It was Logan Mitchell's first day at his new school in Connecticut, and already he was overwhelmed. He had gotten lost three times, and his three other best friends were no help whatsoever and none of them had any of the same classes together. Carlos Garcia, a small Latino boy, Kendall Knight, a tall blonde with weirdly bushy eyebrows, and James Diamond, a teenage girl heartthrob were each in different classes to the small, tanned, raven-haired boy.
And already, Logan had been shoved into a locker by some boy named 'Jock' who was a jock, weirdly enough. Logan didn't say a word, just brushed it off and kept walking. When they were back in Minnesota, Logan had always been bullied, and it wasn't until a week before they were leaving that he finally had the courage to do something about it. So, he did.
And he knocked the bully out with a well-aimed smack to the face with his hockey-stick.
He had been grounded for a month and was banned from the ice for a month, but as far as he was concerned, it was well worth it. Logan was just making his way toward his English class, which some freshman had told him was on the opposite side of campus when he suddenly saw a large crowd gathering down one of the corridors. Curious as to what all the catcalls and shouts were about, he squeezed through the throng of people to the front, and gasped.
The same boy who had pushed him into a locker was now hovering over a pretty looking brunette girl who was about the same age as Logan. The girl had tears streaming down her cheeks and was clutching her stomach in pain. Jock was leaning over her, snarling and hissing. "Come on, Camille, you gotta fight for yourself! If you want me to stop, make me stop!" He shouted, reaching down a beefy hand and wrapping it around her slim throat. He hauled her to her feet with her squealing and gasping, but Logan caught a single word uttered past her steadily-growing blue lips.
"Stop."
Jock roared with laughter as did everyone else around him, but it sounded forced and fake. "Does precious little Camille want me to stop? Is that what she wants?" He pouted, and she managed a nod, clawing at his fingers desperately. Logan felt sick to his stomach just watched the helpless girl struggle against the huge boy. "Well, you worthless little slut, it'd be easier," he dropped her to the ground and kicked her stomach so hard that she fell backwards onto the stone corridor, her breath coming in short, shallow gasps. "If I just killed you now. It'd make everyone's life easier now, wouldn't it?" For Logan, that was too much.
"That's enough." The short boy stated, stepping away from the crowd into the little circle that had formed. Everyone gathered gasped and stepped back instinctively. Jock straightened up and looked at Logan, his beady little eyes narrowed.
"And who might you be?" The older boy asked, his tone full of superiority. Logan, already cowering under the gaze, looked down at Camille's crumbled, shaking form and was filled with new resolve. He stood up straight and squared his shoulders.
"Logan Mitchell. I'm 16. Just moved here today. And I think what you're doing to that girl is unacceptable. What did she ever do to you?"
Jock smirked and stepped closer to Logan, crushing Camille's pencil case underfoot, emitting a loud snap from it that caused Camille to scream softly and move toward it. "Well, it's more that she breathes, if you catch my drift." Jock told Logan with a nasty little grin, and everyone laughed. But it still sounded forced.
"Leave her alone." Another voice stated, this one familiar to Logan's ears. He turned to see his three best friends weaving through the crowd, each carrying hockey sticks. Jock looked up at them and sneered.
"You must be little Logie's friends. So now you're helping him defend this little bitch?" He kicked Camille, who was trying desperately to gather up her books. James, Carlos and Kendall lined up on the opposite side of the circle that had gathered.
"If you want to hurt someone, then hurt us. Come on, let's take it outside. Leave the girl alone." Kendall suggested, slamming his hockey stick against his hand. Jock narrowed his eyes, and James and Carlos began to taunt him, calling him a chicken and all the while the three of them were stepping backwards. Jock stumbled after them, pushing the crowd aside. Everyone followed him except Logan, who dropped to his knees in front of Camille, who was trying to gather up all her books.
"Let me help you." Logan murmured, picking up a few of her books and piling them onto the floor neatly.
Camille looked up at him with fire in her eyes, and Logan blinked. "I don't need your pity." She snarled, and Logan's eyes widened. Her voice was soft and melodious, but there was an underlying tone of anger that made her look completely different than what he had seen before.
"I wasn't giving it to you." He said softly, pulling the books from her and rocking back on his heels. "But," he leant in close, "I know what it's like to be bullied. Back in Minnesota, I was bullied every day of my life until the week before we came here. I know what it's like, trust me." Camille's eyes widened and gave her a look of deer-in-the-headlights.
