The bass reverberated around the room causing Y/n's chest to buzz and she winced, feeling her ears soak up the vibrations. She had almost forgotten what it was like to be at an event where the music was so loud she could barely hear herself think. The room was darkened and packed with celebrities, all drinking, dancing, and conversing with one another.
Y/n wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. Every single time she had gone to one of these things, she had someone with her that she could at least cling to for companionship. Tonight she was on her own and she hated that. The artist spotted the bar towards the back of the room and headed for it, eager to get herself a drink to hopefully loosen up a bit.
The bartender handed her a beer and she turned around, leaning back on her elbows as she took a sip of her drink and scanned the crowd. Thankfully, she spotted someone she knew and headed towards them, asking the bartender for one more beer before she walked away.
"Y/n? Wow, I can't believe you're here!"
Y/n grinned at the slightly taller man and handed him the unopened beer, "Shawn Mendes. I thought I recognized your face from across the room. I swear you get taller every time I see you."
The curly haired brunette threw his head back, laughing as he opened his bottle.
"That's a lot coming from the woman who actually does grow every single time I see her. What are you? Like 6'2 now?"
"6'1 and a half, but I'll let your mistake slide, Mendes."
Shawn laughed once more and threw his arm around her shoulder as they continued catching up. It had been months since the last time they had talked, the last time being when they had met up in the studio in LA to work on Y/n's album. In fact, he had been there when Y/n had penned 'Treat You Better', the man adding in a couple verses of his own to Y/n's notebook that had made the final cut.
The two had been good friends since she had seen him live, opening for Taylor Swift's 1989 tour back in 2015. They had met backstage, exchanging contact info to write together soon, but hadn't actually started talking until a year later. He was a great friend and a talented musician, often being Y/n's go to when she got stuck on certain projects, or when she had needed a quiet night out and a drinking buddy.
Shawn turned his head when he heard his name being called and Y/n managed to catch a glimpse of the woman as she leaned in to hug Shawn. As she let go, Y/n's heart fluttered in her chest as she made eye contact with those warm, brown eyes.
"Y/n, I don't think you've met one of my best friends. This is Camila."
Camila looked up at the tall woman, shyly smiling and she extended her hand in greeting, the other artist taking it in her hand and shaking it gently.
"I'm Y/n...which you already knew because Shawn just said my name..." Y/n blushed, laughing lightly at her awkward introduction. She rubbed the back of her neck nervously, a tick that she always did when she felt uncomfortable in a situation or was embarrassed. She couldn't explain why she felt a bit giddy and anxious around the shorter brunette, but she hadn't gotten off to a good start, whatever the reason.
Camila let out a giggle of her own as she let her hand fall back to her side, "I know who you are. Your performance was really good, I wish I could've seen it, but I was backstage in my dressing room. I saw some clips on instagram though...not that I was stalking you! I just mean...I'm just going to stop talking now."
Shawn looked between the two musicians and smirked at them, before grabbing his beer off of one of the glass tables.
"You know what, I think I see a person...someone I know, like right over there!" Shawn pointed in a random direction, making his escape quickly and waving at an imaginary person on the other side of the room.
Y/n shook her head in amusement and looked down at Camila who was fiddling with her fingers and staring at her heels.
"You know I'm a huge fan of yours, too?"
Camila's eyes shot upwards and widened at Y/n's revelation, "You are? To be honest, I didn't even think you knew I existed until now."
"Of course I knew you existed, you're hard to miss," Y/n casually took a sip of her lukewarm beer, cringing internally at the bitterness, "Actually my niece used to watch you and the other girls on X-factor. She was very passionate about making sure to watch you girls every time you were on. I have to admit, I also was religious about watching as well. Congrats on all the success your group had, as well as your solo stuff now, by the way."
A pink tint spread across Camila's cheeks as she heard Y/n basically admit she was a Harmonizer and had followed the group throughout the years. She was also extremely flattered that Y/n had mentioned her new music that she had dropped as a solo artist.
Camila had worked hard on her self-titled album and was incredibly nervous about releasing it. Her anxiety mixed with the bad press surrounding why she had left the famous girl group hadn't been the optimal environment for showing her art to the world, but she had gone for it anyways. To hear an artist that she had looked up to for so long say that they liked her music was enough to make her heart leap.
