AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the long await chapter 9. After 3 parts and over 12,000 words, I finally completed the final installment to The Camilla Operation. After this chapter the titles will return to normal, but the story will forever remain enticing.

8/14/13 Update: I just went through chapter 9 and edited most of the visible errors and edited a large quantity of dialect.

Disclaimer: Who own's Twilight? Not me.

Chapter 9

"Christina Padley, that's who they identified her as."

I reached over and grabbed Bella by the wrist as I exhaled with a deep exasperation. My fingers clung to her wrist for dear life as she looked over to express her form of relief. Bella could feel my fingers vibrating with a nervous tension as I close my eyes and wish for them to remain closed for the entirety of the trip.

"Are you sure Leanne?" Bella asked once more for total clarification.

"Positive, I saw the article just moments before I entered the car." Leanne's words loosened my grip on Bella's wrist. Bella fell back on the seat. Despite the fact that my security is now insured, a innocent girl is now going to be the object of blame for the actions she's never committed. Deep down, below the layers of relief and gratitude for this false speculation, I felt guilt for this undeserving victim; absorbing the consequences of a photo she was never apart of.

My tried to keep my eyes shut for the rest of the trip. The only time I ever want my eyes to be open again is when this trip is over – completely over. I don't want to open my eyes for the movie premiere, I don't want to open my eyes for Bella, I don't want to open my eyes even for Chris; I only wanted to open my eyes when everything is back to the way it was. I miss the small moments of serenity and peace I had on my entrance into Los Angeles. The late night movie marathon, the view of this endless kingdom, the fresh start I had upon arrival, I miss all of these things. I didn't want to be here, I wanted to be in the comforts of my bed and snuggle with my dreams.

Everything that's happened so far today was to prepare me for the final outcome. This trip to Universal Studios is the final installment before the conclusion to this unfortunate saga. I wasn't ready for the season finale and I didn't want to see the last episode. I just wanted to grab the remote and shut off the TV.

Off. Off. Off. The TV wasn't turning off. I guess I didn't have the remote. I guess the remote is probably in the cushion of a couch; out of my reach. I guess I'll probably have to watch this episode to the end. I guess I'll have to open my eyes after all.

After we arrived, we were accosted stood by a storm of reporters. To avoid the flash of the cameras and suspicion about our alter identities, we stood within Edward's proximity. Leanne left to go find Chris after her red carpet walk and interviews with the journalists and the paparazzi.

About half way through the red carpet walk, the blinking artificial stars that continuously died and revived themselves heightened in intensity. The screaming lights became intolerable. Fans shouting at Edward and the other cast members who arrive within the same time frame didn't seem to be annoyed by it, instead they were tolerant. After being in the business for this long, this magnified attention doesn't seem to move them as much anymore. The majority forcefully beget a plastic smile across their lips and shook the hands of the fans who appeared, but the minority actually displayed honest acts of generosity.

As I strawed away from Edward, eyes began to scrutinize my displacement among the carpet.

"Who is she?"

"Is she a cast member?"

"Is she someone's date?"

So many eyes were on me that I remembered that I wasn't just in my tank top and jean shorts anymore, I was submerged in the luxuriousness of Hollywood. I could understand how ordinary people could be spoiled by fame and fortune. From my hair to my make up to my dress, this was the life aspiring people dreamed to behold. To be able to walk the red carpet and to be recognized on instinct while roaming the streets; this is what is considered to be the Hollywood dream.

The flashing flares breaking up my vision, the utter disturbance of my mental peace through unrelenting screams of people, and the nervousness coiling in my stomach made me want to vomit.

"Hey are you okay?" Bella caught me as I tripped on my heels.

"No, get me out of here." I said as I covered my face with hand.

"What's wrong?"

"I just... I feel sick. I'm nervous. I'm dizzy. I just don't want to be here. All these cameras are giving me a headache; just leave me somewhere I can rest before the movie." I complained softly staring at the crimson texture of the carpet.

"Alright. Hey Edward, Camilla isn't feeling well. Is there somewhere she can rest?" Bella called out to Edward who was speaking to an interviewer about his role in the movie.

"Yea, um, just go to the actor's lounge. It should be left from concessions."

"But isn't it only for actors?"

"Yea, but no one goes in there. All the actors are either on the red carpet or in their dressing room."

"Alright thanks."

