Or Is It Real?

Chapter 34: I Know What You Did Last Summer

Camila's PoV

Okay, so, Lauren hates me. She wouldn't even look at me when we attended the CMT Music Awards, and as if fate was playing a game with us the photographers wanted us to stand beside each other, which was suspiciously approved by Mavie, one of our PR managers, who was a few feet away from us yelling instructions on how to pose or smile and how many more seconds we have until it's time to move on.

As it was in red carpet events, with cameras flashing and people shouting at us from all sides, sometimes it's hard to be aware of everything at once. So, despite my attempts to maintain my distance, as Lauren has repeatedly warned me every chance she gets, it's unavoidable at times to brush hands with her. And boy did she hate any sort of contact with me. She would literally scoff, or flip her hair, or dramatically fling the hem of her gown at my direction as if I was just invisible air, or flinch whenever I accidentally "invade her space", and at some point I almost thought she was gonna elbow me on my ribs just because we bumped shoulders. The worst part was when we were done with the photos and we're about to walk towards the venue, I got distracted by the paparazzis yelling "Over the shoulder, please!", and being the papz darling that I am, I was so into my "over the shoulder" pose that I accidentally stepped on Lauren's dress. She pulled it so harshly I felt the sudden shift of the cloth under my shoe and almost lost my balance but I was too scared to further humiliate myself in front of her so I pretended it was no biggie. She muttered curses under her breath, but still maintaining her "chill" because the cameras were still flashing, and all I could do was take a step back and just give her a wide berth. I never knew how much pain my heart could take, but at that moment, I kept on smiling even when I felt like crumbling down at the sight of Lauren hurrying to walk beside Dinah, while I was left behind like a bullied outcast, which has been the norm lately.

She hates me so much that I bet she would have been wearing a face mask if she could just so she wouldn't breathe the same air I breathe.

Angry Lauren is someone you wouldn't wanna mess with.

But I knew that already. In fact, I was expecting nothing less, and that's why I already prepared myself, mentally and emotionally, for any shit she threw my way.

I already had a plan. Well, it wasn't really a plan because I have no idea how to go about with my goal, but at least I knew my only mission: that is, to win Lauren Jauregui's heart back, by hook or by motherfucking crook.

So, when the five of us were told to pack our bags and fly to L.A., two weeks after our meeting with the execs, so we could start assembling "5H2" (as we're temporarily calling our album, since we haven't decided on the actual name yet), I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to vomit from sheer excitement because I was about to spend time with Lauren, or if I wanted to pass out due to nerves because I would be living under one roof with her (Lauren who hates me, in case I have failed to mention) for a long period of time. Neither sounds appealing, but I just knew that I'll be having some sort of mini-breakdown once I see her again.

But you see, I'm not that kind of girl to easily give up at the thought of failure. Because despite her vehement insistence that I stay away from her, I have a feeling that she's bound to crack eventually and succumb to my cuteness. All I have to do is keep on trying. And by trying I mean bat my eyelashes and remind her how smitten she was with me. Don't get me wrong, I know I have to do more than be adorable to gain her trust back because she deserves more than that. But I don't wanna have a panic attack overthinking about the shit I had to do before she even lets me take a tiny peek into her great wall of trust.

But I'm hopeful. Because working together like literally 24/7 could do miracles.

So, you can imagine how amped up I was for Lauren to finally arrive in our L.A. house, because not only do I miss her so much, but I just know that once she's stuck under one roof with me the sooner she'll realize that we're meant to be together. I was literally vibrating with excitement that Dinah had to pin me down underneath her because, according to her, I was annoying her with my nervous ticks that she couldn't take the perfect obligatory back-to-work selfie because I kept on distracting her.