Hey Romeo, Don't You Think You're Just a Tad Overrated?
Lies
Outside the Library
Cam shouldered his backpack as he pushed the heavy glass door of the library open. A rush of late afternoon air ruffled his hair and blew at his face.
"Max! What are you doing here?" he asked, startled to see his best friend standing outside the library.
"Hey, man. Where were you just now?" Max asked, a hint of coolness behind his words.
Cam blinked, detecting his buddy's underlying tones. "Library," he gestured vaguely to the building behind him. "I was studying."
"You seem to be doing an awful lot of independent studying lately," Max commented as he fell into step beside Cam as the two of them made their long trek back to Reagan Dorm.
Cam shrugged. "Oh, you know, junior year, it's hard," he said, keeping his answers distant.
The corners of Max's lips turned downward, into a frown. He fell silent for a few minutes. Cam suddenly felt uneasy. Sure, he had known Max ever since he was seven, and there had been a lot of comfortable silences between them, but none this awkward.
"So, uh…you handed in your uniform?" Cam tried hesitantly.
"You're lying, aren't you?" Max cut him off.
"What are you talking about?" Cam asked sharply.
Max took a deep breath and exhaled. "You're not telling me the entire truth. You said you were studying independently."
"So?"
"You're tutoring Aurelie. She told me. So much for your bull about independent studying," Max stated firmly.
Cam usually always had an answer to everything. Whether it was smart-aleck, insulting, or intelligent, he always had a comeback. For the first time in his life, Cam Gallagher was left speechless.
"Why did you lie?" Max asked, waiting for an answer.
Cam opened his mouth. "Do you care?"
Max looked annoyed. "For being the number one student in our class, you're as stupid as an ass. Do you think I'd really care that much that you're tutoring Aurelie in the afternoons? In fact, I think it's great. She's really adjusting to this place. What I care about is that you're lying to me about such a trivial thing!"
"If you think it's so great, then why don't you help her yourself? You're her boyfriend," Cam retorted scathingly, trying to bypass Max's previous comment.
This time, Max was dumbstruck.
"Do you even like her?" Cam asked softly.
"I know you do," Max answered.
Cam halted beside the Reagan's Dormitory building. "What are you talking about?"
Max looked impatient. "Look, man, I'm not retarded. I've known you for nearly ten years, and I think I'd recognize when you'd actually like someone."
"What's your point?" Cam said stridently.
”Oh, come on. You're Cam Gallagher! Mr. Epitome-of-Perfection! Varsity Lacrosse captain! Junior class prefect and top student! All the girls nearly worship you!" Max exaggerated.
"What's your point?" Cam repeated again, traces of impatience and harshness lacing his words.
"Cam, I've been living in your shadow since first grade. Everything I do best, you do it better. It doesn't matter what the hell it is, you'll always be better than me. Whatever I have, you have, and it's always better. You're always going to best me. It doesn't matter how hard I try. Why the hell did you think I did Latin? I hate Latin! Nobody uses it anymore, except like those nuns in Vatican City! I only took it because you didn't! And…" Max broke off for a second, struggling to find words. "I wanted to see what it would be like to have something that you didn't," he finally said quietly.
"Well, congratulations, you got your wish. She's now your girlfriend," Cam muttered as he tried to stalk past his friend.
"So you do like her," Max stopped him again with his words.
Cam turned around. "Yeah? What about you? Do you even care a bit about her just a little bit? Did you ever even like her?"
Max sighed, suddenly looking extremely tired. "I do like her, Cam. She's one of the sweetest girls I've ever met, down-to-earth, and fun. She's an amazing person and friend, except…I just don't like her…in that way," he finally admitted.
"You're full of bullshit, Max."
Max looked up, surprised. Cam wasn't one of those people who cursed frequently, unlike Roger (especially at games) and it was always startling when Cam swore.
"You're calling me a liar? I lied because I didn't want you to feel bad or jealous. I lied to you 'cause you're my best buddy, and I did it for your good. I really don't give a damn if you lie to me, Max, but you're playing around with other people's feelings," Cam said angrily.
