This is based off the prompt "AU in which every time a person falls in love, a red line appears on their wrist".
X
Camila Cabello has a clean left wrist when she meets Lauren Jauregui, who happens to have two red marks on hers, during The X Factor. It's proper to shake someone's hand when you meet them and almost everyone shakes with their left hand so that they can check out how many tallies are on their new acquaintance's wrist. It's just one of those things. People will always be curious. Most of the time this is never a conversation starter, unless someone has lots and lots of red marks, or none at all. Camila has gotten used to people commenting about her "misfortune" of not falling in love yet, so when Lauren's eyes trail to her wrist, then back to meet her gaze, Camila is completely shocked that she doesn't say anything about it. Her face must have shown that she was expecting something though, because Lauren lets out a laugh, "Did I miss something?"
Camila quickly drops her hand and stutters, "No, no, I just - I'm just used to people giving me crap for not having any marks."
"I think you're lucky."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Love's complicated. You should keep it that way," Lauren responds, nodding at her wrist.
Camila notices just how pretty Lauren's eyes are and then she wonders just how easy its going to be to keep her wrist blank during this competition.
...
They go back to Miami before the live shows start and the day after they fly in, Lauren calls Camila.
"What are you doing?"
"Um, honestly? Or should I make up an exciting lie?"
"Truth," Lauren's voice echoes out of the earpiece.
"Sitting on Tumblr," Camila mumbles, laughing to herself at how boring her ilfe is at home.
"I'm picking you up in literally five minutes. Come outside."
Lauren's there in four minutes and fourty-three seconds, actually, but its not like the younger girl was counting in her head or anything.
"You're early," Camila comments when she hops into the passenger seat.
"Surprised to see me?"
Lauren's joking when she asks, but the other girl's response is serious.
"Yeah, actually."
"Really?"
"I mean, I figured you would have cooler people to hang out with once you got home. I kinda thought you might just be friends with me because we were stuck on a TV show together," Camila says nonchalantly.
Lauren frowns, "Seriously? That's ridiculous. You're honestly my best friend, you're stuck with me."
Lauren reaches over and squeezes Camila's hand, without removing her gaze from the road, and the younger girl squeezes back.
...
After they win, the girls spend a lot of time in LA and every time they are there, they rent the same five-bedroom house in the hills. Lauren has the room in the very back of the house, so naturally, Camila picks the room next to hers. When they have days off they usually spend their time reading, sprawled out on Lauren's bed, stealing glances at each other over the tops of their books.
Well, maybe Camila is the only one stealing glances, but sometimes she's met by green eyes and it makes the butterflies in her stomach even worse. She really, really likes Lauren. There's no denying that. But the fact that she still doesn't have any marks on her wrist is both comforting and disappointing. Its comforting because she's not like, secretly in love with her best friend or anything, but its disappointing because she's never felt this way about anyone before, but apparently that's not even love. She doubts she's ever going to get a red line at this rate.
She looks up again and she's met with green eyes, again.
"What?"
"Nothing," Lauren smirks, "You just get so into your books."
"It's not my fault you keep picking amazing ones for me to read," Camila defends herself.
"You're cute," Lauren comments before turning her attention back to the paperback in her hand.
Camila looks down at her wrist. Nothing.
...
"Camz, I swear to god, if we get caught..."
Camila rolls her eyes playfully before pushing the door marked "Do Not Enter" open, motioning for Lauren to walk through.
"It's not even locked, it's fine! No one is going to come up here this late at night," the younger girl insists, closing the door quietly behind them and heading up the stairs after her friend. Once they reach the top of the stairs they open another door and step outside onto the hotel roof.
"Wow," Lauren breathes, looking up at all of the bright lights.
They're in New York, one hundred floors up, with buildings towering above them while taxicabs and people buzz around below.
"I know," Camila replies, taking it all in, "I still can't believe we're here Lo. This is our life."
"There is honestly no where else on this earth I rather be right now," Lauren murmurs, and suddenly she's looking at the other girl with an overwhelming gaze of adoration.
