all the flowers in time | laurinah *rewriting hehe*

chapter two

edit: this was rewritten/edited on 09/29/18!!! :~)
word count: 1822
trigger warning(s): swearing + depictions of ocd

never in her life did lauren think she had any type of problem, per say. she has her ticks of course, everyone did, but it wasn't anything too major.

she didn't like being touched in certain spots, she had certain patterns and procedures she liked to follow, and she didn't always like going out when her few friends did. big deal, yanno? what was the big ol' deal and who cares?

no one cared, actually, until lauren met harry.

it was harry who first introduced lauren to the idea of obsessive compulsive disorder, it was harry who first got close enough to lauren to make her feel comfortable enough to bet herself, and it was harry who told lauren that she should consider seeing a doctor.

she saw a specialist for the first time almost two years ago now, after bouncing from doctor to doctor for about a year she found herself content with one, and although harry always reminded her that she was way healthier than she had been, lauren didn't feel any better.

[ . . . ]

one, two, three, four, five, six.

since she was able to take care of herself, six had been lauren's magic number for her nightly routine.

the first thing she always did when she was ready to go to bed was all to the front door of her row home and flick the lock in six successions. unlock, lock, unlock, lock, unlock, lock, unlock, lock, unlock, lock, unlock, and finally, lock. it took some of the tension out of her shoulders, a long breath expelling from her lips before she could stop it, a slight calm washing over her.

almost ritually, at that point, her little tabby cat juiniper bounds down the steps and into the living room. her fluffy fur baby winds herself between lauren's legs, mewling softly and purring at the simplicity of lauren's company. she's had juniper since she first moved out of her foster home, more than excited to have something of her own to take care of.

"howdy, jun." lauren hums softly, bending down to gently scratch between the cat's perked up ears. juniper meows quietly in response, leaning into lauren's touch and sending a wave of softness through the dark haired girl. juniper, without a doubt, was lauren's absolute best friend. she told her everything and in lauren's mind, although through meows, jun always responded.

when she first moved in and started her search for a pet, her neighbor's (a very nice couple, eddie and richie) cat had kittens, and lauren was more than happy and enthusiastic to take one of the kittens off their hands. she decided on calling her juniper, after her favorite type of tree, and from then on they were almost always together. juniper even went to work with lauren, they were sort of a package deal.

the two walk into the small kitchen side by side and lauren's reaches into he cupboard to pull out juniper's special bowl that she got the day she brought her home. "what are we feeling tonight, jun, almond milk? or maybe coconut? it is almost your birthday." she taps her chin, and juniper simply stares up at her with her head tilted to he side curiously.

lauren smiles, moving to the fridge and speaking as if the animal had replied to her. "you're right, bubba, almond milk is definitely better for you." with that, she pulls out the almond milk and a measuring cup, placing the two next to the bowl on the counter.  she pours six ounces into a measuring cup, squatted down to ensure she was properly reading the level of the liquid, and transfers it into the bowl.