I Want Someone to Love Me for Who I Am

The next day Cameron still wasn't in school. A part of me knew he wouldn’t be. I really wanted to just go over to his house and talk to him, but I didn't even know where he lived. He never spoke to me about his home or parents or anything, so I had no clues at all. "Aw, has little Andy lost his friend?" I turned to see everyone laughing at me but I didn't let them see how much it hurt.
"Come on, Andy, we're just having a bit of fun," another boy said.
"It's Andrew," I muttered.
"What was that?" he asked, stepping closer to me. I glanced up at him and then quickly took a step back.
"Nothing, I didn't say anything," I said quietly but adamantly. He just sneered at me and went back to join his friends. I don’t know why I wished of being part of that group. I mean, they weren’t nice people. But I guess, being part of a group means you are accepted by that group. I guess that's what I want. Acceptance. I hoped Cameron could accept me, but judging by the fact that he's avoiding me after I told him the truth, I didn't really think he would accept me either. Crushed, I went home after school. My parents were coming home later tonight, but I didn't mind, I just wanted to be alone.

At about 5 o'clock the doorbell rang. I sighed as I climbed off my bed and went to the door. I opened it and paused. Cameron was standing on my doorstep, his head lowered. "Cam?" I asked. Despite whatever was happening between us, he was still my best friend and I could tell something was up.
"Hey," he said. He was wearing a black hat, which covered his head and darkened his features.
"Um, are you feeling better?" I asked him. I felt stupid asking because I knew that he wasn't sick.
"Y-Yeah..." he said softly, still not looking up. I sighed and stepped out of the way, letting him into my house. We went into the living room and sat on the sofa. I put the television on but I don’t think either of us were watching it.
"Look, Cam...if you regret what happened the other day, it's okay. Just tell me instead of avoiding me. I...I still want you to be my friend," I said sadly.
"What?" he asked, clearly shocked.
"I mean, that's why you weren’t in, right? You didn't want to see me. Because I know you weren’t sick," I said. I didn't look at him, worried I'd lose my confidence, but I could feel his eyes on me.
"No, I wasn't sick..." he whispered. "But I'm not avoiding you, I promise. I don’t regret kissing you." I glanced up at him to see he had lowered his head again.
"Really? Then why weren’t you at school?" I asked him. I could tell he was being sincere when he said it wasn't me.
"Um, just...family stuff," he said and I nodded. I knew he wasn't telling me the truth, but I had to accept that he didn't want to tell me everything yet. "Andrew, close your eyes," he whispered. I glanced at him wearily and then obeyed. Only seconds later I felt his lips pressing against mine. I smiled slightly into the kiss and brought my hand up to cup his cheek. Cameron gasped slightly and I hesitantly deepened the kiss. My tongue brushed along his lower lip and his mouth instantly opened, allowing me inside. I wasn't really sure what I was doing, but I don’t think Cam knew either, so I felt more comfortable knowing he was just as inexperienced as me.

Eventually we ran out of breath and pulled apart. Cameron immediately hugged me tight, burying his face in my chest. I wrapped my arms around his waist and held him close to me, smiling into his soft brown hair. We sat there for what felt like hours until Cameron finally sighed and started to pull away from me. "I should get home," he said softly and I nodded. "Um, are we...okay?" I looked at him and smiled slightly. He was still looking at the floor, unsurely.
"Yeah, we're okay," I said. "Are you coming in tomorrow? I didn't like being at school without you." I saw him blush slightly.
"I-I think I'll be there," he said and I smiled.
"Great," I smiled and leant down and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow then?" He nodded and smiled slightly before turning and walking out of my house.

I released a deep breath and a fell back onto the sofa. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Cam hadn’t been avoiding me, I'd just been paranoid.