"Camila! You've got 45 to go!" One of her producers warned.
"Ok!" The singer nodded as her makeup team gave a few last touches to her chapped lips. That would be the last show of her first album and Camila couldn't be more exhausted. Touring around the country was tiring and she almost gave up halfway. Meanwhile, her management kept trying to boost her confidence:
"You were Fifth Harmony's soul, Camila!"
She hated those prep talks. She hated when people treated her as if she were better than the other girls since Demi Lovato made that unnecessary comment in The X Factor. In Camila's opinion, all the girls in Fifth Harmony were special. Maybe that's why she had been so insecure about touring alone for the first time. There would be no more Normani killing those dance moves, no more Dinah joking around and no more Ally acting like she was her mom.
There would be no more Lauren sharing the stage with her.
Maybe that's what affected Camila the most, but that was a totally different subject. Lauren was really hurt when Camila told her she would be leaving the band to go solo. She knew Lauren blamed herself. Lauren thought she was quitting the band because of their relationship and Camila couldn't lie: it was a factor. Falling in love with Lauren was the most incredible thing that's ever happened to her and Camila would never regret them. However, their relationship was full of ups and downs and that instability affected the group's performance. The blame was not only on Lauren, who didn't want to assume their relationship publicly; the blame was on Camila as well, who made Lauren jealous out of spite only. Above all, the blame was on their management, who always sent them hints of how they were going to lose everything if they came out to the public.
Lauren was a factor, but not the only one. After all, they hadn't been in a serious relationship when Camila left the band. They hooked up only when they wanted to, taking things in their own rhythm. It was supposed to be an open relationship, but, as Dinah described, it turned out they were dating without actually dating. This fragile relationship burned out as soon as Camila told Lauren about her leaving the band. They couldn't ever be seen in public anymore (and the passive-aggressive message on Fifth Harmony's social media accounts was enough proof of that, though Camila knew the girls hadn't written a word of that message). Each and every chance of them being in a real relationship ended in that moment. Camila had visited the girls since then - away from the cameras, of course - and Lauren had been distant. They only talked out of convenience and none of them had the time or the guts to mend their relationship.
But Camila couldn't lose hope. This was your dream, those were her songs. Everything was so different from when she was in Fifth Harmony. Instead of having to accept things she didn't agree with, Camila was now sure that her first album was totally her. There was no need for lyrics with double meaning or sexualized dances.
Camila's phone vibrated, cutting her thoughts short. It was probably her mother or Sofi wishing her good luck. Camila's family always did that and she loved those inspiring messages. But it wasn't her family now.
It was Lauren.
I ain't worry about nothing
It was the first message Camila got from Lauren since she left Fifth Harmony. What a weird text. Camila was hoping for a 'hi', maybe Lauren calling her bad names, but not some random phrase. Lauren was either drunk or high - probably both.
Lauren?
Her fingers itched to text 'Lolo?' instead, but Camila chose to be cautious because she didn't know what state of mind Lauren was in.
Lauren's answer was even stranger:
I ain't wearing na nada
Camila immediately remembered "Work From Home", one of Fifth Harmony's top songs. Even so, Lauren texting her random lyrics was still weird as fuck. She was definitely drunk or high.
