Bittersweet

Chapter 6

I arrive at Taylor's around 6PM, just after Amy and Sarah do. I am dressed in a simple black hanging shirt, maong shorts and flats. I spot our other girl friends, Liz and Rielle, chatting. At the sight of us, Liz and Rielle stand up and go to our side.

"You guys want to go up?" Liz asks. "Everyone's up there. And the pool's there, too."

"Yeah, sure," Sarah says, answering for all three of us. "Let's go."

The 5 of us go up where everyone is. I was still chatting with Amy when we reach the final step. And then I see everyone.

Not only our group of friends in our batch are here.

Most of the senior boys are here, too.

And then it hit me that Taylor has a brother in the seniors. Hayes.

And then I see him, laughing casually with his friends.

Cameron.

He is here, in the party, with me.

"Hey guys!" Taylor yells, running to where we are, distracting me from my thoughts. "Glad y'all made it. Come, go get some drinks and food. And have fun. There are tables and chairs for everyone." He takes a bite of his pizza. "See you around," he says, and then goes back to where he was a while ago.

"Let's go Jessica," Amy says, tugging at my arm.

"Uh, yeah sure. Go ahead," I whisper, then look away. I sigh and face her again. Seeing the look on my face, she glances back at the others. Then she faces me again, with an expression that says, Oh, I get it.

"Jessica, it will be alright. Don't be timid. You can't let yourself look diffident, not around these people. Okay?" Amy says gently. "Let's go."

I nod, and follow her to the crowd.

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The moment I reach the area where everyone is, my worries go away just as quickly. I see my friends, and they gladly welcome us. We start to talk and eat and drink and do stuff that teenagers do. From time to time, us girls would scream because of the splashes of water that reaches us whenever someone jumps into the pool, but it's part of the fun. I think there was even a time I caught Cameron looking at me in the corner of my eye.

After a while, I feel the need to go the comfort room. I excuse myself from my friends and walk up to the comfort room, but it is occupied, so I decide to go to the one downstairs of the house. But then, something unfortunate happens.

As I walk by the pool, Hayes, who's fooling around, clings to my body. Before I could even protest, he takes me down with him to the pool.

We submerge in the water. I get up from the pool quickly. Luckily, there's nothing in my pockets. My gadgets are safe with Amy. Hayes's head pops up from the water, laughing, but he isn't facing me. I am so infuriated I start to shout at him.

"What the f**k, Hayes? What the heck were you thinking? You think it was a good joke? You think---"

My voice trails off at the second he faces me. It wasn't Hayes at all who took me down.

"Cameron?" I spit fiercely. Shock and anger fill my chest.

And by this time, everyone is already looking at us.

"Sorry," he says, simpering.

"Sorry?" I say to him. "You threw me with you into the pool without my consent, and now I'm wet from head to toe without extra clothes to change with, and you tell me that? Huh?"

"You're overreacting, Jessica," he tries to say.

"Overreacting?! Don't you realize---"

"I know what I did, okay? I thought it would be okay with you but then it's not, so I'm saying I'm sorry," he says, aggravated. "Stop yammering." He then gets up from the pool and walks away.

I scowl at him. That son of a gun. I walk away, dying to avoid the looks of everyone else. I climb upstairs to the third floor where the terrace is and sit there. The wind is a little strong, making it nice to relax a bit.

"Jessica?" someone behind me says. I am very familiar with the voice.

"Yes, Nash?" I answer, not looking back. Nash is considerably my best guy friend. He is a junior too, like me. We live in the same subdivision and consider each other neighbors, though our houses are not exactly beside each other.

"Mind if I sit beside you for a sec?" he asks.

"No. Come."

He proceeds to sit beside me and hands me a towel.

"Thanks," I say.

"Don't mention it," he says.

I dry myself with the towel-well, at least, my skin. My clothes are still wet, but since I don't have clothes to spare, I have to go with it. Fortunately the wind is a bit strong. It can help.

Nash and I don't speak for a couple more minutes. And I'm grateful for it. He knows me well. Or maybe it's just how boys do it.

I decide to break the silence. "Did Amy want you to tell me that someone texted me?" I ask him, still not facing him. The view is nice, anyway.

"No," he says. "Jessica, about the incident..."

I don't say a word nor relocate my glance from the scene.

"... Jacob wants me to tell you that, maybe Cameron didn't mean to be abrupt. He isn't usually like that. And they were also equally surprised with what he did. So they really hope you'd understand."

"Yeah, maybe," I say, and look at him, finally. "I don't mind it so much, anyway. Maybe I'm just shocked and now I'm irked because my clothes are wet. But really, I'm okay."

"Fine," he says. "I'll go back now. We'll be there when you get back." He stands up and walks away, back to the party.

I stay seated. I like the wind here. Maybe I'll just go back later.

Unanticipatedly, I hear footsteps from behind me. I hesitate to look at whoever the person is. I sit still and wait.

"Jessica." A guy's voice, again. I recognize it so well.

"Cameron," I say, loud enough for him to hear.

His footsteps grow louder, and before I know it, he's already beside me. I keep my sight on the view in front of me.

"Hey. I'm sorry. For taking you down into the pool with me." I see him look at me from the corner of my eye. "I didn't mean to, I just thought you'd find it funny too. After all, we're in a party. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

I manage a smile, but my eyes still on the view. "You don't have to. It's okay, I understand."

The temptation to look at him is so strong I finally give in. When I look at him, our eyes meet instantly. We hold it there for a couple of seconds, then I break it. I bow my head a little. I can feel my cheeks flushing red. I hope he doesn't notice.

"You have nice eyes," he says. "You have long eyelashes, too, complementing them."

"Thanks," I say, grinning at him. "But don't try to flatter me."

"I'm not trying to butter you up. I just want to say the truth," he replies.

"Yeah, right," I say, chuckling. We sit still for a couple more minutes, enjoying the fresh air and picturesque view. I decide it's time to go back down.

"Hey," I say to him. "Let's go back down, shall we?"

"Yeah, let's." Cameron stands up and beckons me to follow. I sweep the view with my eyes one last time, and then go downstairs together with him.