Thank you XxXxXThalia Loves DamonXxXxX for your review. It made me smile. :) Caricature Intimacy, I gotta say that your reviews make me laugh. Hard. For a while.
DEDICATED TO AMANDA WHO IS LEAVING FOR ALASKA TODAY! I GOTTA SAY I'LL MISS YOUR REVIEWS :(
PAGE BREAK
My eyes slightly fluttered open as it adjusted to the dark black. Where was I? I glanced to my left and came in contact with a seat. Right, still in that dang stage coach. I felt motion in the crook of my neck and froze. Come to think of it, my whole body felt heavy, as if gravity was really working it's thing on me. I lifted my hands but was restricted by the blanket that was around me. Then I felt something move above me. That really had me freaked.
It took me a few moments to realize that it was Zach, who was on top of me. He shivered so I put my hands back where they used to lay. I felt the warmth from where they were sitting for the past… however long we had been sleeping. Zach pushed his head further into my neck, hiding his face. I chuckled from his short hair brushing up against my neck and tickling me. It wasn't a buzz, but it wasn't exactly long either. I decided that we must've been fairly close to the school and slowly removed myself from underneath him.
I heard him protest, but I slid out. He just laid on the seats by himself and held the pillow. I snickered but didn't take a picture. See? I do have a nice side. But I did have to get him back for the whole sweatshirt deal… I decided against it anyways.
I sat on the floor and felt sleepy again. Damn, I guess when they say you get tired when you get injured really is true. Slowly I felt myself drift.
When I woke up the lights were all on and the bus stopped. I looked around to see Zach no longer in the seat and no one in the seats across the aisle. I closed my eyes and decided that we were back at the school due to all the feet shuffling.
"Thank God, I'm outta here," I heard Nick say from up front. He was the only one speaking in the silenced bus.
"Just because Cammie accidentally kicked you from the nose to your ear doesn't mean it was a bad bus ride." I heard the snickering of the people who saw my… 'accident'. Suddenly I was grabbed and being lifted.
"Wakey, wakey," Zach teased into my ear as he threw me over his shoulder. I heard people laugh and snicker at us, but I was mostly pounding my fist into Zach's side covertly, anything for him to drop me.
He walked outside and I heard a menacing voice consisting of a, "What the hell do you think you're fucking doing?"
See where I get my swearing from.
"Hey, Grant. You're little sister just couldn't get enough of me this weekend," Zach replied, cockily may I add.
"Just get your hands away from my sister. It's bad enough I have to give you a goddamn ride home."
Someone's in a bad mood.
Once we got in the car (Zach in front so Grant could watch over him) it was silent. No music, no talking, no ridiculing, nothing. We got home in a short two minutes and I got out right away. It was so awkward in that car. Zach and Grant took more time getting out and Grant popped the trunk. I got in the house and sighed contently. I was home. I rushed up the stairs to my bed room and flopped onto my bed, or as fast as an injured person could rush. Bed, sweet bed!
"Cam," I looked over to see Grant with a strange expression I don't usually see: confliction.
"Spit it," I demanded.
"I forgot when dad's birthday was," he blurted.
"Um, November nineteenth," I told him a little confused.
"Thanks, I've been dying to know," he told me as he walked down the hall towards his room. I stared down the hall after him, but after he closed his door, which he usually never did, I sat upright. Something was weird. Grant was tense, Zach was acting weird, and well… that was what made life weird I guess.
"Cammie!" I looked up to see mom.
"Hey, mom," I smiled.
"Hey sweetheart. How was the racing?" she asked me.
"I pulled my hamstring, but I'm okay otherwise," I replied.
"I heard," she said while eyeing my leg worriedly.
"Mom, seriously. I'm fine. I have it all wrapped up."
"You sure you don't have to ice it, honey?" she asked again.
"Positive."
"I'm going to get your father's input on this," she told me as she walked back out the door and down the stairs. I sighed as I waited for my dad to come up and teach me medical stuff. The joys of the army.
