Disclaimer: I don't own Degrassi.

Author's Note: These past few chapters have been flying out so quickly that I feel really bad when they inevitably come at a slower pace. I've had so much free time lately, and with the lack of internet at my new house, and the lack of a social life during winter break, I've been able to let my plot bunnies hop freely, and of course update my stories. I know chapter eleven is most likely on its way, but as I said in the last chapter, please don't expect a speedy update, even if it is speedy! I don't want anyone disappointed in me when my classes restart and I have to focus more on school work than this story. Enjoy the chapter; it's the longest one I've written so far and it's full of good things I'm sure you all will love! Cheers, all!

Chapter Ten: Impulse

I sat on the window seat, reading the book Dawes had assigned, sipping tea and eating cookies. It was a nice kick-back Sunday. Katie was out doing a school project at the library, which she proceeded to moan about the whole time getting ready, though never revealing the name of a project partner – not that I cared any. To me, a Katie-free day was a gift from above, and any poor soul who had to take her wasn't getting a lick of sympathy from me. Cam, on the other hand, had run out quickly after breakfast, telling my mom something about practice, saying that he'd be there most of the day.

Yes, this was exactly the perfect day.

So of course it had to be ruined.

I saw her coming up the walk way, her ridiculous pigtails and plaid coat making her easily recognizable from the far distance. I immediately began grabbing my stuff as the doorbell rang, trying to make a quick getaway.

"Maya," my mother called to me, "can you get that?"

I nearly cursed at my bad luck. Just one day, that's all I ask. One day free from my bad luck.

Sighing, I put the things in my hands down and trudged to the door, opening it as she rang the bell again.

"Mini Mats!" She squealed happily, pulling me into a big hug, as if she hadn't seen me in ages. "I have found it! I have found the answers to all your problems!" She said, letting herself inside before I could protest.

"Uh, what are you talking about? And more importantly, how did you know where I live?" I asked her as she plopped down onto my sofa.

"Phonebook, there was only two listings with the last name Matlin. The first house I went to wasn't very pleased at me disturbing them." She shrugged, unabashed by it in the least. "And to answer your other question," she pulled something from her bag and shoved them into my hand.

I looked down at it, nearly choking. "Imogen, how –"

"Bianca knows a guy. He's pretty black market, and his prices are decent. Those are good seats too, or so he says, so I don't know how accurate that is."

I gaped at her, my mouth wide open. I was completely speechless. "Imogen, I – wow, I – thank you." I said lamely, feeling a bit taken aback.

In my hand were tickets to a hockey game. It would be the prefect thing to get Cam, that is, if we were talking.

There had been nothing said between us, and besides that one intimate look we shared in the cafeteria, we hadn't made eye contact either.

Meals were extremely awkward. We had to sit across from each other as we ate, trying to avoid each other completely, and making small talk with my parents and Katie, which isn't very easy.

Then there were the questions: "What's wrong?" "Why aren't you and Cam talking?" "Did you two get into a fight?"

I wasn't about to blab anything about the whole bathroom incident to my parents, and I was pretty sure he wasn't either, so I made something up about my being shy around him, which my mother blew off by saying I'd need to get used to him because he was going to be living with us for a while. Like I didn't already know that, I was counting down the days were my misery would end. And the day he'd move out, Katie would be spending the summer at home and then college. Life would be good, that I was sure of.

"It's not a problem," she said, smiling widely. "I think it'd be a nice date for you two. I'd have sprung for something else, but I didn't know the types of music you both like. Desmond had some nice concert tickets, but most were underground bands."

"Oh," was all I said, looking at the tickets with a sad frown. "I can't accept these."

"I insist you take them," Imogen said with a wave of her hand, making her bracelets jingle.

"No, I really can't," I said, shoving them into her hands, feeling the sudden urge to burst into tears.

"But, Mini Mats –"

"Look, I appreciate it. Really, I do. But I can't – we can't –" I felt the tears well in my eyes; a few slipping past my restraints, and Imogen's smile faded and was replaced by a look of concern.

"Mini Mats, did I do something wrong?" She asked quietly, patting my shoulder in a comforting manner. "What happened?"

"It's – I don't want to really talk about it." I sniffed pathetically, wiping my cheeks. "Cam and I just can't go."

