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Condoms. The Health Services room was loaded with free condoms. Well, not anymore considering that Camila had well over fifty shoved into her backpack. Why would Camila steal several handfuls of condoms from Health Services? Because she could. So she did.
It was also likely a result of the consistent boredom that came with being a college sophomore. Camila needed some excitement in her life, newfound excitement that didn't come from online interviews featuring One Direction.
She completely forgot why she went to the student clinic in the first place. She sure as hell didn't go with the intention of thieving dozens of male contraceptives.
Camila hadn't even realized that her legs had begun sprinting through the medical annex when she reached into her pocket to fetch her phone. Her bag was slung haphazardly over one shoulder, kept slightly ajar due to the rush she was in. She pressed the button on the side of her iPhone, turning it on, and opening a recent conversation left with a familiar freshman.
The literature major found herself grinning as she was trying to find the words to describe the situation she was in to her friend.
Camila: hey China Jane
Camila: i have condoms in my backpack
Camila: we're gonna do something with them
Camila: that came out wrong
Camila: they're not for you
Camila: or me
Camila: they're for the both of us
Camila: but not in that way
Camila: i'll explain later
Camila: text me when you get out of class
The sophomore stopped in front of her room, lifting her bag with an agile move, then reaching in to fish for her key. She was working so hard on her search that she didn't notice a silver wrapper slip out.
Camila chuckles to herself at the thought of almost one hundred condoms and using them in every way possible except for their intended use. It's totally stupid, but it's totally something Camila would do. Just like how her ideas of spending her weekend consisted of her staying up all night to listen to One Direction's new album in her pink footsie pajamas.
"Hey, I think you dropped something." A low, raspy came from behind her.
The young writer, caught off guard by the stranger's sudden introduction, dropped the keys and, in an attempt to pick them up, found the rest of her stash spilling out of her bag and onto the tiled floor.
Shit.
The stranger leans smoothly onto the wall beside her, nearly forcing Camila's heart to jump out of her chest. Where the hell did she even come from? Camila could have sworn the hall was empty and dead silent a second ago. "Someone's got an active sex life."
The girl's eyes try to catch hers, but Camila is too busy trying to shove the pile back in her bag to reciprocate the gesture.
"UH. NO," Camila grinned stupidly. "I MEAN," she added, bent over the pile with none of her muscles motivated to move. She kept her head down, eyes fixated on the condoms.
"YEAH, THAT'S MINE. THEY'RE MINE. BUT IT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE. I DON'T EVEN NEED THEM. I'M GAY. WELL, BI. BUT I'M LIKE, REALLY GAY. ALSO, I'M STILL A VIRGIN." the sophomore girl responded, not really knowing what else to say in front of the slightly older, beautiful girl.
"Good to know?" The upperclassman laughed, giving her a flash of white.
Camila took her time taking in the stranger's appearance as she raised her head. She had a perplexed look - the kind where one eyebrow was arched and her nose was slightly scrunched up, pushing her cheeks closer to her eyes. Her eyes were bright and quirky. They're a shade of green that Camila knows she's seen hundreds of times before, but in this very moment, Camila cannot recall any of those times.
It was the kind of green that peaks past piles of gritty snow to remind you that spring was coming. The passionate green that the ocean turns during a storm. The colour of the tea Camila drinks when it's pouring out. Her eyes were the kind of green that late autumn leaves gets jealous of.
In this very moment, Camila's favorite color is green.
"Shit," Camila mumbles, dropping her head lower when the girl's cute smile becomes too charming for her to continue staring.
She can hear the sound of footsteps approaching, followed by her room door creaking open. Between the awkward silence, it sounds painfully loud.
Maia's peeking behind the door. She's looking out into hall, then down to Camila, still crouching over for no good reason. The girl was so confused standing in her pajamas. Well, they're not really pajamas. She's wearing the shirt she fell asleep in last night, the one she forgot to change out of in the morning the day before. She's not wearing any pants.
