"She's in nearly all of your classes." Shawn pointed out as the two began to walk home. Camila held onto his arm as he lead her down the steps to the school.
"Yeah, I know. She sat behind me in Math. I didn't even know until I heard her voice when she asked the teacher a question." Camila said.
"Can you put in a good word for me? This could be the romance we were looking for all summer." Shawn smiled and Camila laughed.
"The romance you were looking for all summer. I wasn't looking for anything." They turned a corner and heard some hurried foot steps and laughing.
"Guide dog! So like, are you gonna take her home or take her back to your place for some fun?" Brad laughed as he, Brad, and Zayn walked by, surrounding them as they walked.
"Gross man, isn't that like bestiality?" Justin let out with a laugh and gave Brad a playful shove.
"Look, if you three would kindly fuck off, we'd really like to talk and walk in peace and quiet." Shawn rolled his eyes and spat at them.
"Hey, Mila I think you might have to get this one euthanized. He's getting a little too feisty." Justin laughed.
"Don't you have somewhere to be?" Camila groaned and Justin and Zayn laughed.
"There's no place I'd rather be, Mila." Justin laughed, looking her up and down.
"Just ignore them." Shawn whispered into Camila's ear. She sighed and eventually she heard five footsteps turn into two. "Ugh, sometimes I just want to punch them." Shawn groaned and rolled his eyes.
"Well don't. I couldn't last a day at school without you if you got suspended." Camila smiled.
"I know, I know. I'll hold back for you." Shawn laughed.
When they arrived at the front of Camila's house, Shawn stopped them. "Holy shit. It sorta feels like she's following us."
"What? Who?" Camila furrowed her brow and felt for Shawns arm.
"Lauren. The girl in all of our classes."
"Well what about her? She's following us?" Camila fished the keys to her house out of her pocket.
"No. It's just it looks like she's moved into our neighborhood. Towards the back of it by the cul-de-sac." Shawn looked over and watched as the raven haired girl stepped out of the front seat of a car.
"Which house?" Camila asked and tilted her head a bit.
"The one the Thompsons used to live in. I never liked their kids." He cocked a brow and watched as the new girl laughed at something as she and her parent walked into the house. "Mila, keys."
Instead of handing him the keys, Camila felt it in her hand, looking for the jagged edge before placing her left hand over the handle to the door and tracing her thumb across the surface to find the key hole. Once she unlocked the door she turned to Shawn.
"Don't let what they said get to you, Mila. You know they're just huge dicks." Shawn said, lowering his hand to hold Camila's.
"Yeah, I know." Camila sighed. "Do you want to come in? My mom would love for you to stay for dinner, I know that. She's obsessed with you."
Shawn smiled and answered, "Sure, that sounds great." Camila turned and opened the door, finally able to let go of Shawn since she knew how to get around her own house.
It troubled her often that she always needed so much help. The boys at school were right. She couldn't do anything on her own, and even her parents believed that.
"Mama, I'm home!" The brunette called out as she traced two fingers along the side of the wall, leading herself to the kitchen.
"Mila, how was school?" Sinu asked and saw Shawn follow in after her. "Do you want something to eat?"
"It was okay. I mean, it's school." Camila smiled and then added, "And I think I'll just have a sandwich." She got up and led herself to the fridge, where she opened the door and began feeling around for the lunch meats.
"Camila, what on earth are you doing?" Sinu said with a hint of frustration in her voice. She grabbed the turkey out of the fridge and shut the door, causing Camila to furrow a brow.
"I'm making myself a sandwich." The blind girl said confidently. Her mother wasn't amused.
"Nonsense, I'll make you and Shawn one."
Camila sighed and sat back down at their table. "You won't let me do anything on my own. How am I supposed to be by myself this Friday if you won't let me try and make a sandwich on my own?" She groaned and Sinu continued to work without getting too frustrated.
"I'm doing it out of courtesy. I'm here right now, Mija, and it's easier for me to make it than it is for you." Camila sighed and stood up.
"Actually I'm not that hungry. Let's go upstairs Shawn." Camila shrugged upsetly and walked out of the kitchen.
"I don't know what to do for her. She's been getting so upset lately. I'm just trying to help her like any other parent would. She's different and she needs more care, so what? I just don't want her rushing to become independent when she may not be able to handle it." Sinu sighed.
"I know what you mean, Mrs. C. I worry about her a lot too." Shawn nodded as he stood up and Sinu handed her the sandwich on a plate.
"We're very lucky to have you Shawn." The mother smiled and Shawn smiled back.
"I'm very lucky to have her."
__________
Camila and Shawn sat next to each other on the bed. Not that Camila could tell a difference, but the lights were all off besides a lamp which dimly lit the room. The two laid in the opposite directions on the bed, Camila with her head resting on her pillow and Shawn with his head at the end of the bed.
"Have you ever thought about one of those foreign exchange programs?" Camila asked, holding a stuffed animal in her arms.
"I mean I guess that would be cool. Imagine going to Paris or maybe Hong Kong." Shawn smiled, moving his head to look up at her.
