Thanks so much for the reviews and alerts! But you guys are alerting but not reviewing… Please review, it helps.
Anyway, here's a new chapter.
I don't own Gallagher Girls or any trademarked or copyrighted stuff I mention.
Walls
"Cam, would you like some more cocoa?" I smiled faintly as I nodded a yes to my mom. I loved her hot cocoa. Even if she was a terrible cook in anything else, she sure knew how to make amazing, creamy, chocolaty beverages.
I smiled gratefully as she handed me my mug, filled to the brink with cocoa and whipped cream. It was still steaming from the microwave. I sipped it delicately, staring into my drink as I felt my mother's eyes on me. I winced at the hot, metallic burning sensation on my tongue. Ouch.
"Careful," Mom warned. I nodded and started to drink slowly. We sat in silence for 3 minutes. I sighed internally. My life is just one big awkward mess, wasn't it? Finally, my mom spoke. "So how are your… nightmares?" she asked cautiously. I swallowed. Sometimes I felt like everyone thought of me as a ticking bomb. A bomb that could erupt any minute. There was no timer and was impossible to disable. I was a hazard to everyone around me.
"I'm fine," I muttered. I subconsciously bit my lip, something that I had made a habit of. I did it when I was nervous, which was a lot lately. Go figure.
My mom stared doubtful at me before softening her gaze. I had started to see this look a lot ever since I came back. It wasn't a Headmistress of Gallagher Academy expression anymore. It was a mom look. I could never figure out whether seeing it was a good or bad thing. I always gave in to it, which is really bad considering How to Resist Interrogation 101 was in the senior's curriculum. Needless to say, I was screwed.
"You can't fool me kiddo. I'm not just your mother, I'm a spy," she chided, crossing her legs. As if I could ever forget. I pretended to take interest in my cup of hot cocoa, watching the white cream dissolve into the drink. Tears bubbled at the corner of my eyes, threatening to spill over. I blinked them back before answering.
"They're getting better," my voice sounded so small and weak. I brought my legs up in a fetal position, cuddling the cup between my stomach and legs. For some reason, I felt better protected this way, like I was shielded from everything. It wasn't true of course, but the feeling made it okay.
Suddenly, my mom tensed for a split second before standing up and putting her empty cup into the little sink. She relaxed as she sat down, her eyes searching mine.
"Tell me what they're about," I closed my eyes and rested my head on my knees. I hated remembering them. It was worse enough I had to see them every time I slept; I didn't want them in my waking world. But I knew that I had to tell Mom, so I sucked it up. I sighed.
"I'm always in that… hideout. I don't know what else to call it. But I'm always there, on some part of it. Sometimes it's the room that I was… tortured in," I drew in a shaky breath. I felt my mom stiffen. "Sometimes it's the abandoned cafeteria where I lost her. But the worse is this uh… this control room I guess. That's where I saw…" I gulped. Crap, the tears were falling. I was trembling violently. Sniffling, my mom sat with me on the red velvet couch, hugging me tightly. I buried my face into her neck, sobbing. I struggled to get words out.
"I don't… I don't like l-living like this. I h-hate being s-so trapped!" I wailed softly. I felt my Mom rubbing my back soothingly, her voice hushing me softly. I tried to stifle my whimpers, but it was no use. They slipped out when I tried to breath.
I felt Mom take the cocoa away from me and set it on the coffee table before embracing me tightly. I curled up into a ball and cried. And cried some more.
~oOo~
I walked out of the Headmistress's suite an hour later, my eyes slightly poofy from crying. After my little breakdown, we had changed the subject and just… talked. The way we used to every Sunday night before any of… this happened. When I was Cammie the Chameleon. Sweet, lovable, top of the class, spy girl. Now I was a complete wreck.
I walked down the hallway to my dorm before I heard soft footsteps behind me. My breathing hitched before I whirled around, my mouth in a snarl.
I groaned when I saw Zach staring at me, his forest green eyes boring into mine. He stood a good yard away from me. But even that was too close for comfort. I backed away slowly. There was a passageway behind a bookshelf about 7 feet from here. If I could just get away…
"Hey Cammie," I flinched when I realized he hadn't called me Gallagher Girl. What did this mean? I seriously needed Macey's boy translator right this very moment. So I took a swing at it and muttered an inaudible, "hey," I felt him staring at me intently. I must have looked like utter crap. My uniform was wrinkled and stained with tear streaks, my limp hair was covering half my face and my eyes were blood red from sobbing.
"You've been crying," he noted. I rolled my eyes and scoffed.
"It's okay Zach, I don't need your sympathy," I mocked before turning away. Suddenly he grabbed my wrist gently, but firm. I held back a growl.
"Cam, just let me talk." He pleaded. I refused to look into his eyes, knowing I would be totally mesmerized by them and give in. I couldn't surrender. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction. No no no no.
"Fine you have a minute, The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them. I blushed and stared at the ground instead. He sighed in relief. His grip loosened slightly, but not enough for me to break free.
"Cammie, I don't know what went wrong between us, but I'm not going to push it, if that's what you want." He started. I laughed sadistically.
