A/N: Since watching Step Up 3, I fell in love with the relationship Moose and Camille has. I decided to try writing a story about them. This a one-shot, song fic. Takes place before NYU, during their time at NYU, and little snippets after the World Jam.
A/N: This is loosely based on the song, "How Did I fall in Love with You" by the Backstreet Boys. (I didn't include the lyrics.)
Peanut Butter and Jelly
Xxxxx
May 2010
Mrs. Dee Frozen Yogurt
Baltimore, Maryland
Camille's POV
"Hey, Chameleon," Moose exclaimed, after stepping into our favorite yogurt shop. He strolled up to the table I was sitting at, and I already had a cup of his favorite froyo and toppings ready for him. Like a mad scientist, he rose his fingers, brought them together and apart rhythmically, flashed an inviting smile and stared at the yummy creation, which he orignated: strawberry cheesecake frozen yogurt, topped with fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, almond slivers and caramel drizzle. "What would I do without you," he asked, looking at me with warm eyes.
I just laughed. "I, I don't even know," I admitted, while I held my ice cold concoction: cake batter frozen yogurt with a side of chocolate frozen yogurt, dried bananas, coconut shavings and sprinkles. We toasted. For a little, we ate in silence. I decided to break it. I fished in my backpack and took out the long envelope. "This came in the mail today," I showed him, a bit nervous.
He smirked. "So did mine," he reached into his back pocket and showed me his envelope with the the New York University logo. It was just like mine. Unlike me though, he was rather casual about the situation. I was fretting over the whole thing because my future depended on this. "Oh, Cam," he looked at me like I had grown two heads. "You got in. I just know it." He was always like my little cheerleader, and I was thankful.
Where to start?
My name is Camille Amelia Gage, and I have a best friend named, Robert Alexander 'Moose' the Third. Please, don't ask me questions about where his nickname came from. It's a pretty lengthy story, and I won't go into the logistics.
I met Moose in elementary school. He came from a nuclear family: mom, dad, older brother, little sister, a dog, and cat. He always came to school with a bright smile on his face, big, wide eyes, ready to soak in the education like a sponge, and of course he was the center of attention at recess and lunch. He danced rather than played handball or tether ball. He was the lanky kid with curly hair and sick moves.
I, on the other hand, was just entering my second foster home. My birth dad was in and out of prison, my mom couldn't stay off the drugs for more than day, so I pretty much bounced around. My second foster parents, who were not the greatest, already had four older foster children and three other foster kids that were younger than me. The house was crowded, but my 'parents', if they could be called, were looking at the income aspect rather than fostering us into adults. I hated that house with a passion, but where they lived happened to be near Moose's elementary school.
A bit fidgety and feeling like I was starting all over, I entered the classroom, and he was the first to notice me. He looked up curiously, and we made eye contact. I smiled at him because he seemed really extroverted and cool. Thankfully, our teacher thought he should be my guide, or better labeled, my buddy at school. It turned out we actually had a lot in common. He ended becoming like a surrogate older brother, only because he was taller. He left a lasting impression.
Sadly, I had to move away when we were about to enter middle school.
Moose waved his hands in front of me, trying to gain my attention.
I hoped he didn't know I was reminiscing.
"I can't," I fiddled with the envelope, feeling antsy. This was my first school of choice, and I just knew this was my ticket out of the foster system. Although, I was only a week away from aging out of it. I genuinely cared for these foster parents though, and I had an extremely cool, older foster brother. On the other hand, I knew I had to move on. I wasn't going to be another statistic where either I ended up on welfare, landed in jail, or walked the streets in the form of prostitution. That's why this letter was so vital.
Moose took the initiative and opened his first. He groaned, placed his arms on the table and ducked his head downwards. He mumbled inaudibly, and I crazily stared at him. I felt like my gut was punched because I couldn't breathe. No, that couldn't be right. He had to get in. His marks, recommendations from Mr. Collins and some of the faculty, and his grades were top notch! They'd be foolish to not accept him. I snatched the paper out of his hands so quick, I could've sworn smoke was clearing up. I read the paper, and I glared at him instantly and punched his right shoulder with force.
