Serendipity

by Florexandra

Seveteen-year-old Kay Daniels lived a perfectly normal boring life that she was content with. That is until Cameron Black and his brother Jonathan moved to town. Kay would do anything to get Cameron off her back. Soon she realizes that all this newfound chaos might bring her more peace than she thought possible but as Cam would say, "Nothing's impossible" Collab with SandfireKat :3

2. Chapter 2

Kay liked to think she was a good person.

She liked to think she was generous, and kind. She stayed out of other people's business and never made her business anyone else's. She tutored underclassmen that needed help, and she did a lot of service hours for her honor society. She helped plan pep rallies and encourage new organizations, and whenever it was requested of her she helped with other events. She had been the one in charge of the last Bingo night at their school, and even when she had been yelled at by an old woman for not calling her numbers and rigging the game against her, she had just smiled.

Kay liked to think she was a good person.

Kay liked to think she didn't deserve this.

She had tried to bargain with God...after two minutes of that, she realized he wasn't gonna listen. She had tried to scrounge up the nerve to actually ask Lexi if she wanted to switch partners, or figure out how that would occur in a way that wouldn't entirely offend Cameron. She had sat there and entertained the prospect of dropping out of school entirely...that would have a little more long-lasting repercussions in comparison to the first two, but she was pretty sure that she could make it work if she was pushed.

But, no. It was just pointless. This was a project meant to be done with a partner. And they had been late, so there was no other option. Fate had taken Kay's dislike for his constant talking and smiling and prodding and poking, and it had disregarded it entirely, deciding instead that it would be a good idea to have them be together for the next couple of weeks. Really, she shouldn't be surprised. Fate never really did have a good track record when it came to her. There was no point just sitting there and whining about it to herself. Everyone else was already talking amongst themselves and getting to work. It was just one assignment, and then after that they wouldn't have to work together. And, despite his goofiness, Cameron did seem to know what he was doing when it came to literature. He was in the honors class, after all. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad.

She'd just get through it.

So she said nothing; her shoulders just drooped and she gave in. Shockley had long since stopped caring about the two late students; she was answering questions from other students over what was expected of them. Kay shook herself and started to try and pay attention. They'd missed the introduction thanks to Cameron's sheer stupidity. They had to catch up to the rest of the class. But her concentration was broken when she felt a pencil tap her shoulder. And she had to hold back a huff of irritation at Cameron's voice in her ear. "Psst."

"What, Cameron?" she hissed through clenched teeth.

He wasn't put off by her tone. He usually wasn't, though, so it was nothing new. In fact, he was grinning from ear to ear when she looked back at him. Again, she was left to wonder if it was coffee he injected into his veins in the morning, or just straight heroin. "Where do you want to work on this?" he asked. "I'd invite you to my place, but..." He paused, before he grinned wider and shrugged, "Johnny plays his music too loud. We'd never be able to hear each other. And I know how much you love to listen to my amazing voice."

She eyed him, raising her eyebrows a little bit. "Jonathan, playing his music too loud?" she echoed. Didn't seem quite right. Jonathan always had his headphones in when she saw him, and he was the definition of 'keeping to yourself.'

Cameron nodded earnestly: "Oh yeah, he's obnoxious as hell. I'm close to suing him." He looked down at his desk, fiddling with his pencil. His smile was dropping a bit. "But the only lawyer I could find wanted to be paid in radishes, and it's not radish season yet. I gotta wait." She looked at him, her stare very dull and requesting him to be normal for once. But he didn't look back up at her.

She was silent for a moment then nodded, "Okay, I guess…we could go to my house…or a coffee shop. It's not due for a while."

He scrunched up his face. "Not much of a coffee drinker."

"Really?" So all that energy just came naturally? Oh dear God.

He shook his head, "Nope. It's never really appealed to me. Too bitter."

"I'm surprised you don't just dump a pound of sugar into it," she commented. He looked up at her again, and his smile was back the way it usually was. She paused for a moment, before she offered: "Well, they do have a pretty good hot chocolate." He perked, upon hearing those words. She felt the corner of her mouth twitch slightly. "I mean, I think it would be a good idea to start working there because it might get us in the right mindset. Once we've figured things out, we can create an outline." His smile only grew. She couldn't quite understand why. But she found that she was smiling right back. Sure, he was annoying and talked too much… but he also meant well, and he did well. It was clear that he cared about his schoolwork. He may not as focused as she was but it was clear his grades were just as important to him as her grades were to her.

"You had me at pretty good hot chocolate," he beamed.

Mrs. Shockley clapped her hands together. "Alright guys! I'm going to give you the rest of the hour to start on your projects. So chat amongst yourselves. I'm here if you need me. But please don't need me." She turned back to her desk. "Try to spend at least five minutes on the assignment today. You're all like hamsters when it comes to attention spans." Kay was fairly certain she wasn't in that category. She couldn't say the same for the boy sitting next to her, unfortunately.

"So partner," Cameron chirped. That mischievous glint was back in his eyes. "Was there any book you had in mind?" He looked down at the papers they'd snatched on their way in that outlined the project. He flipped it back and forth, too fast and too dramatic to actually be reading anything. "What even is this project?" She just watched him, resigning herself to just waiting him out. She felt like that was just the best route to take. "We have to...write a report? Do we have to build stuff? Last time I tried to build something it caught on fire..."

Kay pursed her lips. She had forgotten about the assignment until they had walked into class, in the first place. She hadn't spent a single second thinking about what she would actually do for it. She shrugged. "To be honest, I haven't really thought about it. I've been busy with other stuff."

"You look the part," he hedged. "You look like you haven't slept in like two weeks. Maybe we need to cut class and get that coffee right now." She shot him a look, silently telling him to shut up. He was getting a little better at actually taking those warnings, it seemed. Which was good, because if not, she would probably end up punching him in the throat. He dropped it with another small shrug, tilting his head to the side. "Well, what about a romance story?" She raised an eyebrow at him. "I just suggest it because there is actually a lot to talk about with the romance novel. You got all that...mushy symbolism and crap. We can talk about something like that. We could do… Pamela… Pride and Prejudice… Wuthering Heights, if that's more your speed."

"You've read all those?"

He shrugged. "I mean they are some of the classics. Although, personally, I find Mr B in Pamela to be a little… oh, what's the word? Creepy." Cameron saw Kay's mouth form a tiny smile. He didn't say anything about it, but his own grin widened significantly as he recognized the feat. "I mean, the only reason he marries Pamela is so that he can be seen as the good guy. He treats taking her hand in marriage as if he's rewarding her. Not exactly someone you wanna bring home to Mom and Dad." He heard Kay give out the tiniest of chuckles. He sat up a little straighter, his eyes flashing. He could bypass the smile, but this? "Did I just make you laugh?" he demanded, absolutely stunned.

"No." Her reply was immediate and flat. She buried her nose back into the directions.

"I did!" he argued, leaning forward to try and catch her eye despite the fact. Her eyes flickered to him, but went right back to the paper a second after. He could see the effort she was making to frown. His smile was unfettered. "I made you laugh," he declared, triumphant, like he'd won a grand prize or something. He sat back in his chair with a flourish. Very smug.

"You did not," she grumbled.

"Mmm. I don't know Kansas. That looked like a smile to me," he said, in a very sing-song voice. Kay didn't say anything. Again...why was she being punished? When up to now she'd done her best to live a decent life. If this was how you were rewarded, she wasn't too sure how it all worked. Though she had a few choice complaints.

Cameron's stupid lopsided grin was still plastered on his face. She recalled when her parents used to tell her not to make a face for too long, otherwise it would get stuck there. She could only assume nobody had given him the same warning, and now he was doomed to look like that for the rest of his life. "Hey, come on…" She kept her head down, raising her eyebrows a little. "Kay." Once he used her actual name, she turned, very pointedly, unimpressed. His smile went a tad more crooked as he tilted his head to the side. "I know you pretend to be averse to fun, but I like to think that you don't hate me entirely. Or as much as you make it seem like you do."

She stared at him for what felt like a very long time. Before she offered: "Well, then you'd be wrong. 'Cause I do hate you."

He just smiled more. He put his chin on his hand and leaned closer to her. "No you don't," he declared, very certain of the rebuttal.

She held his gaze a little bit longer, and tried to keep her sharpened look. But it was quickly crumbling away from her; she looked away before he could see the smile that was wiggling onto her face. But something told her that he noticed anyway. Maybe it was his laugh. "We have to talk about the assignment," she snapped, her voice just as strained when it came to hiding her grin.

He just scooted a little closer. "Talk away," he invited.

She did. And she was painfully aware, probably just as much as he was, when that smile stayed on her face and in her voice, as she started to read over the instructions.

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

Kay went to her locker after band, like she always did. She was a creature of habit, and liked routine. But today, there was something very different and very not routine. And it came in the form of Cameron Black standing right in front of it. "Afternoon, Partner! Ready to go party hard at a Starbucks?" he asked with a cheeky grin. Kay didn't say anything; he prompted: "C'mon! Friday night clubbing- can I get a boo-ya?" She nudged him away, shooing him off so she could actually unlock the door and reach her stuff. He just grinned wider as he hopped to the side, clasping his hands behind his back. "Come on Kansas, I thought we were making progress!" She raised an eyebrow at him. "Come on Kay..." He pouted, "I'll be your best friend."

"That sounds like a threat."

Cameron clutched his chest, "You wound me, bestie."

"You'll live," she grumbled.

"No, wait, wait, stop!" His snap got her to actually comply. She stopped and eyed him with confusion. He lifted his index finger, ducking his head a little bit. "Shh… listen. You hear it?" She raised her eyebrows. He gave a dramatic sigh, and looked back up at her with a much-too-sorrowful frown. "It's the sound of my heart breaking. I think the only thing that might mend it is a warm cup of hot cocoa."

Kay rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright; we're going." He sat back on his heels, swinging his arms back out, now. "Just let me get my stuff." She paused a moment, her eyes flickering to him and then back to her locker as she added in more of a grumble: "But I'm not sure that putting sugar in your system is the best idea, Mr. Magician."

Cameron gasped. "Did I level up from Dimples to Mr. Magician?" She rolled her eyes, just stuffing the last of her stuff into her bag before she turned and started for the exit without another word. He was all too eager to bounce after her, once he picked up his own bag. "You flatter me Kay. Now I need to come up with another one for you."

"Please don't," she huffed.

Cameron was quick to match her speed. "You're right. Kansas does suit you quite well. Anything else simply have the same allure."

Kay rolled her eyes, "I really shouldn't be letting you have sugar."

"Kansas, you should know by now that sugar sustains me." Kay nodded once, rolling her eyes with a kind of look that said 'Unfortunately, yes.' Cameron flashed her a smile, taking a few more steps than she did so he reached the door in time to hold it open for her. She glanced at him as she walked past, and muttered a small thanks. They were silent for a moment, starting down the sidewalk, but Cameron wasn't going to let it stay like that for long. "So. What's the name of this cafe, again?"

"The Busy Bean"

"Oh, you can just tell that guy put so much effort into that name," he gasped. "That hipster must be real proud of himself." She just cracked a small smile again, not replying. But that was alright, because, not at all surprisingly, Cameron was perfectly fine to talk all by himself. And talk he did, enough for the both of them.

They walked down to the coffee shop and the entire way, Cameron kept finding something new to talk about. How when he realized Jonathan was the 'science' twin because when he was in seventh grade he'd made a small explosion in the lab ("And let me tell you, my teacher was so unreasonably angry? Her hair didn't even get that pink.") How he was pretty sure that when he went downtown he saw a hobo that remarkably resembled Eric. How he thought it wasn't fair he couldn't dance anymore now that he was a drum major, and he was contemplating just jumping down there anyway in the middle of the show. How the Starbucks' Witch's Brew Frappuccino tastes like Fruit Loops that were trying to be healthy.

She listened the entire way, a captive audience simply because she didn't have any other option. A couple times she wondered whether or not Cameron ever stopped to take a breath, or how long he could go at one time without air. She was sure he could go scuba diving without any gear and not come back for a good thirty minutes. But at the same time, a couple of the things he said were funny. A couple of them made her laugh just a little. Though every time she laughed, Cameron always made such a big deal out of it, so she wasn't gonna let him see her grin too often.

It took them some time but they eventually got there. At this point it was around five. She wouldn't have too long to spend here...she had no idea what Cameron's curfew was, if he even had any, but he didn't seem worried. And they were just there to brainstorm for a little bit, anyway. They walked up to the door and Kay reached out for it, but Cameron hopped in front of her at the last second and held it open for her. "Ladies first," he chirped.

Kay raised an eyebrow. But she didn't complain, and took the offer with a small: "Thanks." They found a booth in the corner where they could work without distractions. Fortunately, Kay did not make the mistake of letting Cameron sit where he could seeing people walking by. Just a very subtle attempt to make sure that he would focus on their assignment, and not on critiquing the outfit of the person who was walking by, or something equally as random and stupid, because at this point she was more than aware of his...tendency to do so. She hoped it would keep him focused, anyway.

