#i should pick it up from the library ive been meaning to reread it

[wriochilde]

‼️‼️

IS UR LIBRARY CARD FALLING OUT OF THE BOOK 😭

[how-evergreen]

The Worst Professor/The Best Girlfriend

Summary: Finals are coming up, and you're running yourself down to avoid the proverbial foot aimed right at your ass. Luckily, your best friend and your girlfriend step in just in time.

A/N: this might be my favorite one ive written so far! im thinking of making a part two - would anyone be interested in that? thanks for the request, @themagnificentmx! this was definitely a fun one to write.

Warnings: Cursing, school-related stress, exhaustion, and as is typical of me, lots of fluff.

"You sure you don't need anything before I go?" Sam asked, looking down at you with worried eyes. You shook your head, forcing a smile.

"All set," you said, pushing him lightly. "Go. Have fun with your TA or whoever."

"She's not my TA, she's my tutor," Sam muttered. "And I will. We're going to that Italian place just off campus."

"The good one or the bad one?"

"Good one." Sam grinned. "I'm not an idiot, I know how to treat a lady."

"Sure thing." You rolled your eyes, focusing back on your textbooks. "Go get 'em, Falcon."

You heard Sam snort at the old nickname originating from his drunken leap off the roof of the Alpha Kappa Phi fraternity house. 

"I'll bring you leftovers?" he offered. 

"I'm good." You glanced at Sam, who was looking at you dubiously. "Dude. I'm fine. Go, you're gonna be late for Brittany."

"Samantha."

"Sam and Samantha?"

"Okay, I'm leaving you now."

"Finally." You laughed as Sam flipped you off over his shoulder. "See you in biochem!"

Sam said nothing, only walking out of the library. You allowed yourself a brief moment to watch him go before turning back to your books, shaking your head.

It was probably eight in the evening, and you'd been in the library since six that morning – just as you had been for the past several days. Finals were fast approaching, and your sadistic Stats professor had even assigned a pre-finals test for the next day that would be worth ten percent of your grade. He'd announced it at the previous class two days ago, leaving you hardly any time to study. Fucker.

The stress was definitely weighing down on you as you attempted to read the textbook on the table. Unfortunately, your body was working against you, vision blurring as the words began to swim.

Frustrated, you dropped your head onto the textbook.

"Fuck," you groaned, before picking your head up quickly to make sure you hadn't disturbed anyone. Luckily, there were no students in your immediate vicinity, and the ones you could see seemed to still be focused. 

"Back to it," you whispered, squinting down at the textbook again. This time, the words remained steady, and though you had to reread the same sentence twice in order for your brain to properly process what it said, you managed to keep going.

After another forty-odd years of trying to finish the same page, you saw someone approaching out of your peripheral vision. When you were able to make out who it was, you felt something inside you grow lighter.

Natasha's hair, pulled back into a neat bun, and the leotard visible beneath her unzipped jacket and jeans both indicated that she had come straight from dance class. She smiled at you as she approached, though it slipped a bit as she met your eyes.

"Nat." You grinned up at her, holding your arms out for a hug. "I missed you."

"You too." Nat pursed her lips but leaned down to hug you regardless, kissing your cheek before taking the seat beside you. "Sam texted me."

"Oh. Oh! Shit." You frowned. "Violation of trust."

"He said you've practically been living here for a week." Despite your relationship still being fairly new, you could see that beneath Natasha's irritated exterior was a whole lot of worry. "Something about a Calculus professor from hell?"

"Stats," you corrected absently. "Pre-finals quiz. He told us Monday, and it's happening tomorrow. Worth ten percent of our grade."

"Pre-finals... what?" Nat's eyebrow twitched. "I see what the 'from hell' part meant."

You puffed out an exhausted sigh. "Yeah."

"So you've spent all day every day in here?" Nat asked, gazing over the notebooks and textbooks scattered across the table.

"Well, no. I went to my classes. And to my dorm when the library closed."

"When's the last time you ate?" Nat asked suspiciously.

"Lunch. Sam brought me the grilled cheese from the cafeteria and a bottle of water."

"Oh." Natasha looked faintly surprised. "Good. And you've slept?"

You didn't say anything to that, looking away. 

"Hey." You felt fingers softly grasp your chin, turning your head to face Natasha. She examined you, eyes soft. "When's the last time you slept? And I mean actually slept, not passed out for an hour."

You sighed, glancing away. "Sunday night."

"Jesus," Nat hissed, letting go of your hand to rub your leg soothingly. "How are you even functioning?"

"Autopilot," you said, shrugging and turning back to your textbook. "I'm okay. Just gotta finish this chapter before the library closes."

"Uh, no." A hand dropped onto the pages, blocking your view and forcing you to look at Natasha. "You're not gonna wear yourself down any more than you already have."

"But the test is tomorrow, and I'm still a little shaky on –"

"No more studying," Nat said gently. "At least for a while. What time is your test tomorrow?"

"Three," you muttered.

"And is this the only concept you're still uncertain about?" You could practically see the gears turning in Natasha's head.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Perfect." She closed the textbook softly. "You're going to take the night off. We're gonna go back to my apartment and order Chinese food and watch that show you like, the one with that one guy, and then we're going to get a full night's sleep."

"But –" you protested.

"And then," Nat said over you, "tomorrow morning, I'm gonna make you breakfast, and you're gonna read this chapter with a fresh mind. Then I'm going to quiz you on the stuff you feel least certain about, and then you're gonna go to your Stats class and ace that quiz. And I'm gonna murder your professor. Does that sound good?"

You laughed a little despite yourself. "Yeah. Yeah, that sounds good."

"Good." Natasha kissed your forehead as she stood, collecting your notebook. "Oh, and you should probably tell Sam that you're coming with me. The guy worries."

You grinned, standing up and helping her collect your stuff. "He does. How did I get so lucky to have both the best best friend and the best girlfriend?"

Natasha glanced up at you for a moment before looking away, face going pink. 

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm amazing." She grinned, sliding the notebooks into your backpack and handing it over. "Come on. Let's get you home."

"Yes, ma'am." You saluted her, reveling in her laughter as you walked together into the night.

[ace-angel-judas]

Mend

Pairing: Vernon/Melody ft Chanyeol 

Series: Seventeen 14th Member Au 

Rating: Fluff ft angst ending 

Synopsis: Vernon and Melody mend their fight. 

“I’ve called Eomma, I’ve called Sophia, I’ve called Leo, I have no idea where she could have gone!” Vernon panicked, throwing his hands up in the air, “What if she got kidnapped? Some crazy fan could have stolen her up from the streets and I’ll never see my sister again!” 

“Okay, Calm down,” Seungkwan waved his hands, “You are overreacting about this entire thing,” 

“MY SISTER IS MISSING DO NOT SAY I AM OVERREACTING!” 

“Hansol, this is overreacting just a tiny bit,” 

“Hanae, not right now-” 

Vernon stopped, turning to the dorm door where his sister stood. She had a small bag in her hand, filled with her clothes from the previous day, the clothes she was wearing now where much too big for her small frame. Melody looked completely fine, not a scratch on her body. 

Tears filled his eyes and he rushed to her, pulling the younger twin into a hug. Melody complied, rubbing her brother’s back gently and letting the bag fall to the ground. 

“I’m sorry,” Vernon whispered through tears. 

“I should have had Wonho Oppa call you,” Melody sniffled. 

