Badlands (Camren)

7. NORETURN

Lauren

It had been two weeks since that fight and she was giving Camila the silent treatment.

Which lead to Camila going on and on and on about anything and everything. Fed up with Camila's endless rambling, Lauren had taken to being cooped up in her room hoping for some peace until Camila had sat herself out side Lauren's door, still holding her one sided conversations.

It frustrated her to no end that Camila was so damn stubborn.

It was night two of the Lauren stakeout as Camila called it when Lauren cracked.

"And you know what? I was right I never did get that skirt back-"

"Will you shut the fuck up?" Lauren yelled, throwing open her door and startling Camila.

For a brief second, when Lauren's eyes caught Camila's frightened expression Lauren felt bad about scaring her until she remembered that it was Camila's fault.

"I told you I hate the silence!" Camila yelled back. Lauren glared her, fury shaking her whole body.

"And I told you that I like the silence!"

"Well it's too bad you can't always get everything you want!"

"I've never gotten anything I've wanted! Do you think I wanted this? To be in this place? With those things?" Lauren seethed, she just felt so angry.

It felt like something had just gone off, a switch. Like a bottle lost its cap, Lauren kept going.

"I don't want this, I want to be in a Prediction. And even in my fucking Prediction I never got anything I wanted." Camila looked genuinely upset even through her shocked expression.

"But you," Lauren hissed with venom.

"You had everything, you had a perfect life. So you don't get to call the shots." Camila's eyes flashed dangerously at Lauren's words.

"I never had a perfect life! My sister died last year, she fell into a creek when she was coming home in the winter. We didn't find her till two days later you-you bitch!" By the time Camila finished yelling she had tears streaming down her face.

Lauren opened her mouth to apologize, to say how dumb she was to assume such a thing. She'd always kept that in mind, never underestimate or presume.

Not here, not now.

But before she could utter a single word, Camila had started yelling again.

"You know why I hate the silence Lauren?" Lauren winced at the way Camila said her name, like it was some sort of disease.

"I hate the silence because that's all that was left. At home no one talked to each other after Sophia died. Mom and dad started working harder and for longer hours."

"Mom ate dinner in Sophia's room and my dad couldn't sit at the table anymore so he'd leave." Camila was fully sobbing now. Her words were scratchy and her posture shaken up.

"Camila, I'm so sorry." Lauren burst out.

"I had no idea, I feel-" Camila held up her palm to silence Lauren.

"- terrible. I know." Camila sniffed. "So did everyone else. It's okay." Lauren shook her head.

"No, it's not okay. You lost your sister. That's a horrible thing to go through."

"It didn't even actually happen. It was just a Prediction." Lauren stared at Camila.

"Just because it happened in your head, doesn't make it any less real or any less painful." Camila nodded at Lauren's words but didn't say anything.

"You were right though. After Sophia, everything let me take the easy way out. I became valedictorian without even trying, got head cheerleader without applying. I got As in all my classes. I hated it." Camila sighed.

Lauren tried to imagine how she would react if she got it easy. Would she still be the same person she was now?

Then again she was hardly the same person she was yesterday.

Yesterday, Lauren hated Camila. Today she feels something entirely different from hate. Something like respect.

"I had a hard time in there too." Lauren admitted hesitantly. Camila perked up with interest.

"Why?"

"I had no friends." Lauren shrugged.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Camila said. Lauren smiled at her.

"It's okay, it was partly my fault. I didn't try to be nice to anyone."

"No but see that's what's so cool about you!" Camila said suddenly, her eyes brightening.

For some reason, Lauren's heart beat faster at her words.

"You don't try to impress someone. You're just being you. And it's working so screw whoever doesn't like that right?" Camila declared. Lauren nodded.

"Right." She confirmed with a small smile.

What confused her was Camila's reaction, how easily she flowed from topic to topic. And Lauren was struggling to understand why that was slightly endearing to her.

Lauren and Camila decided it would be best if they did something rather than mope around about being holed up wherever this was. Like watch tv.

There were only two channels that worked. One that was in French and a movie channel that never showed anything from their century.

"But if we do consider it. Everything we've watched in our Predictions can't exist because they were only Predicted to exist." Lauren said thoughtfully. Camila frowned and shook her head.

"That can't be. French existed in our Prediction so that means the movies can too."

"No Camila French existed in this world already. That's how they out French in the Predictions. I met a French kid once." Lauren explained.

"What happened to them?"

"He died trying to pick an apple from the tree." Camila's eyes widened in horror. Lauren burst out laughing, slapping her thigh at Camila's horrified expression.

"Lauren he died." Camila wailed, shooting Lauren a shocked look. Lauren shook her head.

"So he didn't die?" Camila asked, confused. Lauren took a few seconds longer to finish laughing before answering.

"Oh no he died alright, he just didn't die picking an apple."

"Lauren!" Camila chastised, hitting Lauren's arm.

"He died while trying to escape into the Badlands." Lauren said somberly, now frowning at her feet.

Camila put a comforting hand on Lauren's arm, making that area suddenly heat up. Lauren almost jumped away.

"The badlands sound like a horror movie town." Camila told her. Lauren shot her a grave smile.

"It damn near is."

---

A/n- it's tuesday bitches. That means happy badlands day!

A little progress report on me: I've improved a lot, I can actually walk now. Like fully move my legs and bend it at will walk! I'm actually so excited and as trivial as it may sound, I haven't been able to walk for ages so this is a big deal to me.

Hope you're all having a good day.

- Tay x