From Me To You [Laurinah]

4: comfort

Lauren let her chin dive deeper into her knees as the minutes passed by. She had balled herself up in the old seat while Dinah began her job. She didn't know what was going on and honestly she didn't care. As long as she was far away from Russ Street Gang, she was okay. Lauren let her jade eyes boredly watch Dinah run around, trying to get things done.

Dinah grabbed her hair and lifted it, ready to put in a messy bun. As she stood down stage, she saw no one but Lauren in the large audience. It was cute how small the girl made herself. She could see Lauren sitting tightly in her chair, practically to her chest in her closed off manner.

The Polynesian girl chuckled at the sight. Lauren was almost like a hermit but gave off nothing but little puppy energy. With her humorously large glasses and shy demeanor, the girl drew to Dinah almost magnetically. The girl's big heart always seemed to have a lot of space for soft people.

"You forgot about the back curtains Dinah," A gentle hand was placed on Dinah's shoulder, making her slowly rip her eyes away from Lauren. She turned around to see none other than Megan. The other girl smiled at Dinah, handing Dinah a caramel candy, "Come on Miss Stage Manager, we gotta set up."

Dinah couldn't help but smile back at their silly tradition. The title was something they earned after many hard years of working alongside Demi. Now since Demi graduated, her and Megan took on the title together. Although everyone pushed her to get lead roles, she felt her place was making sure the lead roles looked good. She didn't mind being in the shadows because she knows everything is okay because of her.

But even with the candy and all, Dinah's gaze seemed to make its way back to Lauren. To her surprise, the green eyed girl's eyes didn't falter. She stared right back at her. Dinah awkwardly lifted her hand, waving shyly, then causing Lauren to break their stare.

Even though Lauren was only with Dinah for a day, she didn't want Lauren to be scared of her. Not to be dramatic, but Dinah was one of the people that saved her life. Lauren could trust her, and Dinah wanted her to. She didn't know how to gain her trust.

Dinah's hand mindlessly clenched in concentration, the sound of the caramel's plastic wrap bringing her back to reality. She looked down at the small candy in her hand. She didn't have to earn Lauren's trust immediately but she was willing to take baby steps.

Lauren laid her head on her knees, trying to find some way to let the minutes pass by faster. To her surprise, rather than be met with the navy blue carpet of the auditorium, she met with the sight of black Vans in front of her. She lifted her head up to see none other than Dinah Jane timidly standing before her.

Dinah let her hand raise, the little caramel now being offered to Lauren, "I-I know you're going through a lot and I know you probably don't want to be here with me. Even though it's for a day, I just want you to know this is a safe space for you," Her lips curved into a comforting smile, "So here, you can let loose. Nothing about Russ Street, about Caspers, about any situation. You can just be Lauren with whatever situation."

Lauren hesitated before grabbing the caramel. She muttered a small thank you, making Dinah's smile morph into a delighted grin. The Polynesian girl may have passed the small moment as nothing, but to Lauren that small moment meant more than Dinah would know.

~

The one time thing, turned into a daily thing. For the first time in a while, Normani could see Lauren at ease. She didn't know what kind of magic Dinah had but Lauren was relaxed at home. The one place Lauren should've felt safe, she was still tense. With only a couple hours with Dinah, Lauren managed to let loose. Whatever powers Dinah had, Normani wanted her to continue using them on Lauren. And she did.