Chapter Text
"Come on Lauren, it's your first day. You don't want to be late. You better get going now."
Lauren sighs, dropping her plate and glass into the sink. She scoops her backpack up from off the floor and shoves her feet into her shoes.
"I know dad. I'll uh, see you later." Just as she's about to step through the door, her dad calls her back.
"Listen, sweetie. I know school hasn't been... the easiest for you. Kids can be cruel, unfortunately. But remember, they only pick on you because-"
"I know I know, because they're jealous that I'm smarter than they'll ever be," Lauren recites back with an eye roll.
Her dad smiles fondly, placing his hands on his daughter's shoulders. "Yes, that too. But I was going to say, because you're the most amazing kid in the entire world. They're not even half as great as you are. You're going to go on and do amazing things, I know you're capable of it all. It's your last year of high school, and then you're free. Just focus on that."
Lauren smiles up at her dad, because he's always been such a great support system for her. "Thanks dad. I'll remember that."
"And stick by Ally and Tori. They're great kids and I can tell they care about you."
"I will," Lauren promises as she pecks her dad's cheek, waving goodbye to him as she steps out of the door.
Getting into her car, Lauren tosses her backpack onto the passenger seat, starting the engine and buckling her belt. She turns up the volume to the Kehlani song that plays from her phone through the car's speakers, because she's been obsessed with her lately.
Lauren gets lost in her thoughts as she drives to school, thoughts of surviving another nine months, thoughts of being made fun of, thoughts of being mostly ignored by a majority of the students.
She appreciates her dad's words, but she knows she's not anything special. What else would explain why she gets picked on at school, or why she's never been asked out, or why she only knows two people willing to call themselves her friends?
When Kehlani's Bright starts blasting through the car, Lauren turns it up a little louder, because it's something she really needs to hear right now.
So be great, be kind,
don't let them dim your light.
A woman, like a sun, should always stay bright.
~~
Lauren's style in public and at school is what people would consider "girly". She mostly wears babydoll dresses, sandals or flats, has her hair parted and pinned to the side (even though she has this nervous habit of running her hand through it), and of course, her usual glasses that are black rimmed at the top of the lenses.
But what nobody knows about is her "secret style" she has hidden at the back of her closet. Not to say that what she wears now doesn't represent who she is. It's just... sometimes she just feels like looking like a badass, alright?
Call her indecisive, call her confused, but that's just how Lauren feels. She only wishes she had more confidence to actually change her style up in public. She's too insecure to attempt it, half afraid that it'll only encourage more bullying, half worried that she'll warrant too much unwanted attention. So Lauren stays with what she has going on now, since she's a bit of a wallflower and would prefer to fly under the radar.
Plus, Ally always says Lauren looks cute, and Tori sometimes borrows clothes from her, so she must be doing something right.
Speaking of, she sees her friends standing around Ally's locker, so Lauren makes her way over to them through the crowded hallway.
"... and then he took me on a walk on the beach, and the sunset was so beautiful and the kiss he gave me was perfect."
Lauren approaches just as Ally is gushing excitedly about something to Tori, so she waits until the girl has finished her sentence before announcing her presence.
"Hey guys."
Tori whips around, a huge smile on her face. "Laur! I missed you!"
Lauren giggles into the embrace Tori gives her. "We just saw each other like two days ago, Tor."
"I'm still allowed to miss you."
Rolling her eyes good-naturedly, nods her head in agreement. "I missed you too."
"Morning, Laur," Ally says, leaning in to give Lauren a quick hug.
"Morning Allycat. What were you guys talking about?"
Tori glances over at Ally, gently elbowing the girl with a smirk on her face. "Go on, tell Lauren about your little daaaaate."
"Date?" Lauren questions, tilting her head slightly.
Ally rolls her eyes at Tori's antics, turning to explain to Lauren. "I went on a date with Troy, –remember him?– two days ago, but I didn't inform you guys because I wanted to tell you in person."
"That's amazing, Ally! How was it?"