God damn, he should have checked with Wonho, “It’s okay, you’re home,” 

The two twins pulled away and Melody was greeted with twelve other hugs, including a tearful Dino and relieved looking S.Coups. She didn’t mean to worry people, Melody just needed to be away from the fight. 

S.Coups pointed between the two, “You two both need to go and talk things out, without us,” 

Melody and Vernon both shared a look before nodding and walking to their shared bedroom. Everything was how they had left it, the bunk bed, the twin desk, and decorations in all the right places. Vernon picked up her phone from the desk, handing it to his sister. 

She smiled and grabbed the device, “Thank you,” 

“I didn’t go through it anymore,” Vernon explained, “I was too worried about you,” 

“I’m sorry, Hansol..,” 

A yawn escaped their mouths simultaneously and the twins giggled. 

“I didn’t sleep much last night,” They both spoke and giggled after. 

Vernon was the one to pull them both down onto the bottom bunk, they laid on their sides, face to face. 

“I was really worried, you should probably call Mom and Appa,” Vernon sighed, “And Sophia,” 

“I didn’t mean to make them all worry,” Melody rested her forehead against his, “I just, yesterday was..,” 

“Horrible?” 

“Terrible,” Melody nodded, “We’ve never fought before,” 

The older boy closed his eyes, “It’s better with you here, I feel better somehow,” 

Melody smiled and unlocked her phone, “Me too..,” 

He peaked an eye open and looked at what his sister was doing, “You don’t have to stop talking to him, I mean, you’re basically an adult even though you’re a little bit younger,” 

“No, it’s okay,” Melody’s finger hovered over the block button before clicking it, “Wonho Oppa pointed out something to me and TOP sunbae,” 

“TOP sunbae?!” Veron gasped, “BigBang TOP?” 

The girl giggld, “It’s a little bit of a long story but I’ll tell you,” 

Chanyeol frowned as he checked his phone for what felt like the hundredth time in the last two seconds, it was almst a full day without any replies from Melody. He heard about her being missing, it gave him a sick feeling in his stomach. 

What if she was hurt? Did she get lost somehwere and her phone was out of battery? Melody had said she was going to the library yesterday with a friend but other then that, there had been no replies. Chanyeol typed a messege. 

Puppy: Hey, are you okay? I’m really worried about you, We haven’t gone this long without talking before. Text me when you’re okay, I’m always here for you <3 

You can no longer contact this user. 

Sitting up, Chanyeol stared at the messege, rereading it over and over again. Biting his bottom lip, tears stung his eyes. 

Puppy: Melody? 

You can no longer contact this user. 

The sinking feeling his stomach rose again and Chanyeol threw his phone down. He sniffled as tears rolled down his cheeks, covering his face. 

“What did I do wrong?” 

[waywardnerd67]

The Family Business School: Chap. 1 - Acceptance Letter

Summary: (Y/N) receives a letter that she has been accepted to The Family Business School. Meeting a few of the staff before school starts she gets a taste of how her days may be there as her past is brought up. Characters: Dean Winchester, Bobby Singer, Charlie Bradbury, Garth Fitzgerald IV, Reader Pairing: No pairing Warnings: Fluff/Slight Angst Word Count: 2361 A/N: I hope you all enjoy the letter and supply list pictures in this chapter. I designed them myself and think I did an okay job. As always this is unbeta so all mistakes are mine. Likes, comments and reblogs are splendid and I will love you doubly for them! Enjoy!

(Y/N) stared at her computer screen not believing she was accepted the exclusive school for hunters. She had applied on a whim thinking there was no way they would accept her. Everyone, who wanted to be a hunter knew her story and now she lived alone in a cabin for away from society. If she happened to hear of a case nearby she would anonymously submit a post on the Hunter Forum a social media page for Hunters. (Y/N) reread her letter and supply list one more time making sure it was really meant for her.

She immediately replied back to the school’s general email confirming she would be there on October 11th. Most of the items she already had on the Supply List but a few clothing items she would need to get before going Lebanon, Kansas. She had read all kinds of stories about the Men of Letter’s Bunker that Professors Sam and Dean Winchester inherited from their grandfather being a part of the organization. She could just imagine what it will be like to live there for a few months while training to become a hunter. She closed her laptop and looked over to the picture of on her bookcase. The only picture she had of her parents was taken a little over a year ago. Now they were both dead and (Y/N) was alone.

“I promise, I will make you proud. I will not follow in the footsteps of my father.” She whispered getting up and heading into her bed room for the night.

The next several of months she worked as much as she could to put in her savings for when she would leave for Kansas. She was taking an extended leave of absence from her book editing job in order to go to school. She was assured that her position would still be there once she came back. A few days before she was set to leave, someone came knocking on her door. (Y/N) grabbed her shotgun and cautiously looked through the peep hole seeing a scrawny man standing on her porch.

“What do you want?” She called out through the door.

The man chuckled, “Bobby said you might be a little jumpy. I’m Garth Fitzgerald IV and Bobby Singer sent me to help you get whatever you may need for school.”

(Y/N) opened her door peeking around it as he smiled and waved at her. “Hi there, I promise I’m not here to hurt you. You can put the shotgun away.”

She opened the door wide enough for him to come in and set her gun back in its place by the door. “Why did the Head Hunter send someone to escort me to school?” She asked.

“Well, probably given your history there will be a little drama on your first day. As much as he comes off as a mean old grump he truly cares about every student coming and leaving the school.” Garth flopped onto her couch.

“Professor, would you like something to drink?” She asked as she walked into her small kitchen.

She heard him chuckle, “Some water would be great, thank you. By the way, I’m not a Professor at the school. I’m the Curator for the building and surrounding area. I also help out Bobby whenever he needs me.”

She handed him a bottle of water and sat down in her oversized chair, “Oh. Okay then.” She wanted to ask more about the school, the professors and the classes. She thought it was best she kept her mouth shut and found out for herself in a few days.

“Are there any items you still need to get?” he asked as his phone started buzzing, “Sorry, give me just one second.”

He got up walking to the other side of her cabin answering his phone, “Hey Dean. What’s going on?”

The mention of Dean Winchester’s name made her heart race. Anyone who knew about the supernatural knew Sam and Dean Winchester. They were legendary hunters having saved the world time and time again. Like a lot of female hunters, (Y/N) found Dean incredibly attractive. He was known for being a love ‘em and leave ‘em but any woman who had been with him said the one night was worth it. Garth’s raspy voice brought her out of her thoughts.

“Yes, I’m at (Y/N)’s now.” He paused for a moment listening. “Okay. Will do Dean.” He hung up the phone turning around to face her. “You should go ahead and pack so we can hit the road.”

(Y/N) got up nodding silently as she went into her room and grabbed the bags she had packed weeks ago. Garth laughed as he opened the door and took one her bags from her.

Shopping with Garth was a lot of fun. (Y/N) had almost forgot what it was like to hang out with a friend. She picked out a couple of pant suits and a comfortable pair of knee high boots. Then Garth took her to an army supply shop for a few of the other clothing items she needed. Their last stop was to a bookstore so she could pick up ‘The Big Book of Urban Legends’ and a journal. Garth had a handful of comics when he found her looking through the journals.

“Can’t decide?” he asked as he flipped open one of his comics.

(Y/N) shook her head looking at all of them. Some were snap closures, no closures, leather, hardback, but none of them stood out to her. Then she saw it. Olive green softbound leather and tie closure called her. She picked it up running her fingers over it and knowing that journal was meant to be hers.