We diverged into the unknown waters without Edward or Leanne to guide us; only Bella and me. Ever since I awoke this morning I've had this unsubsidized sensation of grim. Similar to walking into a downpour, I've felt like throughout this trip we've been walking further and further into the heart of the rain – the storm. As Bella helped me pass the congregation of people, the building became visible. We were walking into a rain storm with winds strong enough to wipe us away.

Could we stand our ground or will the merciless gale tear us apart?

I stumbled and hid from the lights as my feet carried me onward through this solid red sea.

The flashes calmed down as Bella opened the glass door. It became more peaceful from our transition into the building with light and sound at a minimal and tolerable level. I stumbled a couple more time in these heels before I found my posture and erected my frame back to my unnaturally tall height.

"Is that better?" Bella asked.

"Yea."

"How do you get used to...this?" I asked after pausing to collect myself.

"I've been through this a few times before so it's nothing new, however it's still a lot to take in each time I go to something like this. Just go rest. I'll go keep Edward company and we'll meet you in theater at seven thirty." Bella stated; letting go of me in the process.

"You go flirt with him, Mrs. Cullen." I teased as she made her way back to the door with an unparalleled speed. Bella's accomplish mastery of dashing in five-inch heels is quite honorable.

"Stop it before a pap hears you." She whispered before chasing the red carpet back to Edward.

Pap? Is that short for Paparazzi? How strange.

I kept the word in my mental dictionary for later use as I began my expedition for the concession stand in the theater. Like any theater, this one was dimly lit by only a few strategically distributed lights through the halls. The carpeting was patterned differently in here than it was outside as I roam the halls until I could navigate my way toward the concessions. Behind the concessions was a split path - one to the left, one to the right – that seemed to extend for a undetermined distance.

Although the hallway was undetermined in length, you could still see that it was quite a distance till the end. I turned into the left path and took notice of all the special redesigning they must have done to prepare for today. Each door down this corridor was labeled with the first and last name of the cast members for this movie.

"Edward Cullen...Leanne Swan... Danny Mitchell... Theodore Bavell."I narrated quietly to myself.

As I made it almost half way through the path, my eyes caught something in it's vision. Just before the open entrance into the actor's lounge, a familiar name was identically pasted onto one of the front doors. Even though it was written in a similar manner to the other cast members, this name stood boldly among it's group. Chris Plum, a unforgettable name with an unforgettable encounter.

I was presented with two options once more today; either turn left into the actor's lounge and remain there until the premiere of the movie or turn right and meet Chris Plum. Rest was tempting, but completing this quest was much more satisfying. I walked up to the door and stared at it intently as I prepared myself psychologically.

This is it.

This time I controlled myself, this time I would not let my awareness of the situation break me and my composure, this time I took one breath and that was all. I choked the nervousness sprawling in my gut, I killed the butterflies writhing in my stomach, I burned the pessimistic seeds of fear in my mind. I did everything I could possible do to prepare myself for this moment.

I wasn't ready.

Just like that moment where I was almost caught by Leanne, I wasn't ready. Everything horrific that's happened to me this entire day was trying to prepare me for this ultimate task. Whether I liked it, Whether I was ready for it, I need to do it.

I calmly place my hand on the cold metal knob that would guide me to the finish line and began a circular twisting motion. I could hear the clicks and mechanics of the framework all working in a coercive manner against me. The door knob is trying to turn the door knob back in the other direction, trying to stop me and tell me to go, trying to give me a second chance at escape. I didn't listen to it, rather I just listened to the clicking of the screws and clogs coming into contact as the door began to become unlocked. Finally, the knob stopped turning.

The door is fully unlocked.

I took one more breath before I planned my introduction, my case, my solution, the agreement me and Chris will agree on, and my exit.

This is it Camilla.

Don't be distracted by his eyes, his face, his lips, his eyebrows, his cheek bones, his hair – nothing. You're main objective is clear and simple.

I pushed the door, and walked in.

"Excuse me Chris we need to ta-"

It was empty.

He wasn't there in his dressing room. The light's were on, the drinks and snacks were half consumed, the room reeked of man, but he was not there. I didn't walk in but I could examine the room from the door thoroughly. Only the remnants and leftovers of Chris remained. I sighed with dissatisfaction as my expectations only became planned disappointment. I closed the door and rested my head against his name tag; It's cold and unwelcoming just like the door knob.

"Thank...god." I whisper.

