Chapter 14
~~
It’s been a couple of days since the Keaton incident and apparently Camila’s threats are taken seriously because no one has dared to even bother Lauren. Brad and Austin have been keeping a low profile (finally they do something smart), most likely trying to avoid Camila’s eventual wrath.
Lauren knows they have to confront the boys eventually, but she prays that there won’t be any violence needed when they do so. She wants to get this source of stress out of the way so that she can tackle the other issues she has. Like dealing with Zayn’s feelings.
While Lauren was fairly oblivious before, now that she’s aware of everyone’s feelings, she understands the situation. She knows that her and Camila have way more chemistry and after much thought, she can see herself feeling more for Camila than for Zayn. Plus, it’s clear that the girl absolutely adores her and looks at her like she hung the stars in the sky.
She figures that her first order of business should be to let Zayn down (although she has an inkling of a feeling that the boy already knows she’s not going to pursue anything further with him).
Of course, Lauren is not saying that she’s ready to jump into a relationship with Camila. She’s not even 100% sure what exactly she feels for the girl. What Lauren does know is that they have mutual appreciation for each other and whether that translates into something more than friends or stays where it is, she’s not sure.
She IS sure that she can’t keep leading someone on that she doesn’t think she’ll have anything more than a physical attraction towards. So Lauren decides that after school today, she’s going to sit Zayn down and clear things up with him. He deserves that much, because at the end of the day he’s still a really great friend to Lauren.
Walking into the bustling cafeteria, Lauren makes her way towards their usual table, noticing that all of the girls are seated already, the two boys in line for their lunch.
“Hey guys,” Lauren says, taking her customary seat next to Camila. She pulls her lunch out while they all greet her before resuming their previous conversations.
Camila turns away from the girls talking about a TV show to speak privately with Lauren. “Has everything been okay since… you know,” she asks gently.
“Yeah,” Lauren smiles softly at her. “Whatever you said worked because people seem terrified to even breathe on me. Which… I don’t know how I feel about that. I’m about as intimidating as a puppy,” she remarks distractedly as she sets her food out in front of her.
Camila laughs fondly, her grin too big for her face. “Oh my, god, you’re seriously too cute.”
“What?” Lauren questions a little indignantly with slightly red cheeks. “I’m not a scary person.”
“Not to most people, perhaps. But I was so anxious to talk to you. So yeah, you intimidated me.”
“Aw,” Lauren coos. “Was the big bad Camzi afraid of little ol’ Lolo?” She reaches out and pinches Camila’s cheeks who half-heartedly swats them away.
“Shut up,” Camila grumbles but Lauren can see the faint blush painting her cheeks.
Giggling at the girl’s reaction, Lauren turns to her sandwich and begins unwrapping it,
“Don’t worry about the whole ‘people being scared of you’ thing. It’ll pass.”
Lauren glances up, her eyebrows raised as if to ask ‘are you sure' since her mouth is full and she can’t verbally reply.
“Most of the people who go here have no backbone, so it’s pretty easy to sway them. They’ll eventually stop acting like they’re walking on eggshells around you but they won’t forget what I warned them.”
Pondering for a moment, Lauren nods as she swallows her bite. “That makes sense. I believe you.” She’s about to take another bite when she pauses. “Is that why you were able to cement yourself as… whatever you cemented yourself as?”
Camila takes a sip of her water. “You mean with my reputation and stuff?”
“Mhm,” Lauren confirms, her cheeks hilariously huge as she chews her sandwich.
“Um,” Camila begins, stifling a laugh that has Lauren blushing again. “Yeah it was fairly easy. I won a few scuffles with other students and then I was pretty much known at that point.”
“Known as what?”
“I guess as like… the girl that nobody messed with,” she begins, swallowing thickly. “I took a lot of self-defense classes when I was younger because my dad is slightly paranoid – and I think secretly wanted a son too – so I know how to win a fight. When I made myself known as someone who could throw and take a punch, people were suddenly a lot more hesitant to start anything with me, or the people I’m close to.” Camila doesn’t meet Lauren’s eyes through her explanation, finding her water bottle much more interesting.
