6:59 (28 page)

Cameron

I awoke, lying facedown on my bed, dressed in a black leather jacket, black T-shirt, and black jeans. My shoes were still on, as well as my gold watch and several chains. I guessed that Cam probably got back home pretty late last night and didn't have enough time to change out of these clothes.

Glancing over to my bedside table, I saw a note from Cam:

Cameron,

Out late last night. Crazy mission. No time to change. Sorry.

Cam

Figures.

I got up, walked into the bathroom, and performed my morning rituals, escaping the hot, steamy room in less than ten minutes. I then went downstairs to grab breakfast.

Dad and Mila weren't going to be home until late tonight, so I had yet another day to do whatever I wanted. Though, yesterday I'd barely done anything resourceful — I just lazed around, eating and watching TV. Olive was busy, claiming she'd had a rough night Friday night and needed her rest, and Hudson and Armando were out with Anjolie all Saturday. Basically, I wasn't invited to anything yesterday, thereby making my Saturday super boring. And it sucked because I blacked out before anything good came on TV.

Today, I was determined to have fun. I was going to go to that picnic with Hudson, and Armando, and Anjolie, and Olive, and just enjoy myself with my good friends.

Too bad this picnic was scheduled for five hours from now.

I had to find something else to do before I died of boredom again. Sitting at the kitchen table, a plate of buttery toast sitting in front of me, I scanned the room, looking for something to do. When my eyes came to a rest on my dad's video camera, an idea popped into my head. I quickly finished my toast and cleaned up my surroundings before grabbing up the camera and heading back up to my room.

I was going to video chat with my other half.

Giddy with excitement, I set up the camera on my desk, plugged it into my TV, waited for the live feedback to pop on the screen, and positioned the camera in front of the foot of my bed. As my mind raced with questions and talking points that I could eventually say to my other half, I focused the camera on myself, observing myself on the TV screen. Soon, I was ready.

I hit record and began talking.

“Uh… hey, Cam,” I began, clearing my throat. “It's me, Cameron.” I immediately regretted saying that because
duh
, he already knew I was Cameron. Shaking away the embarrassment, I continued talking, letting the words pour out of my mouth. “Anyway, what's up? I hear you're a really cool guy and everyone seems to like you so much. I mean, Armando can't stop raving about you, Olive seems to, like, adore you, and Anjolie makes you sound like you're some no-nonsense kind of guy.” I paused to run a hand through my non-gelled hair. “Basically, you sound pretty awesome. It'd be nice to know you, Cam. Really.” I shifted position on my bed, thinking I looked stupid, sitting there, leg crossed over the other. I probably looked like some loser. Once I felt comfortable in a cooler sitting position, I continued the one-sided conversation. “Tell me about yourself, Cam. What do you like to do on your free time, you know, when you're not doing missions? Do you have any hobbies? Do you like music? Are you smart, like me? What are your favorite TV shows? Any favorite movies? Books? What's your favorite food? Your favorite color? Anything. Just tell me everything about you because I'd seriously like to know who I'm sharing my boxers and shaving cream with.” I laughed at my silly joke.

“Anyway, there's nothing really special about me,” I continued, rubbing my hands together. “You know my dad, Mr. Workaholic. He's alright. And Mila's pretty nice. I'm sure you know my best friend, Armando. He's the coolest guy I know. He's like a brother to me. And Hudson's like a sister. A really, really
hot
sister, but a sister, nonetheless. And Olive, well, Olive is amazing.” I felt a small smile creep onto my lips as I thought about her. “She's everything a guy could ask for. She's funny, smart, witty, and
faithful
. I'm in love with her, you know. She's my everything. I don't know what I would do if I ever lost her. I think I'd go insane.” I chuckled softly to myself, knowing how true those words were.

“And Anjolie…” I paused, thinking pensively about what I was going to say about her. It was hard trying to put words to how great of a girl she was. She was so different, so unique, so… out of this world, that there weren't possibly any words to describe her. “Anjolie… well, Anjolie's different. You know her. How else am I supposed to express how utterly fantastic she is? She's probably the best thing that's ever happened to me — to any of us, in that case. She's so… raw, you know, yet, so delicate in her own way. Something about her just makes me want to smile.” I shrugged, completely at a loss of words. “I can't find any other words that could express the way I feel about her. She's… special to me. That's all I can say.”