Maia's got this dumb look on her face. A look that says, I've been asleep up until now. I don't know what time it is or what the hell is going on, but I'm really not in the mood to ask. I'm so lost, why are you screaming about your sexuality in the hallway?
Camila wouldn't have known the answer anyway. She took this as a miracle, and sprung back to her feet while shouting out a quick goodbye to the girl still leaning against the hallway.
"Uh, I gotta go" the sophomore muttered, glancing behind her shoulder to get another good look at the girl, who was slightly waving a confused goodbye with her other arm crossed against her chest.
"Bye!"
Camila's laughing a little on the inside as she steps back into her shared room.
Bi.
***
There's shit tons of half-eaten cups of noodles scattered across the room. The bathroom door is wide open and the inside is nothing less than a disaster.
Her drawers are just barely open. Maia's been going through her stuff again.
It's a mess, as usual. It's their mess.
Although Camila would have much more rather appreciated the company of Dinah or Normani as her roommate, she couldn't have been more relieved to be back in the safety of her dorm with Maia.
"Okay, so you don't have any pants on, but you're not completely naked. I'm guessing your booty call already left?" Camila proposed.
"Yeah, we kinda had a fight last night." As Camila nodded attentively, Maia went on. "We were like really into it at first and I wanted to try something new. We were just going at it until I called her daddy. I don't know what made her so mad. She said she was open to mixing it up."
"Maia, who wouldn't leave after hearing you say that?" Camila cringed at the thought, maneuvering around the trash on their floor before collapsing on her bed.
"Aaaanyways, she's cute," her roommate winked, observing the older girl relaxing on her mattress, bag still wrapped securely in her arms with a idiotic grin glued on her lips. Camila immediately threw her bag at the hoe who didn't miss her friend's new expression.
"Shut up."
Maia caught the bag tactfully with her face (she dropped it, actually). She took a look inside the pocket that was already opened and smiled smugly, realizing just what had Camila so flustered.
"Looks like someone's gonna have a fun night." Maia said with a smirk.
"Shut. Up."
***
Camila absently stared at her ceiling, messing with her earphones in frustration.
"Ugh!" Camila complained, lying on her bed. "I swear I'm gonna break something." She huffed and lifted her pillow from behind her head, bringing it up to smother her face. She shoved it further into her face, trying to muffle the music coming from the other side of the room.
Or maybe she was trying to suffocate herself to bear with the fact she just embarrassed herself in front of an insanely pretty upperclassman. Maia's music wasn't exactly helping.
"I fucked up." She whined and grabbed the pillow once more to throw it against her wall roughly. "Who the hell would say that?" She said louder, staring back up at the ceiling.
"Hi, I'm Camila. Yes, these condoms are mine. By the way, I'm bi. Also, I'm a virgin if you couldn't already tell, " Maia mimicked.
"Shit. I didn't even tell her my name." Camila shut her eyes tightly, pouting a little. "Did it really sound that bad? And what do you mean 'If you couldn't already tell'?
Maia shrugged.
"I didn't explain why I had condoms in my backpack either," she thought angrily and got up from her bed, starting to pace around the room.
She tried relaxing, she breathed in and out deeply, but she was still couldn't focus with the song coming through her roommate's speakers. It's not that it was loud. It was fine. After the countless hours of nonstop blasting, Camila got used to it. The only problem with the song was that it was so upbeat and happy.
How was Camila supposed to wallow in self pity when the playlist consisted of love songs that only mocking her?
"So are you going to keep feeling sorry for yourself or are we going to talk about this like grown ups?" Maia questioned.
Camila pulled out her phone and waited. She waited for Dinah to hurry up and text back. She waited for Maia to comfort her with a conversation that wasn't entirely one-sided. She waited for her heart to stop beating so damn quickly. She waited for Keeping Up With the Kardashians to come on so she could distract herself with mediocre reality TV . She hated waiting, but she didn't have a choice. She sat in silence until a knock on the door interrupted.
