The following day, Camila walked alongside Harry on the way to his house. Despite almost losing Sofia the night before, she thought that it was best to leave her at home with a babysitter so she wouldn't be exposed to anymore violence. Harry's house was only a few blocks away from hers, so she wouldn't be too far apart from her sister.
"You're looking pretty happy for one who took a beating yesterday." She said to Harry.
He was smiling like an idiot, which disgusted her completely. Harry wasn't the type to smile randomly, since a smile to him was used more as a way to attract women to himself. Camila didn't care much for Harry, but to go from a hardcore player to a man who's heart had grown ten times its size was a little too much for her. Harry wasn't Harry without being the sarcastic bastard that he always was.
Harry turned to face her and replied, "It's all thanks to you, Camila."
It actually bothered her now that he called her by her middle name, since the real Harry had seemed to disappear only to leave behind some lovesick kid. She actually wished that he'd call her Karla, even though she hated it with every ounce of her being.
"By how do you mean?" Camila asked him, turning her head in confusion.
"You know what you did." He began. "Because of your help last night, I was able to score a date with Dinah. I've realized that I need to change for the better if I want things to run smoothly between the two of us. I've never felt like this before, and I really think that I can change."
Camila formed a disgusted look on her face at the sound of Harry wanting to change more than he already has. She didn't care much for Harry at all, but if she was going to train with him, she didn't want him to be acting all lovey-dovey the whole time.
"Honestly, Harry, I find it good that you're trying to change to make things work well between you and Dinah, but you're grossing me out." She admitted to him. "To be honest, I rather think that Dinah would prefer to be with some bad-ass jerk as opposed to someone who is acting like they trying hard not to get coal in their stocking during Christmas time."
"It hurts me that that's how you truly see me." Harry responded, trying to fake feelings of hurt. "And to be honest, I think that it's time for me to grow up. You know? I've come to realize that no one will ever want to hire or date me when I'm walking around like I own the whole world."
Camila sighed and said, "Well, when you put it that way... I'm still disgusted by it. However, I'll respect you for it. Just don't make me gag from your new preppy, snooty boy ways. If you're gonna act like the new Harry, don't do it around me."
"Okay... Karla." He replied, sending her a smirk. "Let's get something to drink before we even think about starting your training. We can stop by this convenience store here." He suggested, pointing to a store called Larry's Convenience.
"Sure, but you don't have water at your house?" Camila asked.
He gazed at her and replied, "Only tap water. My family buys fine wines and beers, do you really think we have bottled water?"
"True." She answered, knowing that his family was huge on purchasing alcohol. Harry didn't just randomly grow up to be a party animal, he was exposed to parties every weekend as a kid from his parents.
The two walked into Larry's Convenience together, going immediately towards the back of the store where the water was kept. They each grabbed a bottle of Poland Springs water, then made their way to the counter to make their purchase.
Just as they were about to place their bottles of water on top of the counter, a person with a ski mask and a pistol gun came smashing through the glass door. The man pointed his pistol straight at the woman controlling the cash register and shouted, "Hand me everything in the register, and no one gets hurt!"
Harry stepped in front of Camila in order to protect her from harm, causing the man to aim his gun at Harry instead. If there were any redeeming fact about Harry, it was the fact that he'd take a bullet for anyone that he considered to be his friend. Although Camila couldn't really call him a friend, she still accepted whichever way that he chose to view her. Anyone who was willing to take a bullet for her immediately earned her respect.
"Don't move!" The burglar screamed at Harry.
Harry retaliated, "I do what I want! Now leave these women alone!"
He responded, "Not without my money, I won't!"
"That's not yours to take!" Camila screamed from behind Harry, not sure whether to expect a bullet to her brain or just a harsh scolding.
"That's it!" The man shouted, aiming his gun at Camila.
He fired the gun, but Harry got in the way, taking a bullet to the shoulder. Both Camila and the cashier screamed in unison at the sound of the gunshot, and the man pointed his gun at the cashier.
Now angry, the burglar said sternly, "Now I'm not going to ask you again, lady. Hand me everything in the—"
He was interrupted when Camila slapped the gun out of hand, only to throw it all the way across the store to make it out of reach to the man. In her fit of rage, she began to punch the man in the face over and over again, causing him to be unable to see where he was throwing his own punches. With each punch, Camila felt stronger and stronger, until she unleashed the energy in order to deliver her final blow to him which caused him to black out.
Camila stood there staring at the man, letting her breath return back to its normal pace. Her heart was beating at a million times per minute, and she just couldn't believe what she had just done. Was it heroic? Was it selfish? Or was it unnecessary? Her thoughts were not clear, and she was just unable to process anything.