Even though I didn't get to meet Chris, I was still secretly jubilant at the fact that he wasn't there. I let go of the door knob as I turned around to head in the other direction. Entering the actor's lounge, it was equally vacant of any actors or any humans. I guess Edward was right about one thing: that no one goes to the actor's lounge. It was a small and confined space about the size of a typical apartment, but so exotic that one would misinterpret it as a closet of a mansion. On one side was a mini bar with alcoholic beverages laid out amongst the glass shelves of the wall.

Dammit. No bartender.

I wasn't too disappointed since I could just pour the drinks myself. I mean how hard could it be to grab a cup and a bottle and pour?

I sat joyfully on the cushion of the couch as my lower body finally experienced some alleviation from this constricting dress and these dreadful heels. I kicked off the shoes that suffocated the blood in my feet and laid my head back against the neck rest to feel my hair brush against me. I open my clutch to acquire my phone for one last examination of the time.

"Seven ten."

That means I have twenty minutes until the commercials start, then another ten minutes because of the commercials, then another ten minutes due to the speech from the director and cast members, and then five minutes until the actual movie starts. In total, I have about forty-five to fifty minutes of rest until I actually have to wake up to meet up with Bella. Bella probably won't mind if I come late as long as I come in time for the movie.

As I my eyes shut in beautiful tranquility, I recited the plan once more to myself. After what I almost just went through, I think I deserve a break.

Hakuna Matata.

I awoke to the sound of chattering emerging from one of the dressing rooms. I open my eyes to catch a burning glimpse of the light bulb erupting in a light brightly above me. Groggy and discombobulated, I reached for my clutch to check the time.

"Eight fifteen? Are you fucking kidding me? I knew I should've set an alarm." I quietly scolded myself; slapping myself on the head on purpose. I shook my face and slapped my cheeks to force my brain to regain consciousness.

"Oh my gosh, Bella is gonna kill me." I remarked pushing my torso off the couch with all my might and rushing to put on my heels. Slipping the heels back on was like wrapping my feet in a thousand rubber bands. I battled with my heels for a while but eventually managed.

"Do I look okay?" I narrated verbally tossing and combing my hair with my fingers. I tilted my head to the side and continued to comb blindly. I picked up my phone off the couch to check my reflection but the dim lock screen didn't do me any justice. I proceeded to activate my camera to see if I could get a good glimpse at my physic.

"Stupid lighting."

I couldn't see anything in this dim light room with only one light stupidly placed right over the couch I was sleeping on. The only thing I could make out was my disfigured skin which was orange and yellow.

"Who the fuck puts only one light in a room?" I stated sarcastically angry.

Then I paused.

Wait a moment...the dressing room.

There's a mirror in the dressing room. I straighten my mermaid dress to give my feet as much ground coverage as I could acquire as I made my way toward the empty dressing room across from the actor's lounge. Each step felt like I was walking on spikes with a knot tied around my ankle. I could feel my Achilles heel weaken with each passing movement.

I grabbed the door knob and prepared to hoist my body into the room until I heard something odd.

A voice.

I glance at the name tag with a baffling expression.

No, not just one voice – two.

Someone was talking to another person in that room. My grip dropped in strength until my hand fell involuntarily from the knob and back to my side. My face grew closer and closer to the door until I could render a female and a male voice emitting from the interior of the once vacant room.

Should I still go in?

Should I just go find another room and fix my hair?

What should I do?

I bit my lip and looked around to notice that besides me, no one was in sight. The halls were empty. Everyone had gone to see the movie except for these two suspicious individuals who hid their identity in secrecy behind this thick wooden door and me. I guaranteed myself that there was no way I could get caught before I place my ear against the door. The wood was a lot less colder than the metallic items that decorated it.

Eavesdropping is a dangerous action.

A simple task that could put valuable information in your head that you were never intended to hear. I felt guilt and an overwhelming sensation of regret as I thought about my actions. Should I have just progress with my operation and head to the movie theater? Somewhere deep down below my scattered raging thoughts, there was a possibility that the man conversing behind those gates might be Chris.

If I go now I may never get another opportunity to fix this now.

I press my ear harder against the door and lifted my hair back behind my ear to retrieve the entire volume of the incoherent conversation. Soon words began to play themselves out while the dexterity of my listening abilities accommodated to the stillness of the environment. I could now make out the conversation.

"No, tell me why it's not working out. You can't just say it's over and not give me a reason. I need closure."

It was man. He was angry – no – infuriated.

"Chris, I already told you why." The female spoke with empathy.

"No that's not a good enough reason. I don't believe that bullshit."

"Watch your mouth Chris. Someone could hear us."

She sounded familiar. Could it be? Leanne?

