Paper Scars || camren

Chapter Twenty Two

Camila's eyes fluttered open as she looked around at her surroundings. They were going to be in Minnesota later today, meaning a long ride in the silent tour bus again. And worse, she was going to have to tell Lauren. She longed for the split moment she had forgotten about that as she looked up at a sleeping Lauren who had moved them to lean against the headboard, probably so she wouldn't wake Camila by lying down. She untangled her legs from Lauren with a groan, as they had been in that position for hours. Despite the throbbing pain that was shooting up her legs, she was glad she'd spent last night with her. The sudden lost of contact woke Lauren up, who smiled at Camila before remembering.

"That's the best part about the day, isn't it?" Camila looked down. "Right when you wake up and everything is okay until you remember." Lauren just nodded.

Eventually, they got ready and headed for the tour bus. Camila smiled sadly when she felt Lauren grasp her hand before they appeared in front of the girls. They didn't care what they thought—Camila and Lauren were trying to drag this out as long as they could. None of them really wanted it to be over, for the fighting to come back. They met a cheery Ally who was sitting by herself on one of the couches. Ally didn't seem to mind the fact that they were holding hands and Camila took that as the girls didn't tell her what happened. "Good morning!" Ally glowed.

"Hi, Allycat." Camila smiled. They sat down on each side of Ally so that she was in between them.

"Why were you sitting alone?" Lauren asked.

She shrugged. "They came in talking about something in hushed voices, I assumed they needed privacy." Camila grimaced, once again being reminded of what she needed to tell Lauren. The brunette seemed to notice as she brushed it off, changing the subject.

They danced around what needed to be done the whole way to Minnesota, Camila dodging glares from Normani and Dinah. Finally, when they arrived, the two girls stood up, linking hands yet again, ready to exit the bus into a new hotel.

Dinah walked over to them immediately, looking Camila straight into the eyes. She watched as Camila shied away and Lauren looked confused. "Mila, if you don't, I have to." Camila said nothing. Dinah shook her head and pulled Lauren away gently. Camila suddenly got anxious.

"Wait!" Everyone turned, all eyes waiting on her. "I'm not..." She trailed off, trying to find the words. The look of shame was stained on her face. Normani turned to stare at Lauren, worried at how she would react. "I'm not... Oh, God. I'm not talking to Austin anymore." She spit out. Before Lauren could smile, Camila continued. "I haven't been talking to him for weeks, a month, actually, I think." The room was silent except for a small gasp that came out of Ally's mouth. "I'm so sorry. I was going to tell you—" She was quiet when Lauren raised a hand to stop her talking. Her eyes were closed as she shook her head. "I'm so sorry."

"You're sorry? Oh my God, I thought you fucked him or something like that." Lauren yelled. "But no, you rubbed your relationship with him in my face—"

"It wasn't a relationship." Camila countered.

"Oh, of course not. How could I forget? You don't make commitments. You watched me for weeks, stressing over this, losing my fucking mind over this, and you didn't say anything? Why?" She shouted the last part.

Camila buried her face in her hands, crying at how intense the situation was. "I was mad at you. I wanted to make you jealous."

"You wanted me jealous? This is such bullshit, Camila. You could say his fucking name around me and I'd be in tears. That wasn't enough for you? Huh? You had to pretend it was a relationship, like I had some competition. What for?" She watched as Camila shrugged. "What for?" She yelled again.