11APRIL2010

Cammie stood in front of the mirror, wounding her hair around the curler. The sound of the engines was a distant roar beneath her feet, the ship moving swiftly in the sunlight. Letting the curler go, her hair quickly escaped the metal clutches and fell onto her shoulder. The curls bounced around as she quickly turned off the power and placed it on her dresser.

"Done," Cammie smiled.

She quickly pulled a cardigan over her singlet and made her way into the dining hall. Preston smiled as she sat down and pressed a quick kiss onto her cheek, pulling away quite suddenly. Cammie looked up to see a girl standing in the doorway, glaring daggers at her – or Preston. She didn't know who.

"Who's that?" Cammie asked, nodding towards the girl who turned away. Preston looked up.

"Um, I don't know..." he mumbled. Cammie raised an eyebrow. "She's an old friend. Macey."

She nodded and put down the fork she had picked up. "In that case, let's go say hi."

"What?"

"You heard me. She's an old friend. Let's go and say hi." the brunette demanded. Preston shook his head.

"There's no need." he said, voice strained. "She already knows we're here."

The area around Cammie's eyes tightened. "Is there something I should know about?"

Preston shook his head. "Nope."

Her eyes narrowed, but she let the subject go. Picking up her fork again, she picked at a grape and popped it into her mouth. "How about we do something today?" Cammie asked, her eyes twinkling mischievously, a smile playing at her lips. "Ooh! Let's hit the pool. I swear, I need a tan."

Preston looked amused. "Alright," he smiled. "I'll meet you on the deck in twenty?" Cammie smiled and stood up, pressing a kiss to his cheek before leaving him in the dining hall. Once Cammie was out of sight, Preston stood up and nodded over in Macey's direction. He headed out into the hall and leaned on the wall, hands in pockets, waiting for Macey to come out.

"Preston," a chilly voice greeted. "How are you?"

He grabbed her arm and pulled her into an open door, losing his footing and falling onto a stack of toilet paper rolls. Quickly getting back up, he pushed her against the wall and kissed her roughly.

"Bored. How about you?"

Macey smiled, "Jealous."

"That's good," he replied. "Glad to hear that you've been thinking about me."

Macey laughed, turning away. Then her expression turned serious. "Have you figured out a way to get rid of her yet?"

Preston looked away. "No," he muttered.

"You better find a way soon. Or else everything will be over for you." she said, giving him a soft kiss and stepping over the toilet paper rolls and out the door.

Preston sighed.

"Mum!" Cammie yelled, walking into her parent's bedroom. "Mum! I need to talk to – whoa." she quickly stopped and covered her eyes.

"Cammie!" her mum yelled, whirling around. "What are you doing in here?" she asked.

"Um... I just- never mind." Cammie replied quickly, turning around and walking out of the room. Outside, she took a deep breath and gagged. "That was awkward." She quickly snapped out of her haze and started walking down the hall, shaking her head as she went.

"Hey." a voice called out from behind her. Cammie turned around. Zach stood there, arms folded, and a smirk on his face.

"Oh hey." she smiled, walking over and planting herself in front of him. "How've you been?"

"Alright. I didn't sleep last night." he said, laughing. "You look shaken. Anything special happen?"

Cammie looked away. "You don't want to know." she warned.

Zach stared, "It can't be that bad."

"Oh, it is. Have you ever walked in on your mum having sex with someone?"

Zach's eyes widened, "Um, maybe not?" he stuttered. "Wow. Um. That's pretty, um, whoa."

"Yep," Cammie agreed, studying the wallpaper on the left of Zach's ear. "I mean, she was on top-"

Zach held out his hand. "Spare me the details."

Cammie shut up.

"But, you know... if you really want to, I'm not going to stop you..." Zach trailed off. She laughed.

"Don't worry. It's not like I want to remember that kind of stuff anyway."

Zach smiled. "So... any plans for today?" he asked, leaning against the wall with is arms folded.

"I was thinking of meeting my fiancée later to go for a swim."

"Oh." Zach said. "You're engaged?"

Cammie bit her lip, "Yep. He proposed yesterday at dinner. He's a nice guy, and I like him. I mean, everyone would expect me to accept his proposal..."

"Congratulations." Zach said flatly. Cammie looked up.

"You don't sound happy about it." she smiled. "Anything you want to tell me?"

"It's just... you're so young! And you're already engaged," he said, "To be married," he added quickly.

Cammie looked down. "I know... it's just... I'm 17, Zach. And I'm in no position to date around. Not with my father's job. The paparazzi would be looking into my life constantly. Getting married early seems like the only option for me. And that list isn't exactly long."

"Tell me this first; is it really the right option for you?" he stared at her, his gaze intense. Cammie looked up.

"I don't know."

Preston walked out into the glare of the sun, shielding his eyes from the sudden brightness. He hurriedly made his way to the top deck where the swimming pool was located. Looking around at the bikini-clad girls and the little children wandering about, he wondered why he'd even agreed with Cammie about coming up here. He could've been with Macey right now. And they could've been under the covers... doing something.