Boy, was she wrong.

Once they had ordered and they settled into their booth she asked: "So why would you want to do a romance?"

Cameron blew out his cheeks, slouching down more in his seat. "Why?" he mused. "I guess… because when you think about, our modern ideals of romance came from these novels, you know? I mean what would the standard for romance be if we didn't have these classics to make us think about love? I mean… even those cheesy dollar store romance novels share those elements of romance that appealed to us in the first place." He said all of this absently, like he wasn't paying attention. Because he wasn't. As he mumbled, he was playing with the straw he'd plucked up along the way to their table. He was wiggling the wrapper down to the very end of it. He looked up when she didn't say anything. He raised his eyebrows.

Kay just kept staring at him. She honestly didn't know what she had expected...but it certainly wasn't that. Without breaking eye contact, Cameron brought the straw up to his mouth and blew through it. She jerked and flinched when it made a bullseye in the middle of her forehead. Once she recovered, she scowled at him. He just asked blankly: "What?"

She shook her head, waving it off. "Nothing," she said "I, uh… I never thought of it that way."

He frowned. "Sorry….I mean, if you don't want to do a romance classic, we don't have to, we can do something else if-"

"No, no," she interrupted. She gave him a small smile. It wasn't forced, it was genuine. It was small but it was there. "I get it. I agree. I think it's a great angle we can work with. Or, it's a good start."

Cameron started to say something, but the waitress was just coming back with their drinks. They both thanked her, and, in sync, they turned and reached for the shaker of cinnamon that was arranged on the side of their table. Not noticing, their fingers accidentally brushed. Kay looked back at him quickly, and just as quickly, Cameron yanked his arm back. He smiled and shook his head. "Go ahead."

"Sorry, I wasn't- you just-" She just ended up asking a blank: "You sure?"

"I don't think a couple of seconds is gonna affect my drink too much," he joked. He redirected his attention back on the straw, that she didn't even know why he picked up in the first place, because he had gotten hot chocolate. She realized, reaching over and grabbing the shaker, that it was probably because he'd just wanted to shoot the wrapper at her. Regardless. She was fast to shake some cinnamon into her coffee and hand it over to him. He took it with a grin that she didn't really look at.

There was a brief period of silence. It wasn't too long a silence, in actuality, but for some reason it was a little more uncomfortable. She glanced up at him a couple times to see that he was just staring down at his drink, all of a sudden pretty lost for words. Which wasn't like him. She took in a slow breath and shifted a little in her chair. When she spoke up again, her voice was a little louder than normal. Maybe to compensate for the silence, somehow. "So which classic romance did you have in mind?"

"Ummm… Pride and Prejudice… maybe? I mean there's gotta be something about it, since Mr Darcy has become every girl's fantasy." Kay raised an eyebrow and Cameron added with a hint of a snicker: "Or...other girls, I guess." She eyed him, and he grinned. Offered her a small shrug. "I just mean that there's a reason people think this is considered the ultimate romantic story. And it's not just because Jane Austen was a brilliant writer." He took a sip of his cocoa, before he made a face and shook his head. "I don't recommend Wuthering Heights because despite the great writing of Emily Bronte, it's just annoying how the entire time, Heathcliff and Catherine won't let bygones be bygones. They could have been great together. It really wasn't worth all that drama. They're like the epitome of a toxic relationships." He was poking the whipped cream that was on top of his hot chocolate. He seemed awfully interested in the way it was bouncing back. But he was very aware of the fact she was smirking at him, and he looked up with a small frown. "What?" he asked.

"Nothing," she repeated. Her smirk was widening. "I'm just surprised you know what 'bygones' mean. Or 'epitome' for that matter," she chuckled.

Cameron smirked too, at this. He jabbed his index finger at her. Raised his eyebrows in a mock sense of sternness. "Hey, I happen to be a lot smarter than I look." It was even harder to keep the look on his face when Kay snorted and rolled her eyes. "I'm serious," he pressed. "See, it's this whole elaborate setup. If I act smart all the time, then people are going to start expecting stuff from me, and I simply cannot have people expecting things out of me."

"Oh," she gasped, very dramatically. Cameron lit up when she started joking along. "So that's why you act like a completely insufferable five-year-old every day."

He pointed at her again, smiling much too big to be anything but comical. "Yeah!" he said, just as dramatic as she was. She laughed, out loud this time, and not trying to stifle it. He smirked and added a bit slyer: "Now all I need is to figure out why you try and make it seem like you're allergic to fun. I think -and this is just a rough estimate from where I am at the moment - that it's because you're actually just so fun, that you just have to be careful who you pick to be with 'cause you know they just don't have what it takes."

"Oh, really?" she hummed. He nodded very seriously. "That's your rough estimate?"

"Very rough. But I'm perfecting it." He flashed her another smirk. "But it's okay, you see, 'cause I am the funnest person that's ever graced planet Earth, so I can handle anything you throw my way." She threw him a look that just made him smile more. "So you don't have to worry 'bout me, Kansas," he reassured.

"You think so?" she giggled.

"Oh, I know so," he returned at once. He was wearing that goofy smile he always wore. He winked at her. "Don't you worry; you're gonna find out. I'm gonna wear you down, real fast. You won't even have time to do all your weird government stuff, you'll be having too much fun having the time of your life. You won't even know what the word 'filibuster' means."

"You're awfully confident," she remarked.

"Only 'cause I'm a hundred percent positive."

She rolled her eyes, leaning more over the table. "We'll just see," she hummed.

"I'll take that as a challenge," he promised. She flashed him another look and he pressed: "And I don't take challenges lightly, Kansas. Like, this one time, Jonathan told me that if I jumped out of this tree that used to be in our backyard, and that I'd get hurt, and I knew it wasn't that tall, so…"

And so he launched into the story of the first time he had ever broken a bone ("However, it would not be the last," he warned). Kay smiled and listened, laughing when he mentioned that he had never realized that all the Jell-O they had at hospitals were just free and unlimited and how he had left probably having gained three pounds of straight gelatin. And pudding. She muttered that he was dumb, and sure enough he had a story to prove that he could be even dumber. Which led to another story.

But she was willing to listen.

She… liked listening.

And she didn't even realize until after they had left and were starting on their way home, that they hadn't ever gotten back to actually talking about their project.

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

Band competitions were always hectic. First competitions were even more so. That was part of what made them so fun. You get there about fifteen to twenty minutes late at least, you're rushing to gather up your section and scream at them to stop goofing off and actually pay attention to something important. You're yanking on your uniform while you put your instrument together, you get to your designated warm-up area and have to deal with the distraction of all the other bands around you trying to do the exact same thing. You try to go through basics and go over your show when everyone is really just counting down to the second you all get to the field and are put under all the scrutiny in the world and judged on your one performance.

It was a lot. But… that was what helped make it fun.

Currently, the band was going through basics. They were almost done; they'd move on to practicing music, soon, and then it was their time to perform. For now, they were just marching in a block. Four steps forward and backwards, or to the left or right, because the parking lot they were in didn't allow for much else. Janet was taking them through it all, yelling out the calls for each. Mike was pacing through, watching and correcting when he needed to. Kay was nearer to the front, trying to keep an eye on her section and make sure they weren't making any glaring mistakes. When she suddenly realized something, and stopped to look around.

Cameron wasn't here.

Drum majors were supposed to walk through the block and watch them all and help, but he wasn't here with the others. Where had he gone? She was so disarmed for a second that she almost missed the next count-off; the trombone behind her almost smacked right into her. Thankfully she jerked to attention and rushed to catch back up. Once they finished their steps, she looked over at Jordan, who was next to her. "Pst!" He blinked, coming out of his focus. He shot her a look. She whispered: "Where's Cameron?"

"I have no idea," he hissed back. And he looked back front, trying to listen to the next directions they were given.

She frowned, but tried to drop it. She kept an eye out for Cameron, wondering if he was just sent out on some job. But he didn't show up for the entire run-through of basics. Messerli told them all when their time had passed that they had a five minute break before they had to be back for music rehearsal. Everyone else rushed to go get water, or goof off with their friends in the tiny slot available. Others went to spy on the other bands around them and see how they stacked up to those that were in their division.

Kay went to find Cameron.

She looked in the instrument trailer, and by the water cooler. She looked to see if he was by Messerli, but he wasn't there either. As a last-ditch resort, she went to the bus he had been on. It had been the same as hers. He'd sat with Jordan, in the second seat in the left row. He wasn't there. She wasn't about to turn and get back off - she was running out of time, anyway - when she stopped short and looked back.

He hadn't been in the second seat.

But he was in the very back.

He was hunched against the wall of the bus; she could only see the top of his head. She frowned. "Cameron?" He roused, but only a little bit. She walked back to him. And her frown got worse when she realized he'd been holding his head in his hands. He sat up more when she reached him. He looked strained. Very strained. And panicked. She'd never seen him look so worried before. He almost seemed… scared. She tilted her head to the side. "Cameron?" she repeated, gentler. He grimaced, looking embarrassed. "What's wrong?"

"N-... Nothing, nothing," Cameron brushed off. "I'm fine, is-" His eyes widened. "Is Messerli looking for me? Are we already supposed to be performing?"

"No," she said quickly. He relaxed, but only marginally. "No, I don't think he's even noticed you're gone. But we're going to start music rehearsal soon. You need to be there to conduct your part." He weakened. He slouched again, but gave a tiny nod. When she looked down, she realized his hands were wringing together. He was anxious. She hesitated, but slid into the seat beside him. She looked at him closely. "Cameron? You're not okay… what's wong?"

"I'm just… it's nothing, I'm just… nervous," he admitted in a whisper. She jerked a little. Cameron? Nervous? The two words didn't make sense when they were put together. "I just… don't wanna mess it up," he croaked.

"You've performed before. At your other school," she pointed out.

"I've never performed as drum major," he objected. Flinched again. "Which is stupid, I know. Like… I asked for this position, I wanted it, but… and I love it, but now I…" He looked at her miserably. "You all are counting on me. If I mess up, you all mess up, and it'll be so hard to recover from it. I could ruin the entire show, I could be the reason we get last place. I could be the worst drum major ever… and disappoint everyone."

"Cameron… you can't actually think that," she tried. He seemed pretty certain, from the way he was looking at her. She shook her head. "Cameron, you're amazing. You came in late, and ever since you took the drum major spot, this band's gotten about a million times better. You've already done so much for us; you've already done what you were supposed to do. You're great at what you do; you're going to be perfect today. It's going be great. Trust me."

He cracked a tiny smile. "Look at you… usually I'm the optimistic one," he teased weakly.

She smiled. "Maybe you've rubbed off on me," she murmured.

His grin widened a little more. Before he glanced at his hands and mumbled after a pause: "I just… really don't wanna let anyone down… I don't wanna disappoint anyone… I can't… disappoint anyone…"

"You won't," she swore. "We're all together in this." He glanced at her and regained a little sureness. She glanced out the window of the bus and added a little more teasingly: "And we're all gonna be late for music rehearsal if we don't hop to it."

Cameron laughed just a little bit. He smiled as Kay got out of the seat and stood up again. She lead the way out and was relieved when he was quick to follow. She stood on the edge of their arch during their warm-up, so she could stand up next to where the drum majors were standing. Cameron still seemed a little nervous, but he was smiling more, just the tiniest bit more eager. When he took his place in the middle and raised his hands to start conducting, his eyes flickered briefly to her. She gave him a smile and a nod; he grinned wide. And looked back with a lot more confidence to kick them all off.

She wasn't able to talk to him again after that. From music rehearsal they were rushed off to the field to perform. Cameron had to go with the others to conduct; she had to go to her spot and focus on her performance. Usually when shows started, she didn't think of much else until the very end. She was too focused on the music and the forms and trying not to run into anyone else. But at some point in the show, her eyes were drawn up a little more, and they caught on Cameron. And she cracked a smile when she saw the huge one that was on his face. When she saw the way he was so zeroed in on what he was doing. All his nervousness was gone… which was what she knew would happen. But she was so relieved to see it.

They were the last performance of the day before awards, so the second they were done with their show, they just went onto the track, just a couple steps off the field, to wait for their results. All the other bands were there by then, waiting to hear the announcement. Everyone was bursting with excitement, some people crowing about how perfect they'd been, some yelling very loudly about all the mistakes they had made. The drum majors had left with all the other ones- it was their job to accept whatever awards they were given. Or just stand there awkwardly and not receive a single thing. So she couldn't meet back up with Cameron then, either.

