Chapter Ten

{Cammie}

For their first game of the season, our soccer team was playing the Westtown Bandits—something no one was too thrilled about. Westtown was not only really good, but they were really rough. The previous year, they had caused a total of fourteen injuries for their opponents, the least damaging one being a fractured collarbone. Despite half their team being kicked out of the state tournament for foul play and aggressive offense, they still ended up winning the State Championship title because they were just that good. Needless to say, we weren't only worried about our players' health, but about our undefeated title as well.

Since Ryan was the captain of the soccer team and Zach and Jonas were star players, the rest of us were forced to attend all their home games, and even though Zach and I weren't on the best of terms (but seriously, when were we?), I decided to still go to support our friends.

And maybe to make sure no one got hurt.

Dressed in shorts and blue jerseys with our friends' soccer numbers on the back—mine with Ryan's and hers with Jonas'—Liz and I finally made it to the game. When we entered the bleachers, I could see that the game had already started and the stands were crowded with supportive students.

"Cammie! Liz!"

Macey waved us over to where the rest of our gang was seated—front and center with the best view.

"Hey, sorry we're late," I apologized, squeezing my way to sit beside Bex with Liz in tow. "What'd we miss?"

"Nothing much, except Cody Nichols was 'accidently' tripped and twisted his ankle," Bex explained, annoyed. With an eye roll, she added, mumbling, "Accident my ass."

"Westtown's playing dirty already?" Liz asked in shock. "It's two minutes into the game!"

I couldn't blame her for being surprised considering they usually didn't start getting rough until the second half, or until they started losing by a few goals. They must've really thought that our boys were big threats to their own undefeated title if they started dirty right out the gate.

"I guess they're not wasting any time," Hannah said with a worried sigh. "I hope our boys play it safe out there."

Declan snorted. "Ryan? Safe? I bet you ten dollars the next foul is called on him as retribution for what happened to Cody," he said confidently, squeezing Macey's hand for backup.

Hannah groaned, abandoning her usual attitude towards Macey's boyfriend due to be overly concerned about our boys on the field. "I know. He's a loyal idiot," she whined, although that was one of the reasons we all loved Ryan—he would do anything to backup his team.

We continued to watch as our boys continued to take, as well as give out, beating after beating until both teams were fouling all over the place. The play wouldn't last ten seconds without a foul being called, often times on a player that wasn't even near the ball. Eventually, at some point after half time, Grant showed up and joined us, complaining about how dumb Zach and Ryan were being by committing pointless fouls and playing recklessly, which only made Hannah and Macey worry more about their well-being.

Zach had the ball in his possession when one of the bigger Westtown players began closing in on him, chasing Zach as he advanced down the field. It was obvious that the bigger guy was planning on slamming himself into Zach to make him lose control of the ball, but suddenly, another player squeezed his way in at the last second and took the hit instead.

The referee blew his whistle and the play ceased. That's when I caught a glimpse of the boy who had been crushed beneath the mammoth-sized player by his own will. Someone who hated Zach, and who I never thought would actually try to protect him…

Lucas Grey.

Lucas Grey took a hit for Zach like a football player would for their quarter back.

I was shocked, to say the least.

With the help of two other teammates, he limped back to the bench where Cody sat, icing his swollen ankle. Lucas sat next to him and began stretching out his knee as another play began. As if he could feel me staring, he looked up into the bleachers and found me almost instantly. He smiled awkwardly, like he wasn't sure if he should or not, and nodded in my direction.

It had been two weeks since I found out he was just trying to use me and, even though we still hadn't spoken because I couldn't stand the thought of listening to him spin more lies, I smiled back and gave him a small wave. It was the least I could do considering he put himself in harm's way and got injured just so Zach wouldn't have.

Like I said, not even ten seconds had passed when the crowd collectively gasped and the whistle blew again. I snapped my attention back to the field and saw the same big guy who took out Lucas now standing over Zach who was laying on the ground motionless.

"Oh my God," Liz exclaimed quietly and slightly breathy as she gaped at the scene before her.

"What happened?" I panicked.

Jumping up from her seat, Macey explained, "I think he just got knocked out." Without even waiting for a response, she rushed down onto the field with Grant immediately following, both of them fuming with anger.