Camila is pretty sure that if she doesn't break this eye contact immediately she's going to end up jumping Lauren, and that would not go well, so instead she starts walking towards the stairs.
"I totally forgot the hot chocolate. I'll be right back," Camila yells over her shoulder. She can hear Lauren laughing behind her as she makes her way inside. She grabs the mugs full of warm liquid from their room and heads back up, mentally telling herself to get a grip. Her and Lauren are friends. That's all they will ever be. When she finally makes it back to the roof she finds Lauren sitting down near the edge, staring at her hands. Camila frowns, wondering what she's looking at, but when she goes to hand Lauren her mug, she finally sees it.
There aren't two red lines on Lauren's wrist. There are three.
Camila's stomach drops, but she knows she has to act like a normal best friend, "Oh my god, Lauren, why didn't you tell me you got your third?"
Lauren's still silent, staring at her wrist, an unreadable expression on her face.
"That's great though, I mean Luis is really, really lucky," Camila continues, confused as to why Lauren would be upset. She's in love with her boyfriend, after all, what's the big deal? Isn't that how life is supposed to work?
"Uh, yeah, I guess he is," the older girl mumbles.
Lauren's silent for the rest of the night and it doesn't make sense to Camila, but she doesn't push it. She assumes maybe Lauren's just upset because Luis hasn't gotten a new mark on his wrist yet. She doesn't know what else it could be.
...
"Sometimes I seriously wish the internet was never invented," Camila huffs, tapping on her phone aggressively.
"May I ask why?" Lauren doesn't look up but instead keeps flipping through the magazine she's reading.
"All these stupid rumors about me and Austin Mahone, I mean, seriously? I can't have one guy friend without everyone assuming we're hooking up?" Camila makes a disgusted facial expression, shoving her phone into the other girl's face. A completely zoomed-in photo of her and the boy walking next to each other is on the screen, with the caption 'Austin's new flame!'
Lauren rolls her eyes and pushes the phone back at the younger girl, "I mean you do text each other all the time, and you always hang out when you're both in LA..."
"Lauren! Not helping!"
"I'm just saying if you actually did like him that would be okay. I mean do you like him?"
The way Lauren asks the question makes Camila feel weird. She can't quite put her finger on it, but there's a hidden emotion in the girl's voice.
"What? No."
"Are you sure?"
"Lauren, I swear, I do not even have the tiniest thing for him. Like, ew."
The older girl seems to be happy with this answer because she nods slowly, a small smile creeping onto her lips.
...
It happens at The 1975 concert, which is almost too cliché for Camila's liking. Almost. Lauren gets tickets and insists that they go together and when the younger girl questions why she isn't going with Luis, Lauren looks at her like she has two heads.
"Because it's our thing, Camz. I'm not going without you."
So, of course, she goes.
Camila tries really hard not to notice how cute Lauren looks in combat boots and an army jacket. She tries really hard not to think about how much this feels like a date when Lauren is protectively leading her through the crowd, or when she refuses to let Camila pay for her own ticket. She tries really hard not to stare at Lauren while the band plays songs that she swears she could have written about the girl next to her.
It's right after they finish playing "Me" and they start playing "Fallingforyou" that Camila feels Lauren reach down and intertwine their fingers together. She turns to look at the other girl for the first time since the show started and finds that Lauren's eyes are watery, but she's still so focused on the music, silently mouthing the lyrics, gently squeezing the other girl's right hand.
Camila lets out a shaky breath that she didn't realize she was holding and something inside of her clicks. There's a pinch at her left wrist and she tears her gaze away from the older girl and looks down at her arm, thinking maybe a bug bit her. Instead she can make out a small, straight, red line
"Fuck."
She didn't mean to say that out loud. She pulls her sleeve down hastily, turning back to Lauren, praying she didn't notice what she was looking at. Luckily, the older girl is still watching the band intently. She's also still holding Camila's other hand.
Camila can't deny it anymore. She's in love with Lauren Jauregui.
