Dope (Lauren/You)

Chapter 12

(Your POV)

Should I tell her what Lauren shared in privacy?

"Yeah, she's just stressed about some stuff, but she'll be okay," I told Lyla, grabbing the popcorn bags and putting them into three separate bowls. "Hopefully today will cheer her up, you know? Being around us all and just relaxing."

"I think we all needed to lay back, it's a good idea," Lyla hummed in thought. "Personal life mixed with school life practically took over, we need to do more things like this," she agreed and picked up one of the bowls.

"We should, I don't want us to only be friends when it's convenient," I sighed with a shrug, that feeling was all too familiar before I came to this school. Some people seem like your friends, but it's just an illusion. "But about that personal life... how's Calvin doing?" I nudged my shoulder into her, and she shielded the popcorn so it wouldn't fall. The blonde stuck her middle finger up at me and I let out a dramatic gasp. "I expect that from Hallie and Evelyn, someone's a little touchy," I laughed and picked up the two other bowls, whilst Lyla grabbed a few empty glasses.

"Calvin's fine, but—"

"Oh, I bet he is," I said with a smirk, cutting her sentence short with a whistle. She ignored that comment completely and I laughed at my own joke. Not too long after, we started to walk out of the kitchen with all the food, and then Lyla continued her sentence.

"But, how about you and Lauren, huh?" she whispered my way; now she was the one with a grin, not me. Her tone implied far too much, but I had told no one about my sexuality yet, so I deflected.

"We're good friends, she's like a sister to me," I told her wearily, carefully choosing my words. I kept my head facing forwards, guarding my expression, and felt my neck muscles become wooden.

"Hmm, okay," she sang until we finally reached my room.

* * *

"Stop slapping my arm! What do I look like? A punching bag?" Evelyn yelled at Hallie as she clung to her side. Each time a jump scare came up, she would practically use her as a pillow. We had drawn the curtains close; half of us were all for it, while the rest begged to keep them open. Since it's my room, I had final say and gladly transformed the room into an endless, gloomy pit. It was the only way to watch a scary movie, in my opinion.

Lauren got up midway through the movie to go to the toilet, but when she came back, she sat next to me near the darker side of the room. As time strolled by, she went unfazed by the scary parts, and chuckled lowly when a few others would scream and jump. She even tried to shake me up, but it didn't particularly work out. I only found it amusing, similar to her.

Her yawns, along with Normani, Dinah and Lyla, started to become more frequent. It was getting darker by the minute, leaving the movie to become a mere droning sound in the background for a few. I, on the other hand, was fully awake. It was hard not to be when Camila, Ally and Hallie constantly squealed so easily. Lauren let out an especially long yawn at one point, and rested her head softly on my shoulder. I looked down at her with a smile, noticing her eyelids languidly flutter, and her cheek smushed against my arm.

She peered up at me with a lazy smile, a content but tired sign she was in a much better mood than when she first came in. Before she looked back at the TV, her green, swirled eyes lingered on my lips, and I felt so close to her in that moment that my breath hitched. A few minutes later, it happened a second time and she nudged even closer to my face. I froze as she closed any space between us, trapped by her powerful gaze. Finally, she pecked my cheek inches away from my mouth, and then turned back with a smile.