A/N: Sorry; this is a post-Valentine's/Chinese New Year present. I started writing this Saturday but we had a party and my two best friends and my cousins from L.A. were visiting for the long weekend, so they slept over, and I couldn't get back to it until today. Valentine's Day is my favorite holiday, and it's about love, so I had to write something for this couple! Enjoy!
The song used is "Two Is Better Than One" by Boys Like Girls ft. Taylor Swift
Disclaimer: I do not own the Gallagher Girls Series because it is rightfully owned by Ally Carter; nor am I making a profit from this fanfic, which is rightfully owned by me.
Two Is Better Than One
By sakuracherish814
I remember what your wore on the first day
You came into my life, and I thought, "Hey,
You know this could be something."
"What's up with the, um—"
"The girls got to me," Cammie confessed. "I told them it wasn't necessary but they…"
She trailed off, a flush of pink rushing to her cheeks as she looked away. Zach studied her casually. She was probably dressier than she'd like to be—not in a mere jeans-and-T-shirt outfit, but not clad in a full-length ballroom gown either. She also had touches of make-up and her hair was fixed a certain way.
(It was apparent her roommates treated Cammie like their experimental, life-sized Barbie doll.)
"Well," he started slowly as Cammie bit her lower lip, "it's definitely refreshing from the uniform, I'll tell you that."
Her eyebrows pulled together. "Is that supposed to be a compliment?"
Zach smirked but didn't answer.
Cammie sighed, looking down at her "roommate-approved" attire. "It's also a definite difference from the jeans and sweatshirt on our first, um… date."
Zach laughed lightly. "You mean your attempt at a honeypot mission during our study-date in the library?" he asked "Definitely."
Cammie playfully hit his arm.
"A good 'definitely,'" he reassured.
She smirked, her tone unconvinced. "Uh-huh."
'Cause everything you do and words you say,
You know that it all takes my breath away
And now I'm left with nothing
He took her hand, flipping it palm-side up. Then he dug into his coat pocket and produced a small pink box tied with a yellow ribbon, which he dropped into her palm.
She looked down at it, arching one eyebrow. "I thought you already gave me my present."
"A bouquet of roses and a box of chocolates don't really count as a 'gift' to me," he shrugged. "They only last so long—roses eventually wilt, and the chocolate gets eaten. Besides, your roommates would've probably killed me if I didn't get you a real present that lives up to the expectations that your present set."
Cammie smirked. (The boys had been complaining how gaming consoles were prohibited in the dormitories—she might have put in a good word to her mother about this.)
"But don't open it until later," he added.
"Why not now?"
"Just trust me, Gallagher Girl."
She laughed and slipped the box into her purse.
So maybe it's true that I can't live without you
And maybe two is better than one
"Ready for the movie?"
Cammie took his arm as they began walking. "Why are we doing this again?"
"Doing what?"
"Going on such a… such a clichéd date," she sighed, looking up at him as he seemed to truly be contemplating an answer to her question. She chuckled and shook her head. "I mean, it's done in all the TVs and movies—going to the movies, but never actually watching it, then going out to eat after, and ending the day by wandering around."
"Well," Zach reminded, "it was Macey's planning. Do you really want to know how Macey will react if she hears we didn't stick to her schedule?"
She rolled her eyes. "Let's just go watch the damn movie."
But there's so much time to figure out the rest of my life
And you've already got me coming undone
As they settled into their seats (they were sitting in the very top row, in the very middle), Cammie felt her phone vibrate in her purse and she pulled it out, taking a glance at the caller ID: Bex. She chuckled, and Zach raised an eyebrow at her. She just beamed at him and slid her phone open.
"Guys, the previews of the movie haven't even started yet," Cammie greeted. "Isn't it a little too early to be bugging us?"
Zach laughed and ripped open the top of the Twizzlers bag.
"Well, we would've known that if somebody didn't remove her bugs," Bex stated matter-of-factly.
"Don't you have your own plans for today that doesn't include harassing us from afar?"
"Yes—they're just not now."
She could hear gunshots and explosions muffled on the other end of the line. "Are the guys—?"
"Trying to blast each other to death again?" Bex interrupted in a laugh. "It's your fault for getting your mom to lift the ban."
"Yeah, I'm starting to regret that, too," Cammie chuckled, shifting so that she leaned her head into Zach's shoulder.
Zach looked at her. "Excuse me?"
"Shh!"
"What was that?"
"Nothing, Bex," Cammie said, glaring at Zach, who pretended to ignore her and eat his Twizzler.
"Are you following Macey's rules?" Bex asked suspiciously.
