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

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After three more gutter balls, Cam sat down in the plastic chairs, crossed his arms resolutely, and refused to play, no matter how hard we pleaded and begged. As the hour progressed, the scowl on his face deepened until Alyssa went up and told him that if he kept frowning any longer, he was going to have to surgically remove the scowl.

"I'm going to go get a drink," I announced, standing up, as Will cheered as he scored another spare for our team.

"I'm coming too," Cam immediately followed my lead. "Anything to get away from here," I heard him mutter almost inaudibly under his breath.

"You don't like bowling?" I asked, almost wanting to slap myself in the face after the stupidest and most obvious question slipped from my lips.

He gave me a strange look.

"It's a rhetorical question," I added hastily, hoping to cover up my moment-of-stupidity.

"Okay, but that doesn't really make sense," Cam muttered as we stepped in place at the end of the snack bar line.

There was a very long awkward silence.

"Hey, Aurelie, listen. About yesterday…uh…I'm not sure how much you overheard but…" Cam suddenly started uncomfortably.

"Why are you telling me this anyway?" I snapped, my good mood vanishing. "What if I didn't hear anything at all?"

"You're basically implying you did," Cam answered almost dryly, taking the hints from my annoyed tone and my last statement.

I fumed. "Never mind. It's not your problem anyway. It's mine. Why do you care so much anyway?" I mumbled.

Cam looked away. "I don't know," he said quietly.

"Ooh, that's a first, Cam Gallagher 'does not know' something!" I said sarcastically as I stepped forward to the head of the line. "Hi, can I have one tall Sierra Mist?"

"Make it two," Cam butted in from next to me.

The man serving us nodded wearily, sliding two plastic fountain cups with bendy straws at us. I was reaching for the money I had shoved in the back pocket of my jeans when Cam handed over ten dollars, enough to cover both sodas.

"I never paid you back for the bus fee at Deerfield," he mumbled as the man handed him back his change.

"Uh. Oh. Okay. Um…thanks," I said awkwardly as we headed back to where everyone else was.

We ended up losing to Andy's team anyway, although we did beat Roger's team by a wide margin of points, which was satisfying. Everyone agreed that it was pretty fun, and they wanted to try it again in the future. Cam, however, refused to accompany them, unless he was sitting on the sidelines monitoring the score. Beth had flirted shamelessly (which was most unlike Beth, but hey, who knows) with the lacrosse team, as did Will. Except I wasn't really sure about Will, since I'd never seen…you know, a guy attempt to flirt with a guy. But all in all, it was a great Saturday night out.

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As the weeks flew by, Thanksgiving break came and went, and November quickly morphed into December. The Illinois winter wasn't gentle. We'd already had snow flurries, although none of the snow actually stuck to the ground. Soon, the biggest buzz going around was the upcoming Winter Formal, held in the huge auditory room in Phillips Hall. Although this wasn't the first dance of the year, (we did have homecoming late October) it was the most famous at McAllister Academy, other than the yearly senior prom. I had gone to Homecoming with Will, Beth and Alyssa, except it was about the most boring dance I'd ever attended. And I didn't attend many dances. Apparently all the seniors and quite a number of juniors had their first AP exam the Monday right after Homecoming and decided to ditch the dance and only go to the game, and the sophomores and the freshmen were either too shy or too cocky to dance. Hence, a disastrous party, although my friends and I did indeed jam out to our favorite songs.

It was Tuesday and I had a big Lit. test coming up on Thursday, so I was in the library trying to study.

"Aurelie," someone called my name.

I immediately looked up from my fat textbook. Max was standing in front of me, his backpack over one shoulder. The tie around his neck was loose and he had tired circles under his bright eyes.

"Hey, Max," I started softly. "Are you okay? You look…tired."

He shook his head, sliding his backpack onto a chair and sitting down across from me. "Can I…talk to you?"

I closed my textbook. Something squeezed in my chest. I nodded.

Max ran a hand through his fair hair. "You've been ignoring me lately," he murmured quietly.

I looked down, a lock of my long hair covering my eyes. "I've been busy…with schoolwork and all that."

Max laughed. "That is such a Cam Gallagher answer.'I'm busy with schoolwork'," he reached out and gently took hold of my hand.

I couldn't help it, I blushed. Whether it was from his hand on top of mine, or his reply to my statement, I didn't know.

"Aurelie…is there something…between us? Have I done anything wrong?" he asked quietly, interlacing our fingers together.

I stared down at our intertwined hands. "No Max. You haven't done anything. If it's anything, it's probably my fault. I…I don't know. I don't think I can do—do you like me, Max?" I changed my thought midway.

He looked surprised. "Like you? Of course, Aurelie. You're amazing. I…" he suddenly broke off.

"How much?" I pressed. "Do you really like me? Do you love me? Or do you just like me…as a friend?"

He looked up, his emerald eyes burning into mine. "I don't know," he whispered. I felt something turn uncomfortably in the pit of my stomach, and I was suddenly hit with a wave of nausea.

I untangled my hand from his and rested them in my lap. "Maybe we should take a break," I suggested, my voice cracking.

Max nodded stiffly. There was something indistinguishable swimming in his eyes and he almost looked…hurt. I suddenly just wanted to reach over and hug him as hard as I could.

"Aurelie, I'm sor—"

"You guys didn't invite me to the party?" a sharp voice suddenly interrupted Max.

He looked up at the figure standing over our table, his expression twisting into a look of mild annoyance and impatience. "This isn't a party, Brynne. And I'd appreciate it if you could go away right now."

I watched Brynne carefully. She suddenly turned her gaze on me, glaring at me scathingly.

"Whatever. And I know that your party's just about to be over, Aurelie," Brynne emphasized, and I quickly caught the double meaning behind her words.

"Not like you're ever going to get the invite," I replied sardonically.

Her eyes narrowed, and with a turn of her heel, she stalked away. Max looked between the two of us, confused with our exchange. I sighed and stood up.

"I think I should go now," I said, surprised that I was able to deliver the line so calmly. "I'll…see you around?"

Max nodded listlessly, staring down at the desk in front of him. I quickly grabbed my bag and left the library as fast as I could, keeping my head down. On the way to the McAllister House, I nearly crashed into a stray passerby on the sidewalk.

"Sorry," I mumbled, sidestepping him or her.

"Whoa, wait, Aurelie. I have the math team practice packet for next week, just hand it in to Mr. Har—"

"Thanks, Cam," I intoned, plucking the paper from his hands and continuing on my way, my hair shielding my eyes.

"Aurelie? Is there…something wrong?" Cam called. Did he sound concerned? I ignored him and walked faster. As soon as I turned the corner and made sure I was out of his sight, I broke into a dead run.

David was in conference and Rachel was out, presumably shopping, so the house was deserted. I sprinted up the stairs and locked myself in my room, collapsing on the bed, and finally letting the waterworks flow.

I remember the last time I cried. For two months straight, I cried myself to sleep every single night at the orphanage after my parents died. I promised myself that I would never, ever, cry again after that. And here I was now, sobbing over a guy that I didn't even like. I didn't even know why it hurt so much, but it just did. I felt sorry for Max, and sorry for myself. It was so pathetic. I was so pathetic.