"I was stupid, okay? You probably don't even know how annoying it is to hear 'Cam Gallagher this, Cam Gallagher that,' everywhere you go! Sure, I'm proud to say to everyone that yeah, Cam Gallagher is my best friend, but it's also pretty annoying to be forever walking in your stupid shadow. So what if I don't like my girlfriend? I'll accept it now! I'll never be as great as you are, and you know what? I'm okay with it," Max said.
Cam looked around, surprised at his words.
"I'm just happy to call you my best friend," Max finished.
"If you were Roger, I'd punch you in the face right about now."
Max grinned. "I'll take that as an excused apology," he said. There was a blank silence. "You really care about her, do you? Even though you don't really show it, you're always helping her."
Cam stayed quiet for a minute. "Does it really matter right now? She's still your girlfriend," he muttered, bitterness creeping into his voice.
Max leaned against the wall. "If it's alright with you…I'd like to stay with her a bit longer. I really do like her, and she's different than everyone else here. I mean, it is just high school…It's probably just…"
"Friends with benefits?" Cam suggested.
"You make it sound so dirty when you say that. You know we barely got past first base**, right?"
"That is unnecessary information."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever."
Cam hesitated. "I'll respect your grounds. It's between her and you, and I'm not interfering with it. She seems really happy now, anyways."
"I guess maybe I could—" Max was cut off by a huge, metallic-sounding crash.
Cam immediately ran to the edge of the building and turned the corner, to see the giant, green trash can outside their dormitory building roll around aimlessly on the sidewalk. He looked up quickly, catching a glimpse of someone—a familiar girl—with long blond hair disappear around the next dorm building.
"What was that?" Max asked as he appeared behind Cam, taking in the rolling trash-can.
Cam shook his head. "I thought I saw Aurelie…but maybe it was just some animal…"
Max looked perplexed at first, then worried. "Do you think she heard anything?" he asked.
Cam shrugged. "I dunno…I saw an ambiguous figure…I might just be seeing things, you know, since we were talking about her and all."
Max nodded slowly, still unsure, as they climbed the steps to the front door, where Cam flashed his ID card at the security system to unlock the door. "Hey, Cam, I'm sorry…for being a complete asshole at times."
Cam was once again quiet as they trooped up the stairs to their respective rooms. "I know you're an asshole," Cam replied, flashing his signature smirk just as he disappeared into his room.
Cam shouldered his backpack as he pushed the heavy glass door of the library open. A rush of late afternoon air ruffled his hair and blew at his face.
"Max! What are you doing here?" he asked, startled to see his best friend standing outside the library.
"Hey, man. Where were you just now?" Max asked, a hint of coolness behind his words.
Cam blinked, detecting his buddy's underlying tones. "Library," he gestured vaguely to the building behind him. "I was studying."
"You seem to be doing an awful lot of independent studying lately," Max commented as he fell into step beside Cam as the two of them made their long trek back to Reagan Dorm.
Cam shrugged. "Oh, you know, junior year, it's hard," he said, keeping his answers distant.
The corners of Max's lips turned downward, into a frown. He fell silent for a few minutes. Cam suddenly felt uneasy. Sure, he had known Max ever since he was seven, and there had been a lot of comfortable silences between them, but none this awkward.
"So, uh…you handed in your uniform?" Cam tried hesitantly.
"You're lying, aren't you?" Max cut him off.
"What are you talking about?" Cam asked sharply.
Max took a deep breath and exhaled. "You're not telling me the entire truth. You said you were studying independently."
"So?"
"You're tutoring Aurelie. She told me. So much for your bull about independent studying," Max stated firmly.
Cam usually always had an answer to everything. Whether it was smart-aleck, insulting, or intelligent, he always had a comeback. For the first time in his life, Cam Gallagher was left speechless.
"Why did you lie?" Max asked, waiting for an answer.
Cam opened his mouth. "Do you care?"
Max looked annoyed. "For being the number one student in our class, you're as stupid as an ass. Do you think I'd really care that much that you're tutoring Aurelie in the afternoons? In fact, I think it's great. She's really adjusting to this place. What I care about is that you're lying to me about such a trivial thing!"
"If you think it's so great, then why don't you help her yourself? You're her boyfriend," Cam retorted scathingly, trying to bypass Max's previous comment.
This time, Max was dumbstruck.
"Do you even like her?" Cam asked softly.
"I know you do," Max answered.
Cam halted beside the Reagan's Dormitory building. "What are you talking about?"
