When Trina returned to the dorm, she found Joss waiting for her.
"Hey, where have you been? I was surprised to find all of your things here," Joss greeted as Trina entered the room.
"I was with Spencer. Oh, no need to worry. They won't be here for long. I just needed to get my things out of that house as soon as possible. I don't want my mom to think I'm keeping my things there as a sign of forgiveness, you know?"
Joss simply nodded and sat at the edge of her bed. She watched Trina move her bags off of her own bed and begin to look at her phone once again, probably texting Spencer. "So...you've been spending a lot of time with Spencer lately. Any development on the romance front?"
Trina blushed and placed her phone on the bed. She hadn't been planning on sharing the news of her upcoming nuptials just yet, but Joss was her best friend, plus Cam already knew. It made no sense to keep the news from her best friend.
"Well, yes. There's been a really big development…"
Josslyn pulled her legs up onto the bed and leaned forward. "Well? What's going on? Did he kiss you again? Or did you initiate again? I never thought Spencer Cassadine would be so shy, but with you…"
"We're getting married!" Trina went ahead and blurted it out. There was no way that she could have eased Joss into the news slowly.
"What?!"
Trina shrugged and gave a wry smile. "We're getting married."
"What the hell? Has Spencer completely lost his mind? I know he wants custody of his brother but…"
"It was my idea," Trina interrupted Joss's rant, not in the mood to hear her put Spencer down once again. It was starting to get on her nerves. She understood that Joss felt loyal and protective of her, especially after what Esme had put them all through, but she was supposed to be Spencer's childhood friend. Friends didn't keep putting each other down like that, plus Trina felt that if she could forgive Spencer so easily, Joss could too.
"What? Trina...why? I mean...this is insanity."
"Because Spencer is truly concerned about his brother. He loves that baby already and he's right. That baby does not need to be in that prison! I want to help them in any way I can and if that means getting married to a boy I'm in love with anyway...why not?"
"Because you're both too young, not to mention had just had your first kiss…I mean...wait...did you say that you're in love?"
Trina simply nodded. "I can't deny it. Not anymore. I've...I've had feelings for Spencer ever since we met two years ago. The feelings have only grown stronger for the both of us and...we're in love. So it won't be just a marriage of convenience. There's love there too. Not only for each other but for that baby, who deserves a better start in life than a cradle in prison."
"Trina…"
"Look, I know that Spencer had made some huge mistakes...some really hurtful mistakes. But...he's also been selfless and sweet. You know, he didn't have to come forward about escaping Spring Ridge to visit his mother's grave. He knew that it could get him sent to Pentonville. It didn't even help my case...but he came forward anyway...because he wanted to help me. He spent three months in that awful place because he loved me."
"Trina, you can't take responsibility for that. All of that was his choice."
"I know that and I'm not doing this as a way to pay him back for what he did. I'm doing this because I love him. I really love him, Joss. And he's not as horrible and irredeemable as you think he is. He's a good man who has a lot of money and privilege to hide behind...who rarely has a reason to show his vulnerable side. Let's face it, I don't know much about the Cassadines, but they seem to be the kind of family that eat their young, so I get why he had to put on the Cassadine prince act. I get it and I thought you did too."
Joss sighed. "I do. I do get it, which I guess is why I get so frustrated with him when he bullies Dex or acts so entitled...because I know that's not the real him."
"I see the real him, though. I told TJ once that I like to see Spencer in person when he's going through it because he can easily lie to me over text or the phone...but when I'm right there face to face with him...I know the truth. I know whether he's lying or not."
"Trina…"
"And then TJ told me something amazing. He said it's that way with him and Molly. All he has to do is look at her and know what kind of mood she's in and what she needs. She's his person...so if he could read her like I read Spencer...doesn't that make Spencer my person? Doesn't that make me his?"
Joss couldn't argue with that. She still felt that getting married was a mistake, that they were too young, but looking into her best friend's eyes, she saw something that she could only hope to feel for her significant other someday and it made her happy for both of her friends. "I suppose it does. Especially when you put it like that. So...when's the wedding? Am I going to be your maid of honor?"
Trina chuckled. "Hopefully in a few days. Diane's arranging the license, then we'll have to wait twenty-four hours. But yeah, we want you and Cam to be there."
"Well, you can count on me, despite the fact that I think that you two should wait."
"It's for…"
"Ace, I know. Too bad Donna's not a baby anymore. You could use the practice," Joss teased. "But wait, there is baby Amelia…"
"Right now, it's enough preparing to get married."
"But wait...where will you two live? You can't live here if you're married…"
"Spencer talked to his grandmother. She's going to let us stay in the house where she had raised Spencer's Uncle Lucky and Aunt Lulu. It's a nice-sized, family home. Nothing like Wyndemere. The perfect place to raise a baby."
"Oh. Well, that's nice of her. So, you'll be taking all of this stuff there?"
Trina simply nodded. "Yes. Everything's set up. Now it's just waiting for the license and for her to give Spencer the key to the house and we're all set."
"Wow…you know, this year was supposed to be all about you and me living abroad and living a carefree college life. Instead, we've dealt with even more drama than last year and now we won't even be sharing a room anymore."
"Yeah, from the hook killer to me getting married and moving out of our dorm. We should have known that the original plan wouldn't have worked out. But hey, we're still besties, right? I mean, I'm only getting married, not moving to another planet," Trina laughed, causing Joss to chuckle as well.
"I know, I know. I'm still going to miss you though. You know...before you go, we should have one more girl's night in this dorm. You, me, food, and Titanic and the Notebook."
