05 | a pretty little ray of pitch black.

SHAYLA'S P.O.V 

"Mom, this is enough. It has only been three days but I am sure I can't reside in the same room as Cameron anymore!" Camille yelled as she stomped into the living room where Tracy was narrating me stories about her teenage.

"What happened, sweetie?"

"Cameron sat on my eyeshadow palette and ruined it! He also spilled slushie on my brand new dress!"

"It was unintentional, mom." Cameron pleaded as Tracy sighed in defeat.

"There is nothing we can do, sweetie. Please cooperate."

"Mom, Mille spilled her coffee on my game devices! How cruel was that? I never yelled at her for that." Cameron added as I leaned back further into the sofa and witnessed the whole commotion.

Diana walked in and inquired about it as Camille rambled on and on about it.

"Maybe you could take the room next to Shayla's, hm? That room has been empty for days anyways, Camille." Diana cooed and I shot up at once.

"No." I grunted out as everyone's heads snapped towards me.

"No one is going to live in Farhan's room. No one is stepping into the room and no one is touching anything in that room."

"But, Shayla-"

"No, Diana. Don't say anything regarding that matter. No. Just no."

A hush fell over the group at my sudden outburst as I lowered my head, feeling slightly guilty about yelling at them.

"I can share my room with Camille until some room on the other side of manor is renovated and cleaned to her tastes, if she is willing to stay with me." I added as Camille's head snapped to me.

"Hell yeah. I would love to share your room, mate." 

I nodded at her, smiling. "Pack your bags then, girl. What ya waiting for?"

I phone buzzed with a text from Cameron. 

Cameron.

02:50 pm.

- I know this isn't enough,

but thank you. Even though 

you are only one year older 

than Camille, she looks up 

to you very much and staying 

in the same room as you will

make her very happy. She 

admires you & I can see why.

His eyes met mine as I smiled at him, and typed in a reply.

Shayla.

02:51 pm.

- it is absolutely okay. i am

glad that she likes me or i 

had to work extra hard to

make her like me, anyways.

i am going out, wanna join

me? i will introduce you to

another friend of mine - Wes, 

who also happens to be

Bryan's best friend.

His reply came in almost immediately as I nodded at him and we rushed to our rooms to get changed. I found Camille already dragging one bag into my room as I laughed and asked her if she wanted to join us, but she denied. And before I knew it, I was absolutely ready to go out with Cameron and join the rest of the gang at Wes'.

For someone who didn't like much attention of people, Cameron sure did blend in with others pretty well - but only if he wanted to. I learnt that Cameron was on a break from his career - eerily similar to the break I was on ; because of some personal reasons and because he needed a break from the overwhelming fans and fame and everything.

We entered the living room, Cameron still laughing at the joke I cracked a few moments ago. Bryan was having a sleepover or a gaming night at Wes' but I could bet my ass that they were going to get down & dirty.

I looked up at Cameron laughing, slowly assessing the crinkles by his eyes, his dimples, his gentle laugh and I found myself not wanting to toy with his feelings or anything like that.

Despite myself, I actually seemed to enjoy his company. It felt like I was this different person around him. And I liked and loathed the feeling at the same time. 

Shaking off my thoughts, I excused myself. But as soon as I entered my room, my jaw dropped open.

My sketches and paintings were sprawled across the bed as Camille inspected all of them, not aware that I was there too.

"What are you doing?"

Camille's head snapped to me as she held one of my sketches in her hand and waved at me. "Hey, Shay, you're back! How did it all go?"

"Camille, where did you find them?"

She looked at the sketches in her hands and on the bed confusingly. "Under the bed, in this box. Why?"

"Put them in the box and keep them right back under the bed."

"But why? These are so beautiful. Omg, you are such a good painter! Hey, don't you paint anymore, these have signatures with dates that go way back-" Camille rambled on as I squeezed my eyes shut, trying hard to control my rising temper.

