"Cause you mean everything, Right Here, I promise you somehow…"
"I'll ask you again, one last time. What was she doing here?" Cammie growled.
The girls looked down at their feet and twisted their fingers.
"How could you let her in!? We could have been found out!" She then twirled on the spot to face the handsome boy behind her who hadn't spoken for some time now, which was very out of character for him. "And you! Don't even get me started about you!"
"What did I do wrong now?" He asked seemingly very annoyed.
"What did you do wrong? What did you do WRONG?! Do I have to explain everything to you? Do you not understand why we are here Zachary? Do you not understand what could have happened?"
"They couldn't have done anything to me. I knew that… because you were there." He shrugged then his expression suddenly softened as he looked at her. "You should probably rest, you don't look good."
Cameron paused trying to figure out if he was just trying to placate her or if he was just plain stupid.
She voiced her thoughts. "Are you demented? I have never in my life met a bigger, stupider, egotistical idiot! They could have caught you, never mind if we were here to help." She sighed trying to calm down knowing full well that the emergencies were going to arrive any minute and it would not do well for her cover if she was caught shouting at Zach. "Never mind, I'll make you understand later right now I have to concentrate on a more pressing matter."
She turned around to see the girls looking around desperately. "What do you have to say for yourselves?" She demanded, hands on her hips.
"We heard the disturbance coming from the bathroom and we knew that you were probably in some sort of trouble. So we hurried hoping the damage wouldn't be too bad and that's when we heard the scream. We didn't even see her go in!" Macey defended.
"Is that supposed to be a good excuse? You girls are spies!" Cam whisper shouted at her friends so that the other people in the toilets wouldn't hear her. "Not seeing someone like her enter a bathroom is not very promising for any future career in our department."
She took a deep calming breath and walked over to the person who was sitting on a chair trembling from head to toe and crying silently. Cameron crouched down to look the girl in the eyes. "Are you alright?" She asked softly.
The girl met Cammie's gaze and nodded slowly. Cameron stood up again and went to continue her reprimanding of the girls and Zachary hastily took her place before the tall girl. He gathered her in his arms and started murmuring things to her that seemed to calm her down immediately as she stared at the boy, entirely mesmerized. As she stopped in front of her friends she found them staring incredously towards the couple and it took her a moment before she finally caught their attention.
"Bloody… Wow." Bex whispered.
Cameron made a curiously gross expression as she looked from her friends to the boy and girl. "What?"
Macey shook her head. "I read magazines as you know."
Cam snorted. "How could I not but what does this have to do with anything?" She inquired completely lost with her friend's attitudes.
Liz shook her head. "Nothing just…"
"He's never acted like this with any girl! He actually seems to care for this one! Who is she?" Macey finished.
"That ladies, is the one and only who has ever had a place in Zachary's heart-" Grant commenced.
"Glad to know he actually has a heart." Cammie interrupted as she in turn studied the two on the other side of the room.
It was true, Zachary was holding her in a gentle embrace, and one of his hands was caressing her hair in such a caring way that it was impossible not to see how much he cared for her. Cameron was having a hard time reconciling the image Zachary was portraying at this moment to the one she had heard about and thought she knew him to be. Perhaps she was truly wrong about him? Perhaps he wasn't as bad as she made him out to be? Then again if he wasn't, why did he have a new girl every other day when he clearly cared deeply for this one? What was it he had said before? That he didn't want to get attached because he didn't want to get hurt? Cammie 'humpfed', well it seemed that he didn't follow his own advice.
"Whatever that's not important for now. How could you not have seen her get in? She could have been really hurt." Cameron tried to change the subject not really caring who the mystery girl was.
"Come on Cameron liven up! Nothing bad happened!"
"Nothing bad-" Cam raised a hand, fed up. It seemed to her that they were being purposely thick. "I can't even finish repeating that with a disbelieving tone. I don't think any of you seem to understand the severity of what could have happened."
"Of course we do Cam. We're sorry okay and it won't happen again. We were just carried away by the festive atmosphere; we were having a bit of fun. Something that wouldn't hurt you." Bex replied in an exaggerated voice.
"No, you don't get it do you? We're not here to have fun; we're here to stop anyone from killing or kidnapping Zachary Goode. We can't afford to have fun on this mission. This isn't a CovOps exercise; if he gets taken he's gone for good. There won't be any calling Joe to tell him we're sorry for messing up and ask if he'd let us try again." Cameron said strongly.