"God, it took you long enough." The girl said, opening the door and resting against the edge of it. Camila saw the Polynesian, taller than her, standing outside with her phone in hand. She probably got sidetracking, snapchatting her life away.
"Geez, I'm sorry. I didn't know condoms could be so important." She replied. Dinah furrowed her brows and a tiny smile showed up on the edge of her lips. "So, how'd you manage to get so many anyways? Did you rob the 7/11 across campus or something?"
"It's not even about the condoms anymore!" Camila whined, looking at her with a devastated look.
"Then what is this about?"
Maia interrupted from behind the door, "It's about how some girl in the hallway found out about the condoms." A smile tugged at her lips "This cute girl."
Camila scrunched up her entire face, letting out a small whimper.
"Dinah, I messed up" Camila shook her head, "Do you know what I told her?" She asked, changing their afternoon plans entirely.
Dinah let herself in and took in the sight laid out in front of her. Maia was kneeling on the floor holding a cup in her left hand. Her other hand was holding up a condom filled with water and what seemed to be a fish swimming inside. "Do you think this is enough water for the fish or.."
"Anyways," Dinah nodded and breathed out. "You messed up, and that doesn't happen often. Tell me about it, Walz."
She took a seat next to Maia as Camila began to continue roaming back and forth around the room.
"Okay, so fast forward to the part after I'm running around campus. I get to my room and I was in the hallway trying to get the door open because my amazing roommate is too busy sleeping to hear me shouting at her from the other side to open the door. I was doing alright, getting my shit together, but then I hear someone behind me and so I turned around, dropped my keys, the condoms, and my dignity."
"Tell Dinah about the part where you tell her that you're a really gay virgin." Maia got off her knees and positioned herself cross-legged with her hands tucked neatly in her lap. She resembled a second grader waiting patiently for story time to begin.
"Oh yeah. She was making presumptions about me having an active sex life and I was like, dude, no way. I'm not even that into guys. I haven't even done sex yet. Had sex? Had sex."
"What a mess." Maia butts in as she tied up her makeshift fishbowl and sets it carefully on her nightstand.
"You're a mess."
Maia pauses for a moment. She's thinking of a comeback. She settles with, "I'm your mess."
Camila remembered, "So, she was pretty tall, taller than you. She had dark hair, nice hair. She was white, I think. Uh, she had green eyes. They were color of unripened bananas." Camila loved bananas.
"I hate to break it to you, but a lot of people are white with dark hair. Just about anyone could fit that description." Dinah explained, leaning back with her arms folded behind her head.
"Talk about tall, dark, and mysterious."
"She wasn't that dark. She was pretty pale, actually. A good pale. A great pale. She had a milky complexion."
Camila thought for a second. She just compared this girl-this girl who could easily be the prettiest girl Camila was ever seen to milk. Milk.
"You know, It's not the worst thing that could have happened." The Tongan offered. She was right.
Worst case scenario, she's sees her again, and she has to live with being the girl who dropped a bunch of condoms in the hallway.
Worst case scenario, she never sees her again.
"Maybe it'll be like one of those movies that Taylor and I watched last night. The ones where the guy meets the girl and then fate brings them back together because it's true love."
"Maia, there's like 15,000 people on campus. Fate can only do so much." Camila answered, turning her stare to the roommate again and caught her brown eyes. Maia replied by wiggling her eyebrows back.
"Then it wasn't meant to be." The Australian smirked.
"I guess." Camila was tired of talking. She was feeling so many things towards that stranger she shouldn't have been feeling towards a stranger at all.
"So, I have some good news," their guest said looking at her phone on her hand, "You remember Austin Mahone, right?" She chuckled. Camila let out a resentful groan in response.
Camila had a huge crush on Austin during their freshman year. Austin was just like every other guy on campus. He was old news. It was time to move on.
"I thought you had good news," Camila shook her head, "I could use some good news right about now."
