Chapter Fourteen

{Zach}

Thanks to Cammie's amazing poster and Liz's notecards, Hannah and I were able to give a rather impressive presentation. And the look of admiration on Cammie's face when our teacher announced our perfect grade was more than rewarding, although I couldn't complain about the heavy make-out session later that night, either.

Friday night, we were all gathered in Ryan's basement for our weekly movie night, but somehow we all decided to skip the movie this time and just hang out. Hannah and Macey had begged the guys to teach them how to play pool, even though every time we've offered to in the past, they flat-out rejected us. Grant and Declan had taken on that responsibility, while Ryan and Jonas managed to convince Liz to let them teach her how to play one of Ryan's violent video games.

I was glad to not have been roped into doing anything, especially since it meant that I got to lounge on the couch with Cammie while everyone else was distracted doing something.

"Okay," Jonas started, showing Liz how to control her avatar using the controller. "So, now if you push this, it'll activate the H10-24, and then you can—"

"Wait, it'll activate the what?" Liz asked, completely perplexed, and not for the first time that night.

"H10-24," Jonas repeated with a sigh. "We've been over this, Liz. Keep up."

Cammie giggled beside me, leaning in close to speak so no one else could hear. "They'd make a cute couple. Don't you think?" she asked, her body pressing into my side. Since our little arrangement started over a month back, she and I had actually become rather close, so I couldn't tell if the gesture was just her casually leaning in to whisper, or if she was purposefully trying to flirt with me. Couldn't say I minded either way considering it gave me the perfect view of her cleavage (which I tried to be a gentleman and not look at, but I'm only human).

I shrugged and whispered back, "Who knows? Maybe they're already secretly hooking up?"

She laughed and slapped my chest with the back of her hand. I watched her laugh for a brief second, then turned away before I was caught staring.

A few more minutes of watching Liz epically fail at whatever game she and Ryan were playing had passed before Cammie asked me if I could get her a drink from upstairs.

Without even thinking, I agreed. "Yeah, sure. Water?" I clarified, to which she nodded.

Smiling, she uttered a thanks.

Heading towards the stairs, I announced to everyone that I was getting drinks and asked if anyone wanted anything. A few of them shouted their orders, which was more than I was hoping for considering I only had two arms.

"I'll come help," Bex said, standing up from watching the pool game between Macey and Declan, and Grant and Hannah.

"So, I have a quick question," she stated once we were upstairs and pouring out everyone's drinks. "Do you know if Cammie's single?"

"Why would I know that?" I asked casually, avoiding her eyes.

"You guys have gotten pretty close lately," she answered, giving a small shrug. There wasn't a smirk on her face, or any hint to hidden implications to her words, so I assumed that, to her, she was just stating a fact.

I mimicked her shrug, hoping I seemed just as unconcerned as she did. "We've just been getting along," I corrected her, finishing up with the last drink. "Doesn't mean we stay up late, painting each other's nails and swapping secrets."

We've just been staying up late, making out and swapping secrets.

"Just thought I'd ask," Bex said, not spilling any more details than that.

But I was curious, especially considering Cammie wasn't exactly not in a relationship. I mean, we were kind of together in an informal way.

So, I decided to do some prodding and asked, "Why do you wanna know if she's single or not?"

"There's a new guy in my English class who's pretty cute. I think they'd be good together," she answered, smiling.

I pushed away feelings of anger that arose at her words (which I refused to admit were probably more along the lines of jealousy than actual anger). "Don't you remember what happened last time she tried to date a guy?" I asked harshly. "Does the name Lucas Grey ring a bell?"

Bex rolled her eyes. "Lucas is an ass," she told me, and I couldn't have agreed more. "But Josh seems really sweet."

My grip on the cup I was holding tightened more than necessary, and I silently scolded myself when her gaze dropped to where my white knuckles clutched the endangered glass.

"Zach, relax," she advised me, taking the drink away from me before it broke in my hand. "Josh couldn't hurt a fly."

"Have you talked to the guys about this?" I asked, knowing they just might be my saving grace in this situation. All four of us (excluding Declan, because I really don't think he has a clue what goes on within the group outside of his and Macey's relationship) were cautious when it came to potential boyfriends for Cammie, and considering we were just bouncing back from the whole Lucas-incident, I highly doubted the other three were going to be any more thrilled than I was about this Josh guy.

