Hey guys! I'm here with the next chapter! It took longer since so many people wanted a chapter through Zach's POV and I had to reference back to the previous chapters as I wrote this. BTW this chapter is Zach's POV of I think two or three chapters ago when they go on their first date :D. I wanted to start from here and the next chapter will be Zach's POV again. I've also included a little Grant for you all :D. Enjoy!
ZPOV
"Joe, 3 o'clock" Zach whispered into his comms, his voice inaudible, lips barely moving. Zach's eyes flickered upward, briefly, scanning the forest for the agent. He was sure he saw someone. And Zachery Goode was too good of a pavement artist to be mistaken.
"We should get going if we want to get something to eat before we head back" he said, glancing at the petit blond whose hand was currently intertwined in his. Looking down at her, Zach felt something he hadn't felt in a long time, a sort of feeling that was more foreign to him than anything. He felt...protective?
"Focus" Zach heard the voice loud and clear, as if Joe was really standing next to him. Zach gave himself an internal slap on the head. He needed to concentrate. If an agent really was tailing them, he needed to get Cammie somewhere where they wouldn't be attacked. Zach guided her through the mobs of people, into a rustic looking café. As they entered, Zach scanned the room. Once was enough for him to memorize everything in their current setting. Photographic memory did have its perks in the field of covert operations.
"Two cheeseburgers, fries, and two hot chocolates" he ordered at the counter. He stepped back to wait.
"Geez Zach, move a little, you look like a statue" Joe said, through the comms. Zach breathed out and began to shuffle. Stillness and observation were a part of his nature. For someone who once waited in a dark trench for over 56 hours without moving a muscle, to move aimlessly seemed a waste of energy. When the food was placed on the table, Zach handed the cashier a black credit card, the top completely void of any markings, with only the bar code on the back. Being legally underage, he wasn't allowed to own credit cards. But being allowed to use the CIA's secret store of money reserved only for expenditures on missions was pretty fun.
Zach carried the two trays of food back to their booth. As he walked back, something about Cameron's posture struck him. The innocence was so foreign to him. She sat with her hands under her legs, tapping her foot and looking around the outside of the window at the expanse of snow, completely unaware of just how many people in the real world were after her. Yet he smiled, and walked over. Zach was on a mission.
As they sat down, Zach saw Cammie sip her hot chocolate and slightly relax. On impulse, Zach launched a fry at her. Of course his aim was perfect (he was trained to shoot a sniper in pitch dark relying only on the sound that the target made...he was pretty sure he could throw a fry two feet in front of him). Zach's eyes flickered down to his food, but he left his smirk on his face. Cammie looked surprised for a second, before chiding him.
"Zach!" she said, launching a fry of her own. Zach made a show of ducking, even though he knew by the trajectory of the french-fry (judging by Cammie's strength and the weight of the fry) that he could have moved his head exactly 15 degrees to the left to dodge it. But he full out ducked anyway. Because he may be a spy, but to Cameron Morgan, he was just another 17 year old boy.
Zach and Cammie sat a while longer, eating, idly chatting away. To anyone not in on his real identity, Zach might have seemed to be a regular high-schooler, relaxing with his girlfriend in the café for the afternoon, but Zach's mind was in turmoil. Not because he was worried, but because he was relaxed. And for a spy to be relaxed was a dangerous thing. But Zach couldn't help himself. Something about Cammie's oblivious smile, her contagious laugh and her relaxed posture put Zach at ease, which only made him more nervous. Zach was an assassin spy in training and he was sure he had seen everything (last semester, he spend four weeks studying every type of torture method used in history) yet this dirty-blonde haired girl threw him wildly off track. He wasn't sure why his body relaxed and he wasn't sure what to make of it.
Suddenly, Cammie looked out the window, her eyes widening in surprise at the sight of Amber and her posse strutting down the sidewalk towards the café. Unsurprisingly, Cammie stood up.
"Excuse me" she said, before almost running to the bathroom.
Zach watched her turn around the corner into the hallway of the café. He turned around as he heard static in his comms before Joe's voice came on.
"Okay, look. Headquarters doesn't want her to find out just yet. They've extended the mission out for a few more months" he said.
Zach replied. "Why? How long?"
