Hey Romeo, Don't You Think You're Just a Tad Overrated?

Revelations

"What are you going to chose?" Alyssa asked as she dragged me past the long rows of small desks lined strategically along the gymnasium wall.

"I think I'll stick to archery," Will announced.

"Again?" I wrinkled my nose. "You are so lazy, Will."

Will shrugged as he quickly signed his name under the archery class again. "Do you really think I'd be able to play football? People with figures like me, stick to classy sports."

The four of us burst into laughter.

"I'm doing squash," Alyssa said, stopping in front of the squash sign-in desk.

"What are you going to pick, Beth?" I asked the quiet brunette standing next to me.

She shrugged. "I'll stay with you this time," she said, smiling.

I glanced at my other options. Water Polo, volleyball, aerobics, indoor track, fencing. The last one caught my eye.

"I think I'm going to try fencing," I said slowly as I approached the desk.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay with sharp objects?" Will joked.

"I challenge you to a joust, Sir William!" I mimed slashing a sword at his head.

He ducked. "A verbal joust is all I can entertain you with, ma'am!" he countered.

"Come on, let's go to the game room," Alyssa proclaimed after we had all signed up for our respective P.E. class. "See you after your tutoring session, Aurelie?" she directed at me.

I nodded as we parted ways. I straightened my bag over my shoulder and quickly headed towards the library.

____________________

Cam was already seated at a small table in the back corner of the room, reading a thick book, when I arrived. Even though I'd knew he'd be there, part of me was still surprised to see that he had actually shown up.

"Thanks for doing this," I said as I slid into a seat.

He sighed and closed the book. "It's nothing," he muttered. He showed no emotion whatsoever, completely ignorant to the awkward confrontation we held on Friday night. "So, what do you need help in?"

"Biology, actually. I don't really get the different sugars."

Cam leaned forward, glancing down at my paper. I breathed in. He smelled like the pine wood forest, and his hair had a lemony tint to it. I shook my head, discarding the thought.

"Here," he started, "start out by listing the differences between DNA and RNA and then we'll go from there…"

An hour later, Cam finally leaned back and stretched. "That's it for today then, I guess." We both stood up, packing away our books into our bags silently. "Uh, are you going to the mess hall?" he suddenly asked, sounding hesitant.

I looked up. "Yeah, I'm meeting my friends there."

Cam kept his head down. "I guess we could go together then," he muttered, zipping his black backpack shut.

My heart jumped. This was completely irrational, I thought to myself. Why did I suddenly feel excited? "Sure," I said, hoping my voice sounded blasé.

The walk from the library to the mess hall was a long one; we trudged along as twilight slowly approached our walk eerily silent.

"Are you still…writing?" I asked quietly, desperate to break the silence.

"I thought I told you never to bring that up again," Cam suddenly snapped, his voice callous.

I almost flinched. "I don't get it though," I murmured. "Why are you hiding them? They're really amazing."

Cam stayed quiet for a moment, before he suddenly spoke again, his voice impatient. "Fine, Aurelie. I'll ask you this. What do you know about me? Honestly, what do you even know about me?"

I was startled at the tone of his words. "What do I know about you?" I echoed blankly.

"Exactly. You don't know anything about me. So please stop trying to pretend you do," he said shortly.

I was going to protest, but someone else's voice cut across my words.

"What's this, Aurelie? Do I suspect bigamy?" Brynne smirked as she walked towards us from the opposite direction.

I scowled. "I'm not married to anyone, Brynne," I said cynically.

She rolled her eyes. "To put it into simpler terms then, cheating?" She stared pointedly at Cam, who was walking next to me.

I felt a flush crawl up my neck, but it was Cam who answered. "That's ridiculous. Is there a law against walking to the mess hall with a friend of the opposite gender? This isn't the eighteenth century, Brynne," he said authoritatively.

I felt an excited spark alight in me when Cam uttered the word "friend." He had called me a friend. I was his friend.

Brynne didn't cower. "Last I checked, Cam Gallagher doesn't do female friends," she jutted her chin out.

"Last I checked, Brynne Albright is going to receive detention if she continues to retaliate against a prefect," Cam threatened. His gold badge twinkled at Brynne in the fading light.

She glared at it angrily, before shooting a very bitter, "Whatever," and stalking away.

"Is she retarded?" I asked, trying to lighten up the tension that Brynne had left behind.

"Just the opposite in fact. She's crafty," Cam said as he pulled open the mess hall door, holding it open for me.

"Thanks," I muttered.

He gave a non-committal nod as we started to part our different ways.

"Oh, and…Cam…you shouldn't pretend that nothing ever affects you…because things do…and I can see it," I said, keeping my eyes on the floor. "See you around," I muttered quickly and hurried away to where Will, Alyssa, and Beth were waiting, leaving Cam Gallagher staring at my retreating back, a stunned look on his face.