Don't Take It Off

 Chapter One

It was a boring Saturday for Camila since there was nothing to do, she decided to watch Netflix until something interesting else click in her mind, her family was out for the day and won't come back until it was past midnight.

So, while she was watching an unfamiliar movie, she heard something breaking in her kitchen, Camila flinched and thought

but how could it be??? I'm alone tonight.

So, without any hesitation, Camila went and grabbed one of her dad's guns from the closet in her parent's room.

Camila went to the kitchen to find a woman wearing a black mask to hide some of her face, except those piercing green eyes. Her skin was pale, Camila can tell that the woman with raven hair is taller than her and she had some weird kind of energy that surrounds her. It made Camila feel lightheaded, the woman spoke with fear in her voice

"Please don't shoot I'm not here to steal anything please just put the gun away"

"if you are not here to steal anything then get out now."

"no wait, I...I need a place to stay and eat, I have a nasty injury behind my back I...I...I can live in the basement if you want but I just need a few weeks to heal."

"Are you crazy?!! If my dad found out about you staying there he will kill you, so I suggest you get out of here already" said Camila while shaking.

"how about you put the gun away first so we can talk about this?''

"There is nothing to talk about, just get the fuck out of here.''

The woman with raven hair got frustrated while talking to the girl with the gun in her hands shaking.

"JUST PUT THE FREAKING GUN AWAY WHAT IS WRO-"

Camila was taken back by the woman yelling so suddenly so she pulled the trigger. When Camila finally realized what she had done she threw the gun somewhere and ran for the unknown stranger.

" I....I am sorry I didn't mean to do it, I was just taken back by you screaming at me I'm really sorry are you okay?"

"well, what the hell do you think?! you just fucking shot me in the shoulder of course I'm not okay."

"Yeah, sorry that was a stupid question. I will go to get the emergency supplies okay? You stay put."

The green-eyed, woman just rolled her eyes as if she had any other choice.

When Camila came back, she put the supplies next to her and tried to reach for the woman's mask, the woman just turned her head away and said with a stern tone.

"Don't take it off."

Camila wanted to ask why but she held against it, maybe the woman will tell her about it later, or maybe it's better not to know anything about this unknown stranger, Camila thought.

So, Camila went on with her work trying to take the bullet out and cover her injury, after she finished; she decided to check about the nasty injury the stranger mentioned earlier.

"can you please take your clothes off so I can see your back you said you have a nasty injury there, yeah?"

The stranger did as she was asked, but Camila was shocked by what she saw. It's like she was fighting with wolves and they slashed her back. Camila was taken back by the deep cuts, but she worked her magic with the stranger nevertheless.

After Camila finished, she got up from the floor to make the stranger some food but stopped when she heard her speak again

"uhh thank you, by the way, you are such a weird person but very kind. You know shooting me and now helping me I really appreciate it. I'm Lauren by the way, Lauren Jauregui."

"my pleasure, Camila Cabello." And with that Camila went back to her work.

---

Camila showed Lauren where she will be staying- which is the attic since it's not used by her father, unlike the basement so the chances of Lauren getting caught there will be small.

The attic was dusty since it wasn't used as much by the family, it was also big enough to make Lauren live there comfortably for as long as she can to get to heal. There was also a big window at the end of it, Lauren decided to see how the view would look from there. When she reached it she was able to see the moonlight and the sparkling sky since it was full of stars.

"It looks stunning doesn't it?" Lauren asked without caring

"yeah, it does just like your eyes'' Camila answered without thinking twice.

"what did you just say?" Lauren asked while smirking and looking at Camila.

Camila cursed herself before answering

"uhh, nothing I just mumbled something stupid..."

Lauren decided to let it go even though she heard what Camila said and it wasn't stupid, it was cute, and she is thankful for it.

"well, I'm going to get you some blankets, so you won't sleep on the hardwood" Camila excused herself.

"Thanks, would you mind also getting me a broom because this place is dusty as fuck."

"oh, yeah sure also sorry for this it's just it's never been used so there was no point in taking care of it."

Lauren nodded, and with that Camila left to get Lauren what she needed. Camila thought while getting the stuff

Why am I helping that weird stranger?

and is she going to wear that mask all the time? it's as if the air I'm breathing is poisoned, god...

when will she leave?

But fuck she got those dazzling green eyes I got lost in them for a second...

Ugh, I shouldn't be having some weird thoughts about that stranger...fuck I should really control myself around her.

Meanwhile, Lauren was still staring at the sky and thinking...