"But you and him are meant to be! I know the puck bunnies have been a bit hard on you lately – that stalker rumor is the dumbest thing to ever be told in the hallways of that school, and trust me, that's saying a lot."

"No, it's not that." I said, shaking my head and biting my lip.

"Then what?" she asked, then she looked at me with a sympathetic pout. "Did something happen with you and Puppy Soup?"

I sighed, nodding my head. "And it was bad. I don't think he's ever going to talk to me again. I know for sure that I can never talk to him, and if we didn't live together, I wouldn't show my face around him either."

"Oh this is terrible!" Imogen said miserably, pulling me into another bone-crushing embrace. "What happened? Maybe I can help you fix it! You two cannot be ships passing in the night, I won't allow it! No surrey, Mini Mats, you and Puppy Soup will not be star-crossed lovers. Not on my watch!"

"Imogen," I wheezed, feeling my ribs crack, but her embrace didn't loosen as she went on about how we were fated to be marry, have five kids and a dog (named after Cam, of course!), and how she would make sure it happened, even if she'd have to force him in to it herself.

"Now," she said, finally releasing her vice grip on me, "tell me everything that happened."

I hesitated for a moment. I mean, really, was I actually going to tell Imogen Moreno, a girl who reinvented the word "clinically insane", what had happened to me? I mean was I really going to stoop so low as to go to her for advice on the matter? If I wanted advice from a mental person all I'd have to do was ask Katie, but it would end with her constantly mocking me and telling the entire world until my dying breath. I couldn't exactly tell my parents – my dad would go ballistic and probably give the poor boy a vasectomy, and my mom… well I don't even want to know what she'd do. So yes, I had become the pathetic person to seek advice from a crazy girl.

I told Imogen everything and she had sat quietly, interjecting with the correct noises and making the right expressions, and by the end of the story she only shook her head sadly.

"Oh bother," she whispered grimly, "this is quite a predicament."

I collapsed back into the couch cushion with a pitiful groan. "Yes, it is, isn't it? It's just my luck too."

Imogen patted my knee. "There has to be something we can do to mend this, right? I mean, c'mon, Romeo and Juliet were from warring families and ended up together, not counting their suicides, of course. You and Cam are a much better love story than Romeo and Juliet, you have to end up together, alive and happy, get married and live happily ever after. You and Cam have to be Noah and Allie!"

"Yeah, well the only time Noah saw Allie naked was when she was fully developed and ready to have sex, not in a freak incident of her forgetting to lock the bathroom door."

"Well either way, you two are Noah and Allie, and Noah and Allie had a happy ever after!"

"They died in each other's arms! How exactly is that happy?"

"It is for morbid people!" She argued, shaking her head. "And the book ended it differently, and it's much sadder, so you two better have the movie ending!"

"Planning deaths aside, Cam and I are never going to happen. We'll never get pass this, Imogen. There's no way too."

"Well when you hit a dead end, make a door." She said simply, curling her legs under her.

I sighed, placing my chin onto my knees. "I'm horrible at construction."

Imogen clucked her tongue. "No one likes a pessimist."

"Maya," my mother said, coming out from the kitchen. "Who was at the door?"

"Mom," I said, standing up, Imogen mirroring my action, giving my mother her signature wide, toothy grin. "This is Imogen, a band mate."

"Oh, it's nice to meet you," my mother said, wheeling closer to shake her hand. "Sorry I didn't come out sooner, was paying a few bills. Are you staying for dinner?"

"No problem, Mrs. M, and sure, I'd love to stay, I'd just have to let my mom know."

"Of course," my mother said, smiling. "Well, I'll get started on that. What time did Cam and Katie say they'd be back?"

"Uh, I'm not sure. Cam said he'd have late practice and Katie… well she just said she was meeting her project partner at the library."

"Right," my mother said tersely, frowning. "I wish you kids wouldn't be so vague with where you're going."

"Sorry," I said.

My mother waved it off. "I'm going to get started; you girls just enjoy yourselves out here. Would you like anything to drink, or something to snack on?"

"No thank you," Imogen said politely. "Do you need any help with dinner?"

Her mother smiled. "No, but thank you for offering," then she turned to me, "please invite this girl over more often. Maybe she could teach you and Katie a thing or two about helpfulness."

