The Brotherhood of Ieoseph Cavan
ChAptEr 8
The Story So Far:
Cammie and the Gallagher Girls arrived at Blackthorne, and all except Cammie were immediately welcomed by the boys. Tyler Hill took pity on Cammie and easily befriended her, but he was the only boy willing to. Zach Goode, another junior boy, was intrigued and confused by Cammie, who seems to know nothing of her father's involvement at Blackthorne, but only watched her from afar. There was immediate chemistry between Zach and Cammie, to Cammie's embarrassment and to Zach's amusement.
During dinner, the girls found out they would be sharing a bunker with the boys, much to their dismay, leading to a fight between Tina and Cammie.
In the middle of the night, the girls were surprised with Night Drills, a vigorous night-training program they will be graded on. The Night Drill instructor/sergeant, Beau, immediately singles out Cammie, just like the other boys did. Except, instead of singling her out to make her a social pariah, Beau singled her out because he is sexually attracted to her…in the creepiest way possible. [Rapist, much? Cammie thinks so.]
The next day, Cammie, Bex and Liz get a taste of morning life at Blackthorne. They even have to shower with the boys, in the communal shower room! Not to mention how much more obnoxious Zach gets!
During breakfast Xavier Gray and his gang disrespect Cammie, but she handles it beautifully, much to the admiration of Julien Walsh, one of the guards sent by Gallagher. The girls get their schedules and split up to go to class. On the way, Cammie and Tyler run into Wesley Hamon, the other young guard from Gallagher. Immediately, Tyler takes a liking to him.
After morning classes, Cammie suffered from a panic attack at lunch induced by the mention of her father by Mario. She runs out, her friends following, leaving more questions in the boys' minds than answers.
The she is shocked again when she arrives at Cove. Ops and sees her long-lost godfather/uncle, Joe Solomon. She is shocked and angry at first, and runs away. She ends up caught in the rain with Beau Travers, who comes shockingly close to forcing himself on her. Before he has the chance to cross the line, however, Solomon arrives, having run out of class after Cammie. He warns Beau off of the Gallagher girls and he and Cammie come face-to-face in the rain. A shouting match has them resolving the tension between them, and they spend the rest of the day playing hooky and catching up in the junior bunker.
Oh, and Grant is an idiot.
Chapter Eight: Madame Dabney Has Arrived
Pages taken from the journal of Matthew Andrew Morgan, CIA
.~***~.
June 19
Journal,
What do I do now? It feels like that question's been chasing me around all week, always bouncing around in the back of my head. I just can't get away from it. Blackthorne is over, but my job isn't done yet. I know there is really only one option, then. But can I accept it?
M. A. M.
.~***~.
June 28
Dear Journal,
I know what I have to do now. Like there was ever any choice. I can't say I'm happy, but then again, who am I to be happy in this line of work?
M. A. M.
.~***~.
July 5
Journal,
I saw Cammie today. She didn't know it, but I was there at the Fourth of July parade, watching her from the crowd. What happened to my little girl? She's a young woman now, so tall and beautiful, like her mother. I think I must have teared up, thinking that that moment would be the last time I saw my baby for a very long time, because suddenly I lost track of her. What can I say? My daughter, the pavement artist. I didn't find her for seven and a half minutes of panic. When I did, she was buying an ice cream cone—one scoop of vanilla, one scoop of strawberry, with crushed M&Ms sprinkled on top. I laughed. I miss my baby, Journal.
M. A. M.
.~***~.
July 7
Dear Journal,
Today's my last day. I still haven't told Joe I'm leaving, and I don't think I will. It will be better for everyone if I just disappear. If I don't come back, though, I've hidden you in an alcove at Joe's summer place. He doesn't know it, but I've been stashing stuff there for years.
To be honest, I thought about destroying you. Lighting you on fire in the woods or throwing you into the lake. For some reason though, I just couldn't stand the thought of no one every knowing. Knowing what happened to me. Knowing who I was. Knowing who I loved.
