It's Monday. Afternoon. Sunny. And she hates it. She hates that she spent her Sunday pissed off and there was nothing she could do about it. She hates that Sam lied to her and kissed her with so much passion on Saturday and then showed up that morning acting as if nothing had transpired between them that weekend.

She'd always been an optimist up to this point in her life. Seeing the best in Sam, enough to become best friends with her. Thinking enough of her parents to let them leave her so willingly. The faith she has in Spencer. But no more! She couldn't handle the stress! People were fucking failing her and she didn't want to deal with it anymore. If only she had somewhere to disappear to for a while. Only, she'd already done that: off to grandpa's house for the summer. And all it had done was put her in this fucking suck-ass predicament!

Did anger issues always come with losing optimism?

And while she's having a meltdown inside, Sam is sitting next to her all smiles and hyper since the lunch bell is going to ring any moment. Her blond hair is pulled back into a ponytail, a few loose curls dangling around her face. Her eyes are shining and filled with laughter as she texts maniacally under the desk. Every few minutes she slips her phone back into her pocket and grins at Carly.

The teacher, of course, is missing all of this. He's lecturing away at the front of the classroom as if Castro has any affect whatsoever on high school dynamics, not that he wouldn't try to prove he did if asked. And he's pointing dramatically to dates and situations and trying to force connections that will never last to last and people are spacing out again. Sam giggles softly, in the midst of it all, and glances over at Carly, giving her that secret look that she's developed recently and Carly can't stand.

And yet she adores that look. Its everything and all she needs to make her heart stop and her stomach flutter. Not that she would ever mention that or that she even kind of enjoyed it anymore. Every look at Sam just reminds her further of the suck-ish situation she's been forced into and that she hasn't figured out how to get out of it. Yet.

The bell rings.

Sam is out of her seat and heading out of the classroom with her bag over her shoulder and her phone in her hand and she's calling Carly to chase after her. But Carly is tired. And annoyed. And so fucking sick of letting Sam play with her that she isn't even sure she wants to get up anymore. Only her teacher is bustling over and humming to himself some random beats that Cuddlefish couldn't make flow.

So up she goes, trailing after Sam. And Sam is babbling and damn does she sound sexy as her voice goes raspy near Carly's ear so she is sure she can hear her over the drone of hallway noise. And Carly wants to kill herself right then and there because she isn't sure how much more she can take. But she knows she will have to make some quick decisions about it as a dark-haired someone suddenly grabs her arm and drags her back in the opposite direction.

It wasn't until she was outside with Cameron smiling devilishly at her that she realized Sam followed.

"Carly?" Sam stared at her.

And she can't decide who she actually wants to speak to. But she knows she needs to speak soon. Things were going tense.

"Hello," she smiled, on the border of laughter since Sam and Cameron together scared the shit out of her.

Neither Cameron nor Sam looked the slightest bit amused at seeing the other there.

"Who's she?" Simultaneous. Carly almost wanted to say it with them.

And then the laughter did come, nervous laughter. Her face turned red, tears leaked out the corners of her eyes, and she threw her head back to give the sounds of joy an easier escape.

But she immediately stopped when she finally looked at their faces. She cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Cameron, this is Sam. Sam this is Cameron." Even on her deathbed she would do proper introduction.

Her best friend and her girlfriend gave each other nods of acknowledgement. Sam mutter a, "hi." Which Cameron returned.

The world was silent for two glorious minutes before Sam and Cameron began to talk at the same time. Carly didn't bother to even attempt to separate their voices to figure out what was being said. Instead, she put a finger in each corner of her mouth and tried to whistle. Only it didn't work. Because she didn't know how to whistle like that. It did, however, catch their attention, and silence once again befell the world.

"Okay," Carly began, "Cameron, you first." Sam looked as if she was about to protest, but Carly gave her a stern look. And nobody crosses Carly's stern looks.

Cameron was smiling in her victory of going first. "Why didn't you break up with Brian?" The victory feeling was obviously overshadowed by her anger.

Carly gave a nervous giggle and then turned to Sam. "And you?"

"Who is she and what does she have to do with you dating Brian?"

Carly considered both questions before abruptly discarding both. She was only human. And she had questions too.

"Why is it so important for me to break up with him? Why can't you ask him to break up with me? I did. And he refused!" She exclaimed at Cameron. Then she turned to Sam. "Why do you care who she is? Why do you care about my relationship with Brian? And why the fuck did you lie to me?"

Anger was flooding her system. She hadn't meant to yell at Sam. But here Sam was, asking questions, and why should she get answers when she didn't provide any of her own? Sam looked startled. Cameron definitely was. They both seemed ready to speak at the same time again so Carly was forced to use the power of her stern look once again.

