Camden sighs, struggling to push the spatula through the homemade wax mixture with her left hand. Over the past few weeks, Camden has been struggling to complete her daily routine due to the bright green cast covering her right wrist and forearm. 

Since the incident with the Laurent guy, Camden has been in constant agony. First for the surgery she needed to reset her wrist in place and second for her dislocated shoulder. Camden had never broken a bone before as she grew up being cautious of her every move, so she was never impulsive. 

Hence, her shock and disbelief that she had the nerve to punch someone. Camden has never been a violent person, no matter the situation. 

Whether her anger was aimed towards her mother or just a bad day, she would never react violently. She had never thrown a punch before and assumed her extensive injuries were due to her improper technique, because no human's face could injure someone's hand like it did. 

The image of red eyes and his astounding speed force their way into her mind. Camden shakes her head with tense shoulders, she was done thinking about that day in the forest. 

A message notification from her phone alerts Camden of Bella's arrival. She stares at the screen until it switches itself off from disuse. She hadn't spoken to Bella in person since she drove her to the hospital. A shudder runs down her spine at the memory - the pained cries, red hot agony coursing through her arm and the fear of the unknown. 

"Come on in, Bells," Camden calls out, seeing her petite figure standing behind the fly screen door. 

"Hey Cam," Bella's voice is hesitant as she pulls the fly screen open and steps into the hallway, "I brought the cornflour like you asked."

Bella lifts the cardboard box in her hand with a slight shake and Camden smiles at her softly.

 "Come, sit. Let's start."

Camden leaves the wax on the table, turning to the coffee pot and fills up two mugs, one half way and the other to the brim. She carries Bella's coffee over first, placing it on the table with a shaky hand before doubling back for her own. 

Bella murmurs her thanks and begins to pour the cream into her cup alongside two sugars, "Is this your second coffee for the day?"

Camden snorts as she settles in beside Bella on the couch. "Try the second pot."

The younger girl sends her a scolding look over the brim of her cup and Camden just giggles in response. Sure, she liked coffee a bit too much but this morning's pot had been to keep her eyes open. 

Ever since the day in the forest, Camden could barely shut her eyes for five minutes without seeing the man or those creatures, both with fangs and deadly eyes. She was too scared to sleep alone and even with her aunt, it was only for an hour at best. 

"I haven't been sleeping much," At Bella's cautious look, Camden feels herself growing frustrated, "Look, Bells. I know you don't want to talk about it but I can't keep lying to my family or to myself." 

The Swan girl lowers her cup and avoids making eye contact. Camden swallows a mouthful of coffee to allow herself time to think over her words instead of saying what comes to mind which wouldn't help either of the girls. 

"I just- I'm scared Bella, all the time. I keep seeing him in my dreams or those creatures in the shadows. What even were they? Bears? Wolves? Mountain lions?" Camden rambles, her mind racing at the possibilities. 

A gentle hand on her thigh shakes her from her worried thoughts, "Mountain lions don't look like that but, you could be right about them being wolves. Angela told me she saw the black one a few weeks ago and she thought it was a bear at first but they weren't large enough."

Camden scoffs at her friend's words. Not large enough? Those things were taller than her car.

Bella looks up with tears clouding her eyes, shocking the older girl, "I can't tell you. I want to, I trust you with the secret Camden, I do but it's not mine to tell. I trust you with my life, hell, you saved ours in the forest without hesitation while I was too busy hallucinating my ex!"

Camden thinks back to that day and she remembers how detached Bella was from their surroundings before Laurent even joined them in the meadow. How Bella's teary eyes looked dull and pained as she touched the dead flowers and kneeled on the floor, curling her arms around her chest. 

"Bella, I don't blame you for what happened. Being in the meadow would've taken a lot out energy both emotionally and physically, after all, it was where you two spent the majority of your time. It was your place and that man, he - he was trespassing. Either way, I handled it, okay? It's over," Camden reassures her friend, patting Bella's hand with her own softly. 

"Well, not really," Bella trails off setting her coffee cup down and reaching for the cornflour. 

"What do you mean, 'not really'? Bella, it's over. Laurent hasn't shown back up and neither have those creatures. Gina said they would've migrated further east by now," Camden shakes her head in refusal. 

They were gone, her aunt said so. Charlie and Gina had been searching the woods for the animals for the past few days and they haven't been found. If they were still here, tracks of some sort would've been found. After all, they're animals - they couldn't possibly  cover their own tracks. 

Camden squeezes her eyes shut and flexes her fingers, relaxing as the knuckles pop soothingly. 

