Best Friend

Drunk Texts

"Are you sure you don't wanna go?" Shawn asked as he pulled on his denim jacket. Camila was cuddled up on the couch — her oversized hoodie, leggings, and fuzzy socks complemented perfectly by the fluffy blanket she had wrapped around her small frame.

"I'm sure," she replied with a smile. "I have more Sex and the City to binge. Besides, I don't want to crash your guys night."

"Oh, come on! You wouldn't be crashing. The guys love you; you know that."

"And I love them too! But really — you go. I'm just gonna chill here."

"Alright," he sighed. "Suit yourself. I guess we'll just have to have all the fun without you then."

"I guess," she shrugged with a giggle. "Hey — promise you'll get an Uber back if you end up drinking?"

"Of course," he said sincerely. "I won't do anything stupid, Mila. I promise." Camila nodded at his words, knowing he was telling the truth. Shawn made sure he had his phone, keys, and wallet before walking towards the front door of the apartment.

"See ya, loser."

"Later nerd."

And with that, he was gone. Part of Camila really was tempted when he first approached her about joining him for guy's night at a bar back in their hometown — especially since his busy filming schedule had kept them from spending much time together. He was about a month into the nearly three month shoot schedule and from what Camila heard, it was going great. He still hadn't filmed that scene yet as far as she knew so she could only assume it was coming up soon.

She pulled herself up off of the couch and trudged into the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of wine before retreating back to the comfort of the couch.

--

Shawn sat at a table in one of the only bars in Lockport with four of his closest friends from high school (outside of Camila) and sipped his beer.

"Wait, so how long have you been upstate?" Brian asked.

"About a month," Shawn replied as he took another drink.

"Did you bring the Mrs. with you?" The four guys laughed as Shawn just shook his head and tried not to blush at the thought of Camila being his wife.

"You guys are too much."

"You're not answering the question..." Matt pointed out. Shawn rolled his eyes.

"Yes. She came with me."

"You guys still pretending to be just friends?" Jon asked.

"We are just friends."

"Yeah right," Brian snorted. "You do understand that the entire world is just patiently waiting for you two to realize that you're in love with each other, right?"

"Oh, trust me — I've realized it," Shawn groaned.

"Well then what are we waiting for?! Unless..." Prashan looked over at Shawn with skeptical eyes.

"There's nothing going on between us, I promise. I'd tell you guys if there was."

"But you're in love with her? Does she know?"

"Of course not," Shawn scoffed. "It's too...complicated. I mean, it's Camila. She's my best friend. We literally grew up together. If I tell her and she doesn't feel the same..." The idea that maybe his feelings could ruin the friendship they shared terrified him endlessly. Just the thought that he could lose a lifelong friend because he loved her too much made a scared shudder move through his body. "It's just too risky," he said plainly.