Chapter 25

When I say 'biggest shopping center for miles', I hope you aren't envisioning a huge building with dozens of stores because if you are you would be entirely wrong. The Roseville mall is pathetically small, the biggest attraction is the food court with like, 8 different fast food places and maybe a few more local restaurants that have made the mall their home. There are maybe half a dozen stores in the mall that Macey would even consider taking us to, and that would probably end with no more than a handful of bags for each of us. Not quite the shopping trip we were planning on. Oh well, I'm sure Macey would find plenty of time for the two of us to go shopping once we met up with her parents.

"Okay Macey, where are we headed first?" Bex asked.

"Well...There's not exactly a lot of options. Let's window shop for a while and see where that takes us." Macey decided, lips pursed.

"Maybe you'll find a good boutique." Liz joked. Macey looked significantly more excited.

"Ugh...Gallagher's not even in session, how do they know we're Gallagher Girls?" Bex asked in reference to the glares we were receiving.

"Maybe our clothing has something to do with it?" I suggested gesturing to our outfits. It wasn't too out of place, but it definitely more expensive than most people in Roseville had.

"Nothing to be done, we're only going to be here a couple hours anyway." Macey pointed out as she surveyed the stores like a hawk. "There."

She lead us to a small store that she never would've given the time of day before forswearing everything but boutiques. We perused the shelves and racks, just browsing but before long Macey had found three complete outfits for all of us. We moved on to the next store.

As we searched for a new store we watched almost every citizen of Roseville practically dive to get away from us. Were we really that bad?

"You guys, it's getting worse." I pointed out to my friends.

"Yeah no joke...they've never done this before." Liz mentioned but a memory flew into place.

They had done this before, just a few months earlier when the Blackthorne Boys were here on exchanged. I nonchalantly whipped myself around, looking for any sign of our boyfriends. I caught sight of them out of the corner of my eye and managed to let out a small squeal in warning before Zach wrapped his arms around me and lifted me off the ground, spinning me in circles.

"Gotcha!" He whispered in my ear. I couldn't help it, I grinned at him.

"How did you guys get here so fast?" I asked in reply. I knew they would come after us.

"We're special. We missed you girls. You've been very naughty." He told me as he pulled closer to me and kissed me softly.

"I'm sorry." I told he gently.

"So you're not going to run away any more?" He teased.

"Well I don't think I ever ran in the first place, with my ankle being injured and all." I said technically.

"Mhmm." He kissed me once more then rested his forehead on mine. "No more running?"

"No promises but...no more running." I told him.

"Good." He smiled and kissed me.

"Cam, come on!" Macey called from a few feet away,

"Coming!" I replied, grabbing Zach's hand and pulling him along with me.

"So looks like we've got pack mules." Macey commented once we were all lined up again. Laughing, she handed her bags to Preston who took them graciously.

Bex handed hers to Grant while Jonas took Liz's and slipped his hand into her now free one. Zach looked over and held out a hand for my bags and I shook my head stubbornly. He rolled his eyes and pressed his lips to mine then took advantage of the distraction and wrestled the bags from me. I gave him a stern look but he just grinned and offered his arm to me. I took it with a grin and a blush.

"Did someone tell Solomon that the boys joined us?" Bex asked.

"No." Liz replied.

"Nope." Macey shook her head.

"I'll do it." I said as I turned the microphone on my comms on. I didn't know Joe's code name so I had to improvise. "Incoming message."

"Go for Blackhawk." Joe's voice came through my earpiece.

"We've picked up a few stray puppies. Four to be exact." I told him.

"Arrangements for transport will be made." He replied and I clicked the microphone off.

"We're good." I informed everyone. Zach gave me a look.

"Puppies?" He asked skeptically.

"It's because they're so adorable." I told him with pinching his cheek.

"Hey guys, let's check this out." Macey gestured to a small store across the mall.

"Watch how they run." Bex mumbled as the shoppers at Roseville scurried out of their way. I rolled my eyes.

