Boy *space* friend (Cameron Boyce)

chapter 16

Shoutout to my pal xXxjessey1210xXx for the awesome idea for this chapter! Check out her story Dance Battle!

-Nix

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true enough, it is a busy day today. first, we have the live audience coming in on Jessie today, then Peyton, Skai, Debby and i have a photoshoot for Bop and Tiger Beat, then i need to find something to wear for the Planes premiere tomorrow night. Cameron is taking me. isn't that nice?

Nathan took the day off from work to drive me around town. Victor couldn't take me since Cam and i have different schedules today. "let's go!" calls Nathan from the foyer. i grab my backpack and rush to meet him there. he locks the front door once we get out and we head off.

"you know, you ahould probably start bringing a backpack all the time." he tells me, looking from the rearview mirror. "why's that?" i ask. he laughs sarcastically. "well, for starters," he says. "you not everything fits in your pockets. i mean, you're always asking someone to hold your stuff." i roll my eyes. "i don't like lugging bags around." i say. "so you would rather balance all your belongings in your hands and walk around?" he shoots back.

"touché" i say under my breath.

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well, basically, we breeze through taping and everything. the live audience was great and we had a lot of fun. Cam kissed my cheek goodbye before we left for the photoshoot location. "love you," he whispers in my ear. i don't know what comes over me, but i pause. he looks at me, concerned. "what's wrong?" he asks. " i shake my head. "nothing. i love you too."

and with that i get into the passenger's seat of Nathan's Prius and we drive off. he drops me off and instructs me to text him when i'm finished.

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upon arriving at the studio, i'm assigned a dressing room. i'm the first one to arrive, so i have to wait a bit. i take out my phone and text Cameron. a little later, there's a knock at the door. "yes?" i answer. a teenage guy peeks in. he was wearing. headset and looked about 16. "uhh... Ms. Knight?" he asks, glancing at his clipboard. i nod. he opens the door a little wider and reveals the tray of snacks he was holding.

"i have refreshments." he says, i motion for him to come in. he sets the tray down on the table and sort of stands around awkwardly. "umm... anything else?" he asks. i look at him and shake my head. "no thanks, i'll be fine." i reply.

he turns to me one last time and nods before motioning towards the door. i take one good look at him and my eyes widen. "hey wait." i say and he stops in his tracks. he turns to face me and there's a slight smile playing on his lips. "Evan?" i ask. he winks. i gasp and get up to hug him. we're both laughing.

"no freaking way!" i say, my words muffled into his shoulder. we both pulled away. "look at you!" i say. "you look great!"

Evan was our old neighbor back in Chicago. we were pretty tight. we went to school together but he was two grades above me so we ate lunch together everyday and skated in the park on the weekends. i used to have a little crush on him in the fifth grade but that's nothing now. he moved to Cali the following year with his dad to live with his stepmom.

"thank god you recognized me!" he says, laughing. "i don't think i would have been able to call you 'Ms. Knight' any longer with a straight face." i roll my eyes. "it's Max, you moron." i say, playfully pinching his nose. he swats my hand away. "have a seat." i tell him. he shakes his head. "naw, i gotta go." he says. "contrary to popular belief, i actually do work here."

i laugh. "oh!" i say. "if you want, you can come by our house tonight for dinner. Nathan's cooking."

"sure!" he says. i quickly type the address into his phone. "see you at...."

"7pm." i say. "don't be late." he nods and leaves. soon after, i'm summoned for hair and makeup.

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"i still can't believe you met Evan today." sais Nathan as he rinses some lettuce for dinner. "i mean, of all people, come on." i roll my eyes. yeah, i think i forgot to mention that Nathan never really liked Evan. it was always something. his haircut, the ripped jeans, the ratty old sneakers he wore everywhere. Nathan always found something to complain about when it came to Evan.

"Nathan, he's really not that bad." i say. he sighs. "Max." he says. "you even invited him over to dinner. at our house! i was kind of hoping he would be one of those neighblrs who moved away and were never heard from again." i groan. "Nathan, just please deal with it. he's my friend and he's coming over so please be nice."

"whatever." he says and continues preparing dinner.

twenty minutes later, the doorbell rings. i rush over to get it. i stop just in front of the door to fix me clothes. jeez, what is wrong with me? it's just Evan. i open the door and there he is. he's wearing a light blue button-down and is holding a bouquet of lilies. i smile. "aw, Evan." i say, letting him in. "flowers, really? how cliché." he laughs and hands them to me.

"you know, most girls would think it's a sweet gesture." he says. "oh no, no." i say. "don't get me wrong. it's remarkably sweet but honestly, it's pretty overdone." he looks at his shoes ans stuffs his hands in his pockets, laughing. "well, you're welcome." he says, sarcastically. i grin. "well, thanks even if i know you brought these to impress Nathan more than to impress me." he winks.

we walk into the kitchen. "hey." Nathan says, walking over to shake Evan's hand. "hi." replies Evan. "nice to see you again."

"ditto." says Nathan.

a little later we all sit down to dinner. Nathan and Evan talk about football and all the normal guy things. i mostly keep up in the conversation but i sort of fall out when they start talking about work and whatnot. Nathan is explaining his taxes while Evan shares about his student loans.

when dinner is over, Nathan offers to clean everything up. "are you sure?" i ask. Nathan waves me off. "yeah, yeah. you guys go out back and chat. i'll clean up in here." he says. i shrug. i can tell that Evan is going to offer to help again but i lean over and whisper, "we better grab some sodas and head out before he really does change his mind." he smiles and nods and we grab a couple of Cokes from the fridge.

we sit on the patio in the backyard and catch up. the conversation is flowing really well until- "Max." he says, serious all of a sudden. "yeah?" he takes a deep breath. "i'm really glad you invited me over tonight." he says. "it was my pleasure, Evan, really."

"it's just - i don't know if it's too late to tell you this but..." he trails off.

"what?"i ask. he takes my hand. "i'm in love with you Max. and i know you like me too i'm just, i've been so afraid of how i feel. we had a great thig back in Chicago but since moving out here, i couldn't stop thinking about you. and i know it's been a year but i was really hoping for a chance, Max."

i look down at our hands. my heart is pounding. my middle school dream had finally come true! "Evan, i - "

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