i hope yall enjoyed that last chapter! it was so much fun to write :)) on a bad note, i might not be able to update for a couple days bc of internet issues. im so sorry, and am working to get those fixed as you read this. other than that, enjoy!

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bball101: ugh it was so cute hehe

Chapter 18

Sunday morning came, and no alarms rung out this time. No girls talked either. Everyone was so wiped out from the previous night that when the boys came to find something fun to do together, there was no response at the door. And instead of thinking like rational people, they thought like spies. And unscrewed the door hinges, thinking that something was wrong, when in reality the girls were still asleep. Even though they were careful to be completely silent, Jonas managed to trip up on a shoe and hit the floor. Thankfully, everyone remained asleep besides Cammie, who had had two naps yesterday. She squinted to recognize who was coming in, and wasn't surprised to find Grant, Preston, Jonas, and Zach in the room.

"Just screw the door back on and you'll be fine," Cammie said, a yawn coming out. Grant flashed her a thumbs-up, and began to put the door back on the hinges. Cammie yawned again, wanting to go back to sleep. She made grabby hands for Zach, who was standing in the middle of the room awkwardly. Never thought he could be awkward, Cammie giggled to herself. He came over, sitting down on her bed. "Come here," Cammie said, patting the space next to her. "I'm tired," she yawned, lying back down.

"Hi Tired, I'm Zach," he said, stifling a laugh. She looked over at him with a grumpy look on her face.

"Just lie down pretty please I want to go back to sleep," she whined, and Zach obliged. He took off his shoes, and crawled over her into the empty space. Zach got under the sheets, and Cammie scooted into him, his body enveloping hers. He held her tight, not wanting to let go. After a couple seconds, she fell asleep again, and Zach soon followed suit. When they woke up an hour later, Cammie's head was on his chest, her leg outstretched over him. He had his arms around her shoulders, keeping her as close to possible to him. Zach woke up first, blonde hair obscuring his vision. It took him a second to realize he had fallen asleep with Cammie in his arms. He pressed a kiss to her head, being careful not to wake her. If only I could wake up like this everyday, he thought. Zach looked around the room, seeing that Grant and Jonas were in similar positions with Bex and Liz. Preston was lying across from Macey, simply because he hadn't asked her out yet. Zach rolled his eyes. A couple minutes later, he felt Cammie jolt awake, looking around the room.

"What time is it?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"It's sleepy time. Are you still tired?" Zach asked, rubbing her arm. Cammie nodded her head, and lied back down. Zach pulled the cover back up, securing his arms around her again, and traced the lines of her face. She went back to sleep, and the room became quiet again. Zach concentrated on her breathing, and fell asleep. Another hour passed and this time, it was Cammie who woke up again. Checking her watch, she saw that it was nearing 1 pm. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, and looked up to see Zach sound asleep. Deciding that everyone had been asleep too long, she quietly moved out of Zach's arms, careful to not wake him up. Cammie walked across the room to Bex's bed, taking a minute to look at how cute her and Grant were. They truly were a good match for each other, anyone could see that. Debating whether or not to go down for breakfast, Cammie's stomach won the battle. She quickly put on some leggings and a different shirt, then walked down the halls to breakfast or lunch, seeing that time flew by. Gathering the food from the buffet, she sat down at a table that only had a few students at it. Pulling out a book from her shirt pocket, she began to read. A couple minutes passed, and Cammie felt the weight shift on the bench she was sitting on. Looking up, she saw Dillon's face.

"Can I help you?" she asked dryly.

"Yeah, you can actually. I think you're wondering why I'm even at this school, correct?" he said, propping himself up on his elbows. Cammie nodded halfheartedly. "Well it's not for anything bad. They just thought that I would be a good spy, seeing as I had a distant relative in the same business. So I'm not a bad person, okay?"

"No one ever said you were. You incriminated yourself," Cammie said, turning back to look at her book. He made a noise, like he couldn't believe what she was saying.

"I most certainly did not. You know, I can see why Josh likes you, but I don't understand how he ever wanted to date you. You are such a disgusting person and aren't worth time and energy getting to know," he snarled, not bothering to even muffle his voice. Cammie looked at him, a death glare coming from her face.

