Artificial Love [Lauren/You]

Ch.9

I'm Yearning To See You

After missing five shows I had actually recorded a few songs in the studio and cut off complete contact with Selena despite her texting me like crazy. I knew I should have listened to Lauren from the start but I was too busy trying to win Selena over to listen.

"Lauren? What are you doing here?" I queried, looking down at the green eyed girl who was sitting on my front steps. She smiled and took the bag of food from my hands, opening the door and taking a step in our living room.

"I came to see you! I took a flight back to Miami because I missed you so much." Lauren uncrossed my arms and hugged me, sighing softly when I embraced her. She squeezed me tightly and pulled away to gaze into my eyes. There were circles around her eyes and she looked drained of energy. I knew her tired appearance had to do with touring but also the jet lag she must have from flying around from place to place.

"You're supposed to be in New York Lauren! Your show's tomorrow morning! Are you crazy?" I scolded but Lauren just smiled & gave me a light hearted giggle. Her body weight fell into mine and I carried her to the couch, Lauren instantly sprawling her body on the small space. I took out the small plastic container from the bag and lifted Lauren’s legs onto my lap as I accomodated myself on the couch.

"I missed your cooking so I went out to buy your famous tortilla de papa from a restaurant twenty minutes away from here. It's still not good as yours though." I complained with a face stuffed with food and Lauren sat up with her mouth slightly open. I fed her the rest of what was left and afterwards, she laid upon my chest.

"I've missed you so much. I'm so empty without you. Believe it or not, I miss being angry with you over stupid shit and I miss being with you in a tight ass bunk. When we're that close together I can hear your heart beating and your relaxed breathing. Not being able to hear that makes me lose sleep. I haven't had a good night's sleep in two weeks." Lauren groggily admitted as she wiped her eyes and I frowned, kissing the top of her forehead. I was very concerned over her health so instead of taking up time by talking, I brought my lips up to hers. Lauren’s lips moved against mine slowly and every time I'd try to pull away, she'd lean in again.

"Lauren what time is your flight to New York?" I mumbled against her lips and she put up her fingers to signal a 4.

"Four in the morning? Your show is at 10. You won't be able to get any sleep by the time you get back so try to sleep right now." I held Lauren against my chest and she comfortably rested her body on mine, her eyes closing almost immediately as she dazed off into a deep sleep. I wasn't very tired so I snuck out of her embrace and checked online for flights to New York. There was a flight an hour after hers so I bought myself a ticket and packed a few bags, quietly sneaking upstairs to fit them under my bed.

Lauren was already patting around the couch to find me so I gently placed her head on my lap and hummed her back to sleep. By the time I closed my eyes, her phone alarm rung and I was kissing her goodbye at my front doorsteps before getting a taxi and getting on a plane to New York myself.

I had already come up with a few new songs and after missing a lot of days on the road, I realized it wasn't fair for me to ditch performing just because I felt like I needed time to get my mind off of learning Selena's true colors. After all, I did have the most intellectual and most gorgeous beauty in the world waiting for my arrival to be beside her on stage.

As soon as I landed in New York, I went straight to the Brooklyn arena where the girls were performing and took my seat at the very front row, staying hidden behind my shades and hooded sweatshirt. No one really paid attention to me since they were focused on the five girls in front of them and just like them, I kept my eyes on Lauren who was having trouble keeping up with the choreography. Her left hand sneaked up her face to move her hair aside and her eyes shut for a moment as she took a break to get some energy back into her performance.