Author's Notes: Hey guys, just a new story I was playing around with. Not entirely sure where I'm going with it, but I hope you guys find something you enjoy. Thanks for reading
Chapter One
Cammie Morgan loved to spy. At the age of 7, she spied on her parents from the stairwell when they would participate in heated discussion. At the age of 15, she spied on the cute boy who sat across from her in Geography (and found out the name of his pet chinchilla was Pascal), and now at the age of 18, she spied at the watch on her wrist.
8:43 pm. Exactly 103 minutes late. It was official, Cammie Morgan had been stood up.
Exhaling deeply, Cammie reached for her mobile to send a text.
A no show. I'm out of here.
It wasn't 20 seconds after that she received a response.
NO! He'll show. I know he will. Wait it out.
Cammie rolled her eyes, quickly typing back.
I waited an hour and 43 minutes for him.
Waste. Of. Time.
Cammie grumbled and began to gather her belongings. She was sat alone, on a rustic park bench a block away from where she lived. A flock of birds swooped above her, disappearing into the darkening night sky. Relative of her sour mood, everything else had been perfect. The weather, her outfit, even the blowout Cammie's friend Macey had given her. But yet, here she was, wallowing in her self-pity. As she started for the park entrance, she picked up her bag and as she swung it over her shoulder, she watched the bag's remains quickly pour out of their confinement.
Why do bad things happen to good people? Cammie thought as she knelt against the gravelled pavement, picking up her tube of mascara and car keys. That was when she saw a rather attractive hand (seriously, hand model material) reach for her hand sanitizer and wallet. Cammie followed the attractive hand, to find a pair of Nike runners connected to two rather muscular looking legs, trailed by a perfectly filled out muscle tank and attached to the head of a God.
"Actually, it's Zach. Although, God does have a nice ring to it." Had Cammie said that last bit out loud?! She felt heat rush to her cheeks as she began spluttering for a reply.
"Haha, funny. I just- uh, was thinking." Cammie nodded, desperately trying to not draw any more attention to how incredibly lame she was. Which of course, came to no avail. Her eyes glided over Zach's muscular chest, and then to his biceps, that were corded with muscle. She glanced up at his slightly tousled dark brown locks, that seemed to stick up in the perfect direction, yet look completely effortless. And then his eyes. Cammie had never seen such a pure emerald green.
"Thinking? Or looking?" Zach smirked, disrupting Cammie from her eye surveillance of him. She stood shocked, defenceless against a reply. She definitely had to work on her checking out abilities.
Her lips parted and before she realised what she was saying, she replied. Rather lamely. "Well. Thank you for that. This has been… great!" Cammie smiled forcefully, taking the hand sanitizer from Zach's hand and throwing it into her bag. "Okayseeyoubye!" She rushed to get out, sighing in relief as her feet transported her to the park gates. She couldn't begin to describe how sufficiently awkward that encounter had been, more specifically herself within said encounter. She didn't dare look back, but what she could imagine was leaving a very confused and extremely hot guy in her wake. Good one, Cammie.
XXXX
When Cammie thundered into her dormitory, she felt as though she had been running. And from her extreme lack of breath, it seemed that she had.
"Jesus, Cammie. You look like hell." Her roommate Bex muttered, her eyebrows raised in surprise.
"Bex! I can't even begin to describe to you the day I just had." Cammie sighed in exhaustion, tossing her bag and body against the comfort of her bed. Bex pouted and sat beside her, smoothing down Cammie's frenzied locks. "I want to hear every detail." Bex confirmed.
"Okay, so there I was," Cammie sat up, exhaustion leaving her body as she began to recount the events of her night almost animatedly. "Waiting, of course. For over an hour and a half, waiting for this low life to show up for-"
"Your date. Right. Keep going." Bex raised her thumbs in approval, as if Cammie had wanted Bex to interrupt her story.
"Right, our date. And when I've finally had enough, I pack up and I'm ready to march right out of there, because I, Cameron Morgan, do not put up with boy's shit." Cammie nods fiercely.
"For a total of an hour and forty-three minutes, you do." Bex supplied, which earned a look of fire from her friend. "Only because you told me to keep waiting!" Cammie raised her arms up in annoyance. Bex only shrugged, she had her there.
"Anyway," Cammie continues on, "I grab my bag, and low and behold, of course I've grabbed it upside down. You know, because I wasn't already having an ultra-mega-fun-time." Bex released a small laugh at her friend's sarcasm. Even in her state of pure anger, Cammie still made Bex laugh.
