A/N: I got this idea over at tumblr, thanks to LaFonfuck. it's basically a Camp Takota AU. This is originally posted on Ao3 but since I was originally writing fanfics over here, I decided to post this here too. I hope you like it!
CAMP SILAS - Chapter 1: We're Going Down Swinging
The End.
She stares at the two words on her screen that she just typed and she can't help the smile that slowly crept on her face as it sinks into her. She's finished. The book she's been writing is finished.
After months of conceptualizing about her first novel – an adult fantasy novel about a vampire falling in love with the journalist trying to uncover her story and proving that she is a creature of the dark, and a lot more months of actually writing it, she finally finished.
Laura Hollis lets out a squeal as she jumps off her computer chair and runs to the bedroom to find her girlfriend snuggled up on her side of the bed. Laura walks over to the bed and sits on it, debating on whether she should share the news to Danny immediately or if she should wait before she wakes up. She decides that maybe they can have a nice breakfast date to start their day. "Danny," She smiles when her girlfriend scrunches her nose. "Wakey, wakey love." She tucks a few strands of Danny's hair behind her ear.
"Hmm, Laura." Danny moans out, opening her eyes slowly and smiling when she sees Laura. The redhead looks over at the clock on the bedside table to check the time. "It's 7:30, babe. So early."
"Well, I can't consider it early if I never really slept." Laura admits, shrugging.
"Laura, you can't keep on living on caffeine." Danny reminds but sees that Laura is about to protest. She immediately pulls Laura to her and kisses her. "Mm, yup, there's caffeine." She mumbles against Laura's lips which causes the girl to giggle.
Giggling then pulling away, Laura sighs and kisses Danny's nose. "It's a beautiful morning today Danny!" She exclaims, nodding her head. "Guess who just finished her story!"
Danny slowly sits up and looks at Laura who is now lying on her back on the bed. "That's great, Laura." She smiles, caressing Laura's cheek. "So… when do I get to read it?"
"Uh…" Laura laughs nervously. "Soon… kinda? I just, you know, wouldn't want to take some time from you by asking you to proofread it." She mumbles. Laura knows that Danny is really good with the proofreading work. After all, Danny was the Lit TA at their university. It's just that she'll really feel bad especially now that she knows how busy her girlfriend is.
"Babe." Danny rolls her eyes. "That's my job. Besides, what's stopping you now? If I remembered right, you used to ask me to proofread your stuff a lot back in college." She says and Laura laughs at the memory. "You know what, let's grab some breakfast before you go to work. I'll drive you there."
"Perfect! Exactly what I was going to ask you! I need to buy Elsie's coffee too." Laura groans standing up from the bed and frowning. "You'd think that after two years of working under her, she'd stop texting me every morning just to remind me to bring her morning coffee but she doesn't."
Danny chuckles at her, shaking her head and standing up. She starts to get dressed and Laura does the same. Today is a good day, Laura thinks to herself.
Laura Hollis can't ask for more. She's an aspiring writer and since she's already finished her story. She has a good feeling that it'll be approved because, hello? Vampires and adult content? People dig that. She smiles as she clutches the USB where she stored her story. Elsie is going to like it, she's sure of it.
Also – Laura looks at Danny who is humming to a song playing on the radio while driving – she has a great girlfriend. A perfect girlfriend. Although their friends tease them as David and Goliath because of the height difference, Laura doesn't care. She loves Danny and Danny does too. She's happy with that.
"Laur," Danny asks, glancing at her. Hearing Danny's voice brings Laura back to reality. She realizes that she spaced out while looking at her. "You up for pancakes?"
She nods, smiling at Danny who turns her attention back on the road.
After a few minutes, Danny pulls over their favorite diner, five minutes away from Laura's workplace, Styria Publishing.
