i. the promised land
chapter one, mono = hot?
CAMILLA JONES IS an outcast. She moved to La Push with her brother only a couple of years ago to take care of her grandma (Will is lucky she loves Nana so much), and boy, did she hate it. Sure, she loves the amount of lush greenery hat surrounds her, so very different than New York, plus the beach within walking distance from her Nana's house?? Sign her up. But she hates small towns. She hates the gossip, and knowing everyone, and hearing everyones business. It was draining. So, she was hyped when she realized no one wanted to be her friend. It literally put a pep in her step. She doesn't know if it's her personality or her looks (doubtful), but she could not care less. If anything, she welcomed the solitude that she never received in New York. The cherry on top was when she made one singular friend, Julio, who was just as hated, if not more, by the entirety of La Push high.
(Sure she talks to Jacob Black but thats strictly because of her Nana being family friends with his dad. His friends are annoying.)
She may enjoy solitude but not isolation guys!
So, in a sense, she outcasted herself. Which gives her no right to be talking about Paul Lahote the way she and Julio were. But hey, he literally uses women so she really does not care.
"Ew, he has fucking mono? Maybe that'll teach him to keep it in his pants." Camilla said with her nose scrunched up in disgust. Julio sat besides her, cigarette in hand as he nodded excitedly.
"Yeah, man, I heard from my coworker who he slept with and she was all mad. It was fucking funny." He recalled with a grin as smoke bellowed from his lips, passing it to Camilla. She shook her head as she reapplied her lip gloss.
"Dude, no. I'm not hitting that with my lip gloss on. You know I hate how soggy it feels." Julio only shrugged his shoulders as he took another puff. Camilla only continued. "Maybe La-whore will stop using women as play things and learn to, gasp, respect them?"
Julio snorted. "This has gotta be divine punishment." He laughed at his own joke with the shake of his head. Camilla grinned at him in amusement as she pushed herself off the bench they were sitting on with a stretch.
"No wonder he hasn't been in class." She mused and Julio only rolled his eyes.
"Like we even go to class." Camilla put her face in her hands and groaned.
"Do not remind me. Will has been getting on me for it. I actually have to go to English today. Shakespeare is so boring." Ever since Mr. Bride decided to email her brother directly and snitch her out like the rat he is, Will has been on her ass making damn well she goes to school on time and attends every class, including P.E.
Before Julio could respond, the sound of the bell rang in the distance and the two sighed dejectedly. Time for their math class. Julio stood up and stomped out his cigarette before swinging his bag over his shoulder and passing Camilla her messenger bag.
"Yay, can't wait to break another graphing calculator."
CAMILLA WAS REGRETTING her choice to not skip class. She and Julio has arrived to class before the bell had rang (which was new for the rebellious duo who never cared about their "perfect" attendance) and had taken their usual seats in the back of the classroom. It was any other normal day. Until it wasn't.
As soon as the two stepped through the door, the class hushed at the sight of them. While it was normal for others to get quieter at the sight of the two, them not skipping a single class was not. The world has to have stopped spinning for these two to show up, and on time to top it off! But after the two settled in their seats, an even bigger surprised strutted through the door.
Paul Lahote, or La-whore as Camilla had dubbed him. (Camilla is a misandrist, okay?) Camilla and Julio couldn't help but throw each other side glances as Paul and his close friend Jared took their seats near the middle. Camilla and Julio arriving to class on time? Crazy. But the literal talk of the town due to his promiscuity and consequences for said promiscuity just waltzed back into class after missing a week for having as STD? And why was he literally glowing? The day was as gloomy as ever but for some reason his bronze skin was as shiny and beautiful as ever, not to mention the fact that he looked really buff for some reason. Maybe it was his aura, but Camilla couldn't help but notice there was something different about him. Something more... alluring. Then it clicked.
As their math teacher walked into class not far behind the two boys, Camilla immediately opened her notebook and scribbled a note for Julio.
Why did mono make him hot???
Julio only looked at Paul, looked back at Camilla, then back at Paul with a more thoughtful look before he nodded his head in agreement.
"Get me whatever he has."
"Ew."
THE REST OF Camilla's day was uneventful. It seemed nothing topped the return of the one and only, Paul La-whore. But, that only made Camilla's day more dreadful. Everywhere she went, it seemed he was being mentioned and while at first she indulged in eavesdropping, she got bored quickly when she realized they were only talking about him. Paul Lahote this, Paul Lahote that, like, she was really tired of hearing his name she was ready to cause a scene so maybe everyone will shut up about him. Even the one time she attempted to study for Pre-Calc, she could only hear everyone whispering about him! Like, Will is just gonna have to understand that's not on her anymore! She tried but she couldn't even think of equations when everywhere she went she was reminded about him.
This is only fueling the one-sided feud she has with the man.
So, when she made it to her English class and saw Paul Lahote sitting in her seat flirting with some random girl, she nearly ripped his head off. This man just came back to school after being gone for a week for catching an STD and he's still trying to pick up girls? Not on her watch. She will not allow this man to toy with the poor girl she copied off of occasionally. She approached the desk with annoyance clear on her face and stopped right in front of him. She slammed her bag down on the desk to get his attention when she noticed he simply ignored her.
"You're in my seat. Move." Camilla was not asking.