"Paris? I'm not talking about vacation. I'm talking about England. Someplace to get a different education." Camila smiled dreamily and imagined it.
"England? I mean I guess. I hear it's pretty humid and cold there. Like it rains a lot." Shawn shrugged.
"Yeah, but it could be anywhere else I guess, maybe Spain. I just sorta want to get out of here." The brunette sighed and Shawn furrowed his brow and gave her a hurt look. He never did attempt to hide his expressions and body language from Camila since she didn't have a way of seeing him.
"Yeah, I guess it would be neat going someplace else for a while, but you'd miss Tybee, wouldn't you?" Shawn asked, resting his head back on the bed and trying not to overreact.
"Yeah, I suppose I might. But just imagine going someplace where no one knows you and being able to start again, alone." Shawn frowned and imagined what it would be like for Camila to suddenly leave him.
"That sounds lonely." Shawn stated, and Camila didn't reply. "What do your parents think about all of this?"
"I haven't told them yet. I can just imagine what my mom would think. She'd call me crazy." Camila laughed, but then frowned a bit and sighed. "I want to be independent for once."
"Maybe you should start a bit smaller." Shawn suggested. "Like how you're staying by yourself for most of Friday. You know I can't come over since I have Baseball tryouts."
"Yeah yeah, I know. I'll be fine on my own. Contrary to what my mom believes, I can make myself a sandwich." The brunette laughed.
They continued to talk until the sun was close to going down and Shawn knew he had to hurry home. Camila walked down the stairs with him and to the front door.
"I'll see you tomorrow, alright?" Shawn said, smiling at the girl who reached her hand out to feel for his cheek. Her hand landed on his shoulder first and she felt up his neck. The moment she felt the rough skin of his cheek in the palm of her hand she smiled and leaned in to kiss his it.
"See you tomorrow." Camila smiled. She heard the door open and close and began to walk herself back upstairs.
__________
"Hey,"
The blind girl flinched as she felt a hand on her shoulder and felt hot breath against her ear.
"Do you have an eraser I could borrow?" The raspy voice asked. They were taking notes in Biology class the next day
"Uh, sorry I don't use erasers," Camila grinned a bit with a quirked brow.
"Oh, sorry." Lauren sighed and hesitantly pulled her hand back. Camila reached her hand back over her shoulder and put it over Lauren's hand before she could move it away.
"Uh, wait a minute." Camila spoke quickly, and reached over to Shawn's desk, feeling the surface for the rubber feel of an eraser. Shawn reached for Camila's hand, guiding it to the eraser so she could grab it. Camila grasped it in her hand before reaching over he shoulder to hand it back.
"Thank you." Camila smiled at the feeling of the girls breath against her ear as she whispered in a raspy voice.
Camila simply nodded in return and continued typing. Meanwhile, Shawn looked back at Lauren. The two exchanged eye contact and a small smile before he faced forward to continue his notes.
Camila couldn't stop thinking about the exchange. Of course a lot of people said things when forgetting that she was different in many ways, but she was too focused on how physical the girl was. Camila hardly knew the girl besides the fact that her name was Lauren. Yet the girl touched her. She shouldn't be this surprised, but physical contact meant a lot to her. Other than hearing someone's voice, touching them was the only way to set people apart and sense their individuality. In which case, she already knew Lauren better than everyone else in the room besides Shawn and Ms Lovato.
Once the class was over, Camila began to put away her brailler as she began to hear her best friend and the girl engaging in a conversation.
"So I saw you moved in to our neighborhood. Your family picked a really nice house, it's definitely one of the prettiest we have." Shawn said with a laugh, holding his notebooks.
"Yeah, we actually just moved here from Miami. It's not much of a temperature change but the environment is pretty different. It's a small island, I feel like I could walk from one end to the other.
"Yeah you probably could." Shawn laughed.
"Lauren?" Camila spoke unconfidently. "That's your name, right?"
"Yeah, I believe we talked yesterday," Lauren tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and watched as Camila felt for Shawn's arm. The three began to walk out of their biology class.
"Yeah, we have a lot of classes together." Camila noted, hoping she didn't find it weird that she noticed their similar schedule.
"I just want to say thanks again for showing me the way to my second period yesterday." The green eyed girl walked beside Camila and Shawn through the halls.
"No problem. Shawn does a lot of that with me. He's sorta like the bus for me. Adding on an extra person just makes sense." Camila joked.
Lauren laughed and turned to look at the girl. Her eyes stared forwards blankly but her small smirk showed all of the expression she needed.
The three continued to converse as they walked to their Literature class. As they walked, Camila felt the smooth skin of Lauren's arm brush up against her once. She was starting to get to know Lauren better already. Something that wasn't exactly the easiest to do when you can't see someone.
( a/n : I notice a lot of yall came here after my not on TaE, so I'd just like to say thank you! I know this book moves. a little more slowly but bear with me because t will start to build quickly, I promise... hopefully? I won't know until I write the next chapters. Which will hopefully be soon. Oh yeah I set this story in Tybee Island, Georgia. I just really like the palce and think a small island setting would be interesting. Sorry for any typos. Hope you enjoyed! )