Shooting Stars

OMG! I'm so sorry for the delay! I deleted the chapter and had to retype it. I hope this is okay for now. Just wanted to thank you all again for the kind reviews. I hope you got my PMs…. I think that's what you call them…right? lol. Anyway, here's the next chapter.

Oh yes, just wanted to tell you that Camilla, or Cam, is 17 years old.

Hope you enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 2: Flying to the Graves

Camilla rested her head firmly against the window. She was already in Detroit, and the plane was just about to land. She could hear soft murmurs of a prayer being said by the lady beside her. From what Camilla gathered, the lady's name was Jordan. She was a 37 year old London native getting ready to see her children after a tiring business trip. Camilla kept her mouth shut about her plans, saying she was visiting some friends.

"Are you alright, dearie?" Jordan asked; her English accent evident in her voice.

Camilla nodded her head, starting to put her pens and journal into her new messenger bag. Although she was spoiled rotten by her brothers before she left, it didn't seem to have that 'cheery' effect it used to pull on her. All the materialistic things she could think about were old possessions that her parents and brother gave her before. The past suddenly held much more value than she thought it would. No wonder history held such meaning.

She could hear the flight attendant, speaking in the usual high, perky voice about taking off the seatbelts and exaggerating on what an exhilaratingly joyful ride it was.

Camilla departed from Jordan, thanked the flight attendants, and walked out of the plane heading to the baggage claim. She felt a mess, not knowing what to do. She had flown before, but always with her mother. It seemed more complete that way. She immediately shut any thoughts about her parents out of her mind. She didn't want to deal with it, at least, not at the moment.

Her eyes caught onto the lime green luggage passing by and she gripped onto them firmly; one large baggage and a smaller, miniature version. She left many things back at home; some of which holding much value and she couldn't risk losing them.

Her heart started to thump loudly and firmly, and she felt as if it would escape her ribcage. Luckily, she was walking, or else her foot would be tapping beats faster than her brother's drums. She didn't know what to expect of the Mercer's even if Drew reminded her of them. She was only four when they came, and the memory was still fuzzy. She could only remember Evelyn; silky white blond, sparkling blue eyes, and a kind, genuine smile. Other than that, everything was gone. Her childhood was fun, and everyone knows that good times always go by fast.

"I remember seeing Bobby not too long ago. Still tough as can be," Kevin laughed.

Drew agreed, "He's got the hair slicked back and- you know what, when you see him, you'll know it's him."

David shrugged, "When she sees him, she'll run……Stay close to Jerry."

Camilla chuckled. David wasn't too good with Bobby from what Drew and Kevin told her. He knocked David's two front teeth out playing ice hockey. Thankfully, they were only baby teeth. Jerry was said to be the calm intellect, and was somewhat similar to David.

Searching for the faces became quite hard, as everyone was swarming this way and that. She decided to take a seat at the coffee shop, and relax…… if that was possible. A few moments later, her foot began to tap that insane beat, so she stood up and began to search again. This time, she was sure she was successful.

There were four men and a random girl; two black, two white, one Hispanic. They were waiting, glancing around ever so often, and cracking jokes. Out of the four, or five if you count the women, she could tell who was Bobby. He was the short, tough-looking guy with rugged features. Compared to the others, he was the shortest, but over all, they all were quite tall. Just by first glance, you could tell they were no Brady Bunch.

She awkwardly made her way to the group, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to find Jordan.

"Just wanted to say goodbye before we split." She smiled.

Camilla gave a small smile, "I hope you have a good time with your kids."

"Thank you. Have fun with your friends." Jordan hugged her. It was awkward for Camilla, but she nonetheless accepted it. Jordan was a very warm person.

Making her way over, her heart started to beat faster and faster. At that moment, she really wanted to be back in New York with her brothers. However, if that happened, she'd have to face her parent's death with her brothers. They'd force her to 'let it out', but that's something she didn't like to do. She always kept to herself and was quite the independent. Like many people she knew in her private school, she had the desire and need to fight her battles alone. She didn't want anyone's help. Getting closer, all random thoughts hit her like a smack in the face, and her mind became light.