While Liz, Bex, Hannah, Declan, and I remained seated up in the stands, Macey kneeled down beside her cousin who still remained unmoving and Grant stopped next to Ryan, saying something to which Ryan shook his head at.

The massive player responsible for what was happening started to laugh, which only angered Grant even more. Instantly, Grant was in the other guy's face and Ryan was latching onto Grant's arm trying to hold him back.

"Oh, no," Hannah said as we all watched in horror.

"Let's go," Bex order.

We didn't waste any time hurrying over to our friends, knowing Grant needed us to calm him down that instant before he did something stupid.

As we approached, I heard Ryan tell him, "Come on, Grant, you can't hit him," as he tried to hold Grant back from the giant who was still smiling as if he was proud of his work.

"No, you can't hit him or you'll be off the team," Grant argued. "I can hit him all I want!"

"He's not worth it, man," Ryan explained, his voice strained as he struggled to keep his hold.

Jonas grabbed the other arm and calmly said, "Grant, chill out. Zach's fine."

Relieved, I looked down to see that Jonas was right. Besides the blood that was running down his face from a massive cut on his forehead, Zach was okay.

Macey leaned over, careful of the blood staining Zach's jersey, and gave him a hug. "Thank God you're all right."

"I'm fine, Mace," he mumbled, shrugging her off. She offered to help him up to his feet, but once again he refused her assistance. He started to head towards the locker room, probably to clean his face, swaying as he went. Stumbling slightly, he pressed a palm to his head. "Whoa. My head's spinning," he said, his eyes unable to focus on anything. As he passed, he lost his balance and fell into me.

I grabbed his elbow and steadied him again, noticing how blurry his eyes were. "Here," I started, pulling his arm around me. "I'll help you."

With him leaning heavily against me, I steered us towards the boys' locker room and lowered him to the floor once we were inside. I pulled paper towels from the dispenser and ran them under the sink, wetting them so I could wipe away the blood that was still dripping from the gash on his temple.

"This doesn't look too good," I told him, wincing. It was a pretty big slit with a steady stream of dark red flowing from it and down the side of his jaw. I wasn't a doctor, but it didn't look like any normal cut I had seen.

"It's fine," Zach assured me, his words drowsy and his eyes closed.

I continued to wash his face, telling myself to stop focusing on the fact that I was so close to him. This was no time for my girl hormones to kick in. Of course, that didn't stop me from wishing that I could steal more than just glances at his lips while his eyes were shut.

Eventually, he stopped bleeding. It had taken so long, though, that I was afraid he had fallen asleep.

"Zach? Are you all right?" I asked after throwing away my seventh blood-drenched paper towel.

"Mmm-hmm," he moaned.

"Well, it's no longer bleeding," I told him. "Do you need me to do anything else?"

Slowly, he shook his head.

"Do you want me to leave?" I asked again, seeing as though he probably just wanted some rest.

He opened his eyes to slits, focusing on me and where I stood by the sink. Our gazes locked for a moment, and then he shook his head again.

::*::*::*::

{Zach}

Cammie just stared at me. I must've looked like shit with the cut on my forehead and blood on my jersey, but she didn't say anything about it. She just looked at me, her eyes never leaving mine. She was probably checking to see if my vision cleared, and I liked knowing she was concerned about me.

After determining I was fine, she looked down at the paper towel in her hand. "Here," she said, kneeling next to me again and wiping away sweat and dirt from the rest of my face now that the blood was gone.

When Macey had tried to help me earlier, I stopped her because I knew I was fine and didn't need to be coddled. But when Cammie tried, I let her. I guess I never imagined she'd care enough to help me, so seeing that she did stopped me from brushing her off. Silently, I watched her and enjoyed everything she did to me—physically and emotionally.

I loved having her this close to me, but I hated that I could feel the uneasiness radiating off her every time she touched my face. What I hated even more was that I knew it was because of the other night when I pushed her away after she trusted me with her secret about her dad.

I swallowed hard before opening my mouth to apologize. "Cam? About the other day—"

"We don't have to talk about that right now," she told me. She knew what I wanted to say, but she was avoiding that conversation for reasons unknown to me. I could sense how tense she was around me because I once again pushed her away. So, why wouldn't she let me explain?