PAGE BREAK
"CAMMIE!"
"Five more minutes, please," I begged. I said it but I was pretty sure the voice was calling from downstairs.
"SCHOOL STARTS IN FIVE MINUTES!"
"CRAP!"
I bolted out of bed wondering why the heck Macey hadn't woken me up. She usually wakes me up early enough to get some breakfast in before we would race off to school. Once I finally was out of bed (which consisted of me falling out of my bed onto the rug floor) I looked at the end of my bed to find no uniform. I looked on the ground.
No uniform.
Where was Macey?
"Mace?" I called out.
"She's not, here," I saw Grant appear in the doorway.
"Then where is she," I tried keeping the annoyance out of my voice.
"I'll explain on the way," Grant quietly told me. Something from his tone made me feel that something had gone wrong, terribly wrong while I was gone.
"Silently I walked to my closet and opened it for the first time since… since I got there. Macey always dealt with my clothes. I grabbed my uniform and quickly slipped it on. I wanted to know what was wrong with Macey as soon as possible. I bolted out of the doors and ran down the stair.
"Have a good time at school, hon!" I looked behind me as I raced out the door to see my mom waving me off.
Which she never did.
I got in the car and slammed the door as Grant put the car in reverse and gunned out of the driveway. "What happened to Macey," I demanded as he got the car righted.
"There was a fight. She was sick of it. She left."
Did I just hear right? Did he just say my baby sister left?
"WHAT?"
I couldn't get another single word out of Grant as we made our way to the school. When we got there barely anyone was there. He quickly parked, and if it could get any better in the farthest parking space from the school. That's what you get for being so close to start time I guess. "We are soo going to be late," I muttered as I slammed the door.
"Please don't take it out on my babe," Grant spoke, but it wasn't himself. He would've scolded me. He just said please. Something really bad happened with Macey. Something worse than her running away. I wanted to go find her, but I knew that once my parents got the call of me not being in school the cops would be called pronto. They wouldn't let me go, not me too at least.
I stormed into the school and it seemed to be a little, different from usual. It was unsettling. I walked to my locker and dropped all of my school crap in it before walking to gym. When I got to gym it seemed lifeless. I was so mad that after I changed I was about to punch the wall but thought better of it. I knew the wall would win any day. I got out of the locker room and once the coach said that we were doing dodge ball, I could think of no better way of getting my anger out.
So after I nailed a girl in the face, I decided that it probably wasn't the smartest way to let go of my anger.
Gym flew by rather quickly, and I was glad to get my first class done and out of the way. My sister was out there somewhere. Grant wasn't going to look for her, so I was. I had a feeling she needed her sister, just some kind of feeling.
I walked to my locker and grabbed my English books. I continued to slam my locker and slip into the crowd. I didn't want to be seen, and I wasn't. I was good at blending in when I really tried. When I got to class I sat in the front, knowing Bex, Joe, or Dhine wouldn't dare try and sit by me. I was right. They sat behind, but I was the only one in the front row, dead center.
"Cammie?" I heard Bex state, obviously confused. It was almost funny. And the look Joe and Dhine gave me? Priceless. But was I in the mood to laugh or explain? No. Not at all.
I went through the whole class, getting notes thrown subtly towards me. I ignored them all as I tried to pay attention. It was working as I paid attention. I actually learned something in this class! It was amazing! I learned how Shakespeare was actually very interesting, and how he actually had a…. Strange past time. I mean, the lost ages… what could he have been doing… he could have done ANYTHING.
I quickly gathered my stuff as I walked out of class.
"Cammie!"
"Whoa, Cam!"
"Cam, wait up!"
I ignored the three as I speed off to home ec. Maybe after lunch I would be able to slip out and skip. They would count it as a skip, not a missing. That wouldn't alert my parents until the end of the trimester. I heard people start murmuring my name and turned into the bathroom. I locked myself in a stall and checked my phone. Two minutes until class.
