Exposed || Camren

Chapter Nineteen: Little Me

After the senior prom, Lauren was more than happy with how things were going in her life. She had only a week left of school, she had made up with Camila, and she was going to fix the essay and her friendship with Ally before it went to shit. The day after prom, Lauren woke up late with a smile on her face and a happy heart. She wasn't sure what would happen with everything after that exact point, but she knew it was going to turn out alright. 

Lauren trudged downstairs after using the bathroom, heading off towards the kitchen, where her mother was cooking up some pancakes. Lauren was a bit surprised, as Clara hadn't felt that well the night of prom. She only dropped Lauren off because no one else would have. She smiled at her mother, then grabbed two pancakes, along with the maple syrup. 

"Hey, Mom!" Lauren greeted happily as she sat down, grabbing a glass from the middle of the table, along with the pitcher of orange juice. 

Clara looked up, then smiled back at Lauren, raising her eyebrows in surprise. "Wow, you're actually up this morning without me dragging you out? That's a mighty big shock," she said, chuckling softly. "And it's before noon. You're on a roll, Laur." 

Lauren rolled her eyes, then started to dig into her food, not paying much attention to the world around her. When Chris and Taylor came down the stairs, she perked up a bit. "Hey, 'lings," she said, smiling at them both. 

Taylor smiled and waved at Lauren as she grabbed some pancakes. Chris looked at Lauren in confusion, though. "You're actually talking?" he asked, grabbing his own food. "I didn't expect you to be very happy. I mean, no offense, but wasn't this whole prom thing supposed to be really stupid and horrible for you?"

Lauren shrugged, sighing a bit. "I don't know. It turned out a lot better than I thought it would. Let's just go with that," she replied. 

"Did some girl ask you to dance with her or something?" Taylor asked, sitting across from Lauren. She looked a bit giddy to be talking about girls. There weren't a lot of times that Lauren and Taylor would talk to each other, especially not about relationships. Taylor didn't talk about boys she liked, and Lauren never really confirmed with everyone in the first place she liked girls. It was just kind of assumed and Lauren never denied it. 

Lauren chuckled, a blush filling her cheeks. Instantly, even Clara joining in, they all cooed. Clara walked up to Lauren and pinched her warm skin. 

"My baby got to dance with a cutie at prom, is that what I'm hearing?" Clara asked, ruffling Lauren's hair. 

"No, Mom. I didn't really even dance. I mean, not with anyone, at least. I just...had fun," Lauren finalized, smiling at her family. 

Taylor harrumphed, shoving some pancake into her mouth. She obviously wasn't too happy with the fact that Lauren wasn't going to share anything past that. But, Lauren was a little nervous to tell them about everything. Of course they already knew about her stupid essay and the picture, but they didn't know anything past that. They didn't know that she was falling for Camila, and they didn't know that Camila already admitted her love for Lauren. 

It was the one thing that Lauren wanted to keep secret from her family for awhile. She wanted it to be a real surprise, and not something that she confronted them with of which they already knew. So, as they sat in silence amongst themselves, Lauren smiled, happy that things could go her way. 

For once.

That night, Camila and Lauren chatted, trying to plan out what to do about school. Whether they were going to be out, or if it was going to just be something for themselves. Lauren kind of wanted to keep it on the down low, but with Camila by her side, she was sure she could do anything. She just wanted things to go right with Camila. So, Lauren agreed to keeping things out there. They weren't really officially in a relationship yet. But, they were together, and that's all that mattered.