"Yeah, kind of an impromptu bachelorette party. Let's do it tomorrow night!"
"That'll be perfect. I'll get the snacks and drinks together. Should we invite anyone else?"
"Well, Cam probably wants to do something with Spencer."
"Maybe Dex can join them…"
"Bad idea," Trina shook her head. "Spencer hates Dex, remember? And I don't think Cam cares much for him either. Really, Joss...you're going to have a time of it with him. He's not only a lot older, but he works for Sonny. He's Jason's replacement…"
"He won't be working for Sonny for long, trust me. As for him being older than me, well, I'm of age and he's still in his twenties. It's fine."
"He won't be working for Sonny? How is that going to happen? Working for the mob is not something that he can just quit. If that was the case, wouldn't Sonny have left it a long time ago?"
"Trina, you don't understand. Dex has a plan. He's going to be out of the business and Sonny won't be a problem. Look, enough about Dex. We have one last girl's night to plan out and I have to figure out what I'm going to wear to my best friend's wedding."
"I still wish you were still with Cam. Then it would be like it had always been in high school. You, me, Cam, and Spencer."
"You didn't even know Spencer when we were in high school."
"Still...it's all different now. Now you and Cam are barely on speaking terms and it's making everything awkward where it hadn't been before."
Joss truly felt bad. Things between her and Cam were bad and she knew that it was her fault, but she had no idea how to fix it. Maybe there was no way to fix it, but there had to be a way to make things right...at least right enough so that both she and Cam could be there for their friend's big day without any tension.
"Ugh, listen to me sounding like I'm still seven when I'm a grown woman about to get married," Trina rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Joss. Ignore me."
"Hey, you're allowed to have your feelings. Don't apologize. If anyone should be sorry, it's me. I'm the one that ruined everything."
"Don't worry about it. There's nothing that can be done really and it doesn't matter. Both Spencer and I will assume that you two can play nice for us on our big day. That's all that we can do. But for now, I'm really tired. Let's get to some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a big day of shopping and preparing for our final girl's night."
"Sure," Joss sighed, watching as Trina got under the covers and drifted off into what seemed to be a very peaceful sleep.
….
Joss waited for another hour to pass, just to be sure that Trina was good and asleep. She glanced at the bedside clock and was relieved to see that Cam had another hour before he closed. If she hurried, she should be able to catch him before he headed for home. Being quiet, she slipped on her shoes and jacket and left the dorm, making sure not to wake up her sleeping roommate.
Just as she thought, she found Cam about to lock up for the evening. She quickly knocked on the closed diner's door, hoping that Cam would ignore his anger and let her in. She was relieved when she had indeed caught her ex's attention and received an annoyed eye roll, but he came and unlocked the door anyway.
"What do you want?" Cam asked, his blue eye just as cold as his voice. "We're closed."
"I have to talk to you. About Spencer and Trina's wedding. Trust me, if it was about anything else, I wouldn't be here," Joss looked at him pleadingly, hoping that he'd let her in, even if it was just to yell at her.
For a minute there, Cam just stood there, his face unreadable. It was as if he was thinking about letting her in or not. He was taking so long, Joss was beginning to think that maybe he wasn't going to let her in, but finally, he unlocked the door and opened it.
"Come on in. Make it quick. I'm expected home within the hour."
"It won't be long," Joss reassured, turning to face her former boyfriend. She winced when she saw that he was still a closed book to her. Once upon a time, she would have been able to read Cameron's emotions. He had been an open book, but now he was closed off. She had no clue of what he was feeling or thinking.
"Okay, what is this about Spencer and Trina's wedding?"
"Well...they are both going to want us there as witnesses and for support. Not too long ago, we were all friends and it was all easy between us, but now there is this awful awkwardness and…"
"And who's fault is that? I mean, only one of us here happened to cheat…"
"I know, all right! It's my fault and I take full responsibility! I'm not saying that I'm innocent here," Joss sighed, already feeling exhausted. "Cam, can't we just wipe the slate clean? Go back to being the friends we were before we started dating. Would that be so awful? It would make things so much easier for them."
Cam wanted to laugh and folded his arms over his chest, his eyes flashing with anger. "I can't believe this. You want me to pretend that you didn't do what you did and go back to being your little lap dog? Forget it."
"That's not what I'm saying."
"Well then what are you saying, because so far I'm hearing a whole bunch of nothing."
"I'm asking you for a favor, all right?"
"I already did you one by not telling about you and Dex. Now you want me to do another?"
"Yeah, but not for me. For Spencer, and Trina. You can hate me all you want, but you love them and they've never done anything to hurt you. They care so much about you…"
"What is the favor?"
"Just for one day, we pretend to be friends. We pretend that we are the way we were before we began dating. No awkwardness, no anger. Just happiness and support for our friends, who are going to need it with this insane plan of theirs. They don't deserve for their day to be marred by bad feelings between you and me. I mean...don't you agree?"
"And after the wedding, I can go back to not wanting to have anything to do with you?"
"I promise. Just one day of peace between us. That's all I ask."
Cam sighed and nodded his head. "Fine. But only for that one day and I don't want to hear a mention of Dex."
"He won't come up at all. I promise. Thank you, Cam…"
"I'm not doing it for you. It's for Trina and Spencer. That's all and after they wed, I wash my hands of you for good."
"Fine. If that's the way you want it," Joss nodded, inwardly wincing from the hurt. She hoped that someday, Cam really would be able to forgive her, but she knew that day was a long way off. At least now she knew that the bad feelings between her and Cam would not mar her best friend's special day. That was all she could ask for.