The summer was evolving beautifully. Every other week was spent together after Camila and Lauren had made it official. The distance between their homes proved to be no hindrance. Lauren happily covered the hour-long journey to see her girlfriend whenever she could. It was just as healthy as it was in the latter portion of their friendship, but it felt better. Camila made a special trip down to Lauren's house to celebrate her birthday along with her family. There was no party, and it was a generally subdued birthday, but she adored the day because Camila was by her side. The Fourth of July was spent with Camila's family, shortly after. Lauren was a regular in the Cabello household, much like Camila was in the Jauregui household. Their families soon welcomed the other with open arms and regarded them as part of the family in no time. Both residences undoubtedly became their home away from home.
In the middle of July, Lauren was spending her time at Camila's house again. They hadn't seen each other in a week and a half, and that was a lot for the two girls that had been spoiled over the past few weeks. Lauren could hardly wait to get back to her. The first day she could, she woke up early to tackle the drive in the morning. She arrived around ten in the morning, and she was in the middle of unpacking her clothes again. Although there was really no need - Camila's wardrobe had mixed with hers so much, she hardly knew which articles were her own anymore.
After greeting her like she hadn't seen her in ten years - a standard procedure - Camila left Lauren in her room to check the mail. The small brunette only checked the mail herself when she was expecting a package. Every day thus far, checking the mail had been a disappointment. It wasn't a package she was expecting, but a letter. A letter from a certain college, at that. However, her optimism was being spread thin. With each day that passed, the likelihood of gaining that acceptance letter diminished. Camila barely wanted to go when she'd applied one day before the deadline, but as she spent more time with Lauren, the idea of going to school alongside her seemed more attractive. She found herself thinking about it more often. It was surprising how drastically her idea of it had changed. She kept it to herself, not wanting to raise false hopes within Lauren. Unless Lauren pursued graduate school after her final year, Camila would have missed her chance if she didn't get accepted. She was fully expecting the same outcome as every other disappointing morning, but today was different.
As the flipped through bill after bill, she almost missed her own name within the mix. There was a single envelope addressed to her from Florida State University. Her pulse quickened when she saw it, then she tossed the rest of the mail onto the island. Nervous fingers began to tear at the end of the envelope, but she stopped herself. She wanted to make the big reveal with Lauren, whether it be good or bad news.
"Lauren, can you come here?" Camila called upstairs as she stood at the island in the center of her parents' kitchen.
"Yeah, one sec," Lauren shouted back down, then was heard bustling down the stairs a few seconds later. She emerged from the hallway with a glorious glow about her. "Hi, princess."
"Hi," Camila grinned from her girlfriend's use of the name.
"What did you need?" Lauren questioned and leaned against the counter.
"Okay, so don't freak out, but-" Camila attempted, but Lauren interrupted her already.
"Camz, you know you can't say that. Now I'm freaking out and I don't even know what I'm freaking out about," Lauren replied, teasingly.
"Shh," Camila laughed. "I said don't. But - Okay. Remember a while ago when you suggested transferring to your school?"
"Yeah?" Lauren nodded and tried to contain her anticipation. Not freaking out.
"Well, I shot it down at first, you know. And then I kept thinking about it and figured, why not? You know, I had nothing to lose by applying... So I did. And all summer I've been waiting to hear back from them... And... Look," Camila revealed the letter that held her fate.
