Perilous

Chapter Twelve

Zach POV

Jonas and I locked eyes, realizing what had happened.

"Fuck."

I ran into Cam and my suite to see her shoving things into her suitcase.

"Cammie, there you a- what a minute. What are you doing?" I asked.

Cammie sniffed, lugging her bag into the bathroom and shoving her things inside with no care for organization- makeup, shampoo, contacts. She was packing. And she was packing fast.

"Getting the hell out of here," She growled, fighting with the zipper.

"Dammit," Cam muttered as tugged on it with all her might. "Dammit!"

She shouted as she kicked the huge bag, standing.

Cammie turned to me and pointed a finger at me. "I knew this was a bad idea! I knew it! I knew I shouldn't have stayed! You know what my plan was, huh? You know?"

I just shook my head, too stunned to speak.

"I was going to run, Zach! I was going to run! I was going to die my hair red, get some freaking grey contacts, break into the accounts of several billionaires, and withdraw a shit ton of cash. Create a fake name, fake accounts, all of it. Then I was going to move to Scotland! And you know what I was going to do in Scotland, Zach? Hm?"

I shrugged, deciding to let her ride out this episode. I would calm her down and get her in bed when it was over. It would be okay. She would calm down, she would cry a bit, then fall asleep, right?. And then I would wake her up from her nightmares, get her back to sleep. And I would wake up in the morning to watch the gorgeous woman I was falling for as she rested, then we would go out and catch the bad guys, right? I desperately hoped so.

"Farm pumpkins, Zach! I was going to become a fucking pumpkin farmer! I was going to build a nice little stone cottage away from civilization on a grassy hill overlooking a river or some shit like that, carve me out a nice piece of land, and farm pumpkins." Cammie breathed heavily, swallowing hard as tears filled her eyes. Her voice cracked. "I know it's pathetic, but I was content with it. At least I would be safe, you know? That was my plan. And it was a good one too."

She stalked towards me brought her fists down on my chest, not hard enough to leave lasting damage but hard enough to sting. "But then you came along! And you wanted to take me to the Director and then the Director started talking about your mom and your fucked up twin brother and you looked all dejected and I felt sorry for you. You know? I really did. It was fine, you know? We were going to kill them and then I could go build my damn pumpkin farm. But then guess what? The Director offered me a job and I actually considered!"

Cam threw her hands up. "My dumbass actually considered! And then you remembered me." She shook her head. "You remembered me. You came to my hotel and you know what you said? Cammie. You said Cammie. And you didn't just say it like it was a random name you picked up on the street. You said it like you knew me. Like you cared about me. And I lost it. But then you explained and I remembered. And then you taught me how to laugh again and how to smile again and how to actually mean the words that came out of my mouth and you taught me how to not hate the world, just like you did when we met when we were kids! And then you!"

She hit my chest again.

"You took me to the base where we first met and you started talking about rebuilding it as an estate and us living there together and it being our place. You got me all caught up in wishful thinking!"

Cammie continued, and it was this part of her speech that struck me the hardest.

Her beautiful face got all pouty as the tears started to leak from her mesmerizing blue eyes and she clung to my shirt, her expression pleading with me.

"And then the mission was going well and you were helping me," Cammie said. "You were helping me like living again. You were helping me see life as more than something to endure. You were helping me love again. And I actually started to have feelings for you, you know? A stupid grade school crush just like when we were kids. Every time we touched you made me remember something as simple as holding hands in the dark to stop my bloody nightmares or me borrowing your hoodie because it was cold or celebrating with movies and cuddles when we hit a milestone in our savings that would eventually lead to our escape. That's why I went to the balcony that night, you know? You were laying next to me and I started thinking and my stomach starting doing those annoying little flutters and I was scared and so I literally buried myself in all those painful memories to make it stop because I didn't want to get hurt again. But then, again and again, you made me love and you made me want a for a second there I actually thought I could have them back, you know? Mace, and Lizzie, and Bex and my mom."

She faltered slightly. "And you. You made me think I could have you."

Cam shuddered against me as her knees went weak and if it weren't for my natural instinct to constantly keep her safe, I wouldn't have caught her.