Garth clicked his tongue, “I would get a brown or black one. That way it never draws attention if someone should see it who’s not supposed to.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right, but I never completely play by the rules. This journal is meant to be mine.” She said smiling up at him.

He laughed clapping a hand down on her back, “I like your spunk. Though you know Dean will give you all kinds of trouble for that bright green journal.”

She shrugged, “Let him, I’ve been given trouble by far worse people.” Garth nodded as he grabbed the journal and book out of her hands.

“This is on me. A welcome to our school present.” He said as they walked up to the counter to pay.

Once on the road, Garth started blaring ridiculous 80’s R&B and rap music singing to the top of his lungs. She slipped her earbuds in and her favorite playlist soothed her onslaught of nerves flipping her insides around. The next thing she knew Garth was shaking her awake.

“(Y/N), welcome to The Family Business School of Saving People and Hunting Things.” He said proudly as he pulled into an underground garage.

As he parked his car she immediately saw the famous 1967 Chevy Impala. Her mouth slacked opened slightly seeing just how beautiful it was in person. Garth helped carry her bags through corridors that lead into a large library. “Ho-ly crap.” She whispered.

Garth chuckled, “I know it’s pretty amazing in here. Now you wait here while I go see what room Charlie has assigned you.” He walked off down another corridor.

(Y/N) started looking at the books in the library seeing some titles she had never heard before. She was so focused on the books in front of her that she did not hear the footsteps approaching her. She felt the end of a gun pressed against her back and her head shot up.

“Who are you and what are you doing here?” said a deep husky voice.

Her first instinct was to disarm him like she had seen online but opted for talking. “I’m a new student here. My name is (Y/N) and Garth just brought me here.”

She felt the gun lower off her back and she turned around slowly. Looking up she was met with the incredibly olive eyes of Dean Winchester who was pursing his lips together in disapproval. Garth and a bouncy red-head with a funny t-shirt on coming running up.

“Whoa, Dean! She’s a student.” Garth called out as Dean turned his attention to him.

“What is she doing here early? She almost got herself shot.” He said placing his gun at the small of his back.

“Dean, I told Garth to go get her. Now, could you refrain from shooting her until this new class of cadets starts.” They all turned to see Bobby Singer standing there.

Dean sighed, “Sorry Bobby, but she was just standing there alone. I thought someone had broken in.”

“That’s my fault since Garth had to come get me. Also,” Charlies stopped and hit Dean in the shoulder, “how dare you doubt my security system.”

Dean rubbed his arm as Bobby approached (Y/N), “I’m Bobby Singer and I’m in charge of all these idjits. It is nice to finally meet you, (Y/N) (Y/L/N).”

She shook his hand as Dean’s head snapped up, “Wait, you’re...” she nodded as he looked up to Bobby with a confused look. “I thought we decided not –”

Bobby held up his hand to Dean, “We can discuss this later. For now, Charlie please show (Y/N) to her room so she can get settled in. You will have a roommate once the other cadets arrive. Welcome to our school.” Bobby smiled warmly at her and then motioned for Dean to follow him.

Charlie hooked her arm with (Y/N)’s smiling brightly, “Well come on, let me give you the tour.” She said.

Garth and Charlie both showed her around the Men of Letters Bunker. She made notes in her small notebook of where the kitchen, bathroom/shower rooms and the stairs leading to the garage. Just down the hall from the kitchen Charlie opened door 24 and revealed a bedroom with two twin size beds, two desks and two small dressers.

“Here is your room. Take your time settling in and one of us will come get you when dinner is ready. No matter what grumpy Dean says please feel free to roam around. Do you have your laptop or tablet?” Charlie asked as Garth set her bags down on one of the beds.

(Y/N) nodded handing her both, “Oh, nice choices. I love my Surface Pro. I’m just going to put some software on these and get them back to you asap.” Charlie turned to leave and immediately turned back around. “Oh, and here, this is your new cellphone. See you later.”

(Y/N) setup her new iPhone and downloaded a few apps to get started with. She turned on her Spotify playlist and began unpacking her things. She was almost done, when she heard voices just down the hall from her room.

“Bobby, how do we know she won’t go evil on us?” she heard Dean said his voice full of concern.

Bobby grunted, “For the last time Dean, I decided to take a chance on her. Jack has turned out to be one of the best hunters we have. I think (Y/N) will follow in his footsteps.”

Dean sighed heavily, “Jack had Kelly and Castiel to guide him before he was born. Then he had Sam and eventually me after a while. Has this check had any support what-so-ever? No, she hasn’t. What she has is a murky past with Lucifer. Which brings up another point, don’t you think she is going to have trouble being around the guy who killed her father?”

(Y/N) had heard enough and walked out into the hallway, “If I did have a problem with you then you wouldn’t have kept that pretty gun of yours when you had it against my back. You know nothing about me or my life after Lucifer. All you know is some hunters’ tales that have been blown out of proportion over the years driving me into seclusion. Before you judge and make assumptions about me why don’t get check your facts! I hear your brother Sam is the best Lore and Research teacher in the country why don’t you sit in on his class and take a few pointers.”

Bobby was smiling from ear to ear as Dean looked at her dumbfounded. She turned to go back into her room and as she was shutting her door she heard Bobby said to Dean, “I like her. I think she will fit in here just fine.”

(Y/N) spent the next couple of days avoiding Dean at all possible cost and staying in her room. Garth and Charlie would stop by to check in on her. Charlie would come by to binge watch superhero shows with her and Garth had brought her a few lore books from his personal collection for her to read. She found out that Sam Winchester no longer lived in the Bunker but just a few miles away with his wife, Eileen, who was a bit legendary herself as a hunter. She had hoped to meet him before him before school since she admired him a lot. Lore and research was (Y/N)’s niche and the whole reason she wanted to come to The Family Business School was to learn everything she could in order to write lore books to help Hunters all over the country.

The morning the other students were arriving Charlie had come to get her so she could be outside when they all arrived. Her stomach tightened at the thought of being around so many people. She kept reminding herself that this was her chance to show people she was not her father. She was nothing like Lucifer. Garth pulled up in to the front entrance of the Bunker in a small bus with ten people on it. (Y/N) watched as the all filed out of the bus and stood in front of all the experienced hunters who would be teaching them.

Dean stepped forward to speak, but before he could a man slightly older than (Y/N) pointed to her, “What the hell is the daughter of the devil doing here?”

So, originally I was going to make this into a one shot but as I was writing this first part I realized there is just too much greatness for a one shot. I decided to make it a four part series. I hope you all enjoyed the first part :)

My Nerd Herd: @waywardbaby @waywardrose13 @carryonmywaywardcaptain @anotherwaywardsister @ladywinchester1967 @dwgrl1903 @akshi8278 @ericaprice2008 @mirandaaustin93 @spnbaby-67 @time-travel-bouqet @1967-essentialghoul @weirdoblogger69 @dean-winchesters-bacon @jensenyourdeanisshowing @destielhoneybee @-lovepeacenhope- @destiel745 @carribear31

[akaiaowl-tales]

Reality in Motion Ch3 (Mileven - Modern College AU)

Chapter 3: Something just like this

Monday 4th, December 2017

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The pencil was repeatedly hitting the table. It was rather annoying.

“Could you stop that?” a girl asked dryly.