Kay was just waiting patiently, for them all to finish the scores and for the ceremony to start. She turned and looked over her shoulder to the fence that lined the track behind them. She smiled a little when she saw Jonathan leaning against it, his eyes trained on his brother in the middle of the field. She'd seen him earlier in the day. She hadn't realized he'd stay the entire time, but there he was. Her smile dropped a little bit when her eyes pulled more to the side. She was much less enthused to see the group of girls from her english class standing there in the crowd as well. Lexi and her friends were there, all giggling and laughing together and looking just as fixated on Cameron as Jonathan was. For a much different reason, of course.

She could hear them from where she stood.

"He was so great," Lexi was sighing. The grin on her face was a dopey one. "Ugh, why does he had to be, like… the most perfect guy ever?"

"He is perfect," Amanda agreed. She leaned over and elbowed her friend. "When do you think he'll ask you out?"

Lexi was immediately giggling. "Stop! He won't ask me out!" There was a small pause, before she giggled: "Do you think he wants to ask me out?"

"Absolutely!" Amanda snapped. They all started giggling again. Kay made a face and hunched her shoulders more. "He's always joking with you and walking with you in the hall, he totally looks at you in class. And you two would look so good together, don't even get me started. He's absolutely going to ask you out. And if he doesn't, then you should ask him!" She gasped, and hit her shoulder. "You could ask him to the winter formal this year! If he doesn't ask you out by then already. Which he totally will."

Kay glanced back with a frown. Lexi was smiling from ear-to-ear. She was still looking at Cameron with a huge smile. "Maybe I will," she mused. Kay didn't like the feeling she got when she heard the tone of voice she used. "Yeah," she continued, much surer. "Yeah, I'll ask him. If he doesn't ask me. We'd be really cute together."

Her friends were about to start cheering her on, when all of a sudden an announcement over the loudspeakers was starting the award ceremony. Kay jerked back, surprised. Her frown was lingering, as the announcer thanked them all for coming and participating in today's competition. She had to shake her head to clear it and actually focus on what was being said. Thankfully, they were in the third division. The first two divisions of bands she could tune out. She spent it looking at Cameron, who was standing with Janet and Mike and looked about ready to explode with nerves.

They got to their division and the entire band started to clump more together. They were all tense, and anxious as the announcer began. "And in Division Three. For Best Music…" They all held their breath. Jordan threw his arms around Kay and hugged her, and she was too apprehensive to smack him off. "Davenport High!"

The instant the heard their name, they were screaming, shouting and looking at each other and beaming. Almost cheering too loud to hear the rest of the awards. "For Outstanding Percussion… Davenport High!" They screamed again, in disbelief and shock. And only screamed louder when he called: "For Best General Effect… Davenport High!" Cameron's eyes were huge; Kay saw him look over at her. He couldn't even smile, he was so stunned. Jordan was currently screaming in her ear and flinging her all around. "And for Best Visual Performance...Davenport High!"

They swept! They swept the entire competition, they won every award in their class! So, of course, they took first place! Their band was yelling and cheering, and their drum majors accepted every award. By the time they were coming back to them, they were almost too loaded to walk. The first place trophy was about half Mike's height, alone. He was lugging that along, and barely holding the Best Music trophy, which was tucked under his arm. Janet and Cameron were juggling the rest of them. The whole group was rushing out to meet them.

Kay broke away and got to Cameron first. And before she knew it, her arms were flying out. He realized in just enough time to drop everything he was holding (thank goodness for soft turf fields) and reached out too. He squeaked a little when she crashed into him and hugged him tightly, her arms locking behind his neck. She was laughing, and so was he. She hugged him tightly for a couple seconds, until the rest of the band caught up to them. But she was still hugging him when she pulled back and yelled: "You did it!"

Cameron was still hugging her, too. He grinned and laughed, before he corrected: "We did it!"

She beamed. They were going into Finals. Cameron had been so worried he had been hiding on the bus, but he had done perfectly, and they had swept, and now they were going into Finals! For a second they just kept hugging, distracted as they just beamed at one another. Not even the band cheering and congratulating each other got them to separate. But something else did. Cameron roused at the explicit call of his name. Kay turned and realize that Lexi had gotten onto the field somehow too, and was now rushing for him. "Cameron!" She looked ecstatic. Kay immediately let go. Cameron glanced at her when he did, but Lexi was taking her place before he could say anything, if he'd planned to.

She hugged him tight, and after a second he seemed to forget and just hugged her back with a laugh. "Lexi! I didn't know you were here!"

She hugged him even tighter before she pulled away to look at him. She kept herself much closer than Kay had. "I came to see you!" she gushed, and Cameron smiled. Kay didn't. Her smile was fading, even when everyone else kept celebrating. She glanced down at the ground and blinked a couple times, looking confused. "You did so amazing, you were so great! I couldn't believe it!"

"That takes commitment; I wouldn't wanna sit through a million bands just to see ours."

"I wasn't staying for the band, I was staying for you," she corrected.

Cameron laughed again. "Oh, well, then, yeah, that makes sense."

Kay ducked her head and stepped away. She didn't really care where. She caught sight of Jonathan making his way over to Cameron. Her face fell even more. And frustration layered itself on top of her when she wondered why in the world she was so upset about this. She shook her head and redirected her focus. They'd won. Swept. Finals. Right. The competition was only halfway over, now. They'd made it to finals, and they had to win overall, now. She had to focus on that. That was all that mattered. Messerli said the very same thing- calming the band down and telling everyone they needed to get back to the bus for a quick dinner before they got back to work and did the whole thing over again.

She told herself to focus on that. But she couldn't hold back the tiny tug in her gut when Lexi followed them back to the bus and sat with Cameron during dinner… as if she belonged there. As if she had any right at all to hang out with the band. To laugh loudly at Cameron's jokes, and touch his shoulder when she did, or lean too close to him when he was talking, pretending she was just trying to hear better.

Cameron was beaming the entire night. Kay was significantly less enthused than she had been before. She stuck with her own section. She might have gone to eat dinner with him, sitting on all the instrument cases in the parking lot and eating some peanut butter sandwich and chips that one of the moms had packed for the band. She wanted to be with him. But she didn't want to be around Lexi. So. She didn't. She hated that she was feeling this way. It wasn't like her. To have this knot in her stomach, to feel a sense of specific irritation. After trying and failing to rid herself of these unpleasant emotions, Kay decided that she wouldn't sit with him, or talk with him. She wanted to be near him. But she didn't want to be near Lexi.

Even when Lexi had to leave and they got back to rehearsing, she didn't talk to him much. He didn't make any special effort to talk to her; they were busy. She was irritated for no particular reason. She snapped at Jordan for stepping on her toes during basic block. At one point during block, when Cameron was walking through the lines of students and he passed her, he flashed her a smile. Her eyes had caught on the collar on his uniform. Against the stark-white fabric, she noticed that there was a smudge of something.

It had taken her a second to realize what it was, but she realized it had to be makeup. It was too light to be mud, and it was too high on his collar to have come from that anyway, unless he's just stuck his head in the ground. It was foundation, or something like that. Skin-toned. It was just a little smear, but it was there anyway, and it stuck out a little, thanks to the fact that their uniforms were so clean and bright. Her eyes had flashed when she'd seen it. Her stomach had tugged, again. She thought about directing his attention to it.

But as he'd kept walking slowly by, she realized how it would sound. 'Hey, Cameron, you ruined your uniform because Lexi was hanging on you all night and got her makeup on you. You think you can try and scrub it off before we go back on the field?' It occurred to her, and her stomach clenched when it did, but she quickly shoved it away, before she could even take in the breath to say it. No. That was mean. She was being mean, to both of them. She took the words back, and just looked back front. Brushed it off because it was none of her business.

If he was happy, she was happy. It didn't matter.

She told herself that, but she wasn't too good at fooling herself.

She noticed when Lexi rushed to hug him again, after their second performance.

And even when they got to Finals awards, and their name was announced as the overall winner, for some reason she couldn't even bring herself to crack a smile. Or at least...a genuine one.

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

"Cameron, can you please focus?" Kay demanded, exasperated. Cameron flung his head back and sagged more against his booth, letting out a noise she imagined a deer would make as it was slowly dying of starvation. He lifted his head back up only to look at her with an expression that clearly said: 'Kill me now; I don't even care if you don't make it fast.' She tried to be annoyed and shoot him a stern glare. But she couldn't really manage as stern a look as she usually did. She couldn't really blame him; they had been working on this project for two weeks now, and it was starting to grate on both of their nerves. It was like cabin fever, but with schoolwork. Which just made it about a million times more painful.

Cameron whined and flung his head back a second time. He sounded even more miserable than he looked somehow. "I'm sorry," he grumbled. He'd been trying for the past thirty minutes to fold a piece of notebook paper in half more than eight times. Kay had told him plenty of times that it was impossible and to stop, but lo and behold he was still going at it. "I'm just so bored." Kay started to reply, before she was cut off, jumping a little and doing a bit of a double-take when Cameron suddenly shot forward to slam his head down on the cafe table instead. His voice was muffled into the wood when he whined more. "I feel weak."

She rolled her eyes, looking back down to rifle through their folder. "You just had hot chocolate."

"That was an hour ago!" he pouted. He moved so that his chin was on the table instead, and he could actually look at her. Apparently he was bad on picking up on social cues (surprise, surprise) because he kept going, even though she was very clearly warning him not to. "My brain hurts! I cannot think about the Bennetts any longer. I've started seeing Mrs. Bennett in my dreams! She thinks I'm one of her daughters and she's trying to marry me off to William Collins after Elizabeth said no! Collins, of all people Kay! Collins!" Kay stifled a laugh as she pictured Cameron dressed like Elizabeth Bennett. "You think my pain is funny, Kansas? This book is haunting me! It's got my biological clock ticking!"

"Men don't have biological clocks."

"Well, I do!" he exclaimed, before proceeding to slam his forehead back down on the table.

Kay stared at him in disappointed silence. She waited for him to pick himself up, but he may as well have had a heart attack and died, because he stayed completely still. She wondered if she would be given pity credit for this project if her partner up and died while they were working on it. But she figured not. And she wasn't too keen on finishing this thing herself. She sighed and put her chin on her hand. She tilted her head to the side, hesitating for a couple seconds. Before she took in a deeper breath and offered: "Well... we could go to my house." Cameron stirred, picking his head up just enough to look at her. "Just..a change of scenery might help."

Cameron's face broke out into a huge smile. He sat straight up; she rolled her eyes. "Are you saying I'm a bring-home friend now? A friend that exists beyond the school campus and this coffee shop?"

Kay rolled her eyes, "Don't make it weird, Cameron." He laughed out loud. She just shot him another look. "Do you want to go or not?"

"Of course I want to go, is that even a question!? I wanna see this place you disappear to everyday." Kay eyed him, raising an eyebrow almost skeptically. He hopped up, like he was a kid who was just told they were going to Disney World. It wasn't like her house was anything exciting. This place was more exciting than her house. She stood much slower than he did, and gathered their trash to throw it away on the way out. The two of them got their stuff packed up and headed out the door.

It was starting to get colder. She zipped up her jacket as they got out, and glanced at Cameron as they started down the sidewalk. He was bouncing next to her like he was Tigger. Too enthusiastic and… too bouncy. She guessed if he was Tigger, then that had to make her Rabbit. Because she was much glummer in comparison when she warned, "My house isn't anything exciting." He was swinging his arms a little, but frowned and looked at her with this. She looked back front, holding onto one of the straps of her backpack. "I'm just saying," she said. "Don't get your hopes up or anything. It's about as exciting as I am."

He grinned from one ear to the other. That dumb smile he was always wearing. "Then it'll be amazing," he returned at once.

She jerked, looking at him again. His smile looked different. She didn't know that she liked it. And she didn't why he was staring at her like he was waiting for her to say something. She opened her mouth, like she was tempted. But she shut it fast. She dismissed the effort and looked back front, keeping silent. Cameron's smile faded a little. He looked at the ground as well, grimacing. For a couple minutes it was silent. It wasn't too long a silence, but between them, it felt a lot longer.

Eventually, of course, Cameron broke the silence. He figured she wouldn't talk very much unless she had to, she was just that way, and by now he was well aware of the fact. So he asked her questioned. He asked what her house looked like, what her room looked like, if she had lived in this town her whole life, and about a million other things. At first she was put just the tiniest bit off by the incessantness, but eventually she was almost grateful for it. It took away the silence, anyway. She just barely had enough time to answer a question before he was pulling out another one; he had a never-ending arsenal. Pretty soon, they got to her house. It was a very standard-looking house, with maroon bricks and dark brown accents on the windows and doorway. The yard was perfectly kept. There were no cars in the driveway.

They walked up the stone path that led to the front door. Kay unlocked it and let Cameron in first. A few steps forward and to the right, there was a nice spacey kitchen with an island. A few steps further was a staircase. There was a hallway to the right, but Cameron couldn't see where that led to. Nearby was a dining table with a chair on each side. To the left, was a living room fit with all the staples: a TV, a couch, some loveseats and a coffee table. Other than that...there wasn't much. There were no photos on the walls. No paintings, or decorations. There weren't even any unnecessary fake plants. If it wasn't for the warm colour scheme of the browns, reds and greens, the place would have looked really cold.

