The M&G That Changed It All (a Lauren Jauregui story)

Chapter 12

Anna couldn't get out of the school building fast enough when the bell went at five past three in the afternoon. She ran out of the class room and straight to her locker. She pulled everything she needed from it before locking it and shoving the stuff in her bag. She ran off ignoring her friend's shouting.

Anna ran out of the building. She saw Lauren standing by the gate, waiting for her. She slowed her pace to a walk, keeping her eyes on Lauren the whole time.

Out of the corner of her eye, Anna saw Chelsea and Matt leaving the school grounds. The two blondes stopped beside Lauren, looking at her through narrowed eyes. Chelsea turned to face Lauren, looking her up and down before opening her mouth and beginning a conversation with the green-eyed singer.

Anna picked up her pace, panic beginning to form. She walked through the gates and stopped beside Lauren, Matt and Chelsea. "Hey, Lauren." She said, she didn't acknowledge Chelsea and Matt in the slightest.

"Hey, beautiful." Lauren said. She pulled Anna in for a hug and kissed her forehead.

"Wait, Anna. Was this the girl you were talking about at lunch, the one who'd make time for you?" Chelsea turned to Anna, narrowing her eyes at the smaller blonde.

"What's it to you, Chelsea?" Anna asked harshly, glaring at the taller blonde.

Chelsea shrugged. "I don't know. I was just wondering? We are supposed to be friends."

"It's none of your business, Chelsea, and we used to be friends before you went to summer camp and ditched me, or don't you remember. Why won't you just leave me alone?" Anna asked.

"No, I remember. And I won't leave you alone because I don't want to." Chelsea smirked. Taking Matts hand, she and Matt, who had stayed quiet throughout the whole conversation, walked away. Chelsea smacked Anna in the face with her long blonde hair.

Anna sighed and looked down at the ground for a brief moment with her eyes closed. She turned to Lauren.

"Who were they?" Lauren asked.

Anna shrugged. She waved the question off with her hand. "Nobody's. How did you get here?" She asked, changing the subject.

"My driver brought me. I told him to wait for us." Lauren said.

"Well tell him to meet us at my house at eight o'clock." Anna said.

"Okay. I will. Can I ask why?" Lauren asked, intrigued.

"Because I want to take you somewhere and we don't need a car for that." Anna said simply.

Lauren brought out her phone. She called her driver, who had parked all the way across the car park. She hung up moments later.

"Okay?" Anna asked.

"Yup." Lauren said, with a confident smile. Her eyes sparkled when the sunlight hit them and Anna thought it made them look greener.

"Come on, lets go." Anna took Lauren's hand in her own and led the green-eyed girl away from the school gates.

The two girls walked hand-in-hand down the pavement.

"ANNA!"

Anna stopped in her tracks. She turned and saw Kelsey and Jason running up the pavement, towards her and Lauren. She rolled her eyes. The two older teenagers stopped in front of Anna and Lauren.

"What is it, Kelsey?" Anna looked from her older sister to Jason, who had a lit cigarette hanging from his mouth, and back again.

"Have you got any money left?" Kelsey gave her sister a kind smile, it looked real but was totally fake and Anna could tell.

Anna sighed, letting go of Lauren's hand and went into her bag. "Here." She gave her sister the rest of her money, that was supposed to last her until the weekend, now she would just have to go without lunch tomorrow. "Don't let Alison catch you with the cigarettes. She'll kill you." Anna closed her school bag.

"I wont. Thanks." Kelsey pulled her sister into a hug. She kissed the top of her head and let go.

Anna could smell the cigarette fumes on her sisters clothes and breath. It made her want to puke. She pushed her sister away from her.

"I owe you." Kelsey said. She gave the money to Jason, who ran off, cigarettes still hanging from his mouth.

"You still owe me from last week too." Anna reminded her sister.

"Oh! Yeah? How much?" Kelsey narrowed her eyes at Anna, trying to intimidate the smaller blue-eyed Neilson, it didn't work. She hadn't even acknowledged Lauren, who was watching their interaction closely.

"Ten pounds." Anna said.

Kelsey thought for a moment. "Oh yeah. I'll get it to you soon. I promise, but right now I gotta go." She ran off in the same direction as Jason.

Anna rolled her eyes, turning to Lauren. She sighed then smiled, looking into Lauren's green eyes.

"Who were they?" Lauren asked. She was intrigued.

"That was Kelsey and Jason. Kelsey's my sister. Jason's my foster brother." Anna shrugged, looking away from Lauren.

"And who is Alison?" Lauren asked.

"She's my foster mum." Anna looked at her grubby white converse. She felt embarrassed, a tear slipped out of her right eye and ran down her cheek.

"Your in foster care?" Lauren said quietly, hoping the students around them didn't hear her. It was more of a statement rather than a question.

Anna nodded, shyly, not meeting. Lauren's gaze. Another tear slipped out of her blue eyes.

Lauren frowned and moved her hand up to Anna's chin, moving Anna's head and forcing Anna to look at her. Another tear. Anna flinched at the contact, then realising it was Lauren, she calmed down. Yet another tear. "Hey. Why are you crying?" She gently wiped away the tears with the pad of her thumb.

"Its nothing. I just miss my mum." Anna met Lauren's eyes. She smiled.

Lauren smiled back. "Can I tell you a secret?" She asked.

Anna nodded.

"I miss my mom too." Lauren pulled Anna into a hug.

Anna hugged back, taking a deep breath and taking in Lauren's sent - vanilla, which she found comforting. She pulled back. "We should get going." She took Lauren's hand and the two began walking down the pavement again.