'Are you okay?' Camila asked Lauren, breathing out streams of white mist from the cold. 'You're being really quiet.'

Lauren took a deep breath letting the brisk afternoon air fill her lungs. She considered brushing Camila off, telling her she was 'fine' and adding another white lie to her already increasing pile. But when she looked at Camila, all wide eyes and rosy cheeks, she found the attempt impossible.

'Doesn't it bother you, lying to everyone about this?' Lauren queried, gesturing between them.

Camila didn't reply immediately, she just inched a little further up the queue in which they were stood, in line for their ice-skates. The look on her face was thoughtful, Lauren noticed.

'It bothers me, yeah but it's also necessary. If this was any other 'normal' relationship we probably wouldn't've told people yet anyway, right?'

'Maybe I wouldn't have told my parents yet, but I'd definitely tell my friends. And this isn't a 'normal' relationship,' Lauren air-quoted, then rolled her eyes at the gesticulation, 'I just...I worry that maybe we're doing the wrong thing here.'

Camila squinted her eyes at Lauren, reaching out to pluck the taller girls sunglasses from Lauren's face. It wasn't necessarily sunny enough to warrant wearing them but she felt safer hidden behind the tinted glass. Camila positioned them on the top of Lauren's head, now able to look her in the eye.

'Are you breaking up with me?' The Cuban girl asked, with a smirk. 'Because if you're breaking up with me on our first date, imma beat yo ass.'

Rolling her eyes at Camila, Lauren flung her arm over Camila's shoulders in a way she hoped looked friendly rather than couple-ey. She pulled her into her side and walked them forward in the queue.

'I'm not breaking up with you, nerd. I just meant that maybe we should've told Alex before we made this official.'

Camila looked up at her, still pressed into Lauren's side in the crook of her arm. The beanie she wore had slipped and was almost covering her eyes, for some reason it made her look younger than her eighteen years. 'Aren't you worried they will break us up or something?'

'I refuse to believe that they're that heartless, we might be puppets that the company control but we do have human rights, they can't just tell us not to be together.'

'That was a very Tumblr rant.'

'Camz, I'm serious. I don't like lying to the girls or Alex or my family.'

'I know,' Camila said, moving from Lauren's hold, 'but it's just temporary. Our friends and family will understand when we explain it to them, this whole situation is delicate and we're just trying our hardest not to fuck it up and if that means telling a few inaccuracies every now and then, then so be it.'

'Inaccuracies?'

'I didn't want to say lies.'

'I noticed.'

'You're worrying too much about this, Lauren, we agreed to play it by ear and I think that's what we should do...and no offence but you're kinda ruining my first ever date.'

'Shit, Camila I'm so sorry.' Lauren moved to stand in front of Camila, she placed both hands on her girlfriend's shoulders, 'you're right okay? We agreed to take this one step at a time and that's what we'll do. We can tell people when we're both ready.' She squeezed Camila's shoulders reassuringly. 'For now, this stays between the four of us.'

Camila started to smile before she seemed to realise something, 'Wait, four?'

Lauren's stomach dropped, 'Oh yeah, erm Brad might know about us too.'

'Lauren!' Camila admonished, walking forwards in the line and inevitably making Lauren walk backwards.

'I needed someone to talk to or my head was going to explode!' Lauren explained, stopping Camila from walking forwards. 'He's known all along and not said anything. Plus I've got so much dirt on him he wouldn't dare open his mouth, Brad's British lips are sealed I promise.'

'You should've told me.'

'I know, it just slipped my mind I guess.' She had had so much to worry about recently that she hadn't even considered telling Camila about Brad.

Camila nodded slowly, the look on her face told Lauren that she understood. Their schedules were so hectic that even the most important things in their lives could sometimes be overlooked. This didn't stop Lauren from feeling terrible though. She was too busy worrying about lying to worry about Camila. This was her first ever date for god sake.

Lauren moved her hands slowly from Camila's shoulders, up her neck. She pushed back the beanie to get a better look into luminous, copper eyes.

'Listen to me, you are the most important thing in my life and if I'm being a dick I need you to call me out on it, okay?' Lauren breathed; she smiled widely at Camila's answering grin.

'I'll try, it just happens so often.'

Lauren laughed, taking a step closer to her girlfriend.

'I deserved that. I'm sorry if I'm ruining our date.'

'You're not, you dork. I want you to talk to me about the stuff that's bothering you. Just, maybe not right now.'

Lauren smiled again, moving in even closer so they were breathing the same cool air. The dwindling afternoon sun reflected in Camila's eyes and whatever response Lauren was about to give evaporated like their foggy breaths. She was struck by the stunning radiance in the irises in front of her, 'Your eyes are the color of autumn.' The words drifted from her lips inadvertently.

Camila bit her lip timidly and Lauren found it unbearably attractive. 'You need to move.' She told the younger girl.

Camila broke eye contact to look behind Lauren at the unmoving row of people in front of them. She looked back at Lauren curiously.

'Not for that reason.'

When Camila still looked flummoxed Lauren moved a millimetre forwards so their noses touched.

'If you don't move, I'm going to kiss you.'

The look on Camila's face could only be described as challenging. She defiantly started to tilt her head when-

'Hey, stop holding the line up!' A boy behind them yelled.

They jumped apart; Lauren noticed Camila was decidedly rosier cheeked than earlier. Camila laughed and Lauren joined in moving to stand at Camila's side and move along in the queue to get their date started.