battle of the bands (and babes) ~ camila/you

chapter twenty five

"So, he's harmless?" Greg asked, sprinkling salt onto his steak.

"Shawn is in a position in which he is very scared right now." Alejandro explained to him. "Realizing what you thought you knew is very surreal. It's difficult to adapt to."

"I want to visit him." Camila spoke up.

"That's totally fine, Mila. However-" My mom began.

"We want Y/N to wait until she attends her last therapy session to start visiting him." Greg finished.

"What? Don't I get a say in this?" I asked.

"It's not our say. It's Dr. Hopkins." Greg replied.

"Ah, Camila saw Elaine as well a while back." Sinu discussed. "What an understanding woman."

"Mom, can we not talk about that?" Camila murmured, her smile dropping.

I noticed, pulling out my phone and shooting a quick text.

Y/N: you don't have to be ashamed, babe

Across the table, Camila opened her phone, read the text, and typed back a response.

Camila 😍🙊 🌺🎀: i'm trying not to be. but i don't like when they bring it up.

I looked at her, studying her features.

Y/N: despite everything you've been through, it's all still a part of you. you don't have to be proud of it, but it's made you who you are. and, it hasn't been easy, but you've become an amazing person through your failures and successes.

Camila looked up at me, smiling simply and returning to her penne vodka.

"We should all plan a visit to Mulligan together for accepted students day!" Camila exclaimed. "That was random, sorry."

"No, Camila, I think that would be wonderful." My mom responded. "It would be nice to get to know the area."

We finished up dinner, both families parting ways. Allen and Cabellos made their way to their humble abodes, getting ready for the school day tomorrow.

I was putting dishes into the dishwasher when I got a text from an unknown number- the same number from months ago.

Unknown: Meet me at the park -Shawn

I made an excuse that I was going to the supermarket, and left promptly to drive to the park. Five turns turns and five traffic lights later, I pulled up to the side of the park to see him, sitting on the swing set. His hood was over his face, and his shoes were muddy.

"Hi." I waved, sitting on the swing next to him.

Shawn looked up, painfully smiling, not as if this was awkward, but as if it genuinely hurt for him to smile.

"Hey." Shawn said back. "Sorry for interrupting you on a Sunday night."

"No worries. What do you need?"

Shawn pulled out a phone from his pocket, opening it and clicking on a video entitled "In Memoriam of Shawn Mendes" posted by one of his friends on YouTube, Carter. In the video, it showed Shawn drinking, smoking, and even torturing the Greyhounds. Footage flickered before our eyes of Shawn pouring water on the guard flags, bringing the fans into the football game, and even a video of Shawn playing the snare at our drum-off. Shawn paused halfway through the video. He was tearing up a little, and looked at me.

"Were we really friends?" Shawn asked.

"Shawn-"

"No, did I do all those things? All those awful things?"

"Please let me explain."

"It's a simple question! Yes or no?!" Shawn yelled, throwing the phone across the grass, and suddenly bursting into tears.

"It's not your fault." I rubbed his shoulder. "Lots of your friends forced you to do those things when you came to Ridgeview."

"I was a bad person. I was such a bad person."

"That doesn't mean that you can't change."

Shawn paused for a moment, looking at the ground.

"Nobody told me." He started to cry again.

I pulled Shawn into a hug, because I've been in his position before after something tragic happens to you. With my accident.

"I feel like a ghost." He sobbed.

I let Shawn cry for another hour. I let him let it all out. After this night, I determined Shawn as one of my friends. He wanted to change, and as someone who has changed, I was going to support him. And so was Camila, and all of our other friends. Why? Because we were the outcasts. And we knew loneliness too damn well for kids who spend six hours a day with each other during marching band season.