A/N: Sorry for the long wait! College life is killing me x.x Again, thank you so much for the kind feedback! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

CAMP SILAS - Chapter 6: I owe the stars up in the sky a lot

It's been hours since Carmilla last seen Laura and as much as she hates to admit it, she's worried. Carmilla groans, holding two sets of letters in her hand. One, the children's apology letters for Laura. The other set is the ones from that Danny.

Carmilla groans to herself. Since when did she actually start caring for people?

She places both the letters inside her drawer. She will give them to Laura later. For now, she needs a nap from all the stress that she had to deal with earlier. It's already bad enough that she'd not that good with the kids but dealing with the little rascals alone? That's almost a recipe for disaster. Carmilla swears that if she wasn't able to get a hold of herself earlier, she's pretty sure she was going to throw a boy out the window for making farting noises while the other kids were making letters for Laura.

That aside, the kids were pretty apologetic so she just went with it and ignored the annoying kid. Probably thinks he's cool. Whatever. Carmilla sighs and slumps down her bed. It's almost time for dinner but she just doesn't feel like it. She walks over their mini-fridge and sees Laura's stock of choco chips cookies which the tiny girl inhales almost every night. Carmilla gets two then slumps on her bed once again.

She's been reading Cathedral by Raymond Carver for a good measure of time and she's surprised that when she looks at her phone to check the time, it's already 9 PM.

Odd. Laura's usually in the cabin by 8 PM.

Carmilla frowns because, seriously, where the frilly hell is that girl? Maybe she's with Perry or LaFontaine or that tall girl earlier, what's her name? Betsy? Betty? Barry? Whatever.

Then again, maybe she went on a walk and fell in the lake or something terrible like she got eaten by a bear or got lost and is now running for her life, trying to defend herself from bees?

Carmilla Karnstein, since when did you become such a worrywart? She asks herself. That is most certainly not good. She rolls her eyes and gets up, getting another cookie from Laura's stash (she's sure the tiny human will be mad about her eating the cookies without her knowledge). Maybe she should write an apology letter about it later?

The brunette grabs her jacket and puts on her sneakers to look for Laura outside. Hopefully, the girl is just somewhere in the camp and not in the woods because she is going to be pissed if someone will barge in their cabin saying that they're her new roommate. Laura, so far, is the only tolerable one for Carmilla.

At least, that's what she tells herself.

The girl is straight, Carmilla. She reminds herself.

By the time Laura stops crying, Perry is coming back from the mess hall, bringing her dinner. "Hey dear." She says quietly. She sits down beside Laura on the couch.

Laura appreciates the fact that she hasn't asked any questions yet. Even LaFontaine seems to be refraining from inquiring her about what her deal is. She's embarrassed, to say the least.

She broke down in front of the kids and Carmilla. She's pretty sure she has a lot of explaining to do. Heaving a sigh, Laura takes in the appearance of Perry and LaFontaine's cabin. It's just like how she imagined it. Clean and tidy.

"I'm really sorry about what happened, Perr." Laura starts, bowing her head.

Perry looks at her with concern. "What did happen Laura?" She asks.

LaFontaine enters the cabin, smiling slightly at the two of them. They sit next to Laura who is tearing up once again. Perry places a hand on her back, rubbing comforting circles on it.

"I was drunk the night I called Hester." Laura begins, tears already streaming from her eyes. "I drank because after working so damn hard for three years in Styria Publishing and finally getting our publisher to read the book I made, I got fired because of a mistake that's nit even my fault. And then," Laura stops wiping her tears, frustrated how it still hurts to talk about this. "I come home, trying to find comfort in my girlfriend but I find her with another girl instead."

"Oh Laura." Perry pulls her into a hug, LaFontaine continuing to pat her back. "Shh, you're okay, dear. You're strong. You'll get through this." Perry says.

"We got your back L." LaFontaine adds. Perry smiles a bit at them.

Laura stays in Perry's arm for a good measure of time before pulling away from her. She smiles at the two of them, holding both their hands. "Thank you, uou two. I'm really glad I called Hester that night."

LaFontaine laughs. "I do remember Hester telling us that you sounded weird during that phone call."

"Why didn't you just tell us though?" Perry asks.

Laura bites her lower lip and looks down on her lap while she retracts her hands from her friends. "I-I was embarrassed." She whispers.

