Warning: RWB spoilers ahead.
Some say the best love stories often take time.
Emery Chernychevsky has had a crush on Cameron Brooks since he can remember. Watching him date different girls all throughout high school was nothing if not pure torture...
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The universe could've done a lot worse than put him in this situation.
Cameron is many things on many days, and today, happy is not one of them.
Not when Lucas is sitting so close to Emery, surrounded by their friends, and talking to Emery's parents as if it was second nature. The bouquet of flowers lay on the table, but no one dared to mention it in front of Mr. and Mrs. Chernychevsky. Cameron wanted to take it and run. Far.
Against what it looked like, it turns out that Lucas wasn't exactly asking for Emery's hand in front of his parents as much as he just happened to have made a personal arrangement to visit Emery when Michael and Gloria called. Cameron would be lying if he said he wasn't relieved.
It was hard being there, and even harder to admit that he was jealous.
He knew his place. He knew he couldn't do anything not just because there was nothing official between him and Emery, but also because he knew that he was the one doing the chasing, and so the call falls on Emery and nobody else. Still, it was hard to watch Lucas do all the things he wished he could already do by now. He'd kissed Emery, held him as he slept, touched his hand in secret under the dinner table on multiple occassions, above many others, but he's yet to bring Emery flowers, yet to make acquaintance with his parents, yet to let everyone else know about all the things he wished weren't hidden. He knew the better thing he could do than watch was smile and be friendly, but he wasn't going to do anything close to the latter, so he watched.
Allison brought Sadie with the others to the beach, leaving Emery, Ian, Lucas, Cate, and Cameron in the house. Emery sat next to Lucas on the big beige couch, smiling ear-to-ear as his parents filled him in on all the things he missed while he was away. Gloria apparently ended up being charmed by Lucas and asked him to stay with them on the call, which was a very thrilling thing to hear for someone in Cameron's shoes.
Meanwhile, Ian leaned against the back of the couch behind them as an honorary son of his best friend's parents, laughing as he and Emery's dad joked around on the expense of Emery's dignity. Cate was somewhere in the house probably waiting for the right moment to show up as she always does.
Cameron leaned against the main entrance door, pretending to sip on his coffee while he watched, attentively, at how bright Emery's face lit up in the presence of his parents. He didn't know he could get even more engrossed in this boy than he already was. Cameron wouldn't call himself a bad son, but he has never been exactly affectionate either— his parents would attest to that—but Emery? Emery is the exact opposite.
Cameron, or anyone with eyes really, could clearly see that Emery's parents made no mistake in raising him. He's perfect if Cameron is even close to qualified to tell. He's quick with his words but is never rude. He knows just exactly what to say and says exactly what you need to hear. He's soft-spoken but can be tough when he needs to be.
Emery is the kind of person you'd trust to be around with, but you can't trust yourself to be around him because you'd be afraid of ruining something so angelic.