I allowed a moment of silence to blanket the room as I thought about what I had just said. I realized then that I did care for Anjolie, more than I should, and frankly, that was kinda freaking me out.

I quickly changed the subject, shaking the thoughts away. “Anyway, those are just the people in my life. Nothing cool about them, really. I do enjoy playing the piano. I love anything Italian. I don't so much like reality TV shows. Have you ever read
Catch 22
?”

For the next few hours, I stayed there, conversing with the camera about any and all things nonsense. I just couldn't stop my rambling. It was as if I were on a mission to give as much Cameron information to Cam as possible. The camera soon became my therapist; I vented on and on about all aspects of my life, lying supine on my bed and gazing up at the ceiling, talking a mile-a-minute about random topics.

If my phone hadn't rung, interrupting my interminable venting, I would've talked on and on about the difference between a cup being half-full or half-empty. Reluctantly, I snatched up my phone and answered, “Hello?”

“Uh, hey… Cameron, it's Anjolie,” came her soft, smooth-as-silk voice on the other line.

I immediately sat up. “Oh, hey, Anjolie, what's up?” I asked, running a hand through my hair. Suddenly, the memory of all the sweet things I'd said about her came crashing into my mind, clouding my vision.

“Um, nothing,” she responded lightly. “I was just wondering if you still wanted to pick me up for that picnic thing.”

My eyes bulged as I glanced at the clock. It was well after one, the time I'd promised I'd pick her up at. I'd been too busy rambling on to the camera to notice that I was late. Really late. “Oh, Anjolie, I—”

“It's okay, Cameron. You don't have to pick me up, I can walk—”

“No, Anjolie,” I interrupted her, hopping off the bed and shutting off the camera. “I'm coming over right now. Hang tight.” I grabbed up my keys and raced down the stairs. I was out the door in seconds, hopping into my car and speeding down the road toward Anjolie's house.

When I arrived at her house, she was sitting on her porch swing, swinging back and forth slowly. I rolled up to her driveway and watched as she trotted over to my car. I noticed that she wasn't clad in her usual gray and white garb, but wearing short, dark-blue frayed shorts and a soft, pale pink, flowy, tank top-like blouse. Her hair was tied back in a loose ponytail, silvery-blond ringlets framing her face and neck.

She looked great.

“Hey, Cameron,” she said as she hopped into the passenger seat of my car and shut the door.

“Hey, Anjolie.” I waited until she buckled her seatbelt before pulling out of the driveway. “Sorry I'm late; I was just videotaping myself for Cam.”

Anjolie scoffed and wiggled her eyebrows. “That's kind of kinky, don't you think?” she asked, eyeing me suspiciously.

I laughed at her comment. “No, not like that, Anjolie,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I just told him about myself and asked him a few questions.” I looked over at her. “Hopefully, he responds.”

Anjolie just shook her head disbelievingly. “He probs won't, Cameron. He's too cool for that.” She toyed with a silver bracelet that rested on her pale wrist.

“I see you're wearing color,” I said, motioning at her sunny outfit.

She blushed and glanced down at her clothes. “Oh, yeah, right,” she said, smoothing out her blouse. “Hudson and Armando bought me some clothes yesterday. They thought I needed some color in my wardrobe.” She smiled sheepishly, seeming to be embarrassed at my noticing.

I shot her a warm smile. “Well, I like it, Anjolie.”

She returned my smile, uttering a “thanks” before turning to face the window.

When we arrived at the park, I could see up ahead where Hudson and Armando had already laid out the checkered blanket and set out the food. They were relaxing on the blanket, sitting in each other's embrace, talking peacefully.

Olive was nowhere to be found.

“Excited for the picnic, Sloane?” Anjolie asked me as she unbuckled her seatbelt. As she shuffled around in her seat, I could smell a whiff of cinnamon emanating off her pale skin. The scent filled my nostrils and sent warm feelings down my body.

I quickly shook out of my momentary daze. “Uh, yeah, totally excited,” I replied, scrambling with my seatbelt, trying to rid myself of her attractive scent. I couldn't get out of the car fast enough.

Anjolie waited for me to catch up to her. “I'm excited, too,” she responded, giving me a happy smile, as she crossed her arms over her chest. “You hang around an awesome group of people, Sloane.” She clapped me on the back, her delicate hand branding an imaginary mark on my skin. I shivered at the contact.