"So as much fun as it would be to come in and wander aimlessly around the store, I think we're just going to wait out here." Zach informed us after the boys had walked us to the door.

"Good, you'd just distract Cammie anyway. Let's go." Macey commented, turning into the store. Zach stole one last kiss before I followed after her.

This store was full of dresses. Not the super fancy ones, the more casual everyday ones. They also had plenty of skirts and shirts to go with them. Macey took this opportunity to 'girl-ify' me and Bex. She thought we had far too many pairs of pants and shorts that were too 'manly'. After trying on and buying more skirts and dresses than I could wear in a lifetime (I might be exaggerating) we made our way out of the store.

We found the boys passing the time by playing hacky sack. Their make-shift sack being a crumpled up piece of paper. It was rather impressive to watch, they had commandeered basically half of the corridor for their game so they had to launch it rather far to pass it to the next person.

Liz was the one to interrupt their game, she ran through the middle of the circle and launched herself into Jonas' arms who responded by spinning her around like a disney princess. It was adorable. Grant, who was in possession of the hacky sack, hurried to catch it before it could hit Liz and Jonas before crossing to Bex and kissing her softly. Preston reached Macey and placed a kiss to her cheek before taking her bags. Zach simply came up behind me and nuzzled against my neck.

"Okay, where to next?" Preston asked once we had all said our hello's.

"I don't think there's much else for us to do...this mall is so small. Let's see what's downstairs and then we'll go wait for Solomon I guess." Macey replied.

"Down the stairs we go." Grant said excitedly before swinging Bex's bags over his shoulder.

We made our way to the escalator and made our way down the steps. Much to Grant and Zach's dismay, Bex and I jumped over the side of the escalator when we were about halfway down and scared the crap out of the shoppers down there. After being threatened to be carried around the rest of the day, we begrudgingly agreed to not pull any more stunts that day. We wandered aimlessly around the bottom of the floor of the mall when it happened.

"Cammie?" A far too familiar voice came from behind me.

"Every freaking time…" I mumbled just low enough for my friends to hear. "Hey Josh."

"Oh it is you…" Josh said sheepishly.

Maybe being with Zach had made me more daring. Maybe Bex was finally rubbing off on me. Maybe I was just deep into my cover. I don't really have an explanation for what happened next.

"Yeah. Obviously." I replied sharply. He looked up in shock.

"How've you been?" Josh asked carefully.

"Great. You?" I asked indifferently. Zach came up behind me and wrapped his free hand around my waist and nuzzled my hair, calming me slightly. I leaned into his touch.

"Good...I see you're still with…" He trailed off.

"Zach." I supplied.

"Yeah...him." He mumbled, looking at his feet. "You look good."

I don't think he meant in that moment but I suppose it made sense if he did. I was wearing a pair of cut off jean shorts with a crop top and high top sneakers and a flannel around my waist. A favorite ensemble of mine apparently, I've worn it a lot so far this summer.

"Thanks. You still with DeeDee?" I asked as Zach somehow managed to pull me closer, distracting me.

"Uh...yeah. Yeah, we're still together." He replied as he watched Zach hold me, his hand worming its way tighter around my waist.

"Good. We should probably go. Bye Josh." I said before turning on my heel and walking away, without even waiting for a reply.

As soon as we were out of earshot, I exhaled sharply.

"Wow Cam, I didn't know you had it in you." Bex praised, a look of pride in her eyes.

"It's about time you shut him down for good." Macey agreed. I shrugged.

"I'm glad you have Zach, Cammie." Liz said kindly. I smiled at her.

"Thanks Liz. Me too." I said as I turned to look at Zach we made eye contact and he took the opportunity to put his lips to mine.

"Ugh. Enough you two, you've made it this long without any serious make out sessions. Don't start now." Bex said interrupting our PDA.

"Cammie!" Josh's voice yelled from behind us. This couldn't be good.