Trying to focus on the book she was currently reading, El was completely oblivious to the girl’s question and continued tapping the pencil on the wooden library table. She’d already reread that paragraph several times, and yet she couldn’t seem to come up with a coherent sentence to summarize it.

It was very difficult to concentrate on books and notes when her thoughts kept stubbornly wandering off from academics and reminding her of something she still was too embarrassed to allow herself to think about. She felt her cheeks starting to warm and, for what felt like the thousandth time that day, chastised herself for her own stupidity. She needed to stop thinking about Mike Wheeler.

“Ohmygod, are you freaking deaf?” the girl tapped her shoulder.

Startled by the sudden touch that wrenched her away from her restless mind, El almost jumped off from her chair and barely managed to stifle a shriek. El looked at the annoyed redhead girl with huge, clueless brown eyes.

The girl’s angry face fell, probably feeling guilty because of her aggressiveness.

“Just stop the noise, ok? The table is not a drum set,” the girl said with an almost guilty tone of voice, looking away quickly.

--….--…--…---

El had finally finished the chapter summary notes. Feeling quite accomplished and hungry after spending most of her afternoon studying, she stretched her cramped limbs and gathered her stuff.

The girl who had startled her was still there, sitting next to her and frowning, nose-deep in a bulky book. El wondered whether she should apologize or something. Truth was, most of the times, she felt completely clueless about how to act in certain social situations and this was no exception.

Just as she stood up to leave, the girl looked up at her.

“Hey, I’m so sorry about how rude I was earlier, but you and your drumming skills were annoying the heck outta me and I’m having trouble as it is with the stupid reading material”, she said, speaking really quickly.

“Anyway, I would hate to finish my first semester here making an enemy,” she continued, grimacing wryly at that.

“I get it. I also have trouble concentrating,” El answered cautiously, feeling very nervous. She tried to avoid looking at the girl’s piercing blue eyes.

“So, are you leaving already? To have dinner?” she asked, while saving her books in her maroon backpack.

Just when El opened her mouth to reply, the girl stood up too.

“Mind if I tag along,” somehow she managed to avoid phrasing it as a question.

This is going to be so awkward.

Having no other option after that, Eleven nodded and followed the feisty girl down the silent hall.

They both got out from the library together and walked towards the cafeteria. The girl – who introduced herself as Max Mayfield – immediately started complaining about her Government and Politics class (“I hate watching the news! I get bored listening to candidate speeches! WHY did I even chose this class to waste my extra credits in? ... I guess it’ll remain one of life’s biggest mysteries”).

Apparently, the redhead girl was kinesthetically intelligent – which explained her mechanical engineering major –, and that made the whole situation a lot more unexplainable and bizarre. Max was obviously one of those very fun, active, and talkative persons. It didn’t cease to amuse her how the redhead could quickly jump from one topic of conversation to another tirelessly. Much to her surprise, El found herself laughing along with her witty remarks and actually finding her really likable.

She was quite entertained by Max’s sarcastic humor and loud personality. Also, the redhead seemed unfazed by Eleven’s shyness and overall quietness, which was unexpected and really nice.

Listening to someone else’s problems helped her take her mind off what had happened that weekend and stopped her from paying attention to the cruel voice of her insecurities. As opposed to what she had been first expecting, El found the whole situation made her feel rather perky and comfortable.

“By the way, I’ve seen you before?” Max asked.

“I don’t thi-”

She interrupted her midsentence, and it suddenly dawned on El that Max was a big fan of rhetoric questions.

“Of course! You were that girl at Steve’s party!”

“That girl?” El asked, unsure about whether she should be offended or not.

“Yeah, the one with the rad dance moves.”

She blushed and couldn’t help smiling at that, remembering her sore feet and legs the morning after the party. Tentatively, she finally allowed herself to think about what she had been avoiding for almost three days now.

It really was an awesome night…

“Do you know Lucas Sinclair?” Max suddenly asked. “Wait. Why are you blushing? Do you like Lucas?”

El snapped back to reality.

“Wh-What? Will’s friend Lucas? Lucas the tall, serious guy?”

Max only stared at her with her mouth slightly agape.

“I don’t like him, I barely know him!” El answered a bit too fast, it really was the most stupid question in the world.

Max, however, still sported a suspicious expression.

If she only knew.

“Why? Do you like him, Max?”

Now it was Max’s turn to blush.

“Oh, shut up,” she said looking away, “I haven’t finally made a friend I actually find interesting so that we sit here gossiping about boys like it’s fucking high school”.

El couldn’t agree more.

--….--…--…---

Thursday 7th, December 2017

*3 missed calls from MY FAVORITE PERSON IN THE WORLD*

9:03 am WHY DON’T U PICK UP THE PHONE??????????????

*1 missed call from MY FAVORITE PERSON IN THE WORLD*

11:47 am U WORRY ME

*2 missed calls from MY FAVORITE PERSON IN THE WORLD*

She knew she couldn’t avoid him anymore.

Even though she had been successful until then – having Max as a friend had come in quite handy –, Will and her had class together on Thursday afternoons. History 102 was the class Will took as an elective just to be with her. The only way to avoid her best friend was skipping class. And El Ives never cut class. It had been hard enough getting into college with a scholarship to feel careless enough to do something like that.

Worst thing was, she wasn’t even sure why she felt so mortified about the possibility of Will saying or asking something about the party. It wasn’t like she was hiding something. Nothing major had really happened. Had it?

An innocent kiss goodbye on the cheek means nothing.

But there was nothing innocent about the weird way she felt when she remembered the feel of his big, warm palm steadying her. The cute way his dark wavy hair fell on his face, almost covering his eyes. The funny tilt of his head when he was listening to something that interested him.

Cut it out El. You’re making this a much bigger deal than it is like you always do. Heck! THERE IS NOT EVEN A “DEAL” TO TALK ABOUT.

It hurt her to listen to the ruthless voice in her head, but, as much as she hated to admit it, El knew it was probably right.

It had happened countless times before. Well, actually two. Two times in which El found herself feeling funny and giddy and hopeful about someone, only to be disappointed. It always ended that way. She was destined to be alone and it was probably for the best.

It’s probably because of all that rom-com trash you watch all the time.

She felt so guilty. Guilty about her stupid feelings, about her stupid thoughts, about her stupid hope, about her stupid attitude, about her stupid irrational fear for something that wasn’t even happening.

Worst of all, she knew her internal crisis was really no reason to be such a shitty friend to Will. He was the one who had always, always been there for her and now she was hiding things from him?

She was such a mess.

“Ellie? You ok?” Max asked with concern, looking at her expectantly.

This was the first time she ever called her ‘Ellie’.

Max had been so relieved to find a girl she actually found likable – most of the students in her classes were boys and she had gotten tired of only having male friends – and El was just as happy to have someone as nice, understanding, and extroverted as Max being her friend – also, apparently, she’d needed Max in her life to “coach her on stupid girly things that are totally dumbass but, sadly, necessary to survive in this society”.

Noticing Max’s concern, El was successfully distracted away from her restless thoughts and looked up from her phone to face her new friend’s scrutinizing gaze. She was all too aware of the guilt written all over her face.

“Yeah, it’s just Will”, she replied to Max’s question (for once without being interrupted!), biting her lip.

