Miss Cabello (Camren)

14

Camila's PoV

September passes quickly, as does November. Lauren and I had been spending much more time together. There had been stolen kisses, small lingering touches, but nothing too major. We hadn't talked about our relationship yet. Although if we did, I'd have no idea what to say. Since I'd found Matthew cheating on me, I'd instantly called it off. I couldn't have Matthew leaving without the truth though, so I told him I'd also been seeing someone else. He was angry at first, and a little upset, but then I guess he knew it was bound to happened, and wished me luck on the new chapter of my life.

As for now, Lauren is perched on the edge of my desk after school, her fingers fiddling with the ends of my marking paper.
"Why on earth did you become a teacher Camz? This shit is so stressful."

I roll my eyes, placing my reading glasses above my nose. I flip through the mass of papers that need grading, smiling when I find Lauren's English exam in the pile.

"You have a great talent for Shakespeare Lauren."
She grins, flicking her long waves to side which catches me in a trance.
"Yeah, well, I have a great teacher."
"You do?" I smirk, catching her gleaming eyes.
"I do." She says. "She's smart, and also very beautiful, very sweet, and very cute."

I blush, hiding my smile with a lip bite.

Lauren smiles too, jumping off the edge of the desk to sit beside me on one of the schools' cheap plastic chairs. We sit in a comfortable silence, Lauren fumbling on her phone whilst I grade my class' papers. The clock ticks quietly in the background, the sound of my pen flicking on paper the only over sound in the room.

Lauren furrows her eyebrows a few minutes later, her lips shaping into a small pout. Her fingers fiddle with the ends of her leather jacket, a thing I know she does when she gets nervous.

"Lauren?" I ask, placing the paper down onto the desk. "You okay?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead." I say, fiddling with the ends of my hair.

"I-well. I just wanted to know what we are. I mean, are we friends? Friends with benefits? Girlfriends?"

I huff quietly, chewing my bottom lip. "Do we have to label this Lauren?" I ask. "I'm your teacher. You know this. It's only December, we're not even halfway through the year yet. Do you know how wrong that would be of me to call you my girlfriend? And if I told my parents or Michael that I'd moved on and they wanted to meet you, what would they think? Lauren you don't look any older than 19."

I hope my words don't hurt her. I know it sucks, but I can't afford to label us if I know I won't be able to be 100% into the relationship.

Lauren's eyes drop, her lips forming into a frown.
"We won't have to tell anyone." She says. "Do you not want to be my girlfriend?"

"That's not it." I huff. "You know that's not it, ist's just-."

"WELL WHAT IS IT CAMILA?" I freeze at Lauren's sudden anger, my heart beat picking up a notch.
"All you ever use is the same excuse Camila! I feel like you don't even want me...us. Who the fuck is going to expect a relationship from us? Everyone here thinks I'm straight, as do they you, no one in this school is going to assume a female teacher is dating a female student!"

"They might!" I'm angry now, and I stroll forwards to Lauren, my eyebrows furrowing in anger. "It doesn't matter what sex we are Lauren, or what gender relationship this is. What matters is that I am your teacher- your twenty-three year old teacher, and you are a teenager, my student."

She chuckles darkly, flinging her bag over her back. I hadn't realised a tear had escaped her eye, or that they were even watering in the first place.