Be Ok [Camila]

[lancelot ray linley]

▲

June 16th, 2026

Lance was exhausted. The last month had been extremely trying on him, starting in mid-May with Hogwarts being burned to the ground and the instant worry that Georgie wasn’t safe. She had made it out with only a few smudges on her face from the smoke and a cough that persisted for the following week, but was otherwise completely fine. Not everyone was, and he absolutely hated seeing that happen to the school. Hogwarts had helped him out on more than one occasion throughout his own ordeal, and the fact that people actively hated it for being a school pissed him off to no end. He couldn’t be upset for long though, as Georgie was now graduated and moving into the apartment with him, and helping her get settled in was absolutely more important than holding grudges against a now deceased terrorist.

The actual move hadn’t taken much as Georgie barely had any possessions, similar to how he had been after moving from the orphanage. Even then, anything of importance had been brought to the flat the second they received it from their mom. Constantly having to bring things back and forth between the apartment, Hogwarts, and the orphanage had been annoying, and Lance finally put an end to it when he moved in full time. For the past month, everything had been consistently cleaned and kept in order, all in anticipation of Georgie moving in and taking control of her half of the place. His instruments that stayed home had all been removed from the living room and forced into his bedroom, which now seemed cramped. A half-stack amplifier taking up an entire small wall, and his various basses and guitars either on stands or sitting in their cases. When he had first started out, he only had the one, which sat proudly out in the open in his room, but he soon realized that it didn’t always achieve the sound that Bête Noire was looking for. So the label bought or loaned him other bass guitars to use. They didn’t really care if he brought them home to tinker around with because ultimately that could lead him to inspiration for a song, or whatever. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t the one that wrote songs for the band, they still let him take what he needed.

With all that in mind, he was currently sitting in the studio, outside one of the recording rooms in an unbelievably comfortable leather chair. The lack of sleep he had over the last month was finally starting to catch up to him, as well as a couple long nights of recording that the band had been going through this week. All in all, the combination was not faring well for him right now. He didn’t even know who had the booth reserved currently, but it wasn’t like there were rules about chilling in the lounge areas. Often times that was where he took his meals or slept for a few hours between sessions. Unsurprisingly, bassists weren’t super integral for vocalists, but sometimes they liked dragging him in anyways. Being asleep right outside was easy for all of them when that happened.

His eyes were playing tug-of-war with the sandman though, and he kept jolting awake again whenever his head started to nod off to the side. If it hadn’t been the middle of the day, he would have called it then and there. There was also the coffee machine in the kitchen, which he knew had an espresso attachment to it. A cup of that and he wouldn’t sleep tonight either, even if he wanted to. Blinking a few times to get the sleepiness out of his eyes, Lance was about to stand up when he saw the hulking figure of Bernhard, Camila Calderón’s bodyguard, storm into the room and give it a hard scan. “Has she been here?” the giant man asked Lance, his booming voice instantly shaking all of the tired out. He was a nice guy, very serious about his job, but had an almost goofy way he did everything. Lance didn’t dare laugh at him though. He had seen what Bernhard Strom had done during his Quidditch career as a beater. The man was perfect as a security guard. “Err…no? I was dozin’ on and off though…” Lance responded as he straightened up in his chair. That seemed to be the answer that Bernhard wanted though, and off he went again, his footsteps echoing down the cavernous hallways of the record label.

camila calderón ● 754 ● Real Existence by Band-Maid

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[camila calderón]

June 16, 2026

The decision to take greater control of her career was something that had been a long time coming for Camila. Ever since she'd fallen ill with Hag's Fever the previous summer—something that she was still sure had been caused, in part, by her grueling schedule at the time—and had to readjust to the usual, frantic pace of her life, she had thought about making some changes for herself. It came with no shortage of hesitation on her part. She didn't want to burn bridges with her current team; she wasn't looking to wreck things, but she wanted to get a better idea of what her options were.

One of the first places she had gone was HR Records, the record label of basically every popular musician under the sun in magical Britain at that point. She had gone in person to arrange a meeting with Charlotta Holopainen, on the basis that she didn't want to raise any red flags with her team. Nothing was set in stone. She wasn't breaking any of her contracts, and Camila knew that she would need to work with a lawyer to avoid any repercussions tied to the fine print.

At that point, though, it was just her in Leeds, and she was becoming more than slightly frustrated with the girl who was apparently the label's receptionist. Though she looked young enough to have been at Hogwarts still (itself an interesting dynamic for Camila, who was typically the youngest in the room), the girl was almost bossy, raising her voice as though Camila were hard of hearing and not simply foreign. In frustration, Camila ended up leaving a handwritten note for Charlotta, mentioning that it wasn't urgent but that she had come to schedule a meeting with her whenever she happened to have the time available. Leaving the message intentionally vague, Camila hoped that the receptionist would bother to deliver it, but she wasn't entirely sure that that would happen.

