Always and Forever (Lauren/You)

Prologue

Sunday 17th August (5 months ago):

The wind was blowing through your hair, the cool Cali breeze welcoming after an unusually hot day. The beach was quite secluded as it was late Sunday evening so most people were at home.

You were walking down the beach, reading your Game of Thrones book. It was about to get very good; you were at the part where Daenerys was about to free all the slaves of Astapor. You had read and watched the series several times but this was still one of your favourite moments.

As you turned the page, eager to read the next part, something came flying in your direction, knocking the book out of your hand.

You jumped back in shock, a reflex at the incoming object, which...was a frisbee.
Hadn't seen one of these in years.
Then you looked in the direction the frisbee had come from and saw a group of girls huddled together arguing.

"Dinah, look what you did!" The smallest of the five scolded the tallest of the five.
Fuck, she was very tall.

"It was an accident. Mila was meant to catch it." The tall girl named Dinah responded quickly.

"No, I wasn't. Mani was the one who-"
A thin girl with long black hair began defending herself.

"Hey! I was right next to Dinah, not opposite her. She was throwing it to you" A dark-skinned girl argued. The fifth girl, who you couldn't really make out, hadn't spoken yet. She just stood there.

You leaned down to pick up your book and the purple frisbee, then made your way over to the group. The dark-skinned girl was the first to notice you and cleared her throat so they all turned to face you.

You looked at the four of them, then your eyes fell on the fifth girl whom you hadn't been able to make out earlier. She was wearing a pair of black shorts, and a white shirt that had a large tiger print on it. She had stark, long, black hair which complemented the light tone of her skin. When you made eye contact with her, she smiled.

"Uh, I think this belongs to you."
You interrupted, holding the frisbee out in front of you. You held out the frisbee for a few moments as the girls stood there shocked.

Probably because of your accent.

"Thank you. I'm so sorry. Dinah obviously threw it too far" The short girl, who had initially shouted at Dinah, said as she took the frisbee out of your hand and passed it behind her to the girl who was called Mila?

"Did not, Ally. Camila was the one who-"
She began to argue again when the girl, who must be Ally, cut her off, "Shush."

"Did they hurt you?" She said, looking down at your hands. They were slightly red from where the frisbee hit your hands.
"Oh, that looks like it's gonna bruise. I'm so terribly sorry."

You shrugged your shoulders, "It's fine. Didn't hurt. Besides, I don't bruise easily."

Fortunately for you because if you did, you would have had to explain away many of the bruises you would have had otherwise.

You paused, looking at them, they seemed very familiar but you couldn't place them.

"What's the matter?" The dark-skinned girl asked.

"Nothing," you shook your head, "You just seem very familiar." At this, the girl with the stark, black hair smiled.
She still hadn't spoken a word.

"Anyways, I should-" You were interrupted when a large ball hit your back, causing you to fall forward onto the girl with black hair. She raised her eyes to meet yours, and you weren't certain if she was even aware of the depths that filled the green eyes. It was more expressive than the smile from a few moments before.

She shifted slightly beneath you and you realised you were still on top of the girl,
"Shit, sorry, Gem."
She narrowed her eyes in confusion at your nickname for her.

"Green eyes" You whispered then she smirked as you quickly got off her and lifted her to her feet.

"Damn, when Lana said 'we were born to die', I thought she was kidding." You murmured, more-so to yourself than the girls.

"You listen to Lana?" The girl with green eyes asked, as if in disbelief.
Wow, she actually talks and her voice...woah.

"Of course. I love her sound." You answered.

You rubbed the back of your neck, "Uh, sorry I fell on you, that was both embarrassing and awkward. Guess, I'm definitely not a top."

You stopped, eyes widening, "Yeah, probably shouldn't have said that."
You said, causing everyone to laugh as the small boy who kicked the ball came running up to you.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I kicked it too hard."

You knelt down, picked up the ball and handed it to the boy who couldn't have been more than 6.

"It's fine. Here you go. Just watch you're doing next time." You said, still kneeling down. "Mom's going to kill me." The small boy said.

"I won't tell if you won't" You winked causing him to smile which you returned. You ruffled his hair then spoke, "You should probably get back before she gets worried though."

He quickly gave you a kiss on the cheek, thanked you, then ran off back to where his Mum was stood.

You stood back up, smiling, then looked at the group of girls who had watched the entire interaction.

Ally spoke first, "Aww, you're so cute with kids."
You shifted awkwardly, compliments made you uncomfortable.

"Kid had a damn good kick though."
Dinah said, earning a nudge from the dark-skinned girl. "Ow, Normani, that hurt." She said, rubbing her arm.

"I think this is yours." The girl, who you had nicknamed as Gem, was holding your GoT book which must have fallen out of your hands when you were hit by the ball.

"Lauren, look, it's a Game of Thrones book, like the one you constantly read" Camila exclaimed.

Finally, a name to the beautiful face. Lauren.
Seemed familiar but suited her well.

"Oh yeah," Lauren looked down at the cover of the book then looked back up at you, instantly catching your attention as her eyes were so captivating.
"Khaleesi or Jon Snow?"

You blinked, confused, "What?"

"Khaleesi or Jon Snow?" She repeated.

"Oh! Khaleesi, for sure. Not that I don't adore Kit Harrington but I love me some Emilia Clarke" You replied causing Lauren to smirk again, with a look in her eyes you couldn't distinguish.

"Who's Jake?"

Your face dropped at the mention of his name.

"What?" You asked, trying your hardest to sustain a calm and steady tone.

Sensing the change in atmosphere, Camila handed you your phone, "It must have fallen out of your pocket when you fell on Lauren."

You took your phone from her hands and looked at the message on your phone.

Jake: Where are you?!

Shit. You glanced up to look at the time on your phone. 18:47. Fuck.
How was it this late already?

You looked back up at the girls who were staring at you intensly, wondering why your demeanor instantly changed at the mention of this guy.

"He-He's no one. Fuck, he's gonna kill me. I have to go. It was nice to meet you."
You were about to walk off when you were stopped by Lauren.

"But your book." She said, still holding your book.

"Keep it. Lord knows, he'd take it off me anyway. Okay, shit, I really need to go" You said frantically as you began to run away from them.

Great, just what you needed. Jake mad at you.

As if the past month wasn't bad enough...