“Uh, thanks,” was all I could say.

We reached the picnic blanket momentarily, eyeing the food that was scattered all along the large blanket. “Hey, guys,” I said, taking a seat beside Armando.

They greeted me back, but their focus was on Anjolie. “Aw, Anj, you look simply adorable in that baby-pink top!” Hudson cried, reaching up to embrace her. “I absolutely love it!” Her large smile was bright and genuine, indicating that she was well impressed with her new fashionable project.

Anjolie muttered a “thanks” before taking a seat across from me. The four of us had formed some sort of box, all of us equidistant from each other.

“So, where's Olive?” I asked, anxious about her whereabouts. She and I were becoming more and more distant from each other. Sometimes, I would go days without seeing her. I knew she was invited to this picnic; if she stood us up, I'd have no choice but to confront her about it.

Hudson sighed and rolled her eyes. “I'd been calling and texting her since noon, and she still hasn't returned any of my calls.”

“I guess she's not coming,” Armando suggested, shrugging his broad shoulders. He and Hudson shared disappointed glances and then focused their eyes on me. “I don't blame her. She's been hanging out with Cam a lot lately,” Armando informed us. “And since he only wakes up at night, she probably has no choice but to stay up all night with him.” He looked around at all of us. “She's probably tired.”

I gulped, uncomfortable with this new information. I knew she was hanging out with Cam, but I didn't know that she'd basically rather hang out with him than me. I don't see her for eons, but Cam gets to see her every time he wakes up? That didn't seem fair to me.

But I shrugged off all of my jealous thoughts. She could hang out with whomever she wants to hang out with — boy or girl, Cam or me. Just as long as she wasn't doing anything she would regret, I was fine with it.

“I don't get her sometimes,” Anjolie piped up sourly, knocking me out of my questionable thoughts. “Who'd rather hang out with
Cam
, than with
Cameron
? Cam's just a stupid, rotten, little idiot who wouldn't know a nice comment if it kicked him in the balls.” She rolled her eyes, peeved at the thought of him.

“Why don't you quit talking trash behind Cam's back,
Anjolie
?”

We all saw Olive, who'd appeared out of the shadows of a large tree, dressed in black jeans and a dark top, her dark hair covered with a black beanie and her eyes lined with heavy eyeliner. Her whole image was a stark contrast to the frilly white desserts and lightly colored blanket that surrounded us. Her appearance, coupled with her scowl, was an anomaly to me, and I had no choice but to stare. Olive didn't even glance over in my direction; her eyes remained fixated on burning holes into the back of Anjolie's head.

Anjolie chuckled, twiddling a lock of her curly hair and turning to look up at Olive. “Oh, sorry, excuse me,” she said sarcastically. “If I had known you were eavesdropping, I would've called you over just so you could relay the message to Cam yourself.” Anjolie smiled sweetly up at Olive. “You know, since you hang out with him so much.”

Olive narrowed her eyes at her. “Do your own dirty work,” was her spiteful reply as she walked across the blanket and sat next to me.

Before I could offer her a greeting, her lips were on mine, silencing any form of sound that could escape from my lips. I was shocked, yes, but she was still my girlfriend and I did miss her kisses. It was a long time before she released me from her tenacious grip, smiling at me mischievously. “Hey there, Cameron,” she said, winking at me.

“Uh, hey, Olive,” I said, returning her smile with my more genuine one. She smelled of spicy perfume; the kind that — if you had a really sensitive nose — would have you squirming with discomfort.

She smiled at everybody else, grabbing up a small cupcake and popping it into her mouth. “Hey, everyone,” she said, giving a little wave.

“Way to not return any of my calls,” Hudson said, skipping the greeting. Her neatly sculpted eyebrow hiked up as she crossed her slim arms.

Olive shrugging was her only response.

Hudson rolled her eyes at her and also grabbed a cupcake, Anjolie doing the same. Armando and I just sat there, witnessing this semi-catfight, not wanting to come in between anything. I could just feel the tension in the air.

I looked to Armando, hoping that he'd say something that would relieve the tension. But, watching as he, too, grabbed a cupcake and shoved it in his mouth, I could tell that however Hudson was feeling, he'd feel the same way, too. It was up to me to break the ice.