Zach growled. I found myself inclined to agree with the sentiment. I sighed as I followed my friends to a nearby bench. There was no telling how long this might take so they might as well sit down. The boys dropped the bags and arranged themselves to watch the show.

I stood leaning on one leg to keep some pressure off my bad ankle, arms crossed as I waited for Josh. Zach stood next to me with an arm flung casually around my shoulders, supporting more of my weight.

"What now Josh?" I asked irritated as he finally caught up to us.

"Why didn't you tell me? That you went to Gallagher?" He questioned, making and keeping eye contact.

I gave him an 'are-you-serious' look. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to know." I said slowly, as if speaking to a child.

"Why didn't you want me to know?" He asked again.

"The same reason I didn't tell my grandma I broke her vase." I replied. "It would get me into trouble."

"How would that get you into trouble? Did you think I wouldn't like a Gallagher girl? Do you really think I'm that shallow?" He asked wildly.

Trouble in Roseville was one of the main reasons I didn't tell him. Another was I really did think he wouldn't like me if I told him. I was so...naive then. My experience with Josh was good for me, I needed it but I would never go back there. Especially not now. He couldn't know the truth.

"I mean trouble at school Josh, Gallagher girls aren't allowed off school property without an escort. Do you know how many times I snuck out? I could've been expelled if they found out." I didn't mention the fact that they did find out.

Josh stumbled a bit and Zach took the opening.

"Looks like someone has a high sense of their own importance." He said with a small smirk. Josh ignored him.

"Why did you date me at all Cammie? Why bother? Why lie?" He continued to stare at my eyes.

"Because I was bored Josh." Harsh, but necessary. And unfortunately slightly true. "It was all just a game."

He steeled his nerve and looked right into my eyes.

"I don't believe that." He stated. Then he proceeded to do the stupidest thing he could've done.

He took three steps forward and pressed his lips to mine. Immediately, I shoved him off and wrestled away from him just in time for Zach to come forward with a full strength left hook.

Now most guys are pretty strong, Josh himself was not weak but he wasn't exactly strong either. Gallagher Girls are stronger than most people in the world. Blackthorne Boys were stronger. Fully trained spies and assassins are stronger still. Zachary Goode's full strength left hook with a surge of emotion behind it was the strongest.

Zach's fist flew true as it connected with Josh's nose. Immediately blood gushed out of it, Josh stumbled back and the blow proved to be too strong as he passed out. A knock-out with one intense blow.

Grant, Preston, and Jonas were on their feet in a flash, grabbing Zach's arms in an attempt to restrain him. Bex, Macey, and Liz followed right behind as they ran to my side and pulled me out of the way, making sure I didn't get hurt (I had to mentally roll my eyes at the thought, Zach, hurt me?). Zach quickly calmed down after seeing that Josh was unconscious on the floor. After breaking away from his friends he came to my side and quickly checked to make sure that I was alright. After reassuring himself that I was okay we turned to Josh, needing a decision on what to do with him but one of the passerby's had called security. As soon as it was known that Gallagher Girls and Blackthorne Boys were involved, security made it there faster than should have been possible. We were informed that charges wouldn't be pressed but we were not to return to the mall for six months. Then, we were escorted from the Roseville mall.

"Well that was quite the adventure." Bex commented as we loaded our bags into the van.

"That was awesome." Grant agreed with a grin.

"Quite the impressive display." I said with a glance at Zach. I know I shouldn't condone violence but he was defending my honor, I thought it was adorable. If unnecessary. "I only wish I got a hit in."

Zach chuckled and kissed my cheek. "Plenty of time for that. I don't think they've got him to a hospital yet if you wanna sneak in and find him."

"No way! You two are going to be the death of me." Macey forbid as she leaned against the van.

"Aww come on Macey, it'd be fun. It's not like they'd get caught." Preston argued as he gently held her hand.

"It's best if we stay out here. Solomon will be here any minute." Liz pointed out as she held Jonas' arm.

"What are we going to do when we get back to Gallagher?" Jonas asked.

