Tongue Tied (GxG) (Camren)

Chapter 22

Things were not the same. Camila could admit that after Lauren had returned to school their relationship dynamic had changed. At first it was very subtle and Camila had been far too distracted with what was happening with her son to notice, but the signs slowly became more evident in the following weeks as Lauren began to retreat into herself.

Jade was also becoming increasingly intolerable and especially antagonistic toward Camila, so much so that in their group project Camila had virtually taken it upon herself to do the entire thing, just to avoid her.

With Camila so distracted with the compiling worries filling her mind, it was no surprise when Dinah finally cornered her before school asking, "What's going on with you and Lauren?"

Camila sighed, rubbing at her temples tiredly. "I don't know, Cheech. We're just not...the same."

Dinah shot her a sassy look while responding, "Yeah, well no wonder why."

Camila's eyebrow quirked, and she frowned heavily. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that while you've been distracted texting away to your new BFF or fuckbuddy or whatever, your girlfriend has been trying to get by. You know, a little bit of support might go a long way?!"

"This is none of your business, Dinah. And I'll have you know that I would never cheat on Lauren, EVER, so stop going around accusing people based on stupid assumptions! Lauren is the one shutting me out, not the other way around. I have stuff going on just like you, Dinah, and you don't see me calling you out on lying to Normani, or the rest of the world for that matter."

"How do you know about that?" Dinah responded darkly, crowding Camila's space and trapping her against the lockers.

"Y-you told me yourself...you were drunk. I mean I had kinda already figured it out," Camila shrugged nonchalantly, trying to make it seem as if Dinah's hulking figure wasn't intimidating her in the slightest.

"Damn it!" She let out a heavy sigh and deflated her intimidating presence slightly, allowing Camila some air to breathe. "You can't tell anyone." Dinah commanded, her eyes seeming somewhat defeated in an almost pleading expression.

"Not unless you want me to. Cross my heart."

She nodded stiffly before continuing a bit more calmly, "Besides, my situation is different. You can't use that as an excuse, Mila."

"It's easy to say that if you don't know what it is! My situation is just as difficult as yours. Plus, I've got an ex-girlfriend to contend with. And have you met Jade? Because she is like an army of jealous ex-girlfriends in one," Camila sighed in an almost painful manner as she reflected on the most recent development in the Jade saga.

"Yeah, I heard the most recent one. I'm really sorry, Mila. Most people know she full of it anyway, you know?"

This week Jade had been trying to attempt to spread the rumour that Camila had contracted an STD from her old school, claiming it to be why her and Lauren haven't had sex yet. The previous week she had claimed that Camila was preying on Lauren because she was an easy target and that Camila had admitted that she wanted to "get into the mute girl's pants" as part of her multiple conquests. The two previous weeks before that she had been spreading evidence throughout the school that Camila was secretly a "slut" that had slept with almost her entire previous high school, including the teachers and parents.

Many of the guys believed Jade's first rumour and Camila had soon become either the object of their elaborate fantasies (which they often described to her in grotesque detail) or the subject of their humiliating ridicules and sexist jokes. It was exhausting having to ignore most of the student body, to swat away wandering hands and to burn holes into the constant lascivious gazes that stripped her naked. To make matters even worse, Lauren was doubting Camila and would not believe that Jade was behind the vicious rumours that circulated around the school. It was as if Jade could do no wrong, whilst all Camila could do was wrong.