"Yes, we do, Cam," I said, sitting up on my own away from the wall, my voice strong and demanding while my grasp on her hand was desperately begging for her to listen.

"Zach, you just got elbowed in the face and bled for ten minutes straight," she argued. "This conversation can wait."

I didn't necessarily agree with her, but I wasn't going to argue. I was afraid that if I did, I would just watch her pull away from me even more. So instead, I simply leaned back against the wall again and let her continue to take care of me.

As she wiped down my face with the wet towel, a piece of her hair fell out of her ponytail. Without giving myself any time to come to my senses, I reached out and gently brushed it back, my fingers caressing her soft check.

She tried to fight the urge to look at me, but ultimately failed. Her bright blue orbs fixed on my green ones, and I couldn't keep myself from smirking.

The thought of kissing her had barely entered my mind when the locker room door opened and a few of my teammates filed in. Cammie jumped back, resuming her spot at the sink and turning the water on to wet another towel in a vain attempt to appear normal.

"Hey, man. How's the head?" Ryan asked as he and the others rounded the corner. Reaching out for my hand he added, "Got a concussion or anything?"

"Uh, I don't think so," I answered as he lifted me to my feet.

"That was a nasty hit, man," he said, laughing. "Thanks for cleaning him up, Cammie. Can't have him showing up to my house dripping blood everywhere."

Cammie nodded, but didn't respond. Turning to me, she said, "I guess I'm all done here." Even though her voice was normal, her eyes lingered on mine a little too long, almost as if begging me not to let her leave. I wanted so badly to give in to her, but I couldn't. Not in front of the guys.

Instead, I just nodded, even though all I really wanted to do was to kick the guys out and tell her to stay so I could hold her close. She must've been expecting my dismissal, because when she handed me the fresh towel on her way out, she didn't look the slightest bit disappointed.

Which only made me feel even shittier. I leaned over the sink, debating with myself on whether I should say something or just let her hate me for a little bit until I could smooth things over when no one else was around.

"Hey, Cam?" I heard a voice call out. It wasn't until I looked up into the mirror to see her reflection standing in the doorway looking at me that I realized the voice was mine. "Thanks."

Her facial expression didn't change, but I saw the relief in her eyes. "I'm just glad you're okay," she said before walking out the door.

At the same time, Grant walked in, barely sidestepping her before running her over. "Oh, hey, Cam," he acknowledged her with a hint of surprise.

"Grant," she replied. And then she was gone.

Still confused, he asked me, "What was she doing in here?"

"Playing nurse," Ryan teased, causing Jonas and the others to giggle like little school girls.

"She actually helped you?" Grant asked, astonished.

I nodded, dreading how big a deal he was making it.

"And you let her?"

Reluctantly, I nodded again.

"I think maybe you were hit a little too hard," he joked, patting me on my back.

The guys all laughed again, except I noticed that one voice was missing. I didn't have to look (in fact, I deliberately tried not looking) to know that Ryan wasn't laughing, but was instead watching me intently.

"Anyway," Grant said after his laughter died, "I was just seeing if you were okay. I gotta take Cammie and Lizzie home, and then I'll see you guys at Ryan's house."

Once the team was done changing and goofing off, they all left to head to Ryan's after-party that he throws after every home game.

Everyone except for Ryan, that is.

The last person left, and instantly, Ryan leaned against the wall and folded his arms over his chest. "Okay. Talk."

"About what?" I asked, playing dumb. Talking was the last fucking thing I wanted to do at that moment.

"About Brad and Angelina breaking up," he replied in that smartass way he knew I hated. "What do you think I mean, bro? What's going on with you and Cammie?"

"We're not fighting anymore," I answered with a shrug, thinking that if I pulled this off and Ryan actually believed me, then I deserved a fucking Oscar. "We're finally able to be in the same room and not be at each other's throats."

He raised his brow like a mom waiting for her child to tell her the truth…and I hated that he still saw through me.

"I don't know why you're trying to dig deeper, man," I complained. "I thought everyone would be happy that we were on speaking terms."

