Hey there, Gallagher Girls fanfictionists! It's been a while since I've posted anything on here, mainly because I've had SO many story ideas floating around in my head with no titles, no clear story lines, and no real end games...and that just won't do. But I've finally managed to at least put one of those into words (actually a few of those, but this is the only one I have a title for and is ready to be posted, in my opinion).
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the Gallagher Girl characters or franchise. All credit for this goes to Ally Carter.
FULL SUMMARY: "It's just one kiss. To finally calm this tension between us so we can stop arguing and fighting all the time. Maybe we'll even become real friends...It's just one kiss, Zach." But that was such a lie. Whatever this was, whatever we were, whatever we just did…it was way more than just one kiss.
When Zach moved to Roseville freshman year, he promised his cousin he wouldn't get involved with any of her friends. But she should've known better than to say they're 'off-limits', because everyone knows that makes them all the more tempting, not like Cammie needed help being just that. She was sweet, innocent, and gosh darn beautiful, but she made a promise, too, and in the end, she had to honor her best friend's wishes.
Three years later, the two still can't stand each other, constantly fighting and getting on each others' nerves. It looked like Cammie and Zach would never get along...Until they came up with an idea that just might save their 'friendship'.
Boundaries are pushed, secrets are formed, and promises are broken-all to save a friendship that may already be damaged beyond repair.
Rated T for language...but that may have to be changed to M...whoops.
Chapter One
{Cammie}
The last thing I wanted to be thinking about was my AP English homework while I was at the biggest party of the summer. I still had a whole week left to finish it up before the first day of school, but for some reason, that's what my mind was obsessing over. That, and the fact that I was going to be a senior in just seven days.
I had come out to Hannah Brandt's BBQ-backyard party with one goal in mind—to have fun.
Unfortunately, my brain wasn't on the same page and was too worried about the damn book report I had yet to even start.
Sighing, I took a sip of the fruity drink I had in my cup that I was pretty sure had been spiked before the party. It definitely did not taste like any fruit punch I'd ever had.
"Hey, Cam? Does this taste weird to you?" My best friend, Liz Sutton, asked after shoving her way through a cluster of party-goers and joining me at one of the tall, wrought iron patio tables I just inhabited.
"I'm sure there was some alcohol added to it…Again," I told her. It seemed like every party we had attended this summer, whether it was alcohol friendly or not, always ended up with booze somewhere in the mix of drinks.
Liz rolled her eyes. "What's with everyone always trying to get drunk?" She asked, her tone exposing her disgust.
"It's high school, Liz," I replied as if the answer was obvious. "There's nothing better to do than get wasted and break some hearts."
"One day, these people are gonna wake up and realize they're not invincible, and they're gonna look back on these years and wish they hadn't screwed up." Although I agreed with her, I had my fair share of nights I wasn't too proud of the next morning. But Liz didn't have any of those. She was always the responsible one—the one who ended up babysitting all of us when we were too intoxicated to stand on our own. I always wondered if she ever had any fun at these kinds of parties, or if she only came because she wanted to make sure we were all okay by the end of the night.
"Or," I started, "they're going to say that these were the best years of their lives." Which, would truly be sad.
"Those people are idiots."
"Not everyone is as smart as you, Liz," I told her, laughing and taking a drink despite the fact that it was probably eighty-percent alcohol and only twenty-percent real fruit punch.
Liz's face contorted as she watched me down the rest of what was in my cup. "How can you even drink that?" she asked in disgust.
"Because maybe for one night, I want to be one of those invincible idiots."
"Got big plans for tonight? Something special, maybe?" She shot me a look that only your best friend can get away with, a knowing twinkle in her eye.
"You know I don't make those kinds of plans," I reminded her, even though I might have thought about it when getting ready for the night's adventures.
Liz must've sensed my hesitation, because she raised her eyebrows and added, "But…"
I hated how well she knew me. "But if the opportunity presents itself, who am I to let it pass?" I finished, slipping on an innocent smile despite my true intentions being anything but.
