Who pulled the trigger?
"There you are!" Massie Block poked Cam Fisher at his arm. She parted with Derrick at the end of the block as soon as she spotted Cam. Her bestfriend was standing idly by the front of his building. "I've been calling you all day." She gave him a hug.
He looked thrilled to see her. "I'm glad you're here. I want you to meet som-"
A blonde walked over to them coming from inside. "I'm all set," she said and then noticed Massie. "Your friend, Cam?"
"Yes. Claire, this is Massie Block. Massie, meet Claire Lyons. She's in our year but at St. Agnes Catholic School."
The girls exchanged smiles and shook hands. You could tell Claire was a low-key person. Aside from being quite small, she was only wearing distressed jeans, a brandless sweater, a cap, Keds, and very minimal make-up. Her blonde hair was down and a little frizzy. She was holding a bag of gummy feet.
"She responded to my Missed Connections," Cam told her eagerly. He relayed the story of how they met. Apparently, Claire also had this habit of reading random Missed Connections posts. Cam's post intrigued her, and her friend Layne Abeley urged her to show up and answer it. It was just for a good laugh. In order to identify each other, he would have a bag of Claire's favorite gummy feet, and she a bag of Cam's favorite fruit-apples. They made sure to meet somewhere public, just in case one of them turned out to be a perv or a serial killer. Fortunately, the stunner in the black coat and with a bag of gummy feet wasn't a creep. He was her age and had the most amazing eyes Claire had ever seen. She confessed that she wasn't the girl he was searching for, and he admitted that of course she wasn't because the whole thing was a fake. They hit it off right away. She walked into the café with Layne and walked out without her.
Massie got distracted by the loud sound of heels on the concrete pavement. She looked left. A girl with flaming red hair passed by, one she recognized—Dylan Marvil. In the new season Gucci, no less. She stopped suddenly and waved at someone.
"Hey!" Her greeting was boisterous. She walked to Derrick Harrington, who found his way home only now. Massie could see from behind Cam that the redhead had kissed Derrick on the mouth. "I missed you today. Did you get back your watch?" Massie heard her say.
"Yep, I did. Katrina could've gotten it back ages ago. She was just waiting for an opportunity to get a favor from me in exchange," Derrick replied.
Dylan had bangles on her arms. She made them clang. "That Kristin Fitch just won't let you go, huh? God, those Catholic school girls are pathetic. Please tell me you're done with them."
"Cam showed me what he's working on now," Claire shared dotingly, getting Massie back to their conversation.
Something came over Massie. She felt nauseous. Claire had been to Cam's room? To get to the adjoining room where Cam kept his art, you have to pass by his bedroom. She had never set foot in that store room, albeit it tempted her every single time. It was always closed and locked whenever she was over.
"Are we getting dinner together?" Dylan cooed.
"I don't think he needs to worry. The exhibit will be great," Claire added. Cam looked bashful. Massie was having trouble breathing now. A bit. Why was she growing pissed out of the blue? And disappointed. It was a whole mixture of emotions.
"A proper dinner, Derrick. I don't want to order in pizza. I'm not a dude," Dylan bleated. She whacked his leg with her Fendi handbag mischievously.
You know, in the Most Annoying People Hall of Fame, this girl has her own honorary corner, Massie thought. It was silly because she barely knew her. "I-I haven't seen Cam's project yet," Massie slowly said, getting dreadfully uneasy now. "He hides it from me." She tried to sound like she was teasing Cam because she was. But she certainly did not get the right tone of voice for it. She felt like choking.
She could see Dylan Marvil stroking his hair and Derrick swatting her bangled hand. "I just want to go home, Dyl. Hey, don't touch my hair," he said. Massie pressed the top of her stomach.
"I do?" Cam wondered out loud. It seemed like it just dawned on him. He put his arm around Massie and pulled her to him as to side-hug. "Aww, Mass, if you want to see it, all you have to do is ask. Why are you shy?" He even messed up her hair. It was such a friendly gesture.
Claire looked like she felt left out. That's one thing Massie noticed about her: she was transparent. The girl changed the subject and asked, "Massie, why haven't I seen you at St. Agnes before?"
"Fine! We'll stay in. But for everything else, you do as I say!" Dylan playfully pointed at Derrick. Massie caught him rolling his eyes with a slight grin as the redhead went to shuffle him in.
"Oh yeah, why are you wearing a St. Agnes uniform?" Cam inquired. He thought she looked weird in them.
Dylan stopped shoving Derrick to the door. She spotted the three of them. "Is that…? Unbelievable! Massie Block moved to St. Agnes?" she shrieked.
Cam and Claire both turned to the source of the ruckus.
I'm going to throw up, Massie thought, her hands getting clammy.
Cam squeezed her shoulder. "Hey, are you OK? You look sick."
Feeling light-headed, Massie broke free from him and ran to the street drain a short distance from her. There she let it all out.
Massie kicked her Macbook onto the far side of her bed. She couldn't write her paper. She still felt unwell, and it was unusually cold in her room tonight. She minded to switch off her phone and keep it at a place she couldn't see. She was in no proper condition to interact with other people at the moment. She'd like the rest of her Sunday night hiding.
