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

"I'm back!" I announced as I opened the door and stepped inside.

David and Cam both looked up from the living room. David nodded in acknowledgement and Cam shot me a small grin. A thick stack of papers were lying on the coffee table in front of them, and it looked like they were discussing something.

"These are all the attendance records for the entire junior class…we're missing Elizabeth Fields though. She's the new transfer student from Andover…" Cam was saying.

I crossed the foyer and opened the closet to hang up my jacket. Someone knocked lightly on the front door, and after David shouted "Come in!" the door opened, revealing a disheveled Lane Bryans, holding another armful of papers.

"Sorry I'm late. Um, I have all the disciplinary records for the junior class here for students with the last name of M to Z?" Lane entered quickly, placing the stack on the coffee table as well. She managed a small wave in my direction.

"I have the records for A to L," Cam said as Lane sat down next to him on the couch, their identical gold prefect badges twinkling in unison on their chests.

"Lane, do you have the new attendance record for Elizabeth Fields?" David asked, sifting through a few papers.

"Uh…yes. It's here," she pulled out a thin sheet from the bottom of a stack.

"Great. These just have to be sorted…it's for the second trimester, right?" David continued muttering. "Aurelie, I think Rachel's making hot cocoa in the kitchen. Can you bring some over for all of us?" he said in my direction.

I nodded, leaving the living room. "Hi Rachel," I greeted her as I took out three mugs from the kitchen cabinet.

"Hello. How was your trip? Did you find anything nice?" she asked as I slid her credit card back to her across the counter.

I smiled from the memory. "It was fun, and I found this beautiful purple dress. I already paid for it, but it needed a few small adjustments in the bust area, so I'll be picking it up next week at the shop," I explained.

"That's wonderful! I can't wait to see it," Rachel said, helping me fill three mugs with hot cocoa. "Here watch out, they're hot."

I somehow managed to balance all three mugs in my hands, and I carefully made my way over to the living room, where the junior class prefects and the headmaster were still discussing things. I quietly sidled back into the kitchen, chatting amiably with Rachel until I heard the front door open and shut again. Thinking that both of them had left, I reentered the living room to find Lane gone and David and Cam still standing in the living room.

"Thank you for your help Mr. Gallagher. It's been most useful," David was saying, tucking a couple of thick manila folders under his arm.

Cam nodded, suddenly looking rather uncomfortable. "Sir, if you don't mind…" he started.

"Anything, Cam," David said, finishing off the last dregs of the cocoa.

"I was wondering if I could take Aurelie into town tomorrow night."

I looked up, and David's smile suddenly vanished. His eyes narrowed and his face hardened. I almost flinched. He was usually very warm around Cam…but whenever the subject of me was brought up, the room temperature would immediately drop by at least ten degrees.

"Tomorrow's Sunday," David said. "There's class on Monday."

"I promise she'll be home early," Cam said resolutely.

David's lips thinned. "I don't know…"

"Please, David?" I picked up my courage and stepped in as well. "I know I just went into town today but maybe just for a movie tomorrow?"

"But you have—"

"I'm sure it's alright," Rachel suddenly interrupted, standing on the threshold of the living room and the kitchen. "After all, Spring has just arrived."

I half expected her to finish the sentence with "and love is in the air," but somehow that would have offended David in some sort of way.

"Fine," David grumbled, setting the empty mug on the table. "I'm going to the administrations office. You should get going too, Mr. Gallagher."

Cam nodded and picked up his bag, walking over to me. He leaned closer, and David suddenly cleared his throat behind him. "I'll see you in a few minutes," Cam whispered almost inaudibly, flashed a quick smirk, and headed for the door.

I contemplated his mysterious message for a few seconds before it came clear. "I'm going upstairs," I said quickly, ignoring David's scrutinizing look and Rachel's smile as I skirted down the hallway and up the stairs. At the top of the second floor, I paused, listening as Rachel and David's voices floated up the stairs.

"Don't you think you're being a bit too harsh?" Rachel was saying.

