just a dream (camren)

four

September 11th, 2016.

"Kaki!"

Camila's eyes blink open, and ignoring her sister, she scrambles to grab her phone, her heart sinking when she reads the time and date. She rubs at her eyes, sighing, and lays back down dejectedly. "Hey, Sofi."

"Can we go to the mall today?" Sofi asks. "You said you'd take me to get pizza in the food court."

"We can just order pizza here," Camila suggests, not in the mood to go out today, but Sofi pouts and shakes her head. "What? Don't you want to stay in your pyjamas all day?"

"I want to go shopping too! I still have a load of money from my birthday, since mami told me to save it." Sofi says. "And I want to buy a new shirt for school."

Camila groans, but she guesses that this is an upside to this weird dream. At least she gets to spend more time with Sofi. Besides, it's Sunday, so it's not like she's doing anything. "Okay, let me get dressed."

Sofi grins and leaves the room so Camila can get ready, but the older Cabello doesn't bother with her appearance much, throwing on some ripped jeans she finds and a sweater. She doesn't do anything to her hair, and she can barely be bothered with makeup – her nineteen-year-old self can get away with that kind of thing, but when she looks in the mirror, she sighs at her chubby cheeks and her tired eyes from school. She looks like a homeless chipmunk.

She goes downstairs and makes herself some toast – she calls it breakfast, but it's 1PM, so it's technically lunch – and watches cartoons with Sofi as she eats, before she goes to get her shoes on. When she's grabbing her keys and is about to call Sofi, Sinu gets her attention. "Mija? Are you feeling okay?"

"Uh... yeah?" Camila frowns. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You've just been a lot quieter for the past week," Sinu says, "and I've been worried. Is something going on at school?"

"No, no, everything is fine," Camila says, knowing exactly what her mother's reaction would be if she said something. It'd be you're going to a psychiatrist, and she really doesn't want to seem crazy to more than just Dinah. Telling Dinah was safe, but telling her mom isn't. "I'm just... tired. Getting used to waking up early again."

After a few moments, Sinu smiles at her. "Okay. But you know you can always talk to me, right?"

"Yeah," Camila nods, "I know. Love you, mom."

Sinu squeezes her hand. "Love you too, mija. I'll go and get Sofi for you."

When her mom leaves, Camila lets out a sigh of relief and pulls her shoes on, smiling when her little sister comes out of the lounge with a wide smile on her face. She does love spending time with Sofi, and that was one of the things she'd hated when it came to being in Fifth Harmony. They rarely had time off, and Camila hated not seeing her sister as much as she'd like to.

(She'd hoped she could amend that with her solo career, and planned to record her album in Miami so she could stay with her family.)

She grabs the car keys, and Sofi follows her outside, holding onto her hand. Camila makes sure her sister is buckled in, before she gets in and starts driving. "What music do you want me to put on?"

Sofi shrugs. "I don't care, I'm just looking forward to going to the mall with you. You were busy yesterday, since you only came in at like, two in the afternoon after that party. Did you stay at a friend's house?"

"Um... I guess," Camila shrugs, "I mean, not really a friend. A friend of a friend. And I didn't want to leave Dinah, because she got... sick."

Sofi laughs. "You can tell me if she drank too much alcohol. Remember last year for New Year's Eve and she came over and got really drunk? That was funny, she was super loud."