I gave her a tight grin. "Will do, Mom," I said with an eye roll, sinking back down into the sofa.

Imogen and I sat, watching TV in a comfortable silence when the front door opened, smacking against the wall, and slamming.

Katie had marched in, muttering loudly to herself, and was about to stomp up the stairs when she paused, eyes widening as she saw Imogen. Gripping on the railing till her knuckles were chalk-white, and finally snapped, "What are you doing here?"

Imogen, who had sat there looking at Katie in horror, blinked, cleared her throat and said, "I'm visiting Min- Maya."

The cheerful Imogen that had become the bane of my existence was instantly replaced with a timid, daresay, normal girl. Katie's presence had changed the girl's demeanor entirely, and I wasn't sure I liked that.

"Oh really," Katie said, raising an eyebrow with a mocking look on her face. "And why would you, a senior, waste your time hanging around a freshman? Don't you have friends your own age?" The way Katie had said it made it very clear she knew the answer, and by the sound of Katie's mockery, I was guessing the answer was a no, which made me feel sorry for Imogen.

Imogen's cheeks heated up. "Yes," she said angrily. "And if you must know, Maya and I are in a band together. Hanging out comes with band territory!"

Oh, Imogen, you are just giving Katie ammunition. Stop while you are ahead!

"Oh really, well isn't that nice?" She mocked, smirking at Imogen. "Where's the rest of the band? Are they all too busy living their lives with actual friends?" She asked in mock horror, covering her mouth. Then without waiting for Imogen's answers, cackled and made her way upstairs, leaving Imogen open-mouthed beside me.

I turned to her, giving her an apologetic smile. "Don't mind Katie, she's a bitter girl. Being a bitch and a half comes with the territory."

"Yes," Imogen said through gritted teeth, cheeks still tinged red. "I guess it does."

I patted her leg. "If it makes you feel any better, Katie's only friend is Marisol. That one ought to cheer you up for days. You're better off with little or no friends, than a Marisol." I said wisely.

Imogen grinned a bit. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

She leaned onto my shoulder and sighed. "I do have friends, you know."

I nodded, even though I actually didn't know. I'd never seen Imogen before the band, and had never seen her if she wasn't in my face, singing about my love.

"I just don't have very many. I think I tend to frighten people off."

"Nah," I said cheekily, waving my hand off. "You aren't scary in the slightest."

She smacked me across the shoulder with a giggle. "I'm just not good with people. Or maybe I am, and people aren't good with me."

"I'd say it's the former, but I like the way the latter sounds." I said teasingly.

She laughed. "We're friends, right?"

I thought about it for a moment. Despite how the girl irked me, she had gone out of her way to get hockey tickets so Cam and I could go on a date, without anyone asking her. She believed Cam and I had some epic romance, which even though she embarrassed me by shrieking about it in the halls, was very sweet and almost endearing, if I didn't have a lack of patience and it didn't make me want to strangle her.

"Yes, I think we are somewhere in the friendship category," I said with a nod.

She smiled at me, hugging me. "I call being the maid of honor at yours and Puppy Soup's wedding!"

Yep, I was going to regret that gesture of kindness for a while.

"But one condition," I said, wiggling out from her choke hold.

"Name it." She said, looking very solemn. Jeez, you think she'd been waiting her whole entire life for our wedding.

Wait, I wasn't getting married to him…yet, anyways. I'm pretty sure between the two of us we could force him into holy matrimony.

Ahem.

"No more singing about us in public. I mean it; I don't want him to find out."

"But why not?" she wailed, flopping back into the couch with an exasperated expression.

"Because," I said forcefully, "I want him to find out from me, not some dumb puck bunny."

"Fine," she said, drawing out the word in a heated sigh.

"Good," I smiled, then relaxed into the couch and turned my attention to the TV.

"I think you should just tell him."

"Well, then you don't get out very much."

"But what do you have to lose? I mean the guys already seen you naked, you can't get much worse than that."

"Well, gee, thanks a lot."

"You know what I mean," she said with a giggle.

"Yeah, I guess… But things are awkward now."

"Only because you're both letting it be."

"Well…"

"Take a risk, Mini Mats." She said with a cheeky grin.

I turned away from her, scoffing. Take a risk? As if! I'd probably be laughed into my early grave by him!

