"I wanna go home," Dinah complained as she, Lauren, Ally, and Normani walked into their English class.

"DJ, we literally just got here," Lauren said, and Dinah groaned.

The other girls laughed.

"Look who's back," Normani said quietly, turning the other girls' attention towards the doorway. Slowly, Camila walked in. She hadn't shown up for three days, and she didn't look too good.

"Hey, Mila... Where have you been? You haven't been responding to any of our calls or texts. You okay?" Ally asked as the girl sat down.

She looked like she hadn't slept in days, but she still managed to plaster a smile on her face. It wasn't her normal smile though... it was... different.

"I'm fine, Ally. Thanks for asking. Sorry about worrying you guys." Even her voice wasn't the same. It was... off. She sounded so... tired.

"Yeah... no problem. You can talk to us, you know that, right?" Dinah said.

Camila just nodded and turned her attention to the teacher at the front of the room.

Lauren tilted her head to the side, slightly worried. Camila had changed. She wasn't the happy, carefree, banana-loving Camz she used to be. Lauren couldn't understand why though. Camila barely acknowledged her anymore.

"Lauren?"

Lauren looked up at the teacher and saw him pointing at a question on the board.

"Read the quote out loud for the class," he said.

"Uh," she cleared her throat and began reading it. "I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be."

"Good, Lauren. Now explain the meaning of the quote."

Lauren gulped. "Uh..."

She looked at Camila, who sat there staring straight ahead, seeming to be zoned out. She snapped out of it when she felt Lauren's gaze.

"Well, uh... when it says I loved her against reason, Pip means that no matter what reasons anyone gave him not to love Estella, he still would. Against promise... he loved Estella even though she had promised herself to someone else. Against peace... it would be easier for him to give up. It would be more peaceful because he wouldn't have to go through the trouble of fighting to win her heart but he chose to stay and fight for her love. He is saying he would choose her over a peaceful life any day. When he says against hope, he means that even though he's lost all hope for Estella ever loving him back, he still chooses to love her and put himself in the position to get hurt, which is where against happiness comes in. He doesn't care if he had to be miserable for the rest of his life; he will still love her. Against all discouragement that could be... Everyone has told him to give up because he won't get her. Nobody tries to give him the courage to fight for what he loves. But he doesn't care about the negative things people have to say about his feelings or his lover. He chooses to love Estella unconditionally, no matter what."

The whole class was silent. Even Camila was looking at Lauren now.

"Wow, Lauren. That was... actually a perfect explanation. Great job," the teacher said with a smile, and went on with his lesson.

Lauren looked back at Camila, only to see she was focused on the teacher again. She looked really pale. Her eyes weren't a sweet chocolate brown anymore. They used to be so full of life. What happened?

Thirty minutes later, the bell rang. Lauren packed up her stuff and turned to ask Camila what was going on, but Camila was already walking out of the door.

Lauren tried to follow, but Ally pulled her back.

"Obviously she's not okay, Laur... I think you should let her be. She'll tell us if she wants to tell us," Ally said.

Lauren sighed and nodded.
-
Lauren woke up to the sound of knocking on her bedroom door.

"Come in..." She mumbled sleepily.

Camila slowly walked into the room, shutting the door behind her.

"Camz?" Lauren asked, sitting up.

Camila smiled sadly. "Yeah. Lo... I'm sorry."

"For what? Ignoring me? Pretending I didn't exist?"

"Let me explain... please?" Camila pleaded.

"I guess..."

Camila sat next to Lauren. "I've been avoiding you because... well... I have feelings for you."

"So you decide to not show up for three days and not tell any of us why?"

"That's not why I was gone. I... my dad. He uh... he actually was in the hospital. He had a heart attack," she said, looking down.

Lauren's eyes widened. "Is he..."

Camila shook her head. "No. He uh... not really. He's alive. But they say he needs a heart transplant. He's going in to surgery tonight. At midnight."

"I'm sorry, Camz... I hope it goes well..."

Camila nodded. "Me too," she paused. "I came here not just to apologize, but cuz... well, I kinda need someone to support me for now."

Lauren put an arm around Camila's shoulder. "I'm here for you, Camz. Always."

Camila buried her face into Lauren's neck. "Always?"

"I promise," Lauren said, making Camila smile.

They sat there in silence for a couple minutes before Lauren spoke up again.

"So you have feelings for me?" Lauren asked casually.

"Yeah..."

Lauren smiled and looked down at Camila. "Well guess what, Camz?"

"What...?" Camila asked, slowly looking up to meet the older girl's eyes.

"I have feelings for you as well."

Camila smiled and blushed, burying her face into Lauren's neck again.

"Wanna watch a movie?" Lauren suggested.

"Okay," Camila agreed and Lauren turned her tv on.
-
During the middle of the movie, Camila's phone went off.

She looked at the caller ID.

Mami ❤

Camila looked at Lauren, slightly worried, and answered. "Hello?"

"Mija... I uh... I have some bad news," said a broken-sounding voice on the other end.

"W-what happened?"

"Your father... he uh... they tried performing the heart transplant..."

"Tried? What-what do you mean they tried?" Camila asked desperately.

Lauren frowned. She knew what was coming.

"Mija, I'm so sorry... he didn't make it..."

Camila dropped her phone, and immediately grabbed on to Lauren, sobbing.

"N-no... he had to have made it! He... I..." Camila cried.

Lauren pulled Camila closer. "I'm so sorry, Camz. Fuck, I'm so sorry."

Camila cried into Lauren's shoulder for another ten minutes, before eventually quieting down. She'd fallen asleep.

Lauren looked down at the brown-eyed beauty, wishing she could help. All she could do now was provide comfort.

Lauren sighed, and rubbed her back, causing Camila to subconsciously snuggle into her side and hug her tightly, as if she were scared of letting go.

Lauren pressed her lips against Camila's forehead, and whispered, "Everything will be alright, Camz. I promise."