The Stage Door (Camren/Norminah)

Just Us Three

Ally POV

I was raised in a household of love and Jesus. I was told that I came out screaming, despite that being rare for premature babies. I was taught that above all things, was God and love; And love came in many forms. I was always older than the other kids in my class, having been born premature was both a blessing and a curse. I learned to walk and talk and count slower than the other kids so it took me longer to be able to start school, but my Dad always told me that I was special, because despite it taking me longer to get to where the other kids were, I could do something no one else we knew could, I could sing, I heard my first Selena song when I was two and I became hooked on everything music. The blessing came in the form of the four girls I had met when moving here to Los Angeles all the way from San Antonio, Texas.

I arrived late on move in day and most students had already settled into their dorms. When I met my roommate for the first time I knew immediately we would not be friends. She made no effort to get to know me, she didn't even ask my name and she stayed as far away from me and our dorm room as possible. I went through the first week before classes started completely alone and admiring the friendships I saw happening around me from afar. 

I knew if I wanted to make friends I had to be bold and I had to take a chance, so that's what I did. I raised my hand in a class full of students that hadn't even given me a second glance and asked if anyone wanted to be my partner for our first composing assignment and part of me was fully expecting that no one would care to partner up with the small girl in the back of the room, but before I could even process the request that came out of my mouth, someone spoke up.

Lauren Jauregui. I had seen her around the campus, always surrounded by the same three girls that were now sitting in the desks around her during our Music and Composing class. I had not only been surprised that she agreed to take me up on my offer of doing a duet, but I had been surprised once again when she invited me to a pancake dinner at a restaurant in the city with her friends. I fully expected to be a fifth wheel, but instead I was met with open arms and a whole lot of love. And from that moment on I realized the blessing God had given me when I was born, was in fact having to start school years later than the rest of the kids my age, because had that not have been my destiny, I may never become Lauren's duet partner and in return I would not have met Camila, Dinah, and Normani.

I knew after spending just 10 minutes with these girls that they were special. I knew after 15 minutes that Lauren secretly wanted Camila and Camila secretly wanted Lauren, but neither of them knew how to make their move and it took me only 3 days of observing to figure out that like Lauren and Camila, Normani and Dinah were also tiptoeing around the undeniable chemistry they had. I was never one to get involved in other people's affairs, but these weren't just other people, these were my friends, my best friends and I couldn't handle another night of Dinah curled up on my bed, falling apart.

I needed to do something.

I confronted Camila who finally resigned and told me what I had already known and my plan was set and put into place, Dinah and Normani would be together by the end of the night if I had anything to do with it.

I heard a knock on my door and opened it to see Dinah and Camila, dressed in completely different outfits than I had seen them in earlier, both of them ready to head out for the carnival. Dinah had finally brushed her hair and put on her make-up, though she still had a sad disposition running through her that was undeniable. "We're doing the right thing, right?" I asked turning to Camila when Dinah disappeared into my bathroom.

Camila nodded her head and looked at me hopefully, "Someone has to do something, might as well be us." I nodded my head and grabbed my bag, throwing in my camera and wallet and making sure I had extra cash on me in case we ran out of money for tickets and food; And then I threw in a bit more because I knew there would be games and I was a sucker for crappy carnival games.