For the first time in her life, she actually wishes that she didn't have any marks on her wrist.
...
Camila covers up the red line on her wrist with make up every single day and most of the time she likes to wears bracelets for added protection. She can't deal with anyone seeing it because the first question they will ask is who and she has no idea how she can lie her way out of that one. She hasn't been talking to any guys, or any girls for that matter, and she honestly has no idea what she would say. It just becomes part of her routine. Shower, makeup, accessories.
She's good at it. It's been almost four months and no one has any idea that she got her first mark.
Lauren breaks up with Luis and Camila has been so preoccupied with distracting herself from the older girl that she almost doesn't even notice. Almost.
It's not like it matters anyway.
...
Camila's in a rush to get ready in time for an interview one morning and she forgets to dab cover up on her wrist. She forgets to throw on a bracelet. They are all seated next to each other at the radio station, Camila on one end and Lauren next to her, and she starts animatedly telling a story, waving her hands around with excitement, when she realizes Lauren's eyes are glued to her wrist. That's when she realizes the single red mark is completely visible.
Somehow, the rest of the girls don't catch it and they move on to the next topic with the interviewer, but Lauren looks like she's seen a ghost. Camila is trying really hard to fight back the tears that threaten to flow. She's got no way out of this. Lauren knows every detail about her life, every person in it, and Camila racks her brain trying to think of who she can pin this on before she loses her friendship with the older girl. The second the interview ends, Lauren grabs her arm and drags her down the hallway, into the bathroom, and locks the door behind them.
"What the hell is that?"
"Lauren, don't," Camila begs.
"Sorry if I'm upset my best friend hasn't even told me she's been talking to anyone and suddenly she's fallen in love with someone today," Lauren's yelling now, and Camila doesn't understand why she didn't put her damn make up on this morning.
"It didn't happen today."
"You got this before today?" Lauren's jaw is clenched now, "Since when?"
"Since April," Camila replies, almost inaudibly.
"What the hell, Camz! How hasn't anyone noticed before?"
"I've been covering it up."
"Why?" Lauren yells, and after a moment of silence from the younger girl she continues, "April what?"
"Lauren..." Camila tries, but the other girl isn't listening to her.
"What day did you get that?"
"April sixteenth."
Lauren's face goes white, "Before or after the concert?"
Camila's crying now because she knows that her response isn't going to be okay.
"During. I got it during the concert."
Lauren's out the door by the time Camila blinks away another tear.
...
Lauren doesn't come back. She doesn't tell anyone where she is either. Management is pissed that she just ran off by herself, while they were in the middle of LA, when they are supposed to be in the studio, but they're at least happy that she waited until after their appearance to disappear. They're still pissed though, really, really pissed. Camila knows that it's all her fault and she feels bad that Lauren is eventually going to get yelled at because of her.
Dinah had found her sobbing in the bathroom, right where Lauren left her, and once she saw the tally on Camila's wrist, she had stopped asking questions. Camila assumes she told the other girls what she saw because they don't ask her questions either. She assumes that they all made the connection. Just like Lauren did.
She hates herself for this because if Lauren never comes back, Fifth Harmony's separation will be on her shoulders. Forever.
...
The four girls are in the studio now anyways, but Dinah and Ally are the only ones recording at the moment, while Camila just stares off into space, Normani next to her, on the other side of the glass. Normani's phone rings and she steps out to take the call.
"You sure you don't want to get in there today? Sing it out?" one of the producers asks the younger girl, nodding towards the booth.
"No, I don't think so. Sorry," Camila replies.
He just shrugs and turns his attention back to the other girls. After several minutes Normani steps back in and slowly sits back down.
"That was Lauren," she starts in a low voice, as Camila snaps her head up, "She's okay. She's with Vero."
Camila feels like crying all over again because she knows that Lauren only really hangs out with that girl when she wants to get drunk and go out. She pictures the two girls talking about how pathetic she is, laughing as they drink. Normani must be able to tell that she's thinking something along those lines because she speaks up again.