"I think that's her. Look at her. She's so cute." She could hear the Hispanic girl with her Spanish accent talking. From what the other guy said, she could figure that the girl's name was Sofi. However, her head was down, and then she had to wonder if the lady was talking about her or someone else. She shrugged, engaging eye contact, and that's when she was surprised to find all eyes on her.

She tore her gaze away and walked forward to the group.

Sofi smiled, "Hi, are you Camilla?" Her Spanish accent was just as evident as Bobby's snort.

"Shut up, and stop scaring the girl." Bobby instructed sternly.

Sofi glared, "Bobby, shut the fuck-"

"Sorry, they're a bit crazy." She heard someone say to her. She looked up, and was met by a tall, black man. The other black guy looked to be protecting the Hispanic woman from Bobby. They must have been a couple. "I'm Jerry, by the way."

She shook his hand, and turned her attention to the other guy beside him.

"I'm Jack." He stuck out his hand, and she proceeded to shake his hand as well.

"Let's just grab these, and we'll be on our way." Jerry pulled up her large luggage, and she followed him outside.

"You cleaned up good," Jerry smirked, "I remember you in your black shorts and white t-shirts; always huddled up in your little tree house."

Cam smiled, surprised that he actually remembered. She was about to speak, but was suddenly thrown off by the huge noise coming from behind them. It was Bobby, 'Angel' and Sofi. Cam was suddenly glad they came through. She didn't know what she was going to say anyway. She just decided to stay silent.

"Sorry about that, I'm Angel." Angel smiled his pearly whites. "This is my girlfriend Sofi."

Bobby was about to comment about Sofi being a 'girlfriend', but decided against it. "I'm Bobby, and over here is Fairy. Jackie's his middle name."

Jack sighed, "Drop it."

Cam still stayed silent. It was as if something was caught in her throat, but then again, she was never the bold one; always shy, and the fact that her parents blood was still fresh in her mind, made her less talkative. She was the introspective one, always thinking. Her mind was filled with thoughts that would never be shared. That was okay though. She didn't like sharing those things. It made everything complicated.

Climbing into the car, the ride was….loud. Sofi, or La Vida Loca, kept chattering her head off, while Bobby insulted her. Angel intervened every now and then, but just gave up. Jerry told them to shut up, and Jack would ever so often ask her if she was okay and that it usually wasn't this bad…..of course, he wasn't so sure of that.

"You okay?" Angel asked.

Camilla nodded her head, while looking out the window. Everything felt so different. As she passed by a school, 'Technical High School' (A/N: I think!) she sighed. She'd probably have to go to a new school, and make new friends. On top of that, she'd have to go to a public school. She didn't mind it much, but since it was less strict, it meant Camilla could easily get beaten up, especially with her reputation. It would all go out soon that Camilla was the daughter of two rich, high-class. It would all go out soon that she was probably some stuck-up, prude princess.

"What school am I going to?" Camilla asked, still staring out the window.

When there was a lack of response with only some mumbles, she knew they hadn't thought of that yet.

"Technical." Bobby replied, "Did you see it?"

"Yeah. Public, right?"

"Of course……listen, we know you come from…" He droned on, but by then she wasn't listening to a word he was saying. She was sure he'd been talking about her life before. She heard faint words, addressing that she might not have the same things she had before in this place. That was for sure. Her brothers weren't here, and that's all the important 'things' she left behind.

Jack nudged her, as Bobby spoke. "…alright?"

"Whatever." She didn't mean to say that, and she especially didn't mean to say it with that attitude. With that said, she sounded….. exactly what others thought her out to be. 'Maybe I am a prude princess,' she thought to herself.

