Here's a short little oneshot about M&Ms. I loved the idea in my fic M&Ms, so I had to expand on it. They aren't related, you don't need to read one to get the other. Just know that Cammie's dad's name is Cam (yeah... I'm a but unoriginal in that aspect). Rachel/Solomon fic :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Gallagher Girls, but I wish I did! Then I'd know what happens in Don't Judge a Girl By Her Cover! Omg, have any of you seen Ally's blog, though? With the exerpts? It's KILLING me!
The stone wall of the mansion was cool on my back. It was summertime and I was stuck at school (or home, whichever way you see it). My friends – my family, practically – would be back soon. But until then, I was here with my teachers, my mom, and a cat.
And the cat wasn't even very nice.
I closed my eyes and sifted through my thoughts. What could possibly go wrong this semester? First there was Josh, but no way was I going into Roseville again. Then there was Zach, but there was no exchange this year – and believe me, I had scoured my mom's office for anything that could possibly hint that was so. What else was there?
I sighed. I knew what else could go wrong. After all, I wasn't the only one that could fall in love. It could be Liz, or Bex, or Macey this time, and I would have to help put them back together when it was over.
But, I thought, picturing my mother perfectly in my mind, teenagers aren't the only ones who can fall in love.
I heard the clack of heels coming down a nearby hallway, accompanied by a small laugh that I knew too well. Speak of the devil and the devil shall appear. I stood quickly, to avoid awkward questions from my mom about why I was sitting on the floor. But before I was completely on my feet, I heard something that made me freeze.
It was the laugh of Mr. Solomon. My heart squeezed. I slid into a side corridor that I hoped they wouldn't decide to take. Where were the Operatives when I needed them? This was going to be too odd to try to lie my way out of it.
"Joe, where are you leading me?" my mom asked, laughing.
"I wanted to take you somewhere private."
"This is a school for teenage girls that are trained to eavesdrop and sneak around," she reminded him. "Nothing is private."
"But there's only one teenager in the entire building, right now," Solomon shot right back. "And Cammie can't be everywhere, can she?" I wasn't everywhere. But I was here. The walking stopped and I peeked out carefully. There they were, standing beside each other, hand in hand. Solomon was rummaging around in his pocket and I could see the corner of a box digging into his pants, even from a distance. I gulped.
He pulled out the box and showed it to my mother. My throat went dry and my eyes stung. I had only seen a boy present a girl a box like that once before. When Josh had given me the earrings. I touched the studs unconsciously, watching, terrified of what was going on. He couldn't be giving her jewelry, could he? It was probably a laser or something. I retreated back into my hiding spot and started to inch away.
"I have something I want to ask you," Solomon said softly to my mother. "But you're smart. You ought to be able to put the pieces together. Take a look in the box. Maybe it'll help." I closed my eyes and hoped I was dreaming. I had to be dreaming.
"Oh," Mom gasped. "But… Joe, what's this for?"
"It's a chain to put your ring on. Either the original or the new," he quickly added. "Whichever you want. Whichever you prefer. I don't care. I just don't want you to forget Cam. I sure don't want to."
"It's beautiful," my mom breathed and I bit my lip. No, no, no! Had he just proposed? It sure sounded like it! All this talk about rings! "But… I don't know if I'm ready."
"Whenever you are, I am," Mr. Solomon told her. "I thought you said you could move on, though. I waited for that." Mom laughed.
"I never said that to you! How did you know about that conversation? It was a private conversation I had on the phone with someone you don't even know!"
"Spy, remember?"
"Right. Okay, maybe I'm ready… but is Cammie?" There was a pause as Mr. Solomon thought.
"I don't know. It doesn't seem like a topic she's too eager to touch. Perhaps we ought to talk to her about it?" Mr. Solomon's suggestion came out like a question and I had to stifle a giggle. He sounded like a teenage boy trying to please his girlfriend.
"Let's go into town for dinner tonight, I'm sure that Cammie is bored in the mansion and even she won't say no to a pair of new shoes." Mr. Solomon groaned and Mom laughed again. "What? Shoes make everything better!"
"I live in a mansion of women, yet they astound me every moment," Mr. Solomon sighed.
"Do I astound you?" my mom flirted and I gagged.