"Yeah well, that's not really embarrassing L. You said so yourself. It wasn't your fault." LaFontaine punches their friend's arm gently. "What's embarrassing was the fact that you wet your pyjamas until you were twelve."

At the sight of Laura reddening, they smile but Perry's eyes widening in horror makes them laugh so hard. "LaF!" Laura slaps them by the arm.

"Okay, ouch." LaFontaine smirks. "You know what, let's sneak in the staff cabin's kitchen when Hester's asleep already then we'll drink some beers there and have some fun. Kind of our nightouts before but with alcohol." They suggest.

Laura looks at them then at Perry who seem to be contemplating whether that is a good idea. "Okay, fine. But just this one time, alright?"

LaFontaine beams and Laura laughs. She's feeling slightly better thanks to her best friends. She'll be alright. She'll definitely be alright.

Carmilla sighs as she sits on the stairs to Perry and LaFontaine's cabin. It's the first and last place she thought of and she will be damned if she doesn't find Laura there.

She's damned.

Laura's not there. Even the ginger twins aren't which makes it safe to assume that they are with Laura.

Or maybe not? What if they're just making rounds and Laura's just lost? Well, that's unlikely since Perry was the one who pulled Laura out of the room. Surely they're together right now, right?

But...

Carmilla groans. Caring for a naive, entirely too tightly wound girl is a pain. Why is she even worried? She met the girl, what, a week ago? This isn't in the job description but there she is, looking like a dumb puppy.

"'Sup angry hottie?"

The brunette jumps at the sound of a guy's voice. She turns to her left to see Wilson Kirsch, in his camp staff hoodie, looking at her with a confused expression. "Don't you dare do that to me again, Paul Bunyan."

"Sorry, didn't know you were jumpy."

Carmilla growls at him. "I am not jumpy, beefcake." She retorts but Kirsch only smirks, infuriating her more. "You know what, I'm going since you obviously exist in this same century to annoy the living hell out of me." She scoffs, walking back to her and Laura's cabin. She hears footsteps behind her and assumes that Kirsch is following her. What a puppy.

"C'mon, Carm-sexy. I was just trying to be friendly." Kirsch says.

"I swear to god, I will hurt you if you don't stop calling me by those really sexist terms." Carmilla continues to walk back to her cabin but she figures that Kirsch isn't going to stop bugging her. "What do you want, manchild?" She asks.

"I'm on patrol tonight and I just want to accompany you back to your cabin. You know, an escort but a dude. a dudescort." Kirsch sounds so proud of himself that Carmilla rolls her eyes.

Come to think of it, if he's on patrol tonight then... "Okay puppy, since you feel like being helpful tonight, have you seen Laura?"

"Laura as in nerd hottie?" Carmilla stops walking and turns to glare at him. "Okay, little nerd, there." He says, raising his hands up to his chest. The brunette finds this funny because honestly, he could tower over her and he's still acting like she's the bigger one.

"Yeah, her. You know, Laura - short girl with honey brown colored hair, eyes huge as plates and the energy of a five year old kid given loads of sugar? That Laura."

"I saw her earlier exiting LaF and Perry's cabin. I think the two followed her after but I'm not so sure." Kirsch replies then rubs his chin. "She's heading towards the staff cabin, probab-hey!" Carmilla is already heading towards the staff cabin even before Kirsch could finish his sentence.

Again, Carmilla finds herself being trailed after by Kirsch. "I can take care of myself you know. You can go back to your patrol or whatever." Carmilla grumbles, walking towards the staff cabin which is all the way back to the front of the camp and it's quite a long way from where she is right now.

Kirsch scoffs. "I know but it's not gonna hurt you if I accompany you, right? Besides, it's pretty boring walking around all alone."

"Scared?" Carmilla smirks.

The guy blows out air through his lips, creating a 'pfff' sound before chuckling. "You wish." Carmilla raises an eyebrow at him and he groans, ignoring her. "So, what's up with you lookin for the little nerd? Had a fight?" He asks which makes Carmilla roll her eyes once again. "Babes shouldn't fight."

"I'd hate to burst your bubble mutt but, we're not and it's not really my story to tell."

Kirsch stays quiet for a few seconds and Carmilla glances at him in curiosity. She regrets it immediately as she sees him smiling down at her. "I see how it is." He grins.

"I fail to see what you see, manchild." She scoffs before looking away, tucking her hands inside her pockets.

"Uh-huh..." It's the 'I-know-something' tone that Carmilla absolutely hates.

