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Chapter 10

My whole body is shaking, and I am slowly jerked out of my wonderful dream of being a rock star. Instead of fans screaming my name and professing their love for me, Maria is screaming my name professing her annoyance of how I won’t get my butt out of bed. I push her off of me slightly and attempt to roll back over, but she won’t have any of that. She is persistent that one. Sometimes, like early in the morning, I question our friendship.

“Go away Maria!”

“No! You are going to school today, so wake up!” Maria gives me a final shove, sending me toppling onto the ground next to my bed. That’s it! I’m going to crucify this girl for interrupting my sleep, but before I can wrap my fingers around her neck, she is out of the room and down the stairs. That’s fine, but I will be plotting my revenge on her later today. Since I’m up already, I make my way to the shower and begin to get ready for the day.

The whole process is taking longer than usual because I keep re-playing last night over and over in my head. Damien was fun, but Cameron was, well, Cameron. How could Damien even begin to compete with perfection like that? I mean that hair, and those lips, and the way it feels when he is kissing me—Damien just isn’t quite up to par. However, I care for Cameron a lot; and that is scary because I don’t think he feels the same way. I’m risking everything again, practically setting myself up for heartbreak. The smart girl in me should be saying, “No! Don’t do it! He is a player! Just say no!” Unfortunately, the love-sick, hormonal teenager in me is shutting her up quite efficiently.

Maria’s angry voice radiates up the stairs signaling that I need to get a move on or else face serious consequences. I spray one final spritz of perfume before grabbing my backpack and heading downstairs to meet Maria who greets me with a wolf-whistle.

“Well, I’ll be damned. Amanda, if I do say so myself, you are one sexy b-otch!” I just laugh at her as I follow her out of the house towards her car. Cameron’s car is gone this morning, but that doesn’t surprise me because we are running fifteen minutes late. We are going to have to break all sorts of speed limits in order to get to school in time. Luck for us, Maria is driving. Getting there in less than ten minutes shouldn’t be a problem at all. Now, I’ll just have to close my eyes and spend the next ten minutes of my life praying for safety!

I feel the car lurch to a stop, but I still refuse to peel open my eyelids. If it is even possible, I think her driving abilities are getting worse with time, and people say things get better with time! Lies! I flounder around for the handle bar, grasping onto its cool metal and plunging out of the car. Finally, I open my eyes only to be momentarily blinded by the natural light. Some of my fellow cheerleaders are hanging out under a tree, and they wave at me, beckoning me to come over. I wave politely back, but I stick with Maria and head towards her brother. I can see her tensing when she realizes I’m following her, but I give her a reassuring smile that hopefully says, “It’s okay. I’m over him.” Instead of “It’s okay. We hooked up last night.” I really hope she doesn’t get the second message.

“Hey Cameron!” Maria’s voice is strained, but I can hear an underlying tone of excitement. She loves Cameron to death, and she is trying to hate him for my benefit. Unfortunately, she can’t stay mad at him for long, so she is putting on an act now, trying to seem like she is still mad.

“Hey sis, Panda.” I nod my head at him, but I don’t say anything. I’m still supposed to be heartbroken after all. I shouldn’t feel too comfortable in his presence just yet, or else Maria might be suspicious. Maria opens her mouth to say something, but she is cut off by the loud squeal of the bell indicating that it was time to head to class. A look of complete horror crosses her face, and she runs off, mumbling something about a history assignment behind us. Now, Cameron and I are completely alone, but at least I don’t have to fake silence because I have no idea what to say. Lucky for me, Cameron breaks the tension when he pulls out an energy drink from his backpack and wordlessly hands it to me. I give him a questioning look, but he doesn’t say anything. He just looks right back at me before beginning to move towards class, and just as I think I won’t get an explanation, he steps into me, pressing my body deadly close against his.

“Drink up Panda. You’ll need your energy for lesson four this afternoon.”

With those words, he was off to class as if he wasn’t just pressed up against me in a very non-friendly way. I steal a look around, trying to see if anyone witnessed our little encounter. Luck was on my side again because no one else was outside which is good, but it also means I’m going to be late for class.

Just like I predicted, I walked into first period after the tardy bell rang, and because my teacher is the wonderful human being she is, she sent me directly to the office to get my late slip. That’s how my morning started off, and it didn’t get much better until now because it is now lunch time. Let’s face it. That is every single high school student’s favorite part of the day. Freshmen, sophomore, junior, or senior—it doesn’t matter. Everyone loves lunch.

I walk in and try to spot Maria, but I don’t see her little head anywhere, meaning I’m here first. Sweet victory! That means I get to get the yummy food—none of that healthy crap she likes. When I reach the line, I find that not only do we have pizza (my favorite!) but also nachos and fries. I feel like a complete pig as I pile my tray up, but I don’t care. I’ll run it off later. I don’t question my choice to grab dessert when I see that it is chocolate chip cookies. Well, that is until I hear a low chuckle erupting from behind me as I slide four cookies onto my tray. Whipping around, I’m face to face with Cameron.

“Forget Panda. I think I will dub thee cookie monster.” Being the mature adult that I am, my response is to stick my tongue out at him. My come-backs are monumental, I swear. He gives me a devilish smirk and steps in closer to me.

“Be careful Panda. I might have to give you an impromptu lesson on PDA if you keep tempting me with your tongue.” His words are low and husky, and they make a blush spread up over my cheeks, making him bend over in laughter. It isn’t till after my whole face has turned red that I realize that he is yet again just teasing me. Before I can retort with something, the cashier calls me up to pay; but before I can get my money out, Cameron hands her a twenty, indicating he wants to pay for us both.

“Cameron, I can get my own lunch.”

“Please, that is half for my sister, and you know it. Let me play the good guy every once in a while Panda.” The lunch lady’s eyes go all doe-like, and she lets out a low ‘awe’ since he is just so adorable. I can’t help but to roll my eyes at her reaction. He chuckles, giving her a wink before steering us out of the line. I’m about to walk away before he grabs my elbow and places his lips against my ear.

“Lesson today at six at the factory.” I feel his warm breath leave my skin, leaving me standing there momentarily dazed. I physically have to shake myself before walking over to our table where I am forced to meet Maria’s questioning gaze, but she doesn’t vocalize any concern. Instead, she dives straight into the food. I’m thoroughly enjoying my daydream continuation about my dream of being a rock star from the night before when Maria’s voice breaks through the silencel.

“Isn’t that that hot bouncer from the club?” Whipping my head around, I see Damien standing in the door way of the cafeteria, silently scanning over all the tables which are all focused on him. He spots me and gives me a slight wave before heading towards our table.

“Hold up one second missy!” Maria’s voice cuts through the air, but at a volume only we can hear.

“You failed to tell me about your hottie encounter last night!”

“Well, I didn’t think about it this morning, but I’ll tell you about it later.” She is about to protest, but Damien steps up the table, forcing her to drop whatever argument she was about to make.

“Hey beautiful, so I was thinking: would you like to go out on a date with me tonight? I know it is late notice, but it is my only night off for a couple of days. I don’t want to have to wait a couple of days before seeing your face again.” His words send a blush to my cheeks, and I am about to say yes when I catch Cameron’s heated gaze. Shit, Cameron. What the hell am I going to do?

*****

Well, what did you guys think! I'm not sure when the next time I'll be able to update will be. I am going to an ATL concert this weekend, and next week is going to be crazy busy with school work, so I'm trying to get most of it done this week. Hope you guys enjoy. Maybe if I get a bunch of votes and comments, it'll encourage me to stay up late and crank out another chapter before the week is out!