Author's note: Whoa, sorry about the mistake in Shakespeare's birthplace. I'm American, what can I say? My Canadian history is limited. When my English class went to Canada, our teacher said he was born in Stratford, but she probably meant Stratford, England. Sorry about that.

Alive inside the Cuckoo's Nest: Again, sorry for disgracing your homeland. Thanks for pointing that out. I was happy to hear you're a fan of my other stories. Thanks!

King Steve: Don't worry. There will be lots of ticking Riley off in the chapters to come. She'll come to learn that you don't mess with jealous killing cyborgs. :)

Chapter Two:

End of the Road

Riley hadn't spoken much, despite John's attempt to make amends, and he'd ended up playing some card games with Jason Reynolds and some of the other guys in his class. Now the boys were watching movies on Jason's portable DVD player, and Riley was asleep in her row, so John had climbed back up to sit next to Cameron. "Where are we now?"

"Denver, Colorado." came the reply. "We still have twenty-one hours and thirty-four minutes to go."

"We should be stopping to eat soon," John said, hearing his stomach rumble.

"You should not be hungry," Cameron stated. "You had a whole bag of Cheetos."

John shrugged. "That was two hours ago."

"What did Riley say?"

John pursed his lips. "She's still not exactly forgiven me. No thanks to you."

Cameron cocked her head. "I am not responsible for Riley's emotions."

"No, you just made them worse," John remarked coolly. "The least you could have done was let her out of the closet. Like, after the show was over."

Cameron was silent once more and John sighed, leaning his head back against the seat.

"We should have taken that exit," Cameron spoke up. John opened his eyes again.

"What?"

"We missed the exit."

Up front, Ms. Darbus let out a breath angrily. "I told you to bring the Tom-Tom!"

Cameron looked to John, confused. "Who's Tom-Tom?"

"It's a GPS," John explained. "Global Positioning Satellite. It's a mini computer that helps the driver navigate."

"I can help navigate," Cameron said.

John looked up front to where the bus driver and Ms. Darbus were still arguing. "Yeah, I bet you can."

"But I'm not a Tom-Tom."

John sighed. "Then you can be a Cam-Cam."

Cameron stood up abruptly and walked up to the front. John poked his head out into the aisle, watching her.

"I can help navigate," Cameron was saying.

Ms. Darbus looked up at her hopefully. "Do you have a Tom-Tom?"

"No. I'm a Cam-Cam."

John rolled his eyes and Ms. Darbus furrowed her brow. "A what?"

"John said it first," Cameron replied evenly, staring out the window. "Turn here."

The driver turned and Ms. Darbus soon realized that they were back on track. She looked up at Cameron, surprised and in awe. "How do you know exactly where to go?"

John held his breath, about to run up and intervene, but thankfully Cameron merely replied, "I've always wanted to move to Canada."

"Why?"

"It's safer."

Ms. Darbus raised an eyebrow. "Safer?"

John quickly hurried to the front before Cameron could reply. "Safer for the environment," he improvised. "They recycle."

Ms. Darbus looked from John to Cameron suspiciously. Apparently feeling the need to show Ms. Darbus that John's answer was indeed correct, Cameron smiled slightly and said, "Go green."

Ms. Darbus appeared mystified, but she didn't question Cameron's motives.

**********

John walked back up to the front of the bus, where Cameron sat in the navigator's seat, her eyes focused on the road. "How's the Cam-Cam holding up?" he asked.

"I'm holding up," Cameron replied simply. "We still have twenty one hours of driving."

John turned to Ms. Darbus. "Are we stopping for food soon?"

Ms. Darbus gazed down the highway. "Are there any food stops at this next exit?"

John looked, squinting at the signs, but couldn't see far enough.

"There's a McDonalds," Cameron said.

Ms. Darbus looked amazed. "Wow, you have excellent vision, Ms. Phillips."

Cameron smiled slightly. "Yes. I have 20-20." She looked back out. "It has a playground."

"Great," John said sarcastically. "That's just what we need."

"Take this exit," Cameron said to the bus driver.

John made his way back to his seat, grabbing his backpack and taking out two five dollar bills. The bus finally came to a halt in the McDonald's parking lot and John stepped off the bus with Cameron.

Jason climbed down after John and his eyes lit up when he saw the building. "Ooh, sweet, a playground!"

He started towards it and Cameron turned to John with a smug smile. "I chose well."

They entered the restaurant and John stood next to Cameron in the line, handing her a five dollar bill. She took it, staring in confusion.

"I don't need food," she protested.

John rolled his eyes. "You have to get something," he said in a hushed tone. "People will think you're weird."

"People already think I'm a freak."

He hesitated. "That's not true. People loved you in Romeo and Juliet. You were…incredible."

Cameron met his gaze. "That doesn't mean they don't think I'm a freak. Riley thinks I'm a freak."

"Why do you care what Riley thinks?"

"Because you care what Riley thinks."

John opened his mouth and closed it when he saw Riley shuffle up beside him. Cameron turned away and ordered a small salad.

When she was handed it, she turned it over, analyzing it, looking almost disgusted.

Riley cocked an eyebrow. "Wow, you weren't kidding when you said she wasn't into food…"

"Yeah," John agreed. He wasn't sure what to make of Riley's behavior. At least she wasn't acting hostile towards him or Cameron anymore. For now.

He turned to the cashier. "I'd like a double bacon cheeseburger with fries."

When he was handed his food, Cameron stared at it.

"This food has high levels of fat, sodium, and ---."

John held up a hand to cut her off. He was starving and she wasn't going to deprive him of his meal, no matter how unhealthy it was. "I really don't care right now. I'm hungry and those Cheetos wore off an hour ago."