He hissed at the pain, yet smiled mischievously. At that moment, he must've thought he was so slick.
"You're such a dipshit, you know that," I cursed at him.
"Aw, Cam, is that my new nickname, 'dipshit'," he teased without a care in the world. He continued to smile and begged for me to open mine. "If I got in, I know you definitely got in."
I took a very deep breath and opened the envelope. I started at the corner and began to slide my finger underneath. In one swift move the stickiness was gone from the right side. I could hear Moose start the damn 'Final Jeopardy' theme song. I ignored the best I could, and I undid the other side very carefully. Hey, if this was my acceptance letter into New York University, I wanted to make sure this would get framed cleanly. Finally, I took out the letter. Still in a tri-fold, my eyes rose to meet with Moose's.
"I could've made molasses by now," he joked around a spoonful of frozen yogurt, but he thought some more. "Maybe ten jars or so."
"Shut up," I slightly snapped. He softened, since he knew how important this was to me. He beckoned for me to open it. I consequently caved and read the letter. "Ahh! Oh my gosh, Moose I got in. I actually got in!" I got out of my seat and did a little dance. Of course there was popping, locking, and a grand plie with a perfect twirl.
People stared at me like I was a lunatic just escaping the mental institution, but that didn't matter.
Moose also got on his feet and joined me. Now, there were two lunatics. He would never let me do something like that alone anyways. We danced together in the frozen yogurt shop, causing a bit of a ruckus, but we were happy beyond belief.
I was happy beyond belief. I was going to college with my best friend, who I had somehow fallen in love with.
Xxxxx
October 2010
Natalie's Birthday Bash
New York, New York
Moose's POV
I looked at my cell phone. There was no text message from Camille. She was really going to kill me now. Without notice, Luke swiftly whizzed by me. The last time I saw him, he was happily reunited with Natalie. I mildly frowned.
"Luke, what happened," I rushed onto the street, trying to keep up with his unexpected, stealth footsteps. The only explanation was they had another fallout. It was obvious something happened, but I couldn't point my finger on it. I jogged up the side of him. I felt his anger, I heard his heated grumblings, and knew whatever happened was serious.
"Julian set this shit up," he gruffly answered, while he kept on walking to his classic car he stashed three allies over.
"What," I sputtered in shock and disbelief. "You mean, Natalie didn't send the invite. It was Julian?"
He nodded. "I can't believe it. She's his sister..."
My mouth gaped wide open. Now, that was a pretty sick plan. Of course I wasn't going to admit that. With the way Luke was and how betrayed he felt, the last thing I wanted was to be on a receiving end of one of his punches. That I'm pretty sure it was like 'Incredible Hulk' kind of strength. I got to the passenger side of his car and looked at the time again.
"Oh no," I moaned in frustration and grabbed my phone for the hundredth time tonight. I texted Camille, hoping she was awake or hadn't gone out, but there was no reply.
"What," Luke asked, forgetting that I was supposed to be the Mary Kate to Camille's Ashley. The realization dawned on him, and he punched his steering wheel regretfully. "I'll get you to that party," he promised, and he started his car. He drove onto the street, and in a few minutes, we were already half way to the school. Things were looking up, until we turned once more and there was a car accident.
Police cars, ambulances, innocent bystanders, cars in various positions, it was the whole shebang. And this whole shebang, happened to be when I was trying to get back to my dorm, to her. Of course it was, this was Halloween in New York city. Bars, 21 and over, were running up and down this street. People were driving drunk and apparently have never heard of a designated driver! I watched impatiently.
"Fuck this," I muttered, and I went to open my side.
Luke was concerned. "What's the big deal," he questioned, and I knew he was probably blinded by his own situation to realize that I was going to be in my own situation. His gaze fell on me, and it was pretty unrelenting.
