In My Blood

Extension chapter: Heart of Gold

A/N: So the title isn't actually a Shawn Mendes song, but I figured since it's an extension chapter, you'll forgive me, don't kill me please XD
This is a platonic love short story (Shawn Mendes x Camila Cabello) because they broke up, but they're still besties, so I needed to include thissss!

Shawn walked down the narrow boardwalk, the wind running through his hair and messing it up. He took off his shoes, and walked along the soft sand, sinking his feet into the sandy beach. Water lapped at his feet, and he adjusted his grip on his shoes, heart jumping when he saw a figure by the viewing deck.

Camila.

It had been so long... they'd tried to remain friends for the past few weeks, but their conversations were terse and usually ended awkwardly, and Shawn couldn't help but feel like her life was a lot better since he'd left it.

He slowly approached the viewing deck, not at all surprised that Camila was there. It used to be their favourite spot to stay, all those months ago...

Shawn didn't know how Camila would feel when she saw him, but he hoped that whatever she felt was positive, and before he could change his mind, he walked up to her, something nagging on his heart, a deep kind of nostalgia from when they were best friends. Before dating complicated things.

Her hair was done up in a loose french braid, and her hair whisked around in the wind. Sand sprinkled the deck, and her hands were clasped tightly in front of her.

Shawn dropped his shoes with a soft thud. 

Camila turned suddenly, her eyes widening with surprise when she saw him.

"Tell me if you don't want me here," Shawn said quietly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"It's fine." She bent her head, and Shawn could see a tear running down her face, landing on the wood and staining a small dot on the railing.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly.

"I- nothing."

"There has to be something," he murmured, gazing out to the waves lapping at the shore. 

"I just... miss you." Her voice cracked. Tears burned in her eyes.

His heart hurt for her. "I miss you too."

"We said..." she trailed off. "We said that we'd be best friends after we broke up," she finally continued. "But we've barely spoken yet and-" her voice cracked again. "I just..."

Shawn gave her a small smile. "Just breathe into it. Take a minute to breathe into it." He closed his eyes, and could tell that Camila had closed her eyes too. Neither of their breathing was crazy, it wasn't deep, it wasn't slow, it was just normal, and Shawn could tell that all the memories of 'breathing into it' were washing up on her shore too, but he pushed the thoughts aside. "Are you ready?" he asked gently after they stood in silence for five minutes.

"Yeah." Her words were barely a breath, but when she raised her head to look him in the eye, her eyes were determined (don't ask me how eyes can be determined, they just can). 

Shawn stood in silence, knowing full well that what Camila needed was someone who listened, not someone who told her everything was okay when everything definitely was decidedly not okay. 

"Ever since we broke up," Camila began, "I feel like... we made the right choice, but there will always be the selfish part of me that wants to be with you again. I know our relationship was getting old, and our love wasn't as romantic anymore, but since the breakup, the only thing I've received on any social media site is insults." She took a long, deep breath before continuing. "Ever since we broke up, I also... haven't been able to sleep. I spend most of my nights restlessly, and in the day, it feels like everything paces way to fast. It's like, one second, I'm waiting for a friend to come over, and the next, we're having fun, and the next they're gone, and it's like everything passes in a blur, and-" her words were choked off by tears.

"Hey," Shawn whispered, gently taking Camila in his arms. She could feel her stiffen before relaxing, and he wondered if he'd taken it too far, but when Camila buried her face in his chest and he felt damp tears on his shirt, he knew that, all awkwardness aside, that was what she needed. "Sometimes, I feel like that too. But it's okay. You know why?" When she didn't respond, he gently tilted her chin up to look him in the eye. "You've got me, and you've got all your friends and support, and that's what matters. I know we're not dating anymore, Camila, but I'm here for you, and I know it's hard for you- it's hard on both on us, but you'll be fine."

"Do you know what I've been thinking this entire week?" Camila asked with a shaky laugh.

"Yeah?" Shawn asked gingerly, gently drying her tears with the edge of his sleeve.

"I really need a long, productive venting session," she said. "But I didn't know who to do it with. I used to do it with you and your heart of pure gold, but I felt like... it would be too weird."

"I will always be here for you, whether we're dating or not," Shawn told her affectionately, choosing to ignore the part about his heart made of pure gold. But his tone wasn't filled with romantic love- it was filled with the kind of love a brother gave to his sister, it was filled with the absolute trust of two best friends.

"Thank you," Camila said through a sigh, taking a couple more measured breaths. "You know it goes the same the other way around." 

A/N: If that last paragraph is confusing, it basically means she's there for him too <3

I'm honestly kind of sad that this is the end (yup! You've made it through my terrible writing to the end!) but you can bet I'll be back with more stories, and it's about time to stop torturing Shawn and Camila. Anyways, acknowledgements time! 

Fun Fact: THIS IS THE FIRST EVER BOOK I'VE MADE IT TO THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS!, and drop another comment here for more tags (I'm bad at making tags hehe) ->

[EDIT: Here's a Camila Aesthetics page:

I honestly love the colours *romantic  s i g h*]