"Hey, Laura?" Danny calls her attention once they're seated. "I'm just going to go to the washroom. Can you order for me? The usual, thanks." She says in a hurry, pulling out her phone from the pocket of her jeans. She slides out of her side of booth and kisses Laura on the forehead before walking towards the washroom, leaving Laura no chance to say anything. Danny's been doing that lately. She's so busy that Laura feels bad when she has it easy. The waitress comes by their table and she orders both for her and for Danny (and that hot coffee for Elsie) before moving back to the counter, ripping a page from the notepad and clipping it on the order list.
"My gosh, Laura Hollis, is that you?"
Laura looks up to find the owner of the voice and sees Hester Perry. "Hester, hi!" She smiles and stands up to give Hester a hug. "It's been a while! Uh, I didn't expect to see you here. I thought you'd be at camp by now."
"Why, yes, has been a while! Can't even remember the last time you came by the house. Oh and, I'm just doing some last minute chores." Hester fakes a frown when Laura lets go of her. Of course Laura knows she's just joking. Even after years, she can perfectly tell whether her best friend's mom is serious or simply being her funny self. Of course, Laura can't really say that Lola feels the same about being 'best friends'. Laura admits that she had not been able to keep in touch with her best friends and she genuinely feels bad about it but, she's always been bad at time management. Not a good reason, Hollis, Laura tells herself. "Speaking of recruiting, I'm still short of two counselors. Maybe you'd like to join the staff? I'm sure Lola will be thrilled to see you."
Laura tries to laugh. The thought of going back to camp as a counselor is something she never thought of because, she's grown now and as much as she enjoyed it there back then, she's a woman with a career and she'll soon be making it big. She can't afford any distractions. "That sounds lovely but, I'll have to pass." She smiles, patting the older woman's shoulder. "I actually work in publishing now."
"Anything wrong?" Danny's voice startles you and you look over to her and smile. She places an arm on Laura protectively which makes her roll her eyes. She's doing that Danny thing again.
"Danny, meet Hester." Laura introduces. "She's my best friend's mother. Perry, remember?" Danny looks like she understands, nodding her head and smiling. "And, Hester, this is Danny. My girlfriend." She says, wrapping an arm around Danny's waist.
Hester nods, extending an arm out to Danny which she shakes. "My, my, Laura. I didn't know you played for that team." She tells Laura before looking up at Danny. "And my, you are a gorgeous woman."
"Thank you." Danny replies, finally relaxing and loosening her grip on Laura's shoulder.
"Well, look at this old woman disturbing you from breakfast. I best get my own and leave. Lola's expecting me to return to camp before dark." Hester says. "You know how much of a worrywart she can get."
Laura laughs. "How can I forget?" She replies. Hester waves goodbye to her and Danny. She settles back down on her seat and Danny follows her, sitting on the opposite side of the booth. Their orders arrive shortly after and the two of them are back to their casual talking about – Laura sighs – work. Danny's such a workaholic that Laura wonders if work is keeping their relationship alive. They rarely talk about other things. After two years of being together (and four years of being friends from college), Laura thinks it's probably normal. They've been living in together since the start of their relationship after all. They practically know each other like the back of their hands.
Admittedly, she can't really complain. She's comfortable with that kind of setting. There's nothing else she can ask for.
It's a busy day at the office as usual. Laura walks in from the elevator, carrying Elsie's coffee on one hand and her bag on the other. Pushing the door to Elsie's office, she finds her on the phone. "Ah, yes, I'll be sure to accommodate them for the interview." She hears Elsie say.
Slowly, Laura lowers the coffee on her table and watches as Elsie paces back and forth behind her table before ending the call and sitting down on her chair. Normally, Laura leaves right after she places the coffee on the table which is the reason why she isn't surprised when Elsie looks up at her with a questioning look. "Need anything, Laura?" She asks.
"Well," Laura starts, smiling at her. "I finished my story and thought maybe you'd like to give it a read." She digs in her bag, searching for the USB. "There's the little devil." Laura mumbles, grabbing the USB in her bag and giving it to Elsie.
