A/N: I'm pretty sure a lot of you are beginning to guess what's happened between Cammie and Dillon but there is going to be a slight twist at the end! Thanks for the reviews!
*Chapter replaced/updated due to a small error, Cammie went from wearing a dress, to jeans, to her uniform… so all fixed now!*
Previously:
"Before we begin I wanted to tell you that we will be doing a CoveOps practise next week"
I looked down at the desk, knowing I wouldn't be participating, but Mr Solomon looked straight at me as he said "All of you"
I didn't listen to a word Mr Solomon was saying after that. I was being aloud out of the mansion… I would be able to use my phone, I would be able to talk to normal people… maybe, just maybe I would be able to escape this hell hole. Or maybe not.
()()()()
The day of the CoveOps practise mainly consisted of every girl asking Macey for fashion advice. I rolled my eyes, I didn't need some stuck up cows advice. We had been told to dress in our school uniform, but of course, as girls, we weren't really sticking to that rule. I put on my favourite pair of boots.
"You have a good fashion sense"
I blinked stupidly. Had Macey actually just complimented me?
"Thanks…" I replied warily as I turned to face Macey, expecting to see her smirk or laugh but she had a genuine smile on her face.
She laughed at my wary look "Hey, I know good designer shoes when I see them!"
I smiled back, glancing at her Jimmy Choo shoes. "You know some old Converse trainers would go better with that type of skirt"
Macey glanced at herself in the mirror. "True, but I don't have any; my parents won't buy me any shoes that don't have at least a three figure price tag"
"Hm…" I rummaged around in my cupboard and brought out a pair of scruffy converses. "Here"
"Oh my god; thanks!" Macey cried as she put them on and smiled with satisfaction.
"Time to go girls!" Mr Solomon called from the door and we all filed out.
My heart hammered so loudly against my chest I was surprised no one else could hear it in the silence of the van we'd all been stuffed into.
"We will be practising brush passes again" Mr Solomon's voice boomed from the front of the van. "Cammie, as you haven't done this before I'll pair you with Zach and he can teach you what to do"
"No!" Everyone stared at me in surprise. "I… I'd rather try on my own"
"Are you sure?" Mr Solomon frowned.
"Yes" I replied immediately, feeling my phone rubbing against my side in my jacket pocket.
"Very well, you will all divide up and try to discretely pass this coin between each other. Remember, there will be civilians everywhere so blending in is the key"
We all split up. I watched carefully where Zach headed off to, taking extra care to go in the opposite direction.
I just walked through the streets for a few minutes, enjoying the company of all the last minute Christmas shoppers, all going about their normal lives. My phone vibrated a few times in my pocket to signal I had messages but right then I felt happy in my own little world away from everything. I sat on the bench for a while.
"Cammie are you there?"
I jumped out of my skin at the sound of Mr Solomon's voice, completely forgetting I had a comms unit in my ear.
"Cammie?" He said again sounding a bit more panicked.
"Yes… Mr Solomon?" I answered quickly.
"Zach's round the corner from you, I want you to take the coin off of him, it's in the palm of his left hand"
I looked around frantically at the realisation that Mr Solomon was watching me.
"Yes, I am watching you" Mr Solomon spoke smugly through the comms. I looked around again but I couldn't see him anywhere. That was when I wished I'd listened more in class when Mr Solomon was talking about tails… and I realised, running away would be harder than I'd first anticipated.
I sighed deeply and got off of the bench. I turned the corner and immediately spotted Zach who was walking straight towards me. My first instinct was to run back the way I'd come, but something was telling me to stay absolutely still, to try to blend in with the crowds, and to my utter disbelief Zach didn't even give me a second glance. At first I thought maybe he was just trying to be nice; let me at least think I was a good spy… but when he started to lose his cool and frantically began to look around for me I realised… he really couldn't see me.
I smiled to myself suddenly and began moving even closer towards him following the flow of the crowd. I didn't make any effort to confine myself to the shadows or hide in any shops. In that moment I was simply a Christmas shopper, just like everyone else. I began to get closer and closer to Zach, he was practically livid now looking for me. As he got even closer I made sure I was right on the outskirts of the group of girls my age doing Christmas shopping. I was thankful that the Gallagher Academy uniform was almost exactly the same as the local high school and so I didn't really stand out much.
"Hey, I'm DeeDee, are you shopping with us?" A blonde girl beside me asked.
That was the moment when I could have panicked. Zach was less than one metre away from me and I was hardly a good enough spy to be able to concentrate on not only grabbing the coin but also engaging in conversation. But I stayed calm as I replied in a slightly more southern accent "I'm Cameron, and yes if that's okay?"