"Cameron, you go first." Carly dictated.

"I did tell him to break up with you!" she yelled. And then in a quieter voice, "But he said he'd think about it. And he really likes you. Even with everything else."

Carly ran a hand through her hair. Mondays were the worst. "I did try to break up with him. He said no. He said I would fall in love with him in time." She turned to Sam. "Go ahead, Sam."

Only Sam looked hurt. Her eyes were wide, her lip quivered. Her hands were scratching together. "Of course I care, Carly. You're my best friend. I didn't lie to you."

Her heart wanted her to sprint to Sam and comfort away all the painful things going on in her head. The rest of her wanted to be angry. "The hell you didn't! You told me Tyler broke up with you! You said he cheated on you! I even let you spend the night and eat all the ham because of it!"

Sam bit her lip. "I told you that because I couldn't tell you the truth." It was a totally honest response. Sam looked weak. "But you would have let me spend the night and eat all the ham anyway." She added with a small smile, trying to lighten the situation.

Now it was Cameron's turn to be angry. "Wait! Wait, wait, wait! You ran out on dinner for her?" And then wide eyes. "Its her!"

Carly neither confirmed nor denied, but Cameron knew she was right. Sam didn't know anything.

"Its me what?" And then, as if suddenly feeling very awkward and out of place, she backed up a few steps. "I'm going to leave now. I'll talk to you later Carly. Nice meeting you, Cameron." And she left.

Cameron stepped forward, leading Carly over to a bench. "So that's her? That's the girl you're in love with?"

Carly nodded. "Unfortunately."

"Well… she is very pretty." Cameron bobbed her head, rubbing her lips together.

"Yep. Pretty, funny, exciting, fun. She's been my best friend for forever. And she's driving me crazy."

"Oh, really? I couldn't tell."

"Shut up."

Cameron grinned, feeling playful again. "Well, if its any consolation, I'm sorry she's putting you through so much hell."

Carly smiled at her. "Thanks. Hey, isn't it lunchtime? Why are you here? Shouldn't you be eating?"

Cameron's grin turned evil. "Well, I thought about food. And then I decided I'd rather have you for lunch."

And suddenly they were in the bathroom, in a stall with an 'out of order' sign on the door. Cameron was so warm and soft and smooth under her fingers. And her tongue was in her mouth and shit. She felt amazing. Her lips were so soft, so incredibly soft in that way only girls have. All the right curves in all the right places. Even with her hands slipping under Cameron's shirt and sliding up to stumble over her belly button, it wasn't enough. She wanted more, needed more. And Cameron was giving it to her. Their bodies pressed together in all the right places, and she was in heaven.

It was nothing like the boys she had fooled around. They were all clumsy and rough and angular. Cameron was silky and voluptuous and wow. Their bodies moved in sync, as if they spent all their time making out in a bathroom stall.

She was late getting back to class.

And the seat next to Sam was taken.

Carly's heart split in two as she dropped into a desk near the back. Why was this happening to her? What exactly was she doing wrong? Falling in love? Realizing she had no chance so going for someone else? Guess things sounded better in theory than in practice. She only knew one thing for sure: she wanted her best friend back. And she was sick of playing these games.

But Sam wouldn't even look at her. She stared decidedly out the window or studied her fingernails. Anywhere but at Carly. She must have done something wrong again. But what? She'd only been honest. Had that cost her her best friend?

"Something bothering you, kiddo?" Spencer's words drifted into her ears as soon as she walked in the door. Alone.

Spencer stood in front of what resembled a large hummingbird made entirely of microwaves. He was tying the last of the microwaves forming the beak together. It might have been shocking if she lived with anyone besides Spencer. But given the circumstances…

"You had to leave town to buy microwaves?"

He grinned. "Not necessarily. But I got a really good deal on these."

She bobbed her head. "Of course you did."

"Where's Sam? She didn't come up?" He inquired.

"She didn't walk home with me." Carly admitted.

The man building a sculpture from microwaves seemed surprised. "Did you fight?"

Carly shook her head. "Not exactly. Do you mind if I skip school tomorrow?"

His eyebrows lowered as he studied her. "Do you have a good reason?"

"I could possibly become a danger to society. Maybe even national security." Her bag slipped off her shoulder and she let it go. The tears were coming again. And she really didn't want to cry in front of Spencer.

But he had his arms around her before her first tear fell. "You don't have to cry! I was going to let you stay home anyway. If that's what you really want."

"That's what I really want. Will you stay with me tomorrow?"

"Of course."

Her grip on his waist tightened. She'd never been so thankful for anything before as she was for her brother in that moment.

In that moment, she felt hopeful.