Rising Love

Hopelessly Devoted

Two weeks later, and Zayn and Lauren were sitting in front of the television, considering if they should get high or not. The suede couch, gotten at a discount from the furniture store after much bargaining, creaked under the two bakers' body weight.

"Have you ever heard that song Gucci Gang?" Lauren asked, hand dipping into their shared bag of Sour Cream & Onion Ruffles as she spoke.

Zayn's nose crinkled, as if he had smelled sour milk. "Yes, it's shit. Kid is seventeen, he should be doing algebra, not cocaine."

"We're so old." Lauren replied with a sigh, reaching now for the brownie bites. "But that isn't my point. "

"What's your point?"

"The point is, what if Lil Pump is short for Lil Pumpernickel?"

"Lauren, no." Zayn didn't even chuckle. "Was that one of the jokes Camila told you yesterday?"

"No, but her jokes are really funny." Lauren stuffed two brownie bites into her mouth and rolled her shoulders, trying to stretch. "I'm sore."

"Camila? Funny? Now that's a good one. Her knock knock jokes seem like they came out of a first grade joke book."

"Well - you're a joke." Lauren stammered, impatiently pressing the buttons on the remote control, trying to get Netflix to start.

"Great comeback." Zayn replied, adjusting the position of his legs on his footrest. With a quick glance to his friend, he chuckled slightly and told her, "Just hand me the remote."

"No, I can handle it myself."

"Clearly you can't, Laur, just give it over."

With a pout on her lips and in her eyes, Lauren concedes, and hands Zayn the remote.

Zayn smacks the remote against the palm of his ornately inked hand, then presses the button to start up Netflix.

To Lauren's chagrin, the screen flickers to life in front of them, and Zayn browses through the list of their shows, blows a strand of hair out of his face, and asks Lauren what she wants to watch."

"Great British Bake Off."

"What season?"

"Five, thanks."

The reason why Lauren liked The Great British Bake Off so much was due to the fact that it was central to baking, something she loved, and it featured a lot of things she wouldn't have previously known about from culinary school. Yes, she had learned a lot of techniques from school, but there was something about the allure of British baked goods that had her hooked.

The show was one that always made her feel warm and fuzzy and cozy inside, especially when she was high. Not to mention that in each season, there was always that one baker that she ended up having a mega crush on by the end of each ten episode arc.

For her in Season Five, it was Martha. So small, so pure, so good at bread dough. To Lauren, it was lowkey hot, seeing her icing cookies as the time ticked down.

So midway through the second episode, where Martha was rushing on the technical challenge focused on chocolate laced cookies, Lauren whispered aloud, "Martha awakens my baker gay."

Zayn didn't know whether to roll his eyes or laugh again. "Why do you do this?"

"I'm only speaking the truth, she awakens my baker gay."

Lauren tended to randomly say things like this to Zayn while watching TV with him - it didn't matter if she was high or not. He found it funny, if he was honest, and he wondered if Camila was in this position, would she find this quirk of Lauren's creepy, or funny like he did?

-

"Did I tell you about this pickup line I thought of at work?" Lauren asked Camila later that week. They were at a local Starbucks, smell of a light French roast wafting through the air, like a person on a garden stroll. The decor of the room was undoubtedly urban, images of coffee and cafe-goers spread along the walls, appealing to both businessmen and stressed college students. Perhaps the thing that made it so appealing to everyone was because it was appealing to no one in particular, and flaunted that trait.

"No, you didn't," Camila took a sip of her mocha, whipped cream making a small mustache on her upper lip. "I wanna hear it."

"Okay so it goes like this," Lauren straightened her shoulders. "So at first you say, girl - you're like a box of Parker House Rolls."

"Why?" Camila licked the whipped cream off her lips.

"I'm getting there. So after you tell her that, you're supposed to pause and then say - cause I want to see those buns! You get it? Buns??"

Camila snorted into her coffee mid sip, and mocha and cream flurried onto the table, as well as the Cuban girl's nose.

"Oops?" Lauren said with a smile. "I'm assuming it was okay, then?"

Camila nodded.

"It could have been worse - but I know that if I said that to a girl I actually liked, I'd probably be slapped but it's just for my own enjoyment, you know? Zayn facepalmed when I told him. I thought it would be a good idea to put a small chalkboard somewhere in Sammy's where people can put bread jokes and such - what do you think?"

Damnit, Lauren thought, internally criticizing herself. Might as well play the Grease music now, because it's only been a few weeks, and she is already hopelessly devoted to Camila Cabello.

Camila was still eyeing the specks of coffee and whipped cream that were on her cup and the table due to her snort.

"Let me help you out with that," Lauren instinctively reached for a napkin, hoping it was somewhat soft, like the Puffs tissues with lotion, but paused in front of the other girl's nose. "You mind if I..?"

"Sure," Camila said, with a small voice that reminded Lauren of a bunny for some reason.

So Lauren wiped the coffee of Camila's nose, tracing the napkin over the curvature of her lips, thinking to herself that she would rather have something else rubbing against those lips. God, she was gay. Lauren dabbed the coffee droplets off Camila's chin, both of their cheeks beet red.

"There you go," Lauren let her hand drift from her friend's face and tried to make herself focus on wiping down the table with the napkin.

"Thanks," Camila said, setting the cup down. "Your sense of humor has gotten better."

"I didn't have a sense of humor before. I found it when I found you, strolling out the door of Sammy's."

"Awe, you're sweet."

"I could say the same about you. You - you remind me of raspberry meringues. They're colorful and pink and full of pure sugar and that reminds me of you a lot, when you tell jokes and stuff. We don't serve them at the bakery often, but I can make you some if you haven't tried them yet."

"I've tried meringues, they're literally so sweet, they remind me of Lucky Charms marshmallows."

"Yeah, that's you."

Camila's phone buzzes, and she mutters under her breath. "Hey, I need to go, I'll see you later, okay?"

"Sure. Same time, same place, in two days or so?"

"Sounds great," Camila said, a smile gracing her face while she looked at her iPhone. "I'm sorry I have to go so quickly, but my boyfriend texted, apparently his car broke down and he needed me to pick him up."

Lauren watched her as she walked out the door. The world seemed to be pulling her down into itself. She hadn't known this. She hadn't known this at all.

Fuck.

-

A/N: Heyaaaaaa

Hope you enjoy this chappie of Rising Love. :) Stay safe, and stay lit, and have a safe and happy holidays!

- Sel