To all who are reading 'Cameron Morgan: Chameleon Extraordinare,' I have a slight case of writer's block. Sorry! Here's a oneshot until then.
For all who have never read my stuff, I hope you like this one! And happy Independence Day to us Americans! XD
Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own anything. If I was Alley Carter, do you think I would post on here?
Being a spy-in-training means you have to be serious. You have to stay in charector, achieve your objective, and still be in time for dinner. You have to be good, or you'll fail.
Thankfully, though, even Gallagher Girls get their days off.
Today is Gallagher Acadamy's Annual 4th of July Fireworks Celebration. Every year, all of Gallagher Acadamy -including the staff- comes out to eat junk food, wear whatever clothing they want (with red, white and blue themes, of course), and, obviously, to watch the fireworks.
Now, we used to do this with Roseville joining us when I was really young, but with no one showing up and -let's face it- security risks, we quit doing it by the time I started. Instead, we keep our gates closed from the outside and just have fun. (Which is totally fine with me. Don't want to run into Josh.)
Well, now it's ten thirty, and almost every single Gallagher Girl has a sparkler; red, white, and blue stars or flags painted on their faces; and marble cake in their tummies. Even Bex is joining in on the fun, though she's technically not American. But, as she puts it, "Who would pass up on fireworks?" Which is totally true, especially since some of the fireworks aren't necessarily legal. (But who cares about that stuff, anyway?)
I stood by the snack table, laughing and talking with Liz, Bex, and Macey. The teachers and faculty were walking about, making sure none of us 'troublemakers' were up to anything. (And, really, that's a horrible consumption! Besides, if we were up to something, what makes them think we would let them figure it out?) We drank punch and had a blast, anxiously waiting for the fireworks display to happen in a few minutes. At least, until I looked up.
(Let me just say right now that I did NOT invite him! I don't even know how he got in.)
Zach stook about ten feet away from us, a group of girls seperating us. He stood inbetween a few trees, in hiding but out in the open, if that makes sense. I stood and stared at him, shocked.
"Cammie?" Macey asked, waving her hand in front of my face. Confused, she followed my line of sight until she saw him. She huphed. "How did he get in here?" she demanded.
"Oh, my gosh, Cammie! That is so romantic!" Liz said, clapping happily.
"I don't know," I said cautiously, still watching him. He hadn't moved except to get his cell phone from his pocket. "What is he doing here?"
"Beats me," Bex said just as my phone rang. I fished it out from my bag, staring at the screen. Zach, it said. "But I think you're about to find out," she finished, smirking.
I turned away from them (nice try, they followed me) and answered the phone. "Hello?" I asked, as if I honestly didn't know who was on the other line.
"Hey, Gallagher Girl," Zach said, a smirk in his voice. I turned to see it wasn't only in his voice. "How's it going?"
"Fine," I said, watching him. "What are you doing here, Zach? How did you get in?"
From across the way, I saw him point to himself. "Spy," he said simply.
I rolled my eyes. "Get a new catch phrase, Blackthorne Boy. That one's getting old."
"Whatever you say," he said in a 'I'm-so-not-going-to-change-it' tone. "Aren't you gonna come over and say hello?"
"I did say hello," I said, smiling sweetly.
He smirked. "Not that kind of hello, Gallagher Girl."
"Why don't you come over here and tell me?" I challenged, smirking back.
"I asked you first," he said.
"Like that matters," I snorted.
"Oh my gosh!" Macey interrupted, rolling her eyes. "'Come and say hello.' 'No, you come and say hello.' 'I asked you first.'" She gagged. "You both are gonna make me barf." She grabbed the phone from me. "Zach, get your butt over here before I tell Ms. Morgan you're here, 'kay?" She paused as Zach responded, then handed me the phone. "He wants to talk to you," she said.
"Zach?" I asked, watching as he walked out of the trees.
"Meet me at the ledge between the mansion and the backyard."
"'Kay," I said, shutting the phone.
Together, we pressed through the girls and fallen pieces of cake as we met Zach at the ledge. He was exactly as I remembered him: dark, brown hair just barely covering his eyes, broad shoulders underneath a leather jacket (must be a replacement from the one he gave me), those same, hazel eyes. It was Zach.
At my school.
Where he had snuck in.
Again.
When we reached the ledge, Zach crossed his arms and leaned against it. "I see you brought the crowd," he commented, nodding at my friends.
I shrugged. "It's the 4th of July, Zach. We celebrate it together."
"Dang right," Bex said, crossing her arms.
I smiled, sitting next to Zach on the ledge, patting the cold concrete where Zach knelt against it. He jumped up, sitting beside me and grabbing my hand in his, squeezing it.
