(a/n) i hate doing these at the beginning of a chapter but just to let you guys know of a few things.
first off, i'm gonna switch POVs between you and Camila. second, there will be mentions of self harm, idk when i'll write it in but i will at some point. i'll put warnings before so if you're uncomfortable with that topic or it could trigger you in anyway then please just skip past it. the only reason i felt like adding it in was because it's real and does happen to quite a bit of people and i wanted to bring some awareness to it. thank you for understanding ! ❤️
Camila's P.O.V.
I'm not sure what's gonna happen now. I'm honestly so confused. I've spent five years thinking Y/N hated me but she didn't. All because of fucking Kaitlyn. God, I used to consider her my best friend, besides Y/N of course. My thoughts were interrupted by my phone vibrating with a text from my manager.
Roger: Hey Camila. I need you to come down to the studio for a meeting. Where are you? I'll send a car to get you.
Camila: i'm at the park right now, by the front gate.
Roger: Okay. See you soon.
What is this meeting about? It's really random, whatever it is. I really fucking hope no one saw me and Y/N. That would be horrible. You see, I'm not out of the closet yet, per my management's request. I'm out to my family and close friends but not the public. My fans, though, they know. I don't try to act unlike myself so sometimes I say or do something that management sees as "too gay" and I get in trouble for it.
Soon, a black Range Rover pulls up to the gate, and I enter the backseat on the right side. "Hey, Tony." I greet the driver.
"Hello, Miss. Cabello." He replied, kindly, to which I roll my eyes, playfully at. I've told him many times to call me Camila but he refuses. He says it's "unprofessional". I glance out my window as my thoughts drift back to that party five years ago.
I looked up at the giant house filled with drunk , high, and horny teenagers. It's the end of summer before senior year starts and I wanted a night of fun before it all begins again. I'm still pissed at Y/N for staying home. It's not like she doesn't like parties, we've been to many together. I don't know why she didn't want to come but she refused. So here I am, walking into someone's mansion to have some fun.
As soon as I enter, the smell of sweat and weed floods my nose. I cringe at the overwhelming scent before making my way to the kitchen to get a drink. Thankfully, no one tried to stop me and talk. I just needed to get drunk. And fast. I poured myself a vodka and Coke, before gulping it down, loving the burn it left in its wake. I then repeated this a second time, before grabbing a beer and heading out to the floor. I was already feeling the effects of the alcohol and I wanted to dance.
Stumbling onto the floor, I began to move my body to the music. All thoughts of Y/N soon left my mind. Suddenly, two rough hands grabbed my exposed hips, before a body pressed against my back. I immediately began grinding back on the person. It wasn't long before I felt the effects of my erotic dancing, through the evidence pressing against my lower back.
I was spun around to face the unknown man, only to recognize him as Austin Mahone, who graduated last year. He held me close to his body as he placed rough kisses on my neck. The alcohol blurring my senses and all thoughts of pushing him away.
He worked his way up my jaw, before roughly pressing his lips to mine. He tastes like weed and beer, making me cringe. Nevertheless, I kissed back, loving the intimacy I'd been craving all night. I felt his tongue force its way into my mouth before I pulled away.
"Damn. How about we go to your place?" He asked, out of breath.
"Yeah, okay." I replied. He grabbed my hand and led us out to his car. The truck roared to life, some rap song blasting through the speakers. For the ride to my house, Austin kept talking about what he'd do to me when we get there. I had tuned him out as I looked out the window. We passed the park and my eyes caught sight of a giant tree by the tall, black fence. Suddenly, my mind flashed to Y/N and our first exchange of those three little words.
I felt sick to my stomach as I registered Austin's hand on my upper thigh, as we pulled into my driveway. "What's wrong, babe?" He asked.
"I-I need to go," I said as I unbuckled and went to leave his vehicle. I noticed him rushing to do the same. "You need to go. You can't come in."
"What the fuck? We came here to fuck. You can't leave me like this!" He exclaimed, gesturing to his crotch area, showing he was obviously still aroused.
"I-I can't," I muttered, stepping out of the truck.
"Fine. Fuck you!" Austin yelled before angrily speeding off. Well that could have gone worse.
I fumbled with my key, before stumbling inside and upstairs to my bedroom. I was already dreading having to face Y/N tomorrow.
"Miss. Cabello!" Tony yelled. I quickly looked up, meeting his eyes in the rear view mirror. I must have zoned out. "We're here," he smiled.
"Oh, thank you. Sorry." I left the SUV, heading inside my label's studio. I walked past the front desk, waving at the lady sitting by the computer. I found Roger waiting by the elevator, typing on his phone. "Hey." I said, getting his attention.
"Oh! There you are. C'mon, everyone's already in the room." Roger pressed the button to call for the elevator. Once we stepped in, I watched him press the button labeled '5'.
"So what's this for, anyway?" I asked as the elevator jolted upwards.
"Well, there's someone we want you to meet." He smiled, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Oh for, like, a collab or something?"