"Miss me?" a voice whispered into his ear. He turned around and wrapped his arms around the slim figure of his fiancée, pressing a kiss to her nose.

"Yes." he replied, tickling her. "Let's go." he smiled, dimples showing. Cammie laughed and walked over to one of the deck chairs. She lay down and looked expectantly at Preston.

"Aren't you going to lay down?" she asked. Preston shook his head and bit his lip.

"I think I'm going for a swim."

Cammie arched an eyebrow. "You can swim?"

"Of course."

"Teach me." she giggled.

Preston looked uncertain. "You sure? I mean, I'm not very good. If something bad happens..."

Cammie rolled her eyes. "One of the reasons why I agreed to your proposal was because I trust you. I'm sure you won't let anything happen to me." she said.

Preston grinned, "Alright. Come on."

Cammie got up and they walked over to the pool.

"So... one of the things that you need to do to stay afloat is to kick. I'll teach you how to tread." he said, guiding her to the ladder and helping her into the water.

"It's cold!" she cried when she touched the water. Preston laughed.

"It's water, Cammie."

"Okay... how do I stay afloat?"

"Didn't I just tell you?"

"I was preoccupied..." she said, looking over at the tanned figure of the smirking boy on the edge of the pool on the opposite side. Preston followed her gaze.

"Who's that?"

"Some guy I met yesterday." she said, clinging onto the edge while Preston climbed in.

"Oh yeah? What's his name?"

She bit her lip, "Zach."

He smiled and swam behind her, gripping her sides and pulling her to the middle of the pool where it was deeper and neither of them could touch the floor.

"Preston! I'm scared!" she yelled when he accidentally let her go. He quickly tightened his grip on her and kept her afloat.

"Calm down first, Cammie," he laughed. "Okay... start kicking your legs. Kind of like riding a bicycle."

She started kicking frantically. Preston laughed, "Slowly," he added. "And move your arms around like this." he demonstrated the arm movements when treading while still keeping a hold of her.

"Like this?" she asked, trying it with one hand. He nodded and smiled.

"You're doing it!" he said gleefully, accidentally letting go again.

"Preston!" she screamed, trying and failing to stay afloat. Preston was dragged underwater by one of Cammie's hands while she tried to keep her head afloat. He pushed her away and surfaced, taking deep gulps of air. Cammie was trying desperately to find something to hold onto to get herself to the surface. The water was eerily dark, and she tried to keep the oxygen in.

Strong arms wrapped around her and she screamed, opening her mouth and letting in water, gagging on it. She was dragged upwards by the arms, and when she finally surfaced, she started coughing and crying. The figure dragged her towards the side of the pool where she clung to the wall and didn't let go.

"T-thanks," she stuttered, coughing again. She looked up to see who it was.

It was Zach.

"Are you alright?" he asked, concern clouding his voice. She gave a small nod and turned around, taking in deep gulps of air.

"Good to know," he said bitterly. Turning around, he searched the pool for Preston. He was watching them from his position in the middle of the pool. He nodded at Preston who swam over.

"Thanks," Preston said, giving Zach a cold look.

"No worries," he said. "I'll, um, leave her to you now."

Preston watched Zach swim away before turning around to face Cammie. "Are you alright?"

"No." she snapped. "Just get me out of here." she said, avoiding his eyes while slowly making her way along the wall towards the ladder.

Preston sighed.

Cammie plopped down on her bed, still damp from her shower and burst into tears. After experiencing how Preston would push her away to save his own life instead of hers had had a bad effect on her. She buried her face in the pillows and sobbed.

She looked up as a knock on her door sounded and sat up, trying to rub away the tears from her face. "Come in," she said shakily.

Zach walked in, closing the door behind him.

"Are you okay?" he asked, sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Maybe," she said. Zach stared. "Okay, maybe not." she admitted, biting her lip. "Thanks for saving me..." she whispered before bursting into tears again.

Zach wrapped his arms around her and held her against him. "No worries," he said quietly, stroking her hair. "I'm sorry for what happened."

"What?" she lifted her head up. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"I just am." he sighed. She gave him a puzzled look but let it go.

"Thanks again. I owe you."

"You do." Zach smiled.

"What do you want? I can give you anything." she said, sitting up and lying against her pillows, still facing him.

Zach pretended to think for a moment, but he knew the exactly what he wanted from her. He smiled mischievously as he turned to face her, "How about... a kiss?"

So... I finished it! Whoo! Omfg... its currently 4:13am over here. I'm dying. I can't sleep D:

-I'm sorry if this chapter was total suckage, cos dude, it sucks.
-I made Cammie almost drown. On the titanic. Wow.
-Should she kiss him?
-What do you think's gonna happen between Preston and Macey?

Quote;

Mindy (or whatever the heck her name is): I'm just fucking with you, daddy.
Kick-Ass.

Catch,
Tunarh.