Still, when Kay walked into the living room and put her bag aside, Cameron, he was still smiling. "Nice place," he commented. He followed after Kay and mimicked her, to put his bag down where she had. She offered him a slightly uncomfortable smile, but he was quick to keep on reassuring her. "It's homey! I like it!" he insisted. She didn't know what to say, so she just kind of shrugged. She'd rather just move on; they had a project to do. Wordlessly, she just sat on the couch, delving into her pack and getting her laptop back out.

Cameron lingered a little awkwardly, looking around a little more before uncertainty back to her. He hesitated a little before he asked: "Can I sit down?"

That was surprising. Cameron usually did first and thought later. She was silent for a second, just looking at him for a couple seconds. But she shook her head fast, gesturing to the couch and turning back to her laptop. "Sure. Yeah. Go ahead." Cameron smiled a little more and sat down by her. She looked away quick, logging into her computer and pulling back up their word document. They were almost through with the rough draft of their report. They were stuck, here. She let out a gusty sigh. Cameron was reaching into his backpack to get the book back out. She hung her head and rubbed her forehead. "I can't believe we're stuck." It was a true frustration. But mostly she was saying it just to break the silence. It was bugging her that Cameron was quieter all of a sudden. She looked back up and scowled at the screen. "We're so close to the ending."

Cameron scooted a little closer, so he could see the screen. She looked at him when he did. He caught her looking and shifted a little bit back again. "I dunno," he offered. "Endings can be the hardest part." Her eyes flashed when he said this. Something in her expression must have changed. Because he frowned a little, and asked: "What?"

She was quiet for a moment more just staring. But she shook herself and tore her thoughts back to where they belonged. "I- nothing," she muttered. She cleared her throat a little when she turned back to the laptop and scrolled through their paper, a little pointlessly, because she wasn't paying attention to anything written. "Nothing, you just have a point." Her voice stayed just a mumble. Cameron's frown stayed a little. His eyes flickered from the computer, to her. She was resting her chin in her hand, covering her mouth a little in the process. She didn't say anything else. And suddenly she was awfully concerned about reading over what they'd already written.

Cameron wilted, but took the hint. He must have said something wrong. He refocused on the paper, not looking at her again. For a long ten seconds neither of them said anything. Kay wasn't editing the document so much as she was just scrolling up and down. He had no idea what was wrong...if anything was. Cameron made a face and looked down, messing with his sleeves as he pulled them over his hands and back again to his wrists. Eventually Kay mumbled something about needing another quote under her breath. He took the opportunity at once. He practically yanked it open and started flipping through, trying to find a relevant one.

For a while it passed like this. Cameron just flipped through the book and tried to find quotes. Kay quietly tried to define and establish their point better. At least the tension helped them work more. She was grateful for that, at least. But… she wasn't all too sure he was grateful for any other part of it. She didn't know why, but she preferred it when he was talking her ear off. So it almost came as a relief when he finally took in a deeper breath and offer an ice breaker of: "If I have to look at this book for one more second, I'm going to die." She blinked a couple times when she looked at him, away from her laptop. He stared at her very levelly, before he offered: "I'm thinking by either spontaneous combustion, or heart attack. Those are your two options."

She paused. But then started to crack a small smile as she turned back. "Those are my two options?" she echoed.

"Well, you do have a third," he amended. You can spare my life and we can actually take a break."

Kay eyed him. "I thought we came here to work."

"Come on Kansas. We've been working non-stop, we've never actually had the chance to just hang out." She still seemed unconvinced. "Please? It's not like I'm asking you to go skydiving… that's not until Tuesday." Kay stifled a laugh; usually she was good at hiding it when she did (the last thing she wanted to do, after all, was encourage him) but he caught it this time, and she didn't mistake the wide grin that came over his face in response. "C'mon," he urged. "We deserve a break, don't we?" When she didn't answer immediately, he tipped his head to the side and amended: "Well, I deserve a break. I don't know about you, but you can mooch off of all my work, I guess."

She was hesitant. "If we keep working, we might be able to finish this thing tonight."

Cameron gave her a surprised look, "Really? Tonight?"

"Yeah! Wouldn't that be great! We could finally have this stupid assignment off our backs."

Cameron's response caught her by surprise. "Absolutely not." She frowned, and looked at him in confusion. He threw his hands up into the air. "If we finish it tonight, we won't hang out nearly as much! I can't have that, I'd miss you too much." A couple seconds of silence passed, where she wasn't sure what to say. Cameron grinned when he let his arms drop again. He just smirked at her shocked expression. She kept blanching, not at all sure what to say.

Before she shoved herself over the hump and dismissed it. She just scoffed and gave in. She wasn't one to give in easily, however, so he should consider this an accomplishment. She leaned over and grabbed the remote that was sitting on the coffee table. A little TV wouldn't hurt. Cameron immediately made a show of jumping up more, grinning eagerly. He flung the book over his shoulder for added effect, and she shot him a look that requested he not trash her home. But all she did was ask: "What do you want to watch?"

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

It was freezing. Tonight was unseasonably cold, which made sense, because it was a football game, so why wouldn't it be so cold the entire marching band was shivering in the bleachers? Every other Friday night, and the band was forced to stand here in the stands and watch their football team consistently lose. Not even lose; they lost with flying colors. Every single game, without fail, they would be lucky to score a single point. There wasn't really much hope left in them. Just plenty of irritation that they had to continuously cheer for a team that didn't have a single chance of winning.

Well… Kay was irritated, anyway. Everyone else didn't seem to have a problem with it. They weren't paying much mind to the game; their section of the stands were just as lively and talkative as the rest. The trombones were knee-deep in a game of Never Have I Ever (apparently one of them had indeed gotten arrested, but she wasn't sure which one it had been and she didn't have time to unpack all of that). The clarinets were arguing over whether or not the latest unbearably-hot-but-somehow-single-so-there's-probably-something-wrong-with-them white guy on The Bachelor picked the good blonde instead of the evil one. The mellophones and the trumpets were currently pointing out football players on the field and rating how cute they were.

Her section was playing Down by the Bank, which Messerli had specifically banned, after one too many painful slaps that actually ended up with someone else getting a sprain somehow. That was thanks to Jordan, of course. Those that weren't were just talking and laughing and complaining about tests or other students. Asking each other what they were going to wear to the winter formal in a couple of months. She was just standing there thinking about how she could be using this time to study. Listing to herself all the other things she could be doing right now that would be more productive than stand here and stare at a football team lose. Again.

Apparently her irritation wasn't as hidden as she'd hoped. Jordan got out in Down by the Bank- the others went on without him. Once he did, and he turned to glance at her, he frowned and leaned over a bit. "You okay?" he asked. She roused. She'd been staring absently at the field, pretending to pay attention. When she turned, it was just to meet his concerned frown. He raised his eyebrows. "You look a little-"

"Hey!" Their heads snapped back at the call, and they looked to the podium that had been set up on the game's outskirts, on the track. Mr. Messerli had been the one to call, but Cameron was the one spinning around and lifting his arms. He'd been leaning out over the edge of it to talk to Mike and Janet, who were standing at its base for the percussion, who were set up there for the time being. But now he was snapping to attention and the rest of the band was as well. He called out the number of the song they were to play, counted them off, and they played the school's Fight Song in the intermission of plays in the game. Just grabbing at the thirty seconds of time they had to actually get a tune in.

They played through it and repeated it, before Messerli shot Cameron a look and he hurriedly cut them off. Kay sighed as she let her arms fall. As soon as the song was over, Jordan was back to looking at her with a frown, and a little crease in her forehead. "Kay, what's up?" he asked again. She was watching Cameron swing out his arms and spin right back around to lean over and talk to Mike again. They were discussing Bagel Tuesdays, she was pretty sure. "Kay!" she jerked, and turned. He nudged her. "What's up?" he repeated.

"Nothing," she huffed. She turned her attention back to the field. "I'm just annoyed. I don't want to be here."

He looked between her and the players. His eyes flashed, and he perked. "Oh!" Her expression flashed with anger at the new tone of voice he was instantly using. She fought the urge to shove him off the bleachers. "Don't tell me this is the same-?"

"It's not," she snapped, her voice thin.

"No, it is!" Jordan insisted. "This is the school that-"

"Jordan, stop," she grumbled.

"Is he still on the team? Have you-?"

"Jordan." He clammed up when she turned and shot him a glare fit to kill. He looked a little disappointed at the lack of gossip. He got the message anyway, and turned. Maybe it was because he wanted to respect her wishes and he wanted to be a good friend. Maybe it was because the section was starting a new game and he could rejoin again. Either way, she was just glad that he shut up. She didn't want to talk. She didn't want to be here. She wanted to go home. She glanced over at the clock and groaned when she realized there was still five minutes left until halftime. Five minutes in football time was more like five hours.

Besides their tiny section, the bleachers were filled with roaring talking students. It was usually a mess, like it was now. Everyone cheering and stomping, friends shoving each other, despite the fact the team sucked and there really shouldn't be any cause for celebration. But someone was dodging through the mess to get to them, and she perked when her eyes caught on them. She turned and blinked a couple times with faint surprise when she recognized Jonathan come out of the throng. She hadn't realized he'd been here.

He weaved through the students and walked up so that he could lean against the fencing that separated the stands the field. The podium was right up against that, and once Cameron realized Jonathan had found his way over he beamed and spun around the other way, abandoning his lament with Mike and instead leaning over the other side so he could look down at his brother. "Johnny!" A tiny smile twitched the very edge of her smile when he let out this cry. Cameron put his chin down on his arms. "How's the show?" he chirped.

"It sucks," Jonathan announced. Cameron made a face. "We're losing zero to thirty-five."

"Not that show," Cameron snapped. "I meant our show. Nobody goes to the football games for football. They go for the band."

"I'm just here to make sure you don't get killed by a football player," Jonathan corrected. "They're huge. You're annoying. The math adds up to something pretty unfortunate." He hesitated, before he leaned up more against the fence. "Or fortunate," he added, feigning thought. "For me. In terms of getting sleep. And peace and quiet. And less migraines. And-"

"I get it, you're the worst twin ever, you don't need to remind me," he huffed. "And I'm not annoying," he rushed to tack on. "I'm a delight. Ask anyone."

She cracked another smile. She ducked her head a little, as if to hide it.

"Yeah, okay, sure," he scoffed. Cameron just grinned his goofy smile. Jonathan smiled a little too before he moved on. "You guys aren't doing your show at halftime?"

"Not this game," Cameron sighed. "They're announcing the court for that dance that's coming up. And other stuff that's definitely not as important as our show." He shook his head. "We have the whole halftime and third quarter off tonight; we can get dinner then, if you want." Jonathan nodded, pushing a bit off the fence. Cameron's expression got a little more mischievous when he prodded: "You asking anyone to that winter formal?"

Jonathan snorted and rolled his eyes. "I'll do that as soon as you admit you don't know as much as you think you do about medicine just because you started watching Gray's Anatomy."

"I could absolutely perform an emergency tracheostomy if such a situation ever presented itself," Cameron mumbled, as Jonathan continued to talk over him.

"I wouldn't be caught dead at a school dance, I'd rather get hives." He eyed him. "Why? Are you going to ask someone?"

Her eyes flickered back up at this.

Cameron hesitated for just a couple seconds. Before shrugged and shook his head. "No. I dunno, probably not." Kay reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear. "School couldn't handle me anyway, I party too hard. The cops would be called. It'd be this whole thing."

Jonathan snickered. "You party too hard," he echoed, disbelief in every syllable.

"I've had the band play our rendition of Hollaback Girl three times now; obviously I'm a riot."

"There's certainly a word for you, I just can't say it," Jonathan sighed.

"You're just really crabby because-" Cameron couldn't finish the sentence because Messerli was reaching over again to nudge him. He glanced back at the field and Kay did, too. She jolted the same time Cameron did when they both realized the quarter had ended. The players were all going off the field for halftime. Kay was already lifting her instrument again by the time Cameron turned around and counted them off again. They played the same song - it was 'tradition' but at this point it was also very boring - twice through.

When Cameron relaxed, Messerli called out to the band: "Be back before fourth quarter!" And they were all dismissed. Immediately, everyone was rushing to get out of the stands they'd been trapped in for the past two hours. They were rushing to find their other friends that weren't in band, they were rushing to get concessions, they were rushing to see whether or not they could beat the clock and make it down the street to get a milkshake and be back before they had to start playing again. Kay just kind of stood there as everyone else rushed around.

