Scared to be Lonely

Chapter 18

"What time is Shawn picking you up?" Sinu asked as she gathered everything she would need for work.

"Any minute." Camila replied, pulling on her coat. She heard a car pull up outside and opened the door. "That's him."

They both watched as he walked up the path with his hands in his pocket and gave them a small smile. "I'm not late, am I?"

"No, you're just on time." Sinu smiled. "Before I forget," she mumbled, reaching into her bag. "Here you go." She handed Shawn the ticket.

"Are you sure you don't mind me taking your seat?" He asked. Scarlett's Christmas dance show was this evening and Sinu had very kindly offered Shawn her ticket so he could go and watch it.

"No, Shawn it's fine. I wouldn't be able to go anyway, half my staff are off sick so I'm working extra hours. At least Scarlett won't be upset now you're there instead."

Shawn smiled gratefully and took the ticket from her. "Are you ready to go?" He asked, turning to Camila.

She nodded and made her way out of the door. "What about Scarlett?" Shawn asked confused.

"Oh, the kids had to be there an hour early to get their costumes on." She explained. "So it's just us."

Shawn nodded slowly. "Okay."

"Have a good time and send me pictures." Sinu called as they walked down the path to Shawn's car.

They were both silent as they got in the car and Shawn started the ignition. Tension filled the air as they both tried not to catch the other ones eye. Camila really wished Scarlett was there because they always seem to go back to normal when she was around.

Ten minutes into the drive, Camila couldn't stand the heavy silence anymore so she asked the question that had been playing on her mind, hoping it would clear the air. "We're still friends, aren't we?"

Shawn turned to look at her and forced a smile. "Yeah, of course we are." His words totally contradicted how he felt. He could never just be friends with Camila, he loved her too much to just be friends.

Camila gave him a small smile back and nodded, hoping they would be able to get over the awkwardness, now that they knew where they stood.

"Nice car." She stated, looking around his Jeep.

—–—–

It didn't take long for them to arrive at the auditorium and take their seats towards the back of the room where the small stage had been set up. "What time does it finish?" Shawn asked as Camila looked through the program, trying to find out when Scarlett was dancing.

She looked up at him and raised her eyebrows. "Seriously? Are you that bored?" She smiled.

He shook his head and laughed. "No, if it doesn't finish too late I was wondering if you wanted to go and get ice cream or something?"

She grinned at him. "Scarlett will love that." She held out the program for him. "Do you want to look?"

He took it from her and started flipping through. "How many kids are dancing?"

"Loads. Every age group has 3 dances and they they all do one together." She replied. "So get comfy."

"I thought Scar couldn't dance with her broken wrist?" He handed the program back to her.

"I talked to her teacher and they changed her part of the dance so she doesn't use her wrist." She replied. "She had to learn it all in a week."

"Good thing she gets her dance moves from her dad then." Shawn joked but instantly regretted it when Camila didn't reply. He knew he had pushed it too far.