"It is good news. He invited us to his party. Kinda." The brown eyed nodded and smirked, "He and Becky Gomez finally started dating, and since you have a couple of classes with Becky." She waited for the other two to connect the dots.
They couldn't.
"What I'm saying is, we're invited, just indirectly. I mean Becky's sort of your friend, right? "
"How was this supposed to help?" Camila scoffed and watched their friend walk over to sit on her desk chair.
"I never said that it would help; I said that it was good news," Dinah reminds her, "I mean, if you go you can at least meet other girls. Other girls who haven't experienced how terrible you are at introductions and small talk."
"What if I don't want to meet other girls?" she thought out loud, now seeing the brown eyed girl spinning around in the chair, sticking her finger in her mouth to imitate throwing up.
"That is so petty. Mila, you barely spent five minutes with her."
"She's cute, though. Like, really, really cute."
"And that's supposed to make a difference?"
"Well, I mean if I hadn't made a complete idiot of myself I could have gotten her number."
"Mhm, just keep telling yourself that," she gulped and ran a hand through her hair. She wasn't expecting Camila to be so set on seeing this girl again. She was so determined. "And while you're doing that Maia and I are going to the party to get some numbers."
They sat in silence for a while. Dinah had her eyes on the TV set the roommates shared. Keeping Up With the Kardashians was finally on. Maia was trying to figure out what else she could fit into a condom.
Camila was thinking. She found herself doing that a lot. Thinking. She thought about the girl, what her name could be. She thought about how nice it would have been if things had turned out differently. She thought about whether or not she already did her poli-sci homework. She thought about how loudly Maia was breathing and scooted away on the carpet.
"Okay," Camila caved in.
"'Okay' what?" Dinah said, tipping the chair forward.
"Okay, I'm going to the party. Okay, I'm going to stop sulking. Okay, let's go get drunk."
Dinah grinned smugly, "That's the spirit." She stood up and went over to put her arm around over her friend's shoulder, almost knocking both of them down in the process.
"So, what the hell are we gonna do with all these condoms?"
***
When they walked into the frat house, it looked exactly like what you'd expect from a frat party. The floors are decorated with red solo cups, cheap beer and kegs placed on most of the furniture.
You've got your classic lightweights spewing chunks out on the front porch, the upperclassmen urging the freshmen to chug for their lives. Music was blasting through the walls, whoever the DJ was mixed some insane remixes of the Top 40. Maia greatly appreciated that.
The first floor ceiling was trembling, moaning and incoherent screams coming from upstairs. Everyone by the pool is either skinny dipping or snapchatting those who were. Everyone was wasting time by getting wasted.
And it definitely wouldn't be a frat party without a couple of the Gammas streaking through the front lawn adorning nothing but their letterman jackets. (What's up with everyone being naked?)
There are plenty of cute girls at the party, but Camila's got her mind on someone else.
They're greeted by Normani in the loft, which is currently being occupied for the sake of body shots.
"My favorite undergrads!" she greets. "You guys made it."
"We had to choose between this and flushing Maia's dead fish. It was a tough choice." Dinah quipped.
"Alright, everyone. Drinks." Normani said as she grabbed some bottles out of a cooler.
It's loud. The whole house was shaking, every warm body pressed up against another on the makeshift dance floor.
Everyone's got a drink in their hand now, including Camila. Camila's drink is water.
Maia ends up acquiring a bottle of vodka, God knows how she got it. After downing a fourth of the drink, she's met with slurred words and clumsy movements (clumsier than usual).
They're all spread on the loft. Normani and Camila sitting comfortably on the couch, the one that wasn't stained with puke. Dinah's situated on the coffee table, not as comfortable, while a drunk Maia rambles unintelligible nothings next to her.
"Okay. So, when do I get to hear about this mystery girl Dinah was telling me about?"
It was like the entire topic was unavoidable. Wasn't the whole point of coming to this party to forget about it?
Camila looks over to Dinah, who's waiting on her recollection of the earlier events. "When did you tell Normani?"
