Chapter Text
Chapter 1
The bus still smells like stage lights, sweat, and hairspray when the door folds shut behind them.
Camila drops onto the couch with a groan, kicking one boot halfway off before giving up and letting her head fall back against the cushion.
Her pulse is still running hot from the show, the kind of leftover adrenaline that makes her skin feel too tight and her thoughts move too fast.
Somewhere toward the back of the bus, Dinah is laughing at something Ally says, and Normani tells both of them to shut up because some people would like to keep their hearing after the arena.
Camila smiles to herself.
It had been a good night.
A really good night.
The crowd was loud from the first note, all screaming voices and waving lights, and for ninety minutes it had felt easy to be exactly who she was supposed to be.
Or at least close enough.
She drags herself upright just enough to pull off her other boot and toss it carelessly toward the table.
“I think my spine actually left my body during that last dance break.”
“Probably,” Lauren says.
Camila glances up.
Lauren is leaning against the kitchenette counter across from her, arms folded over her chest, one ankle crossed over the other like she has nowhere else in the world to be.
Her hair is still a little wild from the stage, dark and falling around her shoulders. The glitter from makeup and lights hasn’t fully left her skin yet.
She looks unfairly beautiful in the dim yellow glow of the bus.
Camila grins.
“You’re staring.”
Lauren’s mouth twitches.
“You looked ridiculous out there.”
Camila gasps in fake outrage.
“Excuse you?”
“That high note in the bridge?” Lauren says, pushing off the counter and sauntering toward her. “Criminal.”
Camila clutches her chest.
“Wow. Rude. I can’t believe you’d attack me when I’m this vulnerable.”
Lauren drops onto the couch beside her, their thighs bumping.
“Accurate isn’t an attack.”
Camila turns toward her, offended on principle and smiling anyway.
“You love me.”
Lauren doesn’t even hesitate.
“Unfortunately.”
Camila laughs, bright and tired, and leans into her shoulder.
Lauren lets her, as naturally as breathing.
That’s how it has always felt with Lauren.
Natural.
Easy.
Like some part of Camila’s body knows exactly where it belongs before her mind even catches up.
From the back, Dinah’s voice calls, “If y’all are gonna flirt, do it quieter. Some of us are trying to be exhausted in peace.”
Normani laughs.
“That is not what flirting sounds like, babe. That is domestic bickering.”
“Same thing,” Ally says.
Camila lifts her head and shouts, “Mind your business!”
“Make us,” Dinah shoots back.
Camila hears the rustle of movement, the thud of someone throwing themselves onto a bunk, more muffled laughter after that.
Then the sound begins to fade as the others settle in.
The bus grows quieter.
Camila tilts her head slightly, noticing Lauren is still watching her.
“You’re staring again,” she says.
Lauren doesn’t deny it.
“You’re still ridiculous.”
Camila rolls her eyes and reaches over to tug at the sleeve of the oversized hoodie Lauren is wearing.
“My hoodie, by the way.”
Lauren glances down at it like she’s only just noticed.
“No, it’s mine now.”
“You stole it.”
“You left it.”
“That is not how ownership works.”
Lauren shrugs lazily.
“Seems like it worked out.”
Camila narrows her eyes.
“You leave your guitar picks everywhere, Camz,” Lauren adds calmly. “If we’re assigning crimes.”
Camila opens her mouth to argue, then stops.
Lauren is still looking at her.
Not casually this time.
Really looking.
The dim bus lighting catches in Lauren’s eyes, turning the green almost luminous, like something alive beneath the surface. Camila has always loved Lauren’s eyes, but sometimes—when Lauren focuses on her like this—it feels like standing too close to a fire.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Camila asks softly.
Lauren tilts her head slightly.
“Like what?”
“Like you’re trying to memorize my face.”
Lauren doesn’t answer right away.
Camila’s stomach flips.
Because Lauren’s eyes haven’t moved.
They’re steady, intense in a way that makes the rest of the bus disappear for a second.
Finally Lauren says quietly, “Maybe I am.”
Camila’s breath catches.
The words are soft, almost teasing, but something underneath them feels heavier than the joke.
“LoLo,” Camila murmurs.
Lauren’s gaze drops briefly to Camila’s mouth.
It’s such a small movement most people wouldn’t notice.
Camila does.
Her heart stutters.
“You’re still staring,” she says, her voice quieter now.
Lauren shrugs slightly.
“You’re still ridiculous.”
Camila rolls her eyes, but the smile tugging at her mouth is impossible to hide.
“You love it.”
Lauren leans a little closer.
“I tolerate it.”
Camila scoffs.
“Liar.”
Lauren’s smile fades into something softer.
“Maybe.”
Camila doesn’t realize how close they’ve drifted together until Lauren’s hand brushes against hers on the couch cushion.
The contact is light.
Accidental.
Neither of them moves away.
The bus hums quietly around them.
Somewhere in the back, someone shifts in a bunk.