Maybe I can stay here longer than a few weeks, the place isn't very bad. That Camila girl is cute too it will be fun to fool around with her every now and then. I'm going to make sure that the gun is gone.

Lauren's thoughts were cut short when she heard Camila coming back.

"Hey, I got your stuff and the broom you asked for.''

"thank you"

"umm by the way I want to ask you something...'' Camila asked with much hesitation.

"Okay? Ask away"

"well, umm why do you wear a mask to hide your face??"

Lauren thought before answering the girl

Hehe so cute, should I tell her the real reason playfully or should I lie??? But I don't even know her...ugh humans are so complicated, and I don't want to scare her off...

"well, first of all, it is not to hide my face, and second of all I wear it all the time, so I won't bite you to death."

Is that playful enough for humans??? Maybe I went too far...

Camila frowned and thought the girl with emerald eyes was just being silly and weird. So she came to the conclusion of Lauren not wanting to tell her, so she played off as silly.

"okay silly got it, you could have just said that you don't want to tell me"

So, she did think I was just kidding?! Man, these people are dumb...I could literally kill her right now but ah yeah, I don't want to scare her off so that's good.

"haha well, yeah I like being a jokester hahah.. now I want to sleep thank you very much for bringing me the stuff. goodnight Camila"

"okay good night Lauren"

And with that, Camila went to her bedroom, and left Lauren off to sleep; when actually she got lost in her own thoughts again, before drifting off to sleep.

After three weeks of getting to know each other better and Camila checking on Lauren's wound every chance she gets, things have gotten better between them.

Camila learned that Lauren comes from a rich family, but they got killed for some reasons that she didn't get told about yet. And that Lauren has a really close best friend named Normani and that she was the one who gave Lauren the mask. Also, not to mention that Camila is the first human that Lauren comes across without hurting them yet, which Camila wasn't told about.

Now, Lauren learned that Camila's life is very simple for a human. She has two amazing best friends, Dinah and Ally. Also that she likes reading, listening to music, and doing other stuff. Not to mention that Camila goes to school too, most of these things Lauren wasn't familiar with, but she pretended to know what Camila was talking about.

So, one day Camila was doing her normal routine by waking up, getting ready for the day, and checking up on Lauren, but an important part was missing...

Lauren wasn't where she is supposed to be. Lauren wasn't in the attic as usual, or anywhere in the house because if she was, she would have made a lot of noises and probably gotten caught by one of the family members. So, where is she?? Camila thought.

Camila noticed that the window of the attic was wide open.

She left...

Camila's first thought but why? And how? This is too high so even if she jumped, she would have probably got injured; or so Camila thought.

So, Camila went to the window to see if Lauren was somewhere outside. Camila was actually worried about Lauren because she still remembers the nasty wound on her back and it still hadn't healed completely, but she wasn't only feeling worried. She also felt sad because if Lauren actually left, then Camila regrets not spending as much time with her. Camila feels like she lost something important like she has lost the moon while counting the stars kind of thing, despite the fact that she only knew the girl for almost one month. she wondered when did she get so attached to the green-eyed girl.

So, Camila turned around to go outside and search for the girl with emerald eyes better, the next thing she knew she was falling down on the hardwood. Camila groaned and turned her head to see what the hell has pushed her so hard like this, just to find the one and only Lauren with a smirk on her face; even though Camila couldn't see it because of the mask.

"hey Camz, did you miss me?"

Camila felt so relieved, to see her and know that she didn't leave, also not to mention that she actually misses the girl, but she wouldn't admit it yet.

"yeah whatever, just get off of me you are so heavy," Camila said and groaned again.

Lauren put her hand on her chest and pretends to be offended.

"Are you calling me fat Camila? I am so hurt how dare you."

"no, I am not, but seriously get off of me I can't breathe."

"but I don't want to, I like sitting on top of you like this." Says Lauren with a smirk on her face.

Camila's face got so hot from blushing so hard.

"Lauren....please, get off of me."

Lauren finally got up and held her hand out for Camila so she can get up as well, Camila took it and thanked Lauren.

"Hey, listen. How about you go out with me to have a little bit of fun?" Lauren asked confidently.

"Are you asking me on a date, Lauren Jauregui???"

what the fuck is a date??? Dammit, I should have asked Normani about these humans stuff.

"yes...I am" Lauren answered pretending that she knows what the hell that means.

