Revelations
Maybe he was telling her something. Maybe he wasn't. Either way, she knew she was about to find out.

Prompts used:
A Swiss Colony Beef Log; Cute/romantic subplot; A plot (I guess); Holiday Angst, although it is rather vague

Written for the Christmas Fic Exchange. This is for the fantabulous Casa Bonita Rocks My Socks. Enjoy! Only God knows why you chose this rather random couple… XDD

Alicia Rivera sighed and stood on her tippy-toes, trying to find her friends through the crowd. As usual, her mother was hosting a Christmas party. She had, every year. But as usual, her father called to say he wasn't going to make it and her mother then took refuge in her room. So it was left to Alicia to greet the guests and man the party. Just like every year.

Someone tapped her shoulder, and she let out a muffled shriek. She turned to face the person who had taken her by surprise. Cam Fisher.

"Oh. Hi." Alicia's eyes widened and she cocked her head, wondering why he was seeking her out. She immediately kicked herself. Figuratively speaking, of course. Of coursehe would want to talk to her. He was probably going to thank her for inviting him.

"Merry Christmas, Alicia," Cam smiled, not quite meeting her eyes as he handed her a gift wrapped in purple. Her eyes widened even more. She had not been expecting this. She fingered the wrapper. It was not exactly light, and Alicia wondered what it was. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked briefly to the plush carpet, before finally looking her in the eye, flashing a debonair smile. She smiled back and replied a mumbled 'thanks' and twirled a lock of her newly-curled hair, wondering what her mother or Massie would do on such occasions.

"No problem," Cam shrugged, averting his eyes to his sneakers once again, and Alicia grasped the moment to peek out from under her dark lashes to take in his dark hair, which was flecked with snow, his cheeks that were pale from the cold, and his eyes, one so emerald green, it reminded her of the locket her mother had promised to buy her for Christmas, and the other so sea-blue, memories of happier times, of summers spent lounging lazily on sun-kissed beaches with her not-too-busy-then father forced their way into her already reeling mind.

"Did you walk here?" Dammit. She knew she sounded overly-concerned and tried hard to keep her tone blasé and indifferent.

Cam grinned at her. Apparently he had caught worried tone in her voice. Dammit dammit dammit. She had to work on that. "It's no big; Harris is going to pick me up later," he ran a hand through his hair, and a few particles of snow fell out of it, and lifted his shoulders again. He had obviously just arrived.

"Ah," Alicia pressed her lips together and cleared her throat, hoping Cam couldn't hear her heart, which in her opinion, was speeding up and beating loudly, wondering what to say to him. She tried looking at him—bad idea. She immediately got distracted by those… alluring eyes of his. She hated moments like these, where she didn't know what to say, but to be honest, she just enjoyed staring at him.

"Hey, Alicia!" Massie's voice broke the trance she was in. She looked over Cam's shoulder to see Massie boasting an unnaturally perky smile. "Oh, hey Cam! Derrington's looking for you. Why don't you go and hang with him?" She said the last few words with an air of authority, raising her eyebrows at him.

"Sure. Bye, Alicia. Later, Massie," Cam shrugged, averting his eyes to his sneakers once again, and before she knew it, he had rejoined Derrington by the snacks table. Massie immediately turned on Alicia, a lookon her face with a silent, downcast Claire in tow. She led them to the couches by the fireplace before finally speaking.

"What the heck was that?" Massie demanded of Alicia and Cam's obvious… magnetism, a faint glow of eagerness Alicia hadn't seen in Massie's eyes since the Chris Abeley ordeal almost eight months ago. Claire, however, remained unvoiced.

"What the heck was what?" Alicia asked with obvious sincerity in her tone of voice, examining Cam's neatly wrapped gift as if it was the newest Prada tote to hit the shelves. She bounced it once; twice in her hands, trying to guess what it was. She had received presents from Massie, Claire, Dylan and Kristen, a cheque from her father to 'buy whatever', and a handful of gifts from the LBRs. So far, no gifts from Josh. It was at times like these that she truly questioned her infatuation towards him.

"You. And Cam. He was totally making DEC!" Massie hissed, shooting a glance at Claire, who had suddenly found the silver rhinestone-covered snowflakes (which looked absolutely alike to each other) hanging from the ceiling fascinating.

"Who was making DEC?" Kristen butted in, a mug of eggnog in her hand, her Chloé tote weighed down with gifts wrapped abundantly with ribbons, Swarovski crystals, and tiny bits of sequins here and there.

