Grace ↠ (Camren)

it was lauren and grace against the world

Lauren's mind raced the week following her almost encounter with Camila. She couldn't pinpoint what in the world compelled her to think of capturing Camila Cabello's lips in her own. Before that moment, she couldn't recall ever thinking of the brown-eyed girl as more than a classmate that she took her anger out on. Or did she?

She found the answer as the reflected on their freshman and sophomore year, as well as the beginning of the current school year. Lauren remembered the times she would corner Camila and capture the gaze of her fearful brown eyes looking into her own green ones. Except in Lauren's case, she saw more than just a simple eye color. It was like those two orbs of swirling chocolate and gold breathed life into Lauren every time she gazed into them.

Shit.

Lauren tried her best to shove those thoughts and feelings deep inside of her, wanting nothing more than for it to be a silly crush that would fade away in time. For the time being, her goal was to build a friendship with Camila, a friendship that she didn't even think she deserved to have. Just because Lauren had a soul-shaking sob story didn't mean that Camila would just up and forget the hell Lauren had put her through; both girls were aware. Trust between the two of them had to be built slowly and securely. Lauren had a feeling that this would be her last chance at redemption, and she wouldn't dare mess that up with a silly teenage crush.

So, two weeks later, Camila and Lauren sat in the brown-eyed girl's bedroom as they scrambled to complete their final assignments before their impending week-long Thanksgiving Break. Grace also sat in her playpen, occupied by various toys. Camila knew Sinu and Alejandro were growing suspicious of how much Lauren had the baby with her. She was also aware that her parents didn't care to accommodate the two girls, both of them being genuinely good-hearted people. They were just concerned with the heavy responsibility that was put on their daughter's new friend. Camila couldn't tell them, though. Eventually, she thought, but not now. Thankfully, her parents didn't ask too many questions. The two eleventh-graders had fallen into a steady routine of hanging out together. At first it was awkward, having to get over the initial tension that had settled comfortably between the them because of their past, but things improved over time. More often than not, Lauren and her daughter were at Camila's house, hanging out or doing homework. Still, they both knew that this was just surface level stuff. There were important conversations they needed to have, but for the time being, they focused on creating a foundation for themselves. It was working for now.

"Hey Lauren?" Camila's raspy voice broke the comfortable silence that had fallen between the two girls, both having had their faces buried in their individual assignments. Lauren looked up at the sound of Camila's voice, and the girl was sure her heart would burst at the sight of her emerald orbs. She didn't think she would ever get used to their captivating nature. "Yeah?" Lauren answered, curious as to what Camila's question would be. "What are you doing for Thanksgiving?" Lauren was taken aback at Camila's question, not because she was mad she had asked, but because holidays were one of the worst parts of her family situation. "Uh...my mom and dad, they host this way-too-big dinner to be showy towards the other family members." Camila could hear the sadness laced in her words. It hurt her heart that Lauren didn't know the warmth of a true loving family. Although she had experienced her own fair share of heartache in her short life, she always had a safe place to come home to. Lauren deserved that too. Reaching over, she grabbed the girl's hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "I'm sorry, Lauren." Both girls felt butterflies in their stomachs at the contact of their hands.

A few days later, Lauren and Camila were relieved to now be on Thanksgiving break, although anxiety filled Lauren for many reasons. One, she wouldn't be able to see Camila for the duration of the break. Her mother had caught on to her frequent visits to the girl's house and asked, no demanded, that she not see her for the week-long break. "It's going to rot your sinful brain more than it already has been," Lauren recalled her mother saying. Secondly, many of Lauren's stuck-up family members would be around and Lauren would be forced to put on the biggest act of her life. Gracie's crib would be moved into her parents' room for the week, although Lauren knew her mom and dad wouldn't actually care for the baby. They barely even acknowledged the baby's presence. There was no way in hell they would deal with taking care of her too. It was all just a show to ensure that her distant aunts, uncles, and cousins wouldn't catch on while they were at the Jauregui household. Should anyone enter Lauren's bedroom, it would be a red flag that she had Grace's crib in there. All of her baby stuff was also shoved in the closet. Lauren would also be forced to hand her daughter to the woman she despised most while her family members visited on Thanksgiving Day. It made her sick to think about it. Usually, a parent would be thrilled to think of celebrating their child's first holidays with them.