A/N: New chapter! This isn't the big big one but it's a good build up. I promise the next one will have more action, maybe more Zammie. I can't promise a quick update but I'll try my hardest. Enjoy! (p.s. for my Percy followers, I'm sorry but my next chapter is half way done)

Chapter 11

I was in desperate need for water and a shower. I peeked into Liz and Macey's room and saw Liz was gone (as usual) and Macey was still tucked away in bed (as usual). It was like a normal Saturday morning, minus that I now start my Saturdays earlier. And that my door was already open with a pajama-clad Bex inspecting our closet.

"Whatcha doing?" She held up a dress.

"Just trying to decide what to wear." I looked at the outfit that was hanging up at the end of the closet.

"You already decided what you would wear, Duchess." She wrinkled her nose and put the dress back.

"But what if it's not good enough." Her voice was soft and her eyes were sad. I knew the look well. That's how I looked almost everyday for a month after finding out Josh and DeeDee were together. Was Bex actually insecure? She talked about an ex boyfriend and how her friends had some tough breakups, but the way she was always so enthusiastic about boys, I never would have thought she would be insecure about them. She was mad when Jason cheated on her, but she bounced right back. Maybe those things did change her. I held up the outfit that was already tried on, washed, and finalized. She looked down at it but I looked at her.

"It is good enough. And Grant will think it's perfect." She gathered the outfit in her arms and gave a soft smile.

"You still have ten hours until you leave. Relax a little."

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By five o'clock I was really wishing that I took Zach up on the doors open offer, but by then it was too late to escape.

Bex was successful at relaxing, if by relaxing you mean studying for an hour (Liz would approve), compulsive cleaning (Macey did not approve when the vaccum came out), and a few hours of yoga (which would be fine if she wasn't also doing kickboxing moves). I got roped into yoga when it was still good old fashioned meditation. After one sequence, Bex decided to kick it up a notch.

"Bex!" I ducked from my warrior position when she decided a spontaneous kick into the lunge would spice up the sequence.

"Come one Cam. Add some pep to your step." Well her steps were bouncing back and forth when she was still supposed to be in a lunge position.

"No thanks. Already had my cardio today."

She smirked, "Well anyone crazy enough to wake up at seven on a Saturday to run can certainly add a few kicks to yoga."

I went along with trying to put some pep in my step for about thirty more minutes. I was starting to sweat and probably needed another shower. Bex was only glistening. Some girls have all the luck.

"Hey Cam. I bet I have a deeper splits than you do." I didn't have any doubt about that. I had seen her high kicking just now and she was an avid yoga doer.

"Bex, I know you have a better splits." She pouted while lowering herself into splits position.

"Come on Flash. Relax a little bit." She threw my words back at me and I started trying to slide down. My groin was already straining and I was only half the distance she was.

"I don't see how this is supposed to be relaxing." I couldn't go any further and pulled my feet toward me to fall on my butt. Bex had a winning smile as she sat comfortable in the splits position. She even started stretching outward.

"Come on Cam. You weren't even trying." My hips and groin would like to say otherwise, but I didn't have to argue long. The door opened and Liz and Macey appeared from their afternoon studying.

"Oh good!" I jumped to my feet and already started steering them toward the floor around Bex.

"Bex thinks she has the best splits. Why don't you show her she's wrong while I go shower." Liz looked confused and Macey glared at me.

"Yeah! Lets see your splits." She was resting her elbows on the ground and her head on top of them.

I grabbed my things for the shower and ran towards the end of the hallway, but not before I heard a crash of our floor lamp and a soft, "Oopsie daisy."

After some lather, rinse, and shaving I felt squeaky clean. I threw on a pair of denim shorts and a t-shirt before stepping back into our common area.

"Bex! You have to get out of that position and go shower!" Macey was looking stern and pointing down the hall where I stood. Bex just looked like a child in timeout, except her legs were much longer and still sprawled out to her sides.

"I still have two hours." She ignored Macey's glare and started texting. "Besides, Grant's not ready yet."

"But girls take 62% longer to get ready after a shower." Liz was working on her laptop and never even looked up.

"Grant doesn't have your hair, now go."

Bex sighed and pulled her feet together before sulking toward the shower. Macey rolled her eyes and sat down on the couch. She looked completely drained after the small standoff with Bex.

"Hey, um Macey." She opened one eye and peered at me, "So could you help me?"

She covered her eyes with her hands before letting them run down her face and looking at me straight on.

"With what?"

"Well, what would someone where to a bar?"

"Depends on the bar."

"Chance's." Her eyes brightened a little and she started to smile.

"You're going to Chance's?" I nodded my head. I didn't think it was a big deal but Macey pushed off the couch and was already walking toward my room.

"Well first of all, Chance's is more of a sports bar. But a sports bar means guys everywhere and few girls." A sports bar. That can't be too bad, I like sports, I wanted to be a trainer for college afterall. So probably my Red Sox shirt and some shorts. Maybe even a hat, I don't know if that would be pushing it. I frowned when I saw what Macey was pulling out.

"Macey, I am not wearing that! It's a sports bar… with guys!" She held up the skin tight blue dress that belonged to Bex.

"Exactly! With guys!" She was already looking at shoes before I put the dress back and stood arms crossed in front of the closet.

"Macey, I'm not there to hook up with any guys." She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms too.

"Cam, when you're one of the only girls there, they just flock to you. And this will make sure they don't go to any of the other girls." I stood firmer.

"No. I'm going there with my friends." Her eyes softened a little.

"Fine, but I'm just saying you're going to get hit on no matter what you wear. So can we at least try to make it a little appealing so the other girls don't talk about you behind their back?"

I stepped aside and let her start rummaging through the closet again.