Joe only said that they would discuss the topic later. And after exactly 327 seconds (Zach was counting), Cammie came out of the bathroom. Zach saw her through his peripheral vision, floating at the edge of the hallway, obviously looking around the room. When she was assured, Cammie came back to the booth. Zach smiled.
"I'm sorry Zach! I really have to go. I didn't see the time and it's getting late..." she began, before looking up. Her sentence trailed off and Zach, without looking behind him, without checking the water jug for a reflection, without deducing who the stranger was judging by the weight and style of their footsteps. Without using any special spy training, Zach knew that Amber came in. Cammie seemed frozen and the blood drained from her face.
"Oh Zachy-poo! There you are! I was missed you! We had sooooo much fun last night! But you just disappeared this morning!" she said in her nasally, high-pitched voice. Zach had the urge to say that she reminded him of a hyena he once met while he and Grant were scaling the rocky cliffs of Nevada. But of course, he didn't say it out loud. Zach only thought it in his head. He glanced at Cammie, only to be met with a mixed look of disgust, hurt, and betrayal on her face.
Amber, seeing his gaze, turned her attention to Cammie.
"What are you doing here? God are you so desperate to be liked as to actually stalk my boyfriend?" she asked in a sneering voice. "I mean did you actually think Zach liked you? Look at you! You're ugly Cammie, just face it and get on with life."
Zach internally scoffed. The spy in him wanted to laugh. Technically, he was the one stalking Cammie, not the other way around. And Zach knew that Amber was jealous, because any stranger would agree that while Amber was attractive, Cammie definitely had something about her that made her much more beautiful in the eyes of others (especially a certain green-eyed spy).
Cammie looked from Zach to Amber. Zach realized that it was time to step in.
"Cam-" he started, but he was cut off. Now you might be wondering as to why a regular high schooler would have caught the infamous Zachery Goode off guard. But Zach lived in a world of secrets and lies. He, naturally, picked up social cues faster than most people, but some things involving the female population really put him off. Maybe he was just unused to them. He did go to an all-boys school after all. But at that moment, Zach was only aware of three things. One, the sickly sweet taste of Amber's mouth on his (which he certainly didn't enjoy). Two, the sound of Joe scoffing through the comms. "I'm right here Zach. If this were a test, you would've failed by now." Three, the sound of Cammie's footsteps as she ran outside.
After the initial two seconds of shock, he roughly pushed Amber away and made a show of wiping his mouth.
"Amber, as I have told you, I have utterly no interest in you and your plastic-ness. Stay the hell away from me and Cammie" Zach said, now quiet angry, before shoving past her into the icy wind.
He was really mad now. Zach was angry at Amber for ruining my mission, but more than that, he was seething that she did something like that to Cammie. But most of all, ge was horribly angry that he let something like that happen to her in the first place.
Zach knew that Cammie would want some privacy, and she most likely went to Roseville Park. As he made his way across the street however, Zach heard Joe through the comms.
"Give her some time Zach. Let her be for a while. Then, use this situation." Zach knew what Joe meant and the though sickened him. If he really wanted information, he would have to gain Cameron's trust, and now that was emotionally weak, now would have been the best time to put on a show and make Cammie believe that he was really hers. Zach knew he couldn't disobey Joe, no matter how much he wanted to. The worse part, he concluded, was that he had no damn idea why the hell the idea bothered him so much.
Zach walked aimless through the crowd. Joe had shut off the comms for now, and Zach was grateful. Even though the comms only recorded video and audio, Zach found it hard to think, for fear that Joe might found out about his feelings. He wasn't positive why he didn't want Joe to know. Maybe it was because any sort of feelings were looked down upon in the spy world. Maybe he didn't want to disappoint Joe. Suddenly, he saw a flash of blonde. He turned his eyes and met another pair of startling blue ones. Zach gave a slight nod of his head before letting his eyes wander past. He walked towards the restaurant and took a seat at an occupied table. Around him, people sat crowded at the tables, ordering warm drinks and food and talking noisily. When the waitress came by, Zach ordered a cappuccino. He needed caffeine. He then turned his attention the other occupant of the table.
"What's up Grant" he said nonchalantly, looking off to the distance.