"And as I'm picking up my things. Boom!" Cammie's eyes widen, as if relieving the experience.
"Boom? Boom what! Tell me, tell me!" Bex shakes her head, clearly invested in Cammie's story.
"Boom. The definition of sexy, rolled into a Greek Adonis himself, stands before me." Cammie shakes her head slowly, almost in disbelief.
"No!"
"Yes!"
"Oh my God!"
"Right!"
The girls erupt in hysterics. "Did you get his name?" Bex pleads.
"Zach! How hot of a name is that? Zach!" Cammie jumps gleefully.
"How about his number? Last name? Any way of contacting him at all?" Bex's eyes search Cammie's, desperate for answers. And that's when Cammie stops short.
"No." She bites her lip. "I blew it. Big time." She falls back against the bed, her body motionless.
"Aw Cam, I'm sure you didn't." Cammie just raises her gaze at her friend, and gives her the look. The look all best friends can read. The look of ultimate disappointment.
Bex bounces back. "At least there's a positive side to all of this."
"And what's that?" Cammie puffs out.
Bex grins wickedly, "You know who to imagine when you're in the shower." Cammie aims a pillow at her friend's head and laughs at her crude humour. Even at the end of a rotten day, Cammie had her Bex to make her smile.
XXXX
Cammie sat back in her chair in the Ashbrook dining hall. The smell of burnt potatoes wafted into her senses, as her eyes surveyed her surroundings. She was encompassed by other college students, as they rushed to pile food onto their trays. Her ears fought the incessant chatter of mindless gossip, and the clank of utensils against plastic, before her three closest friends sat beside her. Bex placed a tray in front of her, before grinning ecstatically at the contents of her own. Macey and Liz sat across from them, Liz looking somewhat pleased with her breakfast and Macey stabbing at hers with precaution.
"You'd hope that someone at this school knew how to make a decent eggs benedict." Macey gagged as she continued to prod at her meal. Macey McHenry, daughter of the Senator, was always one for theatrics. She was the self-proclaimed 'Beauty Aficionado' of the group, and wouldn't allow any of the girls to make a clothing purchase without her consent. Her infinite knowledge in boys was always something to be admired.
"At least they know how to imitate it." Liz grimaced. Elizabeth Sutton was the brains behind the foursome. Staggering in at a whooping height of 4' 10", she had managed to graduate top of their class, and win a full ride scholarship to Ashbrook University. Cammie never understood how so much knowledge could be stored in such a tiny girl.
"Well food is food. I see eggs. I see bacon. I say we dig in." Bex roared excitedly. Cammie had known Rebecca Baxter the longest, as their parents were family friends. They grew up as sisters, and were now officially living like them in their shared dormitory. Her bronze skin and perfect russet hair had always played in her favour, attracting more than enough boys to her sights. But it was Bex's confidence and genuine personality that either kept the boys around, or drove them away in panic. Cammie wasn't sure what it was, something about the male population fearing women who took control.
And then there was Cammie. Cameron Morgan grew up believing she was average. Average height, weight, and looks. With her simple light brown hair that reached a few centre metres below her shoulders, and common brown eyes to match, Cammie always thought that she was unnoticeable. When her and her friends hit puberty, and the boys flocked, you can bet where they didn't stray. Cammie had assimilated into this mindset, and when her friend's started setting her up with mindless dates, she agreed in hopes of meeting someone who could at least show up on time for their date.
"So Cam, heard about the hottie from the park." Macey perked up, still not lifting a spoonful of food to her perfectly pouted lips. Cammie raised an eyebrow at Bex who swallowed and seemed suddenly very interested in her meal.
"Well hottie or not, he's gone. Most likely forever." Cammie shrugged.
"How about your date? How did that go?" Liz asked hopeful.
"It didn't. He never showed." Cammie released another sigh. She was really getting tired of being the self-appointed loser of her group.
"Bex? What happened?" Macey asked, an eyebrow flawlessly arched. Cammie's date last night had been strung together by the mastermind that was Bex Baxter. Bex had promised Cammie that Josh, from her Sociology class, was a blast and was dying to meet her. From what Cammie witnessed last night, or lack thereof, she learnt that Bex was a massive liar.
"I'm not sure. I'll grill him today in my class, don't you worry." Bex gave another thumbs up before depositing the remnants of her tray into her mouth.
