camila cabello • one-shots & imagines ♡

shadow of the night - prologue

Moving this story to this book! xx

Hello everyone!

Before you read, this book carries mature content. I have more in store for this plot as long as I can keep my motivation for it. Don't rush me for updates, I will publish when I can because I'm still occupied and have much to do before I graduate high school. However, I'm very open to ideas, to new concepts, to comments, and to your votes. All of these help me keep in mind that many of you like what you read.

When I say this book contains mature content, it'll talk about death, sadness, being a social outcast, etc. Some of these correspond with my experiences, so I will expect that many of you will respect how I make (Y/N) out to be in comparison to other characters and different environments.

I do plan to add trigger warnings before chapters if I see fit, but in general, please be cautious about reading the content.

Without further ado, begin with the prologue.

Much love,

Em. xx

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(Y/N)'s POV

I used to be one of those people. Reckless, especially with my words.

I thrived off of people's ambitions, dreams - lead them on, allowed them to believe they had a chance with somebody like me. I wasn't blind to the reality of words, of love, of sex. High school was my hunting ground for that, but as soon as graduation passed, I vanished. Distance grew between those I cared for, those I loved. All except my own family, just because I can't stand the thought of worrying them.

No ambition of others could strike my own. I saw this.. this swell of selfishness, greed. But, I came back with a purpose. A purpose to right my wrongs and to prove that I wasn't a coward.

A person with dignity, humility - somebody who cares.

↯

Vancouver, Canada. 2001.

There's a kind of lonesome one feels, that kind where no one would ever understand them. I was one of those people, and to cope, an adventurous spirit aimed to study those with a desire for compassion. That spirit, vibrating with anticipation in my very soul. It was all a haze, now that I think back - the true identity of me only tuned when desire was none of my concern. I'd say I was a relatively good student - observant, fast, the kind that stayed determined. I used to be deterred by the likes of people, by most people... vulnerable to their own whimsical habits, and yet, they will fall.

Soon enough.

Backpack strung to my shoulders, I felt a push at my side - knocking me back against the metal lockers, the shattering sound of its hollowness ringing in my ears.

"Watch where you're going," someone hissed, cackling about with their friends in tow - turning a corner to join the rest of the mucks they kept close to. There was nothing good to come with people like that - they smoked all kinds of drugs, got wasted on the weekends, fed on people's ambitions.

Was that to become of me? To earn the respect of society? Yes, but it wasn't to earn their respect. It was to prove something else, to be something else.

Shutting the door behind me, my eyes trained to the ground.. the ground. It's one of the only details I've grown accustomed to. Eye contact is a deadly thing, one acknowledgement of a stranger was enough to intimidate me. But here, now, the revelation that I was finally home came to me as a relief.

"Hi, honey. How was your first day of school?" The most comforting voice - my grandma. There wasn't anything I wouldn't do for her. At a young age, not to make pity out of this, my parents were involved in a car crash. Drunk driver, some guy in a moving trunk. He died with a broken beer bottle in one hand, a scribble of words on paper in his pocket. And those that innocently got involved, their lives were taken too quickly.

"It was fine, actually. Good," I replied, atoning for my thoughts by smiling in reassurance. The last thing I ever wanted was to worry the one person that I cared about - well, one of them.

"Oh, yeah? That's great! Tell me about it! I know it must not be easy to be at a new school, but I promise you, it's one of the best privates around and I, for one, know that you're the smartest out of all the students combined."

That's sweet, but also a lie. Just smile.

"Thank you. But can we talk about how good the food smells right now? I can say the one bad thing at school is the lunch."

"Oh dear, I thought I gave you a home meal this morning to eat?"

Yeah, you did.

"No, you didn't! Which is fine, because you helped me make a great discovery that the food at school may be burnt rubber. It surprised me that some of the kids could even eat it, but I guess it's just because they don't have a badass grandma that makes the best meals." That and some upperclassmen took my food in exchange for saving me from embarrassment. Nice, right?

"Now you're just really playing it up," my grandmother said. She lets out a hearty laugh, to which I join, as I lean to give her a kiss on her cheek. Propping myself on the island counter of our kitchen, I took an apple from our fruit bowl, sinking my teeth into the ripe fruit to earn a harmonious crunch.

"Hey, where's grandpa at?" That's the other person.

"Oh! He's out working in the backyard, playing in the dirt to try planting this fruit er... I forget the name of it already!" Laughing, I just nod and move to inch towards the back door, watching as the older man dug with his trusty hand shovel, popping a seed down in the rich soil to then cover it up.

❝BREAKING NEWS: A string of armed robberies have been occurring on the coast of Vancouver this morning! Police are investigating the scenes! Behind me, we have-... ❞

All else was a murmur, grandma lowering the volume as she chopped at a sticks of carrot. "Thank God that's not too close to us. But regardless, don't go exploring that area, okay? I don't want you getting into trouble," she said. Again, I nodded, letting out a small breath as I moved to grab my bag from the floor, politely excusing myself to head up the case of stairs and into my bedroom.

↯

Computers. Hell, technology in general. Such a neat little thing to take benefit from. Although I should've paid attention in that class, it's not like it's unfamiliar ground to me. My fingers danced along the keyboard and with a a simple press of a button, music began to play through the speakers planted all around the dimly lit grounds. Nothing could compare to an abandoned schoolyard, it just needed some tidying up. It was my getaway from reality and now it's my base of operations.

My hands gripped at the sturdiness of a pistol, elbows tucked to my chest. My eyes narrowed and all around me stood positioned dummies, some supported by machinery to move short distances in order to make things more of a challenge.

Breathe in, breathe out. Open.

A shot after shot, the ping of the bullets vanishing - pummeling the stationary targets down on the ground to signify a successful hit. Wind blew through shattered windows, watching as the smoke from the snout of the gun spiraled away. Silence stood like a shadow in the night, but rain, its thunder, the ricochet of both.

It eased me.

It was time to make a reappearance.