Hey sorry I haven't been updating as recently as before, but I have loads of exams and homework.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, everything belongs to Ally Carter.
The next morning was hard work, mainly for Macey, Bex and Liz.
It is hard work to wake me up, and that was the first thing that the three girls found out. I had cried myself to sleep the night before and I wanted nothing less than to be left alone to wallow in my misery. "CAMERON! GET UP!" I heard Macey yell and I just rolled over, burying my head in the pillow.
"CAM!" Bex added and I just ignored it.
"If you don't get up," I didn't let Liz finish that sentence. I was up before she could even get the last word out. I should be relishing in this moment because it was the first time that any one of them had spoken to me properly. "Good, you're up." She smiled and then pulled me to the bathroom. "We are going to get you out of the house today." She shoved me in to the bathroom and I looked at my reflection.
I could really use some time outside, I hadn't felt the wind on my face for more than a week. Once I had got out of the shower and thrown on a pair of jeans and a tee I walked out of the bathroom and found Macey, Bex and Liz sitting on my bed. "I thought we could go shopping." Macey said, really over enthusiastically.
"Why are you guys doing this?" I asked and Liz shifted uncomfortably, obviously they thought that I was stupid enough not to see through their charade.
Bex was the only one that didn't look taken aback and she stood up walking towards the door, but not taking her eyes off me once. "Are you coming Cam?" she asked and she raised her eyebrows, threatening me to not follow her. "If I were you I would have done the same thing, I respect you for having the guts to go home." This had me taken aback; I didn't know what to say to her. What had brought all of this on?
"Um...Thanks?" I managed to say and she looked happy even though it came out as more of a question than a statement.
"We think that the way that Zach is treating you is completely out of order and we want to help you feel more welcome." Liz piped up and I smiled at her. It was the first time that I had noticed how frail she looked, she practically beamed at me and I tried not to laugh.
"Thank you." I said and Macey wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
"What good would we be if we didn't stop you going out like that?" she grinned and I tried not to feel offended, at least they were making an effort and that was all I could ask for.
"So who wants to drive?" Bex asked and Grant looked up at us.
He stood up as Macey grabbed the keys from Bex and practically ran to cross the door. "You can't take her out." He flinched when Bex stepped forwards but stood his ground.
"Grant's right." Jonas added without looking up from the computer he was studying.
"Let them go." Zach said. I hadn't realised that he was sitting there. "The quicker she is killed, the quicker we can go home." I felt tears spring to my eyes.
"Zach." Grant, Bex, Macey and Liz hissed at the same time. I tried to hide the hurt that I was feeling but I couldn't. I felt a tear drop down my face and on to my cheek. I began to wipe it away when Liz handed me a tissue.
"Zach, none of us are asking you to stay." Macey said, it was the most anger that I had ever heard her speak with.
"We can look after her without your help." Bex added and I turned away from them. I didn't want them to fight over me. Liz touched my arm and turned me back to face the group.
"Zach," I started but he didn't want to listen. He started to walk away but I spat out the rest of the sentence while I knew that he was still listening, "You're right."
"No he's not." Bex said harshly and I turned to her. "Our mission was to protect you and that is what we are going to do. If Zach wants to quit then so be it. It was his fault anyway."
"MY FAULT!" Zach bellowed and I took a step back, banging in to Grant as I did so.
"Yeah Man." Nick added as he walked in to the room.
"MY FAULT!" he yelled again, disbelief covering the whole of his face. It twisted his beautiful features and made his look either evil or slightly deranged.
"If you had brought her here than this wouldn't have happened." Jonas said, still not looking up. "You left her on her own."
"You were reckless and you should have known better." Bex said and I looked between them. Zach's face suddenly switched from disbelieving to angry.
"You guys think that she was right?" he looked at me, his eyes flashing dangerously.
"Hold up!" I yelled and they all turned to face me. "Stop arguing. Maybe Zach is right, maybe I should have just died."
"No," Bex, Liz and Macey yelled and I smiled at them.
"My being alive is making you argue-" I started but Grant cut me off.
"No Zach being a jerk is making us argue."
"It was my fault, I should have listened. I'm sorry." I was now talking directly to Zach but that didn't stop the others butting in.
