Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Gallagher girls characters, even if I wish Zach was mine!
Author's Note: Hey everyone! So I decided to write this story lightly based on the movie 'What a Girl Wants'. I'm just going to see how this goes, if this story fails miserably then don't hate me! Anyway, here's chapter 1 :)
As a kid, living with her mum in a small apartment above a coffee shop in NYC, I always felt as if a part of me was missing. That part was my dad. I don't know him, never have. Some people say that you can't miss what you never had, but the tightening in my chest that I feel when I see a little girl giggling, sitting on their father's shoulders, that ache deep inside me proves them wrong. When I was younger, I used to be jealous of my friends when they would talk about their 'daddy daughter days', but now I see that this is just a part of life. There are tons of kids that got dealt a way shittier hand than I had, with no parents at all. At least I still have my mum.
My mum, Rachel Cameron, is a level-headed woman who knows what she wants, and how to get it. Working in an art gallery on the better side of Manhattan, my mum earns a good enough salary to keep us in our small but cosy apartment. One of the downsides of her job is the long hours. There are so many late night gallery openings and showcases of hot new artists, and mum has to go to every single one of them. For me, this means many lonely nights watching Friends reruns and eating cookie dough ice cream.
I would say that my mum and I get along fairly well. We aren't around each other enough to really fight, and when we do get a few hours, we cherish them in what my mum calls 'bonding time'. Usually this consists of multiple card games whilst drinking beer or hot chocolate, depending on how much of a good mood she is in. I'd also add that my mum trusts me, more than most teenagers would be trusted. I've had to grow up more quickly than other kids, being home alone so much, and my mum realises that. I guess this trust that she has in me is meant to be some sort of reward.
The only time my mum and I ever argue is when I bring up my father, or 'the sperm donor' as my mother likes to call him. Matthew 'Matty' Morgan is a sore subject with my mum. According to her, he's always charming and smooth talking when you first meet him. Clearly he charmed her into marriage in Vegas seventeen years ago, though that could have just been the alcohol working it's magic. Matthew and my mum stayed together in the US for about 3 months before work called him back to the busy city of London, England. He'd asked my mother to go back with him, and she flipped, saying she couldn't just leave her life in New York for a guy. Matty fled, and a month later my mum found out she was pregnant with me. Apparently when my mum tried to call, some woman answered the phone, saying he was busy with business. I've always wondered exactly who Matthew Morgan is. Would he like me? Does he have a family of his own? Every time I mention him to my mum, she gets angry, and starts ranting about how you should never have to change yourself for any man. She also likes to mention that if he can't even be bothered to return a call or consider his wife and child (which he doesn't know about) then he isn't worth knowing.
Still, I can't help myself from wondering what he would be like.
Speak of the devil; my mum is bustling through the door with grocery bags. In one of the bags I can see a box of ice pops, and I smile approvingly.
Seeing my look my mum says, "Well, it is the start of summer. I thought we could have some bonding time over some strawberry ice cream."
"You sure know a way to a girl's heart mum," I reply.
"So what are we going for today?" She asks, referring to which card game we should play. Today it was my turn to choose, "Gin rummy, Solitaire, Bridge or Irish Snaps?"
"Gin rummy is calling out to me," I joke.
"Isn't it always?" she chuckles. Okay, so maybe I always chose the same game, but it was the only one that was a definite win on my part.
As I shuffle and deal, mum pours us some lemonade and brings over the ice pops.
"So..." she starts, all the while looking at my face for any sign that I was about to lay out a killer hand or gin rummy. "Got any plans for the summer?"
"Eh, just the usual, work, work, and maybe a little more work." Okay, I know I sound like a typical teenager, but seriously, if you had to dress in the tiny uniform I had to, just to serve people their damn coffee and bagel, you would be bitter about working too.
"You're really saving for college eh?"
"You know it. If I'm gonna move out of state, I need money for rent, food and all that stuff."
My mum frowned at that. She wasn't jumping for joy about my plans to move away for college after senior year to say the least. "You know, they have a great journalism programme at NYU Cam, won't you at least consider it?" she pleaded.
We'd literally had this conversation a million times, so I decided to save my breath, and compromised with her, saying, "Sure, I'll look into it, but I'm not promising anything." This seemed to satisfy her, at least for the time being.
"You know, maybe you could take some time off work, go visit Tina or something. You must have tons of money by now, working every day after school added with the allowance I give you. You can buy a plane ticket and stay with Aunt Abby, just like old times" Tina was my overly happy cousin who lived in California. We're both seventeen, and because of that our mums think we should get along amazingly well. And it's not that we don't get along, it's just that we are completely different. She's Miss High Heels and Short Skirts, and I'm more of a Miss Jeans and Sneakers kind of girl.
"No, you know I need that money for college! And besides, I don't think I could stand being around Tina for more than a couple of days," I complained.
She gave me a disapproving look then, saying, "Tina is your Cousin Cammie, don't be so rude." I just rolled my eyes at that, and she huffed.
"And besides," I carried on, "I could just as easily buy a ticket to another country with the amount of money it would cost to go to Cali."
My mum stiffened at that, sensing a double meaning in my words. "Don't be ridiculous Cam, what country would you even go to?" she asked, already knowing my answer was England.
I shrugged in response, and got up, sensing that 'bonding time' was over. "Whatever mum, I'll go to Aunt Abby's and spend time with Tina, whatever you want. I know it must be hard for you, having a practically grown up teenager in your apartment whilst you work all day. I wouldn't want to inconvenience you," I say, sarcasm dripping from every word. I knew I was pushing her buttons, but she's made me mad by avoiding the subject of me going to England to meet my dad for the thousandth time.
"Cam, you know it's not like that," she pleaded.
"Whatever mum, I've got work in half an hour. I'll let them know I won't be working for the rest of summer. I need to get ready." She only nodded slightly in response before I left the room.
AN: So there you have it, chapter 1 :) Please excuse my use of 'mum' instead of 'mom'. I'm British, so sue me! Don't you worry your pretty little heads though, Zach will be in it soon enough! This is a Zammie story; this chapter was just sort of setting the scene. Anyway, I hope you liked it! Don't be shy; drop me a review so I know what you think! ~XOXO