Just A Job (Lauren/You)

Chapter 4

"Camila! Hi," I exclaimed. I've never really talked with Camila that much so there's kind of a weird awkwardness between us. "Do you need anything?" We moved from the door of the room to the far end of the hallway.

"No, I-I just wanted to talk to you," she said.

Camila and Lauren were different in a lot of ways. While Lauren was a little more upfront than the average person, Camila looked to be a bit more awkward. And even the overall way of how they present themselves to the public. Lauren had this fierce attitude and a no nonsense aura around her but Camila had a bubbly attitude that practically exudes cuteness. In fact, she was cute and adorable just standing in front of me. It was weird.

"Uh-" she drawled out. I was looking directly at her and she was looking at everything but me. "I just-I wanted to say thank you. For saving Lauren."

"Don't worry about it. I'm your bodyguard after all," I told her. She looked up at me hesitantly and I gave her a reassuring smile. I wanted her to feel comfortable because she looked afraid of me, to be honest.

She chuckled and smiled. "I'm sorry. I'm just really awkward around boys."

"You don't seem awkward with my Uncle and Stephen."

"No, just boys my age-who look like you." She said the last part in a whisper but I managed to catch it. What did I look like to her? I wanted to ask her about it but I didn't want things to get anymore awkward between us.

"I'm not a murderer you know," I said with a smile. "I'm just a normal guy."

She giggled and the sound echoed in my head. It was an adorable laugh and she was an adorable girl. She had this pull on me that made me want to get to know her better. I felt like if I told her I wanted her to be my friend, she'd say yes in a heartbeat. And to think I told myself I wasn't going to make friends with them. Fifth Harmony truly were special girls.

Camila cleared her throat to fill the silence between us. "Hey," she started, "are you going home next week?"

Yesterday, I found out that the girls were taking a two week vacation and when they came back, they were going to be on tour. So they're going to be heading back to their hometowns before they went on the road. It seemed like my Uncle told my mom about it and she insisted I come home too. I wasn't sure if I really wanted to see my father again though. It's just that when he put me on a plane to Los Angeles, it seemed like he was giving up on me. That's what hurt.

I looked at Camila and saw her looking at me expectantly. "Yeah, I am," I told her with a smile. "I won't be watching you from the shadows for two weeks."

This made her laugh. It was a dorky laugh-but in a good way. It was honest. She wasn't trying to stifle it or to soften it. It was just a genuine laugh. And as I listened to it, I couldn't help but imagine what Lauren's laugh was. Would it be husky like her voice? Genuine like Camila's? Could I even hear it in my lifetime?

"Say, Y/N." Her voice pulled me from my thoughts and I saw her looking at me and smiling. At least she didn't look as awkward around me as before. "Could I get your number?" She offered me her phone. It looked like such a small gesture but the fact of the matter is, if I give her my number, it was like opening up to her and telling her-I'm here for you even if I'm not entitled to be.

But you know what the weird thing is? I want to give her my number.

She must have seen the hesitation on my face because she retreated the phone a little bit and a look of indecisiveness crossed her face. "I'm-I'm sorry. Did you-not want to?"

I shook my head and took the phone from her hands. "No, no. I'd be happy to." I entered my number in her phone and gave it back to her. "Call me anytime." I didn't plan the words to come out of my mouth-they just instinctively did. But I didn't regret it. Not when I saw the happy look on her face.