Liz sighed. "You're right Cammie, we're sorry but you won't believe what Jonas showed me! I lost my mind when he showed me it and I forgot about everything else. It's absolutely incredible!" Just as she was going to launch into an overly detailed description of the thing Jonas had shown her Bex held up her hand hissing that now wasn't the time and then proceeded to hurry over to the couch and plop down looking extremely weak and frail. Before Cam had time to ask what she was doing she saw the police and paramedics arrive and she followed suit. Pushing her body against the wall and sliding slowly to the floor gripping her arm and grimacing in pain.
She wasn't really acting either because now that her concentration was off trying to convince her friends the seriousness of the problem she could feel the pain all over her body. She hadn't realized how beaten up she was until she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror in front of her. Zachary had been right. She did not look good. She had bruises on her face, deep cuts on her cheek and forehead. And that was only her face; she wasn't talking about her legs or arms nor her stomach. She was still in the far back and she watched as if unconcerned by the situation. The attackers had rushed away when they had seen the girls and guys arrive and she still had no idea who they were. She replayed the night's events over and over in her brain and groaned rubbing her forehead. She couldn't remember exactly how everything had happened. She had been fighting as best as she could but then she had seen Zachary fighting alongside her and had frozen. How had he ever gotten that good? What was he hiding? As Cameron studied him pushing the brunette girl's hair out of her eyes and staring her deeply in the eyes with so much affection his mouth moving rapidly even Cammie, who was an ace at lip reading, couldn't make out what he was saying. Though the girl was nodding along with whatever he was saying and Cam smiled slightly when she saw the girl try and put on a brave face but failed miserably.
"Miss?" Cam's head snapped towards the man who was talking to her. "We're going to take care of you now. Can you move? We'll be able to take a better look at you in the ambulance." Cammie nodded but winced to make it more believable.
She took the man's hand and reached out to rest her weight against the wall as she tried to stand up. As she stood she yelped and almost fell back to the floor but the man caught her before and another man came forward to help Cameron out and into the ambulance. As she was walking past Zachary he glanced up at her, worry in his eyes and he looked her up and down gingerly. Cam tried to take no notice of him and sighed gratefully as she was sat down on a bed by the doors of her ambulance.
The paramedics were a happy young bunch, obviously used to trying to get their patients mind off their injuries and Cameron found herself laughing multiple times. Suddenly her attention was captured by the ambulance next to hers, it was placed at an angle so that she could see what was happening inside it and she saw Zachary being placed inside. He listened to them, his attention unwavering. Unexpectedly he nodded and let a man cut his shirt and pull it off him. Cammie started wondering why they hadn't simply asked him to remove it himself until she saw the deep wound on his chest. She jerked her arm out of the doctor's hand in shock and almost jumped up but remembered her hurt foot so stayed seated. The lady saw what Cam had seen and smiled reassuringly.
"Don't worry, he's in capable hands." Cameron's eyes looked back her and sighed.
"How long will I not be able to walk on it?" She asked changing the subject.
"Oh not long, four days at most, two at the least the shard of glass went in deep but nothing too bad." She replied.
Cammie looked around curiously and stopped her examining eyes on Zachary. The red and blue ambulance lights were flashing over his toned body as he was being cleaned and stitched up by his paramedic. There was yellow tape surrounding the area preventing people from coming too close, for which Cameron was very grateful, the noise the spectators were making was almost deafening and the paparazzi was smarming around filming and taking pictures at every chance they got. How could anyone live like this with not a moment for themselves when they were out? Cammie's eyes subconsciously traveled over his body. She could see his strong muscles rippling under his tanned skin as he moved slightly. His chest was well defined and from here it almost looked hairless.
He had strong looking shoulders and she couldn't help but let her eyes wonder lower over his chest and down his stomach. His abs gently undulated, not overly pronounced and Cameron had an overwhelming urge to touch them. Luckily she was too far away to be able to reach out because had she been closer she was not certain she would have managed to control her urges. Shaking her head she looked down at the arm where a young, handsome young man was taking her blood pressure. Finally after many people hassling around Zachary, the others and herself they were brought to the hospital. After too many checkups to keep count of she was finally let out.
As she was led out and told very severely not to forget to use her crutches she saw Zachary lounging on a waiting room couch switching channels with a very bored expression on his face. Cameron saw a few people looking at him in a frustrated manner and a couple of people standing around in a corner staring Zachary down in displeasure. Cameron understood why, he was used to have everything he wanted so he seemed to no notice that he was taking up most of the room preventing quite a few people from sitting down. Cam stepped forward and cleared her throat to attract his attention. His eyes flew to her and he sat bolt upright, his hand lifting to her face.
"You got the worst of it." He said, randomly in Cammie's opinion.
"Mmyahhee…" Was her reply. Then she reached for his hand. "Come on get up."
"Why?"
"Because we're leaving and you're being selfish Zachary."
"Geez what have I done to you now? I can never do anything right for you can I?"
