lauren and Dinah. The section they were siting in was fairly empty, enough for no one to be siting behind them and no one to be siting in front of them. Both swung their feet up on the seats in front of them and leaned back.

"Lauser." Dinah called. Lauren was intently watching the game and quickly snapped out of it to face Dinah who held her phone up, taking a Snapchat video of the two. "Say what's up."

Lauren held up a peace sign, smiled and crinkled her nose.

"We got matching hats." Dinah said to her phone. Lauren leaned towards Dinah slightly and laughed.

The sixth inning had ended and it was time for the seventh inning stretch. Which meant time for Normani to sing.

Ally stood slightly off the field but in sight of Normani. Normani had asked if Ally could come onto the field with her, she didn't want to be by herself.

"And now, singing God Bless America, from the multiplatinum girl group, Fifth Harmony, Normani Kordei." the announcer said.

"She's gonna kill it." Ally said proudly to one of the camera guys next to her.

Back out in the outfield, Dinah and Lauren watched in amazement. They were proud of the girl who once was shy and not confident to be standing before them singing at a baseball game out of a spur of the moment thing.

When Normani finished the crowd cheered and she looked around. The bright lights of the field shining down on her. Earlier that day she didn't know if she'd feel the same confidence she did on stage on a baseball field but she did. Performing was her confidence.

Normani and Ally made their way back up to the stands where Lauren and Dinah were. The two complimented Normani and they continued watching the game.

Dinah looked down at her phone and saw a text notification. Her eyebrows furrowed and she tensed up slightly.

Lauren noticed and turned to face the other girl. "You ok?" she asked with concern.

"I-I just.." Dinah stuttered. She couldn't even finish her sentence. She handed Lauren her phone to see what was on the screen.

Lauren pressed the lock button to light up the screen again and her heart dropped. She understood why Dinah had reacted the way she had. It was a text from Camila. It couldn't be?

Normani and Ally took notice to the two girls and leaned in to see what was going on.

"Just read it. It's Camila. It can't be that bad right?" Lauren exclaimed. Truth was, she was nervous for what the message was too.

Dinah sighed and opened the text message.

{8:45pm} Mila: Word travels fast about Fifth Harmony apparently. You guys are faster than I thought you'd be.

"This is a joke. Like this isn't really from her." Dinah said in denial. "There's no way." she shook her head and continued staring at the text.

"Isn't there a way to trace the text?" Ally said. "We could go to the cops and show them this."

"We don't have time. Tomorrow has to be our last day out on this trip. We have to get home by the fourth day for opening night remember." Lauren explained. "If we call the cops it'll put us behind schedule."

The girls sat in silence for a minute. Looking from one girl to the next. They didn't know what to do. This changed the game. This let them know that Camila was still out there and alive. But now what? Tell the cops and put them behind schedule or follow through with the plan and show up in Miami? They wanted to find Camila and before opening night but what would end up being faster?

"I say we keep going with this." Dinah smiled. "Camila knows we're this close. Why stop now?" she shrugged.

"I'm in." Lauren raised her hand, siding with Dinah. "Fuck the cops. They haven't done shit for us. We've found more information about where Camila is than they have. Let's keep going. We're almost to the last stop anyway right? So let's finish this adventure." Lauren smirked. "For Camz."

Normani shook her head but reluctantly raised her hand in agreement. "For Mila." 

The girls looked to Ally who was the deciding factor in the decision. She looked up at the sky then back down at the girls. "For Mila." she agreed.

The decision was set, the girls would finish this road trip out and find Camila. This was the final stretch, they were onto the last note and Lauren was beyond nervous to see what Camila had to say to her. It could be about anything. The two had a history of a rocky friendship and everyone knew it.

A/N:
Yay for friendship! Yay for that parallel to the beginning of the story! Yay to knowing Camz is alive! I just have to say the next few parts focus more on Lauren and Camila's friendship and it will be a wild ride. Lauren's note is my favorite next to Dinah's FYI.