Carmilla chooses not to say anything just in case Kirsch decides to use it against her. Maybe the overgrown kid will stop his delusional thoughts.

"Laura must be one hell of a babe if she's got you worried." Kirsch says and Carmilla rubs her face with her hand, not knowing whether this us all worth it. Talking to Kirsch is extremely exhausting because so far, all he does is pry. "Don't get me wrong or anything but you've been so stoic to everyone in camp except her."

"Oh, so you got me figured out huh?" Carmilla says then glares at him. She meant to sound sarcastic but it came out more angry than her intention.

"Not really but, just sayin' that if you ever need a bro besides little nerd, you can count on me. I think you're cool."

Carmilla blinks at him repeatedly, trying to figure out what's going on in this huge guy's head. "Is this your method of making friends because I think you've noticed already that I'm not the most sociable person around here and this is very much weird in my opinion." She says and he laughs. "Or please tell me you're not hitting on me because I don't swing that way."

"Woah, no bro, just no!" Kirsch shakes his head and Carmilla doesn't know whether she should be insulted at how he seemed so disgusted at the thought. "Dude, you're like, shouting 'lady-lover' when I first saw you. You kinda have that aura, if you'd call it that? You kind of remind me of my sister."

Carmilla scoffs, chuckling. "Well, at least you can tell." She shrugs. "You know what? You're okay." She looks at him and he's giving her a goofy smile and he looks really happy that she's afraid he's going to pick her up and swing her around. "Well this is too much bonding and I'm afraid I'm about to puke."

Kirsch chuckles.

Laura can't remember the last time she has enjoyed her friends' company. It's been quite some time since the three of them bonded. The last time was before they entered second year college and that was how many years ago, Laura can't even tell.

LaFontaine is currently laughing at some story Perry is telling about how Laura thought that the lochness monster lived in the Silas lake along the camp which made her cry the first time they got near it. Laura laughs as well.

She's so glad that her friends are here for her. It's kind of making her feel guilty because she's never been there for them the past few years and now she comes back, imposing them to her problem but they're still giving her their support.

They've drank quite the number of beers already and surprisingly, the most tipsy one of the three of them is LaFontaine. Laura notices that the moists from the beers is making a huge puddle on the table so she gets up and tries to find a rag somewhere in the kitchen. She stands up, holding her beer and wobbly walks towards the cabinets.

"L? Whatsup?" LaFonaine slurs.

"Be right back in a sec."

LaF shrugs and looks at Perry, smiling. Laura looks at them and wonders if LaFontaine is the kind of person who spills all their secrets when drunk. She wonders if they will confess to Perry in their drunken state. Gosh she hopes not because she's pretty sure they wouldn't want that to be how they tell Perry about feelings for her.

Laura opens a drawer and sees something that catches her eye. It's a letter with the seal of the National Science Institute. Of course Laura would recognize the seal. She once handled the letters and e-mails for Styria Publishing and the National Science Institute would always send something new for a science magazine that they're publishing.

Why is there a letter from the institute here then? Laura takes a look at the letter.

Letter of acceptance

To: S. LaFontaine

They got accepted to the institute? Come to think of it, LaFontaine always loved science. But then, why are they staying here? She tucks the letter back in the drawer of the cabinet. That's not really her business but maybe she'll talk about it with LaF. Maybe.

They finally reach the cabin and hear LaFontaine's slurred singing. Were they drinking? Carmilla and Kirsch shares a glance at each other before approaching the door which is locked. They try knocking but nobody seems to be hearing it. Suddenly, a loud thud, followed by gasps, is heard from the inside. Carmilla knocks again but still, no response.

"Let's try the backdoor?" Kirsch suggests.

Carmilla follows Kirsch around the cabin and sees him twisting the knob. It opens. As they finally step inside, the sight of Laura smashing a bottle of beer on the counter of what seemed to be the kitchen. "I know Krav Maga and I'm not going to hesitate o- Carm?"

"Laura, what was that?" Perry comes running towards the kitchen, a bit flustered.

Carmilla raises an eyebrow and looks around. She sees LaFontaine on the floor, unconscious. And then, she notices the bottles of bear on the table.

"Woah, a party without us? Not cool bros." Kirsch shakes his head in disappointment.

The brunette rolls her eyes at Kirsch then looks at Laura who is now glancing at the broken bottle in her hand. "You should let go of that, creampuff."

