So this is a long update, partly because I feel bad for not updating in so long, and partly because I'm leaving on vacation for a week in a couple days, but MOSTLY because there was a stopping point I had in mind for this chapter and I couldn't stand ending it any sooner.

So ENJOY!

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Ally Carter. I really own nothing at all except for some imagination and a lot of clothes. Too many clothes, to be exact.

Chapter TEN

Every year since I could remember I had attended the Roseville Fourth of July bonfire. As a little girl, my parents had taken me, flanking me on either side for the night. Now as a teenager, I drove with my closest friends to the old red barn that the town's big events were always held at.

Liz was sitting in the passenger seat as I parked the car. She was telling me about her week at Computer Camp - Bex had already heard all about it at the sleepover I'd missed at her house earlier this week.

"...and I mean, sure I could have called it quits then and been totally fine, but I really wanted to make a good impression with the counselors, you know? So, I whipped up a little extra code and really made some magic."

"That's awesome. I bet you wiped the floor with all those other camp-goers."

Liz blushed, forever the humble genius. "I don't know about that. Everyone there was so motivated, you know?" She grabbed one of her braided pig-tails and wound it around a figure. "To be honest, I felt kind of average in comparison."

Bex leaned in between the two front seats from her position in the back and took a long, hard look at our brilliant friend. "Liz, no one could ever describe you as average."

She blushed again and smiled. "Thanks." She muttered, and then she turned to look out the window.

I turned off the main road and followed a skinny dirt road that led to the old town barn. Plenty of people had already arrived so we had to park further back. As we stepped out of the car, the ground behind our feet was spongy from the rain the night before. If I could avoid falling on my ass and getting mud stains, tonight was looking to be pretty good.

A car honked at us as we headed down the rest of the road. I spun my head around and saw Abby in the driver's seat, grinning like a mad man. She rolled down her window and stuck her head out. "Just so I know, how crazy do these shindigs get?"

I smiled back at her. "On occasion they have been known to get pretty crazy."

Bex slung her arm around my shoulders. "Don't you worry, Abby. Cammie's definition of crazy is a bit tamer than the average person's."

I scowled at her and tried to shrug off her shoulder but she just hugged to me her tighter. Abby laughed and stuck her head back in her car and turned to Zach who was in the passenger seat. I tried to make eye contact with him but he was talking to someone on the phone. He seemed almost...upset.

Abby said something to him and he shook his head, then she stuck her head out of the window once more. "We'll see you guys there, okay? Gotta go park and shit."

I waved goodbye as they reversed. Bex and I turned back towards where the barn and festivities were. Liz was a little further down the road from us, having run into Mr. Mosckowitz, our science teacher and her self-professed mentor. As we reached the two of them Mr. M was delivering the punch line of a chemistry joke that I wouldn't have understood even if I'd been there for the beginning. Liz, however, hooted with laughter.

"Oh, that's gold, Mr. M," she said through her laughter, "Pure gold."

Mr. M smiled cherubically, glad to have at least one pupil that truly appreciated his genius. "Thank you very much, Miss Sutton. Now, I hope you ladies have a lovely evening."

So, the three of us set off yet again, this time actually managing to reach our destination. The bonfire.

The fire wasn't lit yet, but the party had certainly begun. Tents were set up with heaping tables of food beneath them, screens in place to keep the bugs away. From the old, red barn drifted the sounds of The Beatles, letting us know that the dance party was free to start. And over by the fireworks were some of our classmates, some of them snickering over their fantasies of setting the fireworks off early while others stood with their backs turned to the growing crowd as they sneaked sips from a shiny, silver flask.

From the look on Bex's face, I could tell she wasn't against joining the crowd by the fireworks and joining in on the flask-sharing. However, I could see Tina in the middle of that crowd and as we were meeting Macey here, I knew she wouldn't take kindly to us amicably sharing alcohol with my co-worker.

I said as much to Bex and she sighed with resignation. "Fine, but where is that girl? I thought she said she left before us?"

This was true. Plus, Macey's house was nearer to the site of the party than any of ours' were. Where was Macey indeed?

We scoured the crowd looking for her, somehow drifting to the food tables. We filled our plates up with pulled pork sandwiches and fruit and chips and then sat down at a table as near to the line of parked cars as we could get. Still, we didn't catch sight of her until our plates were empty and our stomachs full.