Wondering if maybe she had just wasted her time, Camila heard a voice booming down the hallway, and she knew that it was Bernhard Strom, the former Quidditch player and (more recently) her bodyguard. He sounded irate, and Camila immediately remembered that she'd left the address for HR Records scrawled on a piece of paper on her kitchen countertop. It hadn't been a ransom note, though it seemed as though he'd taken it as one.

Before she had a chance to stop Bernhard and explain herself, however, he was already looking into a conference room (to see if she was in there, Camila guessed), and Camila had to speak up to get his attention.

"I am at the reception desk," she called, shaking her head in disbelief. She hadn't been kidnapped or anything, if that was what Bernhard was so concerned about.

lancelot ray linley

[lancelot ray linley]

▲

Considering the fact that the light above the recording booth was still red with someone inside and the rest of the band and producer were nowhere to be seen, Lance decided that a walk would do him some good. Stretch his legs and explore the building again. He wasn’t going to go bounding down the hallway like the security guard had just done though. The more he thought about it, Bernhard looked like a galloping dog still unsure of its size. Which brought about a chuckle as Lance stood up and stretched his hands above his head. A pop in his shoulder and a crack of his neck later, and he was casually strolling down the hall and towards the front of the record label. The echoing of Strom’s footsteps still came back towards him, though was becoming fainter as he wound around the corners ahead. It struck Lance at that point that if the bodyguard was here looking for Camila, did that mean she was as well? Occasionally running into famous musicians while waiting to get into the booth was starting to become more common for him, but the effect still hadn’t worn off yet. To think he could bump into the singer if she was possibly here…that would wild. And a great story to brag to Georgie about later.

He heard the slam of a door ahead, which could only mean Bernhard had started to look into meeting rooms and offices to try and find his employer. A subsequent, inaudible voice (but a voice nonetheless) responded to that, and a loud groan that could only be a sigh followed it. Lance forced his smile down as he tiptoed closer to the reception area, knowing that Camila Calderon, or someone else associated with her team, had to be nearby. If she was here, there had to be some sort of joint tour between her and an artist signed at HR Records, or something like that. Peeking around the final corner of the hallway, he really couldn’t see much aside from Priscilla sitting at the reception desk, mostly because the hulking figure of Bernhard was blocking the rest of it from view. But someone else was definitely on the other side of him…

camila calderón ● 373 ● Arabel by heklAa & Black Hill

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[camila calderón]

June 16, 2026

There was no reason why Bernhard needed to be concerned for her safety. She was just in a building that belonged to a record label to which she wasn't signed. She wasn't in danger and was there completely of her own accord. Bernhard reached her, though, once she had spoken to him to tell him that she was there and at the reception desk.

With the receptionist looking on, perplexed at what was going on right in front of her, Camila rushed through an explanation in English—and the occasional flustered Spanish—to clear things up with the man whose job it was to protect her. She didn't need saving. She was just trying to arrange a meeting, but the person with whom she had wanted to meet wasn't available. It was all just a big misunderstanding, and he didn't need to harm anything or anyone at HR Records. "I'm sorry," Camila apologized for what felt like the millionth time since she'd started to explain herself to Bernhard. She was less upset than she was mortified that she had caused so much trouble, because she really didn't need that to get back to Charlotta and wreck any chance of her switching labels.

"Just ten minutes, please." Fortunately, Camila didn't feel as though she were begging one of her parents (or even her manager, for that matter). It was just incredibly awkward to be talking down a grown man who was easily twice her size.

lancelot ray linley

[lancelot ray linley]

▲

The lobby of HR Records was always interesting. Technically open to the public, every once in a while he would pass through and some crazy fan would be there demanding either to meet an artist or to get tickets for a yet unannounced show. While listening to Camila explain to her bodyguard that she was completely fine and didn't exactly need him for anything right now, Lance knew that could change faster than an Alohomora spell unlocking a door if the wrong type of fan happened to stroll through the front entrance. That being said, with the way Bernhard had just ran through the entirety of the building in only a couple of strides, Lance was fairly certain that if there had been any security concerns, they were quietly trying to exit before they got their faces caved in. The guy's hands were bigger than a catcher's mitt and Lance bet that he could probably pick up a person by the top of their head if he really wanted to. No one was going to be messing with the pop star with him around.