The smile on Ally's face clues Lauren in before the girl even starts talking. "Perfect. He was so sweet and made sure I was comfortable with everything, then he kissed me in front of the sunset. It was everything I could ever want," Ally finishes with a dreamy edge in her voice.
"Are you guys going to have another one?"
"I hope so," Ally replies. "We've been texting non-stop since, so... here's hoping!"
Lauren smiles softly, shifting her bag on her shoulder. "I'm really happy for you."
Ally glances up at Lauren, placing a hand on the girl's arm. "And I'm sure we'll find someone for you too, hm? Especially since Tori refuses to let me meddle in her relationship business."
"Hey, that's only because I couldn't care less about relationships. I wouldn't be any fun."
Smiling gratefully at Ally, Lauren shakes her head. "Don't worry about it Ally. I don't think there's anyone in this school for me."
"Perhaps," Ally says thoughtfully. "But you never know. "
"I highly doubt that. No one has ever shown interest in me before."
Both Tori and Ally loop an arm through each of Lauren's comfortingly, making the way down the hall to her locker.
"It's senior year, Laur. Anything could happen, you know," Tori reassures, squeezing closer to Lauren when they pass by a group of kids taking up half the hallway.
"To be honest, I just want to get through this last year receiving as little attention as possible. We all know the attention I attract isn't exactly... the nicest."
Stopping at Lauren's locker, Ally pouts sadly at the girl as she begins sorting through it. "I'm so sorry. I wish we could do more about all the crap you go through. It just makes me so angry that people are so mean!" Lauren can tell Ally is getting worked up, so she stops what she's doing to calm the girl down (she's literally just 4 feet 11 inches of tiny rage).
"It's okay, Ally. There's not much that can be done though. I just want to get through this last year and then move on to bigger and better things."
Tori smiles sweetly at Lauren, throwing an arm around the girl's shoulders. "That's the spirit, Laur. And you know that we're always here for you, no matter what."
"I know. I love you, both of you," Lauren says with a fond smile, squeezing her best friends' hands briefly.
~~
Lauren has made it the entire school day without running into any trouble, which is some kind of miracle. She's hoping that maybe it's a testament to how the rest of her school year will be.
She doesn't know where Tori and Ally are, because they haven't established their new routine yet. Lauren figures they can compare schedules later and work everything out.
Just as Lauren as about to walk through the double doors and be home free, two figures block her way, and Lauren feels like they're towering over her even though she's not that short.
"Where are you off to, Jauregui? We haven't seen you all summer. We just wanted to say hi."
Peering up through her glasses, Lauren grips the strap of her bag a little bit tighter. "What do you want, Austin?"
"Don't look so happy to see us, Laur," Brad chimes in with a smug smirk on his face.
Looking down, Lauren furrows her eyebrows. "Don't call me that," she quietly mumbles.
"What did you say?" Brad asks, leaning closer.
Lauren really wishes her friends were here, because she never gets picked on when they're all together. "I said don't call me that. Only my friends can call me that name," her voice is even softer, but the two boys still hear her words.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Would you prefer the nickname 'bitch'? Because that's what you are," Austin growls out, taking a menacing step closer to Lauren. She glances back up in fear, instinctively moving backwards. "You don't get to talk to us like that, you fucking bitch. You think I give a shit how you feel?"
The two boys keep moving closer and closer to Lauren throughout Austin's speech, and she knows she won't be able to back up much more because there's a row of lockers behind her.
"We don't want to hear your whining anymore. Unless you'd like to find a little surprise in your locker tomorrow morning," Brad threatens angrily.
They've never physically harmed Lauren, but they've played plenty of humiliating, mean pranks on her and constantly verbally abuse her. She doesn't know which one she hates more.
Lauren always promises herself she won't cry during these situations, but she can't help that she's just a very emotional person. She looks away, hoping they won't notice her watery eyes.
"Aw, is the little baby crying?" Austin mocks, laughing along with Brad. "She's just upset because even her friends don't want to be around her to protect her. Probably because they only talk to her out of pity. Isn't that right, Laur?"
Lauren knows that usually if she just waited it out long enough, they would eventually fill their quota for the day and leave her alone. But apparently today, they're making up for lost time, because they don't seem anywhere near stopping.