Claire heaved a huge sigh and grabbed the hot chocolate Dylan—who had just joined them—was brandishing at her. "Cam and Alicia," she said sourly. "Who am I to deny the obvious attraction between them? I'm so dead to him like Marissa Cooper."

"You'll get over it. Besides, you're the one who broke up with him." Massie waved her hand in Claire's general direction impatiently. "Now spill," she commanded.

"There's nothing to 'spill', really. He gave me a present, I thanked him." Alicia's perfectly-waxed eyebrows crinkled together in a frown, which did not suit her, as looks of sugary sweetness usually graced her features. "What's the big deal?"

"Nothing," Massie's shoulders dropped a little, but her smile did not. "How're you enjoying the party, girls?"

Dylan quickly swallowed. "It's great. But I can't wait for yourparty next week."

"Ah-greed," Kristen nodded, avoiding Alicia's eyes.

At this, Massie beamed, patted Claire's shoulder in a 'tough-luck' kind of way, and went off in search of Derrington. Claire shrugged in acceptance and stalked off towards the snacks table to join Massie and Derrington, and Dylan and Kristen followed soon after. That left Alicia, alone with her own thoughts.

Running her hands over the silky ribbon once again, curiosity got the better of her and she found herself peeling off the tape holding the wrapper together. Flipping open the lid, she frowned once again as a pastel envelope fell out and into her lap. Hooking one of her fingers into it, an avalanche of silver glitter fell out, and so did a Polaroid shot.

Her interest piqued, she pushed aside the wrapping paper and brought the picture to the lips.

Almost immediately, she blushed in embarrassment. For there, in the picture was of her and Cam back in kindergarten, traces of mustard on their cheeks and chins. Cam was grinning and had his arm around her. Ah. Now she remembered. It was Allie-Rose Singer's birthday, and her mother had bought a whole load of hotdogs and cakes to celebrate.

"Here you go," Mrs. Singer had said to her as she handed a beaming Alicia her meal. She turned to leave, before hearing Cam's tearful voice.

"There's no more for me?" Cam pouted and crossed his chubby arms over his chest.

"I'm sorry, Cam," Mrs. Singer clucked. "Why don't you share with your friends?"

"They're all finished," he whimpered. "I'm hungwy."

Alicia, who had watched the whole exchange in silent, out of genuine generosity, offered her hotdog to him. "You can share with me,Cam!"

One thing led to another, and they soon found themselves with way too many mustard. Probably because they had both squirted at the same time. But they managed to finish their own halves of it. Ms. Keane had found it so adorable, she had quickly snapped a picture of them.

Laughing softly to herself, she flipped over the picture. There, Cam had scrawled with his neat caps, "Sorry this isn't much of a present. Merry Christmas."

Massie immediately appeared out of nowhere, grabbing the present from Alicia's lap. "What-" she pulled the box from the remaining wrapper, "is this?"

This time, Alicia all-out laughed. A Swiss Colony Beef Log? Cam sure had a sense of humour. In a weird way.

Massie's amber orbs narrowed. She hated being left in the dark. And she especially hated inside jokes. "What?"

"Oh, nothing." Alicia wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes. She caught the look Mass was giving her. "Seriously, Massie. Nothing."

"Okay then," Massie shrugged. She sat down beside Alicia. "Aren't you going to talk to Josh?"

Alicia's smile faded. "Nah. I'll leave him alone tonight. Let him breathe." She took a deep breath. "God knows he doesn't like me."

"That's what you said when Nina left for Spain," Massie pointed out. "Do you want to be jinxed?"

Alicia ignored the jibe and looked down at the sausage, a hint of blush creeping up her cheeks. "Excuse me for a sec, will ya?"

­­­­

Without waiting for a response, she went off in search of the only person who had managed to make her smile that night. Maybe he was telling her something. Maybe he wasn't. Either way, she knew she was about to find out.

Well, there you go. My first ever Clique oneshot. I hope you weren't horrified half to death, Casa! ;). There isn't much romance between them… More friendship. But I dunno. Thanks to my beta Hannah, who simply rocks.

Note to readers: I don't want any 'OMGG!! Thiz is s0ooO cutezz!!1!1' reviews. So either leave an insightful review, or don't leave one at all. Yes, I know I'm cruel/selfish/whatever you want to call me.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

-Madz