AN: Thank you for all of your love and reviews. Cammie is a little OOC in this chapter, but I think this is a reasonable action if your best friend is acting incredibly immature. Confused? Read on and you'll understand. And this is a long chapter for me (at least it felt like it).

Chapter 14: Cliché Flashbacks and Zach's Hotness

Cammie POV

There are many kinds of excitement. One common among teenagers is the hormone-ridden one which the whole of Gallagher Academy had experienced today with the arrival of the boys. But probably the most intense kind of excitement is anticipation. The thrill of not knowing what will come next, but knowing that it will be great. This was the exact emotion that Joe Solomon's sophomore CoveOps class felt as he led them out the doors of the academy and into the big vans. Oh and Dr. Steve.

It wasn't even a minute after departure that he started talking. "I say, Mr. Solomon, you've done an excellent job with these young ladies. Just excellent," My. Solomon just nodded slightly to show he heard. When no one commented, Dr. Steve tried again, "You ladies need to pay attention to this man. He's a living legend,"

"Just as long as they remember the most important part of that is the living,"

"Such excellent girls. Excellent,"

"Hey, what about us Blackthorne Boys?" Grant asked from behind me, "we're pretty great too,"

"Bex," I called over my shoulder. There was a smack, some muttering, and a chorus of "thank you, Bex"s.

"Well, you ladies may not know this, but your Mr. Solomon here is a Blackthorne alumni as well," Dr. Smith boasted. I agreed, any school would be proud to have Mr. Solomon as a graduate. My roommates and I already knew this of course, but there was a lot of excitement from the other girls. "Oh, while we're here Mr. Solomon, I would like to introduce you to Zachary Goode, one of the top students of his year at Blackthorne," Great, as if that boy needed a bigger head.

"Of course he's at the top," I muttered. Zach smirked.

"We've met," Mr. Solomon said after clearing his throat. Was it just me, or was Joeseph Solomon nervous?

"Damn right we have," Zach whispered angrily. I glared at him. I knew he was mad at Mr. Solomon for lying to him-heck I was as well-but there was no need to be rude.

"That's wonderful!" Apparently Dr. Steve was oblivious to the waves of tension radiating off of the two, "He's a wonderful spy. You would do well to follow in his footsteps, Mr. Goode,"

"Yeah, sure," Zach looked down, jaw clenched. "I'll make sure to get my best friend killed and lie to everyone I meet," Okay, enough was enough.

"Zachary Joeseph Goode. You stop it right now. I get that you're pissed at Mr. Solomon for lying to you. Hell, I am too," I looked at my godfather, who wouldn't meet my eyes, "but you're being obnoxious. You are a sixteen year old giving the silent treatment to the man you were named after and raised us because are dads weren't there. So grow up for once!" Zach just stared at me openmouthed. "And don't you ever talk about my dad like that," I turned to Mr. Solomon, "And you. You are going to explain why you and my mom lied to Zach and I for all these years. You wanna be my godfather? Start acting like it," I finished with a huff, tears prickling at the edge of my eyes.

The rest of the car ride was dead silent. I could feel Bex and Macey looking at me worriedly and Mr. Solomon not looking at me at all. Zach was ashamed, the other girls and boys were silently confused, and Dr. Steve was, well, Dr. Steve.

"All right ladies and gentlemen," Mr. Solomon said quietly when we had reached our destination, which was downtown Roseville, "your mission today is simple. Observe everything around you. In particular, we will be working on our brush passes. Who can define a brush pass? Ms. McHenry,"

"A brush pass is the act of covertly passing an object between two agents," Mr. Solomon handed out quarters, Comms Units, and pins (which were also cameras). "You will be partnering up. Practice passing the quarter back and forth discretely. Good luck,"

The van doors opened and we slid out. Zach grabbed my hand and I smiled up at him. Bex and Grant partnered up again. Macey was walking away from Nick towards Mary, another girl in our class. "Hey, Mary, can I be your partner?"

"Uh, what about..?" Mary gestured to Nick who looked annoyed.

Macey began to speak when Mr. Solomon said, "Ms. McHenry, I believe you already have a partner,"

The senator's daughter muttered something that sounded like, "Cammie, I hate your godfather,"

"Come on Mace," Nick tried to link his arm through Macey's, but she caught his hand and twisted his wrist upward.

"Don't touch me, Cross," Nick waved both hands in the air innocently.

"This is gonna be fun," I grinned.

Zach looked at me quizzically. "That doesn't seem like sarcasm,"

"It isn't. I love CoveOps,"

"Of course you do. I love it, so you do too," I rolled my eyes. It was sadly true. We were eerily alike.

"Don't tell Mr. Solomon. He'll get a big head," I whispered with a smile.

"I know you love my class, Cammie," Mr. Solomon said from behind us."And no, Zach, it's not because of you. It's because she's so goode at it," I grinned and Zach huffed indignantly at Mr. Solomon's use of his word. There was a warm feeling in my toes. The odds of Mr. Solomon complimenting you were less than the odds of winning a million dollars in the lottery. I was happy Zach's anger was gone, for now at least.

"So, Cammie. Did you come here often?" Zach's voice interrupted my mental celebration. I looked at the town square, with its neatly trimmed bushes and yellow streetlamps. The gazebo was still there, along with the movie theater and Abrams and Son pharmacy across the street. Everything looked the same, but I had changed so much since I had last been here. I realized Zach was still waiting for my response.

"Uh, yeah," I forced my voice to remain steady, "but the deputy of the CIA forced me to stop," Zach raised one eyebrow. Wow, that was hot. Focus, Cammie! Now is no time for the cliché flashbacks and Zach's hotness. Wait, Zach's my best friend! I shouldn't think that. Oh right, mission. I didn't know if I should be concerned of my mental rambling.

Mr. Solomon couldn't have picked a harder setting for a brush pass. Actually, knowing him, he could've. I shudder at what connections and capabilities that man has. There was little pedestrian traffic at this time of day, which was important in brush passing. Also, it was freezing today so I had to choose between wearing gloves (thereby limiting my hand movements) or getting frostbite. Mr. Solomon had complimented me and I didn't want to make him regret it. I slid off my gloves regretfully. Zach saw this and took my hand. Suddenly, it wasn't cold anymore.

AN: Yeah sorry, I had to stop somewhere. I didn't want to cut Josh short. So, did you like it? I took some segments out of the book. I just really like that scene. Josh up next!

Oh yeah, I'm going to draw (or attempt to draw) a cover for this story via Image manager. In your review, please tell me what you imagine Cammie and Zach look like (i.e. hair color, hair length, facial expression, features..etc.). Or tell me what celebrity you think they look like. It would be extremely helpful.

Love always,

Anh