Chapter 5

Lauren and Camila sat by the beach, watching the sunset as the two tried to process what just happened. Lauren looked at Camila and took her hand and interlace their fingers together. She waited until Camila turned and met her gaze before she spoke.

"It wasn't your fault, Camila," Lauren said softly. Camila's gaze dropped to their interlaced hands. Lauren moving her thumb up and down, gently to calm the girl down and reassure her.

"Still," Camila spoke as she furrowed her eyebrows, "You got hurt."

"Camz, look at me."

Camila looked up with tear filled eyes and Lauren felt her heart ache. She hated seeing her like that. She looked so tiny and vulnerable.

"It wasn't your fault," Lauren said again, "He was drunk and you couldn't have done anything."

Camila was about to say something when Lauren cut her off, "You stopped him from hurting me again. That's all that matters."

"And besides," Lauren paused as she looked away, "I was bound to get hurt one way or the other," she muttered quietly.

Camila looked at her. Lauren looked up and met her gaze. For a long time, the two just stood there and stared at each other. Camila took her hand back, reached up and gently brushed her thumb against Lauren's cut on her lips. She saw the green eyed girl winched slightly and she almost pulled her hand back but she stopped. She cupped Lauren's slightly bruised cheek and gave her a sad smile.

"You shouldn't have gotten hurt in the first place," Camila said in a faint whisper. Lauren could tell that by the tone of her voice, Camila was fighting back the tears. Her voice betrayed her and it broke when she spoke. Lauren felt as though her heart was shattering. Lauren reached up and pulled Camila's hand down by her wrist and tried to give her a reassuring smile. Her face fell when she saw tears escaping Camila's eyes. Before she knew what was happening, Camila had leaned in and kissed the corner of her mouth, near the cut on her lips. Lauren froze as Camila's lips lingered there for longer than she should before pulling away. After that, neither girls spoke. They didn't need to. They just sat there on the sand, watching the light disappear and they welcomed the dark, night sky.

After a while, the girls decided that they've been gone long enough so they headed back to the beach house. Lauren sat by the bonfire as Camila walked into the house to look for her drunken boyfriend. Lauren was hypnotized by the dancing flames on the burning wood that she didn't realize that Camila had returned with a smile and guitar at hand. It was only when the young brunette sat beside her that Lauren snapped out of her trance. She frowned confusedly at the girl as a small smile crept onto her lips.

"What's this?"

"Apparently, Carter left right after he punched you," Camila said.

"But enough about him. I um, I found this guitar and I thought that maybe we could sing by the fire. Like old times."

Lauren was about to say something when she saw the other three girls join them. Lauren's smile widened as Camila began strumming the familiar tone. Camila smiled as Lauren began to sing.

So let's sing naNa na na naHey ya

Come on and sing naNa na na naHey ya

Lauren's face lit up when Camila began to sing with her.

This is our song That's all that matter causeWe all belong right here togetherThere's nothing better than singing alongThis is our summerThis is our song

Camila picked up the tempo. Lauren was surprised when Normani joined in.

Come grab your guitar

Dinah joined in as she harmonized with her.

Sit by the fireCause we all need a songWhen we're weary and tired

Lauren looked at Camila as the two sang.

We'll sit here together and sing it out loud

Camila took the lead as she did a note change with her runs.

And sing it out loud

Lauren was surprised when she saw a crowd had gathered around them and was singing and clapping along.

This is our songThat's all that matter causeWe all belong right here togetherThere's nothing better than singing alongThis is our summerAnd this is our songThis is our song, this is our song

Lauren took the lead.

This is our song

Come on and sing naNa na na naHey ya

Dinah and Normani joined in.

Come on and sing naNa na na naHey ya

Camila joined in.

Come on and sing naNa na na naHey ya

Come on and sing naNa na na naHey ya

Ally joined in as she belted that high note.

Hey ya

This is our song that's all that matters causeWe all belong right here togetherThere's nothing better than singing alongThis is our summer

This is our song that's all that matters causeWe all belong right here togetherThere's nothing better than singing alongThis is our summer

Ally sang last few high notes.