Bex gave me a sheepish grin, and my hopes brightened just a tad. "Well, no, but—"

"You know how they get, Bex," I interrupted, more than happy to be deflecting responsibility away from myself.

"As I recall, you're the one who threatens people," she argued, shoving a hand into her hip and cocking an eyebrow at me accusingly.

"And Ryan and Grant are the ones who follow through," I told her truthfully, watching her mood deflate. "They're not gonna like it."

"Well, why don't we go see?" she scoffed, despite her knowing that I was right.

I motioned for her to lead the way, positive the boys weren't going to agree to allowing Cammie to date this Josh kid who none of us even knew.

Bex flounced back down the stairs with purpose, her head held high as if she wasn't about to be royally shut down. She handed out the drinks she had been carrying, saving Cammie for last.

"So, Cam," she started, offering her the glass of water. "There's this guy in my English class that I think you'd really like."

"Oh, yeah?" Cammie asked, sneaking a glance at me. I tried to keep my face relaxed, as if her reaction, whatever it may be, didn't bother me.

"His name is Josh, and he seems really sweet," Bex explained, her grin growing. "He picked up my water bottle for me after I dropped it, and then he opened the door for me when we were leaving."

"Sounds like he's pretty into you, Bex," Cammie laughed. I was in awe of how casual she sounded and how effortlessly she turned the attention off of herself.

Bex just waved her words away as if they didn't even matter. "Even if he is, I have a feeling he'll forget all about me when you two meet."

Cammie's smile faltered, and she suddenly looked as uncomfortable as I felt. "Like a date?" she asked.

Our British friend nodded, obviously feeling very triumphant since none of the guys had butted in yet, much to my dismay. "So? What do you say?" Bex asked, poking Cammie's arm playfully.

"Uh," Cammie stammered, looking around to all the guys, silently pleading for one of them to jump in at any time. I would've gladly been that guy if my heart hadn't been pounding so hard that I was sure everyone could hear it, causing my voice to catch in my throat.

"Wait," Grant finally said from the pool table behind us. "Is this that Josh Abrams kid?"

"Yeah..." Bex's smiled faded and she gave me a worried glance, one that I couldn't empathize with.

"He seems pretty cool," Grant replied with a nod, then returned back to shooting the cue ball.

What the fuck? Outrage and disbelief begun to stir within me, both vying for dominance. I decided to settle on outrage, feeling my face burn red with fury as I glared at my supposed best friend.

"Oh, yeah. He's in my Physics class," Jonas announced from the floor beside Liz. "He's a pretty good guy. Bex is right, Cam, you should meet him."

Cammie was as shocked as I was pissed at their approval, and it was visibly noticeable as she sat with her mouth agape.

"You guys are…cool with Cam dating someone?" Hannah asked, joining us in front of the TV, obviously surprised.

When Grant and Jonas nodded, Cammie turned to Ryan, probably hoping that he would disapprove since he knew about our arrangement. "Ryan?" she asked, her voice soft and pleading.

For a brief second, Ryan looked at me worriedly, but he pulled himself together before anyone noticed and cleared his throat. "Maybe it's time we stop trying to control your love life," he told her. "You deserve to be happy."

Hannah nudged him with her foot and shot him a look. Ryan must've told her about Cammie and me, which I should've been annoyed at, but I was too pissed about him giving Cammie the green light with Josh to care.

Finally, Cammie turned to me, her blue eyes wide with concern. "Zach?" she asked, and my heart ached at the desperation in her voice.

From across the room, Declan scoffed. "Like you really care what Zach thinks," he laughed, and Macey actually joined him.

Cammie ignored him. "Zach…" she repeated, urging me to give her an answer.

Of fucking course I wanted to tell her no, I wasn't cool with it, but I knew I couldn't say that in front of everyone. I wasn't even sure if I could say it to her at all. What we were doing was just for fun. I had no right to tell her she wasn't allowed to date someone, especially if she actually wanted to. Especially if it had the potential to make her happy like Bex assumed it would.

I sighed. "Ryan's right," I told her, looking her right in her eyes. "You deserve to be happy." Even if it's not with me.