"I already told you about the costume party," I tersely answered, while still trying to get out of the car.
"She must be important to you."
I never had to question who the she was.
Where to start?
Camille and I met in elementary school. She had the most ridiculous ponytails, worn out overalls with a white shirt underneath, and beat up Chucks. She looked cute, innocent, and fun. I saw past her title as the foster kid, and I got to know her. She really was like a little sister to me, but it was only because I was taller. Don't tell her that. In reality, we were the best of friends.
Then, she got moved to another foster home.
I entered Maryland School of the Arts, or MSA for short, my freshman year of high school for stage lighting. Technical shizz has always been my forte and also ran in my family. I noticed the dancing around there, and part of me did want to audition for dance. However, I couldn't because I knew my dad would disapprove.
Unlike elementary school, I was on the lowest part of the totem pole when it came to social status. Sophomore year it worked in my favor. As fate would have it, Andie happened to come to the school, and we struck up a friendship. Long story short, the MSA Crew was formed, I was asked to be apart of it, and I perfected my skills. I helped her out, she helped me out. Not to mention, I got my first kiss from a fellow student named, Sophie.
Once junior year rolled around, Andie, Chase, Hair, Kido and Sophie left the school for professional opportunities. I was still there, with a majority of the crew, now seniors. It was a change, but I had to remind myself I didn't have them during Freshman year, so I'd find a way to survive my third and fourth year in high school.
And I did because she came back.
Tyler seemed to have knack for getting the closest women in his life to dance. He coaxed Camille, who was more like a biological sister, into trying out for MSA, and she got in. I remember when I walked into my hip hop dance class, and I saw her there. Her smile illuminated the room; that's the first thing I noticed, but I have to admit, puberty did her good. We hugged, and I jumped up and down dramatically like how two best girlfriends would.
It was like nothing had changed.
From that point, we became even closer than before. She was best friend—the peanut butter to my jelly.
My heart clenched at the memories. I'd been keeping a couple of secrets from Camille, and I knew I needed to tell her the truth eventually. She deserved to know why I'd been disappearing so suddenly. I finally hopped out the car. Before shutting the door completely, I poked my head in. My unruly curls covered a part of my face, but I could still make out Luke's statuesque body.
"Of course, she's important to me. She's the peanut butter to my jelly," I genuinely proclaimed and ran back to the school.
A car would've definitely been faster, and the upside of taking a car was avoiding the biting autumn wind. I arrived at my dorm, and there she was. Her head was tilted to the side, resting comfortably on my computer chair. She looked so peaceful, and I savored the moment. Her hair, though fake, was flowing down, tamed by a sparkly headband, and she had a big purse, a fake, portable Starbucks tumbler, large, bug eyed sunglasses, and in her free hand she had her pink phone. Again, I wanted to smack myself. I promised to be here, but I wasn't.
I bent down and barely touched her, but she already had this sixth sense and woke up. Her eyes were icy, and her body language was frigid. She hated me. I just knew it. I didn't think I could talk my way out of it. Moose jokes were definitely out of the question.
This wasn't the time or place.
"Camille," I wanted to apologize for being late. From the looks of it, she also missed the raging party. It was all my fault, but I could've made it up to her. "Maybe-" she stopped me.
"I'm over it," she held up her hands in frustration and hurt, gathered her things in such a rush, and it broke my heart to see her like this. She was never supposed to glare daggers at me, yet, she was. "You clearly have better things to do."
"No, Camille, it's not like that," I stood with her. She already crossed my room, ready to leave. Wherever she was going, I would follow her. Truthfully, I would've followed her if she had traveled to Timbuktu. That's how important she was to me. "Camille, I got caught up," and it was now or never. I needed to confess what I've been doing behind her back. Literally. "I've-," I tried to gather the words, but there was no other way to say it. "I've been dancing again."
She faced me, and she was clearly distraught.
"Before school, during school, and after school," I further elaborated, hoping she would understand.
