you make me sick (for being so perfect)

Thirty Three.

It's been a week since Sofi's accident, and Lauren has noticed a lot of changes in Camila's attitude. Usually at lunch when they're at school, she'll be messing around with Dinah or making some dorky jokes, but she's been incredibly quiet. Their friends always try to pull her into the conversation as a means of distraction, but Camila always stays glued to Lauren's side, fiddling with her fingers.

While Lauren doesn't mind that she has all of Camila's attention, she still thinks it's weird, because her girlfriend isn't normally like that.

"Hey, Lauser," Dinah nudges her when Camila heads out of the room with Ally to get a drink. "Has she been quiet with you all week? Mila, I mean."

"Yes," Lauren nods and taps on her leg, "I- um, when I walk her home, I'm the one doing all the talking, which is really weird because I'm usually the quiet one."

"Be there for her when she needs you, Lo," Dinah tells her, "she feels like she can't call you to come over if she's upset because she doesn't want to stress you out with unexpected plans. She told me that on the phone the other night."

"Really?" Lauren blinks in surprise. "But I'm supposed to be a good girlfriend and look after her when she's sad. How am I supposed to do that if she won't tell me she's upset?"

"Tell her that she can talk to you when she needs it," Dinah explains, "then she'll call you and you can get your good girlfriend-ness on."

Lauren hums in thought and glances up to see Dinah staring at something else. So, she follows her friends' gaze and her eyes land on Normani, who is across the room talking to a friend. "Why are you staring at Manibear?"

Dinah tears her gaze away from their friend immediately. "I wasn't."

Lauren frowns. "Yes you were. I just saw you. Don't lie, lying is bad."

"Ralph," Dinah turns to her with an odd expression, and Lauren glances down at her feet. "Drop it. Okay?"

"But- why were you staring?" Lauren asks again, because she wants to know why, since she can't read body language as well as their other friends. "I don't understand."

"I wasn't," Dinah argues, giving her a light shove, "shut up, Lauser."

Lauren continues voicing her train of thought. "It's rude to stare, that's what my dad always says to my brother when we go out as a family and he stares at a girl. I remember I used to stare at Camz a lot when she wasn't looking. Oh, wait, that makes sense. Is that why? Do you like Manibear?"

"Oh my god, be quiet!" Dinah shoves a hand over Lauren's mouth and pulls her into the art department's computer room, sitting her down in one of the desk chairs. "You can't tell her."

Lauren frowns to herself. "Tell her what?"

Dinah rolls her eyes. "Tell her that I like her."

"Oh, I won't tell her if you don't want me to," Lauren promises, but then she realises that she has the perfect opportunity to get Dinah back. "You like her, though. So I can make fun of you, like you did to me when I liked Camz."

"Not in front of her. You can't do anything that might make her think I like her." Dinah warns her. "I can't lose her, Mani is one of my best friends and if she found out..."

"If she found out she could be your girlfriend. And then you'd both be really happy." Lauren finishes for her, because she thinks that'd be cute. "I bet you were looking at her ass earlier."

"Ralph. Shut up." Dinah shoves her again and Lauren frowns, because she doesn't like that. "You're not supposed to be teaser. You're supposed to be the tease-ee."