Cammie smirked. "Maybe."
She could practically hear Bex rolling her eyes. "Right. Well, hope you and Zach enjoy the date!"
Cammie smiled, slipping her arm around Zach's and looking up at him. He smiled that smile that always reduced her to a bundle of nerves.
"We will."
And I'm thinking two is better than one
It was only an hour into the movie. With only un-popped popcorn kernels and greasy butter remaining in their bucket, a few drops of soda left in their cups, and an empty Twizzler bag on Cammie's laugh, they were officially bored. They had run out of things to do that didn't involve disturbing the other few movie-goers who were actually paying attention to the complicated love story happening between the two main characters.
Zach leaned down and whispered into her ear, "Bored?"
"Like you could not imagine."
"Want to ditch?"
Cammie beamed, reaching for her purse.
"Hell yeah."
I remember every look upon your face
The way you roll your eyes, the way you taste
You make it hard for breathing
Once outside the theater, they dumped their trash into the trash can, and walked outside into the daylight. She took his arm, and they began walking down a random side street. (Okay, so it wasn't so random; Mr. Solomon had them memorize every fact and detail about Roseville as preparation for future CoveOps assignments.)
As they turned the corner onto a street across from the diner, coincidentally Cammie's stomach growled.
She flushed only slightly, placing a hand on her stomach. "Popcorn, Coca-Cola, and Twizzlers aren't very filling," she informed.
"Hungry?" he laughed.
"It is ten past noon…"
"You know, you can just ask to go get something to eat."
She rolled her eyes. "Didn't you listen to Macey? The guy is supposed to offer it."
"Well, she also said we had to stick to her schedule," he reminded, "and right now we're supposed to be in the movie theater."
She flushed slightly, whapping him with her purse a little harder than last time. "You offered!"
"You could've said no."
She rolled her eyes again. "Touché."
'Cause when I close my eyes and drift away
I think of you and everything's okay
I'm finally now believin'
"I don't think eating ice-cream counts as having lunch," Zach informed as they waited at the crosswalk so they could cross to the ice-cream parlor. It was noon, so almost all the restaurants and diners would be fairly crowded right about now (especially considering the holiday), and the last thing Cammie wanted was a busy lunch rush.
She shrugged as the car passed and they began to cross. "It has enough calories to count as lunch," she reminded.
"Has Macey got you girls going on another diet again?"
"…Maybe."
"That would explain the cra—ow! Okay, I was just kidding."
A few pedestrians turned to look at them, and Cammie slid her hand back in his, smirking. He simply chuckled and shook his head.
As they stepped back onto the sidewalk, Cammie could smell the different flavors and waffle cones coming from the ice-cream parlor, and it was only a block away. She closed her eyes and placed her free hand on her stomach. "Mmmmm. God, you don't know how badly I want ice-cream right now."
"You gonna open your eyes long enough to walk over there?"
As he began walking forward, she tugged his hand, keeping him in place.
"Try leading me there," she suggested.
He arched his eyebrow, but of course she didn't see it.
"Come on," she reassured, smiling with her eyes still closed, "I trust you."
So maybe it's true that I can't live without you
And maybe two is better than one
"We're here," he said.
Cammie hesitantly cracked one eye open.
Sure enough, they were standing outside the parlor's glass doors.
Zach laughed. "You didn't think I'd get you here safely, did you?"
"Of course I did—you know I trust you," Cammie protested.
"Uh-huh, that's why you were flinching and hesitant the whole time I was leading you."
"I was not!"
"Right," he said as he pushed the door open.
Inside, there was barely anyone there—just a mom and her two kids, an elderly couple, and the employees. The woman at the register (who looked to still be in high school like they were and was obviously working this job for some extra cash) smiled at them as they walked in. "Hello, what can I get you two?"
But there's so much time to figure out the rest of my life
And you've already got me coming undone
Cammie dug her spoon into her bowl and looked at Zach, who seemed to be staring at the green-colored ice-cream oddly. "What?" she asked curiously as she spooned more of the pistachio-flavored goodness into her mouth.
"Pistachio?"
"What's wrong with pistachio?" she asked.
"Nothing."
"Is it not as good as your cookie dough ice-cream over there?"
Zach smirked. "Probably not."
She rolled her eyes and held out her spoon.
He leaned back a little.
"Try it."
"I think I'll pass."
"Oh come on," she said, "you can scale walls and jump out of helicopters and moving trains, but trying a green-colored ice-cream is scary?"
He laughed and dug his spoon into his ice-cream, holding it out to her. "Why don't you try some of mine?"
