Disclaimer: I don't own Degrassi, obviously :D
Maya could not contain her excitement when she sat across from an expectant Tristan and Tori, both of whom, were really confused as to why Maya was so enthusiastic.
Unable to wait any longer, Tristan begged Maya to say something. "Maya, you are killing us here! What's the big news?"
Maya's grin never left her face as she spoke, "Guys. Cam is officially staying in Canada, and he should be coming back to school soon."
Looking at each other, Tristan and Tori began to clap and squeal in excitement. Maya stopped herself from playfully rolling her eyes at the overdramatic pair, and continued sharing the news, "He is going to be released from the hospital and he can come back to school, but…" Her excitement faded as reality hit her, "He is going to be under a tight therapy schedule and will be going to the physiatrist almost every week. His depression is unpredictable. It kind of happens in cycles." Maya shrugged her shoulders and dipped her head closer to them, "Cam was explaining it to me for a little bit, but the details are complicated. All I know is when Cam comes back to school, we need to—"
"Look after him," Tristan finished for her. He nodded, confidence lacing his voice. "Got it."
Tori mirrored Tristan's assurance, "We will do everything we can to support him. Don't worry Maya. You're not alone."
Gratitude toward her two friends consumed Maya to the point of causing tears to trickle down her face. She reached across the table, beckoning them to hold her hand. "Thank you."
The three friends were so wrapped up in their conversation that they didn't notice the intruder pulling out a chair and joining them. "Are you guys having a moment?"
Maya didn't even have to turn her head to know who was speaking. Her realization sparked the quick decision to shift her chair away, trying to create as much distance as possible between them.
Once again, Tristan beat all of them in the race to speaking first. He always had a sharp comment ready for any occasion, "Did we say you could come over here, Trent? No? Didn't think so." He finished by fixing Trent with the most threatening look he could manage.
Noticing the annoyed expression on Trent's face, Maya knew anything that comes out of his mouth would be a direct attack against Tristan. She didn't even let the hockey player form a sentence before blurting, "Shut it, Trent. Say anything about Tristan or even Cam for that matter, then you'll be sorry."
Shocked, Tori and Tristan glanced at each other. Neither could believe Maya just stood up to Trent like that. Tori smirked—she was so proud.
"What Maya said," Tori declared. She sneered at Trent, flipping her hair. "Just leave."
Trent erupted into a fit of laughter, causing the three freshmen to glare even harder at him. Not one of them bothered to ask why he was laughing; they just wanted him to go away, which is what he did to the relief of all three of them.
Trent had to say one final obnoxious thing before he left.,"It's nice to know that Cam has a group of freshmen as his protectors. I wish I had that." He chuckled after his sarcastic comment and slammed his hand on the library table before leaving.
After he was gone, Maya buried her face in her hands and released a muffled scream. "Why do we have to deal with this? Cam does not need this at all when he comes back." She looked up at her friends, "What to do we do?"
Tori lowered her head forlornly, unable to give Maya an answer.
"All we need to do is focus on Cam," reassured Tristan after a long pause of silence between the three friends. "Trent is an idiot. We can never change that." His comment caused the two discouraged girls to smile.
Maya shrugged her shoulders, eager to change the subject. "Do you guys want to come to my house after school? Cam's mom has been lending him her cell phone a little bit each day, since he can't have any visitors or his own cellphone in the room with him. You could talk to him."
Her suggestion changed the mood immediately. Without hesitation, both Tristan and Tori agreed with Maya's proposal, and the three friends exited the library happily once the bell signaled the end of free period.
They all met back up at the end of the day to pile into Katie's car, much to Katie's annoyance, and head back to the Maitlin household. Once in her room, all three of them got settled in their own ways. Maya placed her backpack in the corner of her room and gave a quick once over to her cello that stood in the same spot; Tori made herself comfortable on a purple beanbag chair, and Tristan flopped down on Maya's bed, sprawling out. He let out a dramatic groan, "I am so tired."
Tori and Maya both shook their heads as they looked at each other. Tristan was always so dramatic.