"Eat." I replied as I thought longingly of Chef's creme brulee. I wonder if we could convince him to make it for us.

"Cammie, stop thinking about Chef's creme brulee." Bex groaned from a few feet away.

"Only when you stop thinking about his pan fried steak!" I rebutted as I knew exactly what was on her mind.

"If we don't get food into them soon, we're gonna have a serious problem." Macey said urgently.

"There's no way you two knew what the other was thinking about." Jonas protested.

"Um, there's absolutely a way. They do it all the time. I can't figure it out." Liz argued.

"It's the secret power of best friends." Bex informed them.

"We can read each other's minds." I added.

"There's no way that's real." Jonas argued.

"We can prove it. Whisper something to Bex, something she'd never say to me and I'll read her mind. Watch, it's real." I suggested and Jonas took up the challenge.

He walked to Bex and covered his mouth as he leaned in and whispered something. He watched Bex carefully to make sure she didn't make any signals and I read her mind. There's no exact science to prove that this is real, but Bex and I never failed to read each other's minds. This was no exception.

I turned to look at Preston and cocked an eyebrow. "You sleep with a teddy bear?"

"You told them!" Preston exclaimed.

"Thanks for confirming it." Bex said in her british accent.

"There's no way that's real, you cheated." Jonas protested.

"Don't bother fighting it Jonas, you could tell them something only you know and the other will be able to read their mind." Macey said with a smile.

"It's starting to work with Macey too. Liz refuses to try it." I added.

"It doesn't make sense." Jonas exclaimed.

"Frustrating isn't it?" Liz agreed.

"I'm sure you will be able to figure it out one day, but for now we need to go find food." Bex reassured them.

"Why don't we just go find Joe then head back to Gallagher? My ankle's starting to hurt." I admitted.

"Yeah my wrist is too. Let's get Solomon." Bex agreed but before we could get four steps we were swept off our feet. Literally.

"Zach, any particular reason you're carrying me?" I asked calmly.

"Yeah, you've got a sprained ankle." He explained as he moved me to his back, piggyback style.

"Good reason. I can, however, still walk." I reminded him.

"And I can carry you. It's more fun this way, just let it happen." He said holding me securely to his back.

I looked to see Bex having a similar argument with Grant. It seemed she too lost her argument as Grant moved her from his arms to his back. Grant altered his step so he was standing next to Zach and they started having a conversation about how stubborn Bex and I were.

"You too, huh?" I asked as Bex slumped against Grant's back.

"Yeah. It's not so bad though." She then checked to make sure Jonas and Preston weren't looking before covering her mouth on the side facing our boyfriends and mouthing 'They've got extremely muscular backs.'

I finally acknowledged what I had been thinking the whole time and let myself have a girl moment, freaking out about how buff my boyfriend was. It was great. I grinned before mouthing back 'I know, right?'

"Are you two talking about us?" Grant asked suddenly.

"No." Bex replied evenly.

"Are you sure?" Zach asked.

"Very. Why do you ask?" I responded.

"Well you are mouthing things secretly to each other. It's all very...secret." Grant pointed out.

"We just like driving you crazy. Is it working?" Bex replied, leaning close to Grant's ear.

Grant grinned wildly and closed his eyes for a moment.

"Well it seems to be working on Grant." I whispered to Zach and he laughed.

"Hey guys, do you think we should split?" Macey asked from up ahead.

"No, it will take us longer to find each other again. We should probably call Solomon though." Liz called from behind us.

"Good idea. Actually, speaking of calling, do you four have our phones?" Macey asked.

"Now that you mention it, we may have picked them up." Preston replied innocently.

I rolled my eyes and turned on the mic on my com.

"Blackhawk, location." I asked quietly, leaning forward on Zach's back so it looked like I was whispering to him.

"Nearing main." He replied, but he wasn't that stupid. While we weren't doing anything particularly dangerous, he wasn't going to give away his real location. 'Nearing main' probably meant 'I'm basically as far as you can get from main street' so he was probably near where we were.

