Alrighty! Here you guys go- a Camille-centered chapter! Enjoy!

Chapter 10: How Strong?

When Camille woke up, it was nearly one in the afternoon. She had been on set until four in the morning filming, went straight home and crashed. Her father was at work already, so she dragged herself out of bed in order to find something to eat. She opened the refrigerator door. Bacon, eggs, and sausage stared at her…but all those required cooking.

Cereal it is.

She was excited about finally having a day off. She'd been working almost nonstop since landing the part on her show, which would finally be premiering in September. The cast and crew were doing everything they could to make sure the show was a hit, so they made sure to go all-out with every take they shot. Camille got to do a lot of her own stunts, which was definitely fun, but it was taking a toll on her body. She was bruised and achey, and she couldn't remember the last time she'd had a decent night's sleep, so today she was taking comfort in the fact that she could just relax and take a long bubble bath.

As she ate, her mind drifted to that last conversation she'd had with Logan, when they'd apologized to each other for their fight in the middle of the park. She really did feel bad about their fight, but that didn't mean she wasn't justified in telling him off. At least, that's what she was trying to convince herself of. In retrospect, she probably shouldn't have agreed to see him while she was so furious she could barely see straight, but what was done was done.

And yet there they were, right back where they started. In the awkward position of having definite feelings for each other and yet not being a couple. Camille couldn't help but wonder if maybe they really should just give up on each other and move on, but it was hard to let go of something she'd invested so much of herself into. Between her filming schedule and the fact that he no longer even lived at the Palm Woods, there was no way they'd even be able to have a real relationship anyway. Better to quit while they were ahead, right? She didn't know how much more of the drama she could take. She liked him a lot, but everything seemed to be against them. How much crap was she supposed to go through before finally accepting that maybe they just weren't supposed to be together?

When she finished her cereal, she put her bowl in the sink and rinsed it out. Over the run of the water, she heard her phone start ringing. She closed her eyes and prayed.

No. No. No.

It was her agent.

Damn it.

"Hello?"

"Camille! How tired are you right now, on a scale of one to ten?"

"Seventeen," she replied. "Please don't tell me I have something today?"

"Sorry, girl. You need this publicity though. I managed to get you and JT in for an interview with Popstar Magazine today at three. I'm sending a car to pick both you guys up."

Camille sighed. "Okay. Will you be there, or..?"

"Not for this one babycakes, you guys are going to be on your own. Don't be nervous and you'll do fine. Be ready by 2:15."

"Alright. Bye, Amanda."

So much for that long bubble bath. She now had just over an hour to shower, dry and do something with her hair, find clothes, and do her makeup. She looked longingly over at the comfy couch in the living room that seemed to be calling her name, telling her to go curl up with a book. But no. Work comes first, she thought sadly. She went back to her room and stood in front of her closet, staring into it, willing an outfit to reveal itself to her so she wouldn't have to decide what to wear. She finally settled on a pair of white shorts with a green top and some sandals.

She was ready a few minutes early and headed down to the lobby to wait for the car. When it arrived, she saw that her co-star, JT, was already there. JT played her main love interest on the show, so they were getting to be pretty good friends. He'd kept it casual, apparently, wearing a simple outfit of jeans and a t-shirt with a backwards baseball cap over his unstyled brown hair. They chatted on the way to the interview, arriving right on time due to traffic in the city.

The interviewer was a twenty-something year old excitable blonde woman with very white teeth and perfectly manicured nails. She was practically bouncing up and down with enthusiasm. The interview went smoothly, and the two teens talked about what it was like on set, all the long nights of filming they'd been doing, and how even though the show was airing in about a month, none of the cast had seen cuts of the episodes. They talked about all being good friends with each other and how they hung out outside of work so they could get to know one another. The interviewer also wanted to know how their loves had changed since starting work on the show.

"For most of the younger cast, this is our first big job," Camille said.

"Ah, so, it's your big break?"

"Yeah, pretty much. I mean we've done odd jobs here and there, but this is the first time we've been steadily working."

"Is that true for you too, JT?"

"Definitely," he answered. "In fact, up until I got the part, I was waiting tables at a restaurant in between going to auditions."

After the interview, they took a few photos for the magazine. Camille and JT each took some solo shots and then they did a few together. It was nothing fancy—they didn't even have to change clothes or do makeup. Finally they were released, and they were told that their interview would show up in the next issue of Popstar.

Camille stifled a yawn. She was still exhausted from the lack of sleep.

"So, you want to grab some dinner?" JT asked.

"Sure," she replied. "There's a ton of places around here."

The pair walked around the area, and were pleasantly surprised to see a billboard of the two of them advertising the premier of their show. JT was looking dark and mysterious, while Camille looked down to the ground, a pair of fairy wings protruding from her back.

"Oh my God, this is so weird," she said.

"It's so cool!"

"I can't believe this all happening so fast."

"Me either," JT said. "But I'm glad it is."