Cameron hopped down from the podium. He stayed on the track, with the percussion and the other drum majors. Jonathan went down to join their group, and so did Beth and some of the other trumpets. They formed their own little congregation. A couple of the other kids took this chance to actually sit down, and fool around on their phone. She followed their lead. She'd downloaded the school app; with all the shouting and announcements and winter formal court catwalks, it wasn't the best venue to study. But she wasn't really in the mood to go down and hide in the bathroom for some peace and quiet. She'd done that already; wasn't as glamorous as it sounded.

She did her best to block it out and study for her next test. She got through about half of the powerpoint before someone was calling her name. "Kay!" She couldn't discern who it was by their voice; it was too loud. But already, she had a sinking feeling in her stomach, and when she picked her head up and looked towards the voice, her worst fears were confirmed. He was smiling, as he walked walked towards her. He looked exactly like he always did. He walked with his hands in his pockets and his head lifted up just a little bit high, as he walked with the attitude of someone that knew they were most likely at least a little better than you were. Even though they'd gotten all the way to halftime, and he'd been wearing a helmet this entire time, somehow his hair still looked near perfect.

Her grip tightened on her phone. She squared her shoulders just a little bit. She prayed that he would get the message and walk away, but he kept veering straight for her. She said nothing; she just waited. He got closer to her to call out again, not as loud, considering she'd be able to hear him now. "I was wondering if you would be here," he grinned. By now, she was worried she'd snap her phone in half, she was holding onto it so hard. The boy came to stop. His smile was crooked. "I didn't know whether you'd still be in band," he offered.

"I am." Her response was curt. He waited, as though he thought she'd say more. She didn't.

So he just cleared his throat and nodded. "Well I'm glad! It's good to see you, it's been a while." She didn't say anything to this, either. He hesitated a second before he asked: "Is this seat taken?" She was about to reply and say it was. The band was on break now, but she could very well still say that it was reserved for members only. But he was already taking a seat beside her. She fought the urge to scoot away, and just looked at her lap instead. "I see your football team is as great as they've always been," he remarked, either ignoring her attitude or simply not noticing it. "We're creaming them. Again."

She glanced at his jersey and looked back front. "Shouldn't you be with your school? Taking a break?" Her voice was thin.

"I wanted to come and see you," he said, a little softer this time. She shifted, but kept silent. His eyes flashed, and he leaned a little closer. She wished he wouldn't. "I've texted you… called you a couple times- you haven't answered me at all."

"I've been busy," she offered.

"Apparently." He sounded a little stiffer, but when she looked at him, he was regaining his smile. "You still look cute in your uniform," he offered. She looked down at herself and then back front, feeling her face burn. She didn't even crack a smile. He wilted just a little bit. "C'mon, Kay… I just want to talk to you. I wanna… know how you're doing, what's going on. It isn't every day I get to see you."

"Well. You've seen me," she sighed, looking back down at her phone.

His smile wilted. He paused for a second. His voice was low when he began to try: "How are you doing?" he prompted. Her jaw locked back a little. "How are you doing with-?"

"You know what, you don't get to ask me that question," she interrupted in a grumble. She glanced back at him, a little sharper. He seemed disappointed at the cut-off. But at her look, he didn't object. He just cleared his throat and took whatever it was he was going to say, back. She was grateful for that, at least. She looked away again. Her eyes caught on the track down below. Cameron was leaning against the stands, laughing at something Beth had said. He was sharing a pretzel with Jonathan. He was saying something that his brother was rolling eyes at. Messerli was down there with them, too, throwing a couple sarcastic comments over his shoulder, it looked like.

She found herself wishing she was down there, instead.

"Kay?" She looked back. Her expression was more strained. He tried to give her another smile. "I was… planning on asking what you were doing after the game." Something in her chest ached. It must have come across on her face, because he went on fast, before she could shoot him down. "I know your band usually… goes somewhere together afterwards-"

"I don't go with them," she cut through again.

This was a mistake, because he brightened even more. "Then you're free?" She didn't answer right away. His eyebrows pulled together more, in a subtle plead for her to take him more into consideration. "We wouldn't have to stay out for very long. Just… long enough to catch up again. Long enough to… talk about a couple things, just really quick." She leaned over and held her head in her hands, across her forehead like she was have a sudden headache. And she did, practically. "Kay…" Every attempt was weaker. "You never even really… gave me the chance to-"

"I gave you plenty of chances," she objected, just weakly.

"I'm asking for one more," he pressed. "Just one more, now that-"

"Kansas!" The two jerked around at the shout, Kay's heart dropping down to her feet. Cameron had separated from the rest of the group to hop up the stairs to where she was still sitting. He was wearing a smile as he started to call out: "Messerli asked if I would get a couple other section leaders and see if we could-" He stopped short, his smile fading a little when he saw the look that was on her face. She tried to wipe it clean when he got closer, but it was too late, because his eyes flickered over to the boy sitting beside her, and a frown began crawling over his face instead as he came closer. When he spoke next, his voice was soberer. "What's up?" he asked, a little slower.

"Did you just call her Kansas?" the football player asked, sounding bemused.

Cameron didn't even blink. His expression and his voice were steady when he said very plainly: "That's my nickname for her." Her shoulders hunched a little at the unexpected tug in her chest at the announcement. She wasn't even sure where the tug had come from, but it was suddenly there. And it was there again when Cameron looked at her and asked: "You okay?"

"I'm…" She shook herself and offered him a smile. She could tell that he wasn't all that persuaded by the grin. She put more effort into it. "I'm fine, Cameron. Uh… Cameron, this is Isaac," she introduced, gesturing between the two of them. Cameron looked at him when she did, and smiled. Isaac returned it and nodded just a little. "Isaac, this is… this is Cameron, he's our drum major. A friend." She cleared her throat. "Cameron, Isaac's… he's…"

"We used to date," he explained for her.

Cameron nodded. "Oh. Okay. Nice to meet you." Glanced back at Kay. He still looked a little concerned. He hesitated for a second, before he asked in a tinier mumble, trying to make it so only she heard. "Are you okay?" She was a little taken aback by the worry that was underneath those three words. The way he looked at her, she wasn't sure she'd seen that look on his face. Granted… she hadn't known him for very long. It caught her off-guard. She silent for a couple seconds, just staring at him. Remembering the feeling she'd had before, of wanting to be down there with them, instead.

She smiled. "I'm fine," she assured. "I'm fine. Really."

He nodded slowly. Still seemed a little put off, but wasn't about to fight her. "Yeah. Alright." He looked back at Isaac after the pause, and regained his usual smile. "Don't worry about what Messerli wants, I'll find some other people. It was nice to meet you, Isaac." He glanced at the scoreboard and offered a little lighter: "Maybe just lay on the field in the second half, let us at least get one touchdown." Isaac smiled and nodded again. Cameron started walking backwards; his eyes flickered to Kay one last time. But when she kept her smile for him, he turned on his heel and started back the way he'd come.

Kay watched him go, before she looked back down at her hands. She was frowning. Isaac hesitated before he said: "I've never seen him before, at one of these."

"He's new," she murmured.

His forehead creased. "He's new and he's a drum major?" She didn't say anything. She just shrugged one shoulder again. Isaac looked after where he'd gone again, getting distracted for a second. But then he looked at the scoreboard and saw how much time was left in halftime. He turned back to her and forgot the encounter entirely. He went back to what he was saying before. "Kay… just hear me out after the game." She sighed. "We can go and get something to eat. Just dinner; just one dinner. And we can talk and we can clear the air, and…" He was looking at her sadly, now. "Maybe we can… try again." The suggestion was almost too soft to hear.

She closed her eyes. Said nothing.

He leaned a little closer. She really wished he wouldn't. "One more chance," he pleaded. "Just one more chance, I know I messed up, but I know that I can make it right again." She opened her eyes but didn't look at him. "I know we can be happy again, we just have to try and give it one more shot."

She studied the field, and the cheerleaders that were performing their dance on the fifty yard line. She crossed her arms, as though she was hugging herself. Her eyes caught lower, again. She looked over and saw that Cameron had found Jordan and was currently tugging on Beth and Jonathan's arm. She could hear Jonathan complaining even from where they sat. "I'm not even a section leader, I don't even know what a section leader is, don't make me help you with your nerd thing."

She barely heard Cameron's reply as they were walking away. The only reason she heard anything was because he was chirping it so loudly, beaming and jumping as he kept pulling on his brother's arm. "Shut up, we are gonna have fun, you're such a stick in the mud! With a rock on top of it, so the stick is super buried and never gonna get out!"

Her expression softened. A tiny smile twitched at the far edges of her lips.

"Kay." When she didn't answer, Isaac prompted her again. She turned back to him, reluctantly. "What do you say?" he prompted.

She paused. She didn't know why she did, because she knew her answer. But still, she hesitated a little over her words before she got them out. Softly, but very firmly, at the same time. She shook her head. Watched him already deflate with disappointment even before she elaborated. "No. I don't want to give it another try. Once was enough; it told me all I needed to know." She said it very nicely, no edge at all to her voice. Still, his expression broke with hurt. "I don't want to bring up old problems. I want to leave them in the past. I want to leave us in the past."

At least Isaac didn't object. He looked like he wanted to, but all he did was look at her with remorse and regret in his eyes. She didn't want to look at him anymore, and see that. She found herself turning back, and looking the way Cameron had gone, instead. She couldn't see him anymore. But she sounded very sure of herself when she said: "I don't want to focus on the past. I just want to focus on the future."

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

It was December third. To Kay, it was just another Friday. To practically everyone else, it was a very momentous Friday. So much so, it was almost suffocating. Because it was the night of the winter formal. All day at school, everyone had been bursting with excitement. Girls were sitting together and gossiping about who was going with who, showing pictures of their dresses to each other and fawning over one another's, saying "It's so cute!" when really they were just mentally comparing their outfit to their best friend's and thinking they looked better. They were talking about how romantic the night would be, how there would be slow dances and dinners beforehand and all that nauseating stuff that happened before the entire student body was shoved into the gymnasium that had maybe a couple of snowflakes just taped to the wall.

If it was hard to tell, Kay wasn't impressed. She'd never been impressed with school dances. Not only because it was a lot of work for just one night and it wasn't even a night with good music. She just had more important things to do than loiter in the hallways of a school she'd been at for seven hours already. Once she left this place, she never really had the urge to come back. Dances were just excuses for girls to get passive-aggressive with each other, for guys to make really weird and awkward advances on you that you didn't appreciate, to spend a lot of money on a dress you most likely won't wear again, or for unnecessary drama about someone cheating on their boyfriend with their best friend or something just as ridiculous. Plus nobody had ever asked her to go to one. So. She didn't like them.

She walked home. Cameron had left a little earlier with Jonathan; Kay had had to stay to get some printing done because her home printer was acting up. There's two dollars she'd never see again. She could admit to herself that was kind of weird to be walking and not having Cameron blabbering in her ear about some stupid stunt he pulled with a very reluctant Jonathan. She tried to ignore feeling weird and just placed some headphones in. When she made it home, she felt her phone buzz in her jacket pocket.

Mom:

When you get home, remember the stove is acting up and that your father and I will be home very late tonight.

We'll both be eating out so feel free to get yourself some take-out.

She was exhausted, and worn-down. It had been a long day - a long week - at school, and she was just ready for a weekend that was uneventful just so she could relax from it. The second she got inside, she went to the couch and set her backpack down, there. Everyone else might be spending their night out, but her perfect night was just staying in. She let her hair down and took out her contacts. She needed to get another pair; these ones should have been thrown out five days ago. She could do that this weekend. She didn't like having to wear her glasses, she didn't feel like they fit her face right.

She changed into more comfortable clothes and settled down on the couch. She got out her laptop and put her notebook on top of the keyboard. She started to flip through the papers, looking back over her notes. She had a research project to start in government. She could get a head start on it. She googled and took notes and tried not to fall asleep. It was difficult, though, considering she'd only had about six hours of sleep last night at the most. That didn't do much for her concentration, either. A couple hours later, she had somehow changed from researching their state's representatives, to being on Youtube watching random videos that came up from her recommended list. She was pretty sure that she had at least started with an educational need. Now she was watching a video about a kitten riding on a dog's back.

Which was a good way to spend your Friday night, she guessed. At least it was something to take her mind off the formal. Not that she was thinking of the formal, it wasn't on her mind at all. She hadn't gone, so why would it be on her mind? Other people were thinking of it earlier today but it was only because they were going. Thinking about it now, she couldn't really remember if Cameron had been thinking about the formal today. If he had been one of the people talking about it. She couldn't remember if Lexi was showing off photos of a dress. She couldn't remember if they'd talked at all today about dinner plans or dancing or…

She shook her head, and tried to refocus on what was in front of her. She didn't need to be thinking of all that mess. It didn't matter. So what if they had and she just hadn't been paying attention? If Cameron wanted to go to formal, he had every right to. If Lexi wanted to go with him and he wanted to go with Lexi, then by all means. She had no problem with it. Cameron was a good guy, of course Lexi would want to ask him out. It didn't bother her. At all. She wasn't even thinking about it. She didn't care.