"Like, halfway to the party." She explains, taking another sip from her cup.
"I mean, it's not that big of a deal. She was just-"
"Out of your league," Maia finished for her.
Ouch. Drunk Maia isn't as fun as Camila remembers. And although she knows she's just kidding, the remark does nothing less than sting.
They're soon joined by a few familiar faces, all of which include Ally and Tori, who finally make an appearance. By now the living room area is flooded by juniors who have taken it upon themselves to claim it as their own. The sophomores don't mind sharing the space, even deciding to join in on the upperclassmen's drinking games, not that they had much of a choice.
Camila and Dinah are set up on one side of the coffee table, which has now been laid out for a game of beer pong. They're positioned across Niall and Ariana, who look like they're in it for the long haul.
***
The loft is filled with heavy cheers for either duo, Ally and Tori carrying the encouragement for their friends. Normani's too preoccupied flirting with Liam Payne to join them.
The cheers of the crowd grow more intense as both sides are counting on their bets to win.
Surprisingly, Camila was good at beer pong.
They had one more cup to go before they officially won the game. Niall and Ariana were four cups behind. When it's Niall's turn he misses, blaming the alcohol in his system.
Behind Ariana, she can make out a girl stumbling down the stairs, appearing more sober than the people around her. She easily recognizes the black hair she was so fixated on in the halls. Part of her wants to go after her, find out just how differently things could play out. She represses the urge that's telling to follow her into the next room.
Her focus is interrupted by Dinah's hand on her shoulder. "I see you, Chancho. You should go talk to her, get your mind off of mystery girl for a bit." She gave her friend a playful shove. "After we win though," she adds, handing her the ping pong ball.
The least she could do for herself was save her effort and put it towards something she actually had a chance of winning over. She returns to the game, attempting to convince herself she's made the right choice.
She opts for bouncing the ball, seeing as how it's worked all night.
"Nice." Camila pumps her fist in excitement as the ball circles the rim of the cup before falling in.
She can't help but feel proud when she gets to watch Ariana gulp down the last cup with a look of defeat.
Her moment of victory is cut short. "Oh shit," Camila remembered, "Maia."
"What about her?"
The Latina panicked, "Where is she?"
"Chill out, I'm sure she's fine. She's probably eating pizza on the roof or something. Besides, she can handle herself," Dinah said simply.
"Can she really? Remember what happened last time? She almost jumped into the pool from the second story."
"Oh yeah, huh. It took us twenty minutes to convince her that the pool wasn't a huge jello shot," Dinah said, a smile coming to her face from the memory.
"Hold on, let me call her first. I'm not in the mood to play hide and seek with a drunk Maia." She pressed a hand to her temple. She let the ring prolong before hanging up the call in defeat, grasping her phone firmly. "She's not answering."
"Of course she isn't. C'mon, let's go find her before she lights a car on fire."
"Normani!" They looked back to see that their friend was still sitting on a sofa with Liam, no longer talking. Their mouths were busy doing something else.
"Yikes, I'll get Normani. You go ahead. Call me if you find her," she said and left Camila with a faint wave.
"If I was Maia, where the hell would I go?" Camila asked no one in particular. She's not even sure Maia would know the answer to that question.
Camila left the loft, navigating past the bulky masses until she finds herself between the den and the kitchen.
***
But you're losing your words
We're speaking in bodies
Avoiding me and talking 'bout you
But you're losing your turn
I guess I'll never learn
'Cause I stay another hour or two
Familiar lyrics come in acquaintance with her ears. They're pulling at her heartstrings and coercing her to stop.
For crying out loud, settle down
You know I can't be found with you
We get back to my house
Your hands, my mouth
Now I just stop myself around you
She's sitting on the futon, guitar weary and perched between her slender arms and thighs, when Camila sees her. When her eyes settle on her, they refuse to leave.
She's wearing the same expression from this morning, composed and confident. Her lips tugged into a smile as she let out every word with accentuated passion, face flushed with fervor.
When she strums the wrong note, she just laughs it off before going back to where she was. The sound that leaves her mouth sounds better than the chorus ever could have.
Her dark hair all flipped to the side, the crinkles by the corners of her eyes and all that didn't pass unnoticed by Camila's gaze.
It all looks so beautiful.
She's singing with enough emotion to make Camila's current situation slip past her mind for a few beats.
She's so tempted to sing along.
What a familiar face
Do you get what I mean now
I'm so fixated on the girl with the soft sound
And hair all over the place
She's thinking again. For a minute, she thinks about how nice that song sounds despite the disruptive ambiance. She thinks about how a shiver runs down her spine whenever a high note peaks out and how it brings a warm feeling in the pit of her stomach. She thinks about how nice that song would sound as a duet.
Camila could feel the subtle thrumming of the strings, followed by the buzzing floorboards.
It feels the same way rain feels after a storm. Like a drizzle, the new atmosphere hits ever so slowly and lightly. It's gentle.
She's a downpour. Camila couldn't help herself from standing silent, watching. She was mesmerising.
Camila finds herself staring too long, and soon she's met with a pair of eyes staring back at her. She're reminded just how lovely the color green can be.
Fuck.
She knows she's been caught red handed, again, but she can't bring herself to look away this time. A heavy blush creeps up from her neck to her cheeks. Suddenly, the room feels hot and stuffy.
She manages to tear away her gaze, but her eyes won't stop wandering over to the girl's playful expression. Her hands are clammy when she picks up the phone ringing in her pocket.
Normani's out of breath over the receiver. "Hey, any sign of Maia yet? She's not upstairs."
It's difficult to compose a response. "H-hold on, she just snapchatted me."
"Oh, she sent me something too." There's a silence over the call. "It's just some picture of a girl. Oh my god, I think she forgot to turn off her flash too."
Maybe it's luck when she realizes that the girl Maia attempted to take a picture of is the same girl she made eye contact with a few seconds ago, the same girl she hasn't been to get off her mind since this the incident. Camila has never been a firm believer when it came to luck.
The sophomore snaps her head back up to look for Maia. She's nowhere near the girl with the guitar.
She reminds herself that's a good thing.
She doesn't notice Maia until she can hear her rambling a few feet away. "What do you mean I can't wear my leather pants in bed?" She was fighting with another fuck buddy over the phone. "You, you said you thought it was hot!" Her legs dared to give up and her words barely coming out in complete sentences.
"I found her. Meet me by the restroom."
***
Camila's lost count of exactly how many times she's ended up babysitting Maia at a party.
Normani's lost count of exactly how many times she's ended up holding Maia's hair back as she's throwing up in stranger's toilets.
Dinah breaks between the sounds of distasteful heaving. "We need to get Maia over to the kitchen. She needs some water." Maia groans in response, the smell of alcohol seeping out of her mouth. "And a breath mint."
She leads them into the other room, the other girls trailing behind. Dinah's instantly attracted to the fridge, coming back out with four bottles of water.
Everyone's got a drink in their hands again. Everyone's drink is water this time.
Maia decides it's better as a mouthwash. Normani is thoroughly disgusted.
Dinah and Camila rest against the counter. Camila's suddenly not in the mood to drink. Instead, she watches her friend take several gulps of water. "You've been staring with her from across the room since we got here." She's glancing over the girl who has yet to leave the couch.
"I have?" Camila's met with an unamused pout. "I have. How observant of you."
"She's hot, I say you should go for it."
Camila scoffed, "I can't just 'go for it'. That's her."
"Oh, yeah. Isn't she the girl from the picture?"
"Even better, she's the one from this morning," she corrected.
"Oh my god. You're fucking kidding me." Normani faced Camila, with an unreadable expression.
"What?"