"This is unhealthy," Cameron said, appearing worried. "You could experience--."

"Well what am I supposed to eat?" John demanded.

"A salad is a more beneficial choice for a meal. You can have mine."

She held it out to him, but John pushed it away. "I don't want your salad, okay? This is just food. It's not gonna kill me."

"Sarah told me to keep you safe…"

"She meant keep me safe from…" he paused, realizing several of his classmates were in hearing range. "..them…" Words like 'Terminator' tended to draw attention.

"She said to keep you as safe as possible," Cameron corrected. "That includes food consumption."

John gritted his teeth. His patience was wearing thin from his lack of food. "Listen, I am going to eat here. I can eat whatever I want. So, unless my life is in physical danger or if I'm being physically threatened, I don't want to hear anything else."

Cameron's pace slowed and John left her behind, moving to sit at Riley's table. Cameron seemed to take the hint and went and sat alone.

Riley didn't say much when John sat down, and he found his gaze drawn to Cameron's lone figure. A pang of guilt seized him. What am I doing? He'd been so sure he was falling for Cameron after the night of the play. What had convinced him otherwise? Was it Derek's insisting that she was a machine? Was it Sarah who constantly reminded him of her status as merely his protector? Was it Riley, who had developed such a keen dislike of Cameron?

Or was it Cameron herself, having displayed no other emotion that would convince John otherwise?

Maybe it was him. Maybe he just wasn't ready to face the fact that he was in love with a robot.

John watched as Ms. Darbus went over to sit next to Cameron, looking cheerful as usual. She tried to start a conversation with Cameron, but the Terminator had turned back into her usual unresponsive self. She looked John's way…once…and he winced, realizing what was happening.

By trying to patch things up with Riley, he was pushing Cameron away.

************

"Here we are at the Ambassador Bridge," Ms. Darbus announced. "We'll be having a border check soon, so get your passports ready."

Cameron had abandoned her post as navigator and was now back sitting with John. She looked out across the water and a worried look crossed her features.

"What?" John asked.

"A bridge is not a very tactical location," she stated. "It's an easy ambush point."

John sighed. "No one knows we're here."

"We don't know that."

John scowled. "Why do you have to be so negative? Can't you just enjoy the ride?"

"I'm not negative," Cameron replied calmly. "I'm cautious. I can't let anything happen to you."

John leaned against the window as the bus approached the border patrol. As a cop boarded the bus, John tried not to feel nervous. No cop up here would question his passport; he had nothing to worry about.

He handed the patrol officer his identification, and the man checked it quickly and handed it back, causing John to breathe a sigh of relief. The cop scanned Cameron's and handed it back to her as well. John caught his Terminator protector staring intently at the cop's gun.

"Don't," he ordered in a low tone.

"We need a weapon, John," she stated, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

"We're on vacation," he shot back. "You wouldn't be able to steal it without him noticing anyway."

"There is a 34.2 percent chance he will be too preoccupied with checking passports to notice."

John shook his head. "Not worth the risk. Don't worry. No one will find us here. Skynet doesn't know we're here, remember?"

"I said I didn't think Skynet knows we're here," Cameron corrected. "There is a possibility of a T-888 presence in Stratford. I need a weapon."

"You are a weapon," John replied.

The guard passed by them again, and Cameron gave John a withering look. He merely shook his head, and was relieved when Cameron obeyed, letting the guard pass by without a confrontation.

*********

John was jerked awake when the bus ran over a pothole and he groaned. "Are we there yet?"

Cameron was still staring out the window into the darkness. "Five minutes. Don't worry."

"I'm not worried," John muttered. "If I can make it thirty six hours, I can wait another five minutes."

He stretched. Despite the many food and bathroom stops, sitting in a jerky van had gotten old about ten hours ago. There was only so much to do and he couldn't sit through another Star Wars marathon.

"Where's our hotel at?" John asked tiredly, rubbing his eyes in an effort to wake himself up.

"The River Garden Inn," Cameron replied. "Located on Romeo Street."

"Romeo," John repeated. "Really?"

"It's close to the Stratford Theater. We're almost there."

As they pulled into the hotel, John didn't feel quite so tired anymore. The excitement of the next few days was starting to set in.

Ms. Darbus collected all the pass cards for their hotel rooms and started going down her list.

"Alright," she announced. "Room assignments are as follows…Jason Reynolds with John Baum…"

Cameron held up a hand.

Ms. Darbus sighed. "Yes, Ms. Phillips?"

"I must remain with John."

John noticed Riley's scowl and a couple students snickered. John felt his face flush in embarrassment.

"And why must you be with John?" Ms. Darbus asked patiently. "He can take care of himself, can't he?"

"No."

John quickly stepped forward. "Sorry, what she means is…she doesn't like to be alone. She gets…" he fumbled for an answer. "…homesick…"

"She won't be alone," Ms. Darbus tried to explain. "No one will be alone."

"I must stay with John," Cameron insisted.

Ms. Darbus sighed. "Why are you so concerned about John?"

"I am a typical overprotective older sister," Cameron replied emotionlessly.

"You're not his sister," Riley said bitterly.

"She's right," John hissed, leaning closer to Cameron. "It wouldn't be appropriate. I'll be fine, and you'll be just across the hall."

"That's right," Ms. Darbus said. "You are in room 227 with…Ms. Dawson."

John saw a look of horror cross both Cameron and Riley's faces. The shock quickly turned to a loathsome glare as the two stared at each other, fuming. Cameron was giving Riley her best death glare, the one she usually reserved for staring competitions with Derek.

John let out a low whistle. "This is not going to end well…"

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author's note: There, I don't think there's any technical errors this time (sorry again). Please let me know what you think!