She made a face and adjusted her glasses. She shook her head as if to clear it manually, and click on another video, that would hopefully take her mind elsewhere. Or she could get back to her actual homework. The thought came with a little bit of guilt, and she turned to look towards her notebook, which had somehow ended up put aside on the table. But as soon as she was about to make the responsible choice and reach for her notebook again, there was a sound. She did a double-take, frowning and looking towards where it had come from. It sounded like a knock. But...it couldn't be her parents. They were out on some business dinner, plus they had their keys. There was nobody else it could really be.

It was probably the wind. She stared at the door for a couple more moments before she looked back at her computer. But as soon as she put her fingers on the keyboard, there was another noise, and this time she knew that it was a knock. And she knew that it was probably a solicitor, so she shook her head and tucked back into her laptop. When the doorbell rang, and she realized that whoever this person was, they weren't about to go anywhere unless she got up. So she sighed, and did just that.

She put her laptop down and headed for the front door. She looked through the peephole and did a double-take by the person she saw on the other side. For a couple moments, she was too shocked to do anything at all; she just stood there and stared, only faintly aware that her mouth was hanging a little open. But he knocked again and it snapped her out of it.

She opened it to reveal a certain blue-eyed boy. He was standing on the other side of the threshold, wearing his goofy smile, along with dress pants and a button-up shirt. He looked wildly ecstatic to see her, even if she was looking at him like he was a Cheerio in her bowl of Lucky Charms. Not that she didn't hate to see him there… she was just surprised. And confused. He wasn't supposed to be here; he was supposed to be at the school.

"Cameron?" He started to open his mouth and reply, when Kay jerked, suddenly realizing something else. It was snowing. She'd spent longer than she thought fooling around on her computer. It was dark by now, and the snow was coming down in big flakes. She looked at him even odder, when she saw that he wasn't wearing a coat. "And why are you dressed like that in this weather? You're going to be sick!" Cameron looked down at himself with a frown. He looked more offended she'd insulted his outfit than reflective of his own stupidity. Which was kind of his thing. "What in the world are you even doing out here?" she demanded.

"I was in the neighborhood!" he chirped. Kay looked at him, silently asking why he was like this. As, like, a person in general. "I was just having a nice, quiet night, and thought: 'Why don't I go pay my favorite friend - whose name is also a city - a visit? Granted… you are my only friend whose name is also a city. But that just makes you even more special." Kay rolled her eyes. Cameron grinned, and grew much more serious when he shook his head and amended: "I actually came here to ask you something."

"Ask me what?" she asked, befuddled. She was so confused, she wasn't even noticing herself, how cold it was. She was letting all the hot air out of the house, but right now she wasn't even worrying about it. "I thought… you would have gone to the formal. I thought you'd be down at the school."

His grin widened. "That's actually why I'm here." Kay furrowed her brows in confusion. When Cameron suddenly brought his arm out from behind his back and produced a small but beautiful bouquet of flowers. It was all purples and blues and yellows. All her favorite colors. Her eyes went wide with confusion and surprise. Cameron's smile stayed as he held this out towards her and requested: "Kay Daniels… will you not go to the winter formal with me?"

She was speechless. She just stared, looking between him and the flowers and not saying a single thing. When she finally managed to speak, it wasn't nearly as articulate as she usually was. "What?"

Cameron laughed a little. But more nervousness was leaking into his gaze and his voice now. He kept the flowers out towards her. "Will you not go to the winter formal with me?" he repeated. Still, she said nothing. "I mean… you give off the vibe that school dances weren't your thing. Every time kids in band talked about, you did that thing where your nose scrunches up a little bit that you always do when you see or hear something you hate." Her nose scrunched up, and he tacked on: "Or what you do when you're super confused." This got her to smile a little. A bit of his unease left, when he saw her grin. "So I just thought maybe we could hang out together, instead. We're much more interesting than a formal."

She was still quiet. Still standing with the door wide open, shivering but not at all even thinking about closing it again. Cameron started just as silently, waiting for her to say… pretty much anything. He used his other arm to prop up the one that was holding out the flowers. "My arm hurts," he whispered, Kay's eyes going back to the gift. "I wasn't built for physical activity, Kansas."

She said the first thing that came to mind. For some reason, she was automatically coming down his volume, to a tiny murmur. "You were drum major." Half his job was just holding his arms out for an extended period of time.

He blinked, following her lead and looking from the gift to her just like she was to him. He kept holding his arm up. He whispered just as quietly back: "I know, I was just saying it so you would say something and not just stare at me because it was getting awkward."

"What about Lexi?"

Cameron jerked back a little bit, like she'd shoved him. He let his other arm swing down to his side. He kept the flowers where they were, though. He sounded absolutely bemused. "What about Lexi?"

"I…" She felt stupid saying it now. But it was already coming back, and it was the truth, so the rest just kind of fell out. "I mean… I thought you were going to the formal with her." His eyes went wide. "I heard her… say she was going to ask you. Or… I thought you would have asked her to go with you." Really, she had expected him to go with anyone. It wasn't a secret that ever since they'd gotten to the school, nearly all the girls in school were fawning over him and his brother. He could probably have had his pick of the litter, if he wanted. So why was he here, and not there?

Cameron laughed. "No! No… I mean- Lexi is nice, she's really sweet and cool. I like talking to her in the halls and stuff." Kay was shifting her weight a little. She glanced to the side, to look at the door frame, instead of him. He kept going on, though, and she looked back at him slowly when he did. "But I wouldn't wanna go to the dance with her. I'd rather go to the dance with Johnny, and do you know how much he hates people? Especially when that 'people' is me? Besides..." His grin faltered slightly. "I'd rather hang out with you."

Usually, she tried to monitor her responses to him. She wasn't one for too much emotion; pretty much everything she did was muted at least two levels down. But when he said this, she found a smile forcing itself over her face. She felt her cheeks warm when she beamed. She ducked her head to try and hide it more, but Cameron registered it. He pretty much always did. It took her a second, but she reached out and accepted the flowers. He made a show of sighing and shaking out his arm since it was relieved of its duty. She looked down at them with just as goofy a smile as Cameron wore all the time, probably. Before she snapped back to attention and stepped to the left, more. "Come inside, you goof," she giggled.

"Oh no Kansas," he refuted at once, not budging from the stoop. "I'm taking you out."

"Out?" she echoed. He nodded earnestly. Very certain. She glanced behind him, to his car, and the snow that was coming down even harder. "Out where?"

"That's the beauty of the whole thing," he chirped. "It's a surprise!"

She hesitated, eyeing him with a bit more nervousness, now. "I'm…" He frowned a little, noticing the subtle change. She tucked her hair behind her ear and her shoulders hunched just a little bit. She held the flowers a little closer to her chest. "I haven't… uh…" She closed her eyes briefly, taking in a quick breath before she forced herself to look back up at him. "I haven't gone out… in… a long time," she mumbled. He tilted his head to the side quizzically. "I don't…" The more she spoke, the quieter and softer she got. "I just… might not be…. as much fun as you… think I'll be." They'd hung out plenty of times outside of school, but never like this. Before, it always had at least something to do with school. Now it was just… going out to go out. He'd be disappointed.

But he just regained his smile. His expression softened significantly. "Kay, I don't think it'll be fun, I know it will be." He was quick to clarify. "If you don't want to, we don't have to. At all. But… I know I wanna spend time with you. If that involves staying in, then we can stay in. I'm not a picky guy."

She stared at him for a moment more, overthinking. He let her overthink, even though by now he was starting to shiver a little. After a moment, though, she smiled a little again. She stepped more to the left and gestured in. "At least come inside and wait while I get changed." She was dressed in an oversized sweater and leggings. Not exactly proper clothing for going out in this weather. She couldn't very well admonish Cameron for being stupid with his outfit and then turn right around to do the same exact thing.

Cameron smirked, putting a hand up to his chest, as if scandalized. "Kansas, I don't believe we're that close yet." She rolled her eyes, shooting him a look. He laughed a little as he ducked over the threshold, brushing the snow off his shoulders when he mused: "But if you insist." He started to head for the couch, when he suddenly froze in his tracks and spun around. "Holy crap!" he shouted; Kay jumped about a foot into the air. He jabbed a finger out towards her. "How did I not notice until this very second!? Are you wearing glasses?"

Kay's hands flew up to them. She blinked a couple times; she felt her cheeks warm all over again, this time for a much different reason. It wasn't that she was ashamed of her glasses...it was just- she didn't like the way they sat on her face. She didn't like the way they seemed a little too big for her face. She didn't...like them. Her smile wilted a little. She started to turn for the stairs. She could get changed and just wear her overused contacts again anyway. They'd been just fine up until now; they'd be fine for a little longer. "Yeah," she mumbled. "I'm gonna go upstairs, I-"

"You look really cute," he interrupted, smiling earnestly.

She stopped short, and looked back at him. One hand was still up against her frames. Surprise was written plain on her face, but Cameron just smiled brighter against it. Now her face was really hot. She cleared her throat and jerked her arm down, moving instead to gesture at the couch awkwardly. "Just...sit down before I change my mind."

Cameron's eyes flashed with something close to mischief. He grinned as he spun around on his toe, marching over to the sofa upon request. "Yes ma'am," he practically sang. She softened and regained a little more of her smile when he spun back around to look at her as he plopped down into the cushions. He made a show of crossing his legs and setting his chin eagerly on his hand.

She rolled her eyes again, and turned back for the stairs. "I'll be right back."

"Don't worry, I'll be here," he sang after, and she didn't bother to hide her smile as she went up to her room, since her back was to him.

Once she got upstairs in her room and shut the door behind her, she took a second just to stand there and stare, and mentally contemplate. Contemplate as in wondering what the heck she was supposed to do. She looked down at herself and her outfit, then back up with faint frustration. She went to her closet and pulled out another outfit. Hesitated, before she turned and grabbed another. Tried both on and wondered why the heck she even owned these clothes.

She threw them aside and put on jeans- you couldn't go wrong with jeans, right? She put those on and tried a button-up shirt like Cameron had on. That looked stupid; she looked like a middle-schooler. She tried a green long-sleeved shirt, but green looked horrible on her. Blue looked good, but it only had short sleeves and it was way too cold for that. She was getting frustrated when she threw on her seventh try - just a cozy sweater - and decided that this was the best she was going to do.

She started to leave, very well aware she'd already made Cameron wait about seven minutes, at the least. But she stopped short, looking at herself in the mirror and weakening. She turned, combing through her hair messily with her fingers, to try and make it look at least halfway decent. She tried to poof it out more. She tried to slick it down. She started to try and do a braid, before she realized she didn't have the talent or the time. She tried to pull it back. Tried it up in a bun. Reflected on the fact that she didn't blame Britney Spears for shaving all hers off, because she was three seconds away from doing it. And then just shook it out and decided it wasn't getting any better.

She started to head for the bathroom to put her contacts back in. But she stood there, staring at herself for a second, and adjusting her glasses. Then decided they were okay to stay. She just headed downstairs, taking them two at a time. Cameron was on his phone, his expression a little dull, but he looked up the second she reappeared and grinned. He perked right back up. She smiled back, wondering why the heck she felt so self-conscious about what she was wearing. It was just Cameron. She moved on quickly, to hopefully move on from that. "So why did you want to hang out tonight anyway?" They could hang out any night. She was guaranteed to always be free, basically.

Cameron shrugged. "I thought it'd be fun. Us sticking it to the man by not going to the formal!" Kay raised an eyebrow. His voice was much less triumphant when he continued, standing up. "Plus, Johnny was real close to kicking me out of the house for singing along to his ABBA music. Claimed I was ruining SOS but Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan ruined it long before I ever touched it." Kay looked at him strangely, laughing a little, because he always seemed to have something odd to say. He never ceases to amaze. "So I had a few options. One would have been to shut up. Which, of course, I never do. Another would have been to wander the streets on my own in the hopes that no scary man in a dark windowless van kidnaps me. Or third, and more appealingly...hang out with Kay."

Kay softened. He followed her to the door as she grabbed her coat and slipped it on. "And you couldn't have just shut up?" she snickered.

"Kansas, you know that's simply not my style." They walked outside, and he went over to his car. To her surprise, though, it was only to fetch his coat. He must have seen the odd look she gave, because he straightened. "Where I have in mind is just a ten minute walk," he explained. He glanced around at the snow, and smiled a bit more sheepishly. "Unless you don't want to walk. We could drive. It's just...walking is kinda our thing. At least, I thought it was," he added. There was a brief hesitation before he started: "We can drive, I can-"

"No, no," she rushed. "Walking is just fine. Walking's nice." Cameron slackened with a little bit of relief. He started to round the car back to her so they could walk side-by-side. "It's not a windy night," she said, relieved for that at least. She looked up and felt a genuine tug of happiness. "And the snow's pretty. Just a little cold," she laughed.

