Talk Me Down (Camren)

Chapter Eight

Trigger warning for anxiety/panic attacks.

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"You are going to look smokin', Walz," Dinah teases her as she puts the finishing touches on Camila's makeup. "Lauser will be swooning over you."

Camila rolls her eyes. "It's not a date, Cheechee. Lauren would never ask me out on a date."

Dinah scoffs. "I think you're forgetting that I've known that girl longer than you." At Camila's pointed look, Dinah laughs and continues. "Well, I've known her as a friend longer than you have. She'd ask you out."

"Has she... uh, said anything about me to you?" Camila fidgets nervously as Dinah starts packing her makeup away.

Dinah raises an eyebrow and smirks. "I knew you liked her. And maybe she has, maybe she hasn't. As a best friend, I've got to keep her secrets. Besides, it's not me she talks to about that stuff. It's Mani."

Camila makes a mental note to ask Normani the same thing later. "Oh, okay. I just... I do like her a lot. I don't think I ever stopped liking her, even after what she did. And now I know how sorry she really is... it frightens me. That dance was my first date, and I don't want my possible second date to end in tears too. I don't want her to spend time with me just because she feels like she owes me something."

"If Lauren didn't like you, she wouldn't make this much of an effort." Dinah assures her. "Trust me, girl can be cold if she wants to be. She doesn't even act like a jerk to you for a joke, Camz."

Camila blushes when Dinah brings up Lauren's nickname for her. "I really want things to work out, Dinah. I want to be her friend but at the same time I want so much more, and when she said it's a date... it freaked me out because I don't know if it's casual wording or not."

Dinah shrugs. "Can't help you there, Walz. I'm going to try and get as much of the gossip as I can from Mani and Ally, though. Maybe I'll tell you what they say if you give me the details about what happens tonight."

Camila just sighs. "Nothing is going to happen. We're going to hang out as usual and that will be that."

"Whatever you say, Chancho." Dinah rolls her eyes and packs her makeup bag away, turning towards the door. "Good luck, though. Text me later."

With that, Dinah leaves Camila alone with her thoughts about the night.

She hears the doorbell ring and practically darts down the stairs to answer the door. When she pulls it open, she feels a little upstaged. Lauren looks perfect.

(Well, she looks perfect every day, but still.)

"Hey, Camz," The other girl's green eyes sweep over her body quickly, "You look gorgeous. Do you want to head out?"

Camila blinks in surprise at the sudden compliment and nods. "Uh, yeah. Sure. You look really amazing, Lo. Like... really."

Lauren laughs and runs her fingers through her tousled hair. "Thanks, I guess." She holds out her hand and wiggles her fingers. "Come on, Camz. We've got places to be."

Camila raises her eyebrows as she cautiously takes Lauren's hand and follows the other girl towards her car. "Places? As in plural?"

"Yup," Lauren nods, "will that be a problem?"

"Karla!"

Sinu comes rushing out of the front door before Camila can reply to Lauren's question. Naturally, when Camila hears her mother's voice, she flushes bright red and turns around with a frown. "Yes, mom?"