"I wasn't aware there was anything between us. Besides, you have no idea what I want," I sneered. He frowned slightly but shook his head.
"No, but I do know you want people to stop asking so much of you." My face turned stony as I was silent. He looked at me triumphantly. "Just let me be there for you. Let Bex, Macey, and Liz help you. We're your friends, it's what we do." I frowned and shuffled my feet. We stood in silence for about 30 seconds before I spoke.
"I don't want people getting hurt because of me," I answered quietly. My response was so low, I was surprised he even heard me. But then again, spy. I felt his other hand ghost over my cheek. I closed my eyes and clenched my fingers. Tears started to well up in my eyes. No no no no.
"We can take care of ourselves Gallagher Girl," he whispered huskily. I opened my mouth for some snarky comeback, except… he kissed me.
I let out a small, surprised squeak. I have to say I stood there in idiotic shock for at least 3 seconds before I came to my senses and started kissing him back.
He loosened his grip on my wrist completely, and gently caressed my head. I sighed and knotted my thin, pale fingers into his silky brown hair. It was so soft…
Everything I was worrying about flew out the window as I held Zach right then and there. I moaned in bliss as I eagerly kissed him back, determined to let go of anything bad that clung to me and just be enveloped in him, and him only.
I breathed in his scent, sniffing the soap and shampoo that always smelled divine on him. I felt him smirk slightly on my lips. Grr, him and his smirking! I would get him back for that later…
It took a while before he both pulled away at the same time. As we leaned our foreheads against each other, panting, I knew Zach had won me over. He started breaking down one of my walls, and was surely determined to break down more. I didn't exactly know how I felt about that, but it's safe to say, it scared me.
Secrets are secrets for a reason. But how could I ever keep them from someone like Zach?
~oOo~
We had arrived in Washington D.C.
It was about a week since Zach and I kind of… made up? I can't exactly say we're together. I wasn't ready for anything. I didn't know how he felt. So, I really didn't know where we were at in our relationship. I knew it was wrong to feel like this about him, but I really couldn't resist. Who can resist Zachary Goode?
When I told Bex, Macey and Liz about the kiss, they went completely ballistic and hassled me for details. I kept saying there was nothing to tell, but they wouldn't believe me.
Besides, all boy drama behind, the last few days were spent vigorously researching Ethan James Collyer, suspect of stealing Gallagher Records.
Liz and Jonas had helped us get into files, even if they weren't on the mission. But honestly, there wasn't much to find out about the suspect.
He had several aliases. Four in total, one of which was a cover for a woman. But once we finished our research, we agreed he most likely was to be Edgar John Ross. He had a ticket from Roseville, Virginia to D.C. from over a month ago. It was our best lead. The rest of the aliases had no current activity.
We had found he was staying at the Bernadette Hotel (AN: I made it up. I don't own it, obviously), room 210.
Meanwhile, we had checked into our hotel. We barely made it past the front desk before Macey started screaming.
"Wait, only two each room? What?" Civilians had started to look at us funny and we shuffled away embarrassed, Macey grilling Mr. Solomon the whole time.
"What is the meaning of this? I thought the girls would have one room to themselves, then the boys! Instead you book us four rooms including one for yourself! Don't you know how much this will cost you, not that I care about the expense, but honestly! Don't you think the people who organized this trip had the budget for this trip thought out for? Not to mention the experience! I want to room with all of my friends, not just one! Mr. Solomon! MR. SOLOMON!"
Once we got off the elevator, Mr. Solomon confronted a red faced Macey McHenry. "Miss McHenry! Control yourself! Remember what we are here for!" I smirked slightly, since Macey was sticking to her cover anyways. Aria Jennings was a loud mouthed, outspoken, spunky, fun kind of girl. Macey had caused no harm to the mission with her whining. Oh, loopholes.
Then, Mr. Solomon faced us. "The point of this mission is to get to know the people who you may be working with someday. This is a great opportunity to familiarize yourself with future partners." I stole a quick glance at Zach who had on a slight smirk. I rolled my eyes. Mr. Solomon continued.
"Your roommates will be as follows; Mr. Newman and Miss Baxter," I saw Bex go red as Grant grin widely, showing his white teeth. I froze as it dawned on me. Ohhh crap… we were rooming with the guys.
"Miss Vaine with Mr. Avery," Cece's eyes darkened as she hissed quietly. Kyle looked blankly at Mr. Solomon. "Miss McHenry with Mr. Pedewski-"
"AWWWWW HELLL NAHHHHHHHH!" screeched Macey. She tugged at her perfect black hair in frustration and started pacing back and forth. "No, no, noooope, no, no! NO!" she wailed. Felix looked a little scared of her as he backed away slightly, standing at the back with Grant. Mr. Solomon glared at them then finished briskly. "Miss Morgan and Mr. Goode." Fuck.
I bit my lip until I drew blood, which Cece quickly handed me a tissue for. I was freaking rooming with Zach.