Her eyes softened, as if she heard the unspoken ending. She looked like she wanted to say something, but decided against it. Instead, she sighed, turned to Bex and said, "Okay. I'll meet him."

And I could've sworn that my heart fractured a bit.

::*::*::*::

Cammie claimed to not be feeling well not long after agreeing to a date with Josh Abrams, and she'd asked if I could drive her home, even though our friends usually didn't start to leave movie night until around one in the morning which was still hours away.

I, being the sucker that I am, agreed to take her back to her place, well aware that a part of me was hoping she wanted to fool around before sending me home. But the fact that she'd be on a date in the near future with some other guy hung in the air, and needless to say, it killed the mood.

"You okay?" Cammie asked, eyeing me as I drove quietly. She'd been watching me the whole drive, probably trying to decide if she should say something or not. Usually, when we were in the car together, I would seek out her hand, or sneak a glance, or rest my palm on her thigh. But this time, I kept my hands to myself and my eyes on the road, refusing to admit to myself that I was disappointed, and maybe even jealous.

"Fine," I told her, my voice extremely tight as I fought away my emotions. "You're the one who's not feeling well, remember?"

Her face twisted, obviously not expecting for me to sound as pissed and bitter as I was. "Zach, I—"

"We're here," I interrupted as I pulled into her driveway, annoyed with the entire situation. I was angry at Bex for trying to set Cammie up on a date. At Grant and Jonas for being so accepting of Josh right away. At Ryan for not having my back, despite it seeming suspicious if he didn't have a true reason to reject the date. At Cammie for agreeing to go on the damn date.

But mainly, I was angry at myself for not telling her that I really didn't want her to go like the fucking wimp I was. I hadn't told her my thoughts or feelings the past three years, so why I thought I would be able to now was beyond me.

Although I had parked the car and refused to look at her, Cammie still hadn't moved to leave. "I won't go on the date if you don't want me to," she sighed.

"It's not my decision, Cammie," I told her reluctantly. "If you want to go, you should go."

Turning in her seat to face me, she exclaimed, "You know I don't want to go. I only agreed to it to appease our friends, and so that they didn't get suspicious of…" she hesitated for a moment, taking a breath before continuing. "Us," she finished, and I wondered if the single word held as much meaning for her as it did for me. When she realized I wasn't going to answer, she reached across the center console and grabbed my hand from my lap, lacing her fingers through mine.

I looked down at our adjoining hands, feeling the same spark I'd always felt with her, hating and loving it all at the same time. My gaze traveled up to her face, a small, nervous smile spreading across her lips.

"I don't want to date Josh," she assured me. "I don't even want to meet him."

It looked like she wanted to say more, but she didn't. Part of me hoped that she was going to say that she wanted to date me, but I knew that was just wishful thinking.

Instead of saying anything, she leaned over and kissed me gently. Pulling back just enough to speak, she said, "Tell me not to go, and I won't."

I leaned my forehead against hers, debating between listening to what my brain was telling me, and following my heart. I could love Cammie wholeheartedly if I allowed myself, and after all our time together, I was pretty sure I had already given her half of it. Hell, maybe even three-quarters of it! But what would that mean for us in the long run? What we had right now was amazing, and I didn't want to ruin our friendship (or whatever you wanted to call it). But I definitely couldn't stand the thought of her going on a date with someone else and possibly falling in love with him instead.

"Don't go," I whispered into the small space between us, hating the vulnerability in my voice as I took a chance on what my heart wanted.

"Done." She kissed me again, more forcefully this time, and I found that I was totally infatuated with her, more so than I ever had been with anyone before. And I also found that I was completely okay with being defenseless with her, knowing I could at any moment be crushed if she ever decided to end things, because at least I got to hold her in the moment.

We continued to make out in my car for a while before Cammie lured me out of it and inside her house, where we spent the better part of the night tangled up with each other.

I have no idea what the heck an H10-24 is. I'm pretty sure I just made it up (:

Sorry to have waited so long to get this posted! For a while, I was stumped on what to have happen :/ but I hope you all enjoyed this chapter anyway!

A huge, HUGE thanks to everyone who's still reading this story. I know sometimes when authors take forever to update people stop reading because they forget what happened previously and they lose interest... For those who are still here, I love you for being so patient and sticking by me during my writer's block lol. And thanks to all your awesome reviews :D

Stay awesome (: