you keep robbing my heart like a bank ~camren~

6.

Lauren just wants to go home already.

She slept terribly and woke up with a sore neck, apparently all the teachers simultaneously decided to pile on the weekend homework, and she's pretty sure some students were making fun of her during her english class today.

To top it all off, Tori is out sick and Ally had to leave early for a dentist appointment.

Lauren doesn't quite feel comfortable around the others just yet without Ally or Tori nearby, so she avoided the cafeteria and decided to eat lunch in the courtyard.

Shutting her locker door, Lauren rolls her neck as she heads down the hall towards the parking lot, thankful that it's the end of the school day and aching to take some painkillers for the headache that's forming.

As she nears the exit, she hears what sounds like yelling outside. Pushing through the doors, Lauren steps through and sees a group of students in a circle surrounding what seems like a brawl. The last thing Lauren wants to do is get involved in something that idiotic, so she begins to make her way towards her car when she catches a glimpse of one of the fighters through the crowd. 

Her heart drops, because it can't be, can it?

When Lauren gets to the crowd, she doesn't think twice about pushing through to get to the front. There, she comes face to face with some punk kid and Camila in an altercation.

Some of the students are cheering, egging them on, while the rest are filming it, for Snapchat most likely. Lauren rolls her eyes, because she has no idea how she survived going to school with these dumbasses for three years.

Her attention is shifted back to the fight when she sees the boy wind up for a left hook. She clenches her eyes shut because she doesn't want to see Camila get hit, but when she opens them again, the boy is pinned down on the ground with Camila on top of him, holding his arms behind his back. She watches as the girl leans down, whispering something into her ear. Camila pauses for a moment as if waiting for something, then releases him as she stands up, watching as he backs away from her.

The swollen eye and bloody, busted lip on the boy make it clear who won the fight, and Lauren can't help but feel relieved that Camila is escaping with only a cut on her cheek.

Lauren watches as Camila stares the boy down, daring him and his friends to try anything. The girl smirks in amusement when they walk away and the crowd begins cheering her name. Gazing around the circle, Camila does a double take when her eyes lock with Lauren who is staring at her with an unreadable expression. Lauren can see the mood shift happen in Camila as her brown eyes widen and she suddenly seems way less confident than before.

Feeling a sense of satisfaction at the girl's reaction, Lauren turns around and begins to make her way through the crowd. She ignores Camila's call for her name as she heads towards her car.

"Lauren!"

She arrives at her car, searching through a pocket in her bag to unlock the doors. The vehicle beeps as Camila calls for her name again.

Lauren is about to step into the car when she feels a hand on the back of her shoulder, not grabbing her but instead intended to get her attention.

"Lauren, please, wait."

"What do you want, Camila?" Lauren asks, refusing to face the girl.

"Wait a second, please. It wasn't what it looked like."

That comment irks Lauren. "Oh, so you weren't just beating that boy up?" she sarcastically asks as she whips around to scowl at Camila.

"Just let me explain. Please?"