Code Cameron

Chapter Fourteen

Swarming Attack

Cameron looked up as a knock sounded on his door. When he opened it though, there was no one there. He looked down and picked up an envelope, raising an eyebrow and shutting the door to read it when the first lines jumped out at him. He sighed at Taelia's signature, and then laughed softly, "Nice try Sissi, but your handwriting isn't anything like Taelia's." He slid the letter into his pocket and headed down to breakfast, "Well then, might as well . . . hey, Ulrich, what's up?"

Ulrich glanced at him for a moment, "Nothing's up, why do you ask?"

Cameron shrugged, "I don't know, you seem distracted, that's all."

The german boy shrugged, "Sorry, I just . . . it's nothing. see you later." He hurried off before Cameron could get another word out.

Cameron's eyebrows went up, "something's up. I wonder if I should ask the gang about it . . ."

His thoughts were interrupted as a feminine arm linked through his, "Well hello Cameron dear! How is your day going?"

Cameron pulled away from Sissi, "Fine until you showed up woman. I got your note by the way, you really need to work on your handwriting if you want to pass as Taelia."

Sissi drew back as if stung, "What are you talking about? What note?"

Cameron pulled the envelope from his back pocket and waved it in front of her, "This letter that you slid under my door this morning." He slid it open and began to read it, "Dear Cameron, I've wanted to tell you this for a while now, but I wasn't sure how to say it." He lowered the slip of paper and glanced over to the girl next to him, "Ringing any bells yet? Or would you like me to keep reading?"

Sissi glared at him and snatched the letter from his hand, "Okay so I wrote it, big deal." She fluttered her eyes at him, "Well now that we both know how we feel about each other, how about we see each other after class? Hmm?"

Cameron looked at her as if she were drooling on her shirt, "Uh, yeah no thanks. If you actually knew how I feel about you, you wouldn't be getting your hopes up so much." He darted down the rest of the stairs before she could form a response.

Sissi simply stood there for a few minutes, trying to process what Cameron had said. She was still standing there when Taelia came down behind her.

The redhead tapped her on the shoulder, "Are you planning on standing there all day? You'll miss breakfast and class airhead."

Sissi turned to look at her, "Oh, hi there. I think Cameron was planning on meeting someone on account of some note. Would you know anything about that?"

Taelia frowned, "Note? What note?"

Sissi shrugged, "I don't know. He just said that he got a note from someone and wanted to talk with them about it." She started back up the stairs, "I think I forgot something in my room. See you later."

Taelia watched her go, feeling a bit awkward, "Um, bye."

()()()()

Odd laughed and sat back in his chair, "I'm just saying Cameron, with the amount of time you've spent with her in the past month and a half, you two are in over your heads for each other. Just ask her out!"

Cameron would have thrown something at him, but the only thing on hand was his croissant. He took a bite of it instead, and pointed at Odd with his free hand, "Oh yeah? And how's your love life going Odd? I haven't had a girlfriend since Katie, and that was almost a year ago. I'm clean right now, and I want to keep it that way until I'm sure about someone." He took another bite of croissant and downed it with hot chocolate, "I've gotta go, I promised her that I'd show her how to really play the piano later, so I want to get it set up."

Yumi smiled, "Uh huh. Right, well we'll leave you to that. Could you make sure Jeremie actually starts sleeping? He's running himself ragged over all his programming."

Cameron nodded, "I'll make sure he gets off after ten o'clock, but I doubt I'd be able to make him sleep if I told him to stop at lights out." He finished his drink and stood, "Well, I should be going. See you later."

He passed Taelia on his way out, smiling in greeting and then frowning slightly as she brushed him off. He reached for her arm and paused, then withdrew his hand as he spotted Sissi smirking outside the lunchroom. He exited and descended the short steps, then walked the few steps to face her directly, "Alright Sissi, what did you do?"

Sissi's smirk grew into a smile, "I told her the truth. I just said that you'd gotten some note, and that you wanted to meet the person who'd written it." She gestured with a sweep of her arms, "and lookie here, you're talking to the person who wrote it. What a coincidence!"

