New Adjustments to a Little World

13

A/N: There's a teeny tiny bit of little Lauren in here for you all. Progress is being made.

Read and enjoy!

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Lauren sat up with a gasp, holding back a startled cry. She struggled to untangle herself from the blankets, ending up falling off the bed and sprawled out on the floor. Disoriented and breathing heavily, she took in her surroundings. She could just make out her bed, seeing the light colors of her new comforter. A few feet away from her was Nala, it must have fallen while she was asleep. And on the ceiling were the glow in the dark stickers. She was in her room at Dinah, Normani, and Ally's house. She wasn't alone, the women were just down the hall, and Camila was probably passed out across the hall.

She blinked, trying to hold back tears. She'd woken from a nightmare, though she didn't quite remember what it was about, just that she was alone and scared. She shook her head, trying to reassure herself. The women were just down the hall, and Camz was in the room across from her. She wasn't alone.

Now that she was awake, she could feel just how badly she needed to pee, and quickly ran to the bathroom. Luckily the door was left open this time, so she had no problem finding it. When she returned to her room, she picked Nala up from the floor and cuddled it and climbed back into bed, cuddling the lion and her blanket.

After about ten minutes of tossing and turning, she gave up on trying to get back to sleep. She didn't know what time it was, she didn't have a clock and her phone was downstairs. Sighing, she looked up at the ceiling, staring at the glowing stars and planets. She pulled Nala close to her face, nibbling on the tail. She wondered if she could go into the women's room and ask them how to fall back asleep.

"'aybe I can 'ake t'em up?" she whispered to the stuffed animal. After a moment of thought, she shook her head. "No, no I don't wan' to make t'em mad."

She continued to stare at the stickers, trying to figure out what she should do. Finally, she had an idea. She grabbed her blanket and Nala, and carefully snuck out of her room, down the hall and then downstairs. She walked over to the recliner, curling up under her blanket, bringing Nala close to her, chewing on the lion's ear. She couldn't work up the courage to go into the women's room to wake them up, but this was her favorite spot to nap, so she thought it might work (though she liked it better with Dinah holding her).

It didn't take too long for her exhaustion to catch up with her, and soon she was back to sleep.

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Ally thought she was the first awake, but was surprised to see Dinah scrolling through her phone when she turned around. "What are you doing?" she asked quietly, mindful of a still sleeping Normani.

"Just looking at some stuff to show Lauren," the younger blonde answered. "I know we don't want to pressure her into a younger headspace, but she can't continue chewing on her clothes and blanket. She'll ruin them." She handed the older woman her phone.

Ally looked through the page, seeing an assortment of items. Dinah had been looking at pacifiers, which the older woman was still hesitant to suggest, but wasn't completely ruling out. What surprised her was that the younger woman had apparently looked up other alternatives to using pacifiers, and had found silicone necklaces specifically made for chewing. They weren't sure if Lauren liked sucking on things or biting them, but either way the chewing necklaces could work for both. Plus, they were made for all ages it seemed, so it wouldn't seem like they were calling the girl a baby.

"I also found some bottles, just in case. But I also picked out some sippy cups, just so Lauren doesn't accuse us of thinking she's a baby," Dinah explained quietly as Ally handed the phone back.