Bobby was about to retort for her rudeness and was about to explain the 'rules', but he earned a sufficient amount of smacks from Sofi, Angel, Jerry and Jack. "Alright! Just calm the fuck down! Why you all have to go La Vida Loca on me? As if it's not enough having one ass in our house."

Cam felt her head throbbing as Sofi proceeded to indulge Bobby with an abundance of Spanish insults and the rest of the Mercer's telling Bobby what a bad example and jackass he was. They parked the car at the driveway of a cozy house. It reminded her of her grandma's place. As she stepped out of the car, she popped the trunk and got her luggage. She closed the trunk, just as Jerry was about to help.

"Strong arms you got there." He commented. She didn't say anything again. She didn't want to speak. If she said something nice, Bobby would think she didn't like him. If she said something impolite again, they'd think she was a bitch. However, silence was enough to categorize her into 'stupid, angst' teen group with 'princess bitch' on the side. 'Stop thinking,' she shouted to herself. Thinking seem to stress her out to the max.

Entering the house, the smell was comforting. It was warm, gentle and delicate. Everything was comfortable. It almost felt like home. Almost.

"Come, you'll be taking my room." Bobby led her up the stairs, carrying her large luggage. She carried the miniature one up the stairs into the room. From that, she guessed he'd be sleeping in Evelyn's. She felt glum. First, her parents, then Evelyn. It never ends.

"Unpack, make yourself at home, and we'll call you for dinner soon." He looked around, "Feel free to take down some of the posters." He smiled. She nodded, seeing various, random girls who were almost exposed "vividly". There were also many hockey posters, which she wouldn't mind keeping, although she wasn't a Red Wings fan.

She shrugged as he left the room. She would have said 'thank you', but it wasn't like this was an 'offering'. They were stuck with her, and they had no choice but to oblige to her needs.

She took off her long trench coat, and tossed it on the bed. Walking over to her baggage, she wheeled it over to the bed, and sat as she unpacked the contents: clothes, toothbrush, toothpaste, PMS aid, etc. She put them in various drawers, which were previously emptied for her use.

Unpacking didn't take too long as there was a closet and plenty of drawers for her to put her things. She started to take down the 'swim suit models' and 'party hearty girls' off the walls. She cringed seeing a model pose herself in a distorted way.

"How do you do that?" She asked herself. Not wanting to find out, she folded the posters neatly and placed them in the corner of the closet.

She pinned a calendar near the entrance, and proceeded to see where photo frames would go. It all took about an hour's time, and she flopped onto the bed already tired.

She slept for what seemed to be eternity. Usually when she felt sick, all she could do was sleep…..but her dreams became horrible. All she could picture was her parents death...and although she tried, it almost became impossible to wake up. She shivered. It was as if she was sucked into those stupid angst teen shows, and wasn't coming out. Thankfully, the 'horror' ended. When she woke up, it was already morning the next day. She didn't know where to go, nor did she want to go anywhere. From the sound of downstairs, it was not a good idea to leave the room.

"Loco Ono is not staying here." She could hear Bobby's voice radiate throughout the house. Pretty soon, Sofi's voice started yelling, chastising Bobby, and pleading to Angel. Oh yeah, Cam would take her chances in her room.

She stayed cooped up in her room all day taking out her previous school work. She shuddered when looking at her speech cards for Student Council President. Everything she knew just seem to vanish, and although she did like new beginnings, this one seemed a whole lot harder than usual.

Ever so often, she got a knock on the door.

"Hey, kid, you hungry?" Bobby would ask.

"No." She'd reply faintly, but she knew 'they' could hear it.

It was close to evening already, and her stomach started to grumble like a bitch. She could hear another knock on the door, and then Sofi's voice, "Dinner's almost ready."

Cam walked over and exited her room to find Sofi smiling warmly and leading her down the stairs. Cam didn't understand why Bobby was so mean to Sofi; she was actually pretty good in her book. As she walked down the stairs, the boys in the den stared over in amazement. Sofi smiled proudly, 'being the only one that could get Cam out of the room'. Cam didn't want to bother explaining her hunger, letting Sofi have her glory.