"Wow, can't even look at us when we're talking to you, bitch? Stop being such a pussy." Brad tries to move his head to make eye contact with Lauren but she just turns away further.
"Leave me alone," Lauren quietly says, knowing she's treading on thin ice.
"I can't hear you, bitch," Austin sneers in her face.
"Leave me alone," Lauren nearly shouts, then realizes her mistake.
"What the fuck was that!"
It takes Lauren a second to realize that the exclamation didn't come from either boy, but she doesn't feel much relief because it's probably just another one of their friends here to gang up on her.
She turns around and confirms her suspicions that it is indeed another one of their friends. Not just any one, though. It's Camila Cabello, the girl that all of Camila's friends tend to look up to, almost as a sort of leader.
Everybody in the school knows who Camila is. If not by the rumors and speculations whispered through the halls, then by the tattoos that line her arms and the badass style she dresses herself in.
They've both been attending this school since 9th grade, so Lauren has seen Camila many times before, and has even had a few run ins with the girl.
~~
Lauren is not one to fall asleep in class. She's usually very alert, jotting down notes, answering every question, participating fully in each class. But she got a little carried away watching Glee last night and now she's paying for it hard.
She's just so tired.
So who can really blame her if she dozes off a little in her History class; she knows all the course material, and the quizzes are a piece of cake.
"Lauren! Perhaps you would like to answer that question for us."
Her head shoots up so quickly, Lauren almost breaks her neck. She stares at Ms. Spears with wide eyes, and while usually she'd be able to answer the question with no problem, she doesn't actually know what the question is. And she doesn't want to ask for it again because based on the look Ms. Spears is giving her, the woman knows that Lauren was sleeping and is trying to catch her in the act (for some reason, she's always disliked Lauren, but she really doesn't know why).
"Um, uh-" Lauren stutters, glancing wildly at the teacher and the students staring expectantly back at her.
Just as Lauren is about to admit defeat, she hears a soft, whispered France from her right, and instead of attracting attention to the person who possibly just saved her life, Lauren looks back at the teacher who is scowling at her.
"Uh... is the answer, uh... France?" When Ms. Spears looks disappointed, not satisfied, Lauren knows she won this round.
"That is correct. Now, Ms. Jauregui, I assume you had your eyes closed because it's some sort of concentration technique you use to learn my course material?"
Lauren stares down at her desk, feeling small under the woman's gaze. "Sorry," she mumbles, barely loud enough for the teacher to hear. Thankfully for her, Ms. Spears carries on with her lesson, not bothering Lauren any longer.
Now that the attention is no longer on her, Lauren glances to her right to identify her savior, and finds brown eyes staring expectantly back at her.
She doesn't know the girl personally, but she does recognize her as Camila. The girl is assigned to the seat next to Lauren's, and it's a couple of months into their freshman year so Lauren has heard Camila's name called a few times in class.
"Thanks for saving me back there. I'm just so tired, and I couldn't keep my eyes open... although that definitely woke me up," Lauren explains shyly, her voice quiet so that Ms. Spears won't hear them.
"No problem. Ms. Spears has this weird dislike for us so I didn't mind helping you out just to spite her. Plus, it doesn't hurt that you're kind of cute when you're nervous," Camila cheekily says, flashing a grin at Lauren.
Feeling the blush heat up her cheeks at being called cute, Lauren glances away, her nerves getting the best of her.
"Kind of like right now," Camila giggles out, enamored by Lauren's reaction.
Lauren runs her hands through her hair, a nervous habit she's had since she can remember. "Um, th- thanks. That was... um, thanks." She aims a small smile at Camila, the most she can do in her current situation because this pretty girl is talking to her and showing her attention, calling her cute, and Lauren doesn't know how to handle it all. She's never been good at interacting with people her age.
Camila beams at her almost adoringly, turning her attention back to the lesson before they get caught.
Lauren takes note of Camila's adorably crooked bottom teeth, then turns back to face the front, trying her best not to fall asleep again.
