Love Only

XV (Final)

Camila's eyes widens as she looks at the four women on her bed with her intently one by one. "W-What..?" She stutters, "a-are you--"

"We have already talked about it, Camz." Lauren reassures softly and gives Camila a small smile. "It's time." 

"Time to grow into our individual selves," Ally says and reaches for Normani's hand while she smiles at the girls, looking at them through her unshed tears.

"Time to grow up," Dinah adds and throws her arm around Lauren and Normani. "I love you girls so much. All four of you." 

"We love you too, Dinah." Lauren smiles and wraps her free arm around Camila, bringing her into the group hug. The brunette bites her lip to keep her tears at bay. Happiness surged through her having these four women close to her again. It was all she wanted to have for the past couple of years, to have each other's backs once more. 

The door opens and Camila and the girls hear footsteps walking closer. "Wow, did I walk in on a Lifetime movie moment?" Ashlee's unmistakably cheery voice make the four hugging women smile as they break from the hug. 

"ASHLEE!" Normani and Dinah jump off the bed and launch themselves at their former lead guitarist, making the woman stumble back slightly at the force of two giants crushing her in a hug.

"Can't....breathe.." She croaks out, playfully making wheezing noises as though she is dying, making the rest of Camila's band and her dancers laugh. 

"Wow," Dinah pulls away and pouts, glaring playfully at Ashlee. "We just missed you. Asshole." 

"Well," Ashlee says and walks over to hug Ally. "I miss Little Miss Sunshine more."

"Hey!" Ally whines and slaps Ashlee's arm. Normani and Dinah howl with laughter together with the rest of the people cramped inside the hospital room. Little Miss Sunshine, how fitting. 

As soon as everyone sobered up, Lauren and the girls catch up with Ashlee and introduce themselves to the rest of Camila's "crew"--as she likes to call them--with Lauren earning a smug look from Camila as though silently mocking her for freaking out over nothing earlier. Lauren just chuckles and shakes her head, just silently pulling the brunette closer instead. The two women cuddle in the bed, with Camila leaning back against Lauren's chest. 

And Lauren can't think of a better place she'd rather be. 

She glances at Camila who is laughing as she watches Normani, Dinah and Ashlee's antics and feels her heart fill up with so much love. She wraps her arms around her Camz' torso and places her chin on her shoulder, turning her head and looking these important people in their lives. Watching the scene, she couldn't help but reminisce the last six years of her life.. 

All her life, Lauren fought for what she believed in. She rarely took shit from anybody and she stood up for herself and for what was right and had the backbone to stand her ground. That was few of the qualities she was so proud to possess. The vibrancy of that quality was something she wanted to share to the world, to empower everyone else to stand up for themselves without stepping on other people's shoes.

  But as she and the girls hopped on this roller coaster ride that is Fifth Harmony, everyday is a fucking battle. They have been scrutinized, criticized, manipulated like puppets and have been stripped of their privacy until there's nothing left of them but a shell of what they used to be, manufactured by the music industry for marketing purposes; to rake profit. One by one, the qualities Lauren's parents have instilled in her and the qualities that she held dear was tainted, slowly fading away, hiding in the shadows with every spotlight and commitments they were practically being forced to do as they were unfortunately bound by the contract they so naïvely signed. 

But now, as shackles start to come off one by one, Lauren is now able to breathe. And it's a progress; little by little, but progress nonetheless. Puzzles slowly come together and fit perfectly one by one, creating a beautiful picture that is her future. A future with the woman she loves by her side. And if that isn't a fucking wonderful future to have, then she doesn't know what is. 

"What's on your mind?" Lauren hears Camila whisper to her amidst all the ruckus, her body turns to the side to see the green-eyed girl better. Lauren just smiles and shakes her head, feeling a little shy as her cheeks heat up. "What?" Camila chuckles, finding Lauren's blush amusing.  

"I just love you, is all," Lauren simply smiles and shrugs, earning a blush from Camila this time. "And I love you," the brunette says back. Lauren's smile widens. She cups Camila's cheek and presses her lips to the brunette's forehead, making her close her eyes to savor the warm lips on her skin. This must what real happiness feels like, she says to herself. 

The clicking sound breaks their trance and they pull away slightly, only to be met by a  smirking Ashlee holding a phone to their face. "That was real cute guys," the dreadlocked blonde teases, wiggling her eyebrows at them.

Camila groans and buries her face into the crook of Lauren's neck, embarrassed at the realization that all of the people inside the room are mirroring the guitarist's expression. 

Lauren merely chuckles and nods at Ashlee, holding her own phone out. "Send that to me, will you?" The green-eyed girl asks. 

"No problemo," Ashlee nods back and fiddles with her phone. "What are you doing?" Camila asks Lauren, her voice muffled by the green-eyed girl's chest.

"Something I should've done a long time ago." Lauren says and Camila frowns. What does she mean by that? 

Lauren fiddles with her phone once more before turning it off with a satisfied smile on her face. Different notifications tone from phones ping after that, and Camila looks around in confusion as Dinah, Ally, Normani, and Ashlee look at their respective phones, making the obnoxious 'awwwwww' sounds.  

"What's going on?" Camila looks at Lauren. The green-eyed girl shrugs and kisses the brunette's cheek. "I love you," she whispers and hugs Camila tight from behind. 

It doesn't ease the brunette's confusion. In fact, it only makes it worse. It isn't until Dinah hands Camila her phone that she understands what's going on. Her chest heaves, her eyes welling up with tears as she stares at her phone.

On her phone's screen, is Lauren's recent tweet. It is a picture of her kissing Camila's forehead tenderly--the one that Ashlee just took minutes earlier. 

And the caption is so simple, yet the fact that Lauren posted it made it so powerful. A powerful, yet much-awaited confirmation:

"Real love #Camren"  

T H E    E N D

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I REALLY love this story, i hope y'all like it too.

© to the Author