"Meet at rendezvous." Bex's voice broke through the com before I could say anything else.

"ETA: ten minutes." Solomon replied. Knowing Solomon, he probably meant five minutes. Just enough time for us to get back to the van.

We told the others and we adjusted our course so we were headed for the mall parking lot.

"So Zach, where's my phone?" I asked as we made our way through the crowds. Or rather, the crowds made their way around us.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He responded cheekily.

"I would, that's why I asked." I replied in the same tone. He chuckled.

"Front left pocket." He told me and I leaned over his shoulder and reached into aforementioned pocket. As promised, there was a phone but it was his.

"This is your phone." I pointed out. He frowned.

"Could've sworn it was yours. Hey, while you've got it, check out the screensaver." He totally planned this. I smiled and obliged him.

"Hey, where'd you get this?" I asked as I surveyed a picture of the two of us, our lips locked. It was from just a couple days ago when Sawyer and the guys were over for a beach party.

"Grant took it. He showed it to me the other night and I set it as my screensaver. The picture of you winking is the home screen." He informed me.

I leaned forward and kissed his cheek before slipping his phone back into his pocket and reaching into the other to grab my phone.

"You didn't change anything this time did you?" I asked teasingly.

"You'll have to wait and see." He said cryptically. I couldn't tell if he was serious so I would have to go through my whole phone and find out.

"Hey snobs!" A voice broke through the crowds. Dillon. Seriously?

We didn't bother stopping. None of us wanted to deal with him today, not after Josh.

"I'm talking to you, brats!" He yelled after us. Did you really expect us to stop?

"How far are we from the van?" Bex asked rhetorically from Grant's back.

"Too far." I commented gravely.

"I kinda want to knock him out, too." Zach commented.

"Don't. He's not worth it." I said, leaning against his back. "Josh probably wasn't either. Are your knuckles bruised?"

"Nah, I'm fine." He brushed off my concern but I still wanted to check his hand. It was a hard hit.

"What, you jerks think you can break my best friends face and then walk away? There's going to be consequences this time." Dillon said angrily as he finally caught up with us.

"We don't want trouble." Grant said calmly.

"Well isn't that unfortunate? I'm serious pretty boy, you aren't going to get away with this." He said popping his knuckles. Idiot.

"What, you want to fight us?" Zach asked surprised.

"No, I want to kick your butts." He said seriously.

"Oh, well that's not going to happen." Preston commented as we continued for the van.

Dillon paused slightly after Preston's comment so he was behind Bex and I, but in front of Liz. Then he made a horrible mistake.

"Hey, I was talking to you." Dillon said as he reached forward and pulled me off of Zach's back.

Before anyone could even really process what happened, Zach had delivered rapid rabbit punches to Dillon's face, causing him to stumble to the ground. I had landed hard on my ankle but stayed on my feet. Bex broke away from Grant and Liz ran forward to make sure that I was okay while Jonas and Grant stood on either side of Zach for back up.

"I'm warning you townie, don't try that again. I don't want to put you in the hospital but I will. I think it's best if you just head on back to where ever you came from." Zach threatened.

Dillon gave us all one last dirty look before spitting at us and going on his way.

"Cam, are you okay?" Macey asked concerned.

"Yeah, fine." I replied, then Zach was there.

"You're sure? It looked like you landed hard." Zach commented as he examined me carefully.

"Yeah, absolutely. I'm good. Just tired." I said with a shrug. Zach surveyed me once more before hoisting me onto his back again.

"Let's go find Solomon. I want to get out of here." Liz commented as Zach pulled me onto his back.

"Do you think you can avoid beating up anymore townies, Zach?" Macey teased lightly and Zach chuckled good naturedly.

"I'll do my best." He replied cheekily.

"Would someone like to explain what happened?" Solomon's voice asked from behind us.

Bex sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"It's kind of a long story." She said helplessly. Once again we began our trek to the van, as Bex explained.