Nope, Cam and I ship had sailed. The next life though, he'd be mine for sure!

Cam came home from practice before my mom put the roast on the table. Imogen and I had been setting the table, my mother asking Imogen the standard getting-to-know-you questions, when Cam walked in, looking a bit dazed.

"Hello Cam," my mother said cheerfully, spooning mashed potatoes into a bowl. "How was practice?"

"Fine," he said, "a bit tiring, though. Do you need any help?"

"Sure, could you –" But she stopped midsentence and was staring at his hand. "Cam, what happened to your hand?"

"Oh," he said, glancing down at it. It was wrapped in a sterile bandage, and it was a rusted red from where Cam must have been bleeding. "I nicked it on my skate by accident."

My mother had wheeled over to him, taking his injured hand gingerly and observed did. "Did you clean it? Lord knows how many germs that ice can carry."

"Erm," Cam said, looking a bit guilty.

"C'mon, let's get it cleaned up. Maya, go and get Katie, tell her dinners ready."

I nodded, looking at the line of blood from the bandage. I wasn't an expert or anything, but it looked a bit big to be an accidental nick.

I turned to leave to get Katie and paused, turning back to Imogen. "You are not to call him "Puppy Soup" at any given time, understand?"

"You're no fun!" Imogen whined dramatically.

"I'll revoke your maid of honor status!" I threatened.

She looked abashed, then huffed. "Fine, fine, be a kill joy."

I nodded and headed up to get Katie.

Dinner was awkward, but that was nothing new. Katie glared at Imogen as she bit into her roast angrily. Cam and I avoided each other. Mom and Dad tried to make small talk with everyone. And Imogen had managed to make small talk with Cam, not even mentioning the fact that he looked like a puppy, but mentioning that his name made her instinctually hungry, which had made him blush and mumble something.

"Maya is a really good cellist." Imogen commented when my dad asked her about the band. "I think we can make it somewhere."

"We're okay," I supplied with a shrug. "We'll be better once we practice a few more times and get a gig."

"And groupies." Imogen added, spearing a carrot.

"As if anyone would be a groupie to you," Katie mumbled rudely. I elbowed her, earning a hard kick in the shin that made me yelp.

Imogen's eyes narrowed, but she said nothing, munching slowly on her carrot like a cow chewing cud.

"How have you been, Katie?" Imogen asked kindly once she was done chewing.

"Fine," Katie said snippily, spearing her roast with more force than needed, making Cam scoot further away from her.

"That's good," Imogen said with a smile, nodding a bit. "I'm glad your over that thing with Drew, he's quite something that one. I've been telling Bianca for months to let him go, but she won't hear of it. I don't really get the hype about him – he's okay looking, but a bit of a doorknob, if you know what I mean."

I gaped at Imogen in disbelief. The girl had a death wish! Not only one death wish, but multiple, because I'm completely positive that Katie would bring her back to life and kill her again!

Katie fumed from her spot, stabbing her food so hard it cracked the plate.

"Yes, we were glad when the Drew phase ended," mom supplied, earning herself a glare from Katie.

The old cliché "if looks could kill" was probably going to come true at the dinner table.

"Can I be excused?" Katie said threw gritted teeth, and before she got an okay, she got up so fast it knocked her chair over and she marched up the stairs and slammed her bedroom door so hard I heard something fall and crash.

My father shook his head and continued eating while my mom glared at the ceiling. "Sorry about Katie, she really is a sweet girl," my mom said, and I resisted the urge to snort. Sweet was never the word to describe Katie. Deranged? Yes. Sociopath? Most definitely! But sweet? No, Katie Matlin was anything but.

"She's just going through a rough patch at the moment. Once the air clears she'll be back to her usual self." My mom finished, sipping her water.

Imogen nodded with a smile, but said nothing.

When supper ended and my mom asked us to clear the dishes, I grabbed Imogen's arm. "Are you out of your mind?!"

"What?" Imogen asked, giving me a confused look.

"That thing with Katie earlier, are you completely crazy? She could have killed you. I'm surprised she didn't, because she sure wanted too!"

"Oh that," Imogen said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Katie's always very rude to me, always has been before the dark-hair cynic days, so I had a go at her. No big deal."

