04 | not giving a shit.

SHAYLA'S P.O.V 

I woke up with this bloody ray of sunlight dancing right on my face ; that had unfortunately escaped the trap of the thick curtains and was somehow successful in wreaking havoc and ruining my elysian sleep.

I grumbled and rolled off the bed, hesitantly walking to the washroom to clean & freshen up. I could always just jump right onto my bed and keep sleeping. 

I ended up with the first choice when I banged my forehead against the wall while walking in my groggy state.

After forever of me finding most difficulty in even brushing my teeth and flushing the toilet and turning on the shower, I was finally clean, but still felt like shit after last night's news. Throwing on the first thing I could grab and twisting my hair in a bun, I slipped into my flip flops, ready to face another day. 

Checking my phone for the newest notifications and news, I walked right into someone in the corridor.

"Bloody hell, why are you-" I stopped as soon as my eyes met the familiar blue ones.

"Well, hello there, Cameron." 

"Shayla, good morning."

"What is even good about this morning?" I grumbled and from the corner of my eye, I saw him hide a smile.

Wait.

"Wait, I mean not to sound insensitive, but why the hell are you at my house at seven in the morning?"

He gave me a sheepish smile as he ran a hand though his curls. "Mr. Sengupta was kind enough to provide us shelter here for the time it will take to renovate our house here."

"Why don't you all just stay in a hotel? You all come from money."

"Well, your dad was against us staying in a hotel when his house had ample space for us to seek shelter in."

"Oh, more people. The joy." I mumbled and expected some kind of snarky response from him as well but he just lowered his head in apology and looked genuinely sorry.

Uh oh.

"I am really sorry if we have caused you any trouble by staying here. I will instantly talk with my dad and-"

"No, no, no." I rambled in alarm as my hands shot out to grab his arm in a reassuring manner. "It is absolutely okay if you stay here, no worries at all. I am just a little blunt. And a little grumpy, sometimes."

I looked up at him and then only discovered our height difference. Even though I stood at a good height of five foot seven inches, Cameron towered over me with a quite impressive height.

"Well, that is very sweet of you. Thank you."

I cut him off with a dismissal wave. "Breakfast done?"

"No. I was just going to go out and eat some bre-"

"Are you kidding me? Pfft. Join us at the table, have some Indian breakfast, then I'll take you to my favourite coffee spot."

Cameron wasn't egotistical or a jerk at all, he was surprisingly sweet and down to earth for someone who had such a big name in the music industry. Made me want to be less of a bitch to him.

I admired his ability to keep himself grounded. If only I could be as sweet and soft-spoken as him. Maybe then, Baba would have loved me more.

Zeke made some snarky response when he saw me with Cameron but before I could say anything, Camille flipped him off. I winked at her as she shot me a thumbs up and Bryan snickered.

Cameron was talking about this incident when a fan flashed him and asked him to marry her and all of us laughed. Apparently it was one of the most embarrassing moments he had to witness and go through.

Maybe it won't be all that bad to spend some weeks with them.

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CAMERON'S P.O.V 

Maybe it won't be that hard to spend some weeks with them. And over that, the Indian cuisine was absolutely delicious.

Shayla introduced me to one of her closest friends - Caira. A pretty woman - who seemed very familiar but I couldn't figure out why - instantly befriended Camille & I. And apparently she was the clumsiest person alive, and I think I got a whiff of what it meant when Caira ended up stumbling no less than five times on our way to The Coffee House. I wore my sunglasses and my beanie and a coat just in case, even though people here didn't seem to notice. But God, attracting attention was the last thing I wanted to do.

I followed Shayla, lowering my face - a way of extra caution ; as Shayla guided me through the sea of people.

Shayla asked me to choose what I wanted and insisted that the treat was on her - a welcome back gift. I felt myself smiling despite the sea of people threatened to drown me, but my height offered to be a helping hand.

Shayla waited in line for the drinks and food as I stood on the sideline - she insisted ; and I didn't miss the looks people threw Shayla's way : jealous looks, lustful looks, admiring looks and some even looks of disgust.

And I, as a fact, knew that Shayla knew about all those eyes on her. It was just something about the way she carried herself that made her look like a queen even when she was in jeans and a simple crop top and a bun ; and she was actually very proud of it.

I observed her actions, trying to read her a bit more as I saw how she whipped out makeup products from her bag and applied some while waiting in the line.

And that's when a guy tapped her on the shoulder.

"You know nice guys don't like when girls wear so much makeup."

I was about to step in and ask him how the hell could he just tap on a girl's shoulder and pass such crude remarks like that ; when Shayla's dark eyes snapped to him and I swear I saw the guy shiver a bit under her scrutinizing gaze.

"Nice guys? Like who?"

"Like me."

"Hm, have you ever considered that it is the exact reason why we put it on?" Shayla smiled at him and a girl who was standing nearby, drinking her coffee and listening into the conversation spit out her coffee, laughing.

Ooh, burn.

"Um, I was just saying that you don't need to dress up for us and-"

Shayla gave him a deadpan look. "Nice girls like me don't give a shit about what others think, love. We don't dress for you all, we dress up and wear makeup for ourselves."

The guy stammered a bit and was quick to take his leave from there. The small crowd of people which had gathered there and was witnessing this whole ordeal clapped lightly and so did I, as Shayla smiled wryly at everyone, her smile widening and her gaze lingering when it came to me.

I could only wish to have that much of confidence. I wondered what circumstances shaped her up into the queen she grew up to be. Because from what I had read, only the broken souls blossomed into such fierce warriors.

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