When you're ready

19. Cross the line

Shawn woke up feeling a small arm draped over his body, a tiny hand touching the front of his shirt, and someone breathing against the back of his neck. A smile formed on his lips as he opened his eyes and realized Camila was big spooning him, but then he also remembers crying in her arms during the night. He thought it was supposed to make him feel sad or maybe embarrassed that she saw him like that, but instead, he feels like a big weight has been lifted off his shoulders, like all he needed was someone to comfort him like that.

 Trying not to wake her up, Shawn checked the time on his phone and managed to walk out of his bedroom, taking one last look at Camila sleeping on his bed wearing one of his shirts. Even with all that happened to him these last few days, he still kept remembering how it had felt to kiss her after she first spoke to him. Her voice still took him by surprise sometimes, but he loved to hear anything that came out of her lips. It felt like a miracle somehow. It was the weirdest feeling, to have her there to bring him peace when everything else was falling apart.

 When Shawn walked into the kitchen, the doorbell rang and he immediately looked at the hallway, wondering if it had woken Camila up. He opened the door and found Brian on the other side, not even getting the chance to say anything before his best friend walked in and took a seat in one of the stools by the kitchen counter, stealing a cookie from a jar next to him.

 “ Good morning, I guess.” Shawn said, closing the door and walking to where Brian was.

 “ Okay, so I know you want to be alone, but…” Brian lost his words for a moment, looking behind Shawn with wide eyes.

 Shawn turned around to find a sleepy Camila rubbing her eyes with her hands, still wearing one of his shirts and barefoot. He was speechless for a few seconds, trying not to think about how she had been in his bed looking like that.

 “ Hey.” Shawn simply said, feeling Brian staring at him.

 Camila smiled at him before walking back to where she came from, her cheeks red in embarrassment because she had no idea Brian was there. Shawn sighed, closing his eyes before finally looking at his bed friend.

 “ What the hell? She spent the night here?” Brian whispered, even though Camila had gone back to Shawn’s bedroom.

 Shawn walked around the counter and started preparing some coffee, trying to think how to answer that question.

 “ Would it make you feel better if you knew this is not the first time she stays the night?” He said without looking at Brian.

 “ Are you serious?” Brian asked with excitement. “ And here I was getting worried about you when you’ve been-”

 “ Nothing happened, okay?” Shawn cut him off.

 “ I don’t buy that for a second.” Brian kept the hushed tone of voice. “ She’s wearing your shirt.”

 Shawn was about to shut Brian down again when Camila walked back into the living room, this time wearing the black dress she had yesterday. The both of them watched as she made her way to the front door, taking her high heels that were still there from when Shawn helped her get them off the day before, and then took a seat on the couch to put them on again.

 “ I can drive you home so you can change.” Shawn told her, but she shook her head and waved them goodbye before walking out of the house.

 “ Now I feel like I interrupted something.” Brian said, making Shawn look at him with a sigh.

 “ You have a talent for that.” Shawn threw a cookie on him, which made Brian smile.

 “ You look better today.” He stated. “ I’ll have to thank Camila for that later.”

••••

 “ A text would’ve been nice.” Camila heard her aunt’s voice the second she walked into the house. 

 She looked up apologetically, finding her aunt on the couch with a cup of coffee in her hands. Camila walked to the kitchen counter and took a notepad with a pen, writing down the words ‘I’m sorry’.

 “ I don’t think I made that clear before, but you’re not allowed to spend the night out.” Her aunt said, looking at her with a serious expression. “ Please, let your boyfriend know that.”

 Camila wrote down on the page that Shawn is not her boyfriend, but that only seemed to make her aunt angrier. She never saw her aunt like that, she’s always very chill.

 “ I was worried, okay? Don’t do that again. I’m trusting you here, Camila.” Camila looked down at her feet feeling ashamed, but the truth was that she would do it all over again if Shawn needed her. “ I was going to ask if you had been doing this the nights I’m at the hospital, but I think I already have my answer.”

 Camila lifted up the notepad again to emphasize her apologies, but her aunt just looked away.

 “ Just go take a shower. I’ll drive you to school.” That was the last thing she said before Camila walked into her bedroom. She knew she shouldn’t have done that, but Shawn needed her, so she couldn’t really feel bad about it.

 The whole drive to the school was silent and Camila knew that she would have to prove she was sorry. The relationship she had built with her aunt was different from the one she had with her parents. Her mother was always very protective and watched her every move, especially after what had happened to her, but her aunt was not like that. She gave Camila freedom to do what she thought was best, but now Camila had abused that freedom and she was clearly upset about it.

 Before walking out of the car, Camila gave her a tight hug, trying to show how much she was sorry. She walked straight into her first class, not looking to see if Shawn was there. She thought maybe he would skip a few more days, but during her fourth class there he was on his usual spot. They sat together at lunch as always and she wasn’t sure what came after her, but she held his hand as they walked to their next classes afterward. They had their last class together and she noticed how he didn’t seem to have a problem painting like he had said it had happened yesterday. She would like to think she had helped him with that somehow.

 When the last bell rang, they walked out of class together. The hallway was crowded with students and Camila noticed Brian talking to a cheerleader as they passed him by, his eyes looking at her curiously as if still wanting to know what she was doing at Shawn’s house that morning. She wasn’t sure if it was the little knowing smirk Brian gave her or how everything felt bottled up inside her, but suddenly she stopped in her tracks. Shawn stopped a few seconds after, turning around to look at her.

 “ What’s wrong?” He asked.

 She didn’t answer him, at least not with words. Camila took a step towards him and before she could regret her decision, closed the space between them by connecting their lips. She was on her tiptoes, holding onto his shoulders as she felt his hands on her waist. His lips reciprocated the kiss quickly, not caring that everyone in that crowded hallway was probably looking at them. This wasn’t like the delicate quick kiss they shared in the restroom. This was a kiss she was dying to give him for a long time, one that she should maybe feel ashamed to display in such a public place.

 Camila heard a group of students next to them clapping when they finally pulled away, but she didn’t pay them any attention. She just looked at Shawn for a second before walking out of there without him. She didn’t realize she had been running until she was finally home, breathing heavy and feeling like something had switched inside her. She felt happy. So happy that she had to run away before knowing Shawn’s reaction, afraid she might have crossed a line.

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A/N: A happier chapter for a change. Hope you like it! 💖😊