Max looked impatient. "Look, man, I'm not retarded. I've known you for nearly ten years, and I think I'd recognize when you'd actually like someone."
"What's your point?" Cam said stridently.
”Oh, come on. You're Cam Gallagher! Mr. Epitome-of-Perfection! Varsity Lacrosse captain! Junior class prefect and top student! All the girls nearly worship you!" Max exaggerated.
"What's your point?" Cam repeated again, traces of impatience and harshness lacing his words.
"Cam, I've been living in your shadow since first grade. Everything I do best, you do it better. It doesn't matter what the hell it is, you'll always be better than me. Whatever I have, you have, and it's always better. You're always going to best me. It doesn't matter how hard I try. Why the hell did you think I did Latin? I hate Latin! Nobody uses it anymore, except like those nuns in Vatican City! I only took it because you didn't! And…" Max broke off for a second, struggling to find words. "I wanted to see what it would be like to have something that you didn't," he finally said quietly.
"Well, congratulations, you got your wish. She's now your girlfriend," Cam muttered as he tried to stalk past his friend.
"So you do like her," Max stopped him again with his words.
Cam turned around. "Yeah? What about you? Do you even care a bit about her just a little bit? Did you ever even like her?"
Max sighed, suddenly looking extremely tired. "I do like her, Cam. She's one of the sweetest girls I've ever met, down-to-earth, and fun. She's an amazing person and friend, except…I just don't like her…in that way," he finally admitted.
"You're full of bullshit, Max."
Max looked up, surprised. Cam wasn't one of those people who cursed frequently, unlike Roger (especially at games) and it was always startling when Cam swore.
"You're calling me a liar? I lied because I didn't want you to feel bad or jealous. I lied to you 'cause you're my best buddy, and I did it for your good. I really don't give a damn if you lie to me, Max, but you're playing around with other people's feelings," Cam said angrily.
"I was stupid, okay? You probably don't even know how annoying it is to hear 'Cam Gallagher this, Cam Gallagher that,' everywhere you go! Sure, I'm proud to say to everyone that yeah, Cam Gallagher is my best friend, but it's also pretty annoying to be forever walking in your stupid shadow. So what if I don't like my girlfriend? I'll accept it now! I'll never be as great as you are, and you know what? I'm okay with it," Max said.
Cam looked around, surprised at his words.
"I'm just happy to call you my best friend," Max finished.
"If you were Roger, I'd punch you in the face right about now."
Max grinned. "I'll take that as an excused apology," he said. There was a blank silence. "You really care about her, do you? Even though you don't really show it, you're always helping her."
Cam stayed quiet for a minute. "Does it really matter right now? She's still your girlfriend," he muttered, bitterness creeping into his voice.
Max leaned against the wall. "If it's alright with you…I'd like to stay with her a bit longer. I really do like her, and she's different than everyone else here. I mean, it is just high school…It's probably just…"
"Friends with benefits?" Cam suggested.
"You make it sound so dirty when you say that. You know we barely got past first base**, right?"
"That is unnecessary information."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever."
Cam hesitated. "I'll respect your grounds. It's between her and you, and I'm not interfering with it. She seems really happy now, anyways."
"I guess maybe I could—" Max was cut off by a huge, metallic-sounding crash.
Cam immediately ran to the edge of the building and turned the corner, to see the giant, green trash can outside their dormitory building roll around aimlessly on the sidewalk. He looked up quickly, catching a glimpse of someone—a familiar girl—with long blond hair disappear around the next dorm building.
"What was that?" Max asked as he appeared behind Cam, taking in the rolling trash-can.
Cam shook his head. "I thought I saw Aurelie…but maybe it was just some animal…"
Max looked perplexed at first, then worried. "Do you think she heard anything?" he asked.
Cam shrugged. "I dunno…I saw an ambiguous figure…I might just be seeing things, you know, since we were talking about her and all."
Max nodded slowly, still unsure, as they climbed the steps to the front door, where Cam flashed his ID card at the security system to unlock the door. "Hey, Cam, I'm sorry…for being a complete asshole at times."
Cam was once again quiet as they trooped up the stairs to their respective rooms. "I know you're an asshole," Cam replied, flashing his signature smirk just as he disappeared into his room.