She made a face. "Raw cookie dough is supposed to be bad for you."
"A lot of things are supposed to be bad for you," he reminded with a smirk upon his lips as he leaned over and whispered, "you should know that."
She flushed as she got the double-meaning, and pushed him back. "I mean doesn't it get you sick or something?"
"Tsk, tsk. Excuses, excuses."
And I'm thinking two is better than one
"Fine," she grumbled as they exchanged spoons and shoved them into their mouths.
Zach's eyebrows rose slightly. "Interesting. It's sweeter than I thought."
Cammie remained silent.
"Uh… Cammie?"
Her eyebrows pulled together.
"Cam?"
She made a face.
"Gallagher Girl?"
"Can I have some more?"
He laughed and slid his bowl to her.
I remember what you wore on the first day
You came into my life and I thought, "Hey…"
When they finally left the ice-cream parlor, they spent the rest of the afternoon browsing shops and generally just roaming around until finally it was already 6:30pm. It was beginning to darken, and they'd have to head back to school soon if they were to make it back by 7 (the agreed return time).
"Macey's going to kill us," Cammie reminded as they began walking towards Gallagher.
Zach laughed. "Yeah, probably."
"But today is worth it," she admitted as she looked up at him.
He arched one eyebrow. "Yeah?"
"Yeah."
"Good," he said, smiling, "because there's one last place we've got to go. You have to close your eyes again."
"Where?" she asked, pulling her eyebrows together as she hesitantly closed both of her eyes.
"You'll see."
Maybe it's true that I can't live without you
And maybe two is better than one
But there's so much time to figure out the rest of my life
And you've already got me coming undone
As they slowly came to a stop, he tightened his grip on her hand. "We're here."
Like before at the ice-cream parlor, she hesitantly cracked one eye open, and then the other. But this time her eyes widened immediately after and her eyebrows rose. They were standing at the in an empty parking lot. She looked at him in confusion.
"A parking lot?" she whispered.
"I think now would be a good time to open your present."
She blinked hesitantly and pulled out the box from her purse. "Why now?"
"Just open it," he reassured.
She slipped the box out of the ribbon and pulled the lid off.
Something silvery and shiny and tied in a bow at the top rested inside.
"A key?"
And I'm thinking, "Oooh, I can't live without you."
'Cause baby two is better than one
"What's this for?"
"For that," he said as he turned her around to face the other side of the parking lot.
Her jaw dropped.
Bex, Liz, Macey, Grant, Jonas, Nick, her mom, Mr. Solomon, Madame Dabney, Dr. Steve, and Mr. Mosckowitz were all standing in front of two Gallagher Academy vans, clapping and cheering. But it was what they were standing around that made her gape. It was a car—a black Mercedes S600 Guard.
More specifically, the car Cammie secretly wanted.
There's so much time to figure out the rest of my life
But I'll figure it out when all is said and done
Zach laughed and grabbed her arm, tugging her forward.
"Hey, kiddo," her mom said as she kissed her on her forehead and brushed back her hair. "How was your day?"
Cammie blinked.
Mr. Solomon chuckled. "I don't think she's paying attention, Rachel."
"Look at her face!" Jonas laughed. "Priceless. I should've brought my camera!"
Liz elbowed him.
"Unlike you who looks dumbstruck all the time," Bex smirked.
Grant laughed. "Oh, you got burned."
"How was the date, man?" Nick asked Zach as they stood beside him.
"You didn't follow the schedule, did you?" Macey questioned.
Zach laughed.
Two is better than one
"Is this… really mine?" Cammie finally got out.
"Yeah, it's really yours," Mr. Mosckowitz beamed.
"You'll be able to keep it on campus for the remainder of the year in the school's underground storage until you graduate," Dr. Steve added. "And you'll be able to use it on certain occasions, of course. But it's entirely yours—a present from all of us to you."
"Your mother felt bad since you didn't traditionally receive a car for your sixteenth birthday," Madame Dabney explained.
Cammie looked at everyone's faces, and then up at Zach, completely speechless.
"Happy Birthday, Gallagher Girl," he smiled, and then leaned down and whispered, "And Happy Valentine's Day."
Two is better than one
A/N: Eh, it was a good idea in the beginning but since there was so many interruptions in between with all the parties and events and whatnot, I started to get a little lazy to write. One of these days I might go back and clean it up more. I felt this song fit these two, plus it's one of my new favorites. This is also my first song-fic, so tell me how I did and if I should write more!
P.S. I don't think Cammie's birthday is ever mentioned in the books (or at least a specific date) but I thought it would be cute to have it on Valentine's Day!