~~
RECAP:
"Zach!" My voice called out subconsciously. Then, it was as if my feet acted on their own; one moment I was standing beside Liz and my mother, and the next moment I was making my way through the grass, towards him.

"Hi," I breathed. He turned to look at me with dead eyes.

I hadn't noticed how much taller he'd gotten until I was right next to him. His face was blank, but his eyes stared deep into mine, as if he was searching for answers.

Answers that I didn't have, and that I probably never would.
~~

"Well, Cameron. You're quite lucky, considering…" Buckingham trailed off, catching herself.

I was on a hospital bed in the infirmary, dressed in nothing but a sheer blue gown. My bony arms and legs were painfully visible to Madame Dabney, my mother and headmistress, and Professor Buckingham.

After eight shots, four rounds of reflex testing, pupil dilating, two showers, one full-on bath in antiseptic, and three layers of adhesive bandaging, they allowed me to sit up. A glass of water and a bagel later, I was able to push off the wheeled gurney and change back into my old Gallagher uniform.

Subtly, I tried to disguise the sudden bagginess of the uniform that used to fit me fine before – but this was a spy school. Nothing went by unnoticed, only politely ignored.

"We'll get you properly sized for that later." Professor Buckingham said – she was never the one to sugar the truth.

They walked me out of the corridor that led to the infirmary, never letting me out of their sight.

Anger boiled up inside of me. "It's not like I'm planning on running away again, you know." I snapped. The words rolled out a little harsher than they should have, but it did the job. When I turned around, they were gone.

It dawned on me then – I was alone. From the nuns at the convent, to my mother's landing in Austria; there was always someone by my side. For the first time, I was truly alone.

Except, not alone. Because as I turned a corner, I came into view with a boy standing in the center of the hall.

His previously disheveled hair was neatly combed; his pressed shirt and kakis radiated freshness and for a split second, I wanted nothing more but to fling my arms around him. At first glance, he looked just like an ordinary private-school boy. But 1) there are no boys at my school. And 2) Zachary Goode has never been ordinary for one day of his life.

I stood motionless. Waiting. Trying to reconcile the fact that Zach was here – he was real, and not a figment of my imagination like so many times before.

But then, I stopped for another reason. Because the only boy in an all-girls school was looking at me like maybe I was the one that didn't belong.

After twenty three seconds of blank stares, I finally found the courage to make my feet move the remaining twelve feet of distance between us.

We stood eye to eye – or well, eye to chin.

"You're here."

"That's funny, I was about to say the same thing." He smirked, finally disguising the void of expression on his face for a less grim one.

"What are you doing here?" I searched his eyes intently.

One of his eyebrow slowly raised, "I go here now." His voice was smooth and cryptic, as if nothing had changed.

Maybe it was because of all of the things that had happened so fast in the past two days, but all I did was nod at the information while never leaving his gaze.

And all of a sudden, something inside of me snapped.

"Stop looking at me like that."

For a boy that had the training of both an assassin and a spy, he made no attempt to suppress the shock that flashed his face.

And I knew why. The Chameleon always blended in without voicing her opinions or standing out. But I was tired of being talked about like a radioactive bomb. I had questions too, and they were going to be answered.

"Stop looking at me like you know more than I do. What's the big secret this time?" My voice was suddenly strong and concrete; all caution was still standing twelve feet behind us.

The coyness left his expression, though the smirk remained. But the previously playful smirk turned to one of warning. Zach practically oozed a "Don't-Mess-With-Me" vibe, so it was truly a wonder that I stood my ground and had the gall to jut out my chin.

Just to reiterate, I was alone. With Zach. In my school. And even though he had a good 12 inches on me, for the first time it was as if I was taller than he was.

Crazy was taking on a whole new meaning.

"Things are different now." He finally said, suddenly unable to look into my eyes.

My body acted on my behalf – I raised my arm and let my hand cup his cheek.

I don't know what I would have done if we weren't interrupted, and I probably never would. But the one thing I did know was that that sentence was probably the most honest one he had ever said to me.

"I know, I'm late. Shun me later." A third voice echoed down the high, marbled ceilings, the click clack of heels getting louder with every ticking second.

And just like that, it was as if the moment was over.

I froze. Since Bex was the only international Gallagher girl in the history of Gallagher girls, there was no reason for a permanently fixtured Australian accent to be within these walls.

And since there was only one girl who was acquainted with Zach but not me in this school, I had no doubt of whom it was.

And suddenly, I couldn't meet Zach's eyes either.