With the confusion of the scene before him, Lance decided to throw himself into the mix. If anything, he'd have a cool story to bring back to his sister. Bernhard was seemingly backing down and starting to move towards the seats nearby, momentarily stopping to watch Lance's approach, but ultimately allowing him without any resistance. "Priscilla. Miss Calderon." Lance nodded his head in acknowledgement to the receptionist and pop star equally. He disliked the girl for a number of reasons, but she wasn't awful at her job. Yi-seul was a lot easier to talk to when she was in. How the two of them managed to work together was a mystery, but it seemed to figure itself out. "Any of you want coffee? Tea?" Lance suddenly asked, as he realized the gravity of stepping into the presence of such an idol. Camila's face was everywhere, and now she was standing an arm's length away from him. Deflecting the weird fuzzy nervousness that took over his head by turning into an errand boy wasn't exactly how he expected this to go, but it was too late now. He'd already asked. He even pointed to Bernhard across the room, but he shook his head and leaned back into the chair that was two sizes too small for his frame, the metal creaking the whole way. That was definitely going to need to be replaced later.

camila calderón ● 417 ● Emperor and Dragons by Alizbar

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[camila calderón]

June 16, 2026

Camila turned her head when she heard footsteps besides Bernhard's heavier ones and smiled when she saw that it was only Lance Linley, one of the members of Bête Noire. Interestingly, he addressed the girl who was working at the reception desk by her first name, but Camila noticed that he addressed her as "Miss Calderón". She didn't completely know what to make of it, since she had thought for sure that they were on a first-name basis. There was obviously some cultural thing that she hadn't picked up on yet at play there, she assumed. Or maybe it was an American thing?

Or just politeness? Lance checked if any of them wanted coffee or tea. Priscilla, the receptionist, declined the offer, but Camila smiled. She didn't want to inconvenience him by asking for anything unreasonable. "Hi, Lance. And a coffee?" she checked with some hesitation. She assumed that he wasn't planning to go and buy coffee from somewhere; he was probably going to make it with whatever machines they had somewhere at the record label's offices. Maybe someone else had been taking people's orders already. He was another musician, not some intern. (They didn't have to leave getting drinks to an intern, but Lance also didn't need to think that it was his responsibility.) "If it is a problem," she added, "please, don't worry."

lancelot ray linley

[lancelot ray linley]

▲

Hearing his name coming out of Camila Calderon’s mouth was one of the weirdest neural tickles he had ever had. It wasn’t the first time, of course, but every time it made him freeze momentarily and wonder what great thing he had done in a past life to receive this sort of good karma. Or maybe this was the universe’s way of saying it was sorry for screwing him over for the entirety of his childhood. There had definitely been a series of ‘wins’ for both himself and Georgie over the past few years, so if it all ended with Camila knowing who he was and being friendly with him, he could call that a victory for the remainder of his life. Anything was better than where he had been just a couple of years ago.

The brief pause from Lance as he watched Camila respond to him was broken up by a gruff throat clear in the background. The security giant clearly caught the lingering stare, because of course he did. Lance flashed him a quick glare before turning his full attention back to the pop-star, “None at all,” he waved it off. “I’ve got a break.” And Priscilla certainly wouldn’t get up and get coffee. At least he assumed she wouldn’t. Yi-seul probably would, and then trip over herself while bringing it back. Which was hilarious because she was semi-famous too apparently. Everyone showed it in different ways, he supposed. He enjoyed the fact that some could still be star struck despite their own standing. The hierarchy definitely played into that.

Heading quickly to the break room that was immediately off of the main lobby, Lance took to the coffee machines there. They basically did all the work for him, charmed to do so. He then realized that he didn’t actually know how Camila wanted her coffee. The momentary panic had Lance moving back towards the door before he even realized it, propping it open with his shoulder as he stood halfway between the two rooms, “Err…Camila? How do you take it?” he called, deciding that it was a first name sort of day now.

camila calderón ● 357 ● The Raven Child by Avantasia

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[camila calderón]

June 16, 2026

Lance said that getting her coffee wasn't a problem because he had a break. Having Bernhard Strom hanging around during a perfectly normal conversation was enough to put anyone on edge, but he appeared to be handling it well enough. It probably helped matters that he was a fellow artist and not a fan. Getting used to having security around constantly was uncomfortable as it was, even with a decent level of fame, and Camila knew that from personal experience.

With a nod as she tried to act as though she didn't have a massive former Quidditch player for a bodyguard who was being maybe slightly overprotective (though certainly not slacking when it came to his job), Camila watched Lance go into a room off of the lobby that she hadn't realized was there when she had been by the record label previously. It seemed to be a kitchen or something similar to one, and Camila stepped closer to it to try to get a better look as Lance disappeared into it.