This is our song (This is our song)This is our song (This is our song)This is our songThis is our song!

When the song ended, almost everyone in the party had gathered around them and were cheering. Lauren smiled at her three friends before she gave a special smile to Camila. The brunette handed the guitar to someone else as they began playing another song. After a few more songs, Camila stood up and slipped away quietly with Lauren.

Camila and Lauren walked hand in hand along the beach as they admired the quiet, cool night. The two didn't utter a single word when they walked. Along the way, Lauren noticed Camila shivering and she shrugged off her leather jacket and put it the brunette's shoulders. The younger girl smiled shyly as she thanked her. They found a spot away from the beach house and sat down.

"Thank you," Lauren broke the silence, "How did you-"

"I've known you for a long time, Lauren," Camila said simply.

"And you would've done the same for me," she added.

"So what's gonna happen between you and Junior?" Lauren asked after a while.

"After what happened today? I don't think it's gonna work out."

"Camz, you don't have to do that because of what happened," Lauren said. She frowned when she saw Camila smile at her.

"I'm not doing it because of that," Camila said, "I'm doing it because of you."

"Me?"

"Yeah," Camila said, "Like I said before, I don't want to lose you. And it's obvious that I can't even be near you as long as I'm dating him so, I'm done with him."

"And besides, we were never going to work out anyways," Camila added, "He calls me Karla for crying out loud."

Lauren chuckled, "You're really something, Cabello."

"I know," Camila said with a slight chuckle.

Lauren chuckled as she smiled at her.

"Well do you know that you're beautiful?" Lauren asked.

"No..."

"Well... You're beautiful," she said softly. Camila looked away shyly as she blushed. When she met Lauren's gaze, she saw something in Lauren's eyes. That something made her heart flutter and made her feel the butterflies in her stomach. It was love. There was no denying it anymore. Camila Cabello was in love with Lauren Jauregui.

"Hey Camz?"

"Hmm?" Camila hummed in response as she was snapped back into reality.

"You remember Senior prom?" Lauren asked.

Camila chuckled as she shook her head, "No because we didn't go."

"Too mainstream, remember?"

"Yeah but we kinda missed that last dance."

"So?"

Lauren stood up and extended her hand towards her. Camila raised an eyebrow at her friend.

"C'mon."

The brunette took her hand and the green eyed girl pulled her up. Lauren bowed slightly as she held Camila's hand gently.

"May I have this dance?"

Camila giggled, "There's no music," she pointed out. Lauren stood up and took out her iPhone and picked "Is There Somewhere" by Halsey. Camila gave the dark haired girl a look.

"What? I love her," Lauren said in defense. Camila shook her head. Lauren gave in and changed the song to "One Last Dance" by R5. She looked at Camila, who then nodded in approval.

Lauren took her hand and twirled her around before she pulled her in and the two swayed left and right. Camila blushed when Lauren's hand moved down to her waist.

"You nervous, Camz?"

Camila chuckled nervously, "You can say that."

"Why?"

"I'm not a very good dancer, Lauren," Camila said, "You, of all people, should know that."

"I know," Lauren said, "You told me many times."

"But I'd like to think that you can," Lauren added as she took a step back and twirled Camila around. The brunette giggled as Lauren pulled her back. The two froze when they realized that they were inches apart. Lauren smiled as she tapped Camila's nose playfully. The brown eyed girl scrunched up her nose as she giggled. The two jumped when the song ended and changed to a loud rock song. The two girls burst out laughing as Lauren pulled out her phone and stopped the music.

"That was fun," Camila said after her laughter had died down.

"Yeah, it was."

"You know, Lo? I'm glad I didn't go to prom. Because then we wouldn't have this. I mean the night is so beautiful and it's almost perfect," said the brunette.

"Almost?"

"Yeah."

"How come?"

"Well," Camila paused, "It's not prom and we're at the beach for some party and we don't even know the person who threw the party," she said as Lauren chuckled.

"Fair enough."

"What can I do to make it a perfect night?" Lauren asked.