"What's in this?" Bella avoids Camden's question, lifting the container of wax to her nose to sniff curiously. 

"Two cups of sugar, four teaspoons of lemon juice and four teaspoons of water," Camden brushes off the deflection for the time being, "Wiki-how said to put cornflour on the area first before applying the wax."

Bella nods and rips open the package, grabbing a handful of the flour and rubs it on her legs until just above her knee. Camden follows suit, setting aside a small clump of the wax to save for her bikini region when she was alone. It was going to hurt like hell but Camden wasn't new to the feeling of pain. 

"Ok, done. Now what?" Bella questions, legs shaking in anticipation. 

Camden furrows her eyebrows and bites her lip in thought. She leans forward and sticks her finger in the wax, testing the temperature. She nods her head in approval at the warmth still radiating off the mixture. 

"Okay, grab a small amount, roll it in a ball and then rub it on a small patch of hair at a time," Camden nods, thanking Bella when she hands her a rolled clump of wax. She wouldn't be able to roll them herself with the cast.

"Then we pull?" 

"Then we pull." 

Screams erupt from the girls' in synchronisation as the hair is ripped out of the shins from the wax. Both girls look at each other in surprise and Camden begins to laugh. 

"I can't do that again," Bella shakes her head vehemently, hands fanning her red skin.

"We have to, otherwise it'll grow back weird after shaving the rest," Camden reasons, gulping down more coffee in hopes to calm her nerves. "How about I pull yours and you pull mine?"

Bella contemplates the offer for a moment before nodding in agreement. The girls place the same clump of wax back on their shin, and reach for the other girl's piece. 

Fingers clutching the strip of wax on the Swan's leg, Camden pauses and looks her in the eye hesitantly, "What did you mean before?"

"Nothing - I was just, nothing. It's fine Camden," Bella shakes her head stubbornly and pulls the wax from Camden's leg. 

"Ow!" Camden howls, her throat aching in process.

If that's how it's going to be, Camden thought bitterly and yanked the wax off her friend's leg, the hair ripping away forcefully. For the remaining ten minutes, the girls continue to rip the hair off each other's legs without hesitation. 

"Ok!" Camden exclaims, lifting her hands up in surrender, "Bella, I have a right to know. Whether you like it or not, I'm in this now and should know what's going on. Look, we're friends okay? I consider you my best friend and I need to know if you're in trouble."

Bella rips the remaining clump of wax off of Camden's thigh, avoiding eye contact and focusing on her fingers instead.

"Look, when I was dating...him, we ran into some trouble with Laurent and his friend Victoria. There's some history with Victoria's ex and well, she despises me now. I thought he dealt with it but obviously not," Bella's voice is low and sad, like it always is when she spoke about Edward Cullen. 

"Was that Laurent guy on drugs?" Camden asks curiously, her mind racing for any possibility for having red eyes, "He looked deranged." 

"No," Bella shakes her head slowly, "What I meant before was that..."

Camden looks at her patiently, waiting for the answers that her friend has refused to give her for three weeks and counting. Bella pushes Camden back into the couch by her shoulders and places fresh wax along the inside of her knees. 

"Jacob said he was a werewolf, like his ancestors," Bella admits before ripping the wax away. 

Camden shouts in protest, panting from the pain and before she could open blink, the remaining hair is ripped away in one swift pull. 

"There, all done," Bella smiles as if she was talking about finishing a test.

"First of all, ow," Camden glares, grabbing the aloe vera from the table and squeezing it along her sore skin, "Second of all, a werewolf? Bella, you do realise he's insane, right? That shit doesn't exist."

Camden rubs the cool gel into her skin along her shins and thighs, sighing as the burning heat drifts away. 

"Well, he came over the other night and felt like he had a fever. I thought it was because he was still sick but he begged me to remember the legends he told me about when I first moved here. He looked so scared Cam and when I remembered them, they were about the tribe members in La Push being werewolves or shapeshifters," Bella blurts out, cleaning her hands with a wet wipe hastily. 

"Exactly, Bells. They were legends," Camden reasons, standing up from the leather couch with a shake of her head.

She downs the last of her coffee before unrolling her shorts back down from her mid-thigh to her knees, "Legends have to stem from somewhere, Cam. Can - Can you just come with me to see him and be open minded about it?"

Camden observes the younger female quietly as she untucks her sweatshirt from her shorts. Bella's expression is both hopeful and nervous, as if she expected the Sawyer girl to reject her request. Camden wouldn't lie, the thought had crossed her mind. 

"Okay, but if he does any funky shit, we're leaving," Camden compromises, reaching her pinkie out to link with Bella's outstretched one. 

