Beginnings and Endings [complete]

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

My eyes opened blearily to see rusty red metal beams, and for a minute I freaked. My bed was wooden, not metal. I sat up immediately, hitting my head in the process, and looked around. Oh, that's right. I was at camp.

I cursed silently as I massaged the bump that was slowly beginning to form. Memories started coming back - CSS camp; The Farm; girls' dorm; Dominic.

My hand dropped and I sighed. Things were complicated now, after what happened last night, the handholding, the casual comment, the gentle brush of his fingertips against my cheek as I cried miserably over how pathetic I was. Things had changed between us, after that last act, but he had no idea that I knew. And I didn't have any intention of him finding out.

Groaning and rubbing my eyes, I dug under my pillow for my phone, pulling it out as my nails hit something hard. I slid it open, and no pop up sign signifying notifications hid my abstract wallpaper, nor the time.

Good Lord, it was 7am? That means I only slept for three hours! I mouthed silent curses at my biological clock, realizing that I wouldn't be able to no back to sleep however hard I tried.

Sliding my phone back in place under my pillow, I groggily stumbled over to my bag and threw things out, looking for my small toiletry bag; I found it, stuffed everything else back in, and headed for the bathroom.

Halfway through washing my face, Jess came in with a towel around her shoulders and her hair in an absolute mess. She shot me a tired grin, and went into one of the cubicles.

A cold shower at this hour? You have to be joking me. Your funeral, I thought dryly, hearing the small yelp that accompanied the splash of water from the shower head. 

At breakfast, it was still bloody freezing. I tugged my jacket around my body, mentally setting a reminder to bring a thicker jacket next time, and glanced around. I was up the earliest; everyone else were half-asleep or asleep with their heads in their arms at the table. Dominic looked at me and grinned lopsidedly.

I turned red with embarrassment - he was a good looking guy, but he looked cuter with his hair so messed up and looking so sleepy...oh, god, what was I thinking? I shook my head to clear the thoughts and smiled in return.

No, he definitely didn't know I knew about last night.

But he looked like he knew I knew something. Pretending to be blissfully ignorant to Daniella's stares and Mel's pissed off looks at me, I spent the day with him. Well, actually, he spent the day with me. He wouldn't let me out of his sight.

Scary.

The secret was blown after lunch. After finally getting some time with Mel and Daniella and talking normally - thank God - I followed him back to the hall, where we leaned against the precariously stacked mattresses and Bluetoothed songs.

It hit me then how I'd be able to find out whether he did have feelings for me. "Hey, Dominic?" I started, trying to sound casual as I sent him Everything by Lifehouse.

"Yeah?" he answered, not looking up from his phone until he hit Accept. "What?"

Oh, here goes. "You remember what we were talking about last night? How you usually got together with girls at camps?"

"Yeah..." he said slowly. I think he knew where I was going with this. Excitement built up, and I was almost unable to contain it. Whether or not he had eyes for me or some other chick, the suspense was killing me.

"So is there a girl at this camp?" I asked, grinning. So close...so close...

His cheeks turned red, and I wanted to laugh. Oh, so there was...oh, did I wish it was me... Running his fingers through his hair and nodding, he sent me a Secondhand Serenade song. "Yeah, there is..."

"Oh my God, I knew it!" I practically squealed, and cursing myself after. What an overreaction. I was dying to know, wanting it to be me, and yet no, because of the possibly of another bad relationship. "So who is it? It's Mel, right?" I honestly expected to be right - he and Mel had been close since they met, and she'd had feelings for him before, so...connect the dots, people - connect the freaking dots.

To my surprise, he shook his head. My jaw dropped. "What?" I asked, disbelief overpowering the want for him to feel the same way. "No. That can't be right."

"It's true," he said slowly. "Mel and I are close, and I know she used to have a crush on me, but I didn't feel the same way, and she backed off. The girl...she's in your form and she's at camp, and having Mel as a friend helped me get closer to her, but neither of them know it."

My heart missed a beat. There aren't many possibilities. You brainless nut, it's you, a voice in the back of my head whispered.

Shut up! I told it.

I turned red when Dominic looked at me with a weird look. "What?" he asked, bewildered.

"N-nothing," I stammered, wide-eyed. I have to stop voicing my thoughts. Trying to recover quickly so as not to look completely insane, I stumbled out another guess. "Umm...D-Daniella?"

"No," he said simple, giving me a look that said 'seriously?'.

I laughed a bit, my heart going insane. Mel was not close to the other two girls at camp who were in my form, so there was really only one other option. I saw the opportunity blinking with LED lights in front of my face, but I was still working on believing.

If it was me, I...I don't know what I'd do. On one hand, I did have feelings for him, that was certain. But it was the depth I didn't know. I didn't want another relationship either. And yet, I'd count myself as seriously lucky to have someone like Dominic Wood and a part of me wanted to jump at the chance.

Then again, I'd just met the guy, and his fake reputation as a playboy would definitely cause me some trouble, and with Mel like this, well... I nearly screamed at him in frustration. Fuck you, uncertainty. Screw you, emotions. Damn all hormones.

At any rate, in simple English, I didn't want to believe it.

"Come on, Dominic!" I said finally, exasperated. "Just tell me already."

He looked me in the eyes and hesitated for a moment before his mouth opened and his lips parted to form the two words I was both hoping for and against that stopped my heart and sent my head reeling.

"It's you."

Sorry for the late update :X btw, I'm going to start another story soon, not based on a true story like this one, but another love/teen fic story. I'll post the summary and preview soon :)

Roshon Fegan as Nash --->

Note: The pictures aren't in sync with the chapters because there's a pic of one of the celebrity cast which I arranged in order of appearance every 4 chapters.