Elsie nods, smiling. "I'll read it. When I find the time." She takes a sip of her coffee. "Now, I want you to arrange the meeting room. You're interviewing Theo, the guy playing as Shannon in the movie adaptation of one of our authors' book. You know Inna, the one who wrote the antihero sci-fi book?" Laura nods. "Yes, well. Be sure not to talk about issues or anything that may ruin him. Promotion, not demotion. He is a rising star but the people love him already. Since he's starring in one of the films that we're affiliated to, positive questions only, capiche? Also, be sure to ask him about his love life and his relationship with his co-star, Katie." Laura nods at her and was about to walk away when Elsie calls her back. "Mel will be dropping by later for an interview as well. The webseries she starts in is a huge hit. Better make sure somebody accommodates her."
Laura forces a smile and nods before exiting Elsie's office. She's back to handling social media accounts and making articles. A little while later, Natalie, her co-worker informs her that Theo has arrived and is now waiting for her in the meeting room. Together, the two of them goes to him for the interview, Natalie taking pictures and Laura asking the questions.
While Theo is really cheerful and a fun guy to talk to, Laura finds herself counting the minutes until the interview is over. She just can't wait to sit idly on her desk and text Danny about how she's doing. Of course, she knew Danny would just reply with a 'I'm good, babe. How about you?'. But it's fine, Laura thinks.
"Thanks for doing the interview." She says finally when Theo has answered all of the questions provided. Theo shakes both hers and Natalie's hands and asks where the restroom is. They point him to it and they move back to their tables.
Natalie sits with her and smiles absent-mindedly. "Don't you think Theo looks cute?" She asks and Laura only gives her small 'hmm' in reply. "Ah, right. You don't play for both teams." Natalie teases and Laura just laughs, throwing a crumpled piece of paper at her. "So, how are things going with you and Danny?"
Sighing, Laura stretches her arms and yawns. "Too great." She shrugs. "I'm getting some juice from the vending machine." She stands up from her seat and Natalie follows her.
"Too great good or too great bad?"
"What's that even supposed to mean?"
Natalie rolls her eyes and smirks. "Come on Laura. We both know too much of something isn't good. And you said 'too great'." She says animatedly. "Looking for a bit of trouble in paradise?"
"No, it's just that-"
They were interrupted by the sight of Theo and Mel, the girl in the webseries that Elsie was talking about earlier. The two of them are making out passionately on the stairs which nobody uses because technology is so great and elevators are amazing. Laura's surprised to hear the silent shutter of Natalie's camera. "Nat!" She hisses, pulling Natalie away from taking another picture but the girl only snaps another photo. "Let's go now." Laura pushes her friend away from the stairs and back to their desks. "You better delete those photos."
"Hmm…" Natalie hums. "I can't believe that they're a thing!" Natalie says, and Laura's thankful that she didn't shout it out. "Mel is so lucky. Then again, Theo's lucky too. They're both hot."
"Well, this is going to be a big issue since, wasn't Theo 'supposed' to be dating his co-star in the film adaptation of Inna's book?"
Natalie laughs. "Oh come on, Laura. That could just be some publicity stunt. You know how teens dig love teams these days."
True. But Theo might also just be cheating. Maybe. But Laura doesn't have to meddle in that because this is showbiz and that's what everyone does these days. She's lucky she found one of the few loyal ones. "They should be careful where they decide to eat each other's face out." Laura mumbles.
Natalie tells her that she'll go to the vending machine downstairs and volunteers to get Laura her 'daily dose of grape soda'. Laura laughs, saying thanks.
"Laura," Elsie peeks through the ajar door to her office. "Kindly upload the pictures of your interview with Theo. Publicity, darling."
Good thing Natalie left the camera. Laura thought and plugs the digital camera on her computer before logging in their facebook account and uploading the photos. She goes to the restroom while waiting for it to finish uploading. She wonders about the story she wrote. She really hopes that Elsie reads it. Laura's been writing articles that always get good reviews plus, Elsie knows that she has potential in creative writing so, maybe, a definite maybe, she has a good chance that she'll have her story published.