"Yes. More than anyone else."
It sounded like a cheesy romance sitcom. I was frozen in my spot when I realized this. And at that point in the script, the two characters usually kissed. My head reeled as I considered that possibility.
And then I realized the silence from the couple.
Oh, god, I thought frantically. My mom and my teacher are kissing?
I didn't register when I stood and slipped silently down the hall, nor when I flopped onto my bed with a picture of Dad and me and cried.
Three hours later, evening had set and Mom called me down for dinner. Noticing the slight breeze in the air, I pulled on the closest sweatshirt and bolted to the entrance of the school. It was as I expected. We were going out with Mr. Solomon. I was going to look for the ring, but Solomon was watching me so closely that I didn't dare.
As we walked (because Mom wanted to get fresh air, or in my opinion, stall the upcoming conversation), Solomon stood between me and my mom, quizzing me on inane things. I groaned after I missed a question on how many rose bushes we had passed since the school.
"Mr. Solomon, the semester hasn't even started yet!" I whined and he smiled grimly at me.
"And what about what school is over, when you graduate? Are you going to forget how to pay attention?" I didn't answer him. But he didn't quiz me any longer.
We walked through town quietly, my mom trying to fill the silence with random chatter. I half listened to her, while I scanned anxiously for Josh. I wanted to avoid him at all costs.
We were seated in a restaurant quickly, and no sign of my ex. I sighed with relief and began to scan the menu. We ordered our meals and then fell into silence once more.
"You never answered my question, Cammie."
"Six," I croaked, reaching for my water. It was cool on my dry throat.
"Cammie, your mother and I need to talk to you about something." My throat closed up. I had been waiting for this, hadn't I? I wiped my sweaty palms on my sweatshirt, and realized that it was Dad's. Could I have picked a worse outfit for this outing?
Mom took my hand in her's and rubbed it carefully, giving Solomon a look that clearly said, "Let me handle this."
"Cammie, it's been a long time since Dad… disappeared. And there has been evidence that points to the unfortunate result of the failed mission, meaning…"
"He's dead, Mom. Just say it!" I snapped and she bit her lip, her eyes watering.
"Alright. Fine. He's dead. He's been dead for a long time, and Cammie, I never thought I'd be able to move on. But I pretended to. I wanted to show you that you can't fall apart just because something bad happens, just because you lose people. Because in our business, people die. People are lost all the time. You will lose people if you continue on in this life. And you might even lose yourself if you continue in CoveOps, which I'm sure you will."
"Get good or get dead," Solomon interrupted with his famous catch phrase. But he added something with a smile. "And you, Cammie, you're getting good and real quick, too."
"Shush, you. Let me finish my speech. I've spent hours preparing this, okay? Cammie, I have moved on. I've met someone new. Or, re-met someone that I've known for ages. Since Dad and I got married." She laughed. "Heck, he was our best man!"
"Mom," I whispered. "Get to the point!" Tears stung my eyes and Solomon was looking worried. Mom reached out her hand and I winced. It had a shiny, new ring on it.
"Joe proposed to me today. And I said yes." I didn't say anything. I felt my face paling more than before. She had actually said that he proposed. She had actually said yes. And she had actually called him Joe in front of me.
I bit back the tears, but to no ado. I stood quickly and felt the soft fabric of the sweatshirt against my skin. It distracted me from the dilemma. It let me think straight.
"Um," I spluttered. That was bad. Spies don't splutter. But this was not the time to be a spy. This was a time to be a girl. And girls? Oh, they can splutter when they find out that their mom is getting remarried – especially when it's to their teacher! "I didn't even know you were dating!" I blurted. They grinned at me.
"We are spies, Cammie," Solomon pointed out. "And we can keep secrets just as well as you." He gave my earrings a pointed look and I blushed red.
"He – I – we – don't get Josh into this!" I growled, even though I was pretty sure he wasn't even here. "He had no part in it at all! He's a normal boy who just happened to see me, the chameleon." I sighed, remembering it sadly. "And Zach – because I know you're going to mention him any minute – Zach is just a spy that's been trained to see chameleons. And because I'm a girl, that made me get interested, and I was stupid and kissed them!" I thought for a moment. "Well, I kissed Josh. I almost kissed Zach, but then you interrupted us on the comms units." I glared at Mr. Solomon, who was not paying any attention to my little speech.