Max looked thoughtful. Despite their short friendship, the girls spent most of their free time together and knew a lot about each other so far. Max had even introduced Eleven to some of her closest friends. Of course, later, when El had mentioned her high school best friend and his friends, Max was very excited to meet them too (Eleven suspected it had something to do with her friend’s vehemently denied fondness of Lucas Sinclair). Therefore, El had to confess to Max that she was actively avoiding Will.

“Alright”, she said crossing her arms, “I think it’s finally time for you to spill the beans about why you are avoiding him.”

El looked away, trying to focus on anything other than Max’s stern face. She knew her friend only intended for the best, but she was way too embarrassed to tell her about her childish crush on Mike Wheeler.

“I think it’s not healthy, El”, Max continued, “The poor guy is probably worried sick”.

“I know! Ok?! This whole situation is affecting me so much too”, El finally confessed, letting all of her anxiety pour into her words.

Her hand trembling as she adjusted her shoulder-length wavy hair behind her ear.

“I’m so freaking worried I’ll lose my best friend over a stupid crush of all things. And everything, because I cannot stop thinking about what will happen the next time Will asks me to hang out with them”, El finally gushed out, completely unable to stop herself from revealing the reason behind her distress.

“WHOAH”, Max’s shocked blue eyes were wide as saucers, “HOLD. THE HELL. ON.”

El tried to mentally prepare herself for the upcoming inevitable onslaught of questions.

“So you do like Lucas?”

W H A T.

El let out a giggle and then started full on laughing unstoppably at her friend’s confused expression. She couldn’t breathe.

What the hell?

Her stomach was contracting painfully at her effort to stop laughing.

“No”, she finally admitted after her laugh subsided enough for her to talk.

“I have a crush on Mike Wheeler”.

--….--…--…---

“Hey! What’s going on with you?” asked Will, plopping down on the chair beside her, “I almost thought you were dead”.

Too nervous to stay still, she’d come super early to the History class she had with Will.

She had spent almost all lunch time telling Max about what happened at the party. However, contrary to what Eleven had expected, Max had insisted that it seemed obvious to her that Mike Wheeler was as interested as El was.

She also stressed that she thought El’s crush on him was not stupid. Nonetheless, El could not help feeling scared of the gush of hope she felt at her friend’s encouraging words. Hope was never good.

Plus, the possibility of something actually happening made everything a little bit harder. It made El’s mind wander off into cheesy fantasies she never had allowed herself to have before. It made the fluttering in her stomach a whole lot worse. It made her feel nervous and jittery and girly. And it scared her because it was new.

It made Eleven feel a lot unlike her usually phlegmatic self.

She turned to look at her best friend and couldn’t help the guilty blush from spreading on her cheeks.

“I made a friend – well actually she made me her friend…” said El, smiling at the memory of her new lively friend, “and, well, I’ve been spending a lot of time with her”.                                                

Will seemed shocked at that and then smiled.

“I’m happy for you, El, but why were you ignoring my texts and calls for days?” he asked, looking hurt.

He knew she would never, ever, replace him.

“El, you can tell me anything at all, you know that”, he said, “did anything at all happen at that party? Are you mad at me for dragging you there and then leaving you all alone? I’m so sorry!” he babbled, looking almost on the verge of tears.

The few students in the class were starting to stare at them.

She sort of panicked. Why was she such a terrible friend? Will had been worried about her, probably thinking the worst and here she was, avoiding him for such a stupid reason. She hated herself.

“Will no, I’m NOT mad at you… everything at the party was great”, El said truthfully and Will seemed confused.

“It was the best night of my life, I will forever remember it as my ultimate college experience, I am forever indebted to you for it”, she continued, trying to make her best friend laugh at her weak-ass attempt at replicating Max’s sarcastic humor.

Will’s smile was more of a grimace.

“Are you sure about that?”

“You know I would tell you if something was wrong”, El said, “Friends don’t lie”.

Everything seemed back to normal after that. They caught up with everything that had been going on those last few days. Will told El about his terrible hangover after the party and how “stupid Mike got us derailed for some reason and we finally got to the dorm at, like, 6 am” (El discreetly blushed at that, trying to hide a smile). El told Will about meeting Max and how, interestingly enough, she seemed to know Lucas (though she skipped the part in which she suspected about Max’s secret crush).

“Oh, so SHE was the cute redhead he was talking to all night?” Will said, realization dawning in on him, “I remember her! Her name seemed so familiar… BECAUSE SHE’S IN OUR APPLIED PHYSICS CLASS!”

Will looked as happy as the day Joyce got him all the vintage X-Men figurines for his birthday.

This was such big gossip material.

“I can’t believe it! And now you’re her friend!? We gotta get those two together! We gotta hang out sometime, we have to-”

El was giggling at Will’s enthusiasm, but they had to cut their conversation short because the professor arrived at that very moment.

At the second hour of the class, El was suddenly distracted by her phone vibrating in her bag. She carefully took it out and saw a text from Will.

5:14 pm Still not off the hook! u owe me an explanation about why u were acting so weird.

El sighed, she had been hoping that Will would forget about that tiny detail. She typed a short answer, wondering what in the world she would tell her best friend.

5:14 pm OK.

5:15 pm After class

--….--…--…---

The class ended faster than El expected. She actually found the topic they were currently going over quite interesting, which pushed all other thoughts away from her mind. Including thoughts about how to evade Will’s questions.

I’ll just go for the truth… if he asks, sure it’s embarrassing but I cannot lie to my best friend.

The thing that worried her the most though was Will’s reaction to the news. Would he play matchmaker (like he was currently planning to do with Max and Lucas)? Would he tell her something she would not want to hear (like maybe that she was getting her hopes up for nothing)? Would he be mad and hurt because she had kept it all from him? Would he be weirded out?

Will and El were among the last students to leave the class.

“So… What’s up? Please don’t tell me that I did something while I was drunk and embarrassed you or something”, Will said, looking horrified at the prospect.

Eleven had never seen Will drunk. At high school they had been the quiet losers that never went to parties, but she knew he had gone to a few ragers at college with his new friends. She wondered what kind of drunk her nice, quiet best friend was.

“No, I uh… actually don’t remember seeing you after you left me dancing”, she said.

“You’re too much of a pro to keep up with”, he joked.

“Hey! Max and I bonded over my amazing dance moves!”

He laughed at that.

“I like her already”, Will added.

El knew she had to say something, tell her best friend everything.

She didn’t know where to start.                              

“I was just worried about what you would think about me aft-”, she began apologetically before Will interrupted her.

“El, I would never judge you for being a drunk dancer, you know that”, he said sympathetically, completely missing the point.

“Plus, I’ve done things way more embarrassing than dancing”, he continued.

Will went ahead and told her about something that happened at the party.

“…and the last thing I remember is being found by Mike and then dragging myself into the car”, he told her, “and you were asleep on the copilot’s seat”.

El tried not to look too guilty.

“Yeah, I guess I was pretty tired after dancing my feet off”, she said.

“Who knew you secretly take cardio dancing lessons”, Will chuckled.

She punched his arm softly.

“So, how did you finally get to the car?” Will wondered.              

“Well, I found Mike outside while trying to get some air and we just talked a bit”, she said, hesitating to expand on her answer.

Will’s curiosity, however, seemed placated without her having to elaborate on the great time she had.

El couldn’t hide her relief at getting off the hook so easily.

It wasn’t like she had actively lied to Will, or hid anything from him. She’d just gone along with the conversation… which happened to skip through the very embarrassing topic she wasn’t yet willing to discuss with her best friend.