"Josh has nothing to do with this. You do. You aren't supposed to be here, yet somehow you are. And I will find out why, you mark my words Dillon Jones," Cammie said fiercely, grabbing her belongings and leaving the table. She threw away her trash, and nearly sprinted back up to the dorms. Zach was still sleeping, and Cammie didn't want to wake up. She quickly wrote him a note, telling him where she was going, and grabbed a change of clothes. Cammie walked down the corridor that led to the gym, and quickly changed at her locker. In the gym, she took out her anger and frustration on a punching bag, perfecting her kicks and punches for nearly 45 minutes before she heard someone enter the room. Not paying any attention, Cammie continued to practice, assuming the person had left the room. It was only when she felt someone grab her arms that she realized her vision was blurring with tears. She didn't know why she was crying, it wasn't like anything Dillon had said made a terrible impact on her, besides the last part. If anything at all, it just confirmed that Dillon wasn't here for a good reason. The person pulled her down, sitting on the gym mat.

"Gallagher Girl, why are you crying?" Zach asked, turning her head to face his.

"Dillon-" She didn't even get to finish her sentence, because Zach had stood up abruptly, an angry look on his face.

"Where? Where is he?" Zach asked, his shoulders tense. Cammie pulled Zach back down.

"I already handled it. It's fine. I just want a hug," she said, fresh tears starting to make their way down her face. Zach's expression morphed from angry to dismayed, you could tell that he had no idea what to do with a crying girl. Still, he tried his best, and pulled her towards him, his arms around her waist. She lifted her hands, and linked them over his shoulders. Cammie cried until all her tears had run dry. She leant back from Zach, and upon seeing the wet mark she left, started giggle. Zach looked at her strangely, until he noticed the pool.

"As long as you're feeling better," he winked. He put her on his back, and started walking out of the gym.

"Where are we going?" Cammie asked, fiddling with the neckline of his shirt.

"Well, I have to go change my shirt, and I didn't want to leave you alone, so I'm bringing you with me," he said, moving her around on his back to get a better grip on her.

"Oh joy, my own personal uber," Cammie said, laughing. Zach laughed too, and started to put her down as he reached his door. He grabbed a key from his pocket and unlocked the door, holding it open for Cammie to walk through. The sight that greeted her was surprising, everything was neat and orderly, something she didn't expect from a teenager. She sat on the bed, waiting for him to change his shirt. Zach exited the bathroom, carrying two shirts in his hands. It seemed he had neglected to wear one. Cammie's eyes kept switching up and down, looking from his muscular body to his face. She almost didn't noticed when he offered her a shirt, and she looked at it questionably.

"I just didn't think you'd want to keep walking around in your sports attire," Zach said, keeping his eyes on her face respectively. She made an 'o' with her mouth, and gratefully took the shirt from him, slipping it on.

"Thank you," Cammie said gratefully. "But I hope you realize you're never getting it back right?" she said mischievously. He nodded his head, a laugh escaping.

"It looks better on you than it does on me Gallagher Girl. I will get it back, when we move in together," he winked, causing her to go red. He chuckled, and slipped the shirt on. "Do you want to go do something today? I would wait for the others, but I think they're a little preoccupied," he said, whispering the last part. Cammie nodded.

"I still haven't seen the library here, I was thinking of looking through it for a book to read seeing as I finished the one from the bookstore," Cammie said, thinking back to the little bookstore where her first kiss with Zach was. She could tell he was thinking about it too, because his eyes took on a dream-like quality. "Hello? Zachary?"

"What? Oh! Yeah sure, let's go to the library, but if you find one you have to read it to me. Pinky promise?" he said, holding his pinky out. She rolled her eyes, but held out her pinky. They twisted them together, and then Cammie got up to start heading towards the library. "Gallagher Girl, where are you going? You don't even know where the library is," he said. Walking towards her, he interlocked his hand with hers and started leading the way. The library, it turned out, was only a short distance from his room, and the double doors opened into a large space filled with shelves. There were no students inside, it seemed as though everyone was either still asleep or in their rooms. Cammie ran her hands along the shelves, looking for a good book to read.

"Remind me to bring Liz here, she would love it," Cammie mentioned to Zach over her shoulder. He nodded in agreement, and resumed his own search for a book to read. Cammie skimmed the shelves, finally spotting a personal favorite. She grabbed it from the lineup, and walked over to Zach. "We can go now, I found the one I want to read," she said, starting to walk out of the library. Zach grabbed it out of her hand, looking at it curiously.

"I've never read this before. What's Harry Potter?" Zach asked.

"What's Harry Potter? You've seriously never heard or seen anything about it? Cammie asked, disbelief in her voice. Zach shook his head no.

