Disclaimer: The Gallagher Girls series belongs to Ally Carter.

AN: Okay, this might not be so great. Please don't be too harsh. It's my first GG-fic.

"How could you?" I whispered, staring directly into his face. But there was nothing romantic about it. In fact, a part of me was just itching to punch him up the nose.

He stared right back at me, his expression mixed. It contained coldness, ignominy, regret…and fear. But no matter how covert he was, he couldn't hide it. And no matter how bad he felt, it didn't change what had happened—what was still happening!

The teenage boy standing in front of me was still tall, dark, and mysteriously full of secrets. But I no longer wanted to uncover those secrets. I didn't care if he saw the tear disgracefully rolling down my face as I managed to choke out. "I thought I could trust you."

His voice daringly barged in. "Did you, Cammie?" The stale space between us narrowed. Did he really just say that? I managed and tried to keep a cover of shock and truthfulness on my face. "Of course I did."

He chuckled—in this situation, he CHUCKLED—and replied. "Who's lying now?"

I broke the fierce ogle and focused on the floor. Another tear landed on the cold stone tiles. "You didn't just lie to me, Zach. You deceived me." He pointed to himself, not smiling anymore and said. "Spy."

I gritted my teeth and swung my fist into his arm, stopping it from reaching his detached face just in time without apology. That was only a fraction of the betrayal I felt. My eyes spilled more saltwater. I tried to hit him again, but this time was different. He caught my wrist and pulled me so that our toes were just touching.

"Do you want me dead or something?" I wanted to know. "Is there something that we—or something that I did?"

Zach's voice cracked. "Why the hell do you think it had anything to do with you? It's my own freaking fault and I'm trying not to pull you down. You think I meant for it happen like that that day?!" He looked at me, his eyes clouding with disbelief.

I sucked in a breath; I suddenly had a desperate need for air. My chest felt tight. His hand moved from my wrist to the crook of my elbow. "I didn't, Cammie. All I ever wanted to do was protect you, but you just can't change who you are."

My voice sounded weird. "If you tried hard enough—if there was someone to help you, there's always a way."

His eyes slowly moved up from the ground to my legs, omitting civilly over my chest, to the fresh-scar on my cheek. I swear I almost saw a half-smile, but he seemed to swallow it. "Are you saying you forgive me?"

I quickly auto-responded. "Definitely not. If you think this makes everything all damn better—"

He interrupted and pulled me even closer so that our noses touched. "Good." And one moment the only thing that we were really holding together were our mingled breaths. The next, our lips decided to get involved.

His descended on mine first. I wasn't the one to kiss him, right? Although I did notice that he kind of smelled really good when we got really close. But that wasn't the point, the point was that his lips were pressing firmly around mine as his arms slid around my back…and that I was doing the same right back.

It just felt so good, even though everything—the timing, the emotions, the moment—was all so wrong. His warm lips captured me in a way I hadn't felt in a long time. Not since that long dip in the hallway last year. But even though everything had been all solved and nice last time, it didn't even compare to now.

There truly was no time like the present. And there truly was no other time to break free and slap him. Oops. Did I actually do that? His breathing was going up and down like we'd just had two P&E sessions.

I was too afraid to look him in the eye. My body was still pressed against his. "What the hell are you doing, Zach?"

He grinned foolishly. I doubt he even felt the slap. Maybe I should have used the electro-hammer Liz gave me. Yeah. That probably would've gotten through. He answered, his tone suggesting it was obvious. "Kissing you."

I pulled away before he could lean down again. Because then it would take way too long for me to bear to break it. "Not on my watch."

"Too late."

"Shut up!"

"Can I just say one thing?"

"No, not really."

He ignored me. "I'm really sorry for this. For everything. This wasn't supposed to be this complicated." His facade grew somber. "So I know how to make it simple, the way it was meant to be."

What are you talking about? I was too stunned to do anything but mouth the words. He nodded to show me he read my expression and my lips. He slowly backed out. "Bye, Cammie." He turned and started to walk away. My feet felt like hard unmovable plaster.

I called softly. "Is this the last time I'm going to see you?" A strong wave of déjà vu hit me as the words flew from my mouth. But instead of following it, he contrasted without skipping a beat. "I sure hope so."

The words blew the foundation from under my legs. The blue-gray tiles felt like they were going to rush up and slap me in the face; I honestly couldn't breathe. It wasn't like in Washington D.C when I'd broken almost all my ribs, this time it was the part that hid behind my rib cage that had been shredded to pieces within five words.

This couldn't be anything except for the end of the chapter of this story. But there wasn't any fucking happily ever after. I collapsed to my knees as I heard a familiar voice cry. "Cammie!"

The world slowly paled then burst into nothing but pure black. But just before the darkness hit, I knew one thing. This was far from over.

AN: Thoughts? This is based after DJAGBHC and on the summary of OTGSY. Please review! Hopefully I can get at least one before continuing. Thanks!

ILY,

~Chocó prep a.k.a KLU