What's the Big Deal With Love?

Full Story

Cam
I look at myself in the mirror, and I think as I’m hyperventilating, this is it, first day of school, a fresh start to a new year. After my closet and a load of landry later I decide to wear my pink pac-man crop top with the ghosts down the sides and of course a tank-top underneath. I’m going to school not a night out on the town. And finally a pair of blue jeans to pull it all together. Sophomore year will hopefully be a great year.  
    I take one last quick look at myself in the mirror and realize that I can’t even fill out my own jeans. Two seconds away from changing my mom yells at me to get in the car.
    “Give me a sec!”
    I decide to just suffer and go, I don’t want to be late on the first day.
    “Bye mom, I’ll see you after school.” I start to walk off into the sea of highschoolers when my mom stops me.
    “Wait! I can’t pick you up today I have to stay after, you’ll have to walk.” I just groan at her. Great first day of school and I have to walk home.
    “But it’s like a 20 minute walk!”
    “Sorry but I have to get my work done. See if Taylor can give you a ride.”
    “Fine… Bye mom.” She drives off. I think you can start driving at 15.
    I go off and try to find Taylor.
    “Cam! Over here!”
I turn around and see Taylor running at me like she is going to hug me in the most aggressive way possible. I put my arms out and close my eyes to try and protect myself from her. But it doesn’t work; she still slams into me.
“Ow! Stop giving me bruises!” She hugs me and squeezes me until I can’t breathe.
    “ Stop being such a wimp, besides you should be used to me hugging you like that, I’ve been doing it since 7th grade.” I just roll my eyes at her. “I just missed you so much!”
    “You saw me like two days ago!”
    “That doesn’t mean that I can’t miss you.”
    “I guess you missed me because of of my lushes brown hair.” I say sarcastically. And Taylor just punches me in response. She dyed her hair blonde over the summer and hated it so now I tease her about it.
    “You’re a painful friend.” I say rubbing my arm. “In repayment to you punching me… can you give me a ride home?”
    “Anything for my wimp!” I just give her a really? look.  “Oh we could do a sleepov-”
    I just hear muffled noises. All I have my attention to is Hunter. He walks by with a smile on his face; he is so annoyingly handsome. Was he smiling at me?
    “Hey! Get out of La La Land!” Taylor says waving her hand across my face back and forth trying to get my attention.
    “Huh?”
    “I see you drooling with your dreamy eyes over Hunter.”
    “No I wasn’t!” Taylor just glares at me.
    “Fine! I was, but can you blame me? Just look at that face!”
    “Mmmhmm, I bet that you just wanna kiss it!” She says and makes kissy faces and noises.
    “Shhhh! You’re too loud!” I say covering her mouth as my face turns red.
    Taylor moves my hand and says sarcastically, “Okay, okay! Geeze take a joke.” She just roll her eyes at me. “But anyway, sleepover?”
    “Huh? Oh yeah, sure!”
Hunter
    “I can’t believe I just did that.”
    “What did you do?”
    “I walked by Cam and smiled at her!”
“Who? Oh that chick, she’s okay I guess. I heard that she was diagnosed with no-butt-at-all.” He just snickers and I punch him in the arm. “Hey I was just kidding! Geeze, take a chill pill.”
He is such a jerk; I don’t know why I’m friends with him. “Look Mike, I really like her can you not be a jerk about it?”
“When did you turn into a sissy?”
“Hey, I respected you when you said you were dating a girl from Sweden, who was ‘totally real’ according to you.”
“Shut up man! I met her during the summer!”
“When have you ever been to Sweden?”
“I’ve...been…”
“Sure… but really man, please?”
“I guess…”
Cam
Me and Taylor have so many memories at her house. When they got their bidet, (those toilets that shoot water), we told Taylor’s little brother that they got a drinking fountain. Long story short, we were grounded for two weeks.
After we watch a movie we go into her room and sit on her bed and I bring up Hunter.
“What do you think his friends think of me?”
“What does that matter and either way how would I know.”
“Rude.”
“Calm down I’m just stating the facts.”
“What are the facts? And why are you acting this way?”
“Why do you care?”
“I want to know.”
“Do you really want to know, do you really want to know what I think?”
“Just tell me.”
“Okay then, I am tired of you talking about Hunter! It’s been non stop since 7th grade! And to be honest, I think that you’re just love sick and that you don’t have a shot with him.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s all about Hunter, that’s all you think about. I feel like you don’t even think of anyone else but him!”
“Well I’m sorry if I like someone, I guess I’m the worst person ever!”
“I did not say that, just want you to get over him and move on, it is what you should have done years ago!”
“Because you think that I don’t have a shot.”
“Well I’m sorry but I have an opinion.”
I was so mad at her that I was ready to argue all night. What right does she have to talk to me that way!
“I’m done with this, I’m going to sleep, night.”
I don’t say anything and turn around and try not to cry.
We didn’t speak the next morning, and didn’t say goodbye to each other when I left.
I get into the car and sit there in silence.
“So how was the sleepover?” My mom says trying to break the ice.
“Fine.”
“Is everything okay?”
“I said it was fine.”
“Don’t get grumpy with me.”
I turn and look out the window, and once again try not to cry. I know it seems stupid but that hurt. To hear that come from Taylor made it hurt ten times worse.
