"Okay, so we're doing this," Lauren remarked as we began to walk into the woods. Ally and Nate embraced each other before he managed to catch up to me, Lauren, Dinah, and Jarryd. Normani was in the woods with Camila. Ally was standing by as the lookout, ready to call the police.
Earlier in the day, Camila made a call to Sebastian from a payphone. She told him that he wanted to meet him to finish this once and for all. They both agreed to the woods at 9 P.M on the dot. Little did he know that we would also be there, hiding in the bushes with the police on the way. He was the most wanted escaped criminal in the state. There was no way that the authorities would arrive immediately.
I turned around, shining a flashlight on the other four.
"I'm scared to ask- what did you guys bring for self-defense?"
Lauren pulled out a vase. Dinah had a steak knife. Jarryd had a taser. (I wasn't asking any questions. He has his people. I have mine.) Nate had a paintball gun.
"You think my mom wouldn't notice me grabbing a kitchen knife on my way out "to the mall"?" Lauren asked.
"Where did you get that?" Dinah motioned to Nate's paintball gun.
"My stepdad used to be obsessed with paintball. I didn't want to hurt anybody."
"The knife is just for show! I'll probably drop it and give the guy a beatdown!"
"Guys! Focus." I directed them to behind a large bush.
We began to hear footsteps coming our way. It was Normani. She sat next to me and grabbed the collar of my shirt.
"This better work, Y/N. This better fucking work."
I heard a cautious pacing and heavy breathing. I heard twigs and leaves being crunched and snapped under a set of large, heavy boots. He was here.
"You chose a secluded location. Clever girl." Sebastian greeted.
"Let's cut the small talk." Camila confronted. "What is it going to take for you to leave us alone?"
Her voice wavered, but she was still very direct and straight to the point.
"Don't you get it?" Sebastian laughed. "I've been planning to get rid of my brother for years- way before you and your lover came along. Shawn is a disgrace. He blends into surroundings he needs to in order to survive. After he fell, I was certain he was dead. The doctors told me it was just amnesia, and I saw my chance to send him to Miami. I should've known Kelly would've figured it out."
"He can't harm anybody now. You won. Game over."
"I can still get rid of him. I can still get rid of the people that are protecting him."
Out of nowhere, I hear more footsteps. I try to get closer by hiding by a tree.
"Y/N, don't- please don't do this." Nate whispered.
In front of the tree was two men holding Luis. He looked like he was still half asleep, but he was aware of what was going on.
"You know Mr. Santos, I assume?" Sebastian shouted. "He was protecting my brother- not because he cared about what happened to him: but because he was in love with him."
My heart stopped. Luis loved Shawn? It made sense and at the same time, it didn't. I thought Shawn wanted to get Camila back no matter what. I guess we were fueling an age-old school rivalry instead of a love triangle.
"That wasn't always the case, Bass." Luis explained. "He was lonely, he needed someone to be there for him. I was just there for him after Lauren and I split and we realized that we felt things that we couldn't control."
"SHUT UP!" Sebastian pulled out a gun from his back pocket. "I want you to look closely at this, Cabello. This is what happens when you don't do what I say."
I wish I didn't see him shoot Luis in the head. I wish I didn't see Luis's body go limp. But I did. The worst part was that Camila saw the whole thing happen right in front of her. I couldn't be a bystander any longer.
"Say hi to your demons for me." Sebastian told her.
"Get off of her!" I yelled, punching him square in the face. I heard my friends follow my lead, and the chaos began.
Sebastian tackled me to the ground. He punched me square in the jaw.
"You're scum, you hear me? You don't get to be a part of this."
I looked over his shoulder to see a smashed vase on the ground. Wow. Lauren was right. Vases were effective.
"I can be a part of whatever I set my mind to," I told him.
Sebastian laughed, and I got up off the ground ready to get Nate to give Ally the signal. But he already left. I grabbed his paintball gun he left behind and shot Shawn as he was running towards me.
Camila looked helpless in the corner. I caught her eye and tossed her my pocketknife. Little did I know, he was right behind me. I fell to the ground and I could hear my ribs crack. He had his gun pointed straight to my forehead.
"I'm gonna hurt you. And then I'm gonna hurt her. And your friends." Sebastian sounded like he was joking, but the look in his eyes told a different story. He attempted to load the handgun, but he was out of bullets.
"NOW!" I shouted. Camila ran over to him and stuck the knife in his neck. Sebastian loosened his grip and fell off of me.
"Are you okay? Please tell me you're okay. You look like you're gonna throw up. Or cry. You can do both on me. Y/N?" Camila rambled.
"You just- you just stabbed him with a knife." I sputtered.
"I couldn't let him hurt anybody else." Camila pulled me up. "You've protected me enough this year. From now on, I'm gonna protect you."
"Camila, there's so much going on right now-"
"Will you marry me?"
I stopped and looked at her. She was tired and on the verge of tears. She looked like she was ready to put this whole thing behind us. She wanted us to start over.
"Of course I will. You know I will."
She kissed me like the world depended on it. We knew this was never going to be easy. We knew from the start. We were two completely different people, but we worked so well together. Every day, despite every struggle we've had, I've fallen more and more in love with her. She's a fighter. She fights for what she believes in. She has an opinion about everything. And I can't stop choosing her to be mine.
"Of course you guys are kissing the moment after some dude is dead and another is stabbed. Of course!" Nate said, walking back into the forest.
"Shut up. You know they've been through a lot." Dinah replied.
"Yeah, but the cops can't question them if they're too busy sucking face." Nate walked over and pulled us apart. "Hey! Guys! The cops want to talk to you."
"If she's ready to talk, I'm ready." I told them, looking at Camila.
"I'm ready." She nodded. We got up, and she started shivering.
"Cold?" I asked. She nodded again. I took off my jean jacket and put it over her shoulders. "That better?"
"Yeah, thank you," Camila told me as we left the forest.
"You're really brave," I whispered to her as we were walking back.
"You inspire me to be really brave." She whispered back.
"How are we gonna tell Shawn?" I asked.
"We'll find a way. Don't worry." Camila answered.
Camila put on a small smile as we got to the police. We sat down with an officer and answered their questions. Words couldn't describe how much I wanted this whole thing to end. I wanted to graduate high school. I wanted to go to Mulligan. I just wanted to live my life without this constant fear.
Shawn found out later in the day. We felt horrible, but he said that Sebastian tried to hurt him and we were only trying to defend him and ourselves. We didn't ask about Luis. We felt as we didn't have the right to.
This changed everything in my life. But, most importantly, it changed Camila and me forever.