Disclaimer: Step Up not mine. Music is 'Everything You Wanted' by Kele.

Chapter Seven;
Hit Rewind and Start Again

Constance couldn't take any more. It was like watching a small animal die. Her inability to say or do the right thing was eating her up and so she decided to take the low road and shove reality right into her roommate's face. It was for her own good.

"Oh god, this is pathetic." She stepped into the living room where Camille sat on the floor up against the kitchen bench. She was pretending to read something, but the last time Constance had emerged from her room she'd been on page nine. She was on page ten now and that had been an hour ago. "What are you listening to?" Some whimpy sad music floated out of the iPod dock and Constance leaned over the counter to read it. "'Everything You Wanted'? We're doing this now Cam? We're doing the 'sad music, reminiscing in the corner' thing now?"

Camille looked up. "I don't know what you're going on about." But her tone was falsely defiant and her eyes were red from crying.

"Would you get a grip? He's not on the other side of the country Cam, he's like three hours south, and he's called you what, a hundred times?"

"That's not the point Connie and you know it. This is just like our first year at NYU, all the sneaking around and not telling me, like I didn't even matter to him at all." She stood up and flicked off the iPod. "He told me the day he was leaving! Who does that?"

"Someone who isn't particularly good with words and emotions, someone impulsive and foolhardy, borderline foolish and with the emotional depth of a teaspoon. Basically, someone like Moose." Constance frowned. "Cam, what is this really about? I've never known you to be like this."

She sighed. "I don't know."

"Next time he calls would you just answer it and talk to him? Our answering machine is getting full of his messages." Constance patted her friend on the arm before turning to leave. She stopped halfway back to her room and came back for the iPod. "I'm taking this, just in case."

…

Moose's hotel room was cleaner than he liked, so when he returned he ruffled up the bed sheets and threw two clean towels onto the end in piles. It was a start at least.

Now feeling a little more at home with the place, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the messages. There was one from Ms. Sylvester telling him a boarding room at the school would be available for $50 a month if he needed it. He decided to take her up on it. He had one call from his mother asking him when graduation was happening. He opted to call her later on, when he had fully-formed his story for her, but nothing from Camille. With a sigh he threw the phone on the bed and headed for the shower.

…

Camille knew it was stupid, but typing those three numbers in before she followed it up with a very familiar cell phone number meant she could opt out without any fear of retribution. Of course if Constance knew Camille was using the call block system when she called Moose, her roommate would probably hang her out to dry.

The phone rang through to message bank however, and Camille didn't have to find out, the call ending with Moose's message.

"You've reached Robert Alexander the third, or Moose, if you please. I can't take your call right now so please leave a message after the beep."

But she didn't, just putting the phone back on the hook with a sigh.

…

Moose was certain he'd heard the phone ring when he was in the shower so when he emerged to find his phone informing him he had his heart leapt a little. With soft prayers under his breath, he pressed for more details and found it was a blocked number. Camille wouldn't block the number before she called… would she?

He hoped anyway and brought up her details. The picture beside her name was old, almost three years, but she hadn't changed much. Her hair was still that brilliant light brown, dead straight and running right down to the ends of her shoulder blades, and her cheeks still shone with that constant hint of pink, like she was persistently embarrassed. Everything about Camille was cute, but that didn't mean she was one to mess with, Moose knew that. He'd seen her bad side more than once, the fiery temper that bubbled under the surface if you pushed her too far, and his friend Erin hadn't been joking about her hanging him from her window over the streets of Manhattan.

After the eighth ring it went to her answering machine but Moose didn't relent, trying a second and third time, his heart telling him it was Camille that had called, no one else. On the fifth time he decided to leave a message.

"Hey Cammie, just got a missed call and thought maybe you didn't hate me so much anymore, well, hoped anyway. So I got the job down here. Hope you're proud of me." He paused. "I miss you."

…

'I miss you' had made Camille lift her head slowly, put Tibbles to the floor and walk over to the phone. She was about to pick it up and talk to him when he decided to ruin the moment as usual.

"It's pretty awesome down here actually. Sure, it's no New York, but in it's own interesting way."

'In it's own interesting way', in it's own 'it's not New York, it's not our place' kind of way. Cam just glared at the answering machine as he continued.

"My new boss is Chris, he's a cool guy, heir to the Eckhardt fortune or something or other," a crinkle sounded in the background and Camille could picture Moose's face as he tried to open those peppermint chocolates hotels sometimes left on your pillow. They'd gone on holidays together up to Niagara Falls back in their second year and Moose had burst into her hotel room on the first night demanding all the peppermint chocolates. Kristin hadn't handed hers over on first go so, when she went to shower, Moose stole Camille's door key and snuck in to steal it. He was constantly determined to get one-up on Kristin. "His great-grandfather was a dancer, inspirational type, reckon Jacob would like him. Luke too. Might tell him when he calls."

There was a small rip and a whew of success and Camille deemed the peppermint chocolate beaten. She was even more certain when Moose's voice came through a little muffled. She'd often chastised him for talking with his mouth full, but secretly it was part of his charm, and if he lost it then she'd truly be upset. "And this girl Holly, she and I auditioned together," Cam ignored the little green monster of jealousy screaming in her inner-ear, "she's nuts, makes everything a competition, but really great dancer. Sh…" there was a beep as the answering machine warned him he was out of time. "Be right back." He hung up and then the phone rang again, this time going straight through to the answering machine. It was Moose and he continued as if he'd never been cut off. "She's never had formal training which is pretty cool. I mean, she's not as good as me but…" he gave a laugh. "I know, I know, tabs on myself, got it."

Camille smiled a little. She often joked about his ego, told him he had tabs on himself, and the joke had become pretty constant between the two, so much so that Moose now saw it coming and mouthed along. This time the roles were reversed, Camille mouthing along as Moose finished the line with a 'tabs so heavy it's hard to walk' and she could only sigh. "Oh Moose."

"I better go, I'm leaving the hotel life behind and moving in to some school accommodation, so I should do that tonight before it gets too late. Promise to uphold your laws of hotel etiquette – steal all the soaps and shampoos." He laughed and Camille gave a tight smile. "If it was you that called then sorry I missed it. Washing my hair, you know how it is, it's hard to keep looking this good." He gave a popping sound with his lips, a sound he made when he was trying to find the right words to say. "Night Chameleon." Then, he was gone.

Reaching a hand towards the phone, Camille's hand darted between picking up the receiver and hitting the 'delete' button on the answering machine. In the end she pressed rewind and took it back to the start.

The answering machine woman came on.

"Received 16:31 June 4th 2014."

Taking a seat on the counter, ignoring Tibbles who was trying to gain her attention, Cam just closed her eyes and listened.

"Hey Cammie, just got a missed call and thought maybe you didn't hate me so much anymore…"