When In Doubt, Spy It Out

part thirteen

chameleon pov

7:09 a.m.

gallagher academy for exceptional young women

roseville, virginia

suite of cameron morgan, rebecca baxter, elizabeth sutton, macey mchenry & Zachary Goode (temporarily)

Shaking. Everything was being shaken. And I wanted it to stop. Now.

"Cameron, darling, it's time to face the world!" Bex's british accent rang through my mind.

"No." I mumbled into my pillow, pulling the covers over my body. "Five more minutes."

"If you won't face the world, I'll make you face the floor, Cammie." Macey's voice prodded.

After five minutes of them threatening me they finally gave up.

"ZACH!" Macey was banging on the bathroom door. "You take longer than me, LET'S GO! CAMMIE WON'T GET UP SO GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE, GOODE!"

I looked up in time to see Zach open the door with a towel around his waist and a toothbrush in his mouth. "Shut up, McHenry," He said, before slamming the door in her face.

Macey huffed and turned around. She saw me staring where Zach had just been. I quickly hid beneath my pillow.

"I saw that." Macey murmured, stalking into the closet.

I closed my eyes. It seemed like two seconds later but for all I know it could've been ten when I felt a tugging.

I opened one eye to see Zach (dressed this time) tugging the sleeve of my shirt.

"Gallagher Girl," He said. Then, hesitantly, he moved his hand up to rest on my back right between my shoulder blades. "Its way past time to get up. Come on, you're going to miss breakfast."

"Go away," I mumbled, trying to bury farther in my bed.

After another minute of Zach trying to convince me to get out of bed he sighed and walked away.

I was too tired to rejoice.

Then I felt the covers ripped off my body.

"ZACH!" I yelled, unmoving.

His hands wrapped around my ankles. Reacting, I grabbed the headboard and held on with all my might as he tried using all his strength to pull me off the bed.

"Give it up, Gallagher Girl," He said, through clenched teeth.

"Never." I said stubbornly.

"If you don't get up, I'm going to get a bucket of ice water to pour on you," He threatened.

I begrudgingly sat up. Bex walked out from the bathroom. "Oh how lovely." She commented. "You're alive. And awake. Looks like Zach can do something."

"Thanks for the faith." Zach replied, smirking.

Suddenly Macey appeared, wielding a brush and yanked me off the bed. "Cammie-doll time!" She sang as I protested.

I emerged five minutes later dressed, teeth brushed, hair brushed, and more awake than before.

Zach was sitting on my bed, head resting in his hands, elbows on his knees, thinking. I noticed my bed was made, which he had obviously done.

I frowned. "You didn't have to do that," I said, referring to my clean bed.

"I had time." He commented, following my roommates and I out the door.

As we made our way through the hallways and down the stairs Macey started humming the chords to Madonna's 'Like A Virgin'.

Bex gritted her teeth. "Can you not?"

"What's the problem?" Macey snorted.

"Nothing." Bex said, walking a little faster.

Liz and I shared a look. "Bex!" I yelled. When we caught up to her I asked, "You regretting it?"

She just stared straight ahead. "Well, yeah. I'm pretty sure all he wants is sex." She said harshly.

"That's all they ever want." Macey said, her tone just as harsh.

"Not true." Zach's voice said. I had almost forgotten he was there. He had been following closely behind us the whole time.

"Excuse me?" Macey and Bex said, whirling on him.

"I could do an experiment..." Liz started but was cut off by Zach.

"It's not always about sex. Not always." He said. I got to admit, that boy had some nerve standing up to a Baxter and Macey McHenry. At the same time even.

"How would you know? Ever had a girlfriend?" Macey said, searching his eyes. If I couldn't get information, neither could she.

Zach didn't say anything. Macey stepped back a second. "No," she murmured. "But you've been in love haven't you?"

My chest hurt. Zach loved someone?

Stop Cammie. You shouldn't care. Sure, you and Zach have been through a lot together, and sure you've kissed numerous times but that doesn't mean he likes you. You're not his girlfriend.

You're a Gallagher Girl. Get a grip. Seriously, Cammie. Get a grip. Come on.

Zach didn't say anything.

"Interesting." Macey murmured. She turned around. "Let's go, girls."

Liz and I shared another glance as Zach stayed impassive and Bex shrugged and followed Macey.

We sat down and my best friends- angry with Grant- sat as far away from him as possible. And since Zach was my 'bodyguard' I was squished between him and Grant.

Bex avoided looking at Grant the whole time, Macey glared at him, and Liz talked to Jonas the whole time about nuclear weapons.

"Grant," I whispered.

"Yeah, Cam?" He replied, shoving more pancakes in his mouth.

"Do you like Bex as like, a girlfriend?" I asked, ripping off the bandaid.

His head popped up and he pushed his plate away from him.

"I don't really do feelings Cam," He looked at me differently than he ever had. "All of us do. When it comes down to it, we're assassins." He nodded to Zach and Jonas.

Zach averted his eyes down to his plate, avoiding my glance.

"Tell me, Grant. Just this one time. Don't be an idiot, talk to me. Because Lord help me if I get an answer I don't like I will bring hell to you. Bex is my sister. She's been my sister longer than you've been my brother." I said coldly.

Grant laughed humorously. I gripped the knife next to my plate tightly.

"Grant..." I nearly growled under my breath.

