The Return of the Bad boy

Chapter 35: Cam

I was getting those stares again.

Except for this time, they weren't followed by harsh whispers and pointing.

I was greeted with smiles and head nods.

A couple of people even called out a few, "Hi Cam! Hey Cameron, what's up?"

It was refreshing in a way. But I had to admit that I may or may not be bitter about the treatment they've all been giving me. Then again, I couldn't blame them. The situation couldn't be explained, and I was made out to be the bad guy.

I guessed I should be happy that I had earned everyone's forgiveness, but there was only one person whose opinion mattered over them all. And she was waiting for me at my locker with that gorgeous smile that had captivated my dreams last night.

"Hey, sunshine." I was no longer concerned about how my reputation would affect her. I felt free to show off how much this beautiful girl meant to me.

Tugging on her wrist, I pulled her to me, angling her chin up for a quick kiss.

Summer sighed, wrapping her arms around me. When we pulled apart, she said, "I want you to greet me exactly like this every morning for the rest of the year."

I sputtered with laughter, and she joined.

"I can do that." I nodded, then cupped her cheeks before giving her forehead a kiss. "I missed you," I told her, smoothing down her flyaways.

"Same," Summer replied with a grin. "Now, hurry up and grab your things. I don't want us to be late."

"Yes, ma'am." I winked.

I felt like I was in a different universe throughout the day.

The teachers greeted me with smiles, and a couple of them patted me on the back. It was strange but almost heart-warming.

At lunch, Vance joined the table, sitting across from Summer, me, and his future girlfriend, Kenny.

Ha. Future girlfriend. If I had said that out loud, I would have to run for my life.

Suho was seated across from Rosie, but he couldn't talk to anyone with his new manga in front of his face.

"Yo, Vance," I started.

"Hmmm..." He snatched up one of Kenny's fries, and she glared at his side profile. "What's up?"

"I owe you an apology."

His became blank.

"I had way more going on than anyone could have guessed, and I felt like I needed to handle it all alone. I didn't want anyone else to get dragged down with me. So I pushed everyone away. That wasn't cool, and I'm sorry. I knew you were chill about it and gave me time to come around, and I appreciated that too. I think I needed that to clear my head and focus on what really mattered." I bumped my leg into Summer's as if to say hint, hint.

Vance broke my gaze and started sniffling, wiping his dry eyes. "I'm so touched." A hand went to his heart. "I forgive you. I love you, man."

I sighed, throwing a piece of bread at him. "Stop being weird. Can we just move past all this and never bring it up again."

"Alright, fine. But admit it. You missed me."

"HA! How badly could I have missed you if I replaced you," I replied.

Vance's ego needed to come down a few pegs.

Suho snorted, and the girls couldn't stop laughing.

Vance nodded slowly. "It's like that, huh? That's fine. I'll let you have this one."