"Camille, put them back."

"-and christ, who is Farhan? Such a beautiful painter he is! Do you know him personally or-"

"Camille, put all of them away!" I shouted as Camille went still for a moment just before she quickly scrambled for all of the papers, and put them in the box and quickly put it back under the bed.

She looked at me, an apologetic glint in her eyes as I turned back, trying hard to hold back the anger outburst.

"Jeez, aren't you just a little ray of pitch black this evening?"

I took in deep breaths. It was okay, she didn't know. Camille didn't know.

"You don't know half of it."

"I am sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you." Her voice piped in from behind as I shook my head, a lot calmer by then.

"It is okay. It is just that those paintings and everything in that box is very personal to me, you know?"

"Yes, I understand. I am sorry for touching your things without asking you."

I gave her a small smile as I took a seat beside her. "It is okay, I am sorry for yelling at you too."

"I would never want to hurt you. I admire you too much to even think of doing that, you know?"

"I do, your brother has told me enough." I smiled at her, messing up her hair as she playfully scowled at me and the rest of the evening passed in giggles and gossips.

━━━━━━

CAMERON'S P.O.V

Having the room all to myself was certainly a beautiful feeling. Even if I had to admit that I missed Mille loitering around the room like a mad woman.

Maybe this year was going to be good. Maybe I could finally find the part of me that was lost in the haunting yet beautiful tragedies that the winds spelled out against our skin.

I smiled to myself, replaying all the incidents, all the new beginnings in my life that happened in the last few days. It was all very sudden but all very wonderful.

I took a fresh shower and cleaned up, and opened the window to let in the crisp, cool air of night.

I fell back on the bed, scrolling through my social media accounts as my thoughts slowly wandered off to Shayla. Her smile. Her jokes. Her eyes.

I could almost feel the sonnets forming in my head.

I grabbed a notepad and quickly noted down the words forming in my head, my hand scribbling down words furiously into the paper and I felt myself give a small, hopeful sigh. Perhaps a little part of me had regained hope.

And just then my phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Guess who, Cam."

"Patrick, from Nickelodeon?"

"Quite close but not correct." 

"Harris, my mate, how many numbers do you have?"

"I plan to have as many as a single individual can have."

"How are the Himalayas?"

"Cold. How is LA?"

"The same. But I am not in LA anymore, I'm back in my hometown. Planning to stay here for my whole break."

"Oh! You're there already?"

"Yeah, just came here a few days ago."

I told him about all things that happened and he told me all about his experience in Nepal and about the Himalayas.

"Hey my man, wait, this reminds me."

"Yeah?"

"I had a favour to ask."

"Of course, how can I help you?"

"Stanley is there in your town."

"Your brother, Stanley? He is?"

"Yeah. Remember how he knocked up a girl last year ? Then he ran away after a few months because he chickened out, leaving the girl all alone and later found out that the girl had a miscarriage, but never went back?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"Apparently he is back there, to win that girl back."

"I hardly think that the girl would accept him back."

"Yes, because what Ley did was purely an asshole move. But I am afraid Ley might end up losing his shit again and do something he will later regret , you get me?"

"Yeah, I do get it."

"Hey mate, I will ask him about his whereabouts, could you please talk to him and I don't know, try to knock some sense into him? You get what I am saying?"

"Yeah, I get it. Don't worry. You can count on me, brother."

"Perfect. Anyways, it is morning here and it is time for my breakfast. Talk to you later!"

"Bye mate, see ya."

I sighed and put my phone on charge, wondering how Stanley could just leave the girl he loved and their baby just like that. Was it so easy to leave others? Was it so easy to discard emotions just like that? 

Perhaps, I would never know. They say that the soft hearts are the kindest and broken hearts love the hardest. And my broken heart searched for love in the most unlikely places, and when it found love, it invested all in nurturing the love.

I had never liked and loathed my heart so much like that at the same time.

━━━━━━