Girl Crush

Chapter 3

Lauren couldn't focus in any of her classes that morning. While the teachers explained what was expected of the students, Lauren stared into space.
The bell finally rang in her second period class, which meant lunch time. Lauren walked down to the lunch room alone, still in a different world.
She wandered into the cafeteria and found her usual table. Lauren always packed her own lunch, she didn't trust the cafeteria's so called "hamburgers". She pulled out her sandwich and started eating it absentmindedly. She heard fast footsteps and looked up from her sandwich to see Dinah and Normani racing towards the table. Dinah slammed her palm down on the table mere seconds before Normani.
"Ha! I win Normani, now pay up," Dinah panted, holding out her hand. Normani sighed and reached into her back pocket, pulling out a five dollar bill.
"Normani bet me that I couldn't beat her in a race from my locker to here," Dinah explained,"and she was wrong!"
Normani sat down and rolled her eyes. Ally showed up a few seconds later, running too.
"I...had to...run...after these...children...because they both...forgot...their backpacks," Ally panted and threw their bags on the table, sliding into a seat next to Lauren. Dinah and Normani took their bags sheepishly.
Lauren remembered her deal with Camila, and soon enough, she saw her eyes scanning the lunch room for her. Lauren shot her hand up and waved to Camila. Camila spotted her and started walking over. A smile crept on to Lauren's lips.
"Ok, earlier you were all depressed and shit, and now you're smiling like an idiot. What is going on Lauren?" Normani questioned. She was saved from answering when Camila showed up next to her.
"Guys, this is Camila. She just moved in at the end of my street. Camila, this is Ally, Dinah, and Normani." Camila did a tiny wave, and the girls waved back. Camila chose a seat next to Lauren.
"Anyway, Lauren, what is going on?" Normani asked again.
"Yeah, I know there's something going on. Depressed and sad earlier, and now you can't stop smiling," Dinah said.
"I was not depressed earlier!" Lauren protested.
"You were a tad bit depressed when I first talked to you in home room," added Camila. Everyone laughed and Lauren pretended to be offended. Camila laughed once again, and those godforsaken butterflies were back in Lauren's stomach.
Lauren was starting to feel happy again, until she saw Zach walking towards their table. She did her famous sigh and looked down.
"Hey baby, mind if I join you?" He said, trying to kiss her. Lauren dodged the kiss, leaving Zach confused.
"I do mind actually, I want to eat lunch with my friends," she said angirly, staring down at the table.
"C'mon baby let's eat together," he insisted, trying to kiss her again. She dodged it again.
"I said no, Zach," she said, the annoyance evident in her voice.
"Baby," he said. Lauren could sense the girls getting uncomfortable, so she lead Zach out into the hallway.
"Zach, just because we are in a relationship does not mean that I have to spend every second of every day with you. I have friends. Not everything is about you," she said, glaring at him.
"Considering the way you've been treating me lately, I'm surprised you even have friends," Zach said flatly. The words hit Lauren like a sledgehammer.
"Excuse me?"
"You've been treating me like shit lately. You're acting like a shitty girlfriend," he said calmly. Lauren felt a stinging in the back of her eyes. She was not going to cry in front of Zach. He wasn't worth it.
"If I'm so shitty then why are you still dating me?" Lauren said raising her voice.
"As of now, I'm not. We all knew that you only dated me so you could be more popular, because that's what you do. You use people to gain friends," Zach said, walking away. Lauren stood there, speechless. She was hurt by his words. She knew they weren't true, but they still hurt her.
Lauren let the first tear fall, but quickly wiped it away. She wasn't going to cry. She walked back into the lunch room and sat back down. The girls immediately stopped talking.
"Laur, are you ok?" Ally asked sincerely, putting a hand on her arm. Lauren held back the tears and nodded.
"Lolo, what's wrong?" Normani said, concern in her voice.
"Nothing," Lauren whispered, afraid they'd hear the tremble in her voice.
"Lo, we know you. Something is wrong," Dinah said. Lauren looked down, feeling the tears coming. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up. Camila was looking at her, eyes filled with worry. That sent Lauren over the edge. The tears started, and they couldn't stop.
The girls noticed and lead Lauren to the bathroom. They wrapped her all in a group hug. Sobs shook Lauren's body. They didn't know what had happened to Lauren, but they knew it was serious. Eventually, the bell rang.
"Laur, we have to get to class," Ally said gently.
Lauren wasn't ready to face her class mates, so she shook her head.
"I could stay here with her," Camila suggested. Lauren's heart raised at the idea.
"Really? That'd mean you'd miss your class," pointed out Normani.
"Eh, it's only the first day, how much can it matter?" Said Camila. They let go of Lauren.
"Stay strong Laur," Ally said, giving her one last hug, then exiting the bathroom.
"I love you Lolo," said Normani, giving her a kiss on the cheek, then following Ally.
"You got this Lo," Dinah finished, kissing the top of her head, and leaving. Then it was silent. Lauren turned to Camila.
"Thanks for staying with me," she said.
"Anytime I can get out of class is an excuse for me," Camila said giggling. Lauren laughed softly.
"But seriously, I'm happy to." Camila smiled and Lauren smiled back.
"I need a hug," Lauren whispered.
"I need someone to hug," Camila replied. So Lauren fell into Camila's embrace. She smelled Camila's shampoo. It smelled like coconut and
Lauren wanted to stay there in Camila's arms all day. But the hug ended too quick for Lauren's liking.
"Are you good now?" Camila said, the care in her voice evident.
"Actually, yes, I am," Lauren said with a smile, wiping the tears away.
"Then let's go to class," replied Camila, and held out her hand. Lauren gladly took it, causing butterflies. She ignored them and walked to class, finally happy.

|a/n: so a long chapter because i really wanted to write chapter 3 today. more chapters coming soon because my summer is boring. i love anyone who is reading this and i send you virtual hugs! also, if you can find my 5H song references in this chapter, comment what songs they are.