Shades of Blue.

Chapter one.

Lauren puts in actual effort into her date with Normani. Or is it a meeting? Casual get together? Whatever. Point is, she puts actual effort into looking good for it. She wears her skinny jeans that she keeps for very special occasions where she wants to look hella good, and at the same time, not look like she's trying too hard. Or trying at all really. She also puts on her black crop top which is clean-ish. And puts on some perfume that she has had for years. She's about seventy percent sure that the damn thing is either expired or fucking poisonous by now, but it smells good so whatever.

She stands in front of the mirror, lower lip between her teeth, wondering what to do with her hair. Normani used to like it in a ponytail. She used to have some sort of kink for it. So naturally, Lauren rules the ponytail out. She doesn't want it to seem like she's trying to impress Normani or anything.

(A very annoying voice in her head reminds her that she is in fact trying to impress Normani. She strangles that annoying little twit without mercy).

"Oh fuck it." She mumbles and puts her hair up in a bun. It's close enough to a ponytail without actually being a ponytail. So Normani will be impressed, but it won't look like Lauren's trying to impress her.

She's a genius. Truly.

"Where are you off to, pretty lady?"

Lauren locks her door and twists her face into the most awful scowl she can muster, "have you been camping outside my door all morning?" She makes sure her words sound as disgusted as she intends for them to.

Mark smiles at her. His glasses are way too big for his face. He looks like a deranged koala. "'Course not. I camped here all night. Gotta keep you safe you know."

"You're sick." She spits out. "I'm going to get a fucking restraining order against you."

"And you're delusional. I mean, you're hot and everything, but do you really think I'd stay out here all night just to keep you safe?"

"Wouldn't put it past your creepy ass."

"Yeah, well, you're hot. But not hot enough to lose hours of sleep over."

"I hope you get attacked by a rabid dog today." She says and walks away before he can say anything back. Leo- the guy with the experiments- hasn't blown anything up in a while. But the next time he does blow something up, Lauren prays that it's Mark's face.

Seething at Mark keeps her mind occupied 'til she gets to the coffee house, then she's back to being a nervous wreck for absolutely no reason. She goes to run her fingers through her hair, then she remembers that she can't do that. She sighs and bites the pad of her thumb, her go to nervous habit, "you need to calm your ovaries, Jauregui," she mumbles to herself under her breath, "it's just Normani." As soon as she says those words, she wants to laugh.

The lies she tells herself sometimes are honestly tragic.

Normani has never been 'just' anything. At least not to her.

"You can do this." She takes in a few calming breaths and walks into the coffee shop. She's not nervous about finding Normani in the coffee shop, she made sure that won't happen by arriving thirty minutes early. It seemed like a good plan when she thought it up. This way, she'll be all calmed down by the time Normani arrives and the other girl won't get to see her as a nervous wreck. The downside to this plan is now she's going to seem fucking desperate.

Who arrives to a date half an hour early? 

(Not that Lauren thinks this is a date or anything. She doesn't. Honest).

"Hi. I'm Mary and I'll be serving you today. What can I get you?" A woman with pigtails and in an apron that Lauren can't tell if it's dirty, ugly, discolored or all of the above asks. She's chewing gum, her notepad held carelessly in her hands, she looks like she'd literally rather be any where else but here.