PR? (Camila/You)

chapter thirty-five

"Sorry I'm late,"  The professional-looking woman apologized as she walked into the conference room. Camila and I brushed it off as the two other men, from Epic Records, huffed in annoyance. "Well, let's get started then, shall we?" Everyone nodded. "My name is Susan, and I will now be working with you both. As I'm sure you know, the contract you had signed is approaching it's end. We have seen major success and have thus decided to extend it."

"What?" Camila and I asked simultaneously.

"Well, it's a second contract. It will pick up right where the last one ends. So, after..." Susan looked down at the papers in front of her. "Two months and three days of no communication within the media, you'll be seen out somewhere together again."

"Why can't we just stay together?" I asked dumbly.

Susan sighed in a borderline annoyed fashion. "Having a break-up will spike your names up in the media. Then, as you get back together, the same will happen. It keeps you relevant." She looked at the both of us who looked dumbfounded. The other men seemed to notice our expressions and smirked. "Not to mention the break up music that will come out." She looked towards me. "I'm told you have some songs that would work?"

"Uh...they weren't gonna be released..." I looked at Camila apologetically.

"They are now." One of the men stated.

"Woah, no way. You don't control my music at all." I say up straight, my anger peaking. Camila rested her hand on my knee, rubbing soothing circles with her thumb.

"The contract you are about to sign includes music being released...from both of you." Susan looked at us expectantly.

"We never said we would sign." Camila piped up.

"Oh, sweetie, you're gonna sign." The man, who had since been silent, said.

I felt Camila squeeze my knee. Whether it was to keep me calm or to calm herself down, I'm not sure. "First of all," She snapped. "Never call me 'sweetie' again. And second, there's no reason I should sign. My contract with you is up soon anyway."

"Oh, Camila..." The man spoke in a patronizing manner as he stood, his hands perched on the table. "What makes you think anyone else will pick you up? As it is, your second album seems to already be falling from the charts, not that it got too high anyway." He added under his breath.

"Well, maybe if you were smarter about how we released it, it would have done better." I could tell she was beyond pissed at this point.

He sighed with a smug grin. "We were smart about it. Now, no one else will sign you so...looks like we're your only choice." He shrugged, sitting again.

Camila's face fell as I grabbed her hand, squeezing it. "So..." Susan spoke up. "Time to sign, ladies." She presented us with two pens. I looked at Camila, searching her face to decide if we were gonna sign it. Because whether we sign or not, we'll be doing it together.

Her teeth were clenched as she shook her head, turning back to them. "No." They all looked at her in shock. "I'm not signing that." I tried to hide my smirk at their faces. "I don't care what you do to me, I refuse to jeopardize my relationships any more."

"Fine." The men stood up, buttoning their suit jackets. "You can kiss your tour goodbye, then." And with that, they left without a word. Susan looking at Camila disapprovingly before leaving as well.

————

"Hey," I placed my hand on Camila's leg as we drove back to my house. Her head was resting against the window. "Are you okay?"

Camila sighed, shrugging. "I'm just so tired." She spoke softly. "I'm tired of always getting fucked over. Fifth Harmony fucked me up in the head with all the tricks and...they gave me a way out. But it was a trap. Since then, it's all been the same. One trap after the other." She wiped away a tear, her eyes still looking out the window. "I love what I do. I love making music and seeing my fans and connecting with them. But..." Camila closed her eyes. I sighed, trying to think of what I could say. "As it is, I have no choice but to sign with Epic again."

I thought for a few moments before I got an idea. "You don't have to sign with them again." I told her.

"You obviously didn't hear them." She scoffed, though I knew it wasn't me she was mad at. "No one will want a washed up artist who flopped after her first album."

"No, Camila, listen to me." She turned to look at me. I looked back at her, the car stopped as we sat in traffic. "Don't sign with anyone. I didn't. We can both be independent artists. You'll have freedom and won't have to lose so much money to a company who doesn't care about you."

"Y/N," She sighed. "You're sweet for suggesting that, but I'd lose all my connections. My tour manager, my team, everyone."

"So? Look," I paused, pulling forward slightly before looking back at her. "Your band works for you. So do your dancers. Fuck the rest of your team that's associated with Epic." She giggled, causing me to smile. "And as for touring, it's not that difficult. I mean, I still tour. I can help you."

Camila looked at me with a small smile. She looked like she was about to say something so I looked at her expectantly. "You can go." She said, confusing me. "The traffic is moving." She clarified.

"Oh! Whoops." I started to drive again as I felt her hand on my thigh.

"I love you. And you're right. Fuck Epic. I'm gonna do this on my own." She smiled widely.

"No. You're gonna do it with me." I turned her hand over, interlocking our fingers. "And I love you too."

————
(a/n): she said nooooooo😱😱

now that there's no tour, what do you think will happen?

*also lowkey want camila to do this irl bc she could 100% make it on her own and she'll be so much healthier. she already has a name for herself (even if her reputation was fucked over) and her first album is STILL breaking records.

anyway, don't forget to vote
thanks for reading❤️

p.s. i made an instagram account where im gonna expose the pr w facts about how pr relationships work. i feel like more ppl need to know how this shit works bc it's toxic AF
(@/camilas.peeled.banana)