the truth about tomorrow ➸ camren

seventeen

Camila quickly realized that rooming with Lauren was going to be much different from rooming with Normani.

For one, Normani had both of her legs. Camila felt bad comparing that, but Lauren's way of doing things all depended on how she got around. And Camila liked Lauren, so she wanted to make things as easy as possible for her.

On their first night together, Camila could easily tell Lauren was getting nervous around her. Figuring the girl needed her space, Camila slipped out of the room and wandered down their hallway.

The moment she heard bass thumping from one of the rooms, Camila knew exactly who it belonged to. She stood awkwardly outside the door for a few moments before knocking lightly. The door flew open almost immediately, and Dinah smiled widely at her.

"This place is awesome," Dinah gushed, leaving the door open wide for Camila as she made her way over to turn down the radio. Camila spotted Normani on the balcony, her hair moving gently in the breeze. Her friend was leaning against the railing, gazing longingly out at the beach.

"Do you like your roommate?" Camila asked, wandering into the room and studying the purple walls. Dinah paused, glanced at Normani, and then turned to Camila with a somewhat bashful smile.

"I was wrong about her, you know," Dinah nodded, running a hand through her hair. "And I'm not wrong about people often."

"What do you mean?" Camila raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know, man," Dinah shrugged. "I just figured she was some lunatic since she'd never spoken a word to me. But now that she has, we actually get along. Like, she started playing music and I thought she was using my phone. We're like the same person."

"Speaking of roommates," Normani appeared in the doorway, pulling the glass door shut behind her. "How are you liking your living arrangements?" she raised a knowing eyebrow at Camila, whose face immediately turned bright red.

"Oh, yeah!" Dinah abandoned what she was doing to turn around and grab Camila by the shoulders. Not having time to protest, Camila was pushed over to the bed so she was sitting in front of an expectant Normani and Dinah.

"I knew you were disappearing off to see someone," Dinah shook her head in disappointment. "I need every detail. Now."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Camila muttered under her breath. She was trying her best to keep her poker face, but it wasn't working too well in her favor. Normani raised an eyebrow at her, and her blatant facial expression told Camila that they both knew far too much to let her get away with it.

"Really, Mila?" Dinah shook her head. "You need to give us more than that. Come on. You don't just save anyone from a burning building."

"She's..." Camila sighed, biting her lip. Truth be told, she wasn't sure what she was supposed to say. She wasn't sure what she and Lauren were. "She's a good friend," Camila said quietly, shrugging her shoulders and glancing up at Dinah.

"Friend," Dinah scoffed, looking over to Normani. "Hear that, Manibear? Friend."

"Friend," the dark skinned girl shook her head. "I think our friend Mila here may have a different definition of 'friend' than we do. Don't you think, Dinah?"

Camila realized that introducing these two to each other was both the best and the worst decision she'd made thus far.

"I think we need a little more than just 'friend', it's only fair," Dinah turned back to Camila and crossed her arms. "Come on, Camila. Either you tell us or we find out on our own."

"I don't know what to tell you," Camila shook her head. "What do you expect me to say?"

"That y'all are fucking on the down low," Normani muttered casually, causing Dinah to burst into laughter and nearly fall off the bed. Normani only then realized what she had said, and struggled to contain her amusement.