All These Years | Camren

Hold on to her

You've never had to share a bedroom before. Until this very moment. You're standing in the middle of your oficial dorm room for the summer and you're kinda shocked when you see two beds. You were pretty certain that your mother made sure you had the most prestigious treatment while you attended the program. And this is definitely not prestigious. Sure, the room is amazing, it has a full view of the city since its located on a high floor, it has access to a pool and jacuzzi, and it's fully equipped, unlike some of the dorm rooms you saw in the flyers Julie showed you where the rooms where practically a match box with a bed in it.

You start unpacking with the hopes that the second bed is just an extra one, left in the room, but not necessarily for  a oficial roommate. Just the thought of being considered a loser from someone new makes you nervous. You're not ready for a let down, or just someone ignoring you while you live with them just because you don't click. You dont want this to feel like home. 

The day passes by and you've successfully unpacked and organized everything. You look over to the right side of the room and as if on cue, the doorknob jiggles and someone kicks the door open.

"Hello New York!" Tattoos, short blond hair, black boots and the smell of something strong, walks into the room.

You straighten up a bit as you watch her drag in her neon orange suitcase. It hits one of the lamps and you prepare yourself to hear it crash but the girl stops it from falling using her left foot. You're eyes widen because it literally looked like a scene from a spider man movie. She puts it back in it's place while yelling, "Not today lamp!" You kind of bite back a smile due to her shenanigans but then she looks at you and you have to be polite, so you stop biting and you give her a smile. You're just expecting a hey, and then, probably, not being acknowledged through out the summer, as usual...but it's not like that at all.

"Wow, what an entrance, huh? I swear I'm never this destructive. I'm Ashley Frangipane, I know, weird name, we can just scratch it out. Call me by my artistic name, Halsey." She extends her hand and gives you a big smile, it's inviting, and it also shouts trouble, but it feels like the good kind of trouble, so you shake her hand.

"Lauren Jauregui, I know, weird name." You try to be cool and follow her humor, it feels like it might backfire, but it doesn't. She laughs.

"Oh my god! This is awesome, you're the cutest thing ever. And look at those eyes! Lauren you're a babe and you dont even know it!"

"Um-.. I-...T-Thanks..." You're cheeks hurt from smiling, probably because you're not used to smile these days. Also, all the blood is rushing towards them, so that must explain it. This is different, and it's got your heart changing it's tempo.

She walks to her suitcase and begins unpacking, "So, hit me with them biographical deets, cutie."

You kinda falter a bit trying to decide what details you want to share and you go for the obvious ones, "Well, I'm about to turn fourteen, I'm from California, I've been doing ballet since I was five years old, I-umm- I don't really-...uh-.. I don't really have any ...friends. But I have a dog named Dash and he's pretty cool."

"Puppyyyyy!!" Halsey shouts , "show me pics! I love pups." She's at your side and you feel completely out of your element, because, this girl is full of energy and confidence and it shakes you a bit, but you compose yourself and immediately look for the picture of Dash you have on your phone. It's an old one but he's wearing a green bowtie and it looks adorable, so you pick that one.

"Aaaahh! He's so cute! I always wanted a puppy but living in New Jersey apartments my whole life has made it kinda impossible. Oh my god look at his little bowtie!" She leans in and uses her fingers to zoom in on the picture but it ends up slidding to the next picture, which is also a picture of Dash but he's wrapped in Camila's arms, licking her face while the burnet shows off an ear to ear grin. You took that picture without her noticing, back in the day when Tuesday and Thursday were the highlight of your week.

It makes no sense to be so nervous right now, you feel like you've been caught, yet Halsey has no idea who the girl in the picture is. Well, until now, because this  prompt her to ask about it, in her own vivid,
make you blush like crazy, way.

"Who's that brunette bombshell?"

"Oh um-.. that's nobody-...well-...she's Camila-...she's uh my-my...neighbor." If somone could, invisibly, come punch you in the face for being such a freak right now, you would let them.

"Uuuuuuh I see. The old neighbor, girl next door, love story, never gets old. Hold on to that one Lo, with all due respect, look at that ass! Wait till she hits her peak, there's gonna be chins dropping from left to right!"

She moves out of your space and before you have a chance to explain how you are not, in any way interested in Camila, she's already grabed her towel and skipped towards the bathroom for a shower.

But you dont want to hold it in so you just say the words out loud because they make you feel in control.

"Camila and I aren't..."

You look at your phone one more time, letting out a sigh you lock your phone screen, you throw yourself back in the bed and you fall asleep listening to the drizzle of the shower water.