"Of course" the girl replied as we passed by Zach and without a touch to his skin the coin was in my hand. I gripped it tightly. Only then did I feel it was safe to turn around and smirk at Zach who was searching his pockets frantically looking around. Even as I felt the group of girls slip past me and leave me in the open, straight where Zach could see me, he was still looking around in disbelief.
"Mr… Mr Solomon…" I saw Zach muttering into his comms and his voice filled my ear. "The coin… it's gone… I didn't even see anyone take it!"
"Nice one Cammie" I could hear the smile in Mr Solomon's voice.
"What?" Zach asked in disbelief as he continued to search the streets for me.
"Oh go on Cammie, he'll never see you" I could have sworn Mr Solomon held some pride in his voice. I sauntered up to Zach enjoying the moment as he blinked at me in disbelief.
"I… I don't understand… You…"
I shrugged. "Guess I'm just good at going unnoticed"
Zach was still staring at me and the coin in my hand.
"A pavement artist…" He muttered under his breath.
"What?" I frowned.
Zach blushed and looked away. "Nothing"
"Right…" I said slightly annoyed that he was obviously keeping something from me.
"Bex, your turn to take the coin from Cammie" I heard Mr Solomon say, but I wasn't really concentrating and it was no surprise to me that within five minutes the coin was no longer in my hand.
I carried on walking along the streets with Zach, both of us deep in thought and hardly registering Mr Solomon's voice in our ear's telling our classmates to take fingerprints and continue passing the coin. Suddenly Zach pulled me into a dark alleyway.
"What are you…" I started to say.
Zach gently brushed my hair behind my ear and turned off my comms unit, doing the same with his. We were plunged into silence.
"You were… amazing" Zach whispered.
"Thanks…" I muttered, not really sure if it was okay to accept a compliment for not really doing anything. I was pretty sure that although blending into a crowd was a good thing for a spy it wasn't so good for a girl. Zach's face was so close to mine I did a double take… he was leaning in; his lips were brushing against mine….
A loud vibrating sound from my pocket made us both jump back. I ignored it and continued to stare at Zach, leaning in towards him again…
"Aren't you going to get that?" Zach asked.
"Urm…" the phone vibrated again. I sighed and retrieved it out of my pocket, my heart pounding at the five unread messages that flashed up on the screen. I glanced at Zach who was watching me carefully and with shaking hands I opened the first message. It was from Evangeline.
It's so great without you here, Leonora and I just have midnight feasts every night now, please never come back.
I rolled my eyes, typical Evangeline. I deleted the message. Suddenly my breath hitched in my throat as I caught sight of the next text.
Hope your new school is okay, better not be replacing me with another guy, call me, Dillon. X
I deleted it and went on to the next.
Are you ignoring me? X
My heart pounded.
Cammie, you told me you'd keep in touch… I'm starting to think you're ignoring me, but I hope not… because that would be bad.
I clicked on the last message that had just been sent.
I don't care if you're ignoring me, I'm going to come and find you, I'll persuade you that you need me… I have a free day tomorrow, I'll visit you. We have a lot to catch up on… a lot to do…
I couldn't read the rest, I couldn't see the screen through the tears in my eyes, my breathing was fast and shallow and it wasn't until Zach grabbed my hands that I realised just how bad I was shaking.
"What's wrong?" Zach asked as he attempted to snatch the phone off of me, but I gripped onto it so hard that my knuckles were white.
"Nothing" I gritted my teeth
"Cammie, it didn't look like nothing" Zach grabbed for the phone, and this time he got it, his eyes quickly skimming over some of the text messages before I grabbed the phone and threw it down on the floor, watching the screen crack.
"Dillon?" Zach whispered.
"It's… It's…"
"What did he do to you Cammie?" Zach's hands gripped tightly into my shoulders. I opened my mouth to admit everything… but then I thought back to Dillon's smug smile, the way he always got what he wanted, what he would do to get it.
"Nothing" I said smoothly. "But…"
"But what!" Zach yelled as his fingers dug even deeper into my shoulders.
"Dillon's my boyfriend" I lied. "It was just… a shock to see a text from him"
"Boyfriend?" Zach asked warily and I felt his fingers relax against my shoulders. "So… so he hasn't hurt you? He's not blackmailing you, he…"
"Of course not" I tried my best to laugh mockingly. "Why would he? He's my boyfriend, I love him"
"Right" Zach's hands let go of my shoulders and dropped dead to his sides. His expression was unreadable. He reached to his ear and turned back on his comms.
"See you later" He said without looking at me as he stormed down the alleyway.
"Zach!" I yelled after him but he didn't even slow.
It was a while before I realised that my phone that lay smashed on the floor was vibrating against my foot… continually… meaning someone was calling me. I felt sick to my stomach as I picked it up and held it against my ear.
"Hi Dillon…"
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