He looked up too. Caught a few snowflakes on his tongue. "Yeah," he agreed. "It is. The snow wasn't like this in New York...it was...I dunno, it seemed dirtier." She glanced at him. He looked thoughtful. "The roads were always cleared as soon as the snow touched the ground, basically. So there were always just these...piles of snow everywhere that were all black and gross. There wasn't a lot of space to play, like there would be here. Growing up, I mean. Johnny and I would always try and...make do, but…"

She frowned a little. Kept staring at him as they walked. "Well...I'm glad you have it now," she offered.

He smiled. "Yeah," he said, very simply.

There was a beat of silence, before Kay brightened. "You and Jonathan seem really close. He was always at band practices, and football games. They two were always sitting together, at lunch."

"He's my best friend," Cameron replied easily. "I love him. And he loves me, even though he tries to make it seem like he doesn't, because that's just the way he is." Kay giggled. Cameron's expression was the softest she'd ever seen it. "He's a good brother...he's always got my back. I've always got his." Her smile weakened, the more he went on. Her shoulders slumped, just a little. Her expression flashed when she looked back front, instead of at him. He glanced at her, frowning a little. "You okay?" he asked.

"Oh- yeah. Yeah, of course," she reassured, getting herself out of the lapse quickly. She got her smile back. "I'm fine. That's nice. That you two are so close." Cameron smiled a little, but he still seemed a little unsure. But when she looked at him again, her expression was unbothered. Exactly the way it had been before. "So what did you two do in New York when it snowed?" she asked.

Cameron's eyes lit up. A huge smile spread over his face, and she knew she had struck gold when it came to another 'Cam story.' He could go on and on, whenever he hit one of those. "Oh, geez. There was this one time. Okay, so there was this one, like, week where it wouldn't stop snowing, and I had the most fantastic idea to make actual snow snow cones, right? But what I didn't realize, was the fact that food dye doesn't actually have a flavor…"

As they walked along the sidewalks and crossed the roads, Kay couldn't help but smile just a at the fact that Cameron was talking her ear off once again.

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

They stopped to get dinner, first. Cameron was especially certain to layer on the fact that they had more in store. They went to eat at a diner. A cozy little place that Cameron looked far too dressed up to fit. She was sure every other couple tonight - not that they were a couple, by any means, of course not, she just meant couple as in two people, which they were - went to one of the more upscale restaurants. The kind where a salad was nine bucks and there weren't any free refills. The type of place where if you weren't dressed up as though you were going to a dance, you felt severely underdressed.

This place was the opposite. It was on the smaller side, and the meals were four dollars. The fanciest thing to order was probably a milkshake, and nine out of ten of the tables probably had some kind of sticky spot on them. The waiters and waitresses weren't nearly as formal, and they always called regulars by their names, so you could tell who was always around. Kay hadn't been here a lot. She hardly ever ate out, so she'd hardly ever been anywhere. But… she liked this place. A lot.

She'd order a vanilla milkshake. Cameron had gone taken a much more fun route; he'd gotten one that was more M&M than milkshake. They'd ordered a while ago; the food was taking some time to get out, but that was okay. It didn't feel so long. She didn't mind if it did feel a little long, even. They'd talked about a lot of stuff, never finding a gap or drag in conversation. They talked about school gossip - mainly Cameron filled Kay in on what she usually didn't care to know about - they complained about teachers together, talked about how they already missed band, even though it had only been their second week without it. They'd gone through all their favorites. Favorite food, favorite color, favorite drink… Cameron seemed very intent on branding each one to memory.

"So you like blue, green, and purple- but only light colors, you hate everything that's not pastel. And your absolute favorite is light yellow." He winked. "I'll remember. I've gotta write this all down in my phone." She rolled her eyes, eating another scoop of her ice cream. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had a milkshake; she'd forgotten how good they were. Cameron grinned, doing the same. He pointed his spoon towards her and made a face. "Anyway, so what's up with all the people in our school, are they just really stupid?" he asked. She balanced her chin on her hand, confused when she looked back up at him. "Like, all the guys. I mean, I thought I was pretty stupid, and I'm pretty sure I am, but they must be really stupid."

"Why?" She hesitated, and offered: "I mean, they are." Yesterday when they were walking through the halls, Mike had run into a wall. "But why?"

"You're telling me that not a single guy asked you to go with them to this stupid dance?" Kay blinked, a little surprised as she sat up more. "Not a single one? That's stupid. That's moronic. Anyone would be lucky to go to a dumb dance with you." She just kept staring at him, and he jerked, doing a little double-take. "Or… did someone ask you? I didn't- I wasn't meaning to imply that-"

"No, no, you… nobody asked me." She flashed him an awkward smile. "But… I don't like dances anyway. So..." She looked back down. She started gnawing a little on her lower lip. She tried to dismiss the question. But she felt a little heat foster in her cheeks at the question of whether or not it was that obvious. Guys never paid attention to her in general. When roses were being sold in the hallways around Valentine's Day, she never even got one anonymously sent to her. Same for the candy canes around Christmas, or the little candy eggs in the spring. She didn't mind it. She just minded that other people minded. That was when it got to her.

But Cameron's voice was quiet, and steady, when he spoke up again. "I'm glad." She looked back at him, frowning. He offered her a smile. A gentle, soft, heartfelt smile. "I'm glad nobody asked you," he elaborated, when she only stared at him. "'Cause otherwise I wouldn't have been able to be with you. So I'm glad." Her face grew even warmer. She tried to smile, but it felt so awkward on her face she wasn't sure what it would look like.

She tucked closer to herself, clearing her throat. "I- I guess," she mumbled, and Cameron laughed a little. She wished he wouldn't, because it just made her stomach clench a little more than it already was. "Thank you, I mean," she rushed. She made a face. "Or- not thank you, I… I don't know." She really wanted the attention off of her. So she shook her head and changed it to the nearest topic sh could. "Why didn't you go to the formal?" she blurted out. "I heard Lexi tell her friends she was going to ask you."

He looked down and took another bite of his milkshake, which was basically just a glass of M&Ms. She was fairly certain just from eating that, he was going to get diabetes. "She did ask," he answered. "Asked me after the last football game. On my way out."

She frowned. "You said no?" He shrugged, and nodded. "Why?"

Cameron raised an eyebrow. "You seem awfully concerned…" he mumbled. He looked at her a little oddly. "Are you… trying to set me up with Lexi or something?"

"No!" She exclaimed a little too quickly. She said this so fast and so loud that he jumped a little, in his seat. His eyes widened; he just stared at her. She quickly composed herself. "It's just… I'm just surprised you didn't, that's all. I figured… you know, from the very beginning, you guys would have gone out. If you were gonna go out with anyone. She seemed to really like you." He tilted his head to the side. She was rambling, which what she tended to do when she was nervous. And her nerves were just getting worse, the longer she talked. So it was a vicious cycle. "I've seen you guys talk, in the halls, she went to our band competitions, and it was always only to see you. I just…"

Cameron smirked, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Why, Kansas…" he mused, and the tone of voice he was starting to use, she was flashing him a look that already told him to shut up. It didn't stop him, though. Which was dreadfully unsurprising. "You weren't jealous, were you?"

"No!" she snapped immediately, getting about ten times as red in the face.

Cameron just smiled even wider. He snickered when he accused: "I think you were jealous."

"I was not jealous- I'm not jealous!" she exclaimed. He just laughed a little more. "You can do whatever you want, Cameron, I don't care at all what you do! You could… run away to Mexico and get married to a donkey and I wouldn't care at all." He made a show of looking very thoughtful, as if he was actually contemplating the domestic life that would result. "I mean, I'd care, I- just not about that part, I…" She glared at him. His smile was just making it worse. "I'm just… gonna stop talking," she exhaled, shaking her head and cursing herself.

Cameron's smile softened. "I think you're just overthinking things," he suggested. Before he added nicely: "You usually overthink things."

Kay looked at him with gratitude. She was quiet for a second, before she mumbled with a tiny laugh. "Maybe."

She looked back down at her milkshake, but Cameron wasn't about the do the same. He kept looking at her, with that fond little grin still on his face. "I have no idea why you'd be jealous," he said. Kay gave him a questioning look. She looked like he'd just told her three plus three equals seven. He shook his head. "Kay, you've got nothing to be jealous of, ever. For anyone. You're smart, Kay; all your classes are AP and I guarantee if I look into your notebook I wouldn't understand a single note you have. It'd be in Latin. You're fun- even if you try your best to make it seem like you're not. And you're really pretty. You're… probably the prettiest girl in the entire school, and you know I never exaggerate, ever, I'm far above that."

She looked at him with eyes that were a little wider than normal. She was shocked into silence when he went on. "You never need anyone's help with anything; you're always the one that's helping other people because you're so well-put together. And you're never even bitter about that, either! Because all you wanna do is help people. You wanna be in the FBI one day, and that's so hard to get into, but you know what? You're absolutely one hundred percent going to be in the FBI. And you're gonna- solve murders, and save the president, and rescue… cats from trees, and you know what I don't even think I really know what the FBI does in the first place, but whatever they do, you're gonna do it. And you're gonna be the best at it." He shook his head, looking down and taking another bite as he mumbled around it: "You're gonna climb the highest tree… and get the fattest cat down. In the shortest amount of time."

It was quiet for a moment, while Kay tried to take everything in. Her hands were clasped tightly in her lap. Eventually, she got something out. But it wasn't anything even she was expecting. "You… think I'm pretty?" she murmured.

Cameron seemed surprised. He looked back up, and blinked a couple times. He hesitated, like he wasn't sure. But it wasn't that. Because when he did reply, there wasn't a single trace of question in his voice. "Of course I do," he said, both of them holding the other's gaze steadily. "But I mean… anyone with eyes could see that." She cracked a small smile, that grew bit by bit every second. Her face felt hot again. She was blushing too much, tonight. Cameron cracked a similar, shy kind of smile. For a second they just stared at each other in silence. Before he took in a quick breath and looked down again. "But we've concluded that the male student body is completely stupid, save me, of course, so they need a brain too. But eyes really help out a lot."

He didn't say anything more. Kay wasn't going to push either. She'd let the conversation drop. But her eyes stayed soft, and her chest stayed warm. And throughout the entire rest of the dinner, she couldn't get that stupid awkward smile off her face. Though this time, she wasn't sure she really wanted it to leave.

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

Once they were done with dinner, and Kay had finally let Cameron pay after five minutes of arguing (it really had only been seven dollars, so…), they went walking again. She wasn't sure where to, but she didn't care all that much. She was too busy telling Cameron about the time when she was little where she almost drowned in the neighborhood pool, and that was why she didn't particularly enjoy swimming. He was a very attentive audience, when he wasn't talking her ear off. She just followed him and kept talking. She only really hesitated when they suddenly veered off the sidewalk and headed towards a line of trees.

Cameron glanced back at her when she hesitated. He grinned, reaching out and beckoning her. "C'mon!" he chirped. "I promise I won't kill you and leave your body in the woods," he added temptingly. "Don't you remember? I got caught last time I did it, that's why I'm here in the first place." She raised her eyebrows. He rolled his eyes. "C'mon, Kay, it's gonna be cool." She seemed skeptical. But she just started walking after him. He went back to leading the way.

It was cold, so at least there was no risk of getting poison ivy or anything; everything was dead. The trees were bare, and it was darker, here. She wasn't sure where he was headed. She wasn't scared of woods, but she didn't particularly like walking around in them at night. Call her a horror movie junkie, but this was usually how they started. But the second she started to ask him what was happening or where he was going, the trees started to thin out into a clearing, and she realized. Her eyes widened and she stopped short. Cameron kept walking a little more, but she just stood and stared for a second.

It was a pond. A really big pond, and one that was frozen solid. It was pretty, surrounded by trees that had icicles hanging off the branches and catching what little moonlight managed to break through the trees. She was sure that it would be even prettier in the summer, but right now it was pretty enough. Cameron walked right down to the bank of it, and sat down. He looked back at her and grinned. "Told you it'd be cool," he grinned.

She started walking again, down to slowly take a seat beside him. "I had no idea this was here," she remarked, looking around at every inch of it.

"I found it the other day," Cameron explained. His smile was soft. "It's nice. A nice place...to just think. And watch."

Kay softened. She nodded. "What were you doing all the way out here?" she asked. They were fairly far from both of their homes.

He was quiet for a second. Before he just flashed her a grin and said: "Exploring. Duh."

She giggled. "Well, you're quite the adventurer."

"Dora's got nothin' on me," he chirped.

