i'm only given clues

Chapter 2

Camila wakes them at seven am by banging on her drivers side door demanding that they hurry to the hotel so that she can begin her daily hygiene ritual. Normani's so exhausted that she she barely manages a roll of her eyes.

Even when she doesn't let up and keeps banging on the window, Normani doesn't throttle her until she's purple. She calmly does the one of the few things she said she'd never do, and lets someone else drive her car.

It makes for an incredibly interesting journey when Dinah's at the head of their fleet of cars, but to everyone except Normani's shock, they make it to the hotel in record time.

/

No one argues with her when she gets to the room and faceplants onto the bed. Not that they would be able to, she blacks out instantly and sleeps like the dead.

/

There are shopping bags everywhere when she wakes up. It's mid-afternoon and she feels a little better for having some uninterrupted sleep, but not for the crowd sitting at the foot of the bed watching SpongeBob.

"Oh, you're awake," Camila says brightly when she sees her sit up and stare around in bewilderment. "We're having a group meeting."

Her back cracks awkwardly and her hands spring to support it with a groan. "Why is it, that wherever we go, this group always has to have a damn meeting?"

Camila shrinks away slightly, even though her face is wide with a smile. "It was Keith's idea," she says, like that makes it any better.

Suddenly the TV's turned off surrounded by a chorus of disgruntled groans. Twelve sets of eyes are instantly staring at her, waiting, and she wonders when in the hell she became the ringleader of this pathetic excuse for a circus.

"What?" she says, still rubbing her back and silently cursing the crappy hotel mattress. Two hands come to her aid and she turns to see Dinah suddenly behind her, massaging her back like it's nine months ago and the end of Dance practice.

And they both know how that often ended: in a predicament that's definitely not for the eyes of their teammates.

The memory doesn't help Normani from keeping her mind off the fact that Dinah's hands are rhythmically kneading the muscles at the base of her spine. In fact, it instantly makes her think of a better place where the heel of her hand could be pressed and more wonderful places where her fingers could find themselves digging into hot, wet –

She coughs to clear her head and turns out of Dinah's reach to lean back against the headboard. Her cheeks are flushed and she's thankful her skin is dark. It doesn't stop Dinah from narrowing her eyes in innocent recognition. She's too familiar with the look that adorns Normani's face.

Normani coughs again. Awkwardly.

There's already something about this city she can't quite put her finger on.

/

They kindly wait for Normani to brush her teeth and wash her face before they start the meeting. She sneakily slips in her contacts and blinks at the burn they leave in her tired eyes. She should have got some eye drops.

Keith's standing in the front of the off TV when she gets back, but Austin and Cordell still wrestle for the remote.

"We're going out tonight," Keith tells them pointedly. "All night, hardcore, don't-remember-our-own-name-when-we-wake-up levels of rocking this town. We can't let this opportunity pass us by."

Camila raises her hand. Thankfully, Ally swats it down before Normani can say anything. "While I agree that we should use this opportunity to experience this beautiful city to the fullest, I don't think that using the time we have to get drunk is in our best interests. Perhaps we should spend the short duration we have here soaking up the culture and history in order to improve ourselves as performers and artists."