Laura settles it on the counter. "Sorry." She mumbles, wobbling away from the shards of broken glass from the bottle. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, its almost mignight and my roommate is nowhere to be found so, I decided to go on a search and rescue with the puppy." She points over to Kirsch who scowls at her.

Laura grimaces. "I don't need rescuing. I can take care of myself."

"Of course you can, creampuff." Carmilla says and Laura nods appreciatively at the fact that Carmilla sounded sincere. "So, Pippi Longstocking, I think party's over and you might want to clean up here?"

"Sorry Perr. I just got startled by the backdoor suddenly opening. I thought someone broke in." Laura grumbles, scratching her head.

The redhead smiles at Laura in understanding. "Don't worry about me here. Kirsch, why don't you help LaFontaine up and Carmilla can help Laura?" She suggests.

"Right." Kirsch nods, saluting Perry before walking over to LaFontaine. Surely the thud must have come from them.

Laura flashes a small smile at Perry and mumbles a thank you before turning to Carmilla. Laura shyly looks at Carmilla who steps over the shards, standing in front of her.

Normally, Carmilla would have shrugged and left when someone asks her to help out but she can't really abandon Laura. The dirty-blonde didn't seem to be bulging from where she's standing so Carmilla sighs, crouching down in front of Laura, her back facing her roommate's. "C'mon cupcake, hop on. Let's head back."

"But Carm-"

"We'll get back to the cabin faster this way."

"But-"

"Cupcake, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Do you think I go around, offerinng piggyback rides to anyone?"

The tiny girl giggles; she seems to have gotten over her embarrassment from what happened earlier and the hesitance to let Carmilla help her. She leans on Carmilla, her chest pressed against Carmilla's back as she wraps her arms around the brunette's neck. Carmilla then places both her hands behind Laura's knees and stands up, steadying herself.

A burst of laughter rings in Carmilla's ear. "Glad to see that at least one of us is enjoying."

Carmilla nods at Kirsch and Perry before heading out of the staff cabin.

It's a silent walk back to the cabin. Laura's not that heavy, thank goodness. It is a pretty long walk back. The path is only illuminated by the moon and the small lamps that appear once every few meters.

"Why'd you look for me?" Laura whispers, her face buried on the junction between Carmilla's shoulder and neck.

Carmilla glances at the girl only to see the top of her head "I had nothing to do and," Carmilla pauses. What the hell has this girl done to her? "Nothing."

"Were you actually worried for me?"

Yes. "No."

Laura lets out a sort of whimper and Carmilla wonders if she's just that drunk or if she's really disappointed that she's not worried for her. "Okay, maybe a little-"

The tiny girl squeals and laughs. "I knew you're a softy, Carm!"

"Don't make me regret this, creampuff." Carmilla warns and the blonde stops her squealing but giggles behind her. "You're a child." She rolls her eyes.

Silence dawns on them again. Carmilla looks up the stars. They're a lot brighter and much easier to see here than in the city. She feels Laura turning her head to look at her then up the sky. "Wow." Laura inhales. "I never got the chance to look at the stars again since I came back here." Laura mumbles. "I almost forgot how amazing they are."

"It's comforting." Carmilla says. "To think how small we are in comparison. All the lives we've led, people we've been. Nothing to that light." Carmilla says, sounding melancholic.

Laura hums briefly, nuzzling her cold nose against Carmilla's neck which makes Carmilla stiff in surprise for a second. "Have you always been this deep?"

"If we're talking about the right things, maybe."

"And I take it that the stars are one of those right things?"

Carmilla sighs and nods. "I owe the bunch of gasses up in the sky a lot."

Laura doesn't try to contemplate the meaning behind Carmilla's words because she's drunk and her head really feels like it's spinning. She unconsciously buries her further into Carmilla's neck because her nose really is cold.

"Carm?"

"Cupcake."

Laura frowns because my birth certificate says may name is Laura and not any kind of pastry. Carmilla chuckles. "I said that out loud didn't I?"

"No. I can read minds."

She considers this for a few seconds, thinking about all the circumstances that might be a proof of her being a mind reader. It is until Carmilla starts laughing that Laura slaps Carmilla's arm lightly. "Don't mess around with me." She has to admit though, Carmilla's laugh is beautiful.

Once again, silence. Girl the hell up, Hollis. She tries to open her mouth but nothing comes out. What's keeping her from saying those two words anyway? This is ridiculous.