Cameron glared and turned around, intending to return to the lunchroom, but then spotted Ulrich running for the dorms as if the four horsemen were after him. He stopped near the doors and slid to the ground, sitting against the wall as he sucked in air.

Cameron arrived at his side in a few moments and slid to a stop next to him, "What happened? You were running as if something nasty was after you." He turned to look as a series of yips sounded behind him and he scooped Kiwi up, "Hey boy, what's wrong with ya?" He ran a hand along the dog's side in an attempt to soothe the small animal, but Kiwi yelped again and wriggled free of his arms as Cameron's hand ran over a bump. Cameron knelt down next to the dog and parted the fur slightly, frowning in confusion as he saw the stings on his side. He looked over at Ulrich, "What happened? Did Kiwi pee on a hornet's nest?"

Ulrich shrugged as he stood up, panting slightly from exertion, "No idea. I just heard him yelping and then I saw a big cloud of insects or something flying at me. I don't have any idea what they were. How about you take Kiwi back to the room while I talk to Delmas, and then we should talk to Yolanda to see if she's got anything for bee stings." Ulrich pushed away from the wall as Cameron gathered Kiwi up again, moving into the dorms and keeping an eye out for any staff members.

What he ran into was almost worse.

"Hello Cameron! Could you answer a few questions for us about the - ooh! You've got a doggie?" Milly and Tamiya began bombarding him with questions as he frantically tried to quiet the two of them. They eventually relented, but only after extracting a promise that, in exchange for not telling anyone about Kiwi, he would give them an interview later.

He groaned as he ascended the stairs, pushing down thoughts of what they might ask him. He slipped into Ulrich's room and deposited Kiwi on Odd's bed before returning to the hallway and freezing when his eyes met an icy glare.

Taelia placed her hands on her hips and glared for another moment, "So . . . who did you want to talk to about this 'letter'? And why for the love of God couldn't you tell me about it, why do I have to find out about it from Sissi?"

Cameron raised his hands in a placating gesture, "Hey, cool off will ya? Sissi's the one who wrote the letter, and she signed it so that I would think it was from you. It's not my fault that she's a manipulative little imp, and it's not my problem that you're jealous because of it."

Taelia's glare turned to a look of surprise, and her cheeks reddened in a blush, "J-jealous? W-w-why would I be j-jealous because of some letter? Y-you're out of your mind!"

Cameron raised an eyebrow, "Oh, so you are jealous? Interesting."

Taelia huffed and turned away stomping down the hall. Cameron waited for the sound of the swinging doors to end before making his own way down the corridor, descending to the yard to meet with Ulrich. About halfway down the stairs, he smacked himself in the head, "Real smooth Cameron. Really smooth indeed. So now what, you gonna tell her that you were teasing her? Oh yeah, she'd take that much better." He shook his head to clear his thoughts and automatically started towards the park as he exited the dorms, then forcibly changed course to head to Yolanda's office. He stepped inside and nearly ran into Ulrich and Odd as they exited, a small jar of salve in Odd's hand. Cameron raised an eyebrow, "And you got that from her without telling her about Kiwi how exactly?"

Ulrich pulled up his sleeve and showed Cameron a sting of his own, "She said to apply generously every couple of hours."

Cameron nodded, then pointed to the sting, "Is that legit?" He whistled at Ulrich's shake of the head, "Nice artwork." He looked up into the noon sky, "Well, there aren't any classes today, and I can't tell Delmas anything about these bugs, so I think I'll take a walk."

Ulrich nodded and headed towards Delmas' office while Odd made his way to the dorms to tend to his injured dog. Halfway up the stairs, the blond was intercepted by Taelia.

The girl hesitated for a moment, then with conviction, asked, "Does Cameron say anything about me when I'm not around?"