"You're talking about that girl over there right? The one wearing the nose piercing and the ripped skinny jeans? The same one wearing the flannel that she clearly thrifted? The one who's got an acoustic six string on her lap, probably playing 'Wonderwall'?"
"And what's wrong with that? I think she looks nice."
"No, it's not her. It's you. I guess it's her too, but you did this to yourself."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about how you're turning your life into some coming-of-age indie film. You're the budding literature major who always has trouble with expressing their feelings because they can't accept the fact that they're into 'The Girl'."
Normani paused and looked towards the girl. She was clearly staring right at her, but her eyes seemed to be lost in thought.She continues, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
And that girl, that girl on the couch that you've been staring at for the past fifteen minutes, is the whole dynamic for your plotline. She's the one who you get butterflies for the first time you meet her. She's the girl with the mysterious past that only makes you want to figure her out even more. And if I'm right, which, let's be honest, I usually am, then she's the one who breaks your naïve, little heart. She's "The Girl."
"I think you need to lay off the romantic comedies."
"I think you're cliché."
"I don't know about you guys, but I think Maia's hitting on your hipster."
While Normani was psychoanalyzing Camila's love life, the guitarist had made her way into the kitchen with a her friend.
"Hey, I was just wondering, does your left eye hurt? Because you've been looking right all day." Maia arches an eyebrow, stepping closer to the upperclassman and way past her comfort zone.
"Um, thanks," she said before turning back to her friend, discomfort written over her features.
Maia remains unfazed by the minor rejection. "By the way, I'm not drunk," She leaned on the island, "I'm just intoxicated by you."
They're trying to hold in their amusement while their friend is getting turned down, but it's evident they're enjoying the little show the two are putting on.
"Really? You seem pretty drunk to me." Her response come out flat, clearly unimpressed.
She persisted, "Do you have the time?" The girl doesn't make much of an effort to check. She's reluctant before dragging out her phone.
"No, I mean, the time to write down my number?
Smooth. Maia makes a mental note to pat herself on the back later for that one.
"Actually, I think it's time for me to leave. It was nice talking to you." Without another word, the older girl is already removing herself from the conversation.
"Wait, I wa-"
Normani takes it upon herself to save Maia, stepping up to intervene. "Maia! There you are. I think it's time to sober up." She wrapped an arm around Maia, ushering her out.
"Oh, my god. I swear she sabotaged herself."
"I know, even you could do better."
And she was right, Camila could do better.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means," She takes another drink, "that even though you can't flirt to save your life either, you'd at least be able to get her name before she shuts you down."
Camila ponders the possibility of it actually happening."Yeah, I bet I could."
"Well then, I'll leave you at it. Good luck, Casanova." She's lifting her elbows off the counter.
"Wait, Dinah, I wasn't serious." Camila's repositioning herself to look at her friend, who in turn is gawking at the senior. Or maybe she was a junior? She strikes Camila as a junior.
She can't blame Dinah when she decides not to make eye contact back.
Dinah's inattentive gaze died, "I know, but I was." She throws a 'see ya later' over her shoulder and exits the room without leaving Camila any time to reply.
With that, Camila's left standing alone in the kitchen. Except, she's not alone. Not really. The girl's still there, but her friend has retreated back to the couch.
There's a buzz in her pocket, and her hand quick to lunge to her phone.
China Jane: wow she's seems like a pretty face w/ a personality
China Jane: have fun ;)
China Jane: be urself
China Jane: don't make that stupid joke
China Jane: you know which one I'm talking about
A few seconds later her phone vibrates for what she hopes is the last time.
China Jane: i'm talking about all of them
It's not much of a pep talk, but it's enough encouragement for Camila to at least consider initiating some kind of conversation.
"When I'm not so into parties I usually find myself in the kitchen too." Camila could hear her from the other side of the kitchen island. She doesn't remember walking closer. "Do you come here often?"
And oh- she's talking to her.
"Where'd you get that pick up line? The nineties?" The response comes out as condescending. She can't help it, it's a reflex.