After a moment, though, Lance came back. He stood wedged in the door frame, and he sounded hesitant as he called out her name. Camila wondered if something had gone wrong or if he needed her help, but Lance's next question clarified the matter for her. "How do you take it?" he asked, referring to the coffee he had gone in there to make.

Camila breathed a quick sigh that that was all it was and that nothing had gone wrong. Between that and Bernhard's reaction already, she really didn't want too much more excitement—if one could call it that—in one day. "With milk, please," she called back to Lance, assuming that she didn't have the vast array of options that she might at a café.

lancelot ray linley

[lancelot ray linley]

▲

Lance was honestly surprised he didn't have the bodyguard breathing down his neck as he poured the coffee. Wasn't this prime poisoning time? Why did he even think of that in the first place? Lance didn't even know if he was more nervous of interacting with Camila or having the watchful eye of the giant man. A little bit of both, maybe. These were the same jitters he got when he first got brought on at the label and realized he'd be around actual famous people. Him, a nobody. Imagine that! And now here he was sort of conversing with and making coffee for the largest pop-star on the planet. Totally normal day at work for him.

Carefully pouring the boiling hot coffee, Lance realized that while Camila requested milk, he didn't know how much. Luckily there were fancy little pouring things (he honestly didn't know what the name was for them) and filled one up with milk. With a coffee for himself, Camila, and a third as a peace offering for Bernhard despite the bodyguard saying no, Lance balanced all onto a serving tray and headed back out into the lobby. "Here you go..." he stated slowly as he lowered everything down onto the table. "I wasn't sure how much you wanted, so yeah," Lance added as he gestured awkwardly at the milk. Bernhard seemed to have understood that the third cup was for him and took three large steps to clear half the room to get his, grunting what sounded like a thanks. "If I ever fail at this music thing I could always become a butler I guess." Yes. The self-deprecation in front of the pretty pop-star was an excellent idea. He was already mentally kicking himself for it.

camila calderón ● ### ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[camila calderón]

June 16, 2026

It didn't take too long for Lance to return with coffee—or three cups of coffee on a tray, rather. One of those apparently was for Bernhard, even though he hadn't asked for it. Camila had a feeling that it was probably a peace offering, but it did seem to her like a nice gesture regardless. Despite his having gone to the trouble of all of that, Lance apologized because he wasn't sure how much milk she had wanted in her coffee.

"That's okay. Thank you, Lance." Camila assured him, because she really didn't mind. As long as it still tasted like coffee, it would be fine.

Lance also joked about how he could become a butler if his music career didn't work out for him, and Camila shook her head as she laughed. Fame wasn't guaranteed to last forever, but she didn't think that he had any reason to worry about that.

lancelot ray linley

[lancelot ray linley]

▲

He had never thought of himself as awkward, a bad trait to have in this industry because it came off as weirdly creepy in his opinion, but it was hard not to be nervous around Camila. She was a superstar, and her bodyguard looked like he could crush a skull with little to no effort. Somehow Lance was sure that had happened at least once in the man's life considering his previous career. There seemed to be a truce drawn up when he returned with the coffee, the cup looking like a kid's plastic toy cup in his hand as he took the offered drink. It was hard not to nervously swallow as he watched the entire interaction, as Bernhard still kept a watchful eye on him throughout the entire time. "You're welcome," he responded to Camila without breaking eye contact with the former beater. Hopefully this wasn't one of those situations where staring at an apex predator invited them to fight you, because there was no way Lance would ever stand a chance physically or magically against the guy. Even if he was a master spellcaster, supposedly Bernhard was part-giant and that meant he could shrug off lower tier spells.

"I uhh, I should probably get back to what I was doing. I'm sure they'll need me in the studio eventually," he added as he finally shifted his gaze from the giant man back to Camila. "Was a pleasure talking to y'all. Hopefully see you around?" Taking his own cup of coffee and raising it to them as a goodbye, Lance turned and quickly walked back to the sitting area he'd been earlier. He hadn't realized that he'd broken into a nervous sweat until he got back to where he'd been half-asleep only a few minutes earlier. Georgie was never going to believe him that he met the Camila Calderón.

[Lance End]

camila calderón ● 311 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[camila calderón]

June 16, 2026

After she had said her thanks for the coffee he had brought her, Lance brought up that he probably needed to get back to what he had been doing. He would be needed in the recording studio soon, he said, and Camila nodded in understanding. Such was the life of being a musician—at least, one who was signed to a label and not busking on the street.

"Was a pleasure talking to y'all. Hopefully see you around?" Though Lance spoke to both her and Bernhard, Camila got the feeling that he wasn't as enthusiastic about the idea of running into a part-giant former Quidditch player under the same circumstances as he had that day.

"Yes," Camila agreed. "We will see you around."

lancelot ray linley
Fin!