"Who's driving?"

----

"I'm just gonna go in, confront him and he'll hopefully confess it was all a joke," Bella stares at the small red bricked house in determination.

Camden glances over at her with narrowed eyes from the driver seat. "Then you'll come back out? You're not gonna leave me out here in the car while you two fool around, right?"

Bella glares sharply at Camden, her lip curled up in distaste, "It's not like that with us."

"Maybe not for you Bella, but it's more than a friendship for him. Now, enough stalling, get in there and stand proud," Camden grins, reaching over to untuck Bella's hair from her jumper and bring it forward to frame her delicate face.

Bella juts her chin up and shuffles out of the car, rolling her shoulders and puts her hood on to save her hair from getting soaked. Camden pulls the door shut and watches silently as her friend jogs over to the house. 

Camden giggles, her head bouncing off the seat as she watches Bella stable herself on the porch railing. Bella leans against the wooden railing for a moment as her boots slide on the muddy surface. 

Camden grows bored as her friend finds her footing and glances around the inside of the truck, hoping to find something to pass the time with. Finding nothing of immediate interest, Camden turns her attention back to the red bricked house only to find the door open and Bella's retreating back. 

A middle aged man sat in a wheelchair staring through the rain and into her vacant eyes. His long almost black hair was hanging freely and looked to be in small braids which she found sweet. Camden blinks and stares at him confused as he moves backwards and slams the door shut with one last withering glare.

"Not creepy at all. Come on, Bella, get out of there," Camden mutters, lying down across the seat with her knees up, knocking together. 

A mysterious stain in the shape of a boot drags her attention away from who she assumes was Jacob Black's father, Billy and towards the roof. The stain could either be oil or beer, although the thought of a young Jacob painting oil on the roof in the shape of a boot with his chubby finger humoured her immensely. 

She didn't necessarily hate Jacob - he hadn't committed an act that would require such strong feelings towards him yet - but she wasn't the fondest of him. 

He had the attitude that he was better for Bella than anyone else and of course Camden wanted the best in the world for Bella, which was why she knew Jacob wasn't it. He was demanding, unreliable and worst of all, he couldn't seem to take no for an answer.

She remembered when she first met Bella and Jacob had left two voicemails and five text messages asking to accompany her to the movies, only to then flake on her that night. He seemed to like making promises that he couldn't keep. 

The banging of a screen door pulls Camden's attention away from her inner monologue harshly. She sits up with a jolt and glances around in confusion. She could barely see through the rain and the windows had fogged up from the car heater and her breathing. 

Wiggling in the seat awkwardly, Camden finally manages to sit upright in the seat, her breathing heavy. She wipes the fog away from the window with the sleeve of her sweater hastily. She makes out a cluster of blurry figures in the distance. 

Camden presses her forehead against the cool glass and squints at figures. She finds Bella facing away from her and towards a group of shirtless, much taller and beefy looking men. 

"Shit, Bells. What have you gotten yourself into?" she curses to herself, eyes widening in surprise as her friend pulls her arm back and swings for the closest male's smirking face.

Camden swings the door open, covering her cast with the sleeve of her jumper to shield it from the pouring rain. "BELLA!"

Her throat constricts painfully as she screams her friend's name, eyes wide in shock as Jacob screams her name in unison. Bella's wide eyes meet Camden's through the rain and she begins to sprint in her direction, only to slip on the mud a few feet away from the enraged male. 

Camden jumps out of the truck, her feet thudding against the wet ground and her shoes flicking mud against the back of her calves. She watches as the infamous Jacob Black soars over Bella's fallen body without a second glance and his shaking body transforms into one covered in fur. 

Camden stumbles in shock, her arms shooting outright to balance herself to prevent falling and speeds up her pace. She could feel sweat forming under her arms from the exertion and her throat was parched. 

She reaches Bella's form at the same time as two russet skinned males - one looking to be young then the two girls and the other a few years older. "Stay away from her!"

The boys abide by her warning and stop in their tracks, watching both girls in curiosity and amusement. Camden looks past them and watches as Jacob's reddish brown form - she's guessing, his wolf form - attacks the grey wolf from the day in the forest. 

The two boys attack each other, claws scratching at the other's skin and and canines bared with saliva dripping from their jaws. She watches fearfully as the two tumble into the forest, a lone tree crashing down from their fall. 

"So, werewolves huh?" Camden asks meekly, her voice cracking and hand shakily gripping Bella's to hall her fallen friend up.

"We'll discuss this back at Emily's," the older looking one offers, wiping the rain off his face tiredly and starting in the direction of a beat up truck. 