"I'll go get our chairs," Liz said quickly, just as mom went up to the podium on the stage, ordering everyone to settle down. She smiled wide as all the girls sat in their various places, quietting their giggles. Liz came back with their chairs, which they set up beside the ledge. Macey was the only one to sit on the grass, always better than cold chairs, she says. Whatever.
"Welcome again to Gallagher Acadamy's Annual 4th of July Fireworks Celebration!" Mom exclaimed, recieving applause from the audience. "Every year for the past hundred years we have celebrated this country's independance by setting off fireworks for all to see. Being as what this school is, I would like for us to take a moment of silence to remember all who have fallen in order to keep this nation free and independent. So girls..." She paused, bowing her head. No one spoke as we honored those who had died, and prayed for their families. After five minutes of silence, mom said a soft, "God bless America," which we all repeated. Then, we raised our heads as mom smiled and said, "Now, I could go on with how great America is and all about her history, but something tells me you want to get to the fireworks, right?" We all cheered. "Let the celebration begin!" We clapped cheered as Mr. Solomon set off the beginning display of red, white and blue works of art. "It's a Gallagher tradition to start with those before getting to the others," I explained to Zach.
"I know," he whispered back.
For the next two hours, we all 'ooed' and 'awwed' at display of colors. We talked and laughed about past experiences at Gallagher's Firework Celebrations, including the time when Madam McDabney stood too close one year and accidently set her skirt on fire. Then there was the year that Mr. Mosckowitz almost set fire to the school. Needless to say, they don't go anywhere near the fireworks anymore.
In the middle of all this, I looked at Zach, who was watching the fireworks with a small, content smile on his face. I leaned into him, placing my head onto his chest. He wrapped an arm around me. "Having fun?" I asked, watching the display.
He sighed, kissing my hair. "I've never really been to a fireworks show before," he admitted softly.
I turned, staring at him in shock. "Seriously?" I asked.
He nodded.
I leaned closer to him until we were a breath apart. "Well, I'm glad we could fix that," I whispered, erasing the distance between us and kissing him softly. He brought his hand behind my neck, kissing me back softly.
"Eew! Nasty!" Macey said, interrupting us. "We leave you alone for two seconds and you're already making out?"
We broke apart. Zach raised an eyebrow. "We're making out?" he asked in mock shock.
I smirked, turning to her. "Macey, that was an intro. This is making out!" Turning back to Zach, I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him with all that I had. He wrapped both arms around me, kissing me back.
There were gag sounds behind me, and something light and plastic (I think it was a cup) bounced off my head, but we payed them no mind, slanting our heads this way and that and having at it.
That is, until we heard someone clear their throat behind us.
We broke apart, twisting to see my mother standing there, her arms crossed, her face stern.
Now, things would've been better (at least less embarressing) if what happened next didn't happen.
Because the momentum of the turn (not to mention to rapidness of the shock) caused me to fall off of the ledge, landing right on my butt, also letting out a pretty impressive little shreak.
No. Freaking. Joke.
Bex and Macey couldn't breathe, they were laughing so hard. Liz's hands covered her mouth in horror. Mom and Zach tried to keep their faces straight, making them turn red with effort. Even a few girls from the back rows stopped to stare at us, their faces an assortment of shock, confusion, and giggles. Always the giggles.
I stood up, brushing myself off. Zach, his face deep red, attempted a, "Are you o-" but stopped before he burst out laughing. Mom had her hand over her mouth, hiding a smile.
Now, I could've been mean. I could've turned and huphed back inside, missing the rest of the fireworks. I could've gone invisible.
But I didn't.
Instead, I raised my head high, took a wide bow, and sang, "Ta-dah!"
Zach lost it. Even Liz started to giggle, and all the girls who were watching us started laughing, too. Between fits of laughter, mom slapped Zach playfully. "This is what happens when I allow you to come here?" she demanded. He shrugged, wiping his eyes from tears, he was laughing so hard. I started laughing then, too, accepting my role as a klutz.
Things started to die down, and we turned back to the fireworks. Mom had left with a light warning to us, and I had sat back on the ledge, Zach wrapping his arm around me protectively. (Apparently, I needed it.) "You're never going to live this down," he whispered in my hair.
I shrugged. "I know," I said, watching the colors illuminate the sky.
Gallagher Girls need to be serious. They have to be careful to survive.
But sometimes, we have to swallow down our embarresment and take a bow.
Figures, I would learn this at the 4th of July Celebration. Oh well.
Holy shnitzel! That was six-and-a-half pages of my notebook! Wow, haha! Well, I hope you like it! :)