Sunshine & City Lights | Cameron Boyce Story

Chapter 8 ~ The Sweetest Sweet 16 Surprise

"CAMERON MICA, I AM FREAKING OUT ABOUT YOUR BIRTHDAY PARTY THAT I HAVE GENEROUSLY GIVEN MY TIME TO PLAN FOR YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS SO THE LEAST YOU COULD DO RIGHT NOW IS SHOW SOME DAMN APPRECIATION!"
I wake up to hear Maya yelling at the top of her lungs at Cameron, he just laughs in response.
Still half asleep, I drag myself out of bed and into my bathroom to freshen up. I throw on a black skater skirt, a white top and fix my hair into its usual Ariana Grande ponytail style.
"Yes, Carsen! Help." Maya beams at me as I make my way downstairs.
Cameron grunts, "And now you're coming to complain too, I'm guessing?"
"No, actually," I say in a matter-of-fact tone, "I came for breakfast. But now that you mention it, I might."
He rolls his eyes and folds his arms, "Go right on ahead!"
"Don't be such a spoilt bitch. Your sister has put her all into this party; it's only respectful to show her you're thankful." I glare.
Cam doesn't reply, but Maya smiles and thanks me before leaving to get breakfast.
We stand staring at each other for a while until Cameron clears his throat, "Now if you will excuse me, I have gifts to open."
I didn't wrap my gift for him. Honestly, I couldn't give a crap. I'll give it to him later.
In my mind I have so many comebacks that I could use but I figure that there's no point, so I just head into the kitchen. Before I enter, I turn around and lean against the doorframe.
He rolls his eyes, again, and shoots me a dirty glare.
"Oh and by the way, happy birthday, you ungrateful shithead."

***
Eight hours pass and Cameron's party is 20 minutes from starting. I sit in front of my mirror, adding the final touches to my makeup. I'm wearing a short black cami dress with my black heels and my hair is straight and on my shoulders. I think I look nice, which is all that matters.
When I finish my eyeliner, I head downstairs and into the garden where Maya is (once again) freaking out about where everything is and how it's set out.
"Chill, Maya!" I tell her, "Everything's perfect, you've done an awesome job."
She laughs, "Alright, thank you. People should be here soon. Also, I think Cam's finally snapped out of his mini dickhead phase."
"I'll go talk to him." I jog (kinda, I'm wearing heels) into the kitchen where he's on his phone at the table. "Hey, are you back to normal or are you still being a hormonal poop?"
He laughs and smiles genuinely, "Yeah, I'm sorry about that. Hats off to puberty, am I right?" He says jokingly.
"Please, you have it easy!" I chuckle, giving him a hug, "Oh, here's your gift. Sorry you had to wait this long."
He raises his eyebrows and looks up at me, "You spent this much money on me? Thank you so much, I love them!"
"Good, I was worried I'd picked something weird. If you're lying, the gift receipt is in the box." I say. I don't tell him that Kai paid for the shoes, he would murder me.
"No, honestly, I love them!" Cam reassures.
Just as he's about to say something else, a crowd of people come swarming through the door and push their way into the garden.
Maya finally calms down, "Alright, let's get this party started!"