"You can get yourself a drink in the kitchen. It's over there…… Right now, I'll be leaving to get us some entertainment; you know girl stuff." Sofi said before going over to the door.

"Thank God." They could hear Bobby's voice. He was on the couch glancing over to them.

Sofi rolled her eyes. "If you're not able to survive, my number's on the fridge." She smiled, and then left.

'Now would be nice,' Cam thought to herself, before walking to the kitchen. Over there, she found the weirdest sight…… Jack was adding the last marinating for the turkey. From his tough exterior, it was something you'd never expect.

She walked over to the fridge, taking a spare glass on the way. Looking through, she found some orange juice, beer, water and milk. She grabbed the orange juice and poured herself a glass. Casting a glance to Jack, she pointed, "You're doing it wrong. Inject it on that side, or else it'll come out dry on that part."

"I never knew princesses knew how to cook." Bobby hollered.

She looked surprised by what he said, but expected it out of him nonetheless. It was such a change from being all……polite. That's what she had to keep in mind, she reminded herself. Her brother's expected her to be sincere and polite, and so far, she was only polite to the strangers. Again, she kept her mouth shut, not sure of what to say.

"Hey, stop that." She could hear Jerry's voice. She was only half paying attention as Jack proceeded to laugh. Then, she heard banging, and assumed the boys were just wrestling or something. She could hear the nicknames 'Nitro' and 'Midnight' being commentated from Bobby who was observing the fight with much amusement.

She stared at the phone trying to telepathically send a message to her brothers. Her mind screamed, "Call me now!"

Jack smiled, "Dinner's ready."

In a matter of minutes, everything was set. Bobby sat at the end of the table, Jerry to his left, Angel to his right, Jack beside Jerry and Cam beside Angel. They all took hands but Cam declined. She wasn't much of a prayer. Bobby said a quick prayer thanking God and what not, and then they were off to eat.

"How you like your new room?" Jerry asked

"Too much playboy?" Angel chimed in.

The guys laughed, while Camilla chuckled. Everyone was surprised. She was actually showing 'emotion'.

"Um, I took them down. They're folded in the corner of the closet." She gave a small smile.

Everything else was silent, but she could notice them staring at the vacant seat beside her. 'Probably was Evelyn's,' she thought to herself sadly. A few more minutes, she looked over to the seat herself.

She dropped her fork, her mouth open, and heart ripped out of her chest. Never had she seen anything so mind-boggling. "What the-" She could have sworn she saw Evelyn sitting right at the seat.

"You okay?" Jack asked.

Her body shivered, still staring at the seat.

"Hey, kid, you okay?" Bobby asked again.

She snapped her head up in his direction, "Yeah." She began to stuff her face, looking at her food, trying to not look at the seat. However, her eyes just had to look one more time. Again, there she was; Evelyn in the flesh.

"Cami, dear," She smiled, "It's so great to see you……Your parents were good people, and they love you very much. Just- just give my boys a chance."

Cam looked back down at her food, just as Bobby stood up.

"You know how to skate, Camel?" Bobby addressed her with a new name.

"I played on a hockey team." She answered, still looking at Evelyn's seat. That girl was freaked. When you see ghosts in a house that's when you know you should get the fuck outta there.

He smiled, "Good. Let's play this fucking shit. I want to see tight passes,-."

"What? I didn't come all the way here to play no fucking hockey." Angel looked incredulously at his brother.

But it was too late. Bobby was droning on about hockey, already on his way upstairs to get ready. Everyone left the table as well, while Cam still looked to where Evelyn so unexpectedly visited. She stood up, waving her hands across Evelyn's seat. She even looked under the seat to see if there were any devices. They could be joking with her or something…. But then again, that would be some kind of sick joke. She shook her head, and began to get ready upstairs.