I sat in the bathroom for another minute before I got out and ran to class. I barely made it in time. I sat down at one of the multiple tables, not by Kyle or Zach. I saw both of them stare at me while I sat by people I never sat by before.
"It's Cammie."
I looked up to see Tina. "Hey, Tina," I quietly replied.
"What, I'm not good enough to get a solid greeting from?" she demanded.
"No, Tina, I'm sorry. I-" I couldn't continue. This whole thing about Mace was bugging me way too much. I mean, Grant just seemed, unlively. Something was totally messed up.
"Is this about boys?" she asked me. I looked up.
"What- no," I said solidly, then fell quiet listening to Mrs. Youngquist start telling us about what we were making today. Could this day get any worse? I sat by Tina, a girl who absolutely HATES me. It was just Tina and me, sitting together. The people who normally sat here was just a group of awkwards. People who didn't fit in with any of the other tables. They must've all been sick today as I sat at the table with Tina.
"Then what's up?"
"Nothing," I audibly replied as I got the bowl and hand mixer from one of the drawers on the table. Tina grabbed the flour and chocolate chips as we got the materials for chocolate chip cookies together. It's home ec right? Got to make some treats.
"Well, someone was so out of it she sat by me, so something is obviously bothering you."
I'll admit I was completely confused. Why was Tina trying to talk to me. "Why do you care?" I demanded. If this was something for the school newspaper, I would have her head.
"I have no paper and pencil. I'm all ears. Just get it out," she told me. She cracked a couple eggs and put it in the bowl. I put the softened butter in.
I had no idea what overcome me then, but I just blurted out, "Macey ran away."
"When?" Tina asked actually amazed. "That's your sister right?" she confirmed after.
"Yeah, I don't know when she went. She was gone when I got back." I was amazed how I was telling Tina Walters this. Tina Walters. What was I thinking?
"Rough. Do you know anything about what happened?" she asked.
"Absolutely nothing. And it's killing me," I replied even more quietly.
"That's rough. I'm sorry."
The thing that surprised me?
She actually sounded sincere.
We went on making the rest of the cookies just making small talk. It was strange talking to a girl who hated me more than anything last trimester. It was as if she was feeling for me and we were actually friends. It was different, but in a nice way. We had a chuckle when we burnt our first batch of cookies, but the second one went much better. Mrs. Youngquist eerily eyed us but after she taste our cookies, the second batch of course, she gave us an A+. I smiled at Tina and she smiled back.
Maybe we were friends, maybe we weren't. It was nice anyhow that we were at least on good terms. Class ended and I bolted out the door. Suddenly I was being dragged against my will to the nearest exit of the school.
"What?" I was shocked, I couldn't even see who was guiding me considering I was being bombarded by students on both sides. It was like a sea of uniform, but the grip on my arm gave away the owner.
"What's going on?" Zach demanded as we got out of the school.
"Zach, that hurts," I coldly replied as I glared at him. He just held my gaze but demanded again.
"Nothing," I sourly told him but he slammed my body into the wall. "Hurting me isn't helping," I yelled.
"I don't UNDERSTAND," he told me angrily. How had I upset him? What did I DO?
"WHAT don't you understand?" I said in monotone. "What do you need to know?"
"What happened. This weekend we were close. You actually told me things. And now you're shut off and upset about something but you ignore or shun everyone who tries to find out!" he yelled back at me.
"It's none of your business," I spit out getting teary eyed.
This was the worst day of my life, almost certainly.
"Cammie, what's going on?" he asked a little more softly.
"NOTHING!" I screamed. I was sick of this. "NOTHING, is wrong, Zach! I'm going to get a skip when I didn't even try to skip!" I felt like I was just going to break down and bawl.
Instead of getting a shove or a death grip on my wrist, I was wrapped in a hug.
"Cammie, it's okay. Just let it out," he whispered softly into my ear as he buried my head into his shoulder. He turned us around so he was leaning up against the wall and cradling me in his arms.
So I bawled.
"It's okay, shh, it's okay," Zach cooed. But it wasn't okay. Far from it.