"Not exactly," He replied as the elevator doors opened. "Just follow me." Roger led me to a room at the end of the hallway. I recognized it, as we had meetings here quite often. Once the door opened, I saw four men in suits sitting at the conference table. I recognized two from my team, the others I'd never seen before. There was also a strange, tall man in a tight fitting shirt and jeans. "So, Camila. This is Matthew Hussey." Roger gestured toward the strange man, who had stood to greet me.
"Hi, Camilla. It's great to meet you." Matthew greeted, in a thick english accent, as he shook my hand.
"Uh, hi. And it's pronounced 'CamEEla'." I responded, as we both sat down. He nodded in acknowledgment before I looked toward Roger, as I raised an eyebrow. I silently asked what was happening.
Roger cleared his throat before he began explaining, "Well, Matthew here, has agreed to an arrangement we have set up for you. Now, I know you hate this kind of thing, but—"
"Wait. Is this one of those PR things?" I asked.
"Yes. It is. It's going to help you both. Matthew will get more publicity and you'll get...well..." Roger trailed off.
"I'll get what? A straight image? No fucking way." I said before standing, placing my hands on the back of my chair. "You want me to stay in the closet for now? Fine. I'll do that. But now you want me to pretend to date a man? I'm not gonna do that. That's too far."
"Actually, Camila," I turned my head towards one of the men in suits from my team. Well, from Epic's team. "You will do that. You've been seen many times with some girl and people are becoming suspicious. We're not having another 'Camren' incident." He stated firmly. I clenched my jaw at the mention of Camren. A few years ago, I met a girl named Lauren, who also happened to be in the industry. We started to hang out, until one day, as we were hanging out in her hotel room, she kissed me. From there, we had a 'friends-with-benefits' type of deal. It never went farther as I was still very much in love with Y/N. Long story short, fans soon caught on and with Lauren out as a bisexual woman, rumors took off.
"Now," He continued. "If you value your career at all, you will pretend to date Matthew and you will sign this contract." He slid a paper across the table to me. I looked down, reading over it. My mouth dried as my eyes scanned over the words "two years and four months".
"Over two years! What the fuck? Okay, I am this close to getting the love of my life back," I brought the tip of my index finger and thumb close together as an example. "There's no way I can do this!" I turned toward Roger. "There has to be some other way to do this! Right?" Roger just shook his head with a solemn look on his face. He knew how hard this was for me, and I didn't blame him. He was stuck under Epic's thumb just like me.
"Listen, Camila," Matthew chimed in causing me to look his way. "I promise you I won't try anything with you. And if at any point you get uncomfortable with something I do, just let me know and I'll back off." He looked very genuine as he said this, looking me right in the eye.
I debated on signing the contract. After about five minutes of staring at the paper, someone, I'm not sure who, cleared their throat. I looked up as one of them rolled a pen over towards me. Slowly, I picked it up, clicked it open, and pressed it to the paper. I bit my lip as I slid the pen back towards it rightful owner.
"Alright. Thank you, Camila. It's been a...pleasure." The man said, standing with his colleagues. "We'll be seeing more of you in the future. Take care." With that they walked out, leaving the room with just Roger, Matthew, and myself.
"So, Camila, would you like to get a coffee or something?" Matthew asked politely before quickly adding, "As friends of course. Just to get to know each other."
"Uhm...I can do tomorrow? I'm sorry, it's just i really need to talk to my uhm friend." I apologized, feeling slightly bad for making him wait.
"No worries." He smiled. I watched him take a pen from the table and scribble something on a sticky note, before sliding it over to me. "Here, this is my number. Just let me know." With that, Matthew smiled and waved before leaving the room. I glanced at Roger who excused himself to take a phone call.
I decided I should talk to Y/N about this, and soon. I pulled out my phone, selecting her contact, then pressing my phone to my ear. After two rings, she picked up, causing a smile to grow on my face.
"Hey, Mila. What's up?" Y/N's voice made butterflies swarm my stomach within seconds of the words leaving her mouth.
"Hey. Uh I have to tell you something. Can you meet up somewhere?" I asked nervously.
"Uhm yeah, sure. Where?" I can almost see her scratching the back of her neck as she bites her lip in nervous thought.
"My place? It's a flat near downtown. I'll text you the address." I suggested.
"Okay. Yeah uh I'll see you later tonight. How's 9?" She asked, followed by a sniffle. She seemed upset. I realized her voice sounded more raspy than usual as well.
"Alright. Are you okay? What happened?" I asked, my voice laced with concern.
"Oh I'm fine. I'll uh see you at 9 then. Bye Mila." And with that she hung up, leaving me to stare at my phone in wonder. She's not fine. She only says 'I'm fine' when she's not. I'll ask her about it when I see her. I glance at the time stamped at the top of my screen. 8:17. I sent Y/N a quick text with my address before leaving the studio and heading towards my place. I spent the drive thinking about how the fuck I'm gonna explain this one. All I can do is hope she'll understand.
How do you think this will play out?
Thanks for reading! Don't forget to vote, i hope you enjoyed it