PLASTIC HEARTS | shawmila

two.

Connor was the only one there by the time Camila got to the rehearsal space the next day. She'd dressed in the same dark clothes and makeup, comfortable now in her new aesthetic.

She opened the door to see Connor leaned over the back of the couch, talking to a girl Camila vaguely recognized from around the studio. They were giggling about something, but Connor stopped when he saw her.

"Hey." He sat back down as the girl turned back to finish restocking the fridge.

"I like your boots." The girl looked over at Camila.

"Oh, thanks." Camila smiled. "I thought the extra padding might help, plus, they make me taller."

"Camila, this is Greta. She's sort of like our assistant—" Connor froze when Greta turned around and glared at him. "And, she's the love of my life—I was getting to that part."

"I'll get you anything you need, just ask me when I'm in a good mood." Greta smiled as Camila before reaching out to pat Connor's head. "This one's on thin ice."

Camila smiled, finding them surprisingly cute as she shrugged off her coat and went to turn on the electric kettle on the counter, sifting through the tea flavors they had.

"Where is everyone?"

"I saw John go down to Roger's office, and I think Shawn will be here in a minute." Connor said, taking his bass out and fiddling with the tuning pegs. "Did he send you the song last night?"

"Yes." Camila said, remembering her plan to form some sort of friendship with both of them. "It was really good, I loved it."

"Yeah, same. He's really good at writing, even better than John." He glanced away. "Uh, don't tell him I said that."

"I won't." Camila giggled, blowing on her tea. She then remembered what she was supposed to be feeling for John. "I think John's brilliant, though. He's so talented."

"No, yeah, that guy is a fucking singer."

"And he can play... like, have you seen his hands when he plays?"

Connor looked at her in almost shock, his brows raising. Even Greta gave her a weird look from she was on the floor by the fridge. Camila just shrugged and turned away, holding back laughter as she sipped her tea. She was satisfied that the first seeds of romance had been potentially planted.

Truthfully, Camila had noticed John's hands, but that was only because it'd become habitual to look at guitarists' hands when they played ever since she started learning guitar herself. She spent so much time watching her teacher's hands, that her eyes just naturally went there when she watched John. There was nothing really romantic about it, but they didn't have to know that.

Camila sat beside Connor, using any chance to sit that she could before John showed up. She hummed softly to herself, breathing and working on scales, sipping her tea when the door opened. She looked up to see Shawn.

"Good morning." Camila smiled. "We were just talking about how awesome the song is."

Shawn smiled, glancing away almost shyly. He shrugged off his coat, tossing it onto a chair and leaving his scarf on around his neck. He looked at Connor, and Connor seemed to understand, getting up and following him towards the back of the room. After a moment, Camila could hear Connor whispering.

"Swollen again, how?"

Camila started her scales again, humming a bit louder to keep herself from eavesdropping. Despite how insanely curious she was, she knew that it was really none of her business.