"Cammie, we aren't trying to get your love life into this," Mom told me softly. "Joe was just pointing out that spies often keep relationships private. We knew that it would be weird for you, especially if we broke up."
"It'll be even weirder now!" I insisted and Mom sighed.
"Maybe. But I'm sure you'll get used to it."
"Tina's going to harass me when school starts again," I informed her. "And Liz will be wanting to analyze every single facial expression he has during this conversation and every word he says. And Bex… Bex will be wanting to stake out your office or something! Macey will whip out fashion magazines and start planning how she'll do my makeup and hair! Everyone will freak out! And what am I going to do in CoveOps?"
"Get used to weird situations," Solomon spoke up. "That's what you'll do. It's a lesson everyone needs to learn. Everyone handles it in different ways. I'm interested to see how you react." He clapped his hands together as if we were concluding a class. I stared him in the eye.
"Mr. Solomon," I said slowly, emphasizing the name. "I am a teenager in high school – "
"Gallagher Academy, a prestigious boarding school," he interrupted, but I went on as if he hadn't.
"And I don't know if you've had any weird confrontations with your mother or father or whatever, but I know for a fact that it is not good and not easy to get over when your teacher and your mother tell you that they are getting married! When you had no idea they were ever dating, nonetheless!"
"Cammie, please, calm down!" Mom begged, but I was too wound up to even really register her words.
"Cammie, sit down and let us talk through this calmly," Solomon ordered and I turned to glare at him.
"Don't tell me what to do. School hasn't started yet, has it?" It knew I was going to regret this whole thing later, but I figured that as long as I was on a roll, I might as well go on.
"Honey, please – "
"No!" I almost shouted. "Don't 'honey' me!" I turned back to Solomon and didn't say a word. I just crossed my arms across my chest and waited for him to go first.
"You're wearing Cam's sweatshirt," he noted and I nodded sharply. His expression softened instantly and his mouth dropped open. "Cammie, do you think that I'm replacing your dad?" I snorted.
"Oh, come on! That's so cliché, even I can't stand it. I don't think you're doing anything like that, though now you bring it up, I can't see why Mom would be looking for a replacement." Mom sighed and pulled me down physically before digging around her purse. She pressed a small, round thing into my hand before ordering me to eat it.
"What is it? Tranquilizer or something?" I muttered.
"Eat it. You'll feel better, trust me." I popped it into my mouth and Solomon frowned in disapproval.
"You shouldn't be encouraging that, Rachel," he chided. "What if it was poisoned and meant for you or for me or for Cammie? She should have at least seen what it was. Even the seventh graders understand that much." I turned to him, delighted in finding that it was an M&M, and did indeed feel better.
"I ate a Tic Tac from the bottom of my book bag from who knows when on the first day of class, when we were waiting for you. We had all skipped breakfast, getting ready." Solomon was about to open his mouth to lecture (whether about skipping breakfast or eating the Tic Tac, I did not know), but Mom interrupted him.
"That was your fault, Joe. Those girls never prepped for class so much until you cam along." He rolled his eyes, at loss of what to say. "Cammie, I don't want to replace Dad. Nobody could and nobody will. But love is unconditional. There's always more to share. Unlike those M&Ms, which are for you and me only."
"How come Solomon doesn't get any?" I asked, wiping my cheek. I hadn't even noticed it was wet, before.
"Because he's a guy and guys don't understand the importance of chocolate," she whispered as if telling me a huge secret. I giggled and she slipped the bag in between us. I picked out a green, my dad's old favorite, I remembered, and chewed it slowly, thinking. Mom took a green, too, and then an orange. She showed off the orange to Mr. Solomon, who laughed before mock scowling at her.
"You see, Cammie, I need to represent both the guys in my life. Cam," she popped the green one into her mouth, "And Joe." She moved on to the orange one. "Just because they're different M&Ms doesn't mean I like one more than the other. And just because I ate the orange one, doesn't mean it's going to take away the chocolatey taste I still have in my mouth from the green. Do you understand?"