Camden looks at the vehicle with a raised eyebrow. She thought Bella's truck was rough but it was practically brand new compared to this one. 

"Hey Bella, you remember me? I'm Embry, and over there is Jared," Embry grins kindly down at Bella, towering over both girls with his height. He turns towards Camden, eyebrows furrowed. "You are?"

"Camden," she responds shortly, her stomach rolling uneasily. 

Werewolves, fucking werewolves in La Push. What next? A coven of witches owning the hardware store and riding broomsticks?

Camden follows Bella and Embry's retreating figures numbly, her heart racing and thoughts fearful. Despite every bone in her body ordering her to get away from these dangerous boys, she trusted Bella and would follow her to the ends of the earth. 

The drive to their unknown destination is filled with forced small talk which Camden refuses to be a part of. She refused to talk to them until they explained what the hell was going on. 

As they pull into a driveway, Camden turns her focus to her friend. Bella seemed too comfortable and accepting of the news of werewolves - did she already know? Was she just pretending to be shocked for Camden's benefit?

If Camden had been alone, she would've refused to even enter their car until they started talking but Bella just walked off without even a sigh or objection. 

Camden narrows her eyes as Bella leaves her side and exits the vehicle, holding the door open and waiting for her. She breathes in deeply and slides across the leather interior, stepping once more into the unforgiving rain. 

As Bella intertwines her fingers with Camden's, she glances to her left at her friend and shakes her head in denial. No, Bella wouldn't keep something like that away from her - besides, she brought the subject up when they were at hers. 

Camden's tilts her head to the side in thought as Embry mumbles something to them both that she doesn't bother paying attention to. It couldn't be possible that Bella's secret she was hiding was Jacob's. Camden had no doubt it had something to do with the Cullens, otherwise Bella wouldn't have acted as torn as she had.

Camden steps through the doorway, pulling the fly screen shut behind her and wipes her feet against the mat in hopes to remove the mud. The cottage had a homely feeling to it and was open spaced with various lounges and seating spread out across the lounge.

She allows Bella to lead her towards a kitchen where the boys had disappeared. Camden squints her eyes at the bright lights shining down on them and stumbles blindly after Bella, her sneakers squeaking against the wooden floorboards.

Her eyes adjust to the bright light in comparison to the foggy sunlight outside and glance over the room in interest. The kitchen is small and cozy with an oak theme and marble granite counter top. 

A woman is bringing a bowl of muffins to the table which catches Camden's attention immediately. She could see giant blueberry muffins mixed with chocolate chip ones and the sickeningly sweet aroma drifting from them made her mouth water in longing. 

"So, you're the vampire girl?" the woman questions, her questions triggering a gasp from Camden.

She glances up and locks eyes onto the older woman with scars running down the side of her face whose stare is locked on Bella. Did she just say vampire girl?

Camden feels herself sucking in her stomach naturally as she glances at the older woman's slim frame. She closes her eyes and breathes in slowly, reminding herself that she could breathe out with zero consequences. 

She does so and glances across the room, fearing one of them would be glaring at her. She knew realistically that no one would be but it was always a fear of hers that she was being judged every walking moment of her day. She catches Embry's eye and he grins, waving a muffin in greeting.

"You're the wolf girl," Bella responds, her voice calm and collected unlike Camden's whole being. 

"Guess so, well, I'm engaged to one," Emily smiles warmly, her voice firm. 

She looks between the two women and then at the two boys, waiting for an explanation for what the hell was going on. No one says a word for a moment and everyone seems to relax aside form Camden. 

"I'm sorry to ruin this beautiful moment but what the hell?" Camden begins sarcastically, tugging a frizzy strand of hair with her left hand anxiously. "First werewolves and now vampires?"

Bella has the decency to look guilty while the three La Push residents look at her in confusion. "Oh hi, I'm sorry I don't know your name?"

Embry perks up in his seat, gesturing a chocolate chip muffin between Emily and Camden, "Camden this is Emily, she's Sam's fiancé. Emily, this is Camden, Bella's best friend I think."

Camden smiles politely at Emily, waving her free hand in greeting to the surprised woman, "How much do you know?"

Camden blanches at her questioning, swallowing roughly. "I know that Jacob Black is a werewolf, the guy Bella slapped is one and I'm assuming everyone else here is too? Oh, and vampires apparently exist?"

Camden's voice is close to hysteria and the woman just smiles in return to Camden's narrowed eyes. "Come, sit, have a muffin. Sam will answer all your questions."

Camden sits beside Bella, squeezing her hand tightly. "Is this a cult?"

