Camren One Shots

Without a Doubt

"Don't forget to clean the kitchen. If you do, then maybe I can convince your father to let you go to that movie you want to see so badly," Mom calls from the bottom of the staircase. 

I sigh, rubbing the sleepiness from my eyes. "Sure thing, mom."

"I mean it, Lauren. If you want to go, the kitchen must be spotless. You need to mop, do the dishes, take out the trash-"

"I know, mom. I got it," I cut her off. 

She sighs and nods, before turning and walking out the front door. She stops once more, turning back to look at me. "Make sure the doors all stay locked. I don't want to come home to see you butchered up in the dining room."

"Thanks for the concern."

She finally continues on, shutting the door behind her, and I go to lock it. After watching her back out of the driveway, I sigh in relief, pressing my back against the door. "It's about time," I mutter and make my way into the kitchen to grab a bowl of cereal.

Once my breakfast is prepared, I sit at the table and begin silently eating. 'I wonder what I should do today,' I wonder. After all, I've got the whole place to myself until 6 P.M., and it's only 8 A.M. A thought pops into my mind, and I smile as I pull my phone out and open up YouTube. 

I spend the next 30 minutes eating my cereal and watching random YouTube videos, before deciding to clean up. As I'm washing the dishes I used, my phone buzzes. 

I use my elbow to press 'answer' and put it on speaker. 

"Hello?" 

The sound of my best friend's enthusiastic voice fills the room. "Hey, Laur!" 

"Hey, Mani. What's up?"

"Nothing. I was just wondering if you were busy right now. I'm bored and we haven't spoken in ages!" 

I chuckle, shaking my head. "We literally were on a Skype call for 5 hours yesterday. What are you talking about?" 

"Is it a crime to miss you? Geez."

"Oh, relax. I'm just cleaning up right now. I'm probably going to spend the entire day relaxing and watching some TV or reading a book." 

I can practically hear Normani rolling her eyes. "Typical. All you ever do is stay in, watching TV and reading. You should go out with Ally and I every once in a while at least. It isn't healthy to stay cooped up in your house all the time. It's been 3 months since we hung out as a group, and we had to kidnap you basically."

I sigh. "I just haven't felt up to it, Mani. I've got a lot to handle right now, with college starting soon and trying to find a part-time job. It's a lot of pressure so suddenly, you know?"

"Yeah, I understand you've got a lot going on right now, but Lauren... you've had 'a lot going on' for 9 months now. That's the amount of time it takes during a pregnancy. One of us could've had a kid during the time you haven't been around," Normani protests, and I can't help but laugh.

"Relax. I've had my reasons for staying in, okay? But I'll make some time soon, I just need to get my schedule figured out."

Normani sighs, and I can tell she doesn't exactly buy it. She lets it go though. "Alright. Fine."

"I promise. We will all hang out again soon. Okay? We can go out for lunch or go to the beach or something. How's that sound?" I ask.

"That sounds good. I'm holding you to that though. You better make time for us soon, or I swear, we will come kidnap you again," Normani says sternly, but I can tell she's grinning.