"You know how she is. She just needed time to herself to clear her thoughts. She'll be back."
"Yeah, well if she comes back, she's just going to avoid me," Camila mumbles.
"So that really is for her, huh?" Normani asks, pointing to the mark on the younger girl's wrist. Camila doesn't say anything but that seems to give Normani her answer anyway.
"Did you ever ask Lauren why her and Luis broke up?"
Camila thinks about it for a minute, "No, I guess I didn't. I never really wanted to hear about it. God, I'm the most selfish friend."
"No you aren't," Normani chuckles, "Well, they fought about Lauren's third mark."
"What? Why?"
"Because she got it while we were away on tour. She didn't get it while she was with him. Like, physically hanging out with him."
"So?" Camila asks, clearly not understanding the point the other girl is trying to make.
"Mila, everyone I know remembers exactly when they got each of their marks. And everyone I know was actually with the person when it happened."
"So what are you saying?" the younger girl asks, still confused.
"I'm saying, Luis and Lauren broke up because she didn't get her third one with him," Normani raises her eyebrows for dramatic effect.
"Are you sure they weren't just talking on the phone or something?"
"It doesn't usually work like that..."
"Well, when did she even get the newest one then?" she's still confused.
"I don't know. She never told anyone. But maybe you should ask her that one day."
Camila doesn't have a chance to ask more questions because Dinah walks out of the booth and tells Normani its her turn to record background vocals. Dinah doesn't say anything once Normani walks out, she just wraps her arms around the smaller girl in a bear hug, and Camila finds herself starting to cry. Again.
...
It's almost two in the morning when the girls get back to their house and they all retreat to their respective rooms for the night. Camila pauses by Lauren's door though, eventually walking into the back room, sighing when she finds that it's empty. Not that she really thought Lauren would be there, but still.
She lays down on top of Lauren's comforter and curls up, wishing she could take back everything that has happened in the past twenty-four hours. She doesn't want to lose Lauren, because despite everything, she's still her best friend. Camila must fall asleep at some point because before she knows it, a gentle shake and someone saying, "Hey", wakes her up.
It's not just someone. It's Lauren.
"Hi, uh, I'm sorry, I was just, I didn't mean to..." Camila trails off.
"It's okay, Camz," Lauren says softly. She's surprisingly calm. And surprisingly sober.
Camila quickly gets up and heads for the door, but she feels a soft grip on her arm and turns to face the other girl.
"Wanna go for a walk?"
Camila squints at the clock, which reads "3:05 AM".
"Now?"
"Yeah," Lauren replies, like it's the most casual question in the world, "You don't have to, though."
"Well, I'm awake now. So, okay, I guess."
Lauren leads them out the front door and down the street, turning off onto the familiar bike path. It's quiet outside. It's still. Peaceful. Camila isn't sure if she should wait for Lauren to speak or if she is supposed to say something. Is this the part where she apologizes for ruining their friendship? Is she supposed to ask her to forget everything? She's snapped out of her internal debate when she hears the girl next to her start talking.
"I'm sorry I ran," Lauren says, "You know how I get when I'm, uh, blindsided with stuff."
"It's okay. I get it, I'm sorry too," Camila adds.
"You don't have to apologize for anything. You didn't do anything wrong. I mean, I wish you had been honest with me, but I get why you weren't. Believe me, I do."
Camila doesn't get it, Lauren is being so nice and so not awkward and that's just weird.
"Look, Lo. I don't want it to be awkward with us but I get that it's going to be different. It's okay if you need your space for awhile."
Lauren doesn't say anything back to that, but there's a ghost of a smile on her lips. Camila is beyond confused at this point and she wonders if she is hallucinating this whole thing. After all, it is like, three in the morning.
"Do you remember when you got it?" Lauren speaks again, "I mean, I know you said at the concert, but like, do you remember the specific moment?"
Camila can feel herself blushing, "Um, yeah."
"Tell me?"
"Lauren, I don't think that..."
"I won't freak out. I promise. Please?"
