Girl Crush

Chapter 11

         "Lauren, are you ok?" A voice whispered. Lauren looked down at her chest. It was Camila. Lauren realized she had been dreaming.
    "I...um, yeah. I-it was just a nightmare. Go back to sleep," whispered the taller girl.
    "Really? because your heartbeat says other wise." Camila was right. Her heart was beating at an unnatural pace.
    "I told you. Just a nightmare, I'm fine," the taller girl insisted.
    "Ok, if you insist. Goodnight Lo, I love you," Camila whispered before laying her head back down on to Lauren's chest.
    Lauren stared down at Camila and bit her lip. There was something not quite right. The raven haired girl looked over Camila's sleeping body. She stopped at her sweatshirt. It was Lauren's sweatshirt.
    Her heartbeat sped up again. Questions filled her mind. She was starting to develop a headache from all the pressure. She needed a snack.
    Lauren carefully pried the brunette's arms off of her and stepped around the other girls to make her way to the kitchen.
    After tripping over her own two feet, Lauren made it to the kitchen and turned the lights on. She was disappointed to find only a bow of cereal in the cabinets and a few Cokes in the fridge.
    "We really need to go shopping," muttered Lauren as she poured cereal into a bowl. It was strange to eat it without milk, but it would have to do. She ate her cereal in peace contently to clear her head.
    "Having fun there?" Normani chuckled from the door way. Lauren jumped and almost screamed.
    "Fuck, Normani! Don't scare me like that," she said, the calm atmosphere now gone.
    "Sorry Laur, it's just kind of strange that you're up at 3:39 a.m," pointed out Normani. She walked over and took a handful of Lauren's cereal.
    "So what are you doing up at this time?" Lauren asked her.
    "I don't know. I just woke up and saw the kitchen light on and boom. I'm here." Lauren laughed at her friend's easy going response.
    "Why are you up?" The dark skinned girl questioned while taking another handful of Lauren's cereal.
    Lauren choked a little bit on her cereal. Was she really ready to tell one of her friends?
    "I,uh, had a nightmare," Lauren said, trying to play it cool. Normani snorted.
    "Yeah right Jauregui. What's the real reason you're up?" Lauren was trapped. She knew Normai wasn't going to let this go. She had to do it.
    "Can I tell you something , Mani?" Lauren asked. Normani almost couldn't hear her. Lauren was staring down at the floor and barely talking above a whisper.
    "Of course, Laur. You can always talk to me." Lauren took a shaky breath to try and steady her heartbeat.
    "Have you ever felt so confused that you don't know what to do with yourself? Like you can't tell anyone about your confusion, yet you want to scream it out to everyone? Have you ever met someone that makes your heart swell so much, by you can't tell them how you feel because you're scared you'll ruin everything?" Lauren felt tears burning at the back of her eyes.
    "Lauren, are you gay?" Normani asked quietly. The girl who was usually talkative was now silent.
    "I...I think so," Lauren whispered and closed her eyes. She felt a weight being lifted off of her shoulders.
    Lauren tried to inhale, but a sob stopped her. She felt Normani's arms wrap around around her body. Lauren sobbed into Normani's chest.
    "I'm s-sorry," Lauren cried. She was getting more and more worked up.
    "What are you sorry for Lauren?" Normani asked softly.
    "I'm s-sorry that y-you have to b-be friends with a f-freak like m-me." Lauren was finding it harder to breathe.
    "Lauren. First off, take a deep breath. Or two. Or ten." Lauren took a lot of deep breaths. Once she could function again, Normani continued.
    "Second, don't you ever say something like that about yourself. So you like girls? Big deal. It's just something that makes you more interesting than us. Hell, you're more interesting than me, and I'm a pretty fucking interesting person," Normani said, earning a small giggle from Lauren.
    "Thanks Mani," Lauren said contently. Normani hugged Lauren tighter and kissed the top of the head.
The two stood in silence in the kitchen at 3:45 in the morning, until Lauren decided to get it all of her chest.
"Camila is the one I like," she whispered into Normani's ear. Normani smile and squeezed Lauren tightly.
"We should probably get back to sleep," Normani sighed, finally releasing her friend.
"I am not tired at all,' Lauren protested. With a yawn. Normani laughed lightly and led Lauren to he couch, where she practically collapsed next to Camila. The sight of the two of them laying next to each other was like a scene from a movie.
Within seconds, Camila was snuggled back into Lauren. And for the first time in tree long months, Lauren fell asleep contently, and slept for more than two hours.
|a/n: so this chapter was short bc i'm having a bit of writers block. i feel like i'm drifting away from the camren ship... enjoy anyway!