House of Moonlight (Halren)

twenty-two - "As it turns out, I've fallen in love with you."

It's a strange thing when a routine becomes something one looks forward to. Something as simple as waking up, brushing teeth and hair, showering...the mere ease at which each task is performed seemed like a soothing remedy to Halsey.

So it was suffice to say that when she was informed of that routine being broken...she was more than a little taken aback. 

She was being let out as well, with strict guidelines she'd need to follow and the occasional visit to a corresponding therapist, but she was being released nonetheless. And she knew she was ready, her mind was clearer than it had ever been, the shadows that followed were being kept away by a force of light that was the brightest of shimmering green. She also knew she'd have to fight them off every now and then but she stood with an army behind her this time, an army that was Lauren's soft eyes, Camila's beaming smile, Lucy's headstrong attitude, Keana's gentle words, Dinah's blatantly inappropriate humour and Ally's kind heart. Her army was strong and powerful and had helped her defeat her most vindictive enemy.

So yes, she knew she was ready. 

And when she looked at her army, part of her knew they all were. 

She didn't know how to tell Lauren, they'd yet to really discuss where they'd go with their relationship following their stay at the centre. Halsey knew Lauren lived in Miami with all her family whereas Halsey was a traveller, her life starting in New Jersey and her most recent residence being LA; both of which was a ways away from Lauren. 

The problem was; they'd yet to even have a talk about where their relationship would progress to. Halsey hadn't made it a secret about her feelings for Lauren and vice versa, but those feelings had yet to be contained into one word and that left them at a stalemate. 

Halsey wanted Lauren to say it first so that her feelings could be validated and she knew Lauren felt the exact same way. Neither had ever let themselves be as vulnerable as they were willing to be with one another, so both were still a bit guarded. Because Halsey knew Lauren could break her. And she knew she would probably let Lauren too; they could break over and over together and still be the missing piece to each other's puzzle. 

"Thinking pretty hard there, Blue." The familiar nickname caught her off guard as her eyes turned to Lucy. "Dinah gifted me the privilege of using that nickname."

"I leave in two weeks." Halsey finally spoke the words out loud for the first time. She'd only been informed that morning, but she felt like actually saying it made it more real.

"Damn," Lucy raised her brows. "How'd you pull those strings?"

Halsey was glad it was just her and the Latina, Camila and Lauren were off on some excursion the centre arranged, looking at art. Both Lucy and Halsey knew that the youngest Cuban had only gone in the hopes of obtaining candy from the gallery gift shop.

"I...got my shit sorted, I guess." A soft smile played on the older girl's lips. "Feels...kinda nice." The idea of freedom brought with it all these worries about Lauren and her life outside the walls she'd come to know, she hadn't let herself explore the idea of...exploring. Beyond the walls around her, she could travel, go out, meet different people, find low-key bars where she could perform gigs and get her foot into the music industry. Beyond the walls around her...she could find out who she was without the persistence of darkness pushing her down. "Have you and Camila talked about what you'd do when you guys get out of here?"

"We're both in Miami so that makes it easier for us, we're gonna see how we go outside of the confines of this place and if we work, we'll get a place of our own and go from there." Lucy shrugged, the idea of settling down with Camila causing her heart to momentarily skip a beat. "What do you think will happen with you and Laur?"