Prank Gone Wrong (Camren Non-AU)

Chapter 7

Paris, France. City of Light. Or for hopeless romantics better known as the City of Love. It was the center of art, fashion, cuisine and architecture, home of famous and historical buildings like the Louvre, the Notré-Dame, the Sainte-Chapelle, the Arc de Triomphe and, of course, the Eiffel Tower.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Camila whispered in awe. "I know we've caught a glimpse of it before, but seeing it at night... it's something different. I can't believe we're here together."

Camila and Lauren stood arm in arm in front of the  landmark of Paris. Not only of the city, but of France as well. And while the Eiffel Tower was only a wrought iron lattice tower, it was also, with over a thousand feet high, Paris' tallest building. By daylight it didn't look all that special, but by night the iron structure disappeared, leaving behind a magical sight of thousand sparkling lights and golden beams.

"I can't believe we managed to sneak past our fans," Lauren muttered as she leaned her head against her girlfriend's. "Did you see how many were waiting for us at the hotel? Thank God our moms played along and got us individually out of there..."

"Where are they now anyway?" Camila glanced around, but the place in front of the Eiffel Tower was massive and full of people. It was risky to show their affection so openly in the public, although neither of them had seen a camera pointed at them or received curious stares.

"Around." Lauren shrugged. "They're giving us some space, babe. This is still supposed to be a date... and I'm still very sorry that we had to have dinner in the hotel. Next time we're here, we won't have to be so sneaky about it. We'll just walk right into the next restaurant and have a romantic dinner without having to worry about... the other stuff."

"You are far more relaxed now that we left the UK," Camila replied and sneaked a glance at her girlfriend. "Aren't you worried that someone might see us? We're not exactly subtle and laying low... Janet said –"

"I promised you a proper date in Paris and that's what you got, Camz. It's okay for us to drop some hints now and Simon encouraged it too. If they watch that Ellen interview without any preparation, they're going to have a heart attack, you know that."

Camila chuckled dryly. "And we don't want to lose more fans than we already will after the story breaks, right?"

"This is stupid," Lauren said quietly and any trace of amusement left her voice. "I can't believe that Janet and Brian or L.A. Reid actually think that we're losing fans by coming out. I know that some assholes are going to be mean and write hateful comments to and about us, but... but not our fans. They know  what we promote..."

"Not all of them are fans because of that, though. Some just like the music, others like only a few of the girls or one girl but not the entire group. I don't get it either, but that's how it is." Camila sighed deeply and stared up to the illuminated Eiffel Tower. "It's gonna cost us sales for sure. I don't know how many, but if L.A., Janet and Brian are concerned about it... maybe some radio stations are going to refuse to play our music as well..."

Lauren looked thoughtfully at her girlfriend before placing a kiss on top of her hair. "You were so excited to go public after all these months of hiding, what's gotten into you? Are you getting cold feet?"

"No, it's not that, but..." Camila trailed off, shrugging helplessly. "Is it fair to endanger our career like that? Is it fair to the girls? What if our record labels decide to drop us? What if –"

"Don't start thinking about the what-ifs, babe. It's not helping," Lauren reprimanded her gently. "The girls knew what this could mean for the group and they are all willing to take the risk. And if Brian and Janet weren't sure that we can survive this, they wouldn't have given us the option of coming out. And lastly... remember our meeting with Simon?"