Basically, Lauren didn't live among humans at all. All she ever lived with was fear of death and her beast instincts- until Normani took her in and taught her a lot of stuff like how to survive on her own and how to almost control her powers around humans. but since she was considered a teenager to Normani, it was really hard as her powers were at their finest. So, Normani gave her the mask with a special spell that makes her almost able to control her powers around humans. This means to not kill them as she used to when she would usually get out of control.

So, Lauren as a teenager wants to have a little bit of fun by hunting, and she wants to show off in front of Camila. little does she know this would cause a bit of consequence later.

---

"Mami I'm going out with my friends!" yelled Camila from her room while she was getting ready.

"okay mija, just make sure to be safe and come back before midnight...by the way Camila there is something that I want to ask you."

Camila went to her mom with a questioning look on her face.

"Okay, what is it?"

"well, I heard a thud in the attic earlier, so I was wondering maybe you would know the cause of it since it's not used as much?"

"oh well, that was me. I fell down because.....I was so afraid of the spider upstairs...so yeah I tripped and fell down I'm sorry that scared you."

"okay....that's weird umm, why were you even up there to begin with?"

"to kill the spider Mami, and to clean....just to make sure there were no spiders..."

"mmm right but you know mija I thought you were scared of spiders?"

"ohh well, ummm....uhhh yeah I am but you know sometimes you know you have to face your fears right?"

"okay right, then take care of yourself."

"yeah, thanks Mami bye."

Camila turned around to go to the attic again, but she stopped when she heard Sinu talking again

"aren't you gonna go out from the front door? I mean why are you going to the attic again...?"

"well, Mami there is another spider that I have to kill so see ya later" and with that Camila went to the attic as fast as she can so her mom won't ask her about anything else again.

Fuck that was so stupid really Camila?? Spiders! couldn't you come up with a better lie?

When Camila went up to the attic she heard Lauren giggling, not wanting to laugh out loud so her mom won't be suspicious of the spider that is laughing in the attic.

"oh my god not you too, don't tell me you heard that awkward conversation"

"well, I did and I'm sorry Camila but spiders really??" Lauren said between laughs.

"shut up I did it for you, you know."

"Yeah, I know but you actually made yourself more suspicious, just saying"

"Yeah, that is true, but I will figure something out, later."

Camila actually loved the sound of Lauren laughing at her being awkward, almost as if she didn't mind it. she could hear her laugh forever. That is if forever ever existed at all.

Camila's thoughts were cut short because she heard Lauren talking to her again.

"So, since we obviously can't go from the front door, then let's jump out from the window." said Lauren as if it is the most normal thing humans do all-day

"you are saying that so casually as if you are doing it all the time..." said Camila with a frown on her face.

Camila thought.

But wait...how did she jump on me earlier...? How did she reach to the window??? It's so high??

Lauren looked at Camila while trying to make up an excuse in her head.

Dammit now what am I supposed to tell her??? Fuck I should have been more careful what am I gonna do now?? Ohh I got it.

"uhh Laur..."

"Camila, could you close your eyes for me?"

"umm why?"

"just do it I have a surprise for you"

"okay..."

When Camila closed her eyes, she thought.

I don't think I'm going to like where this is going, she also seemed kind of nervous when I was about to ask her about a certain thing.. something is really off with Lauren.

Camila heard her name getting called by Lauren from outside. So, she opened her eyes to see her waving at her to tell her that nobody is there but how the fuck did she get down there so quickly without any bruises or broken bones. Camila thought.

"hey, Camz you can jump, and I will catch you don't worry"

What the fuck??

"Lauren, I don't think that's a good idea I'm scared also how th...."

Camila got interrupted again.

"don't worry dude, I will catch you I promise!!!"

Who the fuck calls their date dude where did she come from???

"Camz just close your eyes and jump it's okay I promise I will catch you!!!"

Camila thought it might be better to listen to Lauren rather than yelling at her from the attic. she bets her mom right now is thinking 'who the hell would be yelling at the spider about jumping from the window rather than killing them.

"Camila I'm ready whenever you are, I will catch you really"

Camila hears her mom footsteps coming so now she has to act fast.

"okay Lauren I will do it"

Camila takes a deep breath. her mom steps are getting closer.

"JUMP!!!"

Camila jumped while closing her eyes and trying to hold herself from

screaming. she then landed gracefully on these strong beautiful pale arms. So, when she opened her eyes, she saw those sparkling emerald eyes looking back at her and she heard Lauren's raspy voice saying.

"hey, Camz I promised to catch you didn't I?"

"yeah, you did. thanks, Lauren."