"I know you think I'm stupid, and yeah I may be," he said, sipping his orange juice, "but I stick by the first rule of spying. Don't fall in love." He laughed humorously again and got up, striding toward the exit of the Grand Hall.

I looked at my best friend who had given everything to him and the anger rose inside of me. Slamming my silverware down, I got up and sped out of the Grand Hall, reading to scream at the top of my lungs at the boy I shared blood with.

I was also aware that Zach was following me. That was really annoying.

"Oh no!" I yelled. "You don't get to walk away, Grant." He turned around, his face impassive. I stormed up to him and grabbed his arm.

"Let go of me." He said through clenched teeth.

"What're you gonna do, Grant?" I antagonized. "You gonna hit me? Are you gonna hurt me like you hurt Bex?" He wrenched his arm from my grip and scowled. "And if you hit me, we both know Zach has to step in, whether he wants to or not." I said, jerking my thumb at my bodyguard.

"I don't want to hurt you Cammie, but you're really leaving me no choice." He growled.

I got in his face.

"Hey!" Zach's yelled. He stepped between us, pushing us apart. "Both of you, walk away, now."

I turned my glare to Zach. "Maybe you don't understand this, either of you." I turned my stare back to Grant. "But our sisterhood runs deeper than blood, and you hurt Bex, so in return, I hurt you. Worse." Grant glared right back at me, and the look on Zach's face told me he wanted to be anywhere else but here.

Between his best friend who was an assassin, and the girl he was protecting, who was a spy (and may have made out with before).

I turned; ready to stalk off but then I turned back to Grant. "And what happened, Grant?" I said, confused and angry. "I thought you said I'd always be your little sister?"

Then I stormed away, up the steps. Zach sighed and then followed calmly after me.

I got the suite and slammed the door shut, only to have Zach open it a second later.

I shrieked and flung myself face down onto my bed, beating my pillow for a couple seconds.

After two minutes of me silently breathing into my pillow (I had no clue what Zach was doing) I sat up and angrily tried to pry the charm Grant had given me off my charm bracelet.

My angry mutterings and attempts were stopped when Zach put his hand on mine.

"You don't mean it." He said, referring to the fact that I was trying to remove Grant from my life (in the form of a charm).

"Yes I do." I said angrily, swatting his hand away.

He tried to stop me again and I started fighting back. He grabbed my hands and look me straight in the eye. "Cammie!"

I glared, looking anywhere but at him.

He let go of my hands and sat at the foot of my bed (I was sitting cross-legged at the top with crossed arms avoiding his gaze).

"I can't just let him get away with it." I said finally.

"I know. I know you."

I looked at him. He was studying me intently.

"Striking is what we do best." I said, quoting Macey from a year ago.

"You're just frustrated right now. You're stuck between your friend and your brother." He said it with such understanding I was surprised.

"Just like how you're stuck between your Mom and what you know is right." I said in realization.

He looked away from me. "It's hard, but you know what the right choice is. Sometimes the decision is hard, sometimes its easy." His hand reached for mine. He squeezed it and I watched our hands, entwined. "But if anyone can make the right decision... it's you." He looked up, like he was trying to find the right words. "You're the most compassionate person I know. You're also the most... good. And I think that's why I'm drawn to you." He was looking back at me now with the dark eyes he shared with his mother.

But I didn't see the woman who tried to kidnap me numerous times. Zach never told me his mother was after me because I was the only person who saw him. And I still only saw him.

I looked back down at our hands and back at him. He was leaning closer, eyes darting between my lips and eyes.

Zach and I had kissed plenty of times before but every time he got closer my heart would beat faster.

And then he kissed me. Slowly. But then he touched my face and I leaned into him more.

The door slammed open and we broke apart fast, making room between us.

I had to stop myself from touching my lips where an electrical pulse seemed to reside.

"Well, well, well." Macey said, smiling. "What have we here?"

She walked into the room, and I breathed out a sigh of relief that it was just she.

"Nothing." I squeaked as Zach slowly got up and retreated to his cot (the farthest corner away from Macey. Good choice.).

She laid back on her bed. "I don't really care if you two were making out. Again." I blushed madly.

I had a feeling Zach was smirking.

Then I noticed Macey's face. "What happened?" I asked seriously.

"Nothing." She said monotonously. "Drop it."

"Macey McHenry." I said, moving over to her bed. "What could possibly make you depressed?"

"Drop it, Cameron." She said, stuffing her ear buds in her ear.

I pulled them out of her ears. "Tell me, Mace."

"I don't want you getting played like Bex." She nearly yelled. Then she looked at Zach. "Yeah, looking at you, buddy."

"What do you mean?" I asked, utterly confused.

Zach's strong voice interrupted Macey's next words. "That would never happen, McHenry. You and I both know that." He gave her a look and Macey looked right back.

She seemed to realize something. "Oh. Okay then." I looked between her and Zach.

"What?" I questioned, looking between them as fast as I could, as if that would somehow would tell me what was going on.

"Nothing, Cam. Nothing." She said, before getting up and walking into her closet. I turned to Zach for an answer but he had his eyes closed, hands behind his head, iPod on. But he was my bodyguard so I knew that he knew I was looking at him.

I sighed, and decided since they weren't going to tell me anything I might as well work on my Cultures and Assimilation report.

Between their secret, and the Bex/Grant fiasco, the Circle getting closer and Mom and Solomon I was wearing down.

And the fact that it was November 18th. Tomorrow was Matthew Morgan's birthday.