"Be careful, Cam." Picking up my empty cup and moving it out of my reach, she teased, "Too many of these and you'll consider anything that walks an opportunity."
I rolled my eyes. "Not anything that walks."
"You're right. Anything except for Zach," she corrected herself, laughing like it was the funniest joke she's heard all night.
I resisted the urge to shoot her a killer glare. Of course she would make a joke about mine and Zach's inability to stand each other's presence—any one of our friends would if they were in Liz's position. To them, it was hilarious how much we hated each other. Little did they know the real reasons we avoided each other…
I played with my hair, slipping loose strands back into the messy up-do that took me hours to make it look like I just threw it up last minute, and toyed with my earrings in an attempt to appear unaffected by her comment.
"Speak of the devil," Liz uttered as her gaze swept across the yard.
I followed her lead, my eyes focusing on the group of teens gathered around the far side of the pool, the majority of them only half dressed and probably getting ready to jump into the water. Instinctively, no matter how much I hated it, I was drawn to the spiky, dark-haired boy in the middle of the crowd.
Zachary Goode grinned that sexy smile of his and laughed out loud at something Macey McHenry—his cousin and one of my best friends—had said. That deep, husky sound echoed across the yard, sending thrills down my spine. I tried not to notice how the black cotton of his V-neck t-shirt stretched across his broad shoulders even though he was simply just standing there, giving it no reason at all to be so tight and fitted against his body.
I could've really used another drink right about then.
"It's already after seven and Bex still isn't here," Liz exclaimed, breaking through my stupor.
Quickly, I turned away from the boy who, more often than not, slipped into my dreams at night and was probably the main reason for why I've been single for the better part of high school. "I'm sure she's fine. Maybe she's in traffic?" I offered, my mind still stuck on the fact that Zach was only thirty feet away.
"What traffic?" she asked with a scoff. "This town has, like, three stoplights."
Right…
She had a point, and if my mind would focus on anything other than the walking sex God behind me, I would've known that, too. "Maybe she got caught up at home? You know how her parents can be."
"Maybe." She paused to think, actually bringing her hand to her chin and furrowing her brows like you'd see in cartoons. "I think I'm gonna call her and see where she is."
I nodded and she stood up to find a quiet place to make the call.
Alone once again, I couldn't stop myself from openly staring at Zach while he chatted with his friends, his mind probably in a whole other universe than mine.
It was no secret that he hated me, so I pretended to hate him, too—although the emotions he brought out of me were pretty close to such a feeling. I had never met someone who could make me as angry as he could, and he could do it without even trying. But he could also stir up those butterflies in my stomach and make my heart race as fast as the horses in the Kentucky Derby just as quickly. He was the only guy I'd met that could get me to feel the mix of emotions I did around him, and it made him all the more alluring. There was just one problem… I promised his cousin I wouldn't get involved with him.
Macey had made Liz, Hannah, our friend Bex Baxter, and myself promise that we would all stay away from her super-hot cousin when he first moved to Roseville in the ninth grade. She had claimed that she didn't want any of us getting hurt due to his play-boy ways, and because we were all best friends (and because we had yet to meet the infamous Zach Goode), we agreed without question.
From the moment I laid eyes on Zach, I knew I was in trouble. He was good-looking, charming, and—probably the most influential factor—off-limits. And when we made eye contact for the first time, I knew he was into me, too. There was a fire behind the green of his iris that ignited at the sight of me, something I'm sure that was reflected in my eyes as well. And the smile he gave me… I swear I went so weak in the knees that he had to hold me up by the hand he was shaking. Yeah, I was in major trouble.
That all changed when he suggested we ignore our promises to Macey and I turned him down. I don't know whether he was hurt or simply just embarrassed by my rejection, but whatever the case, I was immediately enemy number one on his list, and every encounter between the two of us after that was like walking on eggshells—extremely tense and very uncomfortable. I liked to think that maybe it was because of some unresolved sexual tension, but that was probably only true for me. Zach seemed to have moved past his attraction for me the moment I declined his offer.
