Let's get to some more fluffy Zammie!

Fireworks in Nebraska

It was hot.

It was boring.

And it was annoying to listen to my grandfather rave on and on about the 'nice young man' next door(which is actually like 5 kilometers away). I was in the kitchen of my grandparents' house in Nebraska. The room was bright and sunny, the walls a cream color, with old but big windows letting lots of sunlight stream in. The floorboards were worn out, and they creaked under my feet. My grandpa sat in the chair across from me, while my grandma was cooking some vegetables, with her back to me.

"Now, Cameron, I want you to enjoy yourself while you're here, and-"

"Grandpa, I told you, I have a boyfriend," I told him, exasperated, for what seemed like the 69th time.

"Sure you do, honey," my grandma said, in a sympathetic tone.

It was nice to know that my grandparents had so much confidence in my ability to find a nice guy.

I played with the cup in my hand shaped like a cow, filled with milk. I turned my gaze away from my grandpa and focused on a crack on the wall shaped like a UFO.

"His name is Zach, and he has brown hair, and the most amazing green eyes—"

"Wasn't that what your imaginary friend used to look like?"

I sighed. No use continuing this. I slumped up the stairs to my room, but my grandpa called after me,

"Don't forget, dear, we have dinner with Mark and the Kelleys."

I groaned to myself.

I slammed my door and sat on my creaky bed. My thoughts drifted to Zach. I lay back on my bed, letting my thoughts walk on their own feet.

I missed Zach like crazy. I hadn't seen him since last month, when our classes met up for a joint mission. It's been much too long. I needed to run my hands through his soft hair, breathe in his musky scent, feel his soft lips on mine…

I desperately wanted to call him, but the problem was, it was summer break, and I didn't know how to contact him. I tried getting my mom to tell me, but she had been preoccupied, saying 'I'll find out later'. When 'later' was, I didn't know.

Every little thing made me think of Zach. I mean, you know you seriously like a guy when you mistake a deformed, ugly brown hat for his head. And there was also the fact that I needed to convince my evil, conniving grandparents that he was real and not an imaginary friend from back when I used to watch Barney or something.

I took the gold necklace out of my shirt and fingered it. It was one thing that helped me remember that Zach was real, and that he was really mine. I closed my eyes and flashbacked to my birthday, when he had told me he loved me. I felt a large, goofy grin spread over my face.

"Cameron! I need your help with something!"

Dang, they had to ruin everything.

I stood awkwardly to the side as my grandparents welcomed the Kelleys. I had been forced into wearing a pink(!) sweater set. I saw Mark for the first time. I was amazed. I could say that I forgot all about Zach and fell in love at first sight with this boy. NOT! If I could describe him in one word…it would be Preston. Mark was also small and scrawny and he wore a spiderman watch. He had slicked back black hair and was wearing a out of place flowered tie. Ech. I needed to see Zach to get rid of this picture in front of me that was terrorizing my eyes.

"Cameron, this is Susan, Bob, and this, is Mark."

I said my polite hellos, careful not to make direct contact with Mark.

"Hey, Cameron, or Cammie, or Cam, I heard you prefer the last two, I'm Mark, like your grandpa said, um, hi?" he said, stumbling.

"Yeah. Uh, I'm starving, let's go eat," I said, and power walked towards the kitchen. I was going to sit between my grandparents, and it almost worked, except Mark slid into the seat next to me at top speed. Dang.

Dinner was delicious, except I had to sit next to Mark and listen to his rants about how amazing action figures were and how he had this dream to dangle off a building. I wanted to dangle him off a building.

"So, Cammie, I never see any pretty girls around, so like, maybe we could watch Superman comics together sometime?"

"Uh, sure," I said. As in 'sometime meaning never'.

At one point he even touched my hair. I pretended to jump and 'accidently' kick his leg. He yelled out, and I discreetly rolled my eyes. Liz would have been able to take that with just a little wince.

I sighed, glancing at the clock even though I knew what time it was, willing this to be over soon.

Of course, the needle didn't move any faster.

I think it even slowed down a little.

I tore my sweater set and skirt off and changed into a polo T-shirt and Bermuda jeans. I fell back onto my bed and started muttering to myself.

"Stupid Mark…grandparents…Preston Mark…what a wimp…Mark…"

"Cheating on me, Gallagher Girl?"

My breath caught in my throat.

"Zach?" I called out, sitting up straight. I stood up and walked towards the window, where the voice had come from. It couldn't be him, could it?

Of course it could.

Zach grinned at me, sitting precariously on a tree branch.

"Give me a hand, will you?"

I held out a hand and pulled him in my window, still speechless. I stared at him, aware of the fact that I was sort of swooning. Zach casually leaned against the window frame, like this was the normal way to visit his girlfriend's grandparents' house. Like he climbed trees to get in through second story windows everyday.

Maybe it was the heat.

Maybe it was the relief at seeing someone like…me.

Maybe it was the fact that I'd been missing him since I last saw him.

Whatever the reason, I uncharacteristically ran straight into Zach's arms, surprising him. We stood there, swaying slightly, until Zach spoke.

"So…who's this Mark guy? Some rival I need to worry about?" he asked, his eyes twinkling.

I rolled my eyes and said,

"Only if you worship the world of comic superheroes."