She seemed to just appear in the middle of the crowd, people passing her by in all directions. I yelled out her name and she turned towards us. She smiled at us and headed our way but I could tell something was bothering her. She walked just a little bit too fast and her fingers were twitching at her sides.

She sat down in the open chair between Bex and Liz. "Hey, guys. I've been looking all over for you! I thought we were meeting in the barn."

Bex and I exchanged a look. She was lying and we knew it. But Macey was our friend and we had to give her the benefit of the doubt. If she was lying, there must be a reason. "Sorry about that," I said, "Must have slipped my mind."

She shrugged and stole a grape off Liz's plate. "You can make it up to me later. You guys want to head over to the barn? The DJ's pretty good this year."

She led the way over to the barn, only pausing for us to throw out our trash. The interior of the barn was decorated from floor to ceiling. Twinkle lights hung from the rafters, flashing on and off. Cut-outs of fireworks and patriotic wreaths were plastered all over the walls. Streamers were everywhere. Bistro-style tables were lined up along the walls so there was a place for people to sit when they grew tired. But the majority of people were in the middle of the barn, where the dance floor was set up.

Everywhere I turned, I saw stars. They were on the table covers, on the walls, on the balloons floating up in the rafters. All around us, people were sporting Mardi Gras necklaces with little star pieces that sparkled when they caught the light.

"Roseville does know how to throw a party." I mumbled.

"What?" Macey hadn't heard me over the loud beat of the music. I shook my head to tell her I was talking to myself and she moved on. "Let's dance!" She shouted.

Before I could refuse she laced her hand in mine and tugged me to the dance floor. She pushed between the swaying bodies that filled the room until we were encompassed by it all. She let out a shout of joy and joined in with the other bodies. Whereas on the outskirts of the room, people were doing simple four-step dances or perhaps just moving from one foot to the other an arm's width apart, here couples were pressed together, not an inch air separating them. It wasn't exactly a sight for children but then again, parents knew that and kept the younger kids outdoors at the start of the evening. Their reasoning was that it was safer to keep the town's teenagers at a town party on one of the year's greatest holidays rather than run the risk of them getting into trouble God knows where with God knows who.

It was an awkward system for all persons involved but also one that worked. You got into a fight with a boyfriend? Don't go running into the arms of some strange boy with a tattoo of Donald Duck on his ass; go home with your parents. You got a little wasted? Ask Officer Anderson for one of the puke bags he also kept handy on this night.

The Fourth of July Bonfire was the one night of the year that mistakes were simultaneously made and forgiven. Not necessarily forgotten but definitely not held over our heads. Even my mother was lenient tonight - primarily because it was the only night of the year that she ended up sloshed and felt she had no ground to judge on.

"Cammie, come on!" Macey shouted over the music. "I can't dance alone!"

I had to shout just as loud back. "I don't know if you can consider what you're doing dancing!"

She scowled and grabbed my hands again. She wiggled her hips to the quick beat of the party music, forever the more rhythmic of the two of us. I could see Bex and Liz working their way through the last ring of the crowd and then they were beside us. Bex immediately joined in with Macey. Liz and I tried to keep up to the best of our abilities but Liz had two left feet and I...I was just a bit too shy to go full on dancing.

But even the most self-conscious person can lose themselves in the moment and it wasn't long until the four of us were grooving along in the middle of the crowd. We swayed and twisted and turned and eventually had to leave for some air. Extrication was tricky, however. We'd been dancing for well over an hour and more people had joined the crowd, meaning there were more bodies to push aside and more apologies and yelps of pain as feet were stepped on or ribs elbowed.

Eventually, we made it outside where the sun had finally set and they were preparing to light the bonfire. A throng had gathered around the giant heap of wood. The fire department was on hand, one of their big, bright red trucks within view in case the fire got out of control.

The four of us grabbed glasses of water and found a place to sit, waiting for the first match to be lit. The DJ in the barn cut the music long enough to announce that the bonfire was about to be lit and if anyone wanted to enjoy the show, now was the time to leave. There was much whistling and shouts of excitement and then the music picked up again, this time with a much more patriotic message.

Mayor McHenry approached the unlit bonfire as "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" blared through the speakers, a giant match in his hand. The DA finished pouring some last minute lighter fluid as the mayor struck the match. It blazed bright like a shooting star as he tossed it into the middle of the woodpile. The flame caught immediately.

