Or Is It Real?

Chapter 33: Who Are You?

Lauren's PoV

Back to reality, back to hell.

Today is the first time that the group will be seeing each other again after more than a month of break since our last concert in Mexico.

Almost three months since Camila and I broke up.

We haven't spoken since, and I don't plan on changing that today. That's why I'm dreading this meeting, because I just started getting used to not thinking of her every single second, and I don't know how I would react if I saw those damn soulful brown eyes again.

"Lauren, stop prolonging the inevitable."

I looked up and saw Lucy looking at me with her arms crossed and a bored expression. She's been watching me drag my feet all over the room as an excuse to be late for my meeting and she's getting impatient. Childish, I know, but absolutely necessary for my sanity.

"Luce, can you please go with me? Please... I'll do anything you want -- just be there with me today. I can't do this alone, I can't face them -- her, yet." I don't usually beg people, but this is Lucy - she basically witnessed me at my rock-bottom during our entire vacation and has never left my side since she came back to my life.

Lucy's face softened, and for a second, I thought I was getting my way. But then I saw her sigh and shake her head, and my hope crumbled before I even heard her words. "Laur, you know I can't go with you today. I have a thing at my university. Besides, you need to do this on your own."

"But I need you." I whined.

"No, you don't. You're just too used to my presence, so now you're having separation anxiety, you big baby!" She teased.

She has a point, though. Ever since Puerto Rico, we have been inseparable. We decided to extend our vacation and have practically visited every inch of South America, the latter half of it was just Lucy and I because our friends - Alexa, Vero, and Keana - have to leave earlier due to various obligations back in Miami.

While it was depressing to be nursing a broken heart on my nineteenth birthday, the painful memory of my first kiss with Camila which happened on the exact day last year reminding me of how much I missed her, it was also a liberating feeling to be spending it with Lucy in such a beautiful country (Brazil!) getting all sorts of lit, if you know what I mean. That made me forget about Camila most of the time, and it was such a wonderful feeling.

I basically went dark on my social media the whole time I was out of the country, but I did keep contact with Mani. She has been my solid support, aside from Lucy, and she was kept updated with whatever little things that happened to me.

On my birthday, I broke my social media hiatus and posted a picture of Lucy and I on Insta, calling her my favorite person, and basically just telling the whole world how much I adore and appreciate her. We were high that time, so I was sweeter than my normal self. She, in turn, posted a kick-ass birthday greeting, and rambled on about feelings, emotions, metaphysics, religion, politics, and even Communism (have I mentioned we were high as a goddamn kite then?) and how she loved the fact that she found someone like me, one of her favorite somebodies, to talk all about that stuff with.

That had the whole fandom shipping (and hating) Laucy the second it was posted. We spent a good amount of time laughing our asses off at the hilarity of that idea.

People greeted me everywhere, especially on Twitter, and I did my best replying to my friends and some fans who I thought were too sweet not to reply to. Like I said, I was extra affectionate, and I was throwing all the heart emoticons and all variations of "I love you" to basically everyone. I even tweeted a thank you to PornHub's birthday greeting to me, that's how trippy I was feeling. I was a happy kid, thanks to Lucy's good stash. But then I almost dropped my phone when I saw that Camila tweeted me.