~~
Now, Lauren is not blind; she knows that Camila is an attractive girl. Just because she wears glasses doesn't mean she can't see that. But Lauren knows about the girl's reputation and attitude, and since both intimidate her, she's never developed an actual crush on Camila. Call it irreconcilable differences: Lauren is too timid, and Camila is too... scary. Lauren keeps her distance, admires from afar occasionally (she's not blind, okay??), and keeps moving on with her life.
It's been about a year since they've last interacted, and Lauren can definitely admit that Camila has matured physically since then. And if Lauren wasn't so daunted by this entire situation, she might have taken more time to appreciate Camila's inked arms because... well, fuck, it just does something to her.
"Well? Answer me! What was that!" Camila demands impatiently, reminding Lauren that she's stuck in a very unfavorable dilemma right now.
"I- I'm sorry, I just wanted them to leave me alone. Usually I stay quiet but I really want to go home and... it just slipped out," Lauren apologizes apprehensively, because nobody messes with Camila, and the girl is probably angry that Lauren talked back to her friends.
But then Camila gives her this puzzled look, furrowing her eyebrows at Lauren. "What? Why are you apologizing?"
Lauren looks back at Camila, slightly confused at Camila's reply. "Because you're mad, and I thought it was for, um, me talking back to th-"
"What, no, of course not," Camila interrupts, switching her gaze between Lauren and the two boys before keeping it on them, and Lauren now realizes that they're starting to look scared.
"I was yelling at these two shitheads right here. Who apparently think it's okay to go picking on people like Lauren whenever the fuck they want! What the fuck is wrong with you two?!" Camila is definitely angrier addressing Austin and Brad than she was speaking to Lauren.
"Listen, we were just having a little fun. There's nothing wro-"
"Like hell there isn't, Mahone! Is this your first time doing this?"
Brad speaks up this time. "Of course. We've never done it before now." Austin then sends a threatening look towards Lauren, silently telling her to keep quiet. Camila doesn't miss this.
She turns her head to Lauren, her mouth set in a deep frown. "Is this true Lauren? Has it just been this one time?"
Lauren knows what would happen if she ratted the boys out, and she's definitely not interested in finding another dead rodent with a bow tied around its neck in her locker tomorrow morning.
"Ye- yeah, just the o- one time, don't, uh, don't worry," Lauren stutters out, aware of the two boys glaring into the side of her head.
Camila steps closer to Lauren, but it doesn't scare her the way she felt when Austin did. "Tell me the truth Lauren. Has this been the only time? Don't be afraid to tell me. I'll make sure they never do it again."
Lauren looks back at Camila with wide eyes. Is Camila serious? Could she really make it stop? Even the teachers weren't able to, because the two boys were always so strategic with their bullying, making sure no one ever caught them. Until today, apparently.
"I- I... uh..." Lauren's green eyes are flicking back and forth between Austin, Brad, and Camila, not sure who she trusts less.
"Lauren." It's the soft, gentle way Camila called her name that has Lauren's wild eyes calming down, focusing on the girl in front of her. "You can trust me. Please. Just tell me the truth. Don't be afraid of them." Camila's voice and words are so reassuring to Lauren, something about the caring look in her eyes has Lauren's resistance slowly ebbing away.
"Uh, uh..."
"Please, Lauren. I promise." Camila places a comforting hand on Lauren's forearm, melting away the last of Lauren's hesitance.
Looking down in embarrassment, Lauren lets her brown hair cover her face so only Camila can see it, her glasses sliding down her nose. "No," she whispers out, still afraid of some sort of backlash. "It's been going on for a while now."
"How long?" Camila gently prods, keeping her palm where it is on Lauren's arm.
"Since... freshman year."
Lauren feels Camila's fingers tighten on her skin, and when she glances back up, the girl's features looks angrier and angrier by the second. She looks over to notice that Austin and Brad's faces have significantly paled, and they've completely forgotten about being menacing towards Lauren.
"Thank you for telling me Lauren. You should head home now. Drive safe." It's so calm, the way Camila tells that to her, almost eerily so, and she releases her grip on Lauren as she turns to the two boys.