"No one is going to hear anything, they're all watching the movie. Now tell me why. Don't walk away and try to ignore this like you did last time. Like there isn't anything wrong."

The voice seemed furiously irrational. Was this the same Chris I met from the cafe?

"I just don't believe in long distance relationships Chris. They just never seem to function abroad." Leanne spoke in the same quiet empathic manner.

"What do you mean they don't function abroad? Have you seen all the other actors that have dated and gotten married? Their relationships work out perfectly fine."

"Well, their relationship isn't our relationship. Chris, could we just leave it at this and go back to the theater?"

I heard footsteps approach the door as the door knob performed a terrifying creaking motion. My eyes shot down and my ear lifted off of the door knob. An alarm so quiet but yet so loud to my ears that I fell a few steps back. The door knob creaking was my last warning to go, to run, to escape and never look back. It was telling me I knew enough and if I knew anymore, I'd be in a dangerous position.

Did I know too much?

My eyes shot open but the door remained closed.

"No. Please don't walk away from me. Because if you walk away from me, you walk away from us Leanne."

His...his voice was breaking. I could hear the quivering of Chris' voice as shatters within his heart cried through his words. Chris was losing his rage as sorrowful anguish washed over him. He was beginning to get past the anger, he was moving to the next stage of acceptance.

"Chris, we've only dated for a couple months."

"Nine and a half months is not a couple months, Leanne. It's almost a year. We dated after a few weeks of filming."

"Let go Chris. It's over."

"No, it's not!"

An item of great strength slammed powerfully on the door sending me into a terrified state of back lash. I took a step back, then another. It was his hand that made that noise, a noise so terrifying that I flinched in fear. The sound of the strike struck so loud that it's rage echoed through the halls and through my ears. Dust and other debris shot off the door in unison from that unforgiving punch. Their conversation had grown so irrefutably powerful that my ear no longer needed to be pressed against the door to hear the conversation.

I stood a few feet carefully away from the flood gates; avoiding the raging waters that rushed on the other side.

"Leanne, I don't understand why it's so hard for you to tell me. Are you cheating? Are you sleeping with someone else? What's happening?"

"No no no. Chris I would never-"

"Then what? What can't you tell me?"

"Alright Chris. You deserve to know why. Why I'm doing this. Why I'm breaking up with you." Leanne paused. The knob jolted back to it's original position as Leanne dropped her hold on it. "Chris, I didn't want to say anything about it because I didn't want to hurt you."

"You've already hurt me."

"And I'm sorry that I've hurt you, but trust me when I say this can't continue."

She paused again, this time it was longer than the first.

"Even though I loathe long distance relationships, that's not the reason I'm ending this. You're just not the same person I fell in love with. I fell in love with a man I saw on set, with the man I saw on the screenplay, with the character you played in this movie, not you Chris. I'm sorry but when we made this movie...I loved...I loved Alexander Finley, not Chris Plum. I didn't mean for it to happen, you can't control someone's heart. I certainly couldn't control mine. There's no on or off button on this thing, because if there was, we wouldn't be having this break up. But we are...we are Chris."

Leanne's British accent broke as I heard her nose sniffling.

She's crying. She's crying a lot.

Chris didn't say anything; not a word.

"Christoper Nathaniel Plum. You know I loved you and you know that you'll always have a place in my heart, but I can't see us together for the next ten or twenty years. I don't know how else I can say I'm sorry so both of us can walk away from this without being damaged. I know you're hurt and I'm hurt too, but is there anyway you could please forgive me?"

He was silent.

"Chris say something! Look at me! I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry!" Leanne was yelling at this point.

Leanne broke him to a state that seemed impossible to repair.

"You know...the first I ever kissed a girl in real life and not on-screen was with you. I'm a sappy sucker for love and you know that. Call me naïve, but I believe in love...and I used to believe in you, now I don't know what to believe in."

They were silent. My breathing was so heavy that my lungs felt like I was lifting weights. I was getting red hot as heat was stored away in my face. I pulled myself behind the wall of the actors lounge and stared at the ceiling. I could feel their pain as if I was partaking in this emotional separation between two intimate lovers who were almost meant to be.

"I love you Leanne...but you didn't love me."

"Yes I did, I-"

"No, you didn't. You loved the fictionalization of me. Alexander." Chris cut her off.

"So every time we kissed, you were kissing a fictional character? Wow. I can't believe I didn't see this coming. No wonder all the sparks died for you after we finished filming the movie. You started to act strange and disinterested at everything we did and you'd stand me up for your friends. But the thing is, the sparks never died for me...until now."