Which was why she ran off after vomiting in front of Cam and Derrick's building. Classy. All the four people there who knew her were concerned. Naturally, Cam fussed. Claire appeared worried even if they just met—Massie thought that was nice of her. Derrick ran to her to help, but Cam was already pulling back her hair. Even Dylan Marvil showed slight unease ("What is she on, Derrick?").
She was a cesspool of various emotions just then. She wanted to get away until she made sense of them all. She flagged down a passing cab, waved Cam off, and zoomed to 5th Avenue and 95th. She collapsed on her bed and booted up her Macbook with the intention to start school work.
She was pissed, although that was unjustified. Pissed for what reason? She was disappointed. At what? Was she jealous thus the vomit? This was all confusing. Massie knew she constantly dealt with bouts of manic-depressive psychowank. But she absolutely hated it that she couldn't tell when they're about to set in. One minute, she was a Happy Meal then the next she was humming some requiem? Unlike milk with her cereal and Coffeemate with her coffee, that didn't make sense to her at all.
There was a soft knock to her door. "Massie? Are you in there?" It was Cam. He followed her without delay. Was Claire outside too? "Come on, Mass. Open up!"
She took a deep breath and got the door. He was alone.
Cam seemed very troubled, but she observed relief in his face when she opened the door. Like he was glad she was still alive, at the very least. "What's wrong?" He touched her forehead to check her temperature.
"Minor indigestion. I think. It's nothing. I already Googled it. It's nothing," she dismissed by lying. She returned to bed.
Cam sat beside her. He knew not to press her. Massie hated being the object of a commotion. "How are you feeling?"
She didn't respond. Not even a change in facial expression.
And for some reason, he understood what she meant by that. "What do you want to do?"
"I don't want to talk about today or anybody. I don't want to talk about my unwritten Sociology paper." Massie thought of Cam's day with Claire, and hers with Derrick. And then seeing Dylan Marvil. She was in no mood to think about those. "I don't want to talk about my St. Agnes uniform," she said, the right side of her face lolled on her pillow. "It's a funny story. Let's save it for when I can laugh all I want without feeling like I'm going to pass out." She lied on her side.
"You know as well as I do, you won't survive Catholic school." Cam could not help a small snicker. She buried her face onto the pillow to stop herself from chortling. He snuggled next to her. "Hey, do you want to watch Dead Alive?" His gentle hand on her shoulder and the prospect of watching a 1992 movie rated Restricted for its outrageous gore—Massie found herself infinitely better.
He couldn't see Massie's smile because she wasn't facing him, but he knew when she stroked his hand that she approved. Massie moved closer to him. His chest felt so cozy and good on her back. All the bad things she was feeling seeped right off. Just being in close proximity with him, she sensed a strange entity waft through her soul. She was suddenly overcame with joy and comfort. For Massie, it was the sweetest thing someone can do for her. That when she contacts you regardless of convenience and time and ask if you can meet (either one of you can come over) so she can put her head on your chest while smoking a cigarette, say yes. Cam had always been there for her.
"Cam," she asked after minutes of basking in each others' warmth and stillness. "Remember when we first fought?"
"Hmm. What fight exactly was that?"
Massie made circles on the back of his hand. "In Broadway? You were livid. And I just laughed and walked away."
He had a recollection now. "You're evil. You left me," he said.
"I did. And I didn't say sorry." Massie smiled faintly. "I never say sorry."
They were children (read: immature), and it was when they were about to watch the Broadway show Spring Awakening. She forgot her ticket at home. Cam was the one most excited to see it, but he insisted that she take his ticket and go ahead to catch the start of the show while he retrieve hers. Massie was resolute that she'd be the one to go back. She sensed his annoyance, and she didn't like it that he was holding in something that was clearly bothering him. She folded his ticket and threw it at him before stomping off to the direction of her house. "MASSIE! You got my ticket wet!" Cam shouted. True enough, when Massie looked back, she saw that his ticket landed on a puddle. She knew she acted like a c-nt. If the same thing happened to her, she'd be seething. Regardless of all that, she found herself laughing uncontrollably. It was impulse, and everything was just too funny. It landed on a puddle. You got my ticket wet. She could not stop. She walked home, recovered her ticket, and went back still laughing. It didn't take a while for Cam to find it funny as well. Her laugh was infectious. They made up because of Massie's oddball humor (or her inability to control her sniggering). Just like that, they forgot their troubles.
"You got my ticket wet," Cam fondly recalled his exact words that night. They laughed. It was still funny after all these years.
This was what it was like when Cam and Massie fought. Fights lasted a few seconds, a couple of minutes, an hour… At times, they went on streaks. They went a full week arguing. Other times, they went a long stretch without. It varied. Cam was very sensitive to her feelings. He apologized when it was his fault. She was always the more stubborn one. She never admitted when she was in the wrong.
But each time, they found ways to forget their troubles. Just like that.
Because no trouble ever was worth what Massie and Cam had.
A/N: So, who did you think she was jealous of? And which girl annoyed her?
If you are also interested, on my Bio page you can see how I picture the Clique characters. I have character/s on there that I haven't mentioned in the story yet. That's a spoiler for you. Please review!