They kept it simple for dinner, stopping at a small pizza place for a while. When they walked out of the restaurant, a couple of paparazzi were hanging around outside. They snapped a few pictures of the pair, recognizing them from the billboards and commercials that had become more prevalent recently. Since it was getting dark out now, the bright flashes of the camera startled Camille, and she grabbed on to JT's wrist for support. He took her hand and led her down the street away from the photographers, who thankfully seemed content with the shots they'd gotten and didn't bother following.

"I'd better catch a cab home," Camille said, blushing slightly when she realized she was still holding JT's hand. She let go of it quickly and took her phone out, just to have something to fiddle with. Why was she so nervous all of a sudden?

"Yeah, me too…" JT said awkwardly.

"Okay… well. I'll see you tomorrow then." She hailed a cab and almost immediately one stopped for her. It was a miracle.

"Bye, Camille."

She got in the cab and as it drove away she looked back and saw that JT had shoved his hands in his pockets and was staring after her. She turned back around, smiling to herself.

Her call time the next day was seven AM, so she knew that she had to get to bed soon, but since she'd been gone all day, she hadn't had time to go over her scenes once more. Before she could go to sleep, she had to make sure she knew all her lines. As she paged through it, her eyes widened when she got to a particular scene. How had she missed this last time she read the script?

Laurel kisses Tamani.

So far all the filming they'd done had Camille and JT exhibiting burgeoning feelings for each other, and it seemed that tomorrow they would finally be shooting the episode where they made it official. Camille swallowed. She'd done on-screen kisses before, and she knew it was going to be awkward. It always was. The first take would be completely embarrassing, the second only slightly better, third even better than that and the fourth probably would be the best. Then however, they'd have to deal with different camera angles, or making sure their hands were in the right places, or making sure Camille's hair wasn't blocking her face, and they'd have to do even more takes to fix all those problems, so by the eighth or ninth time around, it wouldn't be awkward anymore, just tedious.

Great.

Camille told herself that it wouldn't be so bad. She and JT were friends. They had fun together, and he was easy to talk to. He was refreshingly genuine, unlike so many of the actors she'd worked with before, who either acted like divas and threw fits or whose noses were so high in the air that they'd drown if it started raining. She wondered if he'd known all along that tomorrow would be their big scene, or if he, like her, had discovered it just now. Either way, it was going to be an interesting day on set.

Once she had assured herself that she did, in fact, know all her lines, she settled into bed, setting her alarm for 5:30 AM. It almost caused her actual pain to set her alarm so early. She'd be up and out of the apartment before her dad had even gotten up for work. She was not looking forward to another night of fewer than six hours of sleep. But, she thought to herself, she couldn't really complain, could she? She wanted to be an actress, and this was what she got. She could be back in Connecticut working at the frozen yogurt place still.

When Camille arrived on set the next morning, she found JT running lines in a corner. She offered him a cup of coffee.

"Morning," she yawned.

"Morning," he replied, reaching for the coffee. "Thanks. So you ready for today?"

Camille grinned. "I plan to make it as awkward as possible," she joked.

"Damn, that was my plan," JT laughed. "Should we rehearse it, then?"

"Yeah, we might as well."

The pair stood a few feet apart and went over their scene, neither of them needing to use the script.

Tamani: But Laurel, you have to realize that this world isn't yours anymore.

Laurel: You keep saying that, but who are you trying to convince? Me or yourself? I won't choose between the family that raised me and the family I was born to.

Tamani: I'm not trying to make you choose! It's not a choice, Laurel. It's an obligation.

Laurel: That's not my fault! I didn't ask for any of this. All I ever wanted was a normal life at a normal school. Why does no one understand that?

Tamani [Taking Laurel's hand]: I do understand. I know this is overwhelming. But I hope you know that I'm here for you. Always.

Laurel: Really? Always?

Tamani: Always. [They kiss.]

JT closed the distance between and kissed Camille tenderly. Her eyes fluttered closed as their lips met, and she brought a hand to the back of his neck, moving her mouth against his. When they finally broke apart, JT's eyes met Camille's and they both smiled shyly.

"That… that was really good," JT said.

Camille felt herself blushing and tried to be professional. "Yeah… you, er, that was great."

Just then, their director arrived. "Oh good, you two are already here. Camille, you need to get into makeup and wardrobe ASAP so you can get your wings on. JT, please go try to do something about your hair. We start shooting in two hours, that should give both of you plenty of time. Let's move out, people!"

Camille and JT parted ways to go get ready, and she tried to put their kiss out of her mind, as well as the butterflies rolling around in her stomach. It was just a rehearsal, she told herself. Stop being such a girl.

They shot the kiss scene first, and she and JT nailed it in four takes. Each time she felt more comfortable than the time before, and she knew without even seeing it that it was going to be a great scene. After the kiss scene, they had a break while some other people filmed, and then she and JT filmed another few scenes together. It was a long day, but luckily it wasn't yet dark out when they were released for the day.