"And then this shit had to happen and now I just feel so stupid and I have to get out of here!" She shouted.

"Cammie," I said, gripping her forearms.

She shook her head rapidly, shaking as she sobbed. "I have to get out, I have to get out, I have to get out."

Her breathing sped up and she gasped for air. Her natural tendency to breathe diaphragmatically was put on hold as her chest rose and fell with frightening speed.

"Cammie," I shook her with all my might, trying to bring her back down to earth.

She looked at me with those wide, terrified blue eyes.

"Breathe," My words expressed power and feeling that seemed to get through to her. "In, and out. Slowly. In, and out. In, and out. In, and out."

Cam held on to my shirt tightly as she gained control over her lungs.

"That's it, come on. There you go, just breathe, Cammie."

She nodded, finally beginning to relax.

When she was completely okay, besides the trembling of her hands, Cammie shook her head as she stared at me. "I knew they wouldn't trust me. I knew they would start asking questions. I knew it."

I took her face in my hands, looking her in the eye. "Hey, that's okay. It's okay. You are okay, alright?"

She nodded, leaning into my touch before pulling me into a desperate hug. Her face was pressed into the crook of my neck as she calmed her tears, my arms moving to wrap around her slender waist.

"I trust you," I whispered to her.

Seconds passed where nothing was said.

"Do you...do you trust me?" I asked the question hesitantly, afraid of the answer.

Cammie moved for the first time in minutes, pulling me closer. The movement positioned us so that she straddled my left leg, bringing us so close we could feel each other's heartbeats.

"Yes," She softly said into my ear, her breath shuddering against my neck. "Always."

Her response warmed my heart.

We stayed there for what felt like ages, hugging in the middle of the tornado of things that had fallen from her suitcase.

When Cam finally pulled away, I ran a hand through her hair. "Does this mean you're staying?"

After a long while, she bit her lip and slowly nodded.

I smiled slightly. "Good. Can you..." My gaze flickered down for a moment. "Can you promise me something?"

Hesitantly, Cam nodded again.

"Promise me," I said, reaching out to grasp her hand. Flipping it palm up, I drew a star in the center of her hand with the tip of my pointer finger. "That you won't get away from me. Promise me that I won't lose you. Never again."

Cammie smiled and placed my hand next to hers in the same position I'd done to her just moments before. She looked down and lightly drew an identical star on my palm with her finger. She looked up at me from underneath her eyelashes. The scene left me breathless.

"I promise." She whispered.

Bex POV

"He said Cammie, didn't he?" Liz said, looking back and forth between me and Macey.

Macey nodded.

Liz started pacing slowly. "Wait, what did she say before she left?"

"Who, Nightshade?" Grant asked.

"Yes!" Liz exclaimed. "What did she say?"

"'Stop trying to be bold and go back to being the nice little girl who always has a spare pencil.'"

The room went silent, and it took me a moment to realize I'd said it.

Liz nodded slowly. "And how did Cammie and I meet?"

"First grade..." Macey began. "A bully broke her pencil..."

I looked up. "I told them off, but I didn't have a pencil to share..."

"So I offered one of mine." Liz finished.

Our eyes locked. We were frozen.

But something...something seemed to travel through our gaze. Something we all understood.

And then we bolted.

In union, we ran out the door and down the hall, after Zach.

"Hey, hey!" Nick's voice called out, Jonas' following suit.

Strong arms wrapped around my waist, restricting movement.

I struggled against Grant, I kicked and I screamed.

Macey and Liz were in similar situations.

But I didn't care.

All that I cared about was finding out if it was really her. Finding out if my best mate was behind the door just ten feet in front of me.

"You knew!?" Macey shouted, throwing Nick off of her and backing him into a wall as Jonas released a crying Liz. "All of you knew and said nothing?"

"I didn't," Grant admitted. He still had his arms wrapped tightly around me, even though I'd stopped struggling. I prayed to whatever gods were out there that he would let me go, but I knew he wouldn't. He knew me too well. He knew I'd sprint as soon as his grip was loose enough. And so he held tight. "But when the bros go running, you follow, right?"

Nick punched his shoulder. "First rule of Fight Club, bro."