Odd blinked, "When are you two not together again? Because from our viewpoint you've snatched him right off his feet." His tone was surprisingly serious for him. He shrugged, "he doesn't talk about you much honestly, but what does come out of his mouth," He caught himself before he said anything Cameron would hate him for, "You'll have to ask him about it. I don't think I'm at liberty to speak about his feelings towards you when he's not around." He waited a moment for her to speak, "Anything else princess?"

Taelia shook her head slowly, "No . . . thanks though. Do you know where he is?"

Odd shrugged, "He said he was going to take a walk. I'd try the park if you want to find him. He seemed pretty out of it when we were talking."

Taelia nodded, "Thanks Odd."

Odd grinned as they made their way past each other, "Don't thank me yet princess."

()()()()

Cameron sat down on the front step of the Hermitage and sighed, he'd gotten a course in programming from Jeremie, but he'd need a bit more experience organize a full-scale electrical grid for the house. He'd gotten a rudimentary system running through the place, enough to have the lights flicker, and the camera he'd found in the basement was operational atop the gate. If Sissi came back, he would know.

He laid back on the porch and looked up at the woodwork above him. His thoughts were swirling around Taelia, no matter what he turned them to, they always came back to center on her.

He groaned and sat back up, planning on heading back inside to work some more on the electrical grid. He'd have to bring Jeremie over at some point, the computer genius would probably know exactly what he could do. It was strange, he'd been sharing a room with the brilliant blond for almost a year now, and yet he'd never brought Jeremie to the Hermitage. He hadn't brought anyone for that matter, only Sissi knew, and not because she'd been invited.

He stood and turned around to open the door, then froze as he noticed a flash of color in the yard on the monitor he'd turned to face the outside. He turned slowly around, closing his eyes, then opening them slowly to make sure he wasn't imagining things.

Taelia was leaning against the gate, looking around at the Hermitage in slight admiration, "Nice place you've got here. Old family house?"

Cameron nodded and descended to the yard, "Yep. First family to adopt me. Since I was three when they left, it took me awhile to find it. Still, it's nice to have a place to myself. Though recently people have been following me here left and right."

Taelia shrugged, "I wouldn't have come all the way here, but you were a ways ahead of me. I didn't want to shout and attract attention, I doubted you wanted any." She took another glance around the yard, "I guess you're fixing the place up a bit?"

Cameron nodded, "I started a bit before you came to Kadic. It's been slow, mainly because I haven't had much time to come recently, but . . . it's more like a home now. Outside, at least. Inside . . . it's still a mess. I haven't really wanted to clean it up yet though, partly to finish the outside first, but also because it's almost like a memorial to Aelita and Franz. It's weird, I was three years old, but I remember most of my time there. And yet I can't remember what we learned in history class yesterday."

Taelia chuckled, "Selective memory. This place was good to you, History isn't good to you. So you remember this place better. And there's the fact that History is . . . well, history. No one likes it. At our school anyway."

Cameron smiled, and then offered her his arm, "Well, since you're here, would you like a tour?"

Taelia grinned back at him and linked her arm through his, "I wouldn't miss it for the world." Her grin faded slightly, "Sorry about earlier. I should have given you more than a minute's thought before thinking that you were . . ." she trailed off and blushed slightly, "Sorry. Anyway, what about that tour?"

Cameron stopped walking and grinned at her, "Thinking that I was . . ." he raised an eyebrow and his tone grew serious, "Were you about to say . . . cheating on you? We're not even dating and you're getting a bit overconsious about possible girls in my life."

Taelia blushed, "You- you wish I was about to say you were cheating on me! Like you said, we aren't together!" She pulled her arm out of his and stepped quickly away, "You- you arrogant little . . . argh!" She threw up her hands and leaned back against a fencepost.

Cameron raised a hand slightly, "Uh, you might not want to put weight on that."

Taelia glanced over her shoulder at the post she was leaning on, "Why not?" Her eyes grew wide as a loud creak came from the post and she leapt away from it, "Right. This place is old. I thought you were putting it back together?"

Cameron shrugged helplessly, "Hey, I don't have a job, and right now, I don't have any parents to mooch cash off of. My budget is pretty tight for stuff like this. Repairing a house is expensive." He looked around the yard, then back to her, smiling faintly, "Although, I do have enough for a movie, if you want . . ."