"No big deal?" I sputtered indignantly. "It's a very big deal. One time when I was seven and Katie was eleven, I accidentally spilt ice cream on her at the beach, nearly tried to kill me with my bucket, and that was nothing compared to what you did tonight!"

"You're exaggerating." Imogen said, grabbing a few plates and headed for the kitchen.

"I wish I was," I said, grabbing the glasses and silverware and following her. "But I'm not. Katie is a deranged psychopath!"

Imogen giggled, rinsing off the dishes, as Cam brushed past me to gather the rest of the stuff.

"Well, it was worth it, believe me."

I sighed. "I just hope she doesn't take it out on me. She's a vicious person when she wants to be."

Imogen grinned. "So I guess Katie isn't exactly sister of the year?"

"Not by a long shot. I mean she does nice things for me sometimes," I said, thinking about her covering for me with Cam. "But sometimes… I don't know. I think there are times when she just really wants to hurt me."

Imogen patted my hand. "Aw, don't be sad Mini Mats."

We stood in silence, her handing me dishes to load into the dishwasher, when suddenly she snapped her fingers. "I have an idea!"

"Oh boy," I muttered softly.

"No, you're going to love it!" She squealed, clapping her hands excitedly, hopping up and down. "I could be your surrogate big sister!"

I blinked.

"You'd be my little sister!" She squealed, tossing her arms around my shoulders, pulling me into another tight grip.

Yay! Trading one crazy sister in for another!

Once Imogen had left and Cam had run up to his room to hide out, I said goodnight to my parents and went upstairs.

While brushing my teeth I thought of what Imogen had said to me about Cam. Sadly, she was right; I had nothing to lose with him. I could tell him I loved him right now and the same awkwardness would stay between us.

Nothing could be worse than him seeing me naked that was for sure.

I rinsed out my mouth, tiptoed past his room, and crawled into bed, holding Willoughby tightly.

I had a really weird dream about Willoughby teaching my biology class and Tori was supposed to be my partner and we had to ice skate around to explain photosynthesis, and the Ice Hounds kept using my notebook as a puck. Cam had been there, looking at me, but trying not to at the same time. I'd gotten so frustrated that I'd tried to skate over to him as Imogen stood by the sidelines, wearing a foam finger and cheering me on, even though I couldn't get to him.

I'd woken up feeling confused, muttering about my skates being too slow, looking around my room wondering where the classroom had gone.

When I realized it'd been a dream, I sank back into my pillows, shoving my face into Willoughby, thinking about Imogen's words. It was like It's a Small World from hell playing over and over. "What do you have to lose?" "Take a risk, Mini Mats!" over and over, until I couldn't take it anymore.

Looking at my clock I saw it was one in the morning and with a sudden burst of boldness, kicked the covers off and went across the hall, feeling determined. Not even bothering to knock on the door, I opened it with Katie-like force, and saw that he was awake on his computer.

When he saw it was me, he jumped, his face turning bright red. "Uh, Maya, hi!" he squeaked.

"Look, I know things have been awkward!" I snapped, feeling incredibly stupid, but not caring. Imogen's stupid words wouldn't stop, and they were egging me on! "So what, you saw me naked, it's not like you saw anything!" He blushed at that, turning away from me.

I felt impulsive, but embarrassed by what I was saying. It was like watching a car wreck, I couldn't even stop myself. And with a sudden impulse, I marched over to him, making him go very close to the headboard.

"I like you, a lot! And Imogen's right! I have nothing to lose!" With a sudden burst of adrenaline, I grabbed him and kissed him.

Author's Note: Yes! It's finally happened! A Camaya kiss! I bet you didn't expect to see one of those for a while. So how did you guys enjoy the chapter? I hope you enjoyed all the Imogen/Maya goodness, I know Imogen's been lacking a bit the last few chapters, so I figured she'd be the one to indirectly drive Maya to her breaking point of sanity. And just so everyone knows, I know Katie is not as bad as I'm writing her. Every good clichéd story about an awkward girl getting the boy needs a villain, and Katie's whole chaperone-date thing inspired this Katie. I'm also going to bring back the puck bunnies soon, because I have so much planned for them now that the Camaya ball is rolling downhill. As always, thanks to everyone who has reviewed/favored/followed/read because I love you so much! Please leave a quick review, and I will get chapter eleven up as soon as I can!