Maybe in a hundred years someone will find you, long after you can do any damage. Then they'll know our story, and they'll pass you on to later generations. Just memories preserved on old paper. But until then, I need you to stay safe and hidden. Cammie and Rachel can never know. Especially Cammie. Rachel would understand why I had to do it. But to my baby girl…it isn't fair to Cammie for her to think that something else in my life took precedence over her and her mom, because that isn't true. Sometimes you just have to do things in your life that you don't want to do to, protect the things and the people you care about. I hope one day, even if I'm gone for good, Cammie will understand that this was one of those times, and that I always chose her first.
If something should happen to me, I don't want them to read this and ever think that I wanted it to be this way. If they never know, then they never have to try to understand why I had to do what I did, why I had to leave. You see, Journal, I love them. So, so much. And I just can't stand the thought of them thinking I ever wanted to leave.
Cammie, I'm so, so sorry. I love you.
Goodbye.
M. A. M.
.~***~.
Blackthorne Institute for Boys
Cafeteria
Breakfast
"Hey, Cammie," Mick greeted with a smile as the other girl bit into an apple turnover.
Cammie smiled back, swallowed, and then said, "Hey, Mick."
"So, some of us were wondering," Mick said, "what was up with you and Mr. Solomon yesterday? I've never seen you act that way, and then you didn't come back to classes!"
Cammie swallowed nervously, wondering how to explain. The entire junior table was once again giving her their attention, all the boys and girls leaning forward. Only Bex and Liz already knew, and they glared at their peers for their prying.
"Um," Cammie started. "He's actually my godfather." A few of the girls' mouths fell open, and the boys exchanged looks of mild surprise and interest. "I just haven't seen him in a few years," Cammie went on, "and I was really surprised to see him here. I haven't spoken to him since I turned twelve."
"Oh," Mick said, still surprised. "You're glad to see him, though, right?" she asked.
"Oh, yeah," Cammie said, nodding and smiling. "We had a few things to talk about, and now that everything is sorted out it's really great to have him back."
"Wow, that's really great Cammie," Eva said.
"Yeah, we're all really happy for you," Kim added.
Cammie grinned at her sisters, and just ignored the raised eyebrows and meaningful glances of the boys. She had just about had it with their crap.
"Is Joe Solomon really your godfather, Gallagher Girl?" Zach asked when Cammie turned away from their peers and towards the group she was sitting with.
"Yep," Cammie said, popping the P and taking another bite of her breakfast. After last night, she was in a really great mood, and she wasn't going to let anyone ruin it for her.
"That's a real coincidence," Tyler commented. "Running into him here of all places, I mean."
"Yeah, it is really strange." Cammie agreed. "We talked about it last night, but he told me that the reason he came here is classified."
Zach and Tyler shared a look. "Yeah, classified…" Zach said, not looking at her. Cammie frowned a little, but decided to let it go for now.
"Attention, boys and girls," Dr. Steve said from the podium. "I have few exciting announcements!"
Everyone went silent and gave the headmaster their attention.
"First of all, I am happy to announce that, after much discussion with the boards of trustees of both Gallagher and Blackthorne, I have obtained permission to allow the entire student body to have an entire day to themselves to spend in Belfast!"
The entire cafeteria—well, the boys—whooped and hollered at that. The girls clapped and smiled demurely.
"Quiet—quiet please," Dr. Steve gestured while smiling.
When the room was quiet again he continued. "And second, I am very, very excited to present to you a group of women our young ladies know very well, and women our young gentlemen will hopefully also get to know in the coming weeks.
Cammie raised her eyebrows at this, and shared a wondering look with Bex and Liz. "I wonder who he means," Liz leaned in and whispered. She leaned back out when Dr. Steve spoke again.
"It is with great honor that I present to you," Dr. Steve said, "Gallagher Academy's own Culture and Assimilation teacher—"
"No," Cammie and Bex said hoarsely and simultaneously, sharing horrified looks.
"—Madame Josephine Dabney!"
The doors burst open the minute the words left Dr. Steve's mouth, and Madame Dabney herself glided in the room, looking like Meryl Streep and wearing a large feather boa draped around her shoulders. The smell of her perfume drifted behind her (Zach tried to cover his coughs by clearing his throat) as she approached to podium in a regal march. As she passed the junior table, she winked at the Gallagher Girls, making Courtney and Kim giggle behind their hands.
As she came to the podium, Dr. Steve stepped down to greet her. He bowed low and kissed her hand, which she bestowed to him with a sense of royalty and dignity. "My lady, enchanté!"