“Yeah, he said the same”.

El was dying to ask if Mike had said something else about it, or about her.

They walked around campus in silence for a while. Both deep in thought.

“Is it OK if all of us hang on Saturday?” Will asked, taking out his phone.

“Uh… I guess, I know Max is free and we were going to hang out together anyway”.

El was secretly hoping to see Mike again.

Which was childish and stupid. But, hey, Max had said her crush was okay and her opinion counted. Didn’t it? She was supposed to know much more about life and guys and relationships than she did.

“Cool, tell her we’re having lunch together”

--….--…--…---

Saturday 9th, December 2017

Lucas’ facial expression was priceless.

Will, Mike and Dustin shared a knowing look when they saw El and Max coming out of their dorm building. The four guys were sitting on a bench not too far from it.

Ever since Will had told them about their Saturday plans, they’d tried for about two days to stop themselves from bullying Lucas too much about his evident and quite cute crush on Max. However, they all knew this outing was mostly for his benefit (and because Will wanted to prove his matchmaking skills) and their resolve finally broke that morning, resulting in at least two hours of merciless teasing.

Which had resulted in reducing the usually grounded and confident Lucas into a blabbering, nervous mess.

He must really like her, Mike thought with a smile.

“Just try not to make your ‘Lucas aka Chocolate Daddy’ impression until, at least, the fifth date and you’ll probably do fine”, Mike teased loudly, trying to emulate his friend’s ridiculous voice (and failing miserably).

Dustin broke out in a laughing fit and Will smiled widely at the comment. Truth was, Mike had been feeling nervous himself about going out with the two girls and had tried to hide his anxiousness by being especially annoying to Lucas.

The girls finally reached them. They all greeted each other a little awkwardly and tried discussing what to get for lunch. Mike, however, was otherwise preoccupied (definitely not watching a certain brunette girl) and couldn’t help noticing that El blushed whenever their eyes met. It was cute.

His reaction to her was probably the same one, he realized bashfully.

From his conversations with Will so far, he had gathered that, like himself, she had also dodged Will’s questions and had not been completely honest about what happened last Saturday. He wondered why the both of them were so reluctant to admit to their friends what had happened the night of the party. It wasn’t as if something huge or terribly life changing had happened. Right?

He needed to talk to her about it, but was worried about making everything an even bigger deal. When it wasn’t. It clearly wasn’t.

After a while, everyone finally agreed to go to Taco Bell.

“Mike, didn’t you offer to drive?” Dustin asked innocently.

He hadn’t offered, but knew this was probably planned. This, especially considering that the only ones in their group with a car of their own were Lucas and himself. And there was no way in hell the guys were letting Lucas drive when they could force him to interact with his crush instead. Right in front of their prying eyes.

“I did, didn’t I?” Mike answered thoughtfully, “and we all know how serious I am about keeping my promises.”

Lucas threw a murderous look in his direction, knowing all too well what his friends were up to. Mike pretended not to notice.

Will and Dustin made sure that Lucas sat right next to Max in the back seat of the car, sandwiched between them and their giddy glances. Since there was almost no room, Max was almost sitting on Lucas’ lap, which made the whole situation even more awkward and all the more entertaining for Will and Dustin.

By that moment, Lucas was a permanent stuttering wreck and Max’s cheeks had gradually blushed to the point her face was now almost the same shade of red her hair was.

Needless to say, the guys’ antics were pretty evident by then.

“Next time we all go out, I’m driving too,” Lucas said grumpily.

El nervously got into the front seat, trying not to think about just how different this situation was from the one last week. She sat and looked at Mike, who was starting the car. She smiled as an unruly strand of wavy black hair fell onto his face, and suddenly found herself avoiding the sudden impulse to bush it away from his eyes.

Since they were effectively cut out from whatever was happening at the back seat, Mike and El began a casual chat, telling each other about their classes and majors. It turned out that El was a psychology major and Mike a physics major, which probably should mean their interests were very different. However, on that short ride they found out they had quite a few common interests besides their weird love for breakfast – like their preference for indie music, the fact that both of them were night owls, their mutual fondness for film-watching, and an (unhealthy) obsession with all things Harry Potter related.

It was no surprise to either of them to realize that they liked each other’s company the more time they spent together.

--….--…--…---

Lunch had been memorable.

The guys finally got to meet boisterous Max and immediately liked her loud personality and sarcastic humor. The atmosphere had relaxed a lot by that point and even quiet El felt comfortable enough to actively intervene in the conversation – which was currently focusing on a passionate discussion about whether the Harry Potter movies were good enough and lived up to the books.

“Of course the movies can’t even be compared to the books but they are still good!” Will exclaimed in frustration.

“I mean, as much as I love Emma Watson, I will never get over the frustration of the ‘HARRY DID YOU PUT YOUR NAME IN THE GOBLET OF FIRE’ scene,” Dustin interjected stubbornly.

“THANK YOU FOR THAT, THOSE ARE MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY,” El said loudly, suppressing the impulse to hug the stocky guy.

“That was SO out of character,” Lucas agreed.

“Oh, just shut up about this already. Everyone knows the problem with Harry Potter was totally the cast”, Max chimed in, “I never read the books, but it was obvious that those actors were getting too old for their roles anyway.”

The guys and El all turned to her with matching outraged expressions.

“I swear I didn’t know about this side of her when I befriended her,” Eleven said.

“What? It’s only the truth,” Max said shrugging.

“I need to forget you just said that”, Lucas said horrified, looking at Max as if she had just grown another head.

“Guys, what about going to the movies?” asked Will, desperately trying to salvage the situation.

They agreed and ended up getting tickets for an afternoon show.

Halfway through the comedy movie they had ended up watching, Mike (who had totally NOT been watching El from the corner of his eye) saw Eleven get up from her seat and leave. His heart almost jumped from his chest. This was it. The opportunity he had been looking for all afternoon.

“I’m gonna get more popcorn,” Mike said distractedly to Dustin, who was sitting next to him, as he got up.

His friend only managed a dismissive movement with his hand before exploding with laughter over something that had happened on the screen.

Mike almost tripped in his eagerness to get out of the place. He stood at the door of the room, waiting for El. He hoped he didn’t come off as a stalker.

Finally, she appeared at the end of the hall, just getting out of the bathroom. Almost as if she could sense his gaze, she lifted her head. She seemed surprised to see him.

“Mike? What are you doing here?”

READ MORE AT: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12840366/chapters/29318523

[5hfanfiction]

coming out (six) ⇾ camren

Authors Note: HI GUYS! I’m really sorry for being so shitty in keeping up with this book, a lot has been happening lately. My fiancée’s father died about two weeks after New Years and she’s been really torn about that because we are still arranging dates for our wedding and she was really excited for him to walk her down the aisle and be the first daughter of his to get married but everything happened so fast.

He had a seizure at dinner, ambulance and everything came, it was very sudden. Basically at the hospital they tell us that he has a basically inoperable brain tumor which none of us knew of. He’s been complaining about sharp pains and headaches for basically all of 2016 and we’ve all been urging him to go and have it checked out but he hates hospital more than anything and absolutely refused. The tumor was intact cancerous. He was placed in the hospital overnight for many nights and it basically got worse and worse each day. He had a series of seizures the night he died.