She grinned. Sobered a little, when she looked back. The pair was quiet for a while. She reached over and picked up a rock, turning and throwing it so it landed on the ice. It made an echoing kind of tinkling noise. It hopped about five times before it skidded the rest of the way. It almost made it across the entire thing. She laughed a little. She didn't realize Cameron had been studying her, but she did when he suddenly started to mumble: "Kay…" He sounded nervous. She frowned when she looked back at him. It wasn't like him to be nervous. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," she said immediately. "Yeah, sure you can, what is it?"

He still hesitated. He leaned back more on his hands, to prop himself up. He looked at his lap, because it was probably easier that way. "That uh… that guy. At that one football game?" She deflated a little. He winced. "I mean… if it's too much, I get it, I don't want you to… have to say anything you don't want to. I just...I've just been wondering. I heard Jordan… say something about him, I wasn't… I mean, you said you'd dated but…"

She looked back at the frozen water, her expression suddenly heavy.

Cameron was immediately remorseful. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'm sorry, that… that was probably-"

"No," she murmured. "No, you're… you're okay. It's…" She made a face, and shrugged one shoulder. "It's just sad," she all but whispered. Cameron wilted. She was quiet for a long time. Before she gathered her knees up to her chest and sighed. "I dunno," she exhaled. "We dated for… a while. We met at a football game. He was just on the bench, back then. It was during half-time, and… he was in line for the concession stand, behind me. He said hi, and… and I said hi, and…"

Cameron was looking at her carefully. He was quiet when he hedged: "A while...is…"

"It was my first football game," she mumbled. He stiffened, surprise smacking him across the face. "We dated for almost a year. We were so close… you know, so many people make it seem like that milestone is the most important thing. That… if you reach a year of dating, you're the perfect couple." She laughed, a little cynically. "Guess they're right, 'cause we broke up."

Cameron looked at her a little closer. "He seemed to really like you still," he objected.

She shook her head. "Cameron, I broke up with him."

His face fell. "Oh," he breathed. He paused for a long moment. Before he asked slowly: "Why… did you two break up?" She grimaced. She said nothing. It was after ten full seconds of silence and avoiding eye contact that she realized he just wasn't going to get anything back. He shook his head. "I'm sorry, don't- don't answer that question," he rushed. "That was… mean, I shouldn't have asked. You don't have to tell me." She nodded. Still said nothing. He tried to comfort her. "It doesn't matter, anyway. If he really likes you, still, I mean. You don't owe him anything, if you're happier this way." He drooped, and, after another beat of silence, prompted: "Are you… happier this way?"

She considered the question. "Yeah," she sighed. She looked at him. Something flashed, in the back of her eyes, when she said: "This way. I'm happier this way."

He smiled.

She did, too.

"What about you?" she prompted. He perked. "You've dated someone before, right? What's your past look like?"

He made a show of wincing. He hissed, like she'd punched him in the stomach. "Nope," he chirped. She couldn't keep herself in check; her eyes flew huge. Probably wider than she'd ever gotten them before. "I've never dated anyone before."

"Never!?" she demanded, absolutely floored. He nodded. She shook her head. "You cannot have never dated anyone before. I do not believe you. At all, you cannot have gone sixteen years without having a girlfriend. No."

Cameron was laughing. "You really think I'm a catch, don't you, Kansas?"

"I know other girls do," she objected. "You've got the entire school drooling, there's no way you didn't have your other school drooling."

"I don't know!" he laughed. His smile dropped a little as he shook his head. "I've never been able to," he sighed. He seemed a little sad, when he declared this. "It just… wouldn't have worked."

Her eyebrows knitted more together. "Because… you moved so often?" she asked.

He glanced at her. Didn't say anything for about two full seconds before he replied: "Yeah. Too much of a hassle." He looked back front. He changed the topic of conversation back to her. "Isaac doesn't know what he's missing. He's an idiot. For whatever he did to lose you."

Her face fell. She looked at him like she was trying to figure out a difficult equation. "Why do you do that?" she asked. He seemed confused. "You… always say things like that. I mean- it's nice, you're really nice, it's just… not true." He frowned. "I'm not… anything special, I'm… I just study, I just… stay home. This is literally the first time I've hung out with someone just because. Without school being involved in any way at all, since I… I dated Isaac. I don't get noticed, I don't get invites to dances or stupid flowers on Valentine's Day. And it's not because everyone else is stupid." Cameron was staring at her sadly. His sadness only multiplied when she turned and looked back down at the frozen water. She threw another rock, harder this time. Her tone was bitter when she grumbled: "It's because I'm stupid."

"Don't say that," he said immediately. Almost before she was through.

She just scowled sorrowfully, not looking at him.

He leaned a little closer. "You're amazing, Kay. You're great." She looked at him, clearly not believing the sentiments. His eyes were soft. "You're totally flower-worthy," he swore. "I got you flowers tonight." She began to smile just a little. But it was impossible to fight the beam that splayed over her face when he declared: "And I would gladly get you flowers every single Valentine's Day. Because you deserve all of the bouquets of flowers you keep that just die the very next day and you throw away." She giggled. He smiled even more. But he grew much more serious, and added much softer: "You're enough, Kay Daniels. For anyone. If they don't see that, it's not on you. Nothing's ever on you."

She stared at him in silence for a moment. Her smile was so large it was almost hurting her cheeks. She was fairly certain her eyes were starting to sting. She tried to compensate by not blinking. She shook her head, her expression overtly fond, by now. She didn't make the conscious decision to, but when she spoke, her voice was just a whisper. She couldn't get it any louder. "I don't believe you've never had a girlfriend…"

He laughed a little, again. When he replied, his voice was just as quiet. "Maybe I've just never liked anyone enough," he mused, like it didn't matter. She laughed a little, too. This time, neither of them looked away. Neither of their expressions could shake the down-like softness they'd adopted. Cameron tilted his head to the side, like he was trying to look at her closer. She grinned and responded by tilting her head to the other side. They both smiled wider, laughed a couple seconds more. Before their smiles started to fade, little by little bit. Their expression grew more solemn. Suddenly Kay was very much aware of how silent the forest was. How everything felt frozen, just like the pond was.

It was so silent that Kay could suddenly hear her own heartbeat. It was loud. So loud she was absolutely positive that Cameron could hear it, too. But if he did, he wasn't showing it at all. He was still studying her, like he was trying to memorize every detail of her face; just like she was, to him. Slowly, so slowly that it was hard to tell at first he was moving at all, Cameron started to inch closer to her. It only dawned on Kay when he was halfway to her. The second she realized what was happening, her stomach was twisting, her heart was thudding even more. But she started leaning closer as well. His arm started to reach up. She felt his fingers graze her cheek, and she felt him start to tuck her hair behind her ear. Very slowly, very gently.

She let out a sigh; the breath shook nervously on its way out. Cameron was so close she could feel his warmth, against the snow that was still coming down just as hard. He didn't stop closing the gap between them. Her eyes slowly shut. She felt Cameron delve his fingers back into her hair even further, slowly tilting her head towards his even more. Maybe it was nervousness that was making them so careful, so slow. But they were barely inches apart, by now. She waited, struggling to keep her breathing in check so it wouldn't spike even more than it already had. They were even closer. He only needed to lean in just a little more...just another inch, and then finally, finally, he'd-

Cameron's phone rang.

The ringtone shattered through the silence and caused them to yank apart immediately. Kay's eyes snapped open the second she jerked back. Cameron jumped, his eyes flying open again too as his arm snapped back to his chest. For a second they just stared at each other in shock and confusion. Cameron's look rushed quickly into guilt. Kay's face was burning so much she was certain that even in the dark he'd notice. She whirled back front, to stare fixedly at the pond. Her heart was hammering hard against her chest. She crossed her arms and hugged herself, grimacing in faint embarrassment. Cameron looked like he wanted to say something, but his phone was going to ring out if he didn't answer.

He sighed when he did, but turned anyway, to fish it out of his coat. He looked down at the ID and his eyes flashed. He glanced at Kay before he answered. "Johnny?" he asked. Kay glanced at him. Cameron's eyes flickered to her, but then he looked quickly away. He sighed, reaching up and rubbing his forehead. His volume dropped...like he was trying not to be heard as much. "Why?" She frowned at how deflated his voice suddenly was. He ducked down and rubbed his forehead. The pause was longer this time. Kay was guilty of trying to listen to what Jonathan was saying on the other line. But he couldn't. Cameron groaned under his breath. "What am I supposed to do about it?" he whined in a whisper.

He chewed on his bottom lip as he listened to his brother. This time he reached up and drew his fingers through his hair, messing it up. "Well, where are you? What are you doing?" He grimaced. "Just… just… stay there, I'm coming home." Immediately, he was shaking his head. "No, I'll come home, I'm not just gonna- no, I'm coming home, I'll be home in ten minutes just don't move, bye." He rushed to hang up, before Jonathan could say anything else. When he did, he didn't look at Kay for a while. He stared straight ahead and exhaled. Closed his eyes and waited a couple seconds. Before he looked over at Kay and smiled. "I gotta go home," he chirped. She frowned at the 180 in his voice. Or… the almost 180. Something just sounded... off.

She frowned. Glanced at his phone. "What did Jonathan want?"

He inhaled fast. Started to stand. "He's got a big science test on Monday." Her frown worsened. "I forgot I told him I'd help him study; he's really worried about it. I gotta go home and quiz him."

"I'm in his science class." Cameron froze. Kay's forehead creased. "We don't have a test on Monday."

He looked down at her. She hadn't gotten up yet. For a second, it was silent; a much different kind of silence than what there had been before. "Must have been another subject," Cameron offered, a little stiffer. Kay just stared at him. Her heart was beginning to sink. "Anyway. It doesn't matter, I just have to go. You ready?" She hesitated. Cameron seemed on-edge, staring down at her. She wanted to ask him more questions. But suddenly she was getting the vibe that that suddenly Cameron wanted to say as little to her as he possibly could.

"Uh…" She looked down at herself. Mumbled a quiet: "Okay." She started to get up, too. She was cold, from the snow. She missed it when they were closer… Cameron felt warmer. She started to open her mouth to say something else. But when she turned around, she realized Cameron was already starting away, his steps brisk. He wasn't even glancing back at her.

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

With the pace Cameron set, they got home fast. Much faster than they'd taken to get there in the first place. And there was much less talking. In fact, they probably said less than five things to each other the entire way home. She'd tried a couple times to start conversation. But suddenly Cameron was quiet. She looked at him frequently, and for the life of her she couldn't figure out the look that was on his face. It was guarded, she could tell. But she couldn't tell what he was guarding. He looked upset, that was all she knew. He looked strained, suddenly. And like he wanted to run away. Like they couldn't get home soon enough.

Like he couldn't get rid of her soon enough.

Her stomach was twisting the entire way. A couple times her eyes began to sting all over again, this time for a much different reason. She was going through everything she had done and said, wondering which part of it had been wrong. The night had been perfect… it had been more fun than she'd had in ages. And all of a sudden now he was lying to her to get away from her. Or… maybe he wasn't lying, maybe he just really had been confused, but right now she couldn't tell, and she in her head. Had Jonathan told him something? Was something wrong? But if something was wrong, he would just tell her, right?

They got back to her house, and Cameron walked her up to the front door. Her parents still weren't back. They hesitated together, on the stoop. Kay looked back at Cameron, and at least now, he was smiling. There was something off about his smile. It wasn't his normal smile. So her smile was a little strained, when she grinned back at him. "Thank you," she offered. "For tonight. For… taking me out. It was fun. I had a lot of fun."

He softened just a little. "I had fun, too." It sounded genuine. But… sad. Somehow.

She hesitated. Her hands clasped nervously in front of her. "Is… everything okay?" she asked. "With Jonathan?"

"He's fine, I just gotta get home," he returned.

She wilted, and nodded. Cleared her throat, and closed one eye in a wince. "I… just… I'm sorry if… something… if I did anything-"

"You didn't, you-" Cameron ducked his head and shook it slowly. He closed his eyes, like he was flinching. She stared at him anxiously. He looked back up, and his face was carefully wiped clear. He smiled, but there was no sincerity. So it wasn't his. "I'll see you Monday. Kay," he offered. Her face fell. He didn't address it in any way. All he did was stand there and hold her gaze for a moment more and give a tiny nod. Before he turned and started down the steps. She watched him go, disappointment and confusion battling on her face. She stood and watched him get into his car. Tried to see whether or not he was going to stop long enough to glance back at her. At least one more time.

He didn't. She stood in the cold and watched him pull away. Stood in the cold snow, and watched his car until it was gone. And stood there for a moment more, as if by lingering by herself she'd get an answer. She didn't. She just got silence. So she turned and unlocked the door, letting herself back in. The house was just as silent and lonely. She locked it again behind her. Stood by the door for a second, just staring at the ground. She turned and looked around aimlessly.

Her eyes landed on the kitchen counter, and her heart squeezed in on itself painfully when her eyes landed on the flowers Cameron had gotten for her.