"You... You just saved me! And the store!" The cashier exclaimed. "Are you some kind of superhero or something?"
Camila smiled at the word 'superhero' and replied, "I wouldn't call myself a superhero, but I'm just glad that I could help. He shot my... Well, he shot Harry, so I didn't know how else to react."
Harry. Camila remembered what had happened to him, then turned around and knelt next to him. He had been knocked out from the pain of the bullet going into his shoulder, and he was losing a lot of blood. Shit, she thought to herself.
"He's losing a lot of blood, what do I do?!" Camila asked the cashier, not knowing what else to do.
The cashier ran around to the front of the store, then grabbed a brand new towel off of one of the shelves. She tossed it to Camila and instructed, "Apply pressure to his shoulder until help arrives. The police are on their way now."
Camila did as she was told, then checked to see if he still had a pulse or was still breathing. Luckily for the both of them, he was just knocked out. His pulse was weak, but he was still there. The cashier rushed to the front door, where she greeted the police. Without forcing her eyes to leave Harry, she listened to the conversation that was happening behind her.
"Thank goodness that you guys are here!" The cashier said excitedly.
"Care to tell us what happened here, ma'am?" A woman's voice asked.
The cashier explained to the police in detail, "Well... This masked man here came in to rob all of the money from the store, when he shot that man over there. His female friend over there came to the rescue and knocked him out. She is literally a superhero who came to save the day!"
"Harry?" A familiar man's voice asked.
Camila turned her head to see that it was his friend Louis from the previous night who had taken Sofia's kidnapper to the police station. He rushed to Harry's other side, then checked him for vital signs as Camila had already done.
Louis pulled his walkie-talkie off of his belt and spoke into it, "This is Detective Louis Tomlinson of the SCPD, we need an ambulance down at Larry's Convenience." He placed it back on his belt and began to talk to Camila about what she had done, "You should really consider joining up with the police. We could really use your skills, Camila."
"That's not really my thing." Camila responded honestly. "I'm more of a law-breaker as opposed to a law-maker. You would know, you've been to my parties."
"Ah, well, just know that the offer is on the table. You really are a hero, you know. If it weren't for you, the burglar would have killed you all or have stolen every cent from that register. He would have gotten away without justice being served to him. You've got a special talent, Camila. Seriously, think about it. Silverhall City needs someone like you to protect it." Louis said with a smile.
Camila smiled back at him, now at peace with her confused mind that had been wondering whether what she did was good or bad. The two were interrupted by three medics who came in with a stretcher and a box full of emergency medical supplies. Camila and Louis both stepped to the side to let the medics do their job, then stepped outside of the building to avoid crowding the place.
The second that they made their distance from the store, Camila and Louis were greeted by a green-eyed girl with beautiful dark brown hair. She was carrying a notebook and pencil with her, so they just assumed that she was a part of the Silverhall City Inquirer team looking to create a story for the paper.
"Hi! My name is Lauren Jauregui, and I'm an intern for the Silverhall City Inquirer. May I ask you a few questions about whatever happened here, Detective Tomlinson?" The woman asked, letting her excitement get the best of her. She literally sounded like a crazed fan towards Louis, even though all she needed to do was ask him a few questions.
Louis responded with, "I guess. What would you like to know?"
"What happened here? Was there a robbery?" She asked with a wide, beautiful smile.
He sighed and answered, "It was an attempt at one, Miss Jauregui. But I'm sure anything you want to know can be answered by this young lady right here." He placed a hand on Camila's shoulder.
Louis, just like any police officer in the city, was annoyed by the press. It was nothing more than a distraction to them when they were trying to do their jobs to the best of their abilities. But Camila didn't have time for it either. She wanted to make sure that Harry was going to be okay.
"Great!" Lauren exclaimed. "Would you like to take the interview elsewhere? I'd hate to get in the way of the police doing their jobs."
Camila was caught off guard by her decency regarding leaving the cops to their work, since most reporters just wanted to get the job done on the spot.
"Um, sure. I just need to check on my, uh, friend." Camila replied, now knowing that she could probably just refer to him as a friend. After all, he did take a bullet for her. It was the least that she could do.
"He'll be fine, Camila. I'll have him contact you when he can." Louis said, just trying to get the press off of the property.
The reporter smiled and offered, "We can have the interview over lunch if you prefer? It's all on me."
Camila let out a sigh and answered, "Sure. I can't turn down food."
"Awesome! Let's get going!" Lauren exclaimed, grabbing Camila by the arm in order to guide her to wherever she chose to take them. The feeling of Lauren's skin on hers was exquisite, but Camila chose to ignore it for now.