Taelia blushed and cleared her throat before speaking, "Are . . . are you asking me on a date?"

Cameron's face became tinged with red as well, "Uh, yes. I think I am."

Taelia grinned at him, "Well then, how could I refuse? Six o'clock next saturday work for you?"

Cameron grinned, "Works for me."

Taelia stood on her toes and placed a quick kiss on his cheek, laughing as Cameron stammered and tried to come up with something to say. She laughed as she dashed for the gate, "See you later!"

Cameron simply stood there, still trying to think of something for the next few minutes.

()()()()

Cameron slipped into the lunchroom, unnoticed by the students already munching on sandwiches or a different form of food. He scanned the lunchroom for Taelia, then sat at the Gang's usual table when he didn't see her anywhere. A moment later, the seat across from him was filled with a smiling Sissi, "So, how are you doing Cameron? I thought that since there won't be much time this week for us to go to a movie, maybe we could go see one next weekend, hmm?"

Cameron raised an eyebrow and swallowed his food, "Sorry Sissi, but I'm going to be busy. Earlier plans and all that." He glanced around, "Where's your fan club?"

Sissi scowled, "What could possibly be more important than going to a movie with me? That red-haired twig brushed you off already, I heard the two of you speaking in the hall after you put the mutt back in Dellarobia's room. Didn't exactly sound like the foundation of a relationship to me."

Cameron shrugged, "Well, perhaps you should have been at my house about fifteen minutes ago. You would have heard a very different conversation." He grinned, memorizing the scandalized look on Sissi's face, "Yeah, I'm going to a movie with the 'red-haired twig' over you. Deal with it. Oh, and uh, she's behind you."

Sissi stiffened and whirled in the seat, trying to come up with something to say to the enraged girl behind her. Then she frowned, "Hey! She's not here! What are you trying to pull?" She turned back, and did a double take when she beheld the empty table in front of her.

Cameron let out a breath as she stood and walked away,then took his food outside, sitting against a tree and enjoying the warming rays of the sun. He let out a sigh of contentment, simply, letting it all soak in.

A bird sang in the tree above him, a dog was barking somewhere on the street, and the wind pulled gently at the tree above him while a buzz grew in volume nearby.

His eyes snapped open and his gaze darted towards the sound. His eyes went wide as he saw the black cloud approaching, and it didn't take a genius to figure out what it was. He dropped his tray and booked it for the lunchroom, darting inside and slamming it shut behind him, only to open it again when a fist hammered on the window. He slammed it shut again as Sissi and her henchmen sprinted in, and he raised an eyebrow, "Where were you three?"

Herve was the first to catch his breath, "Sissi . . . gave Ulrich . . . a letter . . . said it was from Yumi." The geek heaved in another breath and straightened up, "She wanted to see the resulting fireworks, and she dragged us along with her. If we'd stayed here, then we wouldn't have even been in danger from the bugs."

Cameron rolled his eyes and went further into the lunchroom, scanning it for a mass of dark red hair. Finding none, he flipped open his phone and punched in a number without needing to think about it.

Taelia picked up on the second ring, "Hey Cameron! What's up?"

Cameron ran a hand through his hair, "Where are you? Tell me you're not outside."

Taelia sounded uncertain, "No, I'm in my room. Why?'

Cameron sighed in relief, "Close your window, lock it, and don't go outside. Probably best if you drop the blinds across it as well. Before you ask why, look out your window." He paused to let her have a chance to move before he continued, "Do you see the big black swarm around thr cafeteria?"

Taelia's voice rose in it's level of uncertainty, "Yeah, I see it. Some of it just broke away and headed this way. What is it?"

"It's a swarm of bees. Mean, nasty bees who aparently are out for a taste of us. So . . . you should shut your window and make sure it stays shut before they reach you. I'd send my wasp to see if I could scare any off, but the controls are all in my room, and I'm pretty sure I left the window wide open. So don't go for them."