"I don't give a damn about your stupid bro code!" Liz yelled through her tears. We were all too distracted by the task at hand to acknowledge her curse.

"Keep holding on to me, Newman, and I'll murder you, you hear me? I will commit bloody homicide." I hissed through my teeth.

Grant shook his head. "You know I can't let you go."

I opened my mouth to scream, curse, or something, but I never got the chance because a muffled shout reached us through the walls of one of the suites.

Zach's suite.

"Dammit!"

I looked at Macey. "Was that-"

She nodded and began to run but again we were stopped by our boyfriends.

"Bloody hell, Grant, let me g-"

"Stop being stubborn and listen." Jonas hissed, speaking for the first time.

We quieted down and strained our ears to hear more shouts from Zach's room.

"I knew this was a bad idea! I knew it! I knew I shouldn't have stayed! You know what my plan was, huh? You know?"

It was silent for a few moments.

"I was going to run, Zach! I was going to run! I was going to die my hair red, get some freaking grey contacts, break into the accounts of several billionaires, and withdraw a shit ton of cash. Create a fake name, fake accounts, all of it. Then I was going to move to Scotland! And you know what I was going to do in Scotland, Zach? Hm?"

"She's losing it," Grant said behind me.

"Shut it!" I growled.

"Farm pumpkins, Zach! I was going to become a fucking pumpkin farmer! I was going to build a nice little stone cottage away from civilization on a grassy hill overlooking a river or some shit like that, carve me out a nice piece of land, and farm pumpkins. I know it's pathetic, but I was content with it. At least I would be safe, you know? That was my plan. And it was a good one too."

The screams continued and they began to sound less angry, and more...broken. Nightshade, or Cammie, or whoever she was, she was bitter alright. But her screams were broken and afraid and sad. The emotion in them made me shiver.

"But then you came along! And you wanted to take me to the Director and then the Director started talking about your mom and your fucked up twin brother and you looked all dejected and I felt sorry for you. You know? I really did. It was fine, you know? We were going to kill them and then I could go build my damn pumpkin farm. But then guess what? The Director offered me a job and I actually considered!"

We all glanced at each other, knowing she was yelling at Zach.

But that wasn't what shocked us. The Director offered her a job?

She continued, and her voice broke.

"My dumbass actually considered! And then you remembered me." She shook her head. "You remembered me. You came to my hotel and you know what you said? Cammie. You said Cammie. And you didn't just say it like it was a random name you picked up on the street. You said it like you knew me. Like you cared about me. And I lost it. But then you explained and I remembered. And then you taught me how to laugh again and how to smile again and how to actually mean the words that came out of my mouth and you taught me how to not hate the world, just like you did when we met when we were kids! And then you!"

I went limp in Grant's arms, sliding down to the floor as tears filled my eyes.

Liz had turned into Jonas' chest. He held her close.

Macey's throat constricted, her grip tightened on Nick's hand, and that's when I really got scared.

I never get scared, but that shit scared me.

America's Sweetheart didn't cry. Macey never cried. I'd only ever seen her cry twice. Once when she broke up with Nick for the first time, and once when we buried Cammie's empty casket next to her father's.

"You took me to the base where we first met and you started talking about rebuilding it as an estate and us living there together and it being our place. You got me all caught up in wishful thinking!"

The base where they met? Building an estate? Their place?

My brain was swimming with questions.

What she said next shocked us all. Even the boys were stunned. Not so much Jonas, but as she went on, his eyes widened too.

"And then the mission was going well and you were helping me." Cammie said. "You were helping me like living again. You were helping me see life as more than something to endure. You were helping me love again. And I actually started to have feelings for you, you know? A stupid grade school crush just like when we were kids. Every time we touched you made me remember something as simple as holding hands in the dark to stop my bloody nightmares or me borrowing your hoodie because it was cold or celebrating with movies and cuddles when we hit a milestone in our savings that would eventually lead to our escape. That's why I went to the balcony that night, you know? You were laying next to me and I started thinking and my stomach starting doing those annoying little flutters and I was scared and so I literally buried myself in all those painful memories to make it stop because I didn't want to get hurt again. But then, again and again, you made me love and you made me want a for a second there I actually thought I could have them back, you know? Mace, and Lizzie, and Bex and my mom."