"Oh my," Madame Dabney said, giggling girlishly. "The pleasure is all mine, monsieur. She looked out at the tables watching her (most of them with raised eyebrows and looks of disbelief). "What a lovely school you have, Dr. Sanders—"
"Please, call me Dr. Steve!"
"—Dr. Steve. Such handsome young gentlemen!"
"Yes, yes. And it is such a pleasure to have you stay with us for this brief visit!"
Dr. Steve turned back to the podium then and Madame Dabney took a seat at the teacher's table. "The lovely Madame Dabney will be staying with us for the next week," he said. "She has kindly agreed to work with the entire student body during regular Physical Activity classes, and will be teaching you all the art of…dance!"
There was a considerably difference in the size of the boys and girls' eyes after Dr. Steve said this.
"She came all the way here to teach us to dance," Bex said in disbelief. Cammie just groaned.
"This is going to be hell," Grant said, grimacing.
"Now, before I let you all go back to your meal," Dr. Steve said, "I hope you all noticed that I said there was a group of women coming, not a single woman." The young spies stared back at him, some looking as if they had been about to ask, and some looking ashamed at not having realized.
"And so, it is again with great honor that I present to you…"
"Who do you think it is, Cam?" Liz asked.
"No idea," Cammie whispered, looking to stare at the doors with the rest of the student body.
"Agent Abigail Cameron of the CIA, and the Headmistress of Gallagher Academy for Young Women herself, Rachel Morgan!"
Cammie's jaw dropped about seven miles, and some of the other girls gasped. Then the doors swung open, revealing two of the most beautiful, highly trained spies Blackthorne would ever know on the other side of the door.
.~***~.
"Mom? Aunt Abbey?" Cammie's shocked voice sounded extremely loud in the silent room, bouncing off the walls.
"Hey-a Kiddo," Rachel Morgan said as she walked in confidently, her sister right behind her.
The room was still silent, and the Blackthorne boys looked like their eyes were about to pop out of their heads as they followed every move the two women made.
Rachel and Abbey stopped at Cammie's seat, and held out their arms with expectant expressions. Cammie grinned and hopped up from her place at the table to hug her mom and aunt.
"How've you been, Squirt?" Abbey said, ruffling Cammie's hair.
"Alright. How are you, though? The last time I saw you you were getting on a plane to Buenos Aires."
Abbey laughed. "Ah, Buenos Aires. Good times. And a hell of a piece of cake."
Cammie grinned. "I missed you guys!"
"It's great to see you to, Cam. Sunday night dinners just aren't the same anymore," Rachel said, smiling happily at her daughter.
"Say, have you grown, Squirt?" Abbey said, squinting at her niece. "Last time I saw you I'm pretty sure you were two inches shorter."
"Two and a half inches," Cam corrected, grinning.
"Better slow down there, Kiddo, or soon you'll be taller than both of us."
The three Cameron girls spoke without giving any attention to the entire room of people listening to their conversation.
Once Cammie was sitting once again, though, Abbey moved to the teacher's table (winking at Joe Solomon as she went, who looked as if he had seen a ghost. "Miss me, Joe," she said) and Rachel moved to take Dr. Steve's place at the podium.
"It is an honor and a privilege to be here," Rachel started, looking around the room. Everyone felt as if she were speaking directly to him or her. "I am extremely proud of everyone sitting here today, and I hope that this exchange is the start of many new friendships and relationships. I can only say that a spy's greatest asset is his or her friends, and that the purpose of this exchange has and always been to acknowledge this fact and give each and every one of you an advantage. That being said, now is a time to get to know each other and to form alliances. I, along with Madame Dabney and Agent Cameron, will be here for the week, and we are happy to answer any questions any of you might have about who we are, what we do, and why we're here." Rachel smiled then, and Cammie thought about half of the males in the room actually swooned. "And now, I'm going to go sit down and let everyone get back to their delicious meals. Have a good day, boys and girls."
.~***~.
"Cammie, was that really your mom?" Tyler gushed as they left the cafeteria. All through breakfast boys had been looking at her even more, except now they were also looking at her mom and aunt. Cammie had a sneaking suspicion it was all for a different reason now though. Mostly because Tyler was the eleventh boy to mention her mom to her in the past 3 and a half minutes.