"So... you've been lying to me and ditching me for some secret life," she practically spat, but that wasn't her intention. She had this look in her eyes I had never seen before. Maybe, it was because I wasn't supposed to put that look there. "You know, you could've at least told me," she said, not understanding why I didn't. She was right we hadn't been on the same wavelength in a while. "But I-I, guess I'm not important enough to know about your new, cool life."
I felt verbally slapped by her.
"I should've let you know from the beginning. I'm sorry," I deeply apologized. "But, it's over now."
"You're right. It's over now," and she walked away. Just like that. This time it was voluntary.
I should've ran after her, stopped her, and explained in full how much she truly meant to me. I was scared though.
There goes the trip to Timbuktu.
Xxxxx
November 2010
New York University
FYRE Hall
Camille's POV
It had been a week since the disastrous costume party. I walked around the campus like a zombie. I missed his corny jokes, his silly dances, and the way made me feel. But, I still couldn't believe him.
Kirsten was beginning to get a little worried about me, but I attributed it to the flu. She nodded, and she never asked another question. However, Kirsten was female with estrogen. Of course, she knew this was over Moose.
Others might've brushed off his second life. Me, I couldn't. He didn't tell me about dancing, and that's what hurt the most. I was his best friend. Of course, I understood! Dancing was him. Him was dancing. The equation wasn't hard. It was as simple as one plus one or peanut butter balancing jelly. His family was blind to see how talented he was. I knew because I've witnessed his extraordinary moves. I would've been there to support him.
I was walking back to my dorm, since I needed to grab a few things. My phone rang. I glanced at the caller ID. I'd ignored his phone calls before, but this time I had to answer.
"Hello," I cautiously greeted.
"Hey..." he said, and there was an awkward pregnant pause. "Are you busy?"
It was so nice to hear his voice. I missed him. Not talking for a week was killing me, and I believed it was doing the same to him too.
"Not right now."
I did have plans to go to the local gym with Kirsten, but I would've dropped those for him. Horrible, but we needed to talk and clear the air. I couldn't avoid him forever.
"Meet me later," he asked suddenly. "I need to show you something."
My heart began to thump at an accelerated speed. He was the reason for that, but I would never admit it. That would give him an even bigger head than he had already. "Probably around four. I have something planned. I'll meet you afterwards."
"Great, see you then," he hung up.
Four hours later. Moose spun me around so gracefully, and he caused leaves to descend on my face. I scrunched my nose, feeling the prickly tops and hairy bodies. Yet, I laughed like a little kid. This resembled the past, and in a very good way. I dusted off the leaves off of him, and he did the same to me.
"You can never give it up," I advised out of love and sincerity.
"Yeah, but you did," he pointed at me, and I knew where this was going.
I was apart of the top 10 dancers at MSA during our senior year. As much as I liked to dance, since it was freeing to me and I could express my individuality, it wasn't meant for me to continue beyond high school. I'm good, above average really, but he was great, amazing, and I could see him furthering his dance into a career. There could be jobs for an engineering dancer.
We talked more and came to an understanding. He held out his arm for me, and I linked my arms with his. We left our dancing grounds behind. Not even ten feet from school, he stopped walking and looked at me seriously.
"House of Pirates," he began, "I'm going to get them back together. The World Jam is not too far from now, and well, I know this is the only way Luke and the rest of them can get the Vault back," he told me, and I looked at him with admiration. He was always like this a martyr for dance and looking out for everyone.
I fell in love even more.
"I'm going to gather up some of the MSA Crew as well. Sadly, the Pirates are without a home and a place to practice, but luckily, Kido's able to pull something," he spoke of the tiny Asian dancer, who insisted she didn't have an accent. He continued. "Plus one more," he said, looking right at me.
"No, no," I stopped dead in my tracks and again couldn't believe what he had up his sleeve. He was slick alright. "Moose, no," I drew the line right there and shook my head at him.