Logan smirked and helped her up, grasping her hand tightly and pulling her close. She looked up at him with beautiful brown eyes, and Logan's grin widened. "I'm Logan." He said, releasing her quickly and stepping back. She blushed dark red and brushed off her clothes before swinging her bag over her shoulder and turning off. "Wait!" He shouted after her, and she stopped and turned toward him. "You didn't tell me your name."
She smiled softly, and then said,
"Camille. My name's Camille, in case you didn't know." And then she was gone.
2 months later
"What do you want to watch, Millie?" James asked, spreading out the movies in front of her. She pulled her attention off of her book – Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson – and she immediately burst out laughing.
"James, honey, these are all Disney movies." She said with a smirk, giving a dramatic hand gesture. Snow White, Shrek, Sleeping Beauty, and Spirit.
"We know! It's Disney night, Camille!" Carlos shouted, barrelling down the steps toward her clutching two bowls of popcorn and a 6-pack of cherry coke. Camille's eyebrows shot up to her hair line as Kendall and Logan followed Carlos down the steps.
"Disney night?" She repeated, dog-earing her page and putting her book aside. Kendall sat to her left and Logan sat to her right, picking up her book and beginning to read it. Carlos and James were still in front of her with lost puppy dog looks, and she laughed again. "Fine, I'll go with Spirit." She said as she pointed to the DVD cover, and beside her, Logan coughed dramatically, and she faced him with wild eyes.
"Don't like Spirit, pretty boy?" She snapped – Kendall whistled lowly – and Logan looked up at her with a smirk playing on his face.
"Damn. Don't think I've ever been called pretty boy." He said, closing the book. "That's normally James's department." He motioned to the brunette, who was trying to figure out how to put the DVD in. "And no, I don't like Spirit, I love it. It was my favourite movie when I was little." Camille smirked and kissed his cheek lightly, ignoring the blush that crept its way up his cheeks.
"Come on, James, put the movie in!" Kendall shouted teasingly, throwing one of his pillows toward the pretty boy. It hit him square in the head with so much force that his forehead smacked against the cabinet and Camille and Logan screamed with laughter.
"Not…Funny!" James shrieked, diving toward Kendall and tackling him. They hit the floor with a thud and began to wrestle. Camille was howling with laughter, clutching her stomach and trying desperately not to laugh. Wasn't working that well, mind you.
"It's working!" Carlos suddenly shouted, and both James and Kendall sat up. Kendall scrambled up next to Camille. Carlos sat to the left of Logan, and James, who couldn't see any room, lifted Camille up, sat down, and fixed her on his lap.
"The couch was much more comfy." She told him as she whacked him upside the head, but she didn't move, instead fixed her head into the crook of his neck and let herself get comfortable. She didn't notice the way Carlos looked at Logan as though he were about to explode, or the smirk on James's face that said 'actions done, reactions achieved. And she didn't notice when Logan hit James upside the head with a lot more force than what Camille could pack into a punch.
Halfway through the movie, Camille was asleep curled into James's arms, and the movie had long been abandoned. James was rocking her back and forth like she was a child, and every time she whimpered or made a noise, he'd murmur into her ear that it was all right and she'd fall silent again, a smile gracing her lips.
"She's so peaceful and beautiful when she sleeps." Kendall said, brushing a loose curl out of his best friend's eyes.
"She's always beautiful." Logan said dreamily, and gasped when Carlos poked him in the stomach.
"Not always peaceful, though." James piped up, and all four of them laughed softly.
"I can't believe we've only been friends with her for 2 months!" Carlos exclaimed. "Feels like we've known her forever." He scrambled over Logan so that he was kneeling in front of Camille – still on James's lap – and he took her dainty, small hand.
"Like she's our baby sister or something." Kendall said, kissing the young girl's forehead lovingly. "She's not like most girls we've met. She's different."
"She's not afraid to be herself around us." James said quietly.
"She's something special." Logan sighed, putting a pause on the movie.
She was all of those things, and more. She was something the boys had never met before. And they weren't about to let her go anytime soon.
Second one today! I think I'm going to try and mentally destroy both James and Logan because they're just so destroyable, and I've already destroyed Camille, but I'll try her again today! So, if you kindamaybesorta squint you can see a bit of Lomille. It's there because I have so much of a hard time trying to not write romance between these two. And i watched Big Time Prom Kings and by the end of it i was all over the floor because it was just tooo sweet! So, anyway, review and tell me what you thought! And make it a thoughtful review, not just two words please!