Carmilla saw her outburst and she was thinking that it'll be embarrassing if she sees Carmilla because she was so sure that the brunette will poke fun at her.

She has never been so wrong in her life. Here is Carmilla, carrying her like a child back to their dorm because she was worried for her. Plus, not once had Carmilla asked about the outburst incident earlier which she's really grateful for.

All in all, she shoulsn't have judged Carmilla. There are still tons of things she doesn't know about this girl.

Before Laura even realize it, they are already on the doorstep of their cabin. Carmilla crouches down and she gets off of her. For some reason, Carmilla slings her arm around Laura's waist, keeping close to her. Laura's sense of balance isn't back to her yet which makes her nearly fall forward but Carmilla pulls her back while attempting to fish out the keys from her pocket. She seems so used to doing this that Laura finds it amusing.

Also, she has another reason to thank Carmilla. After all she would've face-planted on the door if Carmilla isn't holding her steady.

Carmilla finally got the key from her pocket. She slips the key into the keyhole and twists it open. She steps sideways, still with her arm around Laura's waist and carefully walks inside, using her foot to kick the door close when they're in. She helps Laura to her bed.

"Okay, just wait here, sweetheart."

Laura unconsciously smiles. She may have a little bit of annoyance becausebof the pet names that Carmilla calls her but she actually likes how affectionate Carmilla can sound when she calls her those names. She sits up the bed, feeling less spinning and more contracting.

The brunette comes back with a glass of water in hand. "Drink this." She hands her the glass and Laura obeys, drinking the water. As soon as she finishes, Carmilla takes the glass from her and places it in the sink.

Laura watches Carmilla as she moves around the places. The girl gets something from the drawers and Laura's pulse quickens at the sight of what she's holding. "I didn't read any of them, just so you know." Carmilla starts. "So, would you want to have them or-"

"Please throw it away." Laura quickly says.

Carmilla nods. She places the letters on top of the drawer before getting another set of letters. Laura eyes her in confusion. Did Danny send a new batch of letters or - "Uh, you might want to read this, creampuff." She hands her the letters. "Let's just say the kids are sorry."

Laura looks down at the letters and thank goodness she's not that drunk because some of the handwritings are awful.

I'm sorry I took yur leters Miss Loora.

Please dont cry. Sorry.

I m sorry. I dint mean to hurt your feelings.

I didnot get any of yur letters but the one girl with the angry face made me

Laura bursts out laughing at the last one. "Oh my gosh." She clutches her stomach. "Thank you so much, Carm." And the words were out before she can even think.

Laura looks at Carmilla who smiles a bit at her. "No problem, creampuff." She nods before walking to her bed and discarding her shoes. She takes off her shirt - okay, woah. Laura looks away as she kicks off her shoes. Laura looks up slightly only to see that Carmilla has changed into her tanktop. Laura settles the letters on top of the side table and lies down. She catches Carmilla looking at her before walking to the light switch and turning the lights off.

Laura hears rustling and assumes that Carmilla has lied down on her bed. "Uh, thanks for taking care of me Carm. And for not reading the letters." Laura says.

When Carmilla doesn't respond, Laura thinks that the brunette has fallen asleep. She turns to her side, facing the wall.

"Don't mention it." Carmilla mumbles. "And I did catch the name of your boyfriend but that's about it."

Boyfriend? Laura laughs. "Danny was a girlfriend, actually." She sighs.

"Really?" Carmilla asks and Laura doesn't know why but the question sounded lively. Maybe just her imagination.

"Really." She replies. "I was having the worst day by then. I got fired from work because of some technology mishandling. And then I came home to my girlfriend only to find another girl with her." For some reason, it's easier to talk about this with Carmilla.

"Huh..." The other girl mumbles. "So you ran off here?"

"Kind of." Laura answers. "Sorry, I'm suddenly pouring my hearts out to you."

There's a long silence again and Laura wonders if Carmilla really drifted off to sleep this time. "I know the feeling." She says out of the blue. "Her name was Ell and, well, let's just say I wasn't enough, I guess."

Oh. "Guess we're on the same boat then."

"And also playing for the same team."

Laura giggles at the implication. "Yeah."

She hears the girl opposite her chuckling and Laura can't help but smile. "Well, now that this pity party is over, if you don't mind, I'm feeling quite sleepy for once, creampuff."

"Oh." Laura nods, feeling silly afterwards because Carmilla can't see her. "Good night Carm."

"Good night."