"Yes, Tyler, she really is," Cammie said, with a playful roll of her eyes.
"She's hot," Tyler said appreciatively.
"She's not just hot," Grant said, jogging up, "she's smoking. Holy hell, Morgan," he said, eying her admiringly, "Here's for hoping you look like her in twenty years."
Zach and Bex glared at Grant, who immediately made an excuse to run off.
"That boy…" Bex growled.
"Just ignore him," Jonas said. "He's harmless."
"Unless you have to fight him in Physical Activity," Zach laughed. "He's got one hell of a punch."
"With all that muscle," Bex said, "I'm not surprised." A competitive glint entered her eye. "But I could take him."
"Oh really, Baxter?" Zach said with a snort.
Bex just nodded and said, "Any day."
"Well see," Zach laughed, shaking his head.
Then the group dispersed to go to their morning classes. As she walked away, Cammie could feel a green-eyed gaze on her back, but she refused to let herself look back.
.~***~.
Blackthorne Institute for Boys
Junior Bunker
Lunch
Cammie had just left her Metal Shop class, and returned to the Junior bunker before planning to head back to the cafeteria to meet Bex and Liz for lunch. As she approached the bunker though, she heard a crash come from inside. She immediately tensed up.
As silently as the gravel would allow, Cammie edged up to the single window looking into the dark room. What she saw surprised her. Inside, Tyler sat on his bed, his head in his hands and broken glass littering the floor at his feet.
Her eyes wide, Cammie silently but quickly flew through the door, shutting it behind her. Hearing her, Tyler's head snapped up in panic.
Cammie gasped then. Tyler's palms were coated in blood, and it had left red marks all over his face!
"Tyler," she whispered, horrified. "What's wrong, what happened?" She rushed to him then, and took his hands in her own. He didn't say anything as she inspected his palms, just stared at her in stony silence.
She looked up at him, but seeing his face, decided not to press him for answers just yet. Instead, she went into the small bathroom in the bunker and dampened the hand towel. She brought it back to her new friend and started dabbing his hands tenderly. Cammie worked on cleaning him up for the next few minutes, rinsing the cuts on his hands and bandaging them. Then she quickly got rid of the glass on the floor (previously the small lamp sitting on Tyler's bedside table), all without speaking to the exhausted looking boy on the bed.
When she had finished, she sat down on the bed next to her friend. Neither said anything for awhile, until Tyler said, "It was Scott."
Cammie frowned. "Who?"
"My brother. Scott. He—He just…"
Cammie looked up at Tyler, who was staring at the wall, seemingly in a daze. "You can talk to me about anything, Tyler," she said, laying a hand on his. Immediately, his fingers engulfed hers in a tight grip.
Tyler closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "He can just be so cruel," he whispered.
"What did he say to you?" Cammie asked softly.
Tyler swallowed audibly. "He didn't mean to. He had no idea…" Tyler's words sounded desperate and broken.
"Tyler, what did Scott say to you?" Cam repeated.
"He called me names…said I was—said I wasn't normal. That I was—" Tyler's voice broke, and the next word came out in a chocked sob. "—gay."
Cammie didn't say anything for a long time. She just watched Tyler, who's eyes were tearing up and who wouldn't look her in the eye.
Finally, she said, softly, gently, "Are you, Tyler?"
Then Tyler's tears fell and he nodded slowly. "Yes."
"Oh, Tyler," Cam whispered, and put her arms around the crying boy. His face rested in the hallow of her neck, and his arms lay awkwardly in his lap. "Shh, shh. It's going to be okay."
Tyler started speaking quickly then, his words distorted and staggering. "He doesn't know—no one knows! They wouldn't un—understand. They'd all hate me. They'd think I was a fre—freak, because I'm fu—fucking different. All they do is joke about it, but it's really me. I did—I didn't ask for it! I can't stop it! Oh, god, Cammie. What if they find out? What will they do to me?"
Tears started to fall from Cammie's eye at Tyler's distress. She took his face in her hands and lifted it to look her in the eyes. "Listen to me, Tyler Hill. I won't let that happen until you're ready. You are a wonderful, wonderful person. Do you understand me? Do you? There is nothing wrong with you! Never!"
