I held up the skull as a smile formed on my face. "To be, or not to be--that is the question."

Normani rolled her eyes playfully. "This is anatomy class, not English. Sit down, Lauren."

I chuckled and set the skull back down in its place. "Sorry. Couldn't help myself."

Normani shrugged and I sat down in my seat. There were three minutes left until the bell rang, and then we could leave. Three minutes until I get to hang out with Camila at the diner. I was so excited.

"Remember, guys. There is a test Friday and your essays on the body systems of your choice are due tomorrow," Mrs. Lovato said. "Also, don't forget to put your chairs up!"

I took a deep breath as I lifted my chair onto my desk. The classroom was filled with clanging sounds and zipping sounds as chairs were stacked onto the desks and students packed up their stuff.

The bell rung loudly and I bolted out of the room, quickly making my way to the usual spot I met Camila at after school.

As soon as she came into view, a wide smile spread across my face. I walked faster to her and she smiled when she saw me. The second I approached her, she threw her arms around my shoulders and I pulled her close by the waist. She buried her face into my neck and sighed happily.

"I missed you so much," she mumbled into my neck.

"I missed you too, Camz."

Camila pulled away just enough to look into my eyes. I felt my face heat up and I let go of her waist and took a small step back.

"So are you ready to go?" I asked.

Camila just nodded and grabbed my arm. "Let's go!" She exclaimed. Camila pulled me in the direction of the diner. "I wanna get a booth before they all run out!"

I smiled. 'Christ, you're so adorable,' I thought as I saw the excited expression on her face.

After 10 minutes of walking, we reached the diner and were immediately greeted by Ally, the waitress. "Hey, guys! Did y'all have an early day today?"

"Yup. We got out at one thirty-five today," Camila explained.

"Well, your usual booth is free right now, so I'm guessing y'all wanna sit there?"

"Yes, please," I said.

Ally chuckled and led us to our booth. We sat down and she pulled out her notepad and pen. "Will you be having the usuals?"

"Yes. Thank you!"

Ally smiled and walked off to give the cook our orders. I turned my attention to the brown-eyed beauty in front of me.

"So today at lunch, I was hanging out with Taylor at lunch today."

Camila hummed. "That's nice. How is she doing?"

"She's alright. She got a new cat last week. She showed me like seventy pictures," I chuckled. Taylor's entire camera roll was just taken over by pictures of her cats, especially her new one. I wasn't complaining though, because I love cats.

"That's cool," Camila said. Her phone started buzzing and she picked it up. "My sister is calling."

"You should answer it." I pulled my phone out and started playing a game of Solitaire. 

"I was planning to." Camila answered the phone and sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Hello?"

I looked up from my phone at the younger girl and saw she was already looking at me with a small smile on her face. I smiled back, and felt my stomach erupt in butterflies. The way the sunlight lit up her face was just gorgeous. I couldn't help but stare into her dark chocolate brown eyes. She giggled, presumably at something Sofi had said, and I felt my heart beat speed up. Even her laugh is enough to make me want to kiss her. How is it possible for one person to be so fucking gorgeous and sweet and funny and amazing, and not know it??

"Lauren? Are you alright?" Camila asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. 

"Huh?"

"Are you okay? You were staring."

My face heated up and I looked back down at my phone, trying to think of an excuse. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just... really tired." Camila obviously didn't buy it, because she stared into my eyes, trying to decipher what was going on in my head. I put on my best unreadable expression and leaned forward a bit. "I'm fine, Camz. Really."

"Mhm... sure."

I sighed and sat back. Suddenly, a tray of food was set on the table between us, and I felt my stomach growl. "Thank you, Ally," I said with a smile and Camila thanked her as well. 

Ally grinned. "Enjoy your meal, ladies!" She then walked off to another table to check on other customers. 

"Soo... you gonna tell me what's up?" The brown-eyed brunette asked as she popped a chicken nugget into her mouth. 

"I did tell you. I'm tired."