I’ve taken a break from writing to be there not only for my fiancée and her family, but for myself as well. Her dad was pretty much my dad in my eyes. If you haven’t already known, I’ve been in and out foster care systems for a big portion of my life because both parents had died due to drug addiction. I was in fact adopted later on in my life and I have the worlds best adoptive parents who are pretty much my own parents even if we don’t have the same blood but her father was there for me when my adoptive father wasn’t. He travels a lot and was gone for so much that i pretty much only had my adoptive mother to rely on as a parent figure until I met my fiancée and her dad. So when he died, it took a toll on me as well.

I focused mainly on reading and kind of chose to forget writing for a little while. This week my fiancée is in Canada going over funeral arrangements with her mother and other extended family and I’m home alone basically so I’ve found some spare time and decided to start this series up again considering it doesn’t have many chapters left since it is a short series. Its basically a one shot with many parts so I decided to give it a go again.

I’m really sorry though for being so M.I.A. I promise to update as much as I can, as I said before I’m ready to start some new fanfics and I can’t wait to share those with you.

I’m not usually one to share all my personal problems for fear of coming off attention seeking but you know what, fuck it. I kind of feel like you guys deserve an explanation. I’ve gotten many dms asking me to continue so here I am.

Also, TODAY IS MY 20TH BIRTHDAY! Its also the one year anniversary of me asking my fiancée to be my fiancée lmao. Hopefully we can get married for real though this fall when everything simmers down. But wow, I am no longer in my teens. I’m an adult dammit. Lmfao.

Anyways, enjoy this chapter and thank you for those of you who didn’t remove this story from your library.

Camila|

Watching Lauren walk away from her was almost harder than feeling herself walk away from Lauren. Her chest felt tight as her eyes sprang with tears. If only she’d let me explain…

Sighing softly to herself, she retreated back to find Lola as her attempt to slowly begin to mend things with her former band mate had failed miserably.

Coming to a stop in front of her girlfriend, Camila sighed. Her head throbbed the minute the girl had opened her mouth, “Why’d you chase after her?” Lola asked immediately.

“I just wanted to see how she was doing Lo-” she cut herself off. Lo was Lauren’s nickname. “Lola.”

The hazel eyed girl huffed as she pouted her lips slightly, “You don’t still have that stupid… Camren thing with her, right?” She asked. “I mean, I’m not really sure why that was even a thing. You’re way out of her league. She’s like a negative two hundred on the scale,” she scoffed.

Camila ground her teeth together as she looked down. Lola really knew how to piss someone off. “Lets go home,” she mumbled. She didn’t have time to deal with her shit.

Lauren|

Its been two days since she last ran into Camila. Its been two days since she was reminded of all that went wrong in her life. Seeing the successful singer made Lauren’s blood boil but heart throb all at once. She didn’t understand anything her body was telling her. All that was the least bit comprehendible was that Camila was bad news and Lauren stayed away from bad news no matter what.

She sighed softly to herself as she stood from her and Lucy’s bed. Lucy had gone off for coffee with an old friend Lauren didn’t know of until about a week ago but she didn’t question it. Lucy wasn’t obligated to share everything with her.

She has the day off and wasn’t really sure what to do with it. Normally she’d be spending it with Lucy but that was clearly out of the picture.

She stretched, hearing her back pop with several satisfying cracks before making her way up to her dresser to check her phone. She had the usual several too many text messages from friends but the unknown number caught her eye. She raised an eyebrow as she read the message. It was a simple “hey” to which she replied with a “Who is this” she grabbed her phone as she made her way into the kitchen, reading over the rest of her messages and replying to a few every now and then, being sure not to open the ones she didn’t want to reply to.

The moment she entered the kitchen, her phone vibrated in her hand. The unknown number. Her stomach dropped at the next words, “it’s Camila” she thought she may have misread as she blinked a few times. Seconds later, the bubble with three dots appeared indicating her former bandmate was typing.

C: dinah gave me this number

L: What the hell do you want Camila

Her blood boiled and heart pounded as Camila began typing. Didn’t she get the memo the last time they ran into each other? She wants nothing to do with her! She tapped her fingernails impatiently on the kitchen counter as she waited for the next message. Her anxiety was going through the roof. What was she writing? A college essay?

C: i dont want to fight with you lauren. I just want to explain. ive explained to everyone but you. please just give me the chance to tell you things my way and if it still isn’t enough, i’ll leave you alone forever. i promise.

Lauren reread the message over and over, her eyes burning from never blinking. This couldn’t be real. A small chuckle of annoyance fell from her lips as she began typing out her simple reply.

L: You can shove your explanation up your ass.

Her heart twitched as she hit send. She ignored the guilt from her sudden outburst of harshness and forced herself to prepare for anything Camila threw at her when the three dots in a bubble popped back up. What she read next shocked her. She expected old Camila. She expected Camila to be a bitch back at her. But she wasn’t.

C: okay. but if you happen to change your mind, i’ll be doing a little fundraiser for women’s right and lgbt rights in Miami Beach from 10am-6pm. ive invited the girls. mani, dinah and ally will be there. i heard you were with lucy, feel free to invite her as well. im really sorry for everything lo and i hope you can forgive me someday. have a good rest of the day.

Camila|

She willed the tears to go away as she hit send and threw her phone across the table. She never knew why even the thought of Lauren brought so much emotion into her. She could feel her ex bandmate’s eyes on her. It was silent for awhile before Dinah reached across from her to pick up the disregarded phone. Camila sat in silence as she read over the short conversation.

“She’ll come,” she finally said.

Camila looked up, a long sigh escaping her lips as she struggled to compose herself. “I doubt it,” she mumbled quietly.

Dinah shook her head, “She’ll come. Deep down, under all that hate and hurt, she still cares Mila. I promise,” the blonde haired girl sent her best friend a small smile.

Camila nodded, her face contorting into weird different expressions as she tried not to cry. She’s been doing that a lot lately and she wasn’t up for ruining her makeup the fourth time that week.

“So how are things with Lola?” Dinah asked.

Camila laughed, shaking her head. She didn’t even know what to say as she rolled her eyes over and over. She probably looked possessed. “I don’t even know why I’m dating her anymore Dinah,” she said truthfully.

“Just dump her,”

“I can’t,”

“Why not?”

“I don’t like hurting people,”

“You had a fine job doing that when you left the group,” silence fell upon them. Camila looked down at her lap, Dinah shaking her head. The blonde sighed softly, “I didn’t mean that Mi-”

“Its fine,” Camila said as she cut her off. “Lets just, lets just get ready for the fundraiser.”

***

Disappointment. That’s what Camila felt as she watched the last man pack up their belongings for the fundraiser. It was going on 8pm, it had gone a little over time with how many people had showed up, Camila was truly amazed. She loved every minute of it, meeting fans all while helping spread awareness on both women rights and LGBT rights but she couldn’t help the overall sadness as it came to an end. Lauren didn’t show up. She even had two guards waiting up front in case she did show up to escort her over. Nothing happened.

It was really hard for her to be happy in such an amazing environment when the one person she was hoping with everything in her to show up, didn’t show up.

Lauren|

“Babe you should go,” Lucy encouraged as she sat up slightly from the couch.

Lauren shook her head, walking over to her girlfriend a bowl of warm soup. “You’re not feeling well. I don’t have to go to the stupid fundraiser,” she mumbled.

Lucy gave Lauren a look as she accepted the soup, “First of all, you love fundraisers that tie down to those specific matters and you know it. Just last week you were saying how you wished it happened more often. Plus Fifth Harmony will basically be reuniting for the first time as a group in a while.”

