Chapter 1

"Cammie Morgan, Rebecca Baxter, Elizabeth Sutton, Macey McHenry, and Zachary Goode to my office," my mom said over the intercom. It was the day before graduation so we couldn't be in that much trouble. Due to the school being burnt down, we were currently staying in a backup location on the outskirts of Roseville. It had some secret passageways I was adventuring through when I heard the announcement so I was a little late. When I walked in, I saw all my friends and my (finally official!) boyfriend sitting down. Solomon was leaning on mom's desk like he has a thousand times before. "It's no secret the five of you have had a really hard two years." Bex snorted and mom gave her a look. "I've watched all of you grow up into amazing, responsible young agents, as well as lovely men and women. I'm incredibly proud and I want to congratulate you. Now, Joe will tell you all about our gift."

"Well, in our professional opinion, it would be best for you to take the summer off. Your last year has been... challenging," Joe said. That was an understatement but I knew he didn't want to bring up the scars. It was a reminder enough that we weren't able to be in our home the night before graduation. I'd imagined my graduation day for years and I always thought about spending my last night with my best friends in our room. Of course, our room was now just a pile of rubble. "We thought it would be nice to send you someplace new so we're going to let you go to one of my lakefront homes for the summer. It's secluded so you feel safe but it's part of a resort so there's also a big main cabin where you can get food, there's a movie theater, and a big main beach filled with bonfires, beach volleyball courts, and tennis courts." I looked and saw smiles on everyone's faces. We needed this chance to heal. "We also don't want you to spend the summer with just girls, Zach, and we figured Preston might want some time to recover, too," Joe told us and Macey grinned. "Also, Jonas and Grant haven't really seen you in a long time so they want to come with."

The girls looked excited because I knew they had crushes on them. Bex was especially smitten with Grant after he'd help save her life. The face that stood out to me the most was Zach's, though. It was a face of complete joy. I loved that he cared about me and came to Gallagher for me but I felt terrible that he had no guy friends left. When we saw them on that plane, I'd almost forgot Zach had friends. I was so excited for him that that was finally changing again. Sure, he'd bonded with the girls, but it wasn't the same.

My mom held out plane tickets. "A limo will bring you to the airport early in the morning after graduation. We'll check on you at some point in the summer. I'll see you later." The girls all filed out and Zach was grabbed by Solomon and led into the room next to us and my mom said, "Can we talk, Cam?"

I looked at her, raising an eyebrow, and said, "Sure."

Mom sighed. "This might be awkward, but we haven't really talked about this yet. You and Zach have been together awhile and you'll be together all summer so I want you to be prepared." I'm not going to lie. Since the Circle was destroyed, Zach and I had been fooling around a little. Okay. A lot. With all this free time not doing research about the Circle or running away from school, we'd been spending a lot of time together. We hadn't had sex yet, but it was only a matter of time.

I covered my face with my hands in embarrassment. I'd faced being kidnapped, tortured, and bullet wounds in the past year, but somehow, I don't think I'd ever been this uncomfortable. "Mom, we already had this talk when I was in the seventh grade. I get it."

She laughed and it was nice seeing my mom so carefree again. "I know. I just wanted to give you a gift." Mom reached in her desk and handed me a bag.

I opened it and cringed. "Birth control pills. Mom, this is so awkward."

She shrugged. "I want you to be ready, just in case," she said. She stood up and gave me a hug. "I'm so proud of you. Now go get ready to graduate."

Zach's POV

Solomon pulled me into the other room after we heard about the cabin and motioned for me to sit down. I sat and he stood as usual.

"Thanks for the cabin and for getting the guys to come with. It's been forever since I've seen them," I told him. "Unless you count the short extraction mission, but that wasn't exactly a good time to catch up."

Joe smiled. "Now that you're going to be living with just friends and your girlfriend, Mrs. Morgan and I talked about how I've really been your only father figure." I tensed a little. I now knew who my father was and where he was, yet I also knew Joe was the closest thing I'd ever have to one. After we'd returned to Gallagher, Abby made us take a blood test and we learned the truth. Townsend had tried to talk to me a few times, but it was still pretty awkward. He continued, "So, no one has probably talked to you about this. You and Cammie have been together for a while now so we thought someone should talk to you about sex."

I instantly stood up. "No. No. We're not having this conversation. I know how it all... Works. I'm not going to pressure her and I won't get her pregnant."

Joe chuckled slightly at my discomfort. "Well, we want to ensure that so here." Joe tossed me a box of condoms. I caught them and instantly fled the room. I saw girls walking through the halls and knew I had to take a secret passageway so no one saw what I was carrying. I walked in the nearest passageway and saw Cammie in front of me. I tried to duck and hide but she already saw me.

"So, are you excited to see your friends again?" She asked.

As I tried to hide what was in my hands by putting it behind my back, I grinned and answered, "I'm so excited. It'll be great seeing them, but I'm also going to love just relaxing with you." I smirked.

Cammie blushed. "Speaking of that, what did Solomon have to talk to you about?"

Shit. I smirked to try and downplay it. "Nothing. He just wanted me to be responsible this summer."

Cam rolled her eyes. "Like we aren't always responsible. I got a similar lecture." She noticed me holding something behind my back. "What's that?"

"Don't worry about it, Gallagher Girl," I replied. I could tell she wasn't going to take no for an answer. She never did.

She raised an eyebrow. "Zachary Goode, what is in your hand?" I shrugged and she dove. I couldn't fight back super well with one hand while I tried to hide the box. If I was fighting an enemy agent, I would've kicked them into the wall, but she wasn't an enemy agent, this wasn't that big a secret, and she still looked a little frail. Don't try telling her that, though, because the fire in her eyes was as strong as ever. Eventually I was tackled to the ground and she was on top of me. As she dropped down on my stomach, something fell out of her pocket and her eyes got wide. I lunged and grabbed what fell and she ripped the box out of my hand. I watched Cammie blush as she read what she was holding. I read what she had dropped and was slightly shocked. Birth control pills. And the first one was missing. She sighed and leaned back against the wall and I sat next to her. "We should talk, shouldn't we?"