Camila rolls her eyes and lets out a little huff, "Fine. You were holding my hand, they started playing 'Fallingforyou', I looked over at you and you were singing, and then bam, I felt it."
"'Fallingforyou', huh? Pretty cliché, Cabello," the older girl says with a smirk.
"It's not like I chose that moment. It's not like I chose you," Camila says, a little harsher than she intended.
She swears she sees Lauren frown before she mumbles, "I know."
The silence is awkward now. Somehow Camila managed to ruin a moment that wasn't even there. She decides to try to keep the conversation going, "What about you? Do you remember when you got yours?"
"Yep. Each one," Lauren murmurs.
"Tell me. Your turn."
Lauren stops walking when they reach a tall street lamp and they stand together under the yellow light. She pulls up the sleeve of her sweater, showing off her three neat tally marks that pop against her light skin.
"This one," the older girl points to the first mark, "was Jared. I was fifteen and we had been dating for a few months when he asked me to homecoming by spelling it out with candles in my front yard. Afterwards he gave me a big bouquet of roses and he signed the card 'I love you'. Right after I read the card, it happened."
Camila chuckles at the story, "Wow, and you said I was cliché?"
"Oh just wait, it gets worse," Lauren jokes back.
"This one," she points to the middle mark, "was Keaton. I was sixteen, as you know, and we had just started doing live shows for The X Factor. But, the exact moment was when he sang one of Emblem's new songs for me, by himself, and then he told me he had written it for me."
"Cliché, but still cute," Camila replies, "Last one?"
Camila is suddenly really nervous to hear this story, especially after Normani had made a big deal about it, almost suggesting that the mark wasn't for Luis at all.
"Ah yes, this one," Lauren points at the last mark on her arm. Camila thinks it even looks like its a slightly deeper shade of red than the other two, but she wonders if its just the lighting, or the fact that its newer, or if she's just making things up in her head again.
"This one was different. I got it this year. It's funny because I was dating Luis at the time, but that's not how I got it."
Camila gulps. So Normani had been right, it wasn't for Luis, but then who in the world did Lauren fall in love with this past year? Had Lauren been cheating on him? Camila was almost more hurt at the thought of Lauren secretly seeing someone that she never mentioned than the thought of Lauren not returning her feelings. Suddenly, Lauren drops her arms to her side and takes a step closer to the younger girl.
"Do you remember when we were in New York, like, in February?
"Yeah?" Camila answers skeptically.
"Remember when we went up on the roof?"
"Obviously. It was my idea, remember?"
"Right, well, we were on the roof. And I said that there was nowhere else I would have rather been in that moment, which I sincerely meant, by the way. You were looking at me like, I don't know, I was the greatest thing in the city that night."
Lauren's voice is getting shaky now and Camila can't remember ever hearing her voice like this. The younger girl's heart is starting to beat faster now because Lauren is talking about her and she's confused because she thought that this story was supposed to be about the older girl's third mark.
"And then you started walking away, you had to go back down to our room, and right as you left, I felt it," Lauren finishes simply, not removing her gaze from the brown eyes opposite of her.
"What?" Camila whispers, because there is no way she just heard that story right. Because that would have meant...
"On February twenty-third I fell in love with you, Camila Cabello, and it turned my whole world upside-down. I guess I should have told you sooner," she reaches down and lightly touches Camila's wrist, traces her finger over the mark, "and for that, I'm really sorry."
Camila kisses Lauren. Or maybe Lauren kisses Camila. But all that really matters is that somehow she's kissing Lauren and she can hear the buzz of the dirty streetlight above them, but for some reason, it seems utterly perfect.
...
When Camila wakes up every morning she still has the same routine: shower, makeup, accessories. Except now the makeup only goes on her face, and with each day, the amount she puts on has been getting lighter and lighter.
Lauren steps out of the shower while the younger girl is putting on her eyeliner in the mirror, and she leans over and kisses Camila on the shoulder.
"You look beautiful. Not that you need that, but it looks nice."
Camila smiles. She swears the line on her wrist turns a deeper shade of red.