Laura exits the washroom and sees that all photos are ready to be published. She clicks the publish button. This is also the time Natalie returned.
"Perfect timing! I just finished uploading the pictures from earlier's inter-" Laura is interrupted by the facebook notification tone popping-up one tone after the other. Laura looks at the screen of her computer and sees 74 notifications immediately that grew to a hundred in just ten seconds. "What the…"
"Oh my god, Laura. Have you deleted the pictures?"
"What pic- oh my god," Laura feels as if her world came tumbling down. "You didn't delete it earlier?" She looks at Natalie then back to her computer. She opens the notifications and sees comments and shares of Theo and Mel's kissing picture.
"LAURA!" Elsie comes out of the office, looking enraged.
"HEY, WHAT ON EARTH IS THIS?!" This time it's Theo, with his strong native accent, who is coming from the hallway towards the stairs, holding his phone up. Mel is behind him, looking quite angry as well.
Laura finds herself standing in front of her and Danny's apartment door, holding a box of her things from work. She's fired. She can't believe it. Her shot on her own book is gone. And also her job, yes. It's gone. Everything's gone. She can't believe it.
She settles the box on the ground, reaching for her keys in the bag. She has to be given an award for keeping a straight face on the way home. She figured that she shouldn't bother Danny and ask her to pick her up because Danny is working, unlike her who is now unemployed. She opens the door and drags the box inside. Before she could even cry, she notices that something is off.
"Uh, Laura, hey." Danny emerges from their bedroom, her hair slightly dishevelled and she's wearing the clothes she wore when she woke up, the spaghetti strap tank top and her black shorts. "What are you doing here? You're home early."
By then, Laura decides it's time to cry. She let her tears fall freely. "Guess who just got fired." She tries to laugh but it comes out as a mixture of a snort and a sob. Disgusting, Laura. "Technology hates me. I shouldn't have been in charge of the social media. Technology doesn't like me. I had a flip phone until I was 18."
"Wha-? What happened?" Laura realizes that Danny has the right to be confused. Even she can't come up with a conclusion with what she just said. "Let me get you a drink and we'll talk." Danny grabs a glass and fills it with water before handing it to Laura. "You know what, let's go talk about this somewhere that can help calm you down. Or better yet, let's drink. Yeah, you and me on a Tuesday afternoon." She smiles.
Laura takes the glass of water from Danny and looks down on it. "Danny, why are there two glasses of water on the table?" She asks, glancing at the objects in question. "Did someone come over?"
Danny pales at this and Laura tries, desperately tries to will the image of what could be happening right now. Danny's not at work. Danny's hair is dishevelled and she's wearing her bed clothes. Two glasses on the table which is still moist – it wasn't long ago since they were placed on the table.
All the confirmation Laura needs is – "Dan, baby, what's taking you so…"
A girl trails off as she emerges from their room in nothing but their bedsheet. Laura looks back and forth between Danny and the girl. She doesn't say anything but she storms into their room, grabs her empty luggage, opens her drawers and fills the luggage with her things.
"Laura,"
"Shut up, Danny. I don't need to hear this."
She just continues to put her things in her luggage, in a very angry manner, before closing it and grabbing her sports bag and doing the same.
As soon as she collected her things, she stands up to look at Danny and the girl who doesn't seem to be affected by all this. Danny on the other hand, looks torn on whether she should let her go or not. Laura drags her things out of the room and closes the door shut. Shit, my office things. Laura groans, opening the door once again. She steps inside, the two girls still on the same spot they were on before. She lifts the box of her office things and looks at them.
"Screw you." Laura groans, putting the box on the floor and grabbing a picture frame with her and Danny's picture in it. She throws it inside the room and glares at Danny. "Oh right! You two have been already!"
With that, she slams the door shut.