Cameron tilted her head to the side and smiled. "This time it's nothing to do with me but I have a feeling that if you continue taking up all the room and switching channels you're going to become more than a nuisance to all these people." She stated with a dismissive wave towards them.
Zachary looked about as if only just realizing he wasn't alone in the room and had the decency to look slightly ashamed. "Oh sorry you should have said something!" He exclaimed.
"Let's get out of here." Cameron offered, hoping to get away quickly because now that the crowd in the room could see him fully they were exchanging pointed looks. "Quickly before they figure out who you are!" She whispered urgently.
His gaze flew around the room until finally he smirked at a few ladies who were watching him in interest.
"Urgh, this is making me nauseous." She stomped away childishly with a scowl on her pretty face. Zachary caught up with her without delay and looked down at her, his gaze cloudy, obviously pondering something quite confusing to him. He slowly opened his mouth to speak but shut it quickly, deciding it safer to not ask. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and bent his head low with a grimace on his face. He looked like a grumpy hunched back man as he dragged his feet along the glossy white floors. Cammie kept an eye on him through many reflecting surfaces and couldn't hold her tongue as she blurted out the next words as they formed in her mind.
"You should know; you may manage to make many things attractive and sophisticated but "The Hunched back of Notre-Dame" is one even you can't pull off."
Zachary smiled broadly as if he had just won the lottery (though for him it might not have such a great affect seeing as he was already a billionaire).'m attractive then." He stated.
"I didn't say that. Did I say that? No, no I didn't." Cam said coldly.
"I'm good at reading between the lines."
Cameron glanced at him from the corner of her eyes. "Whoever or whatever made you believe that, has greatly fooled you." After a small pause Cameron asked where the others were.
They had just arrived at the hospital doors and Zachary wrapped an arm around her, positioning her arm so that she could still use her crutch and stepped through the sliding glass doors.
"They left." He replied shortly only to be glared at by Cammie causing him to sigh and elaborate his answer. "Jonas dragged Liz off to finish showing her something they were both really excited about. I think you and I both know what that might be… Best if we have The Talk with them now or it will be too late." He said wiggling his eyebrows making Cam giggle despite herself. "Grant asked Bex out for a drink so they've run away; I expect they'll come back drunk and wed. Macey received a mysterious call and disappeared seconds later and Lucas… Well only God knows what he's always up to."
"Ah how wonderful! I'm left to face your mother alone!" Cameron exclaimed sarcastically.
"So what am I, chicken liver?" He questioned indignantly.
"Your mother is not going to put the guilt you for what happened. This is my entire fault, I messed up! I wouldn't be surprised if she fired me."
"Too late for that though. Sorry to break it to you Cameron but you've been revealed, you're here and you're here to stay."
"Hope your mom sees it that way as well."
"'Cause you want to stay with me, can't blame you, many women do as well."
"No because if I go home now, I've failed my exam." Cameron answered truthfully.
"What does your exam consist of exactly and what class is it for?" Zachary inquired in an attempt to find out more about her.
"Nice try Zachary, I'm not telling you anything that you don't need to know." Cammie said in a sing song voice.
"Stupid need to know basis." He grumbled as they got out of the car and walked up the steps to Zach's house front door.
Cameron laughed a full on laugh and held her stomach as she opened the door. As soon as she entered the hall she froze and blocked Zachary. He stumbled in his stride having not expected her arm to knock the wind out of him.
"What is it?" He asked loudly.
Cam wondered if he was still slightly intoxicated before grabbing his hand and pushing him into the corner behind an apparently rich looking decoration.
"Do not move." She breathed in heavily and looked around cautiously. "Something is not right here."
She stepped away from him and walked stealthily into the next hall and down a corridor. She made no noise even with her silly crutches that she was tempted to abandon but if she did her foot would take far more time to heal, besides, they could be very lethal weapons when it came to it. When she arrived to her destination she frowned as she took in the door hanging off its hinges, the crashed vases and graffiti on the walls.
"How did that happen?" Someone whispered in her ear.
It was then that she realized that a strong body was pushing up against her and lips were brushing her ear. She caught a whiff of his cologne and almost felt weak in the knees. How in the world had he sneaked up on her? The only people to be able to do that were her mother, Joe and Abby. They were all three highly trained CIA operatives and Zachary bloody Goode was not even a spy in training! She gasped slightly and growled at him.
"I told you to stay put."
"I'm not good at obeying people." He shrugged.
"Just be quiet and be careful."
They walked through the threshold to see a ravaged room before them. Cammie immediately knew that no one was any longer here and relaxed.
"What happened here?" Zach asked sensing her relax and daring to speak.
