Socially Awkward

Chapter 23:

I still sit with Brynn and Camille every day and it's awkward enough that we don't talk like best friends anymore. Now Brynn sits next to me and eats in silence. When Camille isn't looking, she stares her down as if she's plotting her murder.

Camille continues to nervously pick at her food as Brynn practically stabs her salad and angrily chews each bite.

It's great that I can finally be the friend that outnumbers the third of the group, but I put my selfishness to the side and speak up.

"So, Camille..." I begin.

Brynn revokes her death stare when Camille looks up at me.

"Yeah?"

"Anything new?"

Her eyes drop to the table as she shakes her head at me.

"That's a first." Brynn mumbles underneath her breath.

Camille angrily eyes Brynn. "If there's something you want to say to me then say it."

I secretly hate myself for creating a conversation in the first place.

"Gladly." Brynn sarcastically replies.

She abandons her food and calmly clears her throat.

I take multiple bites of my sandwich, nervous for both of them.

"I'm pregnant because of you." Brynn says slowly.

Camille raises a brow followed by a humorless laugh, "No, you're pregnant because you're a lightweight and couldn't keep your damn legs closed."

Brynn's face reddens in anger. She rises out of her seat and Camille does the same.

"Um, guys..." I try to mediate.

"You're the one who told me Chase liked me." Brynn reminds her.

Camille shrugged her shoulders, "So? He also likes pizza and beer and obviously sex just like every other guy."

Brynn leans over the table and narrows her eyes at Camille.

That's enough for me to know she's about to say or do something she'll regret.

"Brynn!" I snap her back into reality.

She glares at me for stopping her and storms out of the cafeteria.

Camille settles into her seat and sighs.

"What happened to you guys?" I ask her.

"I don't know. She just got all boring and annoying out of nowhere." Camille tells me.

"What do you mean?" I'm genuinely curious.

"She just--She does this thing where she blames me for every stupid thing she does. It's not my fault she had sex with Chase." She says as if there's nothing wrong with what she just said.

I look at her with disgust. "Do you hear yourself?"

Camille gives me a dirty look and I continue my point.

"If you were her friend you would've found her a ride home as soon as she got drunk." I scold her.

"Do you hear yourself?" She uses my own sentence against me. "I'm her friend not her damn babysitter."

"Don't you care about Brynn?" I try to search her face for any type of emotion.

"You know what I care about?" She gathers her things. "Having fun and if Brynn gets in my way of that then she's getting dropped."

She walks out of the cafeteria and I surprise myself when I follow her out. "Why do you always do that Camille? You always shut people out as if they've completely let you down."

She stops, and without facing me replies, "All my life people have let me down. Cutting them off is just a habit at this point."

With those as her last words, she exits the cafeteria, her head hanging low in shame.

I've always known Camille had gone through a lot and still does, but after hearing that last sentence, I realize that I really haven't been paying attention to her at all.

So I continue to follow behind her.

"Camille wait!" I call after her.

She puts her power walk to a stop and waits for me.

When I catch up to her, she slowly walks beside me.

"What did you mean by all that?" I ask her.

She avoids looking at me, something I normally do and now that it's happening to me I realize how rude it can seem to people.

"I feel bad about what happened to Brynn okay. I blame myself every day for it. I've been a bad influence on her since day one, but at the same time you and her have been a positive influence on me so I keep you guys around." I'm surprised she included me but I don't point it out.

"I shouldn't have taken her to all those parties. I shouldn't have introduced her to a life full of one night stands and hangovers. She should be friends with you and go to the movies or shopping. Brynn is a good person with a bright future. I'm nothing but trouble with nothing going for me." She vents.

I shake my head at her, "Camille you've been through a lot. It's not your fault-"

"Going through a lot is a shit excuse bad people use to get away with doing bad things. There are a lot of people who've been through worse and still wouldn't dare to do half the stupid things I do." She continues to tell me.

I remain quiet this time.

"Tell Brynn I'm sorry I dragged her into this mess. I'll talk to Chase and get him to cooperate and stuff. I'm going to make this right. Thanks for the talk, Luna."

She leans in to hug me and when we pull away I notice a black and blue spot on her shoulder.

"Camille is that a bruise?"

"What?" She glances at her shoulder. "Oh that. I just...fell. You know I bruise easily."

I slowly nod my head, unsure if I really believe her.

Before I can decide, she says a quick, "Bye!" over her shoulder before walking away.

I head back into the cafeteria and clean off our table. I've lost my appetite so I throw away my sandwich without regret.

Before I can open the door to exit, it's already opened for me.

"Luna." He says.

I freeze for a second before working up the nerve to acknowledge him.

"James."