"Yeah," I said while I chewed. "I think so. Hey, Mom?"
"Yes?"
"Was Dad your first boyfriend?" Mom laughed.
"Oh, no, not Dad. I had a few guys in high school, too," she winked and my mouth dropped.
"But you went to Gallagher, too!" She grinned and looked away.
"You're not the only one that knows the secret passageways, Cam. Believe me – I know them, too." And she ended it there. Is that unfair, or what? I wanted to know details! I wanted to know everything, from her first kiss to her last (well, maybe not her last… I didn't need the details on Solomon. Her last with Dad, I compromised with myself).
I grabbed a handful of chocolate and observed the many colors in my palm.
"I wonder what Josh and Zach like."
"Josh is a yellow, I think. Sweet, happy, and nice. But sometimes too bright, if you know what I mean?" She took a yellow and chomped down on it. "And Zach… he's a blue. Maybe. I'm not sure. He's been trained well. But blues are always mysterious. You never know what color they really are until it's in the light. Sometimes you mistake them for brown M&Ms, right?"
"Yeah, all the time," I agreed and ate a blue.
"I know what color Dillon is," Mom whispered, as if trying to conceal it from a boy not even present. "He's a brown. Annoying, dark, and totally unwanted in the rainbow." She took all the browns from my hand and dropped them back into the bag. I stared at the colors that went from one to another. Orange, yellow, red, green, and blue, all together. "You don't need the browns to dampen up your life."
"You know, I think we should add this to the curriculum," Solomon commented, watching us. "It's very interesting, the analyzing of favorite M&Ms. And I know I would get everyone's attention."
"Let me finish, Joe," Mom said softly. "So, you have all these colors, now. All these types of boys, all of these guys that would love to date you and be with you."
"Do I really have to choose one?" I asked, thinking about the two boys I already knew so well, and thinking about all the boys I would eventually meet.
"With M&Ms, no. But with boys, it's better not to cheat, am I right?" I nodded. "So, you'll just have to try them out, one by one. See which one is best. See which one you never want to let go of. And then you'll know which color is for you." I picked up a red M&M and popped it in my mouth.
"Thanks, Mom."
"No problem. Nothing like chocolate to fix a girls' day."
"Cammie," Mr. Solomon cleared his throat awkwardly and addressed me with ease. However, for the first time since we had met, I heard apprehension in his voice, nervousness. "Cammie, I just want you to know that I love your mother very much and your father… he was one of the best. We were best friends. And if he is still alive, if by any small chance he comes back, I'll gladly step aside." He stopped, stinking. "I suppose it would be rather sappy if I said I loved you, too, wouldn't it?"
I nodded, grimacing at the thought of my teacher telling me that he loved me, no matter the intent.
"Well, it's true, but I think you already understand that."
"I don't think I can say the same, sorry," I mumbled and he shrugged.
"I expected that. Now, I think Madam Dabney had a rather interesting unit on weddings that she wanted to cover this year. So, we've discussed it and I believe that we're going to let her plan the wedding. And then we can have the entire school attend." I grinned, thinking of dance lessons.
"Madam Dabney would love that!" Mom smiled warmly and I saw something I had not seen in years. Her smile was truly, genuinely happy. She had been very happy before, but not in this way. I glanced at Solomon, who was sitting back with his eyes closed, probably envisioning the wedding. She was so happy because now she had someone to share these moments with.
The bells in the front of the restaurant chimed and I automatically looked to see who it was. Dillon and Josh strode in, took a take out bag, and left just as quickly as they had came. I smiled to myself.
"Hey, Mr. Solomon?"
"Yes?"
"If I track a teenage boy tonight, will I get extra credit?" Solomon opened his eyes and contemplated that.
"Is he trained?"
"No."
"No deal."
"Darn it."
Hm... I don't love the ending. It's abrupt, it's short... I don't know. I never could figure out how to end it right, so i just ended it there. Originally, there was a whole subplot with the boys actually being in the restuarant at the same time as them and Cammie sort of freaking out, but I took that out, because somehow, she got invited to a party and... eh, it just sucked. So, I decided to end it on a humorous note. Let me know what you thought! And if you liked it, check out M&Ms, my view of what really happened during Code Black.