"Speaking terms?" he repeated, and I knew he didn't believe a word I just said. "Is that all?"

"Why are you second-guessing all my answers?" I asked, narrowing my annoyed gaze at him.

"Because, Goode, I know you. And I know Cammie," he began. "When she followed you up from the basement that night, I could tell there was something different about her. And then things between you two changed after that."

"You notice stuff like that?" Of course, he did. He was Ryan fucking Matthews. He could read people like a book, see through all their lies like they were made of glass. It was annoying as hell.

He smirked. "Yes, I notice stuff like that," he said, teasing me. Everyone knew he noticed everything. "First, you both avoided us that following weekend, probably to avoid running into each other. Then, when we were camping and she snuck over to our tent with Hannah, she blushed at the sight of you, and she blushed again when Hannah claimed they just wanted to visit their two favorite boys. And let's not forget, you never stopped glaring at me when she and I were partners in that chicken fight with Bex and Grant at the river."

Aw, shit. He knows.

"Fuck your perceptive, photographic memory," I spat at him, which only made him laugh because he knew he caught me in my web of lies.

"So?" he asked, pressing for answers. "What's with you and Cam?"

I sighed, knowing that I couldn't keep it from him anymore since he already knew. Frustrated, I dragged me hands through my hair. "I don't know, man. There's just something about her. I just can't stop thinking about her."

"Or kissing her."

Exactly. Ugh, I hated myself for doing this. "Yeah."

He gave a humorless laugh and shook his head. "Shit, Zach."

"Don't tell Macey. Or Hannah. Or anybody."

"I won't," he promised, raising his hands in defense, "but they're all gonna find out eventually."

"No," I warned. That was the last thing that was going to happen. I'd make sure of it. "This is just a temporary thing. No one's gonna find out."

He scrunched his face in confusion. "Temporary?"

I nodded. "We're not, like, dating or anything. We're just…kissing."

Shaking his head, he told me, "You can't pull this off alone, bro."

"Are you offering to help me, Ryan?"

"Hey, you said it yourself, you're actually getting along. I'm not gonna ruin that for you guys," he told me.

He can't be serious, can he? He was actually approving of what Cammie and I were doing? Sure, it's helping us not argue, but he of all people should know what it means to get involved with a friend.

But maybe that's why he wants to help? Because he and Hannah aren't necessarily a couple either, and even though everyone knows about them, they still sneak around like they're some big secret. So, maybe he knows how fragile things like this were, and he just wants to keep it from destroying what little truce Cammie and I have going for us?

"Besides," he continued, picking up his soccer bag and hauling it over his shoulder, "you're the first guy interested in her that I approve of. I know you won't break our little Cammie's heart." He finished with a pat on my shoulder, one that felt like it held the weight of the world. I knew fully well that I could break Cammie's heart, and with that, the whole dynamic of the group would be shattered. But Ryan had faith in me, so I believed him when he said he could trust Cammie with me.

I just had to be careful.

"All right, enough acting like girls. I've got a whole soccer team already at my place waiting for a party," he said, laughing as he walked out the door.

Hey y'all! Hope you liked the new chapter! A lot of you have said in the past that you wanted Zach or Cammie to come clean to someone, so I threw that in there just for you (: I was thinking about him telling Grant instead, because he's a canon character and Ryan is my own, but since Ryan is "very perceptive" and seems to already know, I decided on him.

So, I'm currently updating this while I'm trying to watch the season premiere of The Walking Dead, and I just keep getting distracted! TWD is so intense lol.

Oh, also, I finished the Legend Series, like, forever ago but I forgot to mention it before, and I would TOTALLY recommend it for anyone looking for a new book/series to read. They're all really good books and the ending of the last one was so...good...! Some people were complaining about it, but I really enjoyed it (:

Anyway, I'm in need of another book to read, so if y'all could help me out again...? Lol. I already read a lot of the big ones, like Mortal Instruments, The Maze Runner, The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, etc. etc. (not Twilight, but I don't want to read it...sorry for those of you who like it!).

okay, back to fanfic, leave a review and tell me what you thought of the chapter, as well as what you want to see in the upcoming ones! Thanks for your support and love, and stay awesome y'all (: