Three Is A Crowd

Chapter 34: Giant Tiger Prawns

A/N: so I know that a lot of you couldn't read 33 and also couldn't vote due to the stupid glitch. I hope you're able to read it now, and for those who already have, please scroll back up and give ch 33 a big vote, if it's not any bother 🙏🏼🙏🏼😘😘 thank you!

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It has taken them quite a while, but their unspoken agreement to fall back to how they were before - resorting to bickering, despite how tiring and illusory it is - has basically been the band-aid for their ailing relationship.

But a band-aid doesn't heal, it's only a temporary way to patch a wound. Obviously it's gonna take more than a silly banter for Lauren to forget about her hurt, and they're both aware of that, but neither of them acknowledges it. Lauren appreciates the distance and light banter -- she still refuses to watch shows with Camila, while Camila is simply thankful that she hasn't entirely lost Lauren as a friend.

People don't realize the necessity for an on-the-rocks relationship (friendship!) to go back to what's familiar to them the most; whether it's playful bickering or whatever connection two people had before, it's easier to move on and rebuild a relationship if both of them remember how they started. It's both nostalgic and healing -- maybe it's just a crutch, but it helps. Lauren and Camila would take whatever they could get.

Now, they've gotten so used to each other's quirks, Lauren being a drunken flirty hoe, and Camila being a prissy annoying twat, and neither admits that they miss their short-lived closeness, but they have to make do with what they have.

But then something happens that neither of them has anticipated. If this was a book, the readers wouldn't be surprised at all -- tension of all sorts have been brewing for months anyway, and everyone have felt and seen it. Everyone except Lauren and Camila.

So yeah, this situation has got them shocked and confused (well, probably just one of them), but in an objective perspective, this has been a long time coming.

Lauren, as usual, comes home raging drunk and ranting non-stop about Trump and something about Giant Tiger Prawns, and as if those aren't weird enough combos for a topic, she's also blabbing about someone who was crying in the club.

Oh, so she went clubbing again? Camila rolls her eyes at her terribly wasted roommate.

She continues to watch the big struggle Lauren is having just simply putting one foot in front of another, and Camila can't help but speak out.

"Lauren, you're drunk... Again."

"Thanks for pointing that out, Captain Obvious," Lauren scoffs as she tries to glare at her through glazed unfocused eyes. "Wouldn't have realized it on my own."

"Smart ass." Camila grumbles.

She stares at her as she walks towards Camren's tank which she starts tapping at like an uncoordinated toddler. When she reaches for the fish food, Camila tells her that she has already fed the fish and she's gonna kill Camren if it eats one more pellet.

Without a word, Lauren shrugs and turns back to her bed and lands facedown, with her shoes and jacket still on, her legs dangling off the bed, and her face planted on the pillow.

"Jesus, Lauren, you're a mess!" Camila groans as she gets out of her bed, unable to keep herself from helping her out.

She brings her a glass of water and pulls Lauren's arm so she would sit up. As expected, Lauren pushes her away and further pushes her face on her pillow.