june 27th | camren

one

Bright flashes. Sharp teeth breaking tender skin. A gasp of pain becomes the last breath she takes. Red drops melting with dark hair. A final sigh of exhaustion; a lost fight.

&

There is no physical pain in death.

Camila's skin feels cold to the touch. Her eyes no longer need glasses to see. Her lungs no longer need to breathe. Her heart no longer needs to beat.

She never wondered about what it would be like to lie inside a coffin. She always assumed that by the time she ended up in one, she wouldn't notice it anymore. At the thought of her own funeral, she worried more about the music they would play, or the things they would say. It never really crossed her mind what it would be like to attend her own funeral alive. She was never supposed to.

Sometimes things just got messed up. Sometimes things ended in pain and hurt and tears, instead of peace and comfort and laughter.

&

For the first time in years, "I love you, Camz," is met with silence.

&

Camila wakes up to the sound of a shovel scraping over her coffin. She doesn't move, doesn't say anything to let Ally know that she's okay. Alive and breathing. (Sort of.) She lets Ally do all the work. It was her idea, after all.

Ally takes fifteen minutes to dig open the grave and pry open the gasket on Camila's coffin. When it breaks, Ally is the first thing Camila sees. Blonde hair falling down, dark eyes with a hint of tenderness, a sad smile on her lips.

Next to Ally's head is the moon. It's almost full, shining down upon the Earth like Camila didn't just lose her entire world. She thinks about Lauren; about how much the moon meant to both of them, about how they bonded over how pretty it looked before they really knew each other. In a way, the moon brought them together, and in a way, it makes Camila feel less alone right now.

Ignoring Ally's extended hand, she tests her newfound strength by climbing out of the grave—her grave. Her movements are a lot more deft as she reaches for the second shovel Ally brought, and she's surprised at how easy it is to scoop up large piles of sand onto the blade.

She waits until Ally's done salvaging whatever is left of the coffin before she starts shoveling sand into the open grave. Most of it ends up on Ally's feet, but Camila doesn't care if Ally gets mad. What's the worst she can do? Kill her?

Being dead sounds a lot more peaceful than being undead.

But Ally doesn't get mad. She just gives Camila a long, sad look as she shakes off the dirt, and hops out of the six-foot deep hole like she's not just five feet tall herself. She almost makes being a vampire seem graceful.

Camila tries not to look too impressed as she continues to shovel more and more sand into the grave. They work side by side in complete silence, but Camila is highly aware of everything that is happening around her.

Things she would've never even noticed as a human demand her attention now, like the soft blowing of the wind through the trees, and the way Ally's hands tighten around her shovel every time she digs her blade into the pile of sand.

Camila watches Ally from the corner of her eye. There is a hint of sadness in the slightly downwards tilt of her lips, like she understands what Camila is going through. (It's not even that crazy of an idea, Camila thinks. After all, Ally was human once, too.)

A heavy feeling settles in her stomach at that realization, and it makes her knees feel weak, like they could buckle at any given moment. Vampires are, mostly, immortal. If nothing crazy happens, Camila could live forever. Even just the thought seems an intangible concept. Things like this happen in fiction; or at the very least to other people. The fact that this is her new reality hasn't quite sunk in yet.

When they're done, Ally looks at her. "Are you ready to go?"

Camila stares back. Is she supposed to go with Ally now? Is that how things work in the vampire world—you stay with whoever turned you?

Ally seems to know exactly what she's thinking. "You don't have to come with me, but if you do, I'll protect you. I'll teach you everything you need to know in order to survive."

Leaving Ally is tempting. Camila could run away right now. She could wait until the sun comes up and feel the blisters burst all over her skin until there's nothing left to burn. She could drive a wooden stake through her heart. She could make an end to this life before it really starts. It would surely save her and Ally a lot of trouble. But there's something about Ally that makes Camila trust her. She nods once.

Ally almost smiles. "Okay, let's go then."

Camila doesn't look around when she follows Ally out of the cemetery.

&

Lauren turns twenty on a Monday, two months later. Rain is pouring down on Miami, and Camila is completely soaked, except for the flat package wrapped in three plastic bags and one red paper bag. Inside of it is a leather bound notebook, something Lauren has wanted for years but never got around to buying one herself.

Camila slips into the shadows across from Lauren's house. As much as she wants to deliver her present to Lauren in person, she knows she can't. It would defeat the entire purpose of faking her death. And, like Ally said, it's best if humans don't know about the existence of vampires in general. If they can't handle that some of their own species have different skin colors, they certainly won't be able to handle the existence of vampires.

Lauren's bedroom window is the only one of the house that's lit up behind the closed curtains. Camila tries to listen and make out what's happening inside, but between learning about vampire history and controlling her thirst, she hasn't had much time to focus on her heightened senses yet. Apparently supernatural hearing isn't as easy as it sounds—literally.

It takes Lauren thirty minutes to finally turn off the lights, making it safe for Camila to cross the street and climb up the steps to her front porch. She takes the present from under her jacket and spins around in a circle to find a good spot to hide it; not too obvious, but not too hidden either.

She eventually settles for placing it between a potted plant and a wooden bench almost right in the line of sight of the front door, making sure the wind won't be able to blow it away before Lauren finds it.

After double-checking that this is indeed the best spot to leave unannounced and mysterious birthday presents, Camila steps back into the rain.

At vampire speed, it barely takes a second before she's back between the shadows.

&

A/N: so this happened. this fic will be relatively short, but i hope you'll all still enjoy reading it. if you do, please consider leaving a vote or a comment to let me know. don't forget to smile today :)

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