"Kiss me," Camila said.

Lauren face fell as she froze. Did she heard it right? Was she dreaming? What was happening? Lauren looked at her and nodded.

"Okay," Lauren said as she squeezed Camila's cheeks while cupping her face. Camila giggled as Lauren leaned in playfully. The brunette pushed her away but Lauren wrapped her arms around Camila's waist and lifted her from the ground. Camila let out a shriek as Lauren spun her around. The older girl lost her balance and the two fell on the sand, with Camila on top of Lauren. Camila looked into Lauren's green eyes as she smiled.

"What?" Lauren asked, smiling.

"Nothing," Camila said.

"Mila! Lauren!"

Lauren let out a light chuckle.

"I guess we should really..."

"Yeah," Camila said as she got up and helped Lauren up. They brushed the sand off their clothes and smiled at each other. Camila was about to walk back when Lauren grabbed her wrist to stop her.

Camila raised her eyebrow. Lauren raised Camila's hand up to her lips and kissed her knuckles. Camila's breath hitched as she watched Lauren pull away.

"Now, it's perfect," Lauren said as she interlaced their fingers together. Camila smiled shyly as the two walked back to the beach house.

"Everything okay?" Normani asked, worriedly.

Lauren smiled, "Everything's perfect," she said as she looked at Camila, who kept her head down as she blushed. Lauren glanced at Normani and the dark skinned girl was looking at them wide eyed. Lauren chuckled as she walked towards her car and Camila was close behind.

Since it was late, the girls decided to stay over at Lauren's place. As soon as they reached back, Dinah, Normani and Ally went straight to bed. Lauren was sitting on a chair on her balcony as she looked at the night sky. She heard a creak and she smiled when she saw that it was Camila.

"Hey," Lauren said in a soft tone.

"Hey," Camila said shyly. Lauren took her hand and kissed her knuckles, which caused Camila to blush shyly.

"Can't sleep?"

"Something like that," Camila said.

"Yeah, me too."

"What are you doing?" the brunette asked.

Lauren smiled as she pulled her in closer. Camila sat on top of Lauren's lap as the dark haired girl wrapped her arms around Camila's waist and held her tight.

"The night is so quiet, so peaceful. So beautiful," Lauren said as she looked up.

"Yeah, it is," Camila looked up and smiled in awe.

"But even with all the stars shining in the night sky, you still shine the brightest," Lauren said with a low, raspy voice.

Camila turned and looked at her as she blinked in surprise.

"Your smile can instantly light up the room. Your eyes are the most beautiful I've ever seen. Your heart is so pure and so true that it's impossible to not fall in love with you. Your mind is the most beautiful. The way you think and see the world always amazes me."

"You are the most beautiful girl I've ever seen and I don't know how I'm so lucky to exist in the same time and space as you," Lauren said. Camila looked at her with teary eyes and smiled.

"Wow," Camila said as she took a deep breath to compose herself. Lauren smiled warmly as she leaned in and kissed Camila's shoulder. Camila looked at her and bit her bottom lip. Lauren raised her eyebrows curiously.

"Careful, Jauregui," Camila said in a low and husky voice, "I think you're falling in love."

Lauren smiled, "I can't help, falling in love with you," she sang quietly.

"Did you just say what I think you said?" Camila asked.

"I love you, Camz," Lauren said quietly.

Camila smiled.

"I love you too."

Camila and Lauren leaned in and their lips met in a gentle and innocent kiss. It was a perfect first kiss. They pulled away and smiled at each other before they looked up at the sky and breathed in the cool air.

~

AYEEEE!! How are you, beautiful people? I hope ya'll are alright. If not, then remember that things will be better. Bad things have to happen in order for the good to occur.

As always, tell me what you think. Did you like that little campfire scene? Also, I made this chapter longer than I originally intended because some of y'all wanted longer chapters. So how'd I do?

Daily reminder that you don't need anyone's approval or opinions on how you live your life. Your life is your own and just be yourself. Love yourself and be nice to people.

- Shahirah (LauserCabello on twitter)