So, here's my first attempt at Cammie's POV, and I'm writing this because memrylaine asked me to write a Cammie fic with Zach in it and this is about as close as its going to get! This is a one-shot, so don't expect any more!
A Trip Through the Vents
Why was I doing this again? Oh right, because Bex practically shoved me into the vent after she read the post card that Zach sent me.
FLASHBACK
"Mail's here!" Tina yelled as she ran into the cafeteria. Practically all the sophomores surrounded her. It might be another 2 weeks until Winter Break, but we were still receiving Christmas cards and letters from family and friends on the outside.
"Here's one for you Cam," Liz said handing me a postcard. I wasn't expecting anything. I got Grandma and Grandpa Morgan's Christmas card yesterday and Aunt Abby gave my present to Mom so I could open it on Christmas at Bex's house. So there was really nobody left to send me anything.
I guess I stood there too long just thinking instead of reading it, because Liz was talking again, "Are you just going to stand there thinking all day? Because I think whoever sent that to you would be very disappointed to find out that you didn't read it right away."
"Who's it from?" Macey asked. She had a letter in her hand, but it appeared that she had already read hers. I looked down at the postcard, "Greetings from Ohio." Who do I know that's from Ohio? I flipped the postcard over and immediately recognized the handwriting, the same handwriting that was used on the note that I found in the pocket of Zach's jacket. 'Merry Christmas Gallagher Girl. Don't tell me that you haven't found it yet. And I still mean it. –Z'
"Geez, Cam. Are you trying to collect flies or something? Close your mouth," Bex stated, while throwing some M&M's in her mouth. I snapped my mouth shut. "What's that?"
"A postcard."
"From who?"
"Guess."
"Oh just gimmie," Macey said, exasperated, grabbing it out of my hand.
"Well?" Liz and Bex asked together.
"Oh. My. Gosh. It's from Zach."
"What?!" they cried.
"Shhh!!!" I shushed.
"Let me see it, Macey."
"What didn't you find, Cam?"
"I don't know. If I found it then I guess I would know, but since I don't know what I'm looking for, how am I supposed to find it?"
"Good point."
That night after classes were over, we all gathered around Zach's jacket, looking through all the pockets. Bex wanted to cut it open, but there was no way I was going to let that happen.
"Maybe it's not in the jacket. Maybe it's in the bedroom that he stayed in while he was here," Macey suggested. Everyone's heads jerked up and stared at her.
"That's a good point. Maybe we should check out his room?"
"No."
"What do you mean no?"
"I mean, I can't have you guys get caught. I'll go by myself."
"What do you mean if we get caught? We won't get caught."
"Bex, just listen. Let me go. I know Zach the best. I'll take a mini cam and comms if it makes you feel better. You guys can stay here and tell me where to look. Besides, it'll be a lot less suspicious if only one of us goes."
"Fine."
END FLASHBACK
That's how I ended up in the vent system with Macey, Liz and Bex arguing in my ear. "Cam, the chance of you being caught is like 1%. Why couldn't we come?"
"Because with you guys here, there would be more noise, speaking of which, could you guys be a little quieter? And besides, the vent system wouldn't be able to hold all of our wait without making breaking."
"Are you saying that we're fat? And Cam, come on, we can be quiet!" Bex answered.
"No, and prove it." The noise in my ear, dropped to nothing. Much better. I slipped by an opening to my mom's office, with her being none the wiser.
"Joe, I don't know where she's at right now." I froze. Is she talking about me? Shit.
"Are you sure? She hasn't even told you what country she's in?"
"Joe! Are you implying that you liked what you got the day she left?" EWW!!! Mr. Solomon wants to know where Aunt Abby is? GROSS! As if seeing them kiss for 87 seconds wasn't enough! Not that they wouldn't look good together or anything. But still. I moved even quieter. There was no way I was having Mr. Solomon know I was in the vent system.
I made it to Zach's old room and silently slipped through the vent opening onto the floor. "You guys can talk now," I whispered.
"Thank god. Do you know how hard is was to keep quiet when we heard your mom and Mr. Solomon?" Macey asked.
"Look guys, I already have one gross mental picture in my head, I don't need another. Now can we please focus?" I asked.
"Fine. Start with something that wouldn't be easily found. Like around the window," Bex directed in my ear. I scanned the floor for any alarms, but found none. As I made my way to the window, I noticed that the top of the window framing looked odd. My hand subconsciously reached for the top as I slid my hand across it. All I found was a thick layer of dust.
"Eww. When was the last time they dusted in there?" Macey asked.
"I don't think there's anything there. Under the curtains is stone, and when they renovated, they sealed up all of the cracks and loose stones."
"What about around the edges of the carpet? Look to see if there's any loose spots," Liz suggested. I dropped to my knees and started pulling slowly at the carpet where it meets the baseboard. As I neared the door, it came loose.
"Found it." I pulled the carpet up to find a lot of dirt and a small slip of folded paper.
"What's it say?!" Bex asked excitedly. I opened it, out of view of the mini cam in my necklace, just enough to see that it was Zach's handwriting. I closed it and slipped it deep into my skirt pocket.
"You'll find out when I do." I double-checked to make sure nothing was different than when I got there and slipped back up into the vent. I slid through Mom's office to hear her and Mr. Solomon still arguing about Aunt Abby's location, but this time I didn't listen. I wanted to know what Zach's note said.
I emerged into my room to have Bex, Liz, and Macey yell, "Open it!" at me. I took the comms out of me ear and the chocker off of my neck and handed them to Liz before pulling the note out of my pocket.
I gingerly unfolded it and read it silently to myself. 'Gallagher Girl, I love you and if you want to reach me, send it to my aunt's house with my name. She'll forward it to me. But first, you have to find her. –Zach
"Could you close your mouth Cam? It's kind of gross," Bex said.
"Macey, what does this mean?" I handed it to Macey and as she read it, a smile appeared on her face.
"With this plus what he said in the postcard, I say he really, really likes you, Cammie."
And for the first time in a long time, I smiled.
Please review and tell me what you think of it :)