Rolling her eyes, Lauren plopped down next to Lucy. Playing with the ring on her thumb she sighed loudly, “Why do you even care so much? You do know Camila invited me, right? You don’t really like her,” pausing she glanced at her girlfriend. “Besides, who’ll take care of you while I’m gone? The stupid thing is over anyways. She said it ended at 6 PM. Its like 7:45 now.”

“I don’t not like her. I just wasn’t fond of what she had done to the group,” Lucy shrugged. “And so? Weren’t you the one social media stalking her and saw she was spamming on Snapchat with videos just from like five minutes ago?” Lucy raised a knowing eyebrow at her girlfriend. “I can invite Kandee over if it’ll make you feel better about who’ll take care of me.” Kandee was Lucy’s longtime friend Lauren had recently learned about.

She sighed to herself as she thought over it, “What if it goes bad?” She mumbled quietly.

“She’s just asking you to hear her out, right? If you don’t like what she has to say, just leave,” Lucy reached over to rub her finger tips up and down her girlfriends arm, “It’ll all go good baby. I promise.”

***

This was a mistake. Lauren could feel it as she approached the empty area. I bet she’s gone. God I’m such an idiot. It was around 8 PM and the place was pretty much a ghost land. She saw a few people left but that was it. Her heart pounded in her chest as she stopped in front of the location Camila had texted her.

There stood a man who had his back turned toward her with “SECURITY” writing in big white letters on his black T-Shirt.

Clearing her throats softly, she proceeded to tap him on the shoulder. The man sighed before turning around. “Ma'am this even is over please-” the man paused himself before eyes widening. “I am so sorry Miss. Follow me this way,” Lauren felt confusion settle within her as she followed the man through the black curtains. Something in her told her not to, it could be a trap but she ignored it. She was always unnecessarily paranoid. “Miss Cabello!” The man shouted.

The ashy brown haired woman turned around, along with three other obviously familiar faces. A sense of nervousness washed over Lauren as the room went silent for a few seconds before an overly excited Ally ran straight toward her former bandmate along with Dinah and Normani. She felt overwhelmed with happiness as the three women bombarded her with questions and hugs. A couple years escaped her eyes. It felt so good to be in their presence again. But everything went just as fast as it came.

Suddenly they all realized the reasoning behind them all being there and a silent Camila. Pulling apart from each other, Normani spoke first. “We’ll give you guys some space.”

By then, the security guard had already left and the three ladies had found their way out. Lauren’s heart pounded as she took in Camila’s overall presence. The whole situation felt even more overwhelming as her former bandmate directed her toward a set of chairs to sit down. It was silent between them for quite some time, neither really knowing how to start off.

“I didn’t think you’d show,” Camila breathed out, deciding to speak first.

Lauren pursed her lips, looking down for a second then back up with a small head nod. “I wasn’t,” she answered honestly. “Lucy made me.”

She didn’t miss the small twinge of hurt in Camila’s features but tried her best to brush it all off. “You look nice,” Camila then said.

Lauren sighed, rolling her eyes. “Thank you but I didn’t exactly come to be complimented. I’m here for my explain so I can be on my way back to my perfectly unproblematic life,” she didn’t mean to come off so harsh. It kind of just happened and she did regret it when Camila paused and every feature in her face twisted into one of pain before looking down and clearing her throat.

“Okay,” she croaked. “Where do you want me to start?”

“The beginning. Why you left, why you feel I should pity you in anyway, etc.”

Camila clenched her jaw, “I don’t need your pity Lauren, that’s one,” sighing, she looked down as she attempted to collect her currently scattered thoughts.

“I left because I couldn’t do it anymore,” she started. “It was a decision I had already planned for months before the day I left. I left mainly because of you though,” she kept her eyes down as she felt herself relive those few earlier months. “You weren’t happy with me in the group. I could feel it, the fans could feel it, everyone could. It was like days that I wasn’t there, you shined the most. You seemed the happiest and most carefree. Obviously me being there was taking that away. My intentions weren’t to break the group as a whole, no. I was hoping if things played out well, you guys would continue as a foursome. I didn’t mean to fuck up everyone’s lives, I swear Lauren.”

“I couldn’t do it anymore. Not even just with you, I was taking away everyone else’s happiness. Normani wouldn’t, hell couldn’t even look at me off camera. Ally was always torn on who to side with, at one point she even hated me. I was breaking Dinah’s relationship with everyone in the group because I’d always make her feel obligated to be on my side. I was fucking it all up. I wasn’t happy anymore in it… you guys weren’t happy anymore with me in it. My solo music started to take off, everything was screaming at me to get out. So I did.”

“I didn’t mean for everything to go downhill so fast. I didn’t want you guys to find out the way you found out. But life has a fucked up way of playing out for you-”

“That doesn’t answer shit Camila. So basically you’re new skit is, you left the group for our happiness? My god you are full of so much shit,” Lauren laughed humorlessly as she stood up. “You left because you’re a selfish self absorbed idiotic fucking cunt who cared more about fame than the actual fucking gr-”

“I left because I was in love with you! Okay, I fucking left because I was in love with you Lauren!”

Everything went silent, Lauren stopped, Camila stopped, the girls who were eavesdropping behind the curtain even stopped. The atmosphere suddenly felt thick and heart to breathe in. Lauren sat back down and stared at Camila in disbelief.

Camila gulped harshly as the tears started to come, “I couldn’t take it anymore Lauren. I couldn’t. I couldn’t take knowing every fucking day you hated me, our friendship would never ever be the same. I could handle you not feeling the same, I could handle keeping it a secret forever. But I couldn’t handle knowing you hated me so fucking much. I couldn’t handle it. When you came out, and I was a complete bitch to you about it, it was like everything got worse. Your hate for me grew, everything was just a mess. Imagine… being head over heels in love with someone who hates you more than life itself but you have to work with them every fucking day. Imagine it.”

“I wasn’t fucking happy. I was sad, everyday, every night. My life was just sadness. And I hated that, because I loved what we did so fucking much. I loved making music with my best friends. I loved the fans. I loved everyone and everything. So basically feeling trapped and miserable was the worst thing ever for me. I’m sorry Lauren, I’m sorry for everything. I’m sorry for not being there when you needed me as a friend, I’m sorry for putting a stupid solo career before our friendship, I’m sorry for putting anyone and everyone before you. My intentions were never to hurt you. You’ve always been one of my closest friends and to watch you grow such an intense amount of hate for me killed me. I wanted out, I needed out.”

She finished with a face full of tears and a shocked and frozen Lauren just staring back at her. Neither women knew what to say as the tension got thicker and thicker.

All Camila could think about was how she possibly fucked things up the most in this moment and there was no ever going back.

***

a/n: wow i actually cried writing this last part. damn. lol, im so sorry i did not edit. im really tired and im about to go out with friends for my birthday but i hope you enjoyed this over due chapter. i love you lots and thanks so much for reading.

to my tumblr readers, make sure to check out my wattpad @wthbello for faster updates and overall better reading format lmao. thanks so much for reading as well.

have an amazing night/day/afternoon, etc. wherever you are. make sure to always be kind to yourselves and always love yourselves because if you don’t, i can assure you no one else will. no one can love you better than you can love you. with that being said, i hope you enjoyed this chapter lmao.

ellianna (elli), xxxxxxxxxxxx