"Probably," I replied. "So, have you even thought about this?

She blushed. "A little. You should know I haven't had... sex before. I've only ever dated Josh and that was completely out of the question because he didn't even know my real name. Have you ever?"

I shook my head. "I spent more time worrying about staying alive."

"So, you're a virgin?" Cammie asked, shock in her voice.

I shrugged. "Yeah. So are you. I've been going after you since we were 16 years old. What did you expect?"

"Well, whenever we've been doing stuff, you've seemed... so sure of yourself," She replied.

I laughed. "You didn't exactly seem inexperienced either." A deep blush filled her cheeks. "Don't worry, though. I'm in no rush so don't stress out."

"Really?" She asked, looking into my eyes with her beautiful blue ones.

I kissed her forehead. "Yes. Gallagher Girl, this year has been crazy and I wouldn't have been able to do it with anyone else by my side. I love you." It was my first time saying it to her, but I knew we'd both been thinking it for a while.

Cammie grinned up at me and said, "I love you, too." She kissed me and we sat like that for probably five more minutes. I was just so grateful she said it back. "Want to come hang out with me and the girls?"

"No. I want you to have fun your last night together," I answered, standing up and then helping her up. I started to walk away when she stopped me.

"Zach," Cammie said. I turned and looked at her and she smirked at me. I loved seeing her this carefree. I honestly don't think she'd looked so happy since we were sixteen years old. We'd come such a long way. "Don't you think you're forgetting something?" She kicked the box over to me. "You might need those one of these days." She ran off after that. I'm not going to lie, I hoped at one time throughout the summer I did need them and her insinuating I would made me excited. This was going to be an amazing summer.

Cammie's POV

I walked in my room and the girls looked at me. "So, Cam, where have you been?" Bex asked.

I shrugged. "Talking to my mom, then Zach."

"About what?" Liz asked.

Maybe talking to Zach gave me some more confidence because I looked at each of them, shrugged, and answered, "Sex."

Macey spit her water out of her mouth. "Are you finally going to do it?" All the girls stared wide-eyed at me.

I laughed. "To be determined. Solomon gave Zach a box of condoms and my mom gave me these." I threw them to Macey. "We talked about it and have decided we might."

"That's crazy!" Macey shouted.

"Who would've thought Cammie might lose her virginity first?" Bex asked.

Liz shrugged. "Statistically, it makes the most sense. She is on her second boyfriend while us three have yet to have one."

Macey grinned. "I think that will change this summer. Locked in the house with the boys alone will probably lead to us with boyfriends."

"You think so?" Liz asked.

"Definitely. Grant always liked me," Bex said with a wink. We all laughed. "I'm not wrong! Zach told me so!"

Macey smiled. "This is going to be an awesome summer! I'll start packing for all of us." I looked at my friends, safe and happy and I knew I was ready to face graduation tomorrow. All year, I'd been scared, but not anymore. I had the best team at my side and nothing could change that.

"I love you guys," I blurted because if I'd learned anything in the past few years, it was that I didn't know how much time I had left. My friends barreled towards me in a big group hug. I winced slightly as Macey's arm hit one of my wounds. Just another reminder of the dangerous life we'd all chosen. All the girls murmured their agreements.

"I'm going to bed. We need our sleep before graduation tomorrow," Liz said.

I saw a very Bexish gleam in Bex's eye when she asked, "Are you sure?"

"What are you thinking?" Macey asked with a raised eyebrow.

Bex shrugged and watched us, building up the suspense. "I always thought my last night at the Gallagher Academy would be in the Gallagher Academy. In our room."

"I agree, but that's not exactly an option anymore," I said.

"Not with that attitude. Think about it. Cam, it's your last chance to sneak out of school grounds," she teased.

Liz's eyes went wide. "Are we sure it's safe?"

Bex shrugged. "It's always safe when you have the best back-up in the world." And that's how I ended up leading my friends through secret passageways with bags filled with dresses, heels, pillows, blankets, and our graduation caps and gowns. We ran the couple miles back to school and snuck in another passageway to get on the Gallagher Academy grounds. There were still guards to keep out any possible vandals and silly town boys who thought it would be fun to pull a prank. As we walked towards the building, a guard looked right at us. I recognized him as Bubblegum guard. We thought we were caught.

Instead, he smiled at us. "Welcome home." The girls and I laughed and ran towards where our room was. They had cleared most of the rubble and started rebuilding the walls. They hadn't started building above the first floor so we ended up in a classroom that was two floors beneath our room. We laid blankets and pillows down on the floor. The four of us laid on the floor, having a moment of silence for our beloved home.

"I almost think it's a dream until we see it again," Macey mumbled. "I can't believe the school is gone."

I felt a tear in my eye and repeated what Zach told me before it all burned to the ground. "We are the school." It felt like a funeral, until Bex grinned.

"Remember when Liz tried to test Cammie for Chameleon DNA and got DNA tests shut down for a semester?" Bex teased and we all laughed.

"Or remember when we met Macey and she called Bex a bitch?" I replied and everyone laughed again.

Macey looked at Bex. "I stand by that claim." Bex hit her and they instantly started sparring. We spent the whole night reminiscing on the amazing, life-changing years we had there. Gallagher might have been burned to the ground, but with these girls, I knew I'd always be home.

Hi! I hope you guys like my new story! Let me know if you have any ideas for what you'd like to see them do over the summer and if you like the story so far.