Camila Cabello Imagines and Oneshots

57. Mute

I sigh heavily as I pull my backpack farther up my shoulder. Just another day. I can do this.

When I turn the corner, however, a man I don't recognise is standing outside of the classroom door. A substitute.

Oh no.

What if he expects me to talk? What if he tries to force me to? What if he-

"Hello." He says shortly, and I nod as I dip into the classroom, hoping to god that my interpreter will show up soon.

What if she doesn't? The teacher's lanyard didn't show that he could sign, what if he doesn't understand me? What if he tells me off?

I take a deep breath to try and calm myself down, telling myself that that's unreasonable, that the interpreter will come any time down. Ms. Rose, her name is. Ms. Rose will be here very soon.

Still, the bell rings and she is not here.

"Class!" The teacher speaks, bringing the room to silence, "My name is Mr. Beckett, and I will be your sub today since your usual teacher is not here. I'm going to call roll, say here when I get to your name."

My eyes dart to the door and back, waiting impatiently for Ms. Rose to waltz through and apologise for being late.

My panic prevents me from realising that someone has sunk down into the seat beside me, so when I turn to see none other than Camila Cabello, the school's favourite heart-throb, unpacking her things next to me, I almost leap out of my skin.

"Sorry." She breathes under her breath, smiling politely at me. Wow, she's even prettier up close.

Yeah, I am one of those people that make Camila a heart-throb because I am most definitely crushing on her.

When she pauses to announce her presence to the teacher, I blush deeply.

Then, she does something that shocks me.

'You okay?' She signs. It may be simple, but I didn't know she could sign anything.

I nod, and then ask, 'You sign?'

She frowns for a moment before making a 'Yes' motion, and then leans in so she doesn't have to speak loudly when she says, "I'm not sure how to sign this, but I joined the ASL club so I only know a few basics."

I nod and am about to sign something back, when the teacher calls my name out.

My heart begins to race but I nervously raise my hand, hoping he'll see it and move on, as I turn to face forwards. He doesn't look up, though, and he calls my name again, remarkably more irritated this time.

"She's here." Camila announces for me, so I throw her a quick 'thank you'.

"Can she not speak for herself?" The man asks in a rude tone, and I hear Camila click her tongue beside me. Despite wanting to explain my predicament to him, no words pass. I turn to Camila for help despite the fact that she's never helped me before, so why should I expect her too?

"It's rather rude of you to ignore me." The substitute goes on.

A group of athletes began chuckling at the back of the room, making my face turn a deep shade of embarrassment. I look down at my lap ashamedly, only to witness Camila reaching her hand across to hold one of mine.

"Say something!" He almost yells, making me flinch slightly.

"It's rather rude of you to not give me a chance to explain." She combats, "You don't know why she isn't replying. What if she was deaf?"

"But she's not." The man's tone is remarkably offended now, but I glance up to see Camila's strong resolve evident in her eyes.

"I bet she wishes she were, so she wouldn't have to listen to idiots like you all day." Camila standing up for me is a sight I never thought I'd get to see, yet while I'm grateful for it, I feel a pang of ashamedness. To her, I'm probably just the nerdy disabled kid. She probably just wants the answers to a review quiz so she figures being nice to me for one period will be enough in return. She'll probably never acknowledge my existence after this.

"Get out." The rude teacher says quietly, and Camila rolls her eyes before standing up. I watch as she doesn't let go of my hand until she's standing, and she's halfway to the door when he adds, "You too."

I sigh as I leave the room and see Camila waiting on the other side.

'Why are you standing up for me?' I sign, but she only looks on apologetically. Biting my lip as I think of another way to communicate with her, I grab her wrist gently and lead her down the staircase to my left.

"You know he's going to come looking for us, right?" I nod as she follows me down the staircase and out the door on the bottom floor. A cool breeze wraps itself around us, making me shiver slightly.

We turn the corner, where I stop and spin around to face her again, hesitantly letting go of her wrist.

"Why did you bring us out here?" She questions, and I take a few deep breaths. If I'm going to do this ever, it might as well be now.

"W-w-w-w-w-w-" I begin, but sigh at my stutter.

Hesitantly looking up at her, I see that her eyes are wide and her jaw slack.

"You can talk?" She asks cautiously. I bring my hand up and see-saw it, hopefully showing her a 'kind of'.

"W-w-why are y-you d-d-doing this for m-m-m-me?" I manage to get out, and can't help but grin at the success.

She stays silent for a moment, chewing on her lip and therefore driving me wild, before she says, "You seem like a cool person."

That's it, I burst out laughing.

"M-me? C-c-cool? I d-don't th-think so-o."

She smiles broadly before frowning, saying, "I thought you were mute."

"It's s-selective." I reply quietly, "I-I-I-I can on-n-ly speak-k-k s-sometimes."

"Oh." She nods, "So not at school then?"

I laugh again and shake my head, "N-not at sch-chool." I confirm.

"Then how are you-"

"I-I-I dunno." I shrug, "I g-guess I f-f-feel a litt-le comf-f-fortable w-with you?"

"Thank you." She grins, admitting, "I, uh, never thought I'd be able to hear your voice."

"Here it i-is." I announce lightheartedly, making her laugh this time. God, that's an amazing sound. It's so genuine and contagious.

"Do you maybe want to hang out sometime? Outside of school. Maybe... on a date?" She asks once she recovers, both of us turning deep crimson.

"A d-d-d-d-date?" I stammer unbelievingly, "W-with the g-great Camila Ca-Ca-Cabello?"

She nods lightly, and I feel a huge smile tug on my lips, nodding as an answer. She squeals and envelops me in a hug, which I quickly reciprocate. I can't believe I'm going on a date with Camila Cabello.