The crowd cheered. "Hoorah! Hoorah!"

Mayor McHenry bowed deeply. "You're welcome! Happy Fourth of July, everyone!"

There was much agreement and the crowd began to move again as the playlist moved onto "The Star-Spangled Banner." The adults around us were all drinking, depending on the licensed kids in town to drive everyone home. I noticed my mother on the other side of the fire with Abby and Mr. Sanders, the three of them chatting over beers. Macey, on the other hand, was doing everything she could not to look at her father who had been absorbed into the cheery crowd of increasingly intoxicated adults. To say that Macey and her father had a rocky relationship was putting it lightly. They were constantly shifting back and forth from fighting to tolerating, and right now it looked like they were doing the former.

"I hate that I have to drive home tonight." She exclaimed. "What I would do if I could drink right now."

"Probably do something you'd regret." Liz said.

Bex grinned wickedly. "Or someone."

Macey made a face at her and stood up from her seat. "Ready to dance some more?"

Bex and Liz shook their heads. Both of them wanted to watch the bonfire (and the drunken idiots we called our parents) a bit longer. Macey turned to me for support but found none.

"Actually, I'm gonna make a call."

I could tell she was disappointed, not just that she now had to dance alone but because I was distancing myself from the party to make a call. It was as if she knew who I was going to call and disapproved. But that made no sense. Why would Macey disapprove of me talking to my boyfriend?

She left without another word, heading back to the barn where most of the kids in attendance tonight were now congregating (no child likes to see parents partying - it's just sad). I went in the opposite direction toward another building on the old town property that was usually used for storage. As I walked through the damp grass, I pulled out my phone and typed in Josh's number.

It rang three times before someone picked up. But it wasn't the voice I was expecting. "Hello?"

"Who is this?" I asked, but of course I already knew.

"DeeDee. Do you have the wrong number?"

I stopped walking even though the building was still several yards away. "DeeDee, this is Cammie. I was hoping to talk to my boyfriend."

My skin itched, and I told myself to not sound bitchy, but another girl was answering my boyfriend's phone!

The ho-bag on the other end of the line gasped in surprise. "Oh, dear. I'm so sorry, Cammie! I thought I was answering my phone - "

A likely story, ho.

" - we have the same phones and I guess the same ringtone. Oops!"

I sighed. "That's fine, DeeDee. Is Josh there?"

She paused. "Um, he's, uh...no, he's not."

"Then where is he?" My voice came out almost sounding like a hiss and I wanted to slap myself for sounding so much like a clingy, possessive girlfriend that couldn't draw the line between loving and leering.

DeeDee had definitely picked up on my attitude now, and when she responded it was with great care. "He's eating dinner in the village with a couple of others in our group. I wasn't feeling well so I stayed here...in his room."

Suddenly, I couldn't stay still. I paced back and forth between my original position and the edge of the storage shed. "Why would you stay in his room? Why not your own?"

"Cammie, really there's nothing for you to worry about."

"Why don't you leave that for me to decide."

She said nothing and it irritated me even more that she was staying so calm, that she saw nothing with her - the perfect, giving American sweetheart from South Carolina - spending time in my boyfriend's room. My boyfriend. Not hers. How dare she accommodate herself into his life like that?

I couldn't stop the next words that came out of my mouth, and I wouldn't have wanted to even if I could. "I don't like very much, DeeDee. In fact, I don't like you at all."

There was silence for a moment and then she said, "You completely misunderstand."

"No," I said fiercely, "You do. Josh is my boyfriend even if he is an ocean away. You think you can sing songs and walk along the beach together, and he'll fall in love with you? Please. Josh and I have history. And that's more than you'll ever have with him."

"Cammie - "

I cut her off. I was fed up with this conversation. I was fed up with the monster it was bringing out in me. "Tell Josh I called."

I hung up without saying anything else. There was a fire burning in my chest just as hot as the one reaching to the sky in the distance behind me. My head pounded and my hands were sweating. I felt nauseous, whether from hearing DeeDee answer Josh's phone or from the cruel words I had so carelessly tossed at a girl who I knew deep down didn't mean me any harm or disrespect.

I rubbed my hands over my eyes as if it could erase the past few minutes. Anything to make this pain go away. Perhaps it was because I was so desperately searching for a distraction that I heard the sounds of people on the other side of the shed and went to see who it was.

