Bound To You (camren au)

i finally found my way

Lucy rushes backstage so she can micromanage the girls - Lauren is the only one she trusts to be responsible, apparently - and she lets Camila follow her up there, straight into the commotion. The dressing room is a whirlwind of cheap perfume, cigarette smoke, booze, and yelling. Lauren accosts them right away the moment they walk in.

"Hey!" She practically falls into Camila, tripping slightly on her heels even though she was perfectly steady when she was on stage. She looks like she's glowing, a sheen of sweat covering her body as she grabs Camila's waist, her nails jabbing into her side. She's laughing, so totally alive. "Lucy, can you undo my corset?"

Lucy's nimble fingers move to unlace Lauren's burgundy corset as Lauren clutches Camila for balance. She grins up at her with sparkling eyes. Her lipstick is slightly smudged around her mouth, and Camila, almost as a reflex, reaches out. "Hey, Lauren, your lipstick." She grasps Lauren's chin carefully in her right hand and wipes around the corners of her lips with her thumb.

Suddenly her eyes lock on Lauren's. The girl across from her has suddenly softened. "Thanks," she says quietly, and Camila lets her hands fall from Lauren's face. She's so incredibly beautiful. And so adorable, and so close. It's hard to believe the brunette in front of her was just on that stage, oozing nothing but straight sex. She looks so innocent, with her huge green eyes and gentle smile.

And then she yelps, her hand moving from Camila's waist to her own chest. "Thanks, Lucy!" she squeals, clutching her unlaced corset to her body and leaning back to peck Lucy's face, right on the corner of her mouth. She whirls around one more time to kiss Lucy's jawline, and then she's rushing towards her vanity, pulling on a new costume that she gets another girl to zip up.

Lucy sighs when she turns to Camila. "She got lipstick all over me, didn't she?"

Camila laughs at her. "Yep." Lucy has bright red prints where Lauren had kissed her. Lucy rolls her eyes, but doesn't bother removing it. Instead, she kicks off her heels and begins to clap her hands, ordering the girls around. "Get dressed, get dressed, come on!" She's a tornado in black satin. She looks completely in her element. It's like she thrives on all the chaos in the dressing room.

"Hey." Dinah sidles up beside her. She's also out of her corset, wrapped up in a silky black robe, but she doesn't seem to be rushing around. "How'd we do?"

"Amazing," Camila says. "I've literally - I mean, I was speechless. I've never seen anything like that before."

"Right?" Dinah seems almost loopy with her post-performance high. She hops up on one of the vanities and draws her knees up to her chest. She holds her long curtain of blonde hair up with one hand, gathered a fist, and fans her face.

"Don't you have to get dressed?" Camila gestures towards the plethora of other girls who seem to be getting in costume. She spots Normani among the few who seem to be sitting out.

Dinah shakes her head. "Me and Mani usually sit some of the group numbers out because we don't get as much rehearsal time, since we're students. You'll sit the same ones out." She puts out her hand for a fist bump, and even though it's silly, it makes Camila laugh when she reciprocates. "It sucks sometimes," Dinah explains, "but for these girls this club is their full-time job. They can afford to dedicate all their time and energy to this."

"Alright." Camila can work with that, especially now that she knows there are girls who are going to be in the same boat as her, people she can relate to. "What about Lauren?" she finds herself asking. "I mean, she's so young."

Dinah hums, and reaches out to stroke Camila's hair through her hands. The gesture comes out of nowhere, but Camila finds herself appreciating it as Dinah lets Camila's hair out of her ponytail and then massages her scalp, smoothing down the stray flyaways. These girls are all really touchy, she's come to realize. They truly are a little family. "House of Hernandez has been Laur's life for the past two years. I don't know if she's ever going to go to college. I can't picture her actually settling down to do anything seriously except for this."