Realizing some crazy shit is probably about to go down based on everyone's expressions, Lauren takes Camila's advice and books it, power walking out of the school and over to her car in a rush. She glances at the building as she pulls out of the parking lot, perplexed and apprehensive regarding everything that just happened.
What exactly did happen?
~~
When Lauren gets home, she runs straight up to her room, knowing no one is home so she doesn't have to say hi. She tosses her bag onto the floor and flops down onto the bed, the prior events still playing on repeat in her mind.
She doesn't understand why Camila stuck up for her against Camila's own friends; fuck that, she doesn't understand why Camila stuck up for her at all. They're most certainly not friends, they've only interacted a few times before, and last Lauren checked, they were at opposite ends of the imposed high school food chain.
People like Camila don't stand up for people like Lauren.
She can't comprehend why Camila was so nice and caring to her. To be honest, she didn't even think that Camila remembered she existed.
Then, Lauren gets an idea that starts sending her into a panic.
What if all three of them are playing some huge prank on her? What if Camila is in on it too, and they're going to humiliate her tomorrow at school? What if this is just some big setup to make her look like even more of a loser? Lauren can handle the bullying (to an extent), but that doesn't mean she wants it to happen or looks forward to it. She's grown some thick skin (more like: she's learned to live with it) over the years, but harsh words can have a lasting effect on a person.
Her thoughts have Lauren stressing, and she knows she needs to calm down somehow. She decides to text Tori and Ally, because she really needs her friends right now, and they'll help her feel better.
~~
"Wait, Camila Cabello did all this? As in, our school's Camila Cabello? You know, the one with the tats and stuff? Who kind of has that grunge vibe going on?"
"Tori, cut it out," Ally chastises, slapping Tori lightly on the arm.
"I don't understand it either," Lauren groans, her head in her hands as they all sit on her bed.
Tori stands up, partly to rant and partly so Ally can't slap her again. "But it doesn't make sense! The girl doesn't know who we are! Why would she stick up for any of us, especially to her own meatheads?"
"Meatheads?" Ally questions.
"Yeah, those guys are all a bunch of dumbasses."
Ally glances over at Lauren who is now lying on her back where Tori was previously sitting, her eyes closed and a frown on her face.
"Come on, Tori, we need to be helping Lauren here."
Tori gazes over at Lauren, feeling sorry for her friend, who probably just wants to get through her last year quickly and quietly. She wishes she could help the girl more with her school issues, but they've tried everything and don't know what else to do.
"I'm sorry, Laur," Tori apologizes as she sits back down on the bed, picking Lauren's head up to lay it across her lap. "I'm here for you, I promise." She strokes Lauren's long brown hair, and watches as the crease between the girl's eyebrows finally relaxes.
"I know guys. Thank you, really. I just needed to vent so I could sort my thoughts out."
Ally sits in thought for a moment before looking over at the two girls. "I've got an idea. Since you're worried that something might happen tomorrow, how about we make sure you always have at least one of us with you the entire school day. That might put them off a little if they know you're not alone."
Lauren almost sits up until Tori tugs on her hair, forcing the girl to lie back down. "No, no no, Ally, Tori, I can't make you guys do that. You'll be late for your classes and stuff. That wouldn't be fair."
"Don't worry about that, Laur. We'll make it work. We want to help you, okay?" Tori nods in agreement while Ally looks into Lauren's green eyes, knowing how to make the girl relent.
"I... fine," she sighs out, not happy about her friends disrupting their schedule for her. But she knows she won't be able to stop them unless she deliberately tries to avoid them, which would be stupid.
"Thanks so much. I love you both," Lauren says, smiling softly at her two best friends.
"Of course babe. We love you too, you know that," Tori encourages, leaning down to dot a kiss on Lauren's forehead as Ally grabs her hand.
Even though she's got the added reassurance that her friends will be looking out for her, Lauren can't help but feel uneasy about the situation she's in. There's still no confirmed explanation for why Camila stood up for her, and she can't help but feel like there's something else going on here.
~~