"Well who cares about Josh now, I want to hear about the Park Hottie." Macey practically squealed.
"Whoa, whoa Park Hottie? He has a nickname now?" Cammie laughed, not surprised by the workings of Macey.
"Oh shush. Are you going to tell us, or do we need Bex to spill some more beans?" Macey pointed at their friend who at that moment was surveying the buffet train for more food. So, Cammie recounted her experience in the park to Macey and Liz.
"So that's it? You're giving up on him?" Macey asked incredulously, as if boys were easy pickings (for her, possibly).
"There's not much else I can do. I don't know a thing about him." Cammie responded dully.
"She's right. It's not like he's going to magically appear when she clicks her heels together." Bex suggested, with a tray full of food before her.
"Dorothy clicks her heels to go home. Not meet a guy." Liz explains.
"That's a shame. I would so rather meet a guy then go home to my parents." Macey offers with a scoff. "Oh wait, that's what I do here." The girls laughed in response, because it was true. The four high school friends had all chosen the same university, an hour away from Roseville. They were essentially living the dream, no curfews, no parental permission and at last, some privacy.
Cammie checked her watch. She had 17 minutes to go back to her dorm and then to her first class of the week, Environmental Studies. The other three didn't have a class for a while so decided to hang out in Macey's room. The girls waved goodbye and parted ways as Cammie began her journey back to her dorm. When the elevator dinged, signalling to her that she had reached her level, she rushed into her dorm, changing her clothes and grabbing her books for her lesson.
Within the first seven minutes of Environmental Studies, Cammie had learnt that the class wasn't half bad. Her tutor was a thin lady in her early forties, who willed her students to call her Sandy. She wore a bandana around her head, and had daisies panted on her cobalt blue rain boots. She had been discussing the class' first assignment. Cammie really was paying attention before her eyes scanned the room and landed upon a sight that she believed far from possible. Tearing her eyes away, she whipped out her mobile and created a new text.
She sent the text and glanced back at him, and if she had any hopes of keeping her existence hidden, it was foiled immediately. Zach caught her gaze, watching her with those emerald eyes and smirking slightly. Cammie turned to the front of the room, desperate to play it cool. What in the world was Park Hottie, Zach she meant, doing in her Environmental Studies class? Sandy continued to address the class, but Cammie's thoughts were a mile away, well actually a few feet away from where Zach sat at his desk. Was it a coincidence that they wound up at the same university? Or better yet, the same class for the same term? Or what if he was actually stalking her? Does this place not have any security?
Suddenly, it turned out that what Sandy was saying was actually quite valuable information, as when the class stood up and walked around the room, Cammie was completely taken aback.
"You look a little lost. Again." She heard the familiar voice and low chuckle that followed. She turned and saw Zach, standing with his arms crossed against his broad chest.
"How did you know I was here?" Cammie managed, her eyes wide with confusion.
"I didn't. Funnily enough, I'm a student here." Zach gestured to the books in his hand. "So, Cameron. Will you be my partner?"
Cammie's eyebrows shot higher than Mt Everest. "P-partner? What for?" She felt her throat close up and her heart race at a rapid pace.
"The project?" Now Zach looked confused. "Sandy just said it's in partners. And you're the only person I relatively know here. Unless you're taken?"
Cammie wondered if he was still talking about the project. "Uh no- well I mean yes. No, I'm not taken and yes, we can be partners." Cammie was thankful that she had managed to get that out, when another thought crossed her mind.
"How did you know my name?" She questioned. Zach didn't even answer as he fished around in his coat pocket and pulled out Cammie's wallet. The wallet she had left at the park. Cammie hadn't even realised she was missing it.
"Your student ID is in there, and when I realised we went to the same university, I thought I could give it to front desk." Zach smirked, his hands in his pockets.
Cammie couldn't argue, it all made sense and essentially, boiled down to how forgetful she was of her own belongings. She suddenly remembered the project and rifled through her papers, hoping one of them would help. She heard her phone chime but paid no mind to who it could be.
"Hey Cameron," Zach started, causing Cammie to turn around. "Who's Park Hottie?" And just like that Cammie's cheeks were on fire again as she read Bex's text on her home screen.
PARK HOTTIE! NO WAY. KISS HIM ALL OVER HIS GORGEOUS FACE!
She was going to kill Bex.
Author's Notes: Please tell me what you guys think, I welcome any and all feedback and ideas for development within the story. Thank you again!