family

well here we are again with another long ass one shot. enjoy.

(quick warning: i'm literally posting this at 5am and am about to pass out so i didn't proof read bc this shit is 35,000 words. deal with it.)

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August

Camila stares at the silver number three plastered on the light wooden door, and adjusts the box in her hand. She sucks in a deep breath, not sure if she's able to go through with this, but knowing she has to.

Not two weeks ago, she was freaking out about finding somewhere to live for her sophomore year of college. Of course, she'd decided to go with the most obvious solution; go back to dorms. Even though she'd hated it, it was a thousand times better than moving into an apartment with a stranger (or strangers), because at least she'd have the assurance that it was a fellow student living with her. But then, she'd been informed that sorry, anyone above freshman year cannot return to the dorms due to the amount of incoming students, so that had put a grinding halt to her plans.

She'd made the long drive from Miami to New York with her family, all of her college things stuffed in the trunk of the car or littered across the backseat, practically concealing Camila and Sofi while her parents sat comfortably in the front. She'd had nowhere to live, and obviously, was freaking out.

Her parents promised to stay with her in a cheap hotel until they figured things out, pretending that it was a vacation to Sofi, who believed that wholeheartedly. But, they didn't end up staying long, after finding an advertisement online, with someone looking for a roommate. Initially, Camila was a little put off by the whole 'girls only' thing, because she worried it might be some frat boy, trying to lure girls in or something, but as she read it through, some of her fears had worn off. It had started off explaining the place, and it didn't sound like a total dive, like Camila was expecting, and then it went onto something better.

I'm out a lot, because I'm a student at Columbia University, and I have a job bartending most nights of the week, so you'll likely have the place to yourself a lot of the time.

That had Camila hook, line and sinker. As the biggest introvert on planet earth, a lot of alone time is perfect for her. She'd replied to the ad, not expecting a response, but had received an email back from the landlord, asking her to come and look around. That's when she met the landlord in question; a short, welcoming woman named Ally, who gave her the tour of the apartment. She hadn't been able to meet her possible new roommate, because she'd been at a college class or something, and two days later, she'd gotten a call, again from the landlord, telling her that Lauren – her new roommate, she assumes – had offered her the room if she was still interested.

And that brings her to now. Waiting outside the door of her new apartment, about to move in with a stranger.

"Mija, just unlock the door," Alejandro groans, adjusting the boxes in his hands. "These boxes are heavy. How many books do you need?"

Camila sighs, and tucks the box she's holding under her arm, fumbling with her new keys, before turning them in the lock. She sucks in a deep breath, not wanting to meet this roommate just yet, but when she opens the door, the place seems empty.

She breathes out a sigh of relief and heads into the apartment, remembering the door of the room she'd looked at, and opening it up, dropping her box on the bed. Sinu and Alejandro follow her in, carrying a lot more, and Sofi skipping after them, not carrying anything.

"I thought you said you were moving in with another person," Sofi points out, looking around, "there's nobody here."

"Well, I mean, it said in the ad that she'd be out a lot," Camila answers, shrugging, having to keep it to herself that she's actually happy about that. Her parents had been glad that she's moving in with someone; while they know and understand Camila's social anxiety, they're constantly badgering her about joining clubs and making friends.