Everyone is dancing and having a great time while I'm standing with my drink, talking to some random that apparently knows my cousins from kindergarten. Neither Kai nor Mateo have showed up yet which makes me feel like I wasted my time.
"So then he was like 'noooo!' and then she was like-" the random girl gets cut off when Mateo taps me on the shoulder.
I turn and pull him into a hug, "Yay! You're here!"
"Sorry I'm a little late, my ma was worrying about the fact I was going to see a girl at a party." He replies.
I giggle, a little more flirtatiously than I meant, "It's totally okay, I knew you'd be here! Would you like a drink?"
"Yeah, that would be great, thanks." He flashes a smile and I walk to the kitchen.
I open the fridge and grab a Coke for Mateo and one for myself and I hear footsteps from behind me.
"Hey, beautiful. I brought Budweiser."
My heart starts beating out of my chest; Kai actually snuck in. What if Cam sees him here?
"You came! And how did you get these?!" I laugh and kiss him.
He hands a beer to me, "Stole 'em from my mom." He opens the bottle and takes a huge swig of the alcohol. I just stand there, staring at it in my hands.
He takes back my bottle and opens it, "So I'm guessing you're an alcohol virgin?"
"Damn right I am," I tell him, "I'm 15, not 21!"
Smirking, he gives me back the bottle, "C'mon, babe, it's good. If you don't like it, don't drink it, but just try it."
Babe. He's never called me that before. I like it.
Screw it, I think to myself, and I put the bottle to my lips and take a sip. A pretty big sip, actually.
"Heeeyyy, there you go! Do you like it?" Kai claps and finishes his bottle. Jeez, he drank that hella fast.
Honestly, it wasn't bad at all, but I don't want to get drunk, "It wasn't so bad. I don't want any more."
"Nope, that's cool. At least you tried it."
Kai starts to head outside so I pull him back into the kitchen, "Wait, what if Cameron sees you?"
"He won't, don't worry. We'll stay near the back." Excitedly, he takes my hand and leads me into the garden. We dance together at the back for a while until Kai decides he wants to make out.
Smooth, Colburn. Real smooth.
I feel awful, guilt completely gets the better of me and I have to go and tell Cameron.
"Hold on, Kai. I'll be back in a second."
Careful not to trip or fall into the pool, I run towards Cameron who's talking to Kyla by the food table, "Cam, can I talk to you for a second?"
Smiling, he looks up at me but his face falls when he looks over my shoulder. My cheeks flush warm and red; what if he's seen Kai? I bet he's seen Kai.
He starts dancing and grins at me, "Sorry, can't hear you over the music!"
"Cameron, I need to tell you something important."
He continues to dance and ignores me even more when he sees Kai walking towards us, "Nope, the music's too loud!" He decides he wants to push it even further, sarcasm oozing from his tone, "Maybe you could turn it up a little, that might scare away the last shit I give!!"
"Fine, you know what: fuck you, Cameron. I moved because I thought you would like to see me again. Started off great, didn't we? Now I don't know what kind of mood swing you're having at the moment but I am damn well sure I've had enough of it! I hope you're having a great birthday, asshole!"
"C'mon, Carsen, let's go somewhere else." Kai takes me by the hand and pulls me indoors, "Let's go somewhere a little quieter, babe."
He looks around to check if the house is clear and then leads me upstairs. It's dark, really dark, so I'm not 100% sure what room I'm in.
I'm not even gonna describe what happens after we end up upstairs, you can probably imagine. But let me just tell you, my alcohol virginity isn't the only innocence that is stolen...

***
I wake up really early the morning after my cousin's party and the room is still pretty dark.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow! Get off me, you douche!"
I frown, rubbing my eyes and looking infront of me. There's a basketball net: why am I in Cameron's room?
Slowly I roll over and see a shirtless and pantless Kai Colburn being dragged out of bed by the ears by Cameron.
"Get out! Get out of my house, leave my cousin alone! I don't want to see you anywhere near her ever again!" He yells.
"What's going on?" I say anxiously.
Cameron shoves Kai and he stumbles, "Don't play dumb, Carsen. I'll deal with you in a second."
I've never heard him this mad before, he's acting like my dad.
In this time, Kai has managed to put his clothes on and Cameron has driven him out the door.
"Carsen, I don't know what the fuck you think you were doing last night but with HIM? I specifically told you what he does to girls like you! He makes them fall for him, takes everything from them, has sex with them and then goes and breaks their heart! Why won't you just listen to me?!"
I'm so scared that I'm shaking, "but he hasn't left me! He loves me, cameron! He's told me so many times!"
"Fine! Forget it! I don't give a shit anymore! You just don't understand, do you? I'm not sorry for anything. Just...just don't talk to me, Carsen."
And then he leaves me in shock, slamming the door firmly shut behind him.