Fated.

'5.

It was raining outside, splattering against Casey Blake's window, almost loud enough to drown out the shrieks and laughs of the preteens huddled in a circle in the middle of the room. The air was almost suffocating with the smell of chips, popcorn, and other garbage food those nine 8th graders had brought. Somehow, Lauren got robbed into playing this ridiculous game. The bottle is spun, and the first pair it lands on has to go into Casey's closet and do whatever they want for seven minutes- seven minutes in Heaven. It is scandalous enough for a group of 13-year-olds to have them all blushing and giggling except Lauren.

The bottle spins, and it lands on Austin Mahone. Nearly all the girls seem to sit up a bit straighter, even Camila sitting next to Lauren, and Lauren is surprised when the bottle lands on Camila. She looks at her friend and finds a red blush high on her cheeks, her brown doe eyes spilled wide, fingers curling in her dress.

The boys hoot, and the girls giggle. Jessy Lee looks jealous, and Austin Mahone is smirking.

"You don't have to do this," Lauren says. She thinks this is ridiculous. Camila has always talked about how she wants her first kiss to be big and romantic. Kissing a dirty middle-school boy with breath that stinks of sour cream and onion chips is the least romantic thing Lauren can think of.

Everyone is persistent.

"Of course, she has to do it!" Casey exclaims. She's always been bossy, and Lauren wonders why she let herself get dragged to this stupid party."That's the rule. You can't break the rules, Camila."

"It's Ca-me-la," Lauren corrects her, irritated. They've gone to school together for eight years, and for some reason, Casey still insists on pronouncing Camila's name wrong. While Camila doesn't seem to mind, it's one of the things that can grate on Lauren's nerves.

She looked at Camila, who looked younger than she was- more than Lauren usually- with her pretty, polka-dotted bow in her silky hair and pretty dress, which she'd bought explicitly for this party.

Austin has gotten to his feet with a cocky smile, holding his hand out for Camila. Camila blushes harder, and Lauren knows she has a crush on the boy. Lately, she hasn't done anything but talk Lauren's ears off with Austin this and Austin that. Camila slips her hand into his, and they disappear into the closet.

That's how Camila gets her first kiss and her first boyfriend.

Lauren has always disliked Austin- he's that one obnoxious white boy from your class who's constantly doing some annoying shit to get attention. Her dislike for him increases tenfold when he becomes Camila's boyfriend. In her humble opinion, Austin doesn't deserve Camila- she's made of everything sweet and bright, while Austin is the incarnation of everything wrong with a middle school boy: immature, annoying, and so on.

But Camila doesn't see that.

"He's actually... charming! If you'd only give him a chance and get to know him better," she says to Lauren one day after school when they get to Lauren's house and raid the fridge.

Lauren is skeptical.

Then Austin goes and confirms every negative opinion Lauren has of him; he goes with his stupid, big, chapped mouth and boasts to his silly little friends that he's had sex with Camila two weeks after they got together. Camila is shocked and upset, and when she confronts Austin, the whole thing ends in a breakup.

Of course, Lauren is there as an excellent friend to dry the seemingly endless stream of tears off Camila's cheeks, run to the nearest shop and get her favorite ice cream, swaddle her in blankets, and put on her favorite Disney movies. Lauren punches the living daylight out of Austin Mahone and ends with a week's detention. But... It's worth it.