"Why would they talk about me?" She gave me a knowing look over her shoulder.

"You're going there with five guys. If you don't look hot, they're going to start talking about you. If you look hot, they might be bitches but that just means they're jealous."

Great, so no matter what I would have the girls hate me just because of who I went with.

"Okay, it's a sports bar so you'll fit right in. If you wear this," she held up my Red Sox jersey and I smiled, "You start a good conversation and maybe some fights." I was starting to pull it on over my shirt.

"Stop!" I froze with one arm in the sleeve. "You're not wearing that under it."

She went to her room and my stomach was starting to twist. I knew everything that Macey McHenry owned and almost every piece was not meant for me.

She held up a navy pinstripe tanktop with a pocket. I took it from her hands and examined it.

"I actually love this." She smiled and I pulled it from the hanger before realizing it didn't have a back, just a small piece of lace holding it together.

"Where's the back of this?"

She waved her hand dismissively, "You're covering it up anyway."

She left me to change and came back with a bottle that looked like olive oil, but turned to foam when she turned it into her hand. She thrust her foam filled hand into my damp hair.

"Hey! Why are you putting whipped cream in my hair?" I swatted her hand away, but she just poured more of the oil to foam stuff in her hand.

"It's not whipped cream." She started rubbing it all in.

"What is it?" She paused for a minute thinking of the answer.

"Newest McHenry Cosmetics hair line. Don't ask what's in it…. Just tell me if your scalp starts burning or your hair turns purple." My eyes went wide and I turned toward her.

"Don't worry. Only happened to five consumers during the trial." She gave one more turn of the bottle and did a little scalp massaging. Was it burning? Or was it like when some one says 'lice' and your head itches?

She clapped her hands together twice and gave a nod, "Let this air dry and your waves will be smooth and shiny."

"Do I get a special hair product?" Bex appeared into our room with her hair up in a high bun.

"Not this stuff. You're hair is fine." I couldn't help but feel a little hurt. Was my hair not fine? I mean I know it's a little frizzy when it rains, but it normally just did its thing.
"But you do get a special, smudge proof, kiss proof," she winked, "atomic bomb proof lipstick. Now change and come sit out in the living room."

Macey then turned to me, "Bring your makeup and we'll work on that while Bex is getting ready. Can you do a loose braided crown on Bex?"

"Of course. Only the best for our Duchess."

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All of Bex's panicking came to a sudden halt when there was a knock at the door. Instead of pacing around clutching her purse, she stopped and her hands trembled.

"He's here! What do I do?" Her eyes were wide and she looked afraid, a look that completely contrasted how she dressed. Her outfit gave her the look of don't mess with me or I'll kick your ass.

"Why don't you answer the door?" She stared at the door and wasn't moving yet. Macey gave her a push and she stumbled a little before reaching the door and taking a deep breath. She was greeted with a gaping Grant with a single red rose.

Macey opened her mouth to say something but I nudged her side. Macey was a strong believer that flowers should always come in a dozen, and it was much too tacky to get roses. But I thought it was still romantic and Bex was swooning.

"Wow. You look…." There were a lot of ways that sentence could have ended but Bex pushed her lips against his quickly. Yeah that about summed it up.

"Let me go put my rose in my room." Grant stood by the door and watched her go.

"So Grant, what are your intentions with Rebecca." Even though Macey was not the maternal one, she always took the role for parent interrogation.

He looked a little nervous. Being in college usually meant that the parent interrogation could be avoided.

"Well, some bowling and maybe ice cream after."

"And what time will you have her back?" He really looked puzzled.

"One am?" Macey pursed her lips.

"Make it midnight." I stifled a laugh. Even Macey was never here at midnight on a Saturday. If she broke her curfew no one would ever know. Macey leaned forward and patted Grant on the shoulder while shaking his hand. I saw the green of a one dollar bill.

"Buy her some extra caramel," Macey whispered to him. He looked flustered as he tried to comprehend what just happened. Bex then appeared and looked between them. They stood by the door but no one was moving yet. They were never this awkward around each other. Maybe the awkwardness was from the whole situation.

"Okay have fun you two. You will be missed at Chance's tonight." Grant was finally shaken out of his stupor.

"Oh yeah. I'm not missing much. Besides, they have you now." He reached for the door knob and finally everything returned to normal. They were smiling and put his hand on the small of her back and lead her out the door. They both said a short goodbye and pushed out the door, desperate to get away from whatever just happened in here.

When the door was shut I turned on Macey, "Really. You had to slip him a dollar."

She just smirked, "I had to see if he was worthy."

"And," Liz asked beside her.

"Well I disapprove of the rose, but other than that he passed."

I don't think there would ever be any boy that ever one hundred percent passed Macey's tests. Almost every week Macey found something about Josh that wasn't right. Whoever ends up with Macey McHenry will have to pass her tests with flying colors or fail miserably on the small ones.

"What time are you leaving, Cam?" I looked at the time. It was just past seven.

"I don't know. Maybe in about thirty minutes."

"You could always go up now." Now that Bex was gone everything was calm again. There wasn't any yoga or frantic makeup applying. I could finally take a deep breath and relax.

"Are you trying to kick me out?" I feigned hurt and she responded with an eyeroll.

"Unless you want to stay in here with me preparing my speech for some gala tomorrow…" Her eyes were hopeful but I was already cringing.

"That sounds like more of a Liz thing." Liz glared at me and sighed.

"I can help if you need it." Macey slung her arm over Liz's shoulder and pulled her in for a hug.

"What a real friend. I wish I had more friends like Liz," she sent a glare at me. I stuck my tongue out at her but was already putting shoes on and ready to go.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do." Macey winked at me.

"That's not much, Macey."