Tyler slowly rested his head on her shoulder again, and his sobs eventually calmed. Finally, after a long period of silence, he said, "What will happen if Scott finds out?" Tyler squeezed his eyes shut. "He'll hate me..."
"He's your brother, Tyler." Cam sighed. "He can't ever hate you. Just…just give it time. It won't always be like this," Cammie promised, dropping a kiss on his head.
Tyler nodded, and the two stayed in the silent embrace until the warning bell for class echoed across the campus.
As they got up and walked out, Tyler took Cammie's hand in his hand. "Thank you," he said sincerely. "It means everything, Cammie. Everything."
.~***~.
Blackthorne Institute for Boys
Gym
Physical Activity
"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen," Madame Dabney said as she swept into the gym, her dress dragging on the floor behind her.
Cammie heard some of the boys groan and moan behind her, and she barely stifled a giggle. They were seated in foldable chairs set up in the center of the large room. Across from them, a large gramophone sat on a table, a box of records next to it on a chair.
"Gallagher Girl," Zach whispered from the seat behind her. He leaned forward and spoke directly in her ear, his breath ghosting across her bare skin and making her shiver deliciously. "What was it Dr. Steve said she taught?" Cammie could swear that he meant to mock her, and his next words confirmed it. "Culture and Assimilation?" Cammie's head snapped around and she glared at him until he leaned back, his hands up in surrender, an annoying smirk stuck on his stupid and equally annoying face. When she turned away again, he laughed behind her back, and she had to dig her fingernails into her palms to stop herself from saying something extremely rude in Farsi.
"Today I will be teaching you all the art of the dance," Madame Dabney said as she sent a record spinning. "Please, hold your applause," she winked.
As the record started to play, Tchaicovsky's Waltz of the flowers filled the gym. Madame Dabney began to sway to the music, and soon she was dancing a full waltz with an invisible partner. "I want you all to memorize the steps," she called to them. "In exactly 3 and a half minutes I'm going to expect you to be able to dance this like you were born to do it, ladies and gentlemen!
"Three and a half minutes!" Zach said in disbelief behind her. Cammie smirked.
"Madame Dabney may be eccentric and over the top," Cammie said to the boys behind her, turning around, "but she's an eccentric and over the top Gallagher Girl." Then Cammie and the other girls giggled, stood and began waltzing around the room like their teacher, leaving fifteen Blackthorne boys open mouthed behind them.
"Come on, Blackthorne Boy," Cammie teased Zach as she spun around. "Or are you afraid you can't handle it?" She laughed and moved farther away.
Tyler, Grant, Jonas and other other boys watched in slight wonder and horror as Zach's face turned red, then purple, then green and then red again. Suddenly, the tall boy launched himself out of his seat and straight into Cammie Morgan, who gasped in shock when Zach's hands came around her waist out of nowhere, and he dipped her in precisely the right place in the music.
"What are you doing?" She gasped.
"Dancing," he growled. And then she was up and spinning, and he was leading her around the room in a perfect waltz, Madame Dabney applauding them from the side.
"That's it children!" she cried in praise and merriment. "Mr. Goode and Ms. Morgan have mastered it! Now quickly everyone, follow their lead."
And for the rest of the period, the gym was alive with spinning, dipping and twirling Gallagher girls and Blackthorne boys.
Next Chapter Preview:
The Gallagher Girls and Blackthorne Boys enjoy a day in town in honor of Halloween. But who will break up the fun?
A/N
Hi guys!
Hope everyone liked this chapter! As some of you may know, I've been writing a lot of oneshots lately too, if you're interested in reading them. Basically what happened was that I just wanted to get all my ideas for small fics out of the way, so then I could focus on this one, finish it, and then reassess whether or not I would continue writing GG fics or switch fandoms. We'll see.
Anyways, this story is really rolling, and I'm getting a lot of great feedback, so thanks you everyone :).
Love,
Katie
P.S. I couldn't find Madame Dabney's first name, so I made it up. If anyone knows what her real name is, just let me know and I'll be happy to change it :). And I realize she's probably way OOC, and that I exaggerated her character really badly, but I couldn't help it. It's just how I've always imagined her. Eccentric, and a cross between Professor Trelawney, Professor McGonagall and a 1950s Hollywood Starlet. Well, an eccentric starlet.