"Thank you so much, it means a lot that you're a fan. I've been a fan of yours for as long as I can remember. The girls and I used to jam out to your songs in our tour bus all the time!"
Y/n smiled at Camila and began asking her questions to get to know the enchanting woman in front of her. Before long, an hour and a half had flown by and the two were in the same spot, still talking about their lives; both the personal and professional sides.
The more that Y/n talked with Camila, the more obvious it became to her as to why she was so successful. The way Camila viewed the world around her was something that Y/n admired and she displayed her feelings like no other. For someone who'd grown up in the industry, she still managed to wear her heart on her sleeve and Y/n couldn't help but commend that.
Y/n had been so focused on getting to know Camila that she hadn't realized how long she had been at the afterparty until she heard her phone buzzing in her pocket, signaling an incoming call. She excused herself from Camila for a moment, promising to be right back, and walked towards a deserted corner.
"Hello?"
"Hey Y/n. Where the hell are you? I swung by your house with some chinese takeout and you weren't home."
"Oh sorry, Jay. Actually, I'm still at the afterparty-"
"What? No seriously Y/n, where are you?"
Y/n pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance at the interruption, "I swear I'm still at the venue, do you want a photo?" The artist didn't hear anything but silence on the other line for the next few seconds, before she heard Jay intake a breath.
"No, I believe you. But why are you still there? You always leave early. Usually I have to get your publicist to beg you to stay for at least thirty more minutes."
Y/n glanced over her shoulder towards the waiting brunette who gave her a small wave and smile. The artist smiled back and held up one finger, letting Camila know it would just be one more minute.
"I just found some good company, that's all."
"Mmhmm, who is she?"
"What? Why did you automatically assume it's a woman?"
"Because you wouldn't stay for any other reason. And don't argue with me, I've known you since we were kids."
Y/n shut her mouth, her defense dying on the tip of her tongue as she heard Jay's words, knowing they were irritating, but true. She wouldn't be here unless she had met someone, but she wasn't going to tell Jay who it was just yet.
Y/n didn't need the grief she knew her friend would give her, so she just promised her that she would be home within the next hour and they could eat their takeout together and watch some movies.
"You better be at your house in an hour or I'll release an embarrassing secret about you to the press. Okay, love you! Bye!" Jay hung up before Y/n could even answer and the artist glared down at her phone, knowing that her friend would follow through with her word if Y/n wasn't home in time.
She strode back towards Camila and explained what her manager had threatened her with, both women laughing as Y/n apologized and thanked Camila for talking with her, but that she had to leave before she regretted it.
Camila turned to leave, but Y/n couldn't help but call out to her, "Hey Camila?"
"Yeah?" Camila tilted her head inquisitively and focused back on Y/n.
"Do you think...I mean uh, could I get your number? Like you know, to hang out...or...eat?" Y/n cringed at her words, wishing nothing more than for the floor to swallow her whole. How she could sing on television in front of thousands of people, but not ask a woman out was completely beyond her.
"Are you asking me out?"
Y/n felt her throat go dry as she studied Camila's expressionless face and tried thinking of some alternative explanation as to why she asked her for the attractive muscian's phone number.
"Uh, no?...I mean like as friends. We can even write together sometime too." Y/n smiled stiffly at Camila, praying to the universe or whatever deity was out there that she hadn't fucked everything up.
After a few agonizing seconds, Camila's face broke out into a smile and she giggled, taking out her phone from her purse and opening it so that Y/n could put in her number.
"Sure! Here, put your number in, I'll text you so you have mine."
Y/n put her phone number into Camila's phone, still feeling her ears burn from embarrassment and handed it back to the shorter artist. Camila slipped her phone back into her purse and tucked a piece of brown hair behind her ear as she turned to go once more, but paused mid step and twisted her head around to look at Y/n.
"Well just so you know, if you had asked me out, the answer would've been yes. Have a good night, Y/n."
Shooting her an innocent smile, Camila turned and disappeared in the crowd, leaving a stunned Y/n behind.