"Lies. Lauren, I'm here for you. You can tell me what's going on. You know that, right? I'll always be here for you. No matter what." Camila rested her hand on mine, and I felt another explosion of butterflies in my stomach. This fucking sucked. 

"I love you," I mumbled, making Camila tilt her head, obviously a bit confused. 

"I love you too, Laur. Are you okay?" 

I ran a hand through my hair and realized I was sweating. "I'll be right back. I ned to, uh.. use the bathroom." I stood up swiftly and half ran, half walked to the restroom. 

As soon as I got inside, I turned on the sink and splashed cold water on my face. I was so glad the bathroom only had one stall, because then I didn't have to worry about someone walking out to see me having a panic attack. 

The door swung open and I cursed myself for forgetting to lock it. The moment I saw who it was, my heart stopped. The reason I was freaking out was standing two feet away from me, looking confused and worried as hell. 

"Lauren? Please tell me what's wrong," she begged, slowly inching towards me. 

I looked down at my feet and weakly mumbled, "I love you. A lot."

The younger girl stared at me blankly, and then a look of realization slowly formed on her face, and her eyes got watery. "Oh... you mean, like, you are in love with me? As in... you want to be more than friends?"

"Yes, Camz. What else would I mean? I'd be insane to not want you."

Camila looked down at her feet, licking her lips. "Why?"

I took a shaky breath and cleared my throat. "Why? Camila, look at yourself. Why not? You are by far, one of the most intelligent people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. You're absolutely hilarious, too. When I'm sad or angry, you somehow always end up being the reason why I calm down. You are what gives me motivation to get up every morning and live on in this sucky and hellish world, because God knows without you, there is no possible way I would survive. You give me the motivation and the confidence to keep trying. You are the reason I smile every day, even when I don't want to. You are one of the kindest people I have ever met, as well. And the strongest. You've gone through some pretty difficult times, yet somehow you always come out of it, stronger than before. I truly admire you in every way. You are also, without a single doubt in my complex and fucked-up mind, the absolute most breathtakingly gorgeous and beautiful girl that I have ever laid eyes on. Your smile is one of my favorite things about you. And your eyes. Your eyes may be brown, which you think is boring and ugly, but I can assure you, your eyes are so beautiful and so wonderful. The emotion in your eyes just... your eyes always pull me in and the deeper I look into them, the deeper I fall in love with you. Your voice is definitely another one of my favorite things about you. I could listen to it forever, as well as your adorable laugh, and there is no way I'd ever get sick of either of them. You are so fucking amazing, that it drives me utterly insane that you don't see it. I am so in love with you, Camila. And all your little things. I would change nothing about you, because to me, you're perfect just the way you are. I wish I could show you with more than just words how much I love you. You have, and always will have, all of me, whether you want me or not. I just... please, say you won't let go of what we have if you don't feel the same way. I wouldn't know what I'd do if you stopped being my friend. I feel like I'd go crazy.... Well, crazier than I am now. I just... yeah." When I finished, I was completely out of breath and my throat hurt. Camila stood there, staring at me. "Camz? Are you... okay..?" 

'I knew this was a mistake. I shouldn't have told her. I just ruined my friendship with-' My thoughts were cut off by Camila's gentle whisper, and my breath caught in my throat.

"I'm in love with you too, Lauren."

"I... really?"

Camila nodded and grabbed my hands. "Lauren, I love you too. So much. I am so fucking in love with you, and the fact that you feel the same just... I can't believe it. It's literally a dream come true."

I grinned and pulled her in for a hug. "OOF, I was so scared you'd be upset or that you wouldn't wanna be around me anymore."

"Well I'm not going anywhere. I promise." She pulled away slightly to kiss my cheek. My face heated up and she giggled. "Come on, let's go back and eat our food. They're going to think we just left it."

I nodded and the two of us walked out of the bathroom, back to our booth.

- - -

A/N- OOF THAT WAS SO BAD IM SO SORRY AND THE TITLE IS WORSE BUT I WANTED TO UPDATE OOOOOOOOOF have a nice day lmao