Calamity

Chapter 2

"Are you stalking me now or something?"

Camila scowled, lowering the container of cookies to her side. "For somebody who once begged me to—"

"Don't even think about finishing that sentence, Camila Cabello," Lauren said warningly.

"Do you guys..." Ally looked between them. "Know each other or something?"

"Something like that," Camila answered before Lauren could. "Well, I just figured I'd stop by and get to know my neighbors." She held out the cookies for Ally to take. "My mom made these for you guys,"

Upon hearing the mention of Sinu, the raven-haired woman's face visibly softened. "Is she—"

"She left already," Camila stuffed her hands into her pockets awkwardly. "She had a train to catch,"

"Well, thank you for the sweets. Maybe you could stop by for dinner tonight?" Ally offered.

"I appreciate the offer, but I actually just ate." She placed her hand over her stomach for emphasis. "Enjoy the cookies," Camila gave them a tight-lipped smile before going back into her apartment.

Ally brought the cookies back into the living room, a sour expression on her face. "That was rude, Lauren."

"Why didn't you guys invite the hottie in?" Dinah pouted. "And she brought cookies?"

"How the hell do you even know her?" Ally placed a hand on her hip.

"We went to high school together," she said vaguely. "Her mother used to work for my dad,"

Normani froze in the middle of biting the cookie. "She worked for Big Mike?"

"She was our maid," Lauren eyed one of the cookies, contemplating if she wanted one or not. "But my dad fired her after he thought she was stealing stuff from my mom's jewelry box."

"So?"

"So, what?" The raven-haired woman grabbed one.

"Was she stealing?" Normani said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Lauren shook her head. "No, my mom just has the worst fucking memory. When he offered to give her job back, she declined and got another one."

"And now you hate Camilla because of your dad?" Normani tried to make sense of it in her head. "Wait, what did you call her earlier at the door?"

"It's Camila. I don't hate her, we just... Never got along. She's basically my arch-nemesis,"

"She seems nice," Ally observed. "She's also our neighbor now, so you're going to have to grow up and stop being such a jerk to her. High school was how long ago?"

"Ally, you don't get it," she let out a miserable groan. "I spent half of my life competing with her. She always knew how to push my buttons and make me feel tiny in comparison to her."

"If I were you I would've let her push a few other things," Dinah wiggled her eyebrows. "She's smokin', Ralph! There's no way you've never thought about hitting that once."

'I already did. Multiple times.' Lauren thought to herself. "Gross, Dinah. Keep it in your fucking pants."

"You're a prude sometimes," the Polynesian woman leaped forward, invading Lauren's personal space. "But I see right through you, Jauregui. I know you're a freak in the sheets."

Normani pretended to gag beside them. "Oh my God, leave the girl alone for Christ's sake!"

"When's the last time you cleared those cobwebs, Ralph?"