I really needed to move on, and the best way to do that was to find another guy. After all, Zach started dating Aubree just barely a month after our fallout, so surely I could find someone else to occupy my time, too, right?
Except I didn't really have guys lining up at my door, waiting for me to get back out there and start dating again. I was asked out once by Brad Duffman during sophomore year, but after a bad date at one of the high school football games, that ended pretty quickly. But it wasn't my fault—my friends decided to crash the date, Zach being the most excited about ruining my night and telling Brad embarrassing things about me I didn't even know he knew. The guy really knew how to cramp my style.
But tonight was going to be different. Tonight I was going to find a potential guy who could help me get over this stupid crush I had on the world's biggest jerk. Now, I just had to keep an eye out for—
"Whatcha doing all the way over here by yourself?"
The perfect distraction.
And he just so happened to appear as if the universe was granting my wish.
"Hey, Lucas," I greeted with a smile. At over six-feet tall with short, blonde hair framing a good-looking peach-toned face, Lucas Grey looked like he could be a male model. He was graced with a pretty face, one that may have been prettier than most of the girls in our class, but somehow it managed to seem masculine at the same time. If anyone was to compete with Zachary Goode in the looks department, it would be this guy.
"Cammie Morgan, don't you look beautiful tonight?" he said as he grabbed the chair that Liz had been in before. Once he sat down, one of his drool-worthy arms brushed up against mine as he leaned forward on the table. When he didn't bother to move, I took it as a promising sign that maybe he was interested in seeing where this could go, as well.
"So I repeat," he started again, a huge grin on his face, "whatcha doing all the way over here by yourself?"
"Oh, just thinking about global warming and world peace. You know, the normal stuff." I finished with a wink, which made him laugh.
"Sounds like a lot of work. Maybe you could use a break?" he suggested, a sparkle in his eye. "Care to dance?"
I smiled back. I did tell Liz that if the opportunity presented itself…
Taking Lucas's outstretched hand, I answered, "A dance sounds perfect."
{Zach}
"Dude, you've got to see this."
I turned towards the voice, abandoning the conversation I was having with some girl that Bex had introduced me to hours ago and who I still could not remember the name of to save my life. "What?"
I heard the girl leave with a huff and I mentally rolled my eyes. I didn't care if she was annoyed—she wasn't anyone important anyway.
Pointing in the direction he and the other guys were staring, my best friend and wingman Grant Newman answered, "Looks like Lucas is trying to get some action." He finished with a hearty chuckle, one that I completely understood because Lucas Grey was the biggest joke at Roseville High.
"How long before he strikes out, do you think?" Ryan Matthews asked, evident amusement etched into his face.
"Just because it's Lucas, I say twenty minutes," Jonas Barrett answered first, but boy was he way off. I don't think I'd give Lucas even five minutes with the girl with the blonde messy up-do and the strapless coral dress that managed to accentuate all those amazing curves. This girl was easily a ten, and Lucas was, at best, a six—there was no way he wasn't going to strike out. Sure, he already succeeded in getting her to dance with him, but watching him try to twirl her around with a natural swagger that he just didn't possess, I knew it wouldn't be long.
"Ha! I give it ten," Grant countered, obviously on the same line of thinking as I was. But that was still giving the punk way too much credit.
"No way, dude." I shook my head. "Do you see the ass on that chick? She's way out of his league. He'll blow it in no time."
Behind me I heard my cousin, Macey, scoff at my comment, and no doubt she rolled her eyes as well. "Pigs."
As Lucas started to twirl his partner again, I took another drink out of my cup—something I ended up really regretting.
"Holy shit," Jonas muttered as the girl's face was revealed mid-twirl. "Guys, that's Cammie!"