"Zach's the one that should have been sorry." Grant mumbled and that earned him a slap on the back of the head from Bex – not that I knew why, because as far as I could tell she agreed with him, maybe it was because he didn't say it loud enough.
"I'm sorry that I didn't realise a sixteen year old needed to be babysat."
"If I came up to you and told you that you couldn't go home would you have listened to me?" I asked him and he stared me straight in the eye before answering.
"YES!" he yelled and he said it really slowly, as if I didn't understand.
"LIE!" the rest of the group yelled back and I laughed. Zach didn't look the least bit happy.
He walked to the corridor and then turned back to us, "If you need me I'll be in my room." He said and Grant looked like he wanted to apologize, but with one look from Bex he sewed his mouth shut and then turned to walk to the sofa.
"If we can't go shopping we might as well make you beautiful with what we have here." Macey said, nothing could stop that girl. "We are doing you a favour." She smirked and I had a feeling that this was going to be worse than what I got at that place.
I had been here for a week and none of them would talk about it, or tell me what they wanted. I had gathered that it was a touchy subject for Zach, seen as whenever he was in the room and I asked people he shifted uncomfortably and glared at the person who was about to tell me. Not even Grant would tell me.
"Come on BEX!" Macey yelled down the corridor and I looked back to see that she was whisper-yelling at Zach.
Macey pushed me in to a chair and I held up two mini-skirts, one in red and one in white. "I think white?" Liz asked and I think that it was as much a test for her as a torture for me. As far as I could tell Liz loved tests, nearly as much a Jonas lover his laptop, or as much as Grant loved his cake, or as much as Bex loved hitting things - or breaking them!
"White?" Macey asked and Liz nodded nervously. "That's right Lizzie."
"Hey!" Bex called as she walked in carrying a box load of different coloured things. "Put those on." She commanded and I realised that Macey was holding out the white skirt and a flowing top that was blue.
"GO." Macey said and I got up and walked to the bathroom. I put the clothes on in the bathroom and then looked at myself; I was so going to stick out. "It suits you." Macey said as she carted me into a chair that was on the side.
She spent half an hour on my face while Liz and Bex did painful things to my hair. "Done." Macey said and she spun the chair to face the mirror.
"Wow!" I gasped and I looked back at Macey. "Wow." I said again and she smiled.
"Exactly what I was thinking." She laughed and then made me stand up. "Come on." She said and I looked at her.
"Where are we going?" I asked and she smirked.
"To show everyone." She smiled and then her face fell as I shook my head. "Come on." She huffed as she dragged me out into the corridor and pushed me down the hall.
"Wow." Grant said as he turned to face me and I smiled, until Bex slapped him on the back of the head. "I'm mean... who am I kidding, you look great." He smirked and Bex just patted his head sympathetically.
"Thanks Grant."
"Let's go." Bex pulled on Grant's hand and he stood up.
"Where?" He asked and Macey laughed.
And then she squealed. "It's only 11:30, and she is all dressed up. We are going out, shopping." Bex and Liz smiled, while Grant and I groaned.
"I'm not being the only guy." Grant said and Liz walked over to Jonas and shut the laptop.
She smiled and then grabbed is hand and pulled him to the door, "I'm not coming." He protested but when Macey and Bex glared he gave in.
"Sure you are." Liz added happily and we started to leave the house.
Nick walked in to the room with Zach following, "You weren't going to invite us." Nick looked at us with mock anger and Zach kept his eyes trained on the floor.
Bex wasn't as mellow as the rest of us so she stepped forwards, "Well Cammie is still coming whether you like it or not," she was talking directly to Zach, "So if you want to come, feel free. But any arguing and we will hurt you." Then as an afterthought she added, "Public humiliation."
"I guess I might as well." He smiled at Bex and then patted her hair. She grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back. "Don't touch the hair, got it." He smirked and she pulled harder. "I get it." He squeaked and I turned to face the door. "But I'm driving." He grabbed the keys from her and then she turned to pick another set off the counter.
This side of Zach I didn't despise, but I had no doubt that this was not going to go well. Bex pulled me to another car and then pushed me into the front seat. I looked over to the other car and noticed Zach glaring in my direction. The feud was definitely not over.
I made this chapter extra long because of the wait and I hope that it's good enough, I might not update until after Wednesday because I have lots of exams – unless I get lots of reviews asking me to update sooner. Sorry again for the wait :)