~oOo~
"I can't believe this," I muttered as I hurled my suitcase on the floor. I rubbed my face before plopping on one of the two beds (thank God!). What the hell was Solomon thinking? Playing matchmaker like this? Ugh! I sensed Zach standing awkwardly at the doorway, unsure of what to do next. It was quite unlike him.
After a few soundless minutes of rest, I got up and unpacked my suitcase, grateful that I had thought ahead and tucked all my lingerie at the very bottom. I snatched some new clothes for Olivia, my hair dye, contacts and make up before heading to the bathroom. I was just about to close the door, before I remembered. Turning around glaring daggers at Zach, I hissed, "Touch my suitcase, and you wake up in a very uncomfortable place tomorrow morning," and I meant it.
I closed the bathroom door and ran my fingers through my thin hair. I was just about to open the dye box, before a commotion rose outside, which must have been Macey shrieking for Zach to leave them room.
"All you male people in Bex and Grant's room, girls in here! NOW!" I heard Zach grumble and shuffle out as Macey pounded on the door. "Cameron Ann Morgan, do not touch any type of beauty product while you're in there, or else!" I bit my lip again as I meekly opened the door for the three girls to come in. I was going to throttle Macey…
By the time we were all in our disguises, it was 9:00. Thirty minutes until we had to head out with Mr. Solomon.
I looked in the bathroom mirror after Macey had finished the last touches to my hair and gasped. I looked amazing! My skin had gotten tanner to cover up the colorless tone I had developed recently. Now it was just a bit darker than my natural tone. My hair was an opaque brown, almost black and my eyes were a shadowy navy blue that was absolutely striking! I had a splash of legit looking freckles across my nose, which gave me a very mischievous look. Overall, Cammie Morgan was now completely gone, and Olivia Mary Damons had replaced her. I looked over to my friends and stared. Bex, Macey and Cece looked completely different and magnificent as well!
Bex's hair was now a pin straight light brown with auburn streaks in it. Her skin was a lot paler, so she just looked tan. It looked very natural. She kept her caramel colored eyes, which really suited her. I couldn't imagine Bex with any other eye color.
For Macey, she had lightened her black hair so it was almost a brown, but still pretty black and dyed with one streak of dark red. She had replaced her electric blue eyes with chocolate brown ones, but kept her nose piercing. She said it had a tracker on it, just in case she ever went MIA. Liz installed it after the whole incident in Boston with Senator McHenry's election.
Cece had changed too. Instead of her naturally tanned skin, she turned much paler. Her super dark brown eyes were replaced with light silver blue ones that really popped. Her hair was its natural black, and now manipulated into a wave of curls that looked very elegant on her.
We all looked extraordinary, and very unrecognizable. Macey had serious skill, and the senator's daughter knew it, as she twirled the curling iron smugly in her perfectly manicured fingers.
Once we all got over the shock of our transformed faces, Bex giggled, "I wanna see how the boys will react," I rolled my eyes. I knew that Bex would want to play some kind of bizarre, painful prank on them.
"Speaking of the guys…" Macey scorned. We all frowned. We still couldn't believe Mr. Solomon was making us room with boys!
"How's Felix?" I asked Macey cautiously. Her brown eyes flashed angrily, and she clenched the curling iron in her hands until her knuckles turned white.
"Well, at first he tried to offer to take my suitcase into the room! Can you believe it? These are coach bags! They cost more than anything he will ever own!" she raged. We all chuckled, knowing he was just trying to be nice, and that she was really unreasonable. Macey fumed as she crossly stuffed her items into a black makeup bag with the words McHenry Cosmetics scripted on the side.
Bex looked over at a smirking Cece. "How about Kyle?" We were trying to get to know the new Blackthorne boys first, before Grant and… Zach. Cece's playful smirk broadened.
"Oh he's fine." Our eyes widened. Simultaneously, Bex, Macey and I screamed, "SPILL!" The dark haired girl smiled.
"Well he's really sweet. Kind of serious, but despite that, really easy going. We were just starting to talk until someone barged in and demanded that I leave my make up supplies alone or else I would be doomed to look ugly for the rest of the trip," Macey shrugged as we all howled with laughter. We all knew that Macey wouldn't be able to hold that threat. Besides, Cece looked great anyways, and just like Bex and I, we were all capable of holding our own with make up.
And that was when the clock struck 9:30 and we headed outside to meet Mr. Solomon and the boys.
There you go. Some information on the mission, introducing our new characters a bit, and a little splash of Zammie. A filler really. But next chapter, there will be action and more Zammie!
And I know, Cece may be a random character that replaces Liz, but she's not, I promise. She has a purpose in the whole story, but it's not like… never mind.
Also, someone asked why Liz wasn't on the mission, it's because she's not part of Cove Ops. I didn't wanna change that. Neither is Jonas, and besides, they're my least favorite pairing, not only cuz their couple name is Jiz… .
Zammie's getting heated, and sorry for the randomness of the roommate thing. Everything has a purpose I PROMISE!
Anyway, bye. Please review, it helps a lot.
Anyway, message me if you are a PVPeep! Or if you watch Pewdiepie. Lol.
Bai!