He heard the sound of Taelia's window slamming shut, and then she spoke again, "Okay, it's shut and locked that way. What about you?"

Cameron grimaced, "I'm stuck in the lunchroom. We've shut them out, but . . . I'm pretty sure they'll find a way in eventually. So uh . . . don't come down here. No matter what." His phone beeped to let him know the battery was low, and he spoke urgently, "I've got to go, my phone is about to die." He put an edge of confidence into his voice, "I'll see you later."

He hang up before she could call him a liar.

A black spot flew by his face and he swatted at it absentmindedly, then hissed in pain as it stung his hand. His eyes widened and he grabbed a tray, smashing the bee into a smear on a table. He looked up as the buzzing intensified, and he shouted in alarm as bees began pouring in through a broken air vent. He dove behind the buffet bar and swatted at the swarm with Rosa and a couple others, yelling in pain as bees zipped around the trays and jabbed stingers into the defenders. A few more stings hit his arm, and then it simply went numb, leaving him to swing his tray with only his left arm. A minute later that arm was numb as well, and he sagged against the wall, trying to simply stay out of the way as long as he could.

A flash of white light, and then the world went dark.

()()()()

Cameron maneuvered the wasp through the obstacle course he'd set up for it, letting it hover a few feet in the air as a foot flashed into his crawler's line of view. He moved quietly over to the door, then yanked it open, revealing Sissi kneeling in front of it, an envelope dropping from her hand.

The girl shot to her feet and hid the envelope behind her back, "C-Cameron! Uh . . . well . . . I'm sorry. Wrong door."

Cameron looked down at the robot he'd placed outside the door at Ulrich's advice. He bent to pick it up, tossing it a little in his hand as he grinned at the small piece of hardware. He set it on his desk and plugged it in to charge, then went back to his obstacle course. He looked up again as he finished it, checking the time on the clock.

The Wasp moved over to the desk and he let it down onto the stand, then moved to the door. He wanted to get some more work done at the Hermitage before lunch.

What he didn't know however, was that a spiky haired blond had advised a certain redhead to follow him, and that following him was precisely what Taelia was planning to do.

End of Chapter Fourteen

Author's Note:

Well to start, I'M BACK! (Insert Fanfare or cricket noises here, you pick).

So, if you didn't notice, I'm back, and man does it feel good! I haven't been writing lately because I was finishing school, but now I've got three months off to write, and only part of those months are going to be taken up with work. Anyway, here's to Code: Cameron, and thank you all for keeping with me!

In reply to Roguepizza's reviews in chapters two through four:

Sorry, but Cameron won't be going to Lyoko for a while. Probably not until the end of this season, or until I run out of things to make him do during the Xana attacks. From here on out, he'll probably be taking a more active role and finding out about Lyoko every few chapters or so, I'm not exactly sure. But yeah, the polls are up to get an idea of what he's going to be like on Lyoko, so I'm afraid that he can't go to Lyoko until I've gotten some replies on what he should use. That's not me being selfish, that's me leaving the power to determine his Lyoko profile to you. If I get enough votes on what he should use, then he might go to Lyoko early. Maybe, maybe not. I'm not certain yet. Anyway, thanks for reviewing!

So, I have some questions for all of you, please give me an answer! I don't know how to put multiple polls onto my profile, so this is the only way I know to let you see all of the questions.

What should Cameron's Lyoko Power be?

A) HyperCounter - Cameron freezes and waits for an enemy to attack him. When the attack is about to hit him, he moves faster than the eye can register to avoid the attack and destroy the enemy that attacked him. Costs 10% of his current life points.

B) Guardian - Cameron becomes invincible for a short period of time, and can shield the others from attacks. Lasts until he launches his own attack

D) Both

So, this is a little embarrassing, but I've just realized that I'm halfway through the first season, and I don't have a beta reader for this story. Or, any of my stories. So, if you'd be interested, send me a PM and I'll send you the chapters before I post them. Thank you all for staying with me for so long, thank you so, so much.