"How's Cam" Grant said, staring openly at Zach.
"Is she okay? What about Eli? I need answers Zach, I'm tired of waiting. What else happened? What did you find out?" Grant asked in a rush. Grant hated his mother. He hated her for taking him, separating him from Cammie. As a child, Grant had always loved his sister. They supported each other without the help from either of their parents, and when his only reliance was torn away from him, Grant felt lost for quite some time, until he met Zach. The two instantly shared a bond.
Grant saw how Zach stiffened, how his eyes refused to meet his. Suddenly Grant's remembered the screams of his mother during those years of abuse. The blood drained from his face. Zach only pulled out a small mp3 player, black earphones dangling in the brisk wind. Zach pushed it across the table and Grant silently picked it up. He inserted the ear phones and turned the device on. He selected the only track on the device, turning up the volume to a comfortable level. What he heard changed his life. A soft, static-y voice started, slightly muffled like the speaker was holding back tears.
"It started when I was four. Up until then, my dad had loved me. We talked and he would read me stories to bed and tuck me in. Every night, he would kiss me goodnight and say, 'I will always protect you Cammie. I promise' Too bad he never kept that promise. I don't know what changed him, but he started getting angry real easy. Like he would come home and just not talk. He would walk into his room and just stay there all day. We didn't know what to do. I remember finding beer stashed everywhere, in the kitchen, bedrooms, even in the bathroom. My mom tried to talk to him, but he wouldn't listen. He started to hit her and blame her. He said he couldn't deal with kids and it was her fault. I remember having to go to the ER once because I slipped and cut myself badly on a broken beer bottle. When my dad never showed up, I guess I kind of realized that things had changed. I knew then that my life would never be the same. Then, my mom and brother left leaving me with Eli. Eli was only a few months old and I hate seeing him have to grow up so fast. I tried to stop him from hurting Eli too..."
Zach glanced over at Grant, who was staring off into the distance. His jaw was locked and his mouth was pressed to a thin line. Zach saw Grant's fists, curled tight, his knuckles were bone white, and Grant's entire body was rigid from shock, anger, and pain. He didn't need Zach to tell him who it was.
Grant heard another voice sound through the recording.
"Cammie! Stop"
"I hate her. I just hate her and Grant so much."
At this, Grant closed his eyes and leaned his head back.
"Cammie, shhh. It's okay."
Grant stood up abruptly. Without a word, he turned and walked down the street, weaving through the crowds. And as he went, Zach could have sworn he saw a flash of a tear.
Zach sighed. He hated this. He really didn't want to tell Grant, but he felt that Grant had a right to know. It was his sister after all. Zach sighed and stood up. Tossing a few bills on the table, he left, his leather jacket hanging from his arm. Zach suddenly heard his comms buzzing to life. Joe's voice appeared. "It's time. She's heading back now".
So how was it? Like/Hate? Please tell me. I tried to get into Zach's mind but it was a lot harder than I thought, so great job to anyone who has ever written through Zach's POV. Thanks for reading! I'll update soon again :D.
This chapter is dedicated to:
djrocks- thanks! I'll update again soon! Thanks for sticking with my horrible story for so long!
Jo-jo1325- haha! I rewrote that seen a billion times, but I didn't want to draw the story out that much...besides, I imagined her to be so tired that she just decided to go with her heart...but thanks for your review!
thefallenspy- thank you sooooooooooooo much! 3
Flame Sterling-haha thanks! P.S. How happy would I be if Zachery Goode were behind me...O.0 :D
Samanya-HAHA! I agree. High school should be called the Land of the Dead :D thanks for your review!
Migilove2143- THANKS! I'm glad you at least understand...Real life called...and it sucked :(
wolfergirl- your review meant a lot to me! Thanks for staying with this story!
JAMBERLOVERFOREVER-Thanks a bunch! I'll update ASAP, hopefully before next week :D
Uknowiloveu- thanks for your support and for reviewing!
Anonymous 1- thanks a lot! I'm happy to be writing again...it's one of my greatest passions :D
Gg01- Thanks so much ! I hope you liked my story! I have a lot more plans...*evil laugh* so I hope you'll stick around :D
B the first- Hi! Thanks so much for your review! I hope my story meets your expectations!