I started crying. The emotion seeped out from the room completely unfiltered and tarnished my oxygen. Each time I took full breaths, I wasn't just breathing in air, I was breathing in their pain. My veins and arteries were clogged with a fraction of their disparity. I could feel the hurt rushing out from that room.

"Chris I'm-"

"No." He interrupted. "I already know. You're sorry. What else is there to say? You've got everything laid out on the table and so do I. There's no more cards left in our hands." He finished.

The door swung open.

"Bye Chris. I didn't want it to end like this. I'll see you in the theater." Leanne whispered just before she walked off.

Her heels clashed with the carpet floor until her footsteps faded into the silent hallway. I remained there motionless as drops of tears hit the carpet. I dashed to wipe my face before my make up began to smear. I attempted to choreograph my breathing to a slower pace so my heart would stop racing toward the finish line.

I knew too much. I should have just walked away when I had the chance and sit next to Bella in the movie theater and make fun of her as she flirted with Edward. This is not how this was suppose to go. This is not how today was suppose to go at all.

How could I even conceive of trying to resolve my issues when Chris's problems were much more imminent than mine. A woman, who he loved, came into his life and tore his open heart out from his chest to show him just before she accidentally dropped it in the trash. Chris Plum, another fallen victim as a casualty of love, in this Universal war of love. Chris had lost himself as soon as those doors open. I could understand him only to a certain degree.

I've ate the sweet fruit of love once before, but unlike me, Chris consumed the entire tree. The side effects of this fruit had a dramatic toll on his body; for now he had to live without it. Chris was now forced to live without a source of nourishment and bear the agony of deprivation until another seed could be planted in his heart. He sat there thinking in the company of his silence without moving a muscle.

I stood their despite the pain in my legs and just remained silent.

The mourning quietness Chris was enduring was so deafening that I could hear my heart beat. After a while I was unsure if Chris had left in a group of silent foot steps or if he was still in the dressing room with the door wide open with only himself to talk to.

My phone and clutch laid across the room on the couch but that was the least of my woes. How much time had passed since I checked my phone? Their conversation had seemed so long with more melodramatic interactions then I had ever wished for in a life time.

As the stillness intensified to a unmaintainable degree, I heard foot steps. They were distant and originating from Chris' room. Each step pausing for a few seconds before the next one took place. It was as if Chris has forgotten how to walk appropriately.

As his feet became louder It suddenly hit me.

He wasn't leaving to the movie, he was leaving to the actor's lounge.

"I need a fucking drink." Chris mumbled grumpily as I heard him come closer to the mini bar on the other side.

I can't talk to him. I just can't talk to him.

I knew to much and too look at him in the eyes and pretend that the world was at peace was impossible for his world – his universe – was torn a fray. There was no way I could continue this mission. I just need to find a way out of this. I had to avoid him at all cost. I had to abort this operation until a later time.

But how could I do any unobtrusive moves to pass him while in this limiting dress?

I only a had a few options and one of them was based on the hypothetical that once he turned the corner and looked away to get to the mini bar, I could sneak out behind his back and escape completely unrecognized.

Although this plan seemed great, it would only work if Chris turned in the opposite direction.

"Did someone forget their shit here?" Chris remarked.

Fuck my life.

I forgot my clutch and phone on the couch.

Chris stood their at the open entrance looking to see who the owner was. I pushed myself closer and closer into the frame of the corner as the dim light made it difficult for him to spot me. Now that I think about, the person who made this a room isn't so stupid after all. If he had added anymore lights I would've been in a lot of trouble. Chris stood at the entrance of the path way slightly angled towards the mini bar to allow me some blindness in his peripheral vision.

He couldn't see me. I'm safe. I shuffled my heels and dress along the flat black walls until I could see three quarters of his back. Chris didn't move as he still looked around the room to see the owner of the items.

Should I leave my stuff here and come back later?

Well what else could I do? Ask him really quick and leave with this secret forever imbedded in my skull? I needed to leave now.

Go Camilla, Go! Before he turns!

Too late.

Author's note: It took forever to write this chapter because I didn't want you guys to be left with the mystery of chapter 8. Anyways, I consider this the final part to the Camilla Operation, but you guys might consider differently since I ended the chapter with a cliff hanger. Chapter 10 will be written within the next week so please be patient.

As always If you like this chapter and want more ASAP please leave a review, favorite, or a follow. If you love the novel so far and want to show your support, you know what to do.