Lauren stops eating, staring at Camila with her captivating green gaze. “Are you sure that’s it?” she asks, because Lauren knows the girl well enough at this point to suspect when she’s a little off.
“I…” and Lauren can tell that Camila is about to deny anything else but she makes eye contact with Lauren who is putting on the most understanding expression that she can muster. “No, that’s not the only reason why,” Camila finally admits, and Lauren smiles to herself because she’s proud that she can read her new friends that well.
“I was bullied a lot in middle school and while my parents tried their hardest to help me, there wasn’t much they could do besides pulling me out of school altogether. The teachers never helped and kids thought that I was an easy target and since I didn’t have many friends, they could gang up on me. I had a crooked smile and weird hair and a scrawny body and I was shy. Someone that could be messed with.”
“So your reputation is also a sort of defense mechanism,” Lauren concludes for Camila.
“Exactly. If people are scared of me, they won’t mess with me like they used to.”
“Is that also what the tattoos are for?”
Camila tilts her head to the side as she answers, gazing down at her arms. “Sort of? It took a little while for the whole ‘reputation’ thing to kick in when high school started, so in the meantime I started hanging out with… well… not the best crowd. They were older kids, juniors and seniors, who tended to get into trouble and I was going through a rough time so I lashed out. Started letting them influence me. I was okay with it though because finally, people were starting to take me seriously.”
“Wow, Camz, I had no idea,” Lauren mumbles with wide eyes, pushing her glasses up her nose.
“I think the craziest part of it all was that my parents stuck by my side through it all. Even when I was turning into that dreaded, rebellious, daughter they still tried their hardest to get me through it and never gave up on me. I feel so bad for putting them through what I did and I know that I’ll probably owe them forever.”
Lauren smiles gently. “It’s so great that they’re so supportive of you.”
“Yeah,” Camila agrees. “They were a part of why I stopped hanging out with those kids. I felt too guilty because of what I was doing to them, and because I really love them. And then I started getting to know Dinah and Normani and Zayn and all my good friends and they definitely pulled me out of my rut the rest of the way.”
“So you had this really great support system that helped you when you needed it most.”
Camila nods. “Definitely. I mean, I’m still trying to kick a few of my bad habits,” she says with a slightly guilty grin. Lauren assumes she’s referring to her temper and getting into unnecessary physical altercations.
“But, I’ve come a long way. And you’re definitely helping.”
Furrowing her brows, Lauren crumples her empty sandwich wrap into a ball. “How? I haven’t done anything specific to help. I didn’t even really know about it until just now.”
“‘Cause, Lo. You’re a really important part of my life, and the thought of disappointing you, hurting you, letting you down… it helps me refrain from doing anything that would actually do that to you. You motivate me to be a better person.”
“I– but– how? Really?” Lauren asks disbelievingly.
“I know that I’ve had a couple of trip ups, but it’s a big improvement from how I used to be. And a lot of that is because of you. Even before we started talking, seeing your face across the hall helped me.”
~~
Camila knows that she’s here somewhere. She fucking knows and she’s not going to get away with it.
She stalks through the halls with clenched fists, and even though she’s still a junior, the seniors move out of the way for her, unwilling to cross paths with an angry Camila. Fortunately for them, Camila’s only got her wrath set on one specific person.
Spotting her perfectly made-up dark hair, Camila marches the rest of the way, grabbing the girl by one shoulder and whipping her around to face her.
“Kylie,” Camila growls out. “You think you can just say that shit about someone and get away with it? About one of my friends, no less.”
The girl fucking laughs, apparently finding Camila’s rage amusing. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Cabello,” although Kylie pronounces it Ca–bell–o which just fuels Camila’s anger further.
“You fucking outed Shawn on fucking twitter! That is a personal matter and he wasn’t ready to come out!”
Kylie just laughs again. “I only said he’s bi. It’s not even that bad.”
That doesn’t help the situation at all. Even though Camila is gay, she thinks that bisexual erasure is ignorant and way too prevalent in society today. “How the fuck is it not that bad?!”
“Oh, he’ll get over it,” Kylie brushes off, turning back to her wide-eyed friends.
