SpiderMan - Camren

~30~

(Lauren's POV)

The drive was filled with comfortable silence between Camila and Lauren. The radio playing and Camila silently singing along were the only noises. Lauren felt sad inside, she was really trying her best to ignore the lump in her throat as she drove.

She surprisingly didn't feel nervous at all about having to tell a speech. She didn't prepare a speech, which usually wasn't a good thing for Lauren, but this time, it was a good thing. Today, as they were driving to her Uncle's funeral, she found it less nerve wracking to just tell a speech from her heart.

It wasn't until later in the drive that Camila reached over and turned the radio volume down that the comfortable silence ended.

"Hey... are you okay?" Camila said, placing her hand on Lauren's shoulder. Lauren felt butterflies as soon as Camila's hand touched her skin. All of a sudden, the sign of affection from Camila made the lump in Lauren's throat dissipate. She glanced to her right and saw Camila looking at her with the warmest smile.

"You need to pay attention to the road" Camila whispered, trying to hide her gigantic smile, but clearly failing.

"You're so beautiful" Lauren replied, making Camila bring her hand up to slap her own forehead and burst out laughing. As soon as Lauren saw the pink starting to take over Camila's cheeks, she turned her attention back to the road, satisfied. Once Camila finally stopped laughing she returned her gaze back to Lauren.

"Hey" Camila said in the most loving tone, bringing her hand back up to Lauren's shoulder.

"You're Uncle was an incredible man, Laur" Camila said, starting to slowly rub Lauren's upper arm. All Lauren could offer was a nod, feeling that if she said a single word, the tears would finally start falling out. Camila took her hand off of Lauren's arm and gave Lauren a lingering kiss on the cheek before reaching over and turning the radio back to the previous volume.
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As soon as Lauren saw the church, tears started welling in her eyes. She knew it wouldn't be long before one of them dropped, but she decided to try her best to hold back her tears. With that, she shut her eyes and took a long breath in, making the tears go away.

"I'll get the door for you" Lauren said to Camila before exiting the car and rushing over to Camila's door. She opened the door for Camila and held her hand out to assist Camila with going down the stairs.

As Lauren was shutting the door, she felt Camila intertwine their fingers and immediately turned around. Lauren looked at their hands before looking up and seeing Camila with the same warm, adorable smile of hers.

Before Lauren could say anything, she noticed Camila quickly averted her gaze in another direction. She followed Camila's gaze and slightly panicked when she saw Camila's parents walking towards them. Probably noticing how Lauren instantly tensed, Camila gave Lauren's hand a comforting squeeze, giving Lauren some confidence.

"Hello, Lauren. It's nice to finally meet you face-to-face" Camila's father said, holding his hand out for Lauren to shake. Lauren could feel herself getting more and more nervous as she slowly took his hand in a handshake.

"Hi, sir. It's nice to meet you too" Lauren replied, making the man laugh and shake his head.

"Oh come one. Don't make this awkward. Call me Alejandro" he said, making a slight smile form on Lauren's lips.

"Yeah, and you can call me Sinu. We've already met before but it's nice to see you again" Sinu said while shaking Lauren's hand.

"And hey" Sinu whispered, nudging Lauren's arm and gesturing Lauren to lean down. Lauren realized she was trying to tell her something so she leaned down to Sinu's level.

"You're way better than Austin" Sinu whispered into Lauren's ear before walking away, making a huge smile instantly form on Lauren's face. She started making her way over to the church but stopped and turned around when she felt Camila tug at her hand.

"What'd she say?" Camila asked, confusion laced around her voice.

"Nothing... nothing" Lauren said, smiling and shaking her head while trying to stifle her laughter.

With that, they walked into the church with fingers intertwined.
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Lauren walked up to the podium, feeling surprisingly not nervous at all. She was never a public speaker, so she usually got very nervous to ever present anything. Today, though, she felt as if nobody else was in that church like she was talking to her Uncle alone.

"I'll be honest. I didn't prepare a speech, but for a good reason. I feel like right now, I just really want to speak from my heart. So... every morning we would eat breakfast, he would say a quick "Gotta go to work" then I would be like "See ya". And it's-um-actually kind of funny because the last thing he said to me was a quick "Gotta go to work" and the last thing I said to him was "See ya", just like every morning. But... I wouldn't have it any other way really. I'm glad that I carried on with the day like it was normal because then I got to focus on what a regular day was like with him. And I would remember how he would always say he wasn't a father to me" with the last statement, Lauren was starting to feel the tears form in her eyes as her voice cracked at the end.

"And he was right, he would never be my father. And my Aunt... is never gonna be my mom" Lauren stated, starting to feel her tears making their way down her cheeks as she quickly brushed them off.

"My Uncle is never gonna be my dad and my Aunt is never gonna be my mom..." Lauren trailed off, voice starting to crack more frequently as she was starting to have to wipe her tears more frequently.

"But they're all I'll ever need. I never really got to tell him how much he meant to me, but yeah he was right. He was always my Uncle, and my Aunt is always my Aunt, but I don't need my parents when I have them" Lauren said, tears rushing down her cheeks a mile a minute.

"Um" Lauren said, voice cracking, needing a second to recollect herself in order to not completely break down in front of everyone.

"I feel like, my parents didn't let me down, they did their job when they were here and I thank them everyday for that. But they gave me a blessing by letting me keep their older brother and sister" Lauren said, and the crowd let out a small laugh.

"My Uncle will always be enough for me. I don't remember a single time where he was ever a bad person. He always taught me to respect people, whether it's men or women. He always taught me that..." Lauren trailed off, taking a deep breath in, needing a second to breathe.

"He always taught me that people are people. Even the bad people on Earth probably went through something. I know if he was here today, he would probably hold the door open for everybody" Lauren laughed through her tears, making everyone else laugh as well.

"But I know..." Lauren said, biting her lip and taking a breath to prevent her voice from cracking.

"I know he'll do great wherever he is because I know he was too good for here" Lauren said, feeling the tears come back with full force.

"I wanna really quick thank god for letting me keep my Auntie" Lauren laughed, fighting back her tears while the crowd let out another light-hearted laugh.

"And-um-everyone else in my life too" Lauren said, smiling at a certain brunette in the crowd before redirecting her gaze back to her Uncle's coffin.

"Thanks for being all I've ever wanted" Lauren said before stepping down from the podium.

(Author's Note: I hope this gives some closure. Bless all of you who might have lost someone in your lives. I promise that everything happens for a reason 🙏)

(P.S- This chapter is the start of the "1 week hiatus" I really hope to see you again when I return after 1 week)