She hears the girl go silent. Camila instantly regrets her quip. "I'm just saying, that was a really lame pick up line. I'll let it slide though because I think you're cute."
A bright red blush meets the girl's face before she purses her lips. "You're right, though. I can do better, but since I can't think of anything impressive at the moment, what's up?"
"Gas prices." It was still a weak response, but the way her breath is hitching in her throat isn't helping her situation.
Evidently, talking face to face with a good-looking stranger makes it sort of difficult to speak. "Wait that sounded worse out loud, let me try again."
"Alright then," She lets out a chuckle, "What's up?"
"My self esteem."
She lets out another chuckle, this one's much more genuine.
"What makes you think it was a pickup line anyways? Maybe I was just trying to have a nice conversation. Maybe I'm taken." The older girl quirks an eyebrow, a grin playing at the edges of her mouth.
Camila's never even considered that. Now that she thinks about it, it sucks knowing that it might be true.
"But let's say that I am single. Would it make any difference?"
"Well, then I might just try to flirt with you. But I won't." Camila steps backwards, coaxing the other girl to come closer, their eyes now locked intensely.
"You won't?" She's pouting, clearing out a soft sigh.
"Nope, because clearly you're too good for me." Camila shrugs.
"That's too bad. For a second there I thought you kinda had a thing for me." She's pushing for an honest response.
"Sorry, cute musicians that make my heart race aren't really my type." Camila taunted. "I saw your little performance, by the way. Let me guess, you're an aspiring musician trying to make it big in Hollywood?"
"Close. Aspiring lit major trying to pay off her student loans in Los Angeles. Being a famous musician is just my day job." She starts walking over to Camila's side of the island. "And when I'm not on tour or sitting through one of Professor Cowell's lectures, I'm interning at Epic Records."
"Wow, that definitely beats being employee of the month at Olive Garden."
"Would it help if I said I'm into free breadsticks?"
"No, but it would help if you said you were into me," she smirks. She's trying to find something else to keep her eyes occupied, or at least away from the other girl's face. Camila's eyes don't maintain their position, instead scanning the room to end up resting on the grey area marble countertop. Because she's definitely not looking at her lips. She's definitely not thinking about how soft they probably are. And she definitely doesn't want to know how they'd feel against her own.
She pretends that she doesn't want to kiss them.
"Maybe I am." She's moving again, stepping closer to the younger girl so that there's barely over a foot between them.
"So, uh, can we just forget about what happened this morning in the hall?" Camila asked quietly. She's trying to change the subject. It proves to be a challenging.
"Forget it? Why would I, though? I've gotta say it was probably the highlight of my day."
"Really? The highlight of my day was getting to talk to a cute stranger."
"Wow, funny and you've got game? Color me impressed." She bit her lip staring into Camila's eyes. "I think that out of the three people who have hit on me tonight, you're the only one who's been worth talking to."
Camila fixed her attention to the floor instead, avoiding emerald eyes (and pink lips) at all costs.
"If i didn't know any better, I'd think that you just looked at my lips." She's tilting her head lower, she's looking for Camila's eyes. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think that you want to kiss me."
"No, that would be considered bad form," She flashed her eyes back up to meet the girl's. "I don't even know your name."
"My friends call me Lauren, but you can call me anytime," she winked playfully, her face is desperately close. Camila offered a smile back at her, shaking her head.
"Anytime. That's a nice name. I'm Camila."
Camila can feel the sudden heat resting on her cheeks. The close proximity sends a shiver down her spine. Her heart is pounding uncomfortably in her chest. She can feel her warm breath brush against her collarbone. Her breath smells good. It doesn't smell anything like beer, it's fruity. It's nice. It's very Lauren.
She can tell she looks stupid by the way Lauren's looking back at her. Her smile's crooked and her eyes seem darker, they're glossy. She's got an entertained expression settling over her features.
Camila looks like a dork. Lauren likes it.
"So, Camila, are you gonna kiss me or what?"