But the moment between them feels strangely still.
Camila’s voice drops.
“You’re doing that thing again.”
Lauren raises an eyebrow.
“What thing?”
“That thing where you look at me like you’re thinking too much.”
Lauren huffs a quiet laugh.
“You’re always accusing me of thinking too much.”
“That’s because you do.”
Lauren studies her for another second.
Then she reaches up and gently pushes a loose strand of hair away from Camila’s face.
The touch is soft enough that it makes Camila’s chest tighten.
“You’re still ridiculous,” Lauren murmurs.
Camila smiles.
“You keep saying that like it’s an insult.”
“It’s not.”
Their faces are very close now.
Close enough that Camila can feel Lauren’s breath when she speaks.
“Then what is it?” Camila asks.
Lauren’s eyes flicker between Camila’s eyes and her mouth again.
Something warm spreads slowly through Camila’s chest.
Lauren leans forward.
The kiss is soft.
Not rushed. Not desperate.
Just familiar.
Lauren’s lips brush against Camila’s like they’ve done a hundred times before, gentle and warm and easy in the way only something practiced can be.
Camila exhales quietly into the kiss.
Her hand curls instinctively into the front of Lauren’s hoodie.
For a moment everything else fades—the loading dock outside, the quiet bus, the lingering adrenaline from the show.
There’s just Lauren.
When they finally pull apart, Camila rests her forehead lightly against Lauren’s.
“See?” she whispers.
“What?”
“You do love me.”
Lauren breathes out a quiet laugh.
“Unfortunately.”
Camila grins.
Then Lauren leans back slightly.
And something in her expression shifts.
The warmth doesn’t disappear.
But something more serious settles underneath it.
“Camz.”
The nickname pulls Camila’s attention back instantly.
“Yeah, LoLo?”
Lauren doesn’t smile this time.
And that’s when Camila feels it.
The shift.
It’s subtle.
But Camila knows Lauren well enough to recognize it immediately.
Something’s coming.
Lauren leans forward, resting her forearms on her knees.
“I want to talk about something.”
Camila tilts her head.
“That sounds ominous.”
Lauren exhales quietly.
“I’m serious.”
Camila’s smile fades slightly.
“Okay.”
For a moment Lauren doesn’t speak.
Then—
“I don’t want to hide anymore.”
Camila blinks.
“What?”
Lauren looks directly at her.
“Us.”
Camila’s chest tightens.
“I don’t want to keep pretending you’re just my best friend when everyone asks why we’re always together,” Lauren says quietly.
“I’m tired of sneaking around backstage and hoping no one notices if I touch you.”
Her voice softens.
“I love you, Camz.”
The words land gently.
They still knock the air from Camila’s lungs.
Lauren has said it before.
In whispers.
In the dark.
In hotel rooms after long shows.
But this feels different.
This feels bigger.
Camila swallows.
“I know.”
Lauren studies her.
“Do you?”
Camila nods quickly.
“Of course I do. LoLo—”
“I mean it,” Lauren interrupts softly.
“I love you.”
Camila’s heart begins to pound.
Because she knows what Lauren is asking.
She exhales slowly.
“I love you too.”
Lauren’s shoulders relax slightly.
For a moment the tension between them fades.
Then Camila keeps talking.
“I just…”
Lauren’s brow furrows.
“What?”
Camila looks down at her hands.
“We can’t tell anyone.”
The silence that follows feels heavy.
Lauren goes still.
“Why not?”
Camila lifts her head.
“Because we’re just getting started,” she says carefully.
“The group, our careers—everything is finally happening for us.”
Lauren stares at her.
“So what?”
“So if this gets out,” Camila says, “the media will turn it into a circus. People will say we’re doing it for attention. Or worse.”
Lauren shakes her head slowly.
“That doesn’t matter.”
“It does,” Camila insists.
“It could mess everything up.”
Lauren’s voice drops.
“So your solution is what?”
“We keep hiding forever?”
“No,” Camila says quickly.
“Just until we’re more established. Until we have more control over our careers.”
Lauren studies her face.
“And how long is that?”
Camila opens her mouth—
—and realizes she doesn’t have an answer.
Lauren sees it immediately.
The silence stretches.
Lauren stands.
“LoLo—”
Lauren looks down at her.
“I thought loving you would be enough.”
Camila’s throat tightens.
“It is enough.”
Lauren shakes her head.
“Apparently it isn’t.”
She turns and walks toward the door of the bus.
Camila rises halfway from the couch.
“Lauren—”
Lauren pauses at the door.
For a second Camila thinks she might turn around.
But she doesn’t.
“I don’t want to be your secret, Camz.”
The door opens.
Cool night air spills into the bus from the loading dock outside.
Lauren steps down into the dark.
The door shuts behind her.
Silence fills the bus.
Camila slowly sinks back onto the couch.
Her hands tremble.
“LoLo…”
But Lauren is already gone.
And for the first time all night, the roar of the crowd has completely faded.