I was not prepared for what I saw.

Eva Alvarez had her back pushed up against the exterior wall of the shed, her boobs just about ready to burst from her low-cut tank top. She had her most seductive smile on and her hands were gripping the waist of none other than Zachary Goode. He was leaning into her, both of his hands on either side of her head. It took me less than a second to realize he was about to kiss her and less than a second after that to feel the wave of shock come crashing down on me.

"Oh."

Like so many other words tonight, I hadn't meant to say it, but it was heard nonetheless. Zach glanced over at me, at first disinterestedly, and then he did a double-take. He shoved himself away from Eva who gave a whine of protest, but he paid her no mind.

"Cammie." He said.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude." Of course, it wasn't like I had barged into a locked room. They were outdoors during the middle of the Fourth of July bonfire. Someone was bound to witness them and their dirty act. But I could tell from the look on Zach's face as he neared me that he wished it hadn't been me.

"Cammie," he repeated, but this time I didn't say anything in reply. I turned to leave but he had reached me and grabbed my elbow, forcing me to stay. "I didn't mean for you to see that."

There was something about his voice that was off, or perhaps it was just that I was seeing him in a new light.

"Zach, it's fine. You're a single guy." I said, trying to shake off his grip to no avail. "You can do whatever you want."

Eva appeared at his shoulder. "Zach," she whined. "Let Cammie go. You made me a promise last time we saw each other."

Despite myself, I raised an eyebrow in curiosity. I recalled the conversation I'd had with Tina at work a few weeks earlier about some bad boy fella that Eva had gotten in trouble with at the beginning of the summer. I had a sneaking suspicion that I knew who that boy had been.

I knew the second he realized I knew. "Fuck."

His grip loosened and I was able to free myself just in time to avoid Eva launching herself at Zach's chest. He pushed her off of himself easily enough, but I wasn't in the mood to watch them make out with each other. I started to walk away, but he called after me again. He grabbed at me a second time, but I avoided his hold.

"Cammie, just wait a damn second, will you?" He yelled. "Give me a chance to explain."

I whipped around to face him. He was only a few feet behind me, Eva still by the shed pouting. "What's there to explain, Zach? Why shouldn't you and Eva hook up? What's wrong with that picture?"

I shoved away the thought that told me everything was wrong with that picture.

"You're both single. Both attractive enough. Of course, you'd want to hook up!"

I became aware that my voice was getting quite loud and consciously worked to keep it down.

"It's fine, Zach."

"No, it's not," he disagreed. "It was stupid and irresponsible and a complete mistake."

I did my best to keep my voice even. "Then why'd you do it?"

He waved his arms in exasperation. "Maybe it was all of the smoke inhalation from that stupid bonfire or the booze or the fact that this has been a shit night and the only person I actually wanted to spend it with was apparently too busy talking into her phone to even look for me."

He shot a pointed look at the phone still in my hand but I disregarded that. Instead I focused on the second thing he'd said. "The booze? Zach, are you drunk?"

He rolled his eyes. "No. Though I wouldn't rule out tipsy."

"You're quite articulate for a drunk person."

"Cammie."

"No, seriously. I'm such a lightweight; I start slurring after one beer."

He glared at me, letting me know that he did not appreciate me trying to lighten the mood.

I looked at the ground. "I guess this has kind of been a shit night for me, too."

He stepped closer to me. "I'm really sorry, Cammie. I...I didn't want you to see that."

I looked up at his face, just a feet away from my own. Regret was etched on every inch of it. "Sometimes we do things we regret."

I know I do.

He let out a bitter laugh. "I was so ready to have a good time tonight, you know? And then I got this call on the way here..."

He trailed off, glaring at the fire still burning behind me. I could see the flames reflected in his eyes, raging. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

His answer was resolute. Certain. And I realized that while he meant it when he regretted me seeing him and Eva together, he despised whatever had brought him to those actions in the first place. And what's more, I wasn't sure he'd ever trust me enough to tell me what it was about that phone call that made him so mad and so desperate for a distraction.

We stood that way for a while longer. Eva grew impatient, waiting for the stoic boy in front of me that showed no inclination of returning to her and left, and I had no desire to return to a party that now seemed tainted from my own phone call. So we stood together but separate, both of us fixated on problems not within our reach - problems that lay a phone call away.

Thoughts, questions, feelings? What did you think about the end?