"Should I have?" Cammie looked at him incredulously.

"Yes you should have!" she exclaimed, and ran back to the library to get the whole series. "You better get some snacks or something, because we're going to be here awhile," she said, walking towards the passageway with the light fixture. He nodded, and left to go to the dining hall. Cammie opened up the passageway, and walked down towards the room. She brought a blanket over and placed it on the couch, fluffing up the pillows so it would be more comfortable. Hearing the doorway open, she lay down on the couch and propped herself up with cushions. Zach walked in, carrying snacks, drinks, and a sweatshirt. He grabbed the pop-up table, bringing it in front of the couch, and place the various food items on top.

"I brought you a sweatshirt Cam, I know it gets cold in the stone rooms," he said, and handed it to her. She smiled, and put it on.

"Just another thing I'm gonna steal from you," she laughed. Zach just smiled in response, and then jumped on top of Cammie, knocking the air out of her. "Why? Why did you do that?" she said.

"Cause I thought it would be funny?" he asked, uncertainty in his eyes.

"You're lucky I like you Goode," Cammie said, and reached over to get the first book from the floor. He smiled and kissed her, then got comfortable. They took up similar positions from the bookstore, Zach in between her legs with his head resting on her chest and stomach. He pulled the blanket over both of them, and waited for Cammie to start. As she started to read, Zach traced patterns on her stomach. She could discern some, like when he drew little spirals and hearts, but some were harder to tell, like letters. Cammie suspected he traced Z + C at one point. Zach managed to stay awake for almost 12 chapters, looking out the previously covered window in the room. It was a grey day with rain clouds, which made him tired. Although he tried to stay awake, Cammie's voice was soothing and put him to sleep. Cammie noticed that Zach was finally out about five minutes later. She marked their spot in the book, and placed it to the side. While Zach was sleeping, she had time to figure out what Dillon was up to at Blackthorne. Zach had said that he had arrived nearly the same day as the girls, so one of the big questions was if it was coincidence or not. He was a civilian, and had no place in this world, even if some family members had connections. And what was he doing bringing up Josh? Cammie hadn't spoken to him in at least a year, ever since he was given the memory tea and a fake story. She started to mess with Zach's hair as she thought about his uncle and his connections. Even if the COC wanted Dillon, it made no sense to recruit him seeing as he had no experience or even knew anything about the espionage world. Unless he was part of a bigger plot, or a distraction, there was no reason for him to be in Blackthorne. Cammie got shaken out of her world by a voice.

"Gallagher Girl, what are you thinking about?" Zach said in a raspy voice. Cammie shrugged.

"Nothing really," she said. "Want me to keep reading?" He nodded his head, and settled back into his spot. She reached over to grab the book, returning to their place. Closing his eyes, he let Cammie's voice wash over him, and dozed off. Cammie finished the chapter, and put it away. Checking her watch, it was almost time for dinner. She decided set an alarm for 7, when she would leave for the dining hall. Settling down farther into the couch, she moved Zach's body up farther along hers so that his head was almost under hers. Cammie matched her breathing with his, and fell asleep after a short couple minutes.

It didn't even seem like 10 minutes had passed when the alarm rang out, waking Cammie. She felt Zach start squirming, and decided to wake him up fully.

"Zach, it's dinner time, let's go eat," she said, slightly shaking him.

"No, you're warm and I'm tired, and I wanna sleep," he said, trying to nestle back down. Cammie sighed, and shook him again.

"Lasagna is for dinner tonight," she whispered in his ear. He sat straight up.

"Why didn't you mention that earlier?" he asked, and got off the couch. He held his hand out for Cammie to take, and lifted her off the cushions. "Hey Gallagher Girl, I look really good on you," he smirked, pointing to her sweatshirt. She punched him on the shoulder gently, and lead the way out of the passage towards dinner.

"Wait I almost forgot!" Zach said, and pulled Cammie in by her waist. He kissed her gently, one hand coming up to hold her face.

"I'm not complaining, but what was that for?" Cammie asked.

"It was an 'I really like my girlfriend kiss'. Duh," he said, and went to turn away when Cammie touched his face with her hand and turned him back to her. She went on her tip-toes to reach him, and kissed him back.

"That one was a 'I really like my boyfriend kiss'. Duh," Cammie said smiling. "Now let's go get dinner," she said, grabbing his hand and leading the way. Zach followed her, looking at her like she was his world.