Jared and Embry's answering laughter causes a red flush to bloom upon her cheeks in humiliation. 

"We're not a cult, shapeshifters - not werewolves - travel in packs. I am the alpha," a deep, baritone voice cuts in from the doorway and when Camden lifts her gaze, she finds herself facing the older male from Jacob's backyard. The one who had chased after the two fighting boys. He must be Sam. 

"Right, and vampires?" Camden presses, her expression fearful yet eager. She wanted to understand what was going on but she was scared to know the answer.

"Sorry Bella," the man from before apologises cheekily as he walks through the door and sits beside Camden, stuffing a muffin into his mouth. 

"That's Paul," Embry supplies, grinning in Camden's direction with a mouthful of muffin. Camden nods in response, glancing at the man in question before turning to Bella who had begun to rise.

 She noticed Jacob standing in the doorway and squeezes Bella's hand in question. "I won't be long, Cam."

Camden nods and turns her attention back to Sam, her gaze sharp and unwavering. 

"How much do you know about vampires?" Sam questions, his voice hesitant. 

She rolls her eyes in response, "If I knew about them before today I wouldn't be asking."

"Well that's a lie, you punched one a few weeks back?" Paul snorts, from beside her. "Nice swing by the way."

Camden glances at him sharply, eyes wide as her breathing picks up, "Laurent? That dude was a vampire?"

They all glance at each other before looking back at Camden, "You didn't know?"

"Since when were vampires shared knowledge?" Camden hisses back, accepting the blueberry muffin from Emily's outstretched hand with a murmured thanks. 

"Your best friend dated one," Jared shrugs carelessly, "We take vampires out, it's our duty to protect our people."

"Wait - hold up? The Cullens or just... Edward?" She whispers his name just in case Bella could over hear their conversation. 

Sam clears his throat and sits across from her, hands folded in front of him, "The whole family - the whole coven are vampires, Camden. They're dangerous creatures."

Camden sits back in her seat numbly thinking his words over. The Cullen family were vampires, well shit.

She nibbles on the muffin quietly in shock as the pack allow her to absorb the new information. 

"Why was that vampire's eyes red then? Do the Cullens wear contacts?" she blurts out, remembering Dr Cullen's caring golden eyes and Jasper Hale's smouldering amber ones.

"They have a different diet - the vampire in the meadow fed off of humans, like most of their kind. However the Cullens fed off of animals, or so they said," Sam informs her, eyes calculating as he observes her shaken frame.

"So, they weren't dangerous after all?" Camden frowns. "They weren't like Laurent."

"They are still plenty dangerous," intones Jacob from the doorway. 

Camden glances over and finds Bella's frowning figure, "You okay Bells?"

Bella blinks and smiles back at the older female, "Yeah, Jacob's going to take us back to the truck."

Camden nods, standing up from the table before remembering her manners. "Thank you for the muffin Emily, it was delicious. Sam? Thank you for filling me in."

Sam nods, rising too as the others continue to stuff their faces like they hadn't been fed in days, "About that-"

Camden cuts him off with a weary smile, "Let me guess, if I tell anyone you'll kill me?"

Paul chuckles and shouts an affirmative while Sam shakes his head in objection, "I was just going to say that no one will believe a word if you do."

Camden gulps at his words and nods, spinning around to follow Bella outside quickly. 

"Are you okay?" Bella questions in a small voice, dragging the toe of her boot against the ground as they wait beside Jared's truck, while Jacob talks to Sam. 

"Yeah, it's a lot to take it but I think I'm okay. Terrified, but okay," Camden grimaces at Bella and her friend sighs before placing her hands on Camden's shoulders.

"Ask me," Bella orders, her voice firm and gaze sharp. 

"Did they hurt you? Is that why they left?" Camden blurts out, her tone worried and eyes wide in concern. 

Bella's shoulder's slump and her hands grip the material of Camden's jumper tightly, "No, not exactly. On my birthday, Alice threw a party at their house and I got a paper cut. Jasper is the newest to their vegetarian lifestyle and lost control. He tried to attack me but they stopped him. It was an accident but they left soon after, it wasn't safe for them anymore."

Camden nods, absorbing the information with a sad smile, "Thank you for telling me Bella, I know you promised them you wouldn't."

Bella's returning grin is sad, "Technically, I didn't. Sam did - I'm just filling in the gaps."

Camden pulls Bella forward in a hug and squeezes the other girl tightly, smiling as her embrace is returned, "Let's get back to our sleep over, yeah?"

( N O T E )

Please let me know if you liked it or not. Feedback is appreciated.

Love you. 

(17/07/20)