Heart Hold Fast

Chapter One

A/N: Thank you so much for checking out Heart Hold Fast! I really hope that you enjoy it. Updates on this story are likely to be slow until I have finished my other story, Chance and Reason (if you haven't read it yet, please take a look!). If you enjoy this, please do not hesitate to vote or comment. All support means a huge amount!

And there she was; wrapped up in his arms as they swayed back and forth to the lilting music; her cheek resting against his shoulder as his hand lingered at her waist, fingers tracing light patterns on the fabric of her dress.

Her wedding dress.

Camila Cabello was wearing a wedding dress.

Lauren could scarcely believe that the scene before her was real. Here she was, drink in hand, sat alone at the edge of the almost empty dancefloor, watching Camila Cabello slow dance into the next chapter of her life with her new husband.

Everything about the moment was of film quality perfection. It was undeniable that they made a gorgeous couple, and the low lighting and soft crooning of the band set a mood so exquisite that it could have been from a dream.

How Lauren wished it was dream.

She was frozen in her seat, unable to tear her eyes away from Camila, absorbing every little detail about her; from the way shining beams from the chandelier glinted in her irises, to the small smile playing out along her coral lips, as he leant forward and whispered sweet nothings into her ear.

For how long she had been sat there, Lauren could not say. The whole day had passed by in a haze. One long blur from the moment Camila had been led down the aisle, to the point where she had said her vows, and now to here: the wedding reception.

"Can I join you?"

Glancing up, Lauren saw her friend, Dinah Jane Hansen, looking down at her sympathetically. She nodded, and Dinah leant over to drag a chair across for herself. They sat side by side, Dinah's high heels tapping slowly in time with the song.

"It's been quite an event," she observed, "You've been missing out sitting here all night. Half the guests have gone home now,"

"I've not much been in the party spirit," Lauren murmured apologetically.

"So I can see,"

The band changed the song. Its beat was faster, but the lyrics came slower and somehow more meaningfully. It struck a chord inside Lauren's very chest that left an indescribable ache behind her ribcage.

"Have you spoken to her?" Dinah inquired, nodding her head in Camila's direction.

"Not a word," Lauren responded, "But I didn't expect to,"

"Maybe you should,"

Melodic sounds of laughter drew both their attentions back to the dancefloor. Camila was swirling around on the spot, arms above her head, moving her body in time with the rhythm of the bass guitar.

"And what would I say?" Lauren asked, hands twisting together anxiously in her lap, "After all of this time, how could I even begin?"

"I'm sure she'd just be happy to see you," Dinah countered, "Just because you two haven't spoken in so long does not mean you wouldn't be able to have a normal conversation, like old times,"

The infectious tinkle of Camila's laugh was joined by a deeper male chuckle as the pair began to waltz, intertwining their bodies so that they became one fluid being, gliding across the floor. As they spun, they grew impossibly close until, at last, their lips met.

For Lauren, that was it.

Seeing them dance was one thing. Seeing them kiss was quite another.

"I can't watch this any longer," she muttered, setting down her glass on the table and making to leave, "I need some air,"