Usually, for something social related, Camila would take the time to attempt to educate and explain to the person the proper views on a certain matter. But she can tell that Kylie would never sway in her opinion and right now, all Camila can think about is physically teaching the girl a lesson.
Gripping Kylie’s shoulder once more, Camila spins the girl again, this time much more aggressively. She doesn’t let go though and instead forcefully shoves the girl into the lockers behind her. The loud clang echoes through the bustling hallway, and if people hadn’t noticed the commotion beforehand, they definitely see it now.
“I know that you’re too thick-headed to ever understand the right viewpoint. Which is unfortunate for you, because that means I only have one way to educate you.”
At this point, Kylie has realized how serious Camila is and that the girl is at a real risk of getting her ass beat. Her breathing quickens as she flattens herself against the metal behind her, watching fearfully as Camila steps into her personal space.
Raising her right fist, Camila holds it up next to herself threateningly, winding her arm back for a solid punch. She glances around briefly at the crowd that’s gathered, Kylie’s friends shell-shocked and too frightened to help her.
Just as Camila is about to turn back to Kylie and launch her fist forward, she catches a glimpse of wide green eyes, huddled at the edge of the crowd.
Lauren is standing behind Kylie’s friends, her books clutched to her chest as she watches in alarm. She’s staring at Camila’s raised fist before her eyes dart to a flinching Kylie and then back at Camila’s face briefly.
The girl looks extremely worried as she bites her bottom lip, almost on the verge of dashing out of there and away from the unfolding drama. Camila gulps nervously, because while she doesn’t talk to Lauren, the last thing she wants is for the girl to see her hitting someone and thinking that she’s a monster (Lauren doesn’t have to know about all those fights behind the school).
Camila knows that she can’t hit Kylie with Lauren watching.
Turning back towards the girl, Camila steels her features back into a threatening expression. The hand that was previously posed in a fist instead moves forward to grasp at Kylie’s shirt, bunching it up at the collar.
“Don’t think for a moment that I won’t come back here and whoop your fake ass if you ever try anything like that again.”
With that, Camila roughly releases Kylie, the girl stumbling against the lockers. Camila spins around and begins marching towards the school exit, but as she passes by Lauren, she swears that she sees a relieved expression on the girl’s face.
Camila will have to do damage control another time to assert her reputation but she doesn’t regret holding back in front of Lauren. She feels like she would have let her down, and even though they don’t really know each other, Camila knows for sure that she never wants to let Lauren down.
~~
“Oh wow. I remember that day,” Lauren reminisces.
“It was literally because I saw you that I didn’t hit Kylie.”
“I had no idea.”
“It’s like I said: you make me want to be a better person. I just wanted you to know that.”
Lauren goes silent, staring thoughtfully down at the lunch table. “Well, I just wanted you to know I think your smile is adorable.”
“Huh?” Camila asks, unsure to what Lauren is referring to.
“You said before that kids made fun of your smile. I… I really like your smile. It makes me feel happy whenever I see it, and honestly I think you look most beautiful when you’re genuinely happy.”
Camila’s cheeks flush – twice in one sitting, Lauren thinks to herself – and she bears that pure, winning smile that Lauren has come to love. The girl turns to finish her lunch, the grin still sitting proudly on her face.
Lauren looks up, seeing that the boys had joined them at the table but she hadn’t even noticed. She glances around to find that Ariana is trying to get her attention.
“Hey, Lauren, how would you feel about joining us for a girl’s night at my house today?”
“Oh?” Lauren questions. “Who’s going?”
“Tori, Ally, DJ, Mani… Mila, you coming too?”
Glancing over, Lauren sees Camila give Ariana a confirming nod of her head, taking another bite of her sandwich.
“So what do you say? I can finally do your makeup that I’ve been dying to do for weeks.”
Ariana gives her a hopeful expression and Lauren gazes around at her other friends, all looking back at her with patient, excited faces. Camila gives her a nudge, nodding her head eagerly with wide eyes.
“Sure,” Lauren answers easily with a grin. “Sounds like fun.”