"Hey, I could be a superhero!"

"And I'm a damsel in distress."

We stared each other down, then burst out laughing.

"I missed you so much," Zach said, nuzzling his head in my hair.

"Missed you too."

I convinced Zach to stay for the night-not in that way-and we talked in quiet whispers, so we wouldn't wake my sleeping grandparents. I really hoped that Zach had a solution for what to do in the morning when my grandparents finds him here.

"Uh…Grandma? This is Zach, my boyfriend," I said, awkwardly. Zach stood next to me, keeping a safe space between us.

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Morgan. I apologize for dropping in unannounced," Zach said, in an overly polite and charming tone, bowing his head a little.

"So he is real!" she exclaimed, and Zach raised an eyebrow, glancing at me.

I kept my mouth shut. Grandma started to eye Zach up and down, and she had this look on her face that went "should I get mad at him for barging in or succumb to his charms?".

"That is a beautiful painting," Zach said, pointing at this one hideous painting on our wall that everyone hated except for Grandma. Of course, after that comment, her eyes lit up and she immediately decided on succumbing to his charms. Like grandma, like granddaughter.

"I got it at this little store in town, and I honestly don't know why everyone hates it so much, I mean just look at it…"

Zach listened to her talk with an expression of utmost attention on his face. And then he found a photograph of my grandparents' wedding day, and he had to comment on how good she looked in it. And I was forced to look on in disgust as my grandma started giggling like a schoolgirl.

"I'm sorry, Grandma, but we really have to go somewhere," I said, grabbing Zach's hand and pulling him to the door. I didn't let her answer, power-walking out of the house with Zach in my wake.

"You didn't have to charm the pants off of her," I grumbled.

He smirked.

"Jealous?"

I gave him a loving smack on his shoulder.

It was around 2 o'clock, and Zach and I were walking aimlessly around town.

"This is the most boring place I've ever been to," Zach complained.

Something caught my eye. I walked over to store with cute little kittens in them, and looked at the flyer on the wall beside them.

Carnival Fun!

Where: Wickery Bridge Town!

When: July 2~July 5!

What: Ferris wheels, games, food and more!

Come join the fun!

"Look at all the exclamation marks," Zach said dryly.

"It's not like we have anything better to do, let's go," I said.

I grinned, picking up my gun. Don't worry, we weren't going crazy and shooting civilians for fun. We were just playing an innocent game of shooting moving stick figures.

Zach picked up his gun and got into position. I was momentarily distracted by how hot he looked, concentrating like that. I went first, and I purposely missed a few shots to avoid raising suspicion. But Zach didn't care about minor details like that. He nailed a little stick guy every time he pulled the trigger. I gritted my teeth and said,

"I'm going again."

This time I nailed every stick figure, along with the one that moved really fast and was worth a lot of points. I grinned in triumph and took my humungous stuffed bear from the booth manager. Zach handed me his much smaller stuffed rabbit and stuffed his hands in his pockets. I looked back and forth between the two dolls and decided I liked Zach's better, and threw the big one in the trash can.

"What do you know, there's more exciting grass on this side of the ferris wheel," I said sarcastically, annoyed. "Isn't there anything more interesting to look at?"

"I think the view is pretty amazing, actually," Zach murmured, looking intensely at me. I caught on to what he meant and blushed deeply. He sat across from me, and I tried to avoid his gaze. He stood up and sat down next to me, putting his arm around me. I blushed even more and he smiled. He ducked his head, and he looked deep into my eyes, our lips inches apart. I sighed, and started to lean in…

The door to our little compartment opened with a clang, and we instantly broke apart. I saw all the people staring at me in fascination, and I quickly moved out and started to blend into the crowd, making myself nearly invisible. When I was a safe distance from the ferris wheel, I reached for Zach…to find him gone. Shoot. Most people couldn't find me in crowds once they lost me. I searched around for him, and felt a warm hand on my upper arm. I turned around, ready to flip the person.

"Zach! I could have flipped you into the trashcan. How did you find me?"

"I'll always find you."

The stars glowed brightly in the night sky above us. I snuggled deeper into Zach's warm chest. We were lying down on the grass in a secluded place, next to a big rock. There was no need for words, and we watched the glowing formations, in peace, in silence. Zach stroked my hair slowly. I shifted my position so I could look into his eyes. I saw lights dancing in the reflection in his eyes. I could see myself there, too. A soft grin graced his face, and I leaned up to kiss him.

I never thought there'd be fireworks in boring old Nebraska.

"I'm pretty sure I could get this tractor running with the right tools, sir."

"That would sure help my old back."

"Zach, have some omelets, they're fresh from the barn!"

I rolled my eyes and dug into my eggs, watching Zach charm my grandparents. They were in love with him, I swear. They thought he was 'the nicest young man ever'. Hmm. I thought that was supposed to be Mark.

"So, Zach, why don't you stay with us and Cammie for the rest of the summer?"

"That would be great, Mrs. Morgan," Zach replied, winking at me.

I guess having a charming boyfriend paid off sometimes.

So…that's it! How was it?

I'm thinking the next one can be about the Blackthorne Boys coming to Gallagher for a day or something. Do you have any ideas for me?

Please review, so this poor soul has something to be happy about.