Not the Same

Chapter seventeen

"Are you sure that's okay?" Cameron asks, looking a little uncertain.

"Yeah, it's fine," I say nonchalantly with a shrug, trying to act like this is the most normal thing even though on the inside I feel like I'm going to explode.  "I don't want you to walk back to your room now especially since you're already tired."

"Okay thanks, I'll sleep on your floor," Cameron declares.

I'm not sure why, but I feel a pang in my chest when he says this.  It's not like I was hoping that deep down he would want to sleep next to me in my bed, right?

"Yeah, sure.  I'll get you some pillows and blankets." I grab the extra pillows and blankets from my closet and help Cameron set them up on the floor.

After helping him set up the make shift bed, Cameron starts to unbutton his pants, causing me to start to panic.

"Wait what are you doing?!" I respond in shock, placing my hands over my eyes so I can't see anything.  Why does he need to take off his pants?  What does he think is about to happen?

"I don't want to sleep in this.  Believe it or not, prince charming costumes are not the most comfortable sleeping choices," Cameron comments with a smirk.  "But, if you want, we can do something other than sleeping."

"Oh, right" I answer sheepishly, my cheeks turning bright red.  "I mean right to the costume thing not to the doing something thing," I blurt out, causing him to chuckle.

Gosh, Avery, can you say word vomit?

I turn around as Cameron continues to strip into his boxers and undershirt.  Cameron slides under the blankets on the floor.  I turn off the light before climbing into bed.

We both remain quiet for a few minutes.  I find myself just staring up at my ceiling, thinking.  Just when I think Cameron's asleep he starts talking.

"Do you believe in fate?  That things happen in our lives for a reason?"

"Yeah, I do," I say honestly.  "I think there are definitely some things that happen that are out of our control, but they're meant to happen."

"Even the bad?" Cameron whispers.

"Yeah," I respond.  "Even the bad."

"I sometimes wonder how different a person's life would be if they made different actions.  It's crazy how one decision can affect your life in such a big way."

Something about the tone of his voice makes me believe that he's thinking about something that impacted him greatly.

And the curious part of me is begging for answers.

"I always find myself thinking about that too," I tell him honestly.  "I think back to certain things in my past and wish I acted differently.  So many things would be different; better."

"Believe me, I can relate to that," Cameron says with a slight sigh.

"Cameron?"

"Yes, Avery?"

"Your decision to 'date' me: did that affect your life in a big way?"

"Definitely," Cameron says.

I chew on my lip nervously before asking him what I'm dying to know.

"Is that good or bad?

"Avery," Cameron says with ease, as if he didn't have to think about his answer. "Nothing with you could ever be bad."

I wake up to my phone annoyingly chiming, letting me know I have a text.

I rub my eyes and open the message.

Cameron: Sorry I had to leave early this
morning; something came up.

Another message comes in.

Cameron: Also, you look cute when you're sleeping.

Attached to the message is a picture of me sleeping while hugging one of my stuffed animals.

Oh man, let's just say I am not a pretty sleeper.

I hop out of bed and take a shower.  I let the warm water run over me and relax me.  After my shower, I change into an old high school shirt and shorts.  I put my hair in a ponytail so it's out of my face and I start to do some homework.

A couple of hours later, Hailie walks into the room with an extremely wide smile on her face.

"Well hello there miss smiley.  How was your night last night?" I ask her with a knowing smile.

"Good," she replies giddily.  "Really good."

"I'm glad.  You deserve it."  I'm glad Hailie's met someone.  She dated around a lot last year, but none of those "relationships" ended the way she wanted them to.  I hope this guy, whoever he is, doesn't do anything stupid.

"I'm really happy," she says honestly.

"Who's the guy?  Do I know him?" I ask her eagerly.

She hesitates for a moment, looking as if she's not sure if she should tell me.

"No, he's just some guy from my literature class," she says with a shrug.  "Anyways, I'm going to take a shower.

A few weeks go by since Halloween. Things are good; really good. Hailie continues to see this mystery guy from Halloween and Cameron and I are hanging out more. I feel myself getting closer to him and can't control the bubbly feelings that emerge whenever I think of him or spend time with him.

Hailie, Eric, Dan and I ended up getting dinner together tonight.  When I asked Eric and Dan where Cameron was, they said he needed some time to himself and that he wasn't coming.  I didn't pry, but naturally, I became really curious.

After dinner, I told Hailie that I was going to check a book out from the library, but in reality I was looking for Cameron.

Eric let it slip by mistake that Cameron was meeting someone by the soccer field tonight at nine.

I waited until it was five minutes to nine to walk closer to the field.

As I was expecting, I see two figures standing by the soccer field.  I can make out that the one facing me is Cameron, but I can't see who he's talking to.  Whoever it is though, he doesn't seem to be too happy.  He's shaking his head "no" and the two look to be arguing.

After about ten minutes, they look like they came to some kind of agreement because they both nod their heads.

The two start to walk in my direction, getting closer to my hiding spot behind a bush.

"Anyways, I'll keep up my end of the deal, but you have to as well," Cameron says to the person next to him.

"I got it."

I feel a chill through my spine and my head starts to spin.

Out of all the people Cameron would be meeting at night to make a deal with, why would it be my brother?

Author's Note:

Hey love bugs!

How did you like the update? I want to know you're thinking/what you think is going to happen next!

I plan on updating a few more times this week so be on the lookout ;)

xoxo, LetTheGamesBegin_