"Come on, Chameleon," he grabbed for my hand and wounded me into his body. I felt his breath on me, and I looked up at him. I wrapped my arms around his waist, smiling, but still not going for it. He was pretty tenacious, and he was determined to make sure I helped. "For me," he asked, as she pushed back stray hairs from my face.
I became putty in his arms, not even a second later, and nodded. I was pretty dumb to think I could ever say no.
"I'll be there every step of the way," I swore.
Xxxxx
December 2010
New York University
Admissions Office
Moose's POV
"And," she waited for me to spill the beans.
I squinted one eye and looked up to the sky, playing like I was aloof to what just happened. She anxiously tugged on my arm. Oh, who was I kidding? Like I could keep this from her. "Well, I'm a double major," I informed inevitably.
"Oh, my gosh," she practically screamed and brought me in for a massive hug. I smelled the lingering essence of cucumber and melon splashed onto her skin. That was my favorite scent she wore. "I knew you can do it," she praised with happiness.
I earnestly stared at her. "Thank, thank you," I acknowledged with my heart. She pushed me to become a better person, she believed in me, and she's never judged me. Yeah, I had a crush on Sophie, but that was puppy love. What guy wouldn't want to go for the older, popular chick at school?! That was a lot of guys' dream and very cliche.
In front of me was Camille Amelia Gage, my best friend, the peanut butter, and the person I fell deeply in love with.
I can't tell when that exactly happened, but it happened when I least expected it to. That's one thing I'm sure of.
"Natalie's leaving for California. The rest of the Pirates are going to be there to say goodbye. Want to come with me," I queried.
She smiled. "Yeah, of course."
I held out my hand for my girlfriend, and she gladly linked her fingers with mine. We walked to Grand Central Station. We were going to meet up with Jason, Anala, the Ticks, Jacob and the Santiago Twins. Before they really saw us, I let go of her hand. I whispered the plan, and she playfully scoffed, but agreed to go along.
Luke descended down the steps and met up with Natalie. Luke was a stubborn man, and he wanted to hate Natalie for what she had done. She pretty much acted like a mole, which caused him to become seriously turned off. Yet, when love happens between two people, there's no point in fighting it. He clearly figured that out, deciding to move across country with her. Finally, they kissed, and that was the cue.
I turned to Camille, cupped her flush cheeks, and brought her in for a chaste kiss. I heard the whooping, hollering, and surprised cat calls from my new family.
Jason's classy line brought a smile to both of our faces, "Can I kiss someone right now?"
Once I received my new pair of Gunmetal Nikes from Luke, we wished them the best of luck and watched them until they were out of sight.
I slung my arm proudly over Camille. I got my shoes and my girl right by my side.
Xxxxx
January 2011
Moose's House
Baltimore, Maryland
Camille's POV
Moose's mom came around the living room with her camera once again. She made sure the both of us were close together. She almost had tears in her eyes upon looking at us.
"Aw, Mom," Moose whined like a baby. I just laughed.
"Oh, you know," Mrs. Alexander couldn't continue. She regained her composure. "Alright, alright, say, 'Mom is pretty'," she ordered.
Instead of Moose making a crazy, silly face, he actually took a decent picture for once. I felt like we were about to go to prom. She had posed us in front of the fireplace, our arms wrapped around each other's waist, and looking to the left at the camera. We complied though.
"Mom is pretty," we chorused together.
She took one look, and she cried with happiness. "I still can't believe it," she went to the other part of the house, so she could use the camera printer.
My boyfriend became slightly embarrassed. I nudged his stomach because I thought it was cute, and I kissed his cheek. He smiled at me again and went to join his dad on the patio.
Mrs. Alexander shortly returned and gave me the picture. "This one is so much better than the other one," she complimented and went out to join her boys, or men I should say.
I longingly stared at the picture. I never thought we would end up like this, but I was glad we did. He'll never understand how we went from friends to lovers, but it happened.
I stopped questioning it a long time ago and joined everyone else.
The End.