I crawled over to Macey and grasped her hand, slowly moving to tug on the end of Liz's pale pink dress.

It was her. It was really her.

She had been right in front of us the whole time and we hadn't even known.

And then Nightshade- no, Cammie, because she was Cammie -said, "And you. You made me think I could have you."

"And then this shit had to happen and now I just feel so stupid and I have to get out of here!"

Everything quieted down to murmurs and sobs after that.

Everything but the trembles in my hands and the silent tears streaming down my face.

"It's her," I whispered, watching my best friends. "It's her. She's right there."

"I screwed up, didn't I?" Liz sobbed.

"That doesn't matter right now." Macey placed a hand on her arm. "What matters is she's here and we have her back."

She pulled us into a tight hug and we cried there together.

The guys were standing there quietly. They let us have our moment.

But when I looked over Liz's shoulder at Grant, then Nick, then Jonas...

Let's just say they knew they were in deep shit.

A/N: Well, that was interesting, wasn't it? Cammie almost left and had a breakdown, but Zach convinced her to stay. And now everyone knows who she is. How do you think Cammie is going to react? Do you think she'll really leave? Do you think she'll open up to them and trust them and finally have your family back? Or do you think she'll continue the mission and shut everybody out? Who knows...Well, I do, but I'm not telling lol. And how much trouble do you think Nick and Jonas are in? Lol well, I don't have much else to say except I hope you liked this chapter and I can't wait to read your reviews!

Fanfix2.0: YOUR COMMENT MADE ME LAUGH EVERY TIME I REREAD IT I CAN'T EVENNN. And yeah, definitely unexpected. Who doesn't like a few surprises, eh? Glad you liked last chapter and hoped you liked this one too!

Duchess12: OH CRAP! (that was me running across the room to get my phone because I drop it in excitement every time I get a review from you) And YES I love how lost Zach was and how irritated Cam was getting lol those scenes are so fun to write. And YES YES YES YES I am SO GLAD you agree with me on the Liz thing! She's absolutely the sweetest but as they all say, she's the most dangerous of them all. And Bex for sure made some good points and so did Zach, but I think it's impossible to settle it because Zach and Cammie don't know how it feels for the team and the team doesn't know how it feels for them so it's all 50/50. And look at that, Cammie did reveal just a little about who she is with the pencil comment, so you were right! But Zach confirmed it so now they knowwww! For real who needs school it's just a good 12 years of our life wasted lol (but pls finish your work, cuz we don't wanna see u fail & don't die plsss *insert pout emoji*) AGHHHHH I LOVE YOU, YOU MAKE ME CRY HAPPY TEARSSSS! You right tho Cam ain't goin no where or doing shit (for now lol). I'm so happy my updates never fail to make you smile and laugh and I hope they continue to do so! And yes, thank you for understanding that life slows me down too. I hope you liked this update! Love you and your comments! 3 3 3

olivia: Sorry but your name instantly made me think of One Direction lolll. Well, you saw a bit of Cammie and Zach's reaction the Liz's uhhh "episode" and you will see how they react to everyone knowing the truth next chapter! And yes, Zach was right about the team not having empathy toward Cam but then again they don't know who she is or what she's been through so long story short, both sides made some good points. And awww THANK YOU! Thank you for reading and saying so many nice things I appreciate it so much. Hope you liked this chapter!

allycarterfan101: Yes, the tea has been spilled and the girls are about to start asking a lottttt of questions. Hope I don't male you wait too long to see what happens! And no, Grant didn't know Cammie from when they were kids, he's only heard of her from the girls. I actually thought about making them siblings but decided against it. Thanks for reading and I hope you liked this chapter!

BedBaxter: Wow thank you so much! Hope you like this update! I'm ecstatic you like the writing, the plot, the vocab, and the characterization so much! And yes we all love soft, protective Zach because he makes our Cam feel better. The whole scene where he stands up for her is a little cringe to me whenever I go back and read it, but I'm glad you like it anyway! Again, thank you so much! I hope you're doing well too!