"No, it's not," I bitterly said into his shoulder. I felt him freeze, signaling me that he knew it was no good.
"What- Cammie, I've been asking the same question for five minutes. Tell me," he said as, nicely as he could. I could tell curiosity was killing the cat.
"Macey's gone," I whispered. I felt his grip on me tighten.
"When?" he asked.
"I don't know, she's been gone since I got home. Something happened with her and mom or dad," I quietly explained.
"Cam," he said before he hugged me even closer if possible. It was bone-crushing, but at the same time it felt good.
After a while I snuck back in and went to the nurses, saying I got my 'friend'. I was able to get a pass saying that I had, er, health issues that I was late.
I walked over to Jonas who was making some super amazing elaborate image on photoshop.
"Something tells me you didn't have menstrual cramps," he told me.
"What are you making?" I asked amazed.
"Cammie," he said in a warning voice never taking his eyes off his computer.
"I needed air," I told him. It was partially true! I did go outside.
"That doesn't make me think that was the only reason," he replied a little more quietly.
"Mace ran away," I said in a whisper.
"Oh, that sucks- WAIT WHAT?" he hissed by the end. "How, what, when?" he asked me.
"I don't know. She wasn't home when I got back from alpine ski."
"Did you try, like, calling her?" he asked in a duh voice.
"Jonas, she ran away," I snapped.
"Good point," he muttered.
"I think cell phones is the last thing she would bring."
"Yeah, now that I think."
"God, and I thought you were the smart one."
"Talk to Liz. She's amazing with anything."
"You only say that because you're going out with her!" I told him. I looked over and he was blushing. "Figures."
"No, seriously. It's amazing what she can do," he told me as I started up on my own project.
"Why do I think that this has something illegal to do with it," I suddenly stated as I got a chilly feeling down the back of my spine. It was an unnerving chill.
"Oh, it's because you're right."
PAGE BREAK
I walked out of class and was immediately grabbed. Well if it isn't, 'get Cammie' day.
"Cammie?" I looked to see Kyle.
Kyle.
LAST PERSON I WANTED TO SEE!
"Hey," I quietly responded.
"Want to go grab lunch?" he asked as he nodded his head towards the main doors.
Maybe I did want to see him.
I gave him my first smile of the day and replied, "Yeah, I think I would like that." We walked out and went to Subway (eat fresh!). Kyle kindly paid for my lunch too, but I knew that if I even pulled out my wallet, he would just accidentally slip money into my pocket. One way or another.
I had a refreshing lunch as Kyle joked it up and lightened the mood. He knew that I didn't want to be pushed, so he tried to cheer me up. The parts I love about him.
I got back to the school and somehow I made it through the rest of the school day, without getting cornered or anything. I was able to avoid everyone in general until I got to my locker.
"Cammie, why won't you TALK to us?" Joe demanded as I reached my locker. I was about to open my mouth when Joe spoke again. "What are you doing, traitor?" I looked left to see Joe glaring at Zach.
"Yeah, you Cake-Eater, go home to your buds and eat some cake," Dhine snapped also.
"What?" I asked. I was beyond confused. Cake-Eater? What did THAT mean?
"Oh, and you didn't bother telling Cammie?" Joe almost yelled.
"What kind of idiotic, self-centered freak are you?" Dhine flat out yelled.
"What's going on?" I stood, completely getting myself involved in this. I finally looked at Zach and he looked blank. His face had not emotion, and just… there was nothing going on. It was as if all life was sucked out of him.
"Cammie, Zach's leaving the school. He's transferring."
PAGE BREAK
Oh snap.
I swear to you that we can make this last (la la la :]) = amazingness
If you can wait 'til I get home = cool. I'll check out the next chapie too.
Then I swear come tomorrow = uh, it was fine, but not tuning back in
This will all be in our past = please rewrite this whole mess.
I'll mention you in the next chapter if you can figure out what state all the cities mentioned were located in from last chapter I guess...