"Well who ever did it is long gone." She picked up a few things warily, she was incredibly exhausted and just wanted to go to sleep in her bed.
It seemed that the crowd that had been present here hadn't even had a true purpose. The couches were disemboweled, the windows, tables and vases all crashed. The books ripped page to page and if Cameron didn't know better she would have thought it was just a mere attempt to vandalize a billionaire's house. But that was the problem (or not): Cameron knew better, she knew that this hadn't been random, it wasn't a simple burning of priceless rugs, and it wasn't just a coincidence that this happened the exact same night that Zachary was out and attacked. Definitely not and if the words painted in blood on the wall surrounded by vulgar graffiti were anything to go by: Cameron wasn't likely to see her comfy bed anytime soon.
"I'm never going to catch up on my sleep." Cameron said as she dropped into a vacant seat at the breakfast table the next morning. She looked at the others present and smiled. Bex, Jonas, Lucas and Grant were all stuffing their faces and the whole male side of the table was shirtless.
Grant groaned and after eating his peice of toast in one mouthful, cleared his throat. "You and me both, kid."
Cammie's eyebrows flew off her face at his words for multiple reasons. "Excuse me? Who are you calling kid? I am after all only two months younger than you." She then paused to fetch some freshly toasted bread then sat back at her place. She slowly started buttering her bread with her knife. Her next words were said nonchalantly but cruelly. "Besides, if you're lacking in sleep it's for an entierly different reason and dare I say: a cause far more... pleasant?" She grinned smugly at her friend and Grant who were both to engrossed in their piles of pancakes to notice where this conversation was going. "After all who knows what you two were up to all night-"
"I could have a guess." Lucas interjected.
Lucas's remark finally caught their attention as Bex tensed slightly as if she sensed where this was all going. Cameron nodded at Lucas as Jonas snickered by his jug of orange juice. "I think we all could." He stated.
"Yes, I suppose we could." Cam agreed up for a little fun and teasing. They were all perfectly aware of what had really happened between Grant and Bex the other night. "Was your hotel room large enough to accomadate both your... eccentricities? Was the kingsized bed comfortable?"
Bex spluttered, her eyes wide. "It's not what it looks like!"
"What isn't what it looks like?" Someone yawned behind her and Cameron turned to see Zachary drop a magazine by her plate and plop down in the chair next to hers.
Cammie went back to her toast, Zachary leaned over her to reach the waffles and Cam found herself face to face with his shoulder and collar bone. She held her breath for fear of being over powered by his scent and doing something she would regret. She stared ahead and thought of her waiting peice of toast. She ignored his perfect smooth looking skin, and the tanned muscular shoulders. Finally with a few waffles in hand he moved away again and after a while he nudged the magazine closer to her. He obviously wanted her to look at it so she glanced down. She gasped and her butter knife clattered to the plate. Everyone turned to look at her curiously, to see what had caused her to react in such a way but the magazine was placed so that the cover could only be seen by Cameron and Zachary. He had obviously placed it in this manner purposely. She snatched it up and looked at it closely.
It was a picture of her and Zachary when they had arrived at the award giving. She was standing, awkardly in Cammie's opinion, slightly lopsided and Zachary had a firm arm around her waist. Cammie was looking very nervous and thoughtful as she watched something invisible off the picture. Zach on the other hand was staring at her a mesmerized small smile playing at his lips. But out of everything it was the title that had Cam grining.
THE ONE FOR HIM?
"HA! I knew that any cover I did, I succeeded in it. Though their title isn't very original is it? Rather boring, cliché and un-eye catching. I would have expected better." Cammie knew that her word wasn't a real word but couldn't care less at the moment. She flipped through the magazine until she arrived at the page that featured herself and Zachary.
She wasn't surprised about what it talked about. Their appearance at the Awards was breifly mentioned as well as who she "was" but the main subject discussed was the attack. A text was typed up all about it and it was placed over a picture of her and Zachary in the ambulances, two pictures exactly the same except in the first one, the bigger of the two, Zachary was looking over at Cameron, worry etched onto his every feature while Cammie was smiling a watery smile and looking down at her arm that was in the hands of a doctor. The second one was this time of Cameron glancing over at Zachary, who was getting his chest sowed up and she was biting her lower lip, her brow furrowed.
Cameron's jaw dropped. She hadn't been aware that she had actually been gaping at him! How embaressing!
For pete's sake, she seemed to be turning into one of those girls who dropped at his feet!
A/N: As always sorry for spelling mistakes, I do try my best but everyone makes them... Please try to ingore them if you can. Oh and some might probably know where the inspiration for my last part of the pictures came from... Hihi. THANKS so much to everyone who reviewed, alerted or favorited my story! It really makes my day. Love