They work out the details of when to show up and what to bring over lunch. Lauren’s finished her food so she just observes her friends, her eyes landing on Zayn who’s in a conversation with Shawn, laughing at whatever they’re discussing. She realizes that now might be a good time to talk to him if she can get him away from their friends without drawing attention.
Deciding on the subtle route, Lauren takes out her phone, unlocking it and opening up her conversation with him.
Lauren: Hey, do you think you’d be able to sneak away for a few minutes? I wanted to talk to you about something
She watches as he glances over when his phone buzzes and lights up, then peers up at her when he sees her name flash across his screen. Still keeping most of his attention on Shawn, Zayn opens up the message she sent him. Waiting until there’s a lull in the conversation, he quickly taps out a reply.
Zayn: yeah, I can do that. meet me by the trophy case?
Lauren: Sure. I’ll leave first
Standing up and drawing the attention of a few of her friends, Lauren gathers her leftover lunch supplies and climbs over the bench. “I have to go do something real quick before class starts. I’ll catch you guys later.”
Camila glances up confusedly at Lauren, dusting the bread crumbs off of her fingers. “Do you need any help?”
“I’ll be okay, thanks Camz,” Lauren says gratefully, smiling down at the girl. “I’ll see you in class?”
“Yeah, of course,” Camila agrees, returning the grin.
Excusing herself, Lauren makes her way towards the trophy case, waiting around in the mostly empty hallway for Zayn to appear. She’s preoccupied with admiring the different awards and championships that their school has won when he approaches her, his hands stuffed into his pockets.
“Hey. Sorry I took so long. I couldn’t come up with a good excuse.”
“No problem,” Lauren says reassuringly.
Zayn smiles back. “So, what did you want to talk about?”
“Well,” Lauren begins, figuring she shouldn’t bother beating around the bush and instead just jump right into it. “You and I, basically.”
To Lauren’s surprise, Zayn nods, not looking at all surprised. “I figured, honestly. I know how much you and Camila care about each other. How she looks at you. And I don’t really know how you feel about her but it looks like you’re fond of her too.”
Lauren had a whole speech prepared for Zayn, but at the moment she’s too shocked to remember any of it. “I’m… I’m so sor–”
“No no no, I don’t want you apologizing,” Zayn says sincerely. He removes his hands from his pockets and grasps both of Lauren’s. “Mine is only a crush. It’ll pass. Plus, I really like being friends with you and I wouldn’t want to lose that. Mila, on the other hand... I’m not going to say how strongly I think she feels, but I will say this: I’ve known her for about three years now. We’ve been through a lot together, and she’s one of my best friends. I’ve seen her react with all sorts of people in all sorts of situations, and I can say without a doubt that she only has eyes for you. You’re such an important part of her world, even if your friendship is relatively new.”
Blinking her wide eyes slowly at Zayn, Lauren attempts to absorb his words. She had been mentally preparing herself for this moment all day, and here Zayn ended up doing all the talking for her.
“Wow,” is all Lauren can muster out.
Zayn chuckles softly. “I know. But hey, it feels really good to have sorted us out.”
“Yeah, it– it really has.”
To his surprise, Lauren moves in for a hug, wrapping her arms around his neck as he embraces her around her waist. She holds it for a few moments, trying to express how much she appreciates Zayn.
“You’re really awesome, you know that?”
Raising one eyebrow up at Lauren, Zayn tilts his head with an unamused expression on his face. “Took you this long to figure out, huh?”
“Oh, shut up,” Lauren laughs out, lightly slapping his arm. “You’re just like Camila.”
“Nah. The difference is that you want to kiss Camila.”
Lauren widens her eyes again, her cheeks heating up immediately at the mental images that flash through her mind. “N– no I don’t!” she stutters out embarrassed.
“Yeah you do. But don’t worry about it,” Zayn says with a smirk as he slings his arm around her shoulders and starts walking them to class. “I’ll help you out. Call me your official wingman!”
Because of the thought that Zayn had put in Lauren’s head, she can’t help blushing around Camila for the rest of the school day. He flashes her a smirk when he overhears her stuttering around the girl, but all she can think about is kissing Camila.
~~