As Camille was packing up her bag to go home, JT came up behind her.

"Hey, Camille?"

She turned to find him standing in her dressing room doorway. "Hey," she said. "Good job today."

"Thanks. You too," he chewed on his lip somewhat nervously. Camille waited for him to say something. "Okay, this might be totally inappropriate, so feel free to slap me or something if this in anyway makes you uncomfortable, 'cause I know you're just trying to be professional here and I don't want to jeopardize our friendship by asking you this," he rambled, "but I was wondering if maybe you'd want to go out with me sometime? Like, out out."

It took Camille a moment or two to process everything he'd just said. "Go out with you? Like… like a—"

"Like a date, yeah," he finished for her. She was rather taken aback. "I know, it was stupid, I shouldn't have asked you—"

"No, no, no! I'd love to go out with you," Camille surprised herself with the answer that fell out of her mouth. Funny what could happen when she didn't allow herself to think too much.

JT looked both relieved and happy. "Really? Awesome. I really didn't want to freak you out by asking."

"Not at all," she smiled back.

"Okay. Cool. Well, I'll text you soon then?"

"Sounds good."

JT exited her dressing room and Camille couldn't stop the grin that filled her face. She didn't know what she'd been expecting when he showed up in her doorway, but asking for a date was the farthest thing from her mind. Now that it had happened though, she started to get excited. A long draining day at work had had an excellent turn around.

She hailed a cab and directed him to the Palm Woods. As she shut her door, her phone buzzed from her pocket. Surely it couldn't be JT so soon…

From: Logan M.

Oh God. Logan. With everything going on, she hadn't even thought of him. Until now. Should she tell him about her date? Or would he think she was rubbing it in his face? She opened the message.

Hey. Just wanted to check in on you. Hope your day off went well yesterday. Saw the commercial for the show, it looks awesome! We TiVo'd it :)

Trying not to go into panic mode, she slid the phone back into her pocket without responding. He didn't know she was off work yet; that could be her excuse for the awkwardly long response time while she thought of what to say. Technically they weren't dating, so there was no reason she should feel guilty about going out with JT, right? After all, during their big fight, she'd laid it all out there on the table. And while she felt about fighting with Logan, she'd meant what she said. She wasn't going to sit around and wait on him. They'd apologized to each other and were friends again, but that was it. Friends.

When she got back to the apartment, she had dinner with her father, who surprised her by ordering in from her favorite take-out place. She talked with him about work for a bit, conveniently leaving out the detail of her kissing scene with JT earlier that day. She didn't quite know how to broach that subject. After dinner, her father cleaned up and got ready for bed; he had an early meeting the next day.

Finally, she decided to text to Logan back.

Camille: Hey! Just had dinner w/my dad. My day off turned into an interview session. Glad you liked the commercial! How's school going?

A few minutes later came the reply.

Logan: You'll judge me if I say I love it…

Camille: Lol. But you so do. You loooove it.

Logan: I really do. It's kinda nice to just be normal again.

Camille: As normal as a teen pop star going to public school can be. It's very Hannah Montana of you :D

Logan: Yes. We've got the Best of Both Worlds :p

Camille: Haha, omg. You did not just quote Miley Cyrus lyrics at me! And shouldn't you be getting to bed soon?

Logan: Hey, you started it! And yes, but Carlos needed help with Pre-Cal. I'm trying to teach him how to graph. He says hi.

Camille: Hi Carlos! Anyway, I'm exhausted. Off to bed for me. Night, guys!

Logan: Night.

Camille plugged her phone into its charger and changed into her pajamas. She really was exhausted, and she had another early call time the next day. She got into bed and turned out her light, rolling over trying to get comfortable. As she was drifting off, her phone buzzed again. She groaned into her pillow. Who could it be now?

From: Director John
Change of plans for tomorrow. Problem w/set construction. Filming delayed until further notice.

Camille rubbed her eyes and read the message again. Was it true? A real day off? Silently thanking any and all gods that were looking out for her, Camille rolled back over into her comfortable spot, thinking she would finally get the relaxing day she'd been needing. However, her attempt at sleep was interrupted yet again by her phone.

Practically growling in frustration, she snatched it from her nightstand.

From: JT
Filming delayed tomorrow, you hear? How do you feel about hanging out tomorrow? Sorry if this woke you..

Torn between annoyance and flattery, Camille typed a response.

Camille: As long as it's after about 3 in the afternoon, I'm all yours. Good night!

With that, she set her phone to silent mode and put it face down on the stand. It was gonna be an interesting day.

Hope you guys liked it! Pleeeease review? Pretty please? Let me know your thoughts!

Sneak peek for the next chapter: James gets himself in over his head, Logan finds out about Camille's date, and Kendall's relationship with his mom is put under some strain…

Also- shout out to my anon reviewer, Q: Thanks so much for taking time to leave substantial comments and answering my questions! It's been so nice seeing your words of encouragement as I've been writing this, you've been a big help. I really do appreciate it!