"Well, Tristan. I guess you are too tired to speak to Cam first then," teased Maya as she started playing with her cell phone. Tristan sat up, making sure to perform the action as agonizingly slow as possible, and gasped. "Never!" he announced before falling back on the bed again. Maya giggled as Tori hit him with a pillow. She turned her back on the two friends starting a pillow fight to call Cam. She had asked Cam's mom if it was alright if she could call him after school on this day, and Mrs. Saunders was more than happy to agree to make sure that Cam had access to a phone, which Maya was extremely grateful for. She needed to hear his voice after the run in with Trent.
After a few rings, a familiar female voice picked up the phone, "Hi, honey! I just wanted to say a quick hello before I pass over the phone to by blushing son over here." Maya could hear the faint sound of Cam's voice in the background saying "mom" in embarrassment. Maya couldn't help the smile that graced her face; she was thankful that Mrs. Saunders couldn't see her own red cheeks. "Hi, Mrs. Saunders," greeted Maya happily. Cam's mom mentioned something about not wanting to embarrass Cam anymore before passing the phone. The sound of Cam's voice caused her heart to pound a little faster.
"Hey, please ignore what my mom just said," he joked. His voice took an entirely different tone when he spoke again, "How was your day?"
Maya tried to ignore the fluttering sensation when she heard the fondness in his voice. The feeling never gets old, "It was good," she responded, "Much better now though."
He couldn't help but smile at her comment. "Well, that's good to hear." He laughed lightly.
Gripping the phone tighter, Maya closed her eyes and tried to savor this moment. Hearing his laugh made the dull ache tormenting her for weeks fade away. Her feelings for him overwhelmed her sometimes.
"Okay," Maya exclaimed, trying to focus on the conversation. "Tristan and Tori really want to catch up with you, so I guess I'll give the phone over to…" Before she could finish her sentence, a loud "me" rang across the room. She turned around to find one of Tristan's arms, the only visible part of his body, raised through a sea of pillows.
Maya giggled, "You're going to have fun with this one."
Cam laughed, "Knowing Tristan, I am sure I will. I'll talk to you later though. Love you."
Maya bit her lip, blushing. "I love you too."
She rolled her eyes as Tori and Tristan started making loud kissing noises. She dropped the phone on the mountain of pillows where Tristan still lay under and went to go sit down on her beanbag chair.
After Tristan grabbed the phone and resurfaced from the pile of pillows to talk, Tori walked over to where Maya sat and crouched in front of her. Maya immediately noticed the worried expression on her friend's face.
"You okay?" asked Tori in a hushed whisper so Tristan couldn't hear her.
Confused, Maya simply nodded her head. "Of course, Tor. Why would you ask?"
Tori squeezed Maya's knee before sitting down on the floor. She paused, considering her words carefully. "I have been worried about you. These last few weeks have been beyond stressful for you, and I just want to make sure you're handling it all right."
Maya laughed off her friend's concern, hiding her own anxiety about the conversation. "Tori, I'm fine. You sound like my sister."
Tori listened to Maya with a serious expression. "I noticed you have been looking really tired lately and not eating…" Tori stopped when Maya began to protest.
"No, Tor. Trust me. I feel fine." She forced a smile to convince her, but it didn't seem to work.
Tori grabbed her hand and squeezed it, showing her support. "I'm always here for you."
Maya found herself nodding at her best friend's words, secretly welcoming them wholeheartedly. She has been secretly struggling since Cam's suicide attempt, but she didn't want to showcase her worries. All that mattered was that Cam was okay. She would feel better once he was okay. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her name.
"Maya?" Tori frowned. "Maya, did you hear me?"
She focused her attention on Tori, instead of her stressful inner dialogue. "Yeah. I just…you're right. It's been a long couple of weeks." She smiled weakly before dropping her gaze onto the arm that held her charm bracelet from Cam. She tried to look at it as a reminder that Cam is here now, and she shouldn't be stressing on what if…
Maya muttered, "I need to snap out of it. Cam needs me right now." She felt Tori grab her arm in support, while the sounds of Tristan's happy chattering filled the room.
A/N: I rushed to write this for you all—like literally in the last two days. I don't want anyone worrying that I gave up on the story due to the turn the current Degrassi episodes are taking (I have to admit, Zig and Maya are so cute.) Anyway, I like the season so far, but I also love imagining this alternative reality where Cam is still around, so I'm going to keep writing it! Thanks for reviewing and adding the story on your favorite lists! :)