Paul rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to respond as he looked up at the girl, but when they locked eyes he stopped in his tracks. Eyes blown wide like saucers as he stared at the brunette like she was heaven on earth, as if she was the only thing he could ever see in his entire life. Her. Her eyes, her soul, her mind, her heart. Just her. His eyes searched hers and found everything he needed and more. Camilla felt her breath hitch at the intensity. She could feel his eyes searching and searching her pale blue as if he could read her life through them. But, she kept her composure and hardened her stare.
"That doesn't look like you moving your ass."
Paul was broken from his trance and blinked at her harsh words as reality crashed down on his shoulders like a growing storm. He only cleared his throat and shot up from her seat.
"Sorry." He apologized nervously as he stepped around her, trying his best to avoid any interaction with the girl. She simply rolled her eyes and plopped down in the seat with a huff before pulling out her copy of Romeo and Juliet and her leopard print notebook. Paul scurried to the opposite side of the room where his seat and Jared's are located.
Not long after, Julio stalked in and took his seat beside Camilla with a groan.
"Just this and we're free. Just this and then we are free. Just this one class and then we are free to do anything." Camilla only snorted in amusement as she looked up from her notebook.
"Tide pools or the shop?" She questioned with a small grin on the corner of her lips. Julio gave her an obvious look.
"Obviously the shop. You have to fix my car, man. Betty is in desperate need of some T.L.C." Camilla laughed but quieted down as Mr. Bride, public enemy number 1, walked through the door.
Her one-sided feud with Paul couldn't even hold a torch the Camilla's current hatred for the man. She shot Julio a thumbs up before giving Mr. Bride her attention and a major side eye.
"Good afternoon, class." Not bothering to wait for a 'good afternoon' back, he had turned on his heel to face the green chalkboard in front of him. He wasted no time grabbing the powdery white stick, dragging it across the board. "For the past few weeks, we've been learning about the beautiful tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Well, today we're going to put your knowledge to good use. You will be grouping up into groups of three to four and choosing a scene to analyze." The classroom groaned and grumbled in protest but they fell upon deaf ears as Mr. Bride continued to scribble on the chalkboard. "Your group will be graded on participation as well as your knowledge on that specific act. You can pick your own groups but I will be assigning groups to people who don't have enough members. That is all."
The majority of Camilla's peers seemed to jump at the idea to work with their friends while other begrudgingly made their way into a group. It was certain that they stayed away from Camilla and Julio who had shrugged their shoulders, unbothered by their classmates apprehensiveness and unwillingness to work with the two. They were used to this sort of treatment. Besides, Camilla didn't care to know half of the kids in that class unless they had a direct interaction and majority of the kids in that class avoided her and Julio.
"Miss Jones, Mister Grandé, you're not in groups of three to four." Mr. Bride had reeled the two back towards reality, his booming yet fragile voice silencing the classroom as they all turned their heads to look at them. They were gossip hungry sharks and Mr. Bride had just spilled their blood in the ocean.
"Never would've guessed." Julio commented offhandedly as he shrugged his shoulders, a nonchalant feel rolling off of him in waves. Some giggled and snickered at his comment while others rolled their eyes. Mr. Bride had chose to ignore his jab, taking a seat in his desk chair, not bothering to lift his eyes from his computer.
"You two will work with Mister Cameron and Mister Lahote, who also aren't in a group of three to four." Mr. Bride instructed, his eyes never leaving that of the computer screen as he ordered the teenagers. "Get to it."
Camilla let out a huff and rolled her eyes. Of fucking course the universe had to do its universe thing and put them in the same group. She was hoping she could avoid him after their weird little stare down but nooo, the universe did its universe thing. Julio and her snatched up their belongings and moved to the other side of the classroom where Paul and Jared resided. Paul has his back towards them while Jared gave the two a slight wave as they approached. Of-fucking-course Camilla had been partnered up with the boy who just came back from having mono and a weird staring contest with. Disgusting.
The second Camilla sat down she could practically feel the nerves bouncing off of Paul as he tried to sneakily steal glances at her. She rolled her eyes. So obvious. She ignored him and pulled out all her stuff.
"So... which scene should we do?" She asked as she finally decided to look up from her notebook and glanced at Paul and Jared, Julio was busy grabbing his supplies from his bag. It was messy and unorganized, so he was looking real hard. Paul kept his eyes trained on Camilla the entire exchange.
Camilla could only stare back at Paul weirdly as he continued to stare at her intensely with an unreadable look glinting in his eyes as if it was teasing her, feeling her breath catch in her throat as his eyes seemed to pierce right through her. As if he could see her. As if he could feel her. She awkwardly averted her eyes towards Paul's friend whose expression turned grim.
"I -I was thinking we do the balcony scene." Jared jumped up, hoping to draw the group's attention, mainly Paul's. Jared let out an awkward chuckle as Camilla hesitantly moved her attention towards him, trying hard to keep her eyes away from Paul, whose intense stare burned into her cheekbones.
"Whatever floats your boat." Julio replies easily as he remained unbothered by the entire exchange, fishing deep into his backpack for a pencil. Camilla sent Jared a pleading glance as Paul's eyes continued to seep right into the girl. Camilla kept sending Jared pleading glances that soon turned into enraged looks when he simply shrugged his shoulders, though she could see how panicked he was.
Julio, who had no idea what was going on, finally looked up from his navy blue Jansport bag and towards the group, the weird behavior throwing him off as he brought his hand up to snap his fingers. Julio rolled his eyes when the trio looked at him.
"I need a fucking pencil. You guys got any?"