Camila took off Lauren's mask and kissed her for the very first time...or so that is what happened in Camila's head.

When in reality, she jumped and screamed the whole time. probably the whole block has heard her and even when Lauren caught her, she kept on screaming. Lauren didn't know how to make her stop, so she put her on the ground and put her hand on her mouth to stop her. Camila flinched and bitted her hand, Lauren retreated back, whining.

"owww what the fuck!!! that really hurts don't do that"

"you scared me!!!"

"well, I didn't know how to shut you up.

"what? So, you want me to kiss you next time??"

"maybe" Camila mumbled.

"what?"

"what?"

Lauren heard what she said and blushed a little, but she did not comment on it. She decided to take that into consideration for next time.

After 30 minutes of walking into the woods, Camila had no idea where the hell Lauren was taking her. She loved walking in the woods and being surrounded by nature so she didn't complain.

Lauren suddenly stops walking and Camila bumps into her back and groans a little.

"Hey what happened? Are we there yet?" Camila asked even though she doesn't know where "there" is supposed to be.

Lauren turned back to look at Camila. she takes her mask off and hides the part that the mask was hiding with one of her hands, and hands Camila her mask.

Camila looks at the mask hanging there with a disgusted look on her face thinking

Ewww she doesn't expect me to do something weird with it right???

"don't worry Camila I don't expect you to do something weird with it, just hold on to it and never let it go please. it will help you, and wait for me here"

"that's still disgusting but sure..."

Lauren left Camila in a blink of an eye; 10 minutes have passed, and Camila was still waiting...

Camila was getting frustrated waiting for Lauren then she heard a howl coming from deep within the woods. Camila felt like there was something wrong, she is kind of sure there were no wolves here...right??

She heard little noises from behind the trees like bones getting broken and Camila's heart starts to race and her thoughts were only making it worse until...

" roar!!!"

"AHHH!!! LAUREN WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU????"

"hey, camz, sorry I made you wait I just went to uhh.. do some things but now I'm back," Lauren said with a proud smile.

Lauren didn't really care to remove the blood that was covering her mouth and clothes, but Camila got terrified.

"is...is that blood?? What happened to you??? what did you do???" said Camila while trying to reach Lauren's mouth to remove it.

Lauren tried to step back, but it was too late, and Just when she touched her pale skin that was the worst mistake she had ever done.

Something about Lauren's aura felt dangerously different and Lauren grabbed Camila's hand roughly so much that Camila groaned from the pain. Lauren put her head down and was shaking and her grip was getting stronger and she was growling.

When she looked up at Camila one of her eyes turned yellow and the other turned red, her teeth seemed sharper and her mouth was getting wetter than a normal human, almost like she was turning into a monster. Camila knew at that moment this wasn't Lauren anymore this was a monster who is trying to hurt her.

She tried to run but her grip was so strong. then Lauren pushed her so hard to the point where she lost her balance and fell on the ground. she groaned again, Lauren then jumped on her like a wolf was ready to eat its prey. Camila panicked so hard and remembered that she was still holding Lauren's mask. she didn't know what to do and she was about to be eaten by this scary monster and no one would know about this. She would be pieces of bones lying in these woods if she didn't do anything to stop her now.

She slapped Lauren with her mask and Lauren sniffed it and fell down on Camila.

Camila got even more scared and tried to push Lauren's body away, but she was so heavy and all the blood that was covering her was probably stuck on Camila's clothes too now. Camila was worried about Lauren and about what her mom would think when she gets back home. She tried to push Lauren's body away until it finally moved away from her and she got up and dusted herself off, but Camila can't leave Lauren lying like this in the middle of the woods.

Besides she is the only one who knows the way back, it would take years for Camila to get back if not going through the woods twice. She had to take Lauren but what if Lauren turned into that weird monster again and tried to hurt her.

Camila was going back and forth thinking about what is she supposed to do until she saw a paper falling off Lauren's pocket. she picked it up thinking it would be anything to save her but the only thing she read was

Call for emergencies only

XXX XXXX XXXX

Well, Camila didn't have much of a choice but to call that number. someone picked up on the second ring.

"Hello? Lauren what's up"

"uhhh well Lauren is ummm.. dead I think...I don't know maybe passed out can you help me??"

"LAUREN IS WHAT???"

"she is-" the number hanged up before Camila could explain more and she had no other choice but to wait for the stranger. whatever was their way to come and help them.

Camila waited for about 2 minutes until a girl with dark skin came asking for Lauren, she was attractive, to be honest, but there was no time for this right now.