When we got home I ran to my room and locked the door. I thought about our fight and what she said. I replayed it over and over again and couldn’t get it out of my head, I think that you’re just love sick and that you don’t have a shot with him. Then I realize that I really don’t, I never did. I’m not good enough for anyone let alone Hunter. I stared in the mirror and hated what I saw. All I could see where my insecurities. Tears started rolling down my face before I had any emotion. I sat in my room silently crying; hoping that my mom wouldn’t hear.
The next day at school me and Taylor started talking but it wasn’t the same. We started spending less and less time together until we didn’t even look at each other in the eye anymore. But when I thought about it, when she was completely gone, I realize that she was my only friend. But surprisingly I wasn’t sad, I was angry. This was her fault not mine.
Around the beginning of October, Hunter and I started to talk. It was just simple little heys in the beginning, but then they turned small talk and then into full blown conversations. By the week before Christmas break we became best friends and I had completely forgotten about Taylor.
The day before the break Hunter asked to see me after school.
“Hey, I’m throwing a huge Christmas break party… if you wanna come…”
I had to process that for a minute. Hunter, my Hunter, just asked me to his party. I was silently screaming on the inside.
“So… will you come?”
“Of course!”
“Then it’s a date.”
His face turned bright red and so did mine. We both looked away from each other for a minute as we uncomfortably shifted our weight from one foot to another.
“I’ll see you then.” I say as my voice shakes.
I start to walk home and I’m still shaking. I can feel my heart beating out of my chest, and even though to cool air was blowing against my face my cheeks were still burning.
I raced home to call Taylor about everything. I hop over the couch and as I’m about to call her I remember our fight. It really hurts that I don’t have her anymore. But I think to myself, I’m always the one to apologize, not this time. I turn off my phone my face turned red, but this time it was because I was so mad at her. I start to tremble with anger. I try to calm down and turn on the T.V. and watch ‘The Simpsons’ to pass the time until my mom gets home.
I haven’t talked to Hunter in awhile but tonight is the party. I look all over my closet until I find the perfect dress, it’s red but casual with a hint of Christmas.
My mom drops me off at the party and I start to have a mini panic attack. But then I see Hunter and I get butterflies.
“Hey! You made it!”
“I’m not late am I?”
“No you’re good.”
“Good.”
I look over his shoulder and see someone walking towards us.
“This is Mike.” He says giving him a bro hug.
Hunter
“Hi Mike.” She says a little shaky. As he goes in for a hug she looks really uncomfortable. Mike then leans over towards me and whispers to me,”I know what I said before but dang man!”
I nudge him and whisper back ,”Shut up man!”
Cam
A couple hours into the party almost everyone’s drunk and I feel a little left out. So I grab a beer. As I take a sip I I think to myself, this is disgusting! How can people drink this? But I hold my nose and chug. Two drinks in a nd I start to stumble. I hear  few guys yell, “Lightweight!” But I am trying to focus on not falling over. I look around and see Mike walking towards me. He starts talking to me about Taylor.
“So I heard that you and Taylor were friends... I was wondering if you could set us up.”
I get so angry and I get this one thought stuck in my head until that’s all I can think about. I’m not good enough for someone but she is? And out of nowhere I kiss him. Right in front of everyone, including Hunter. I immediately push him away and race towards Hunter, but he is gone. That party could have been something great but I ruined it. I was heartbroken.
Hunter
Stupid, stupid stupid! Why did I ever like her? To see her do that, I really thought she liked me, I really thought that I could have a chance. I run without knowing where I’m going but anywhere but there is fine with me.
Cam
I start to walk away from the party, tears rolling down my face, until I come up to a house and knock on the door.
“Taylor?” I start crying again and fall into her arms. She doesn't say anything, just holds me. We go lay down on the couch and she stays next to me until I fall asleep.
I wake up the next morning and run to the bathroom regretting having mixed those beers and nachos.
“What happened last night?” I hear Taylor say from behind me. I decide to explain everything to her leaving out no detail. But as I explain I almost start crying again remembering how stupid I was.
“I am so sorry, just like you said I’m love sick and I forgot that you’re best friend I need you.” I say as I realize how stupid and blind I really am.
“I’m sorry too, I had no right to say that, I really missed you.”
We just hold each other one more time.
Hunter
A couple days later I get a text from Cam.
“Hey… I’m really sorry.” “Can I explain?”
I consider blocker her but I really want to know why.
“Sure.”
“Taylor and I were in a really bad place and at the party Mike was asking me to put him and Taylor together, and had already had a few and I just got so mad that wanted to show him that I was better than her. I feel awful and I am so sorry.”
“I forgive you, but after that I think we can only be friends.”
I almost regret sending that but I know that it was for the best.
“I understand.”
Turn off my phone and sit there for a minute. I’m okay.
As the year went by I met another girl and we started dating. I still kind of like Cam but I got a girl and I’m happy.
Cam
Last week of school and my life is a lot better than the beginning of the year. I have Taylor and she’s what I really need. But me and Hunter still catch each other looking at one another here and there, so still could be a chance but only time will  tell. I do see Hunter in the halls with another girl and even though it hurts I know that he’s okay.
I feel better about myself knowing that I have an amazing friend and that a guy could come into my life even if for a short period of time. I know that I’m okay. And besides, what’s the big deal with love?