Halfway through a hefty swallow, I nearly choked at his words, spitting out the rest of my juice. Cammie? As in, Cammie Morgan? There was no way she was dancing with Lucas Grey. No. Fucking. Way.
But sure enough, there she was, dancing and spinning and laughing like it was the most fun she's had in a while. Ugh, her laugh—it was the one sound that could make my stomach flip and pulse race in an instant. And her smile was amazing, brightening up her whole face and bringing out the natural, beautiful blush of her cheeks. And all of this was directed at that punk, Lucas.
I hated that he was the one making her smile like that, but what I hated even more was that she never smiled like that at me. I don't know why I thought she would—she's hated me for years. Ever since I became a complete dick to her after she rejected me, she wanted nothing to do with me. And I couldn't blame her—I was a huge asshole to her. I don't even remember my reasoning behind it. It's not like her turning me down actually hurt my pride—I know she only did it because of our promises to Macey—but I guess I just wanted her to see me as worth the risk like I did her. And when she didn't, I got angry and screwed up our entire relationship. Now, it was like she could barely look at me, and I was the only one to blame for it.
The guys busted out laughing, though I wasn't entirely sure why.
Until Declan Wilson—Macey's boyfriend and, therefore, a member of our crew by default—told me through a fit of giggles, "You just checked out Cammie's ass!"
I was never a fan of Declan, but in that moment, I hated him more than ever.
"Cam's dancing with Lucas Grey?" Bex asked, suddenly tuning into our conversation. "Nice."
Was she seriously impressed by that guy? And did she seriously think it was a good thing that Cammie was dancing with him?
"Eh, she can do better," Ryan replied with a shrug. I tried not to look too eager when I nodded in agreeance, but it was true. She could do so much better than that guy. I just wished I could be the guy worthy of her.
"What is with you guys not liking Lucas?" Macey asked from Declan's lap in one of those poolside lounge chairs. "He's a good guy."
"Yeah. Plus, he and Cammie would make a cute couple," Hannah added as she watched them with an admiring twinkle in her eyes.
It made me sick.
Cammie was not going to be in any sort of relationship with that guy. Not if I had anything to do with it.
"Are you kidding me? The guy's a total wanna-be," Ryan told Hannah, his face scrunched up like he was smelling something foul.
"A wanna-be?" She rolled her eyes. "He's on every varsity sports team at school and he's a guarantee for salutatorian. Sounds to me like he's got all his bases covered."
I was suddenly becoming less of a fan of Hannah.
"And yet, he can't get a girl." Good thing I had real friends like Grant to take my side, even though no one technically knew that I hated Lucas simply because he was dancing with Cammie.
"Is that all that matters to you boys?" Bex asked.
Grant, Jonas, and Ryan all confidently answered with a resounding "yes," and the three girls rolled their eyes at them.
"Well, looks like he's no longer a wanna-be," Macey exclaimed, her eyes focused back on the sight I couldn't bring myself to look at again. "He and Cammie are leaving together." The smirk in her voice was so apparent, and I hated that we had that quality in common.
At her words, I turned back to the duo to see that they were no longer dancing, but rather heading towards the front of the house, a sure sign that they were leaving.
Even I could hear the irritation in my voice as I growled, "What the fu—"
"We're stopping this," Grant announced, his expression suddenly furious. "Now."
As the four guys (excluding Declan because, let's face it, no one but Macey liked him) began to follow Cammie and her poor choice of a companion, I heard Bex call after us, "Haven't you guys interfered enough in her love life? Leave the poor girl alone!"
Damn straight we were going to interfere. This was Cammie we were talking about. She was the only innocent one left in our group, and the guys took it upon themselves to protect her from some scumbag who was going to use her for his own personal gain and take that away from her.
And if I was lucky, I'd be able to punch the fucking lights out of Lucas Grey.
Alright, there it is! Sorry not much happened here, this is kind of more like part one of this scene,because it continues into chapter two where the real action takes place lol.
Well, let me know what you think and don't be afraid to leave a review (: Thanks!