"What happened?? Where is Lauren???"

"she is right there" Camila pointed to where Lauren was.

Normani went to her to check if Lauren is okay or not, she let out a sigh of relief to know that Lauren is okay. she is just passed out and will wake up soon.

Normani got up and started walking to the girl with chocolate eyes, eyeing her up and down.

"So, you must be Camila, right? I'm surprised Lauren let you live that long"

"well, she was about to kill me right there."

"Oh, what happened?? She went into her crazy mode and tried to eat you because you were stupid enough to take her mask off and let her sniff your scent??" said Normani, while pointing to the mask in Camila's hands.

"first of all, she took it off." Camila said frustrated. "and how the fuck would I know that if I touched her skin, she would turn into this crazy monster. I barely know her."

"barely, right," Normani said with a mocking tone. "So, you let her stay at your house for almost a month and you are saying you barely know her," Normani said while air quoting her last words.

"wait, how did you know that?? I just met you?"

"yeah, save the questions for later kid, now give me the mask and I will help you get out of here."

Camila hesitated before doing so, how can she trust someone she just met?

"How can I trust that you won't run away and leave me here?"

"hah well, you trusted Lauren enough to come here and look what happened. I'm pretty sure I'm your only way out of this, so kindly give me the mask."

She made some great points there I guess, she is right about this I mean I have no other choice.

Camila finally hands the woman Lauren's mask and waits for her to tell her or lead her out of this place.

"well, you humans have all been naïve, oh trusting anyone to get your own needs. Well, I'm going to get you out of here just close your eyes."

Camila was about to question the woman when she got slapped in the face with the mask and passed out.

---

When Camila opened her eyes, she saw the night sky through her window in the attic and the moonlight was reflecting on her, she heard a voice saying.

"Hey, Camz."

"hi, Laur...." The memories of Lauren trying to hurt her flashed before her eyes.

Camila got up from Lauren's lap so fast and crawled away from her as far as she could until her back hit the hardwood.

Lauren felt sad for making the girl with brown eyes feel scared since that wasn't her goal from the very start.

Suddenly an idea popped in Lauren's head, remembering what Camila once told her. she is now going to see if it's gonna work or not.

Lauren got up and started to walk towards Camila, she almost stopped dead in her tracks when she heard Camila talking.

"Lauren stop get away from me, I'm gonna hurt you if you tried to come any closer." Not that Camila had any intentions of doing so.

Lauren tried to hold her laugh but she couldn't, this annoyed Camila because she didn't take her seriously but also made her relax a little bit.

"I'm sorry Camz, but what can you do to hurt me? Pull my hair is that it?" Lauren continued to laugh out loud she almost teared up.

"you know that I shot you with a gun, right?"

"you mean the same gun that you were holding while your hands were shaking to the point where you shot me because you were taken back by me telling you to put it away."

"it's not like you told me nicely, you screamed at me."

"exactly my point."

Lauren stepped closer to Camila, to the point where Camila got trapped between the hardwood and Lauren's body.

Camila was still scared of Lauren because of what happened, and she still needed explanations for it, but she certainly wasn't expecting Lauren to put her hand on her cheek and rub her thumb across it, and telling her this time she is going to kiss it better while looking so intensely at her with those dazzling green eyes to be part of those explanations.

Camila's heart was racing so fast like she just ran a marathon and Lauren leaning in towards her to capture her lips surely wasn't making her heart any better. Camila closed her eyes and so did Lauren.

Their lips finally touched and for Camila, it felt heavenly like she had flown to the moon and played among the stars, and for Lauren well, it was like she saw what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars.

When they pulled back because they were out of breath, Camila wished she hadn't opened her eyes because she saw the same eyes that tried to hurt her in the woods, instead of her favorite green eyes.

Oh fuck not again this time I'm sure I will be a great meal for this monster, but I'm salty.. anyways I thought monsters hated this taste....Fuck I should run what am I thinking???

Camila tried to move out of the monster's way, but Lauren took a hold of her hands again and pinned them to the wood behind her. Lauren's teeth were sharper, and she looked like the same monster Camila meet in the woods. she leaned closer to Camila's ear and whispered

"don't worry it will be just a small bite you know a little taste won't hurt"

"LAUREN NOOOOO STOP IT GET AWAY FROM ME LAUREN!!!!!!!"

"..."

To be continued...

(This is a work of fiction. I am not affiliated with or endorsed by the real individuals mentioned.)