"I don't like it," David grunted in reply, "I don't want my daughter to be some sort of tramp."

"Oh for heaven's sake, David, Aurelie is not a tramp!" Rachel sighed, exasperated. I stifled a giggle. "They're all very respectable boys! They're all teenagers."

"I still don't like it," David muttered obstinately.

"You didn't like Max. Now you don't like Cam? For the past three years, all you've been talking about is Cam Gallagher this, Cam Gallagher that, the star student with incredible potential. And suddenly you dislike him? Give the boy some credit. You've known him for three years now, and Aurelie happens to be his first girlfriend in high school," Rachel said.

I heard the sound of the front foyer's closet open. "I'll be back for dinner," David said, and then the front door slammed shut.

Rachel suddenly appeared at the foot of the stairs, looking up at me. "Eavesdropping?" she smiled knowingly.

I shrugged. "I'm a teenager," I said. Rachel laughed and I paused. "I'm not a tramp, am I?" I questioned.

Rachel shook her head. "No, hon, you're most definitely not. David's just being protective. And probably because he's never had a girlfriend in high school before."

I stopped. "Really?" I asked, incredulous.

Rachel nodded. "He was…more of a dork. Nah, maybe a geek. And a prefect nonetheless. He was never really popular in high school, although he was amazing at skiing. I never really knew him…he was a year older than me. We met up again after college…but that's another story. I have to go make dinner now. Come down at six thirty?" She smiled up at me and I nodded.

As soon as Rachel left, I nearly ran all the way down to my bedroom and burst inside, closing the door shut behind me. I crossed the room and jerked the window open as high as it would go.

"You know there's something called a back door right?" I asked, bemused, as Cam shoved his backpack through the window, and then himself, dusting off the stray leaves and rose petals.

"Yeah, but this is more fun," he straightened his jacket and grinned.

I shook my head as he helped me close the window, our conversation immediately lowering to whispers.

"David could have seen you if he decided to walk around the house! That was risky!" I said as I lifted his backpack and set it by the corner. "What's in here, bricks?"

Cam ignored my question, opting to rebuke my first statement. "I waited until he was out of sight before I climbed the trellis." He tapped the side of his head. "Genius, remember?"

"Someone else walking by could have seen and reported you. You would have been stripped from your prefect status faster than you could say 'oh no'," I protested.

Cam smirked and sat down at my desk chair. “Since when did you care about my prefect status?”

I rolled my eyes in defiance. “I don’t.”

He laughed softly and reached for my hand, pulling me over closer to him. I felt my heart rate quicken. Suddenly, we heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Cam and I both froze for a second before we both started moving. But it wasn’t quick enough. There were two soft knocks on the door.

“Aurelie?” Rachel asked from the other side of the still closed door.

Cam and I both stopped moving. “Yeah?” I called out hesitantly, praying that she wouldn’t ask to come inside or open the door.

“How does chicken for dinner sound? Rachel questioned.

“Great!” I voiced enthusiastically—a bit too enthusiastically. Cam shot a look at me.

“Alright then. Chicken it is,” Rachel said, her steps fading in the direction of the stairs.

I let out a sigh of relief and threw myself face-down on the bed. “Thank the heavens,” I said, my voice muffled by the pillow.

I heard Cam chuckle and the bed sink down a bit as he sat down on the edge. “You’re a terrible actress,” he commented.

I flipped over and sat up, facing him. “And you’re a terrible liar.”

He smirked in response and simply pulled me closer until our lips touched. I sighed into the kiss and I felt him smile. I could just do this forever…sitting here, kissing Cam… His warm arms encircled my waist as we broke apart briefly for air. But before I could say anything, his mouth was on mine again, this time more fervent and demanding. He suddenly pushed me down onto the bed, and a wave of fear and excitement struck me. He broke away from me again, his hands on either side of my head, gazing down at me with a hint of amusement in his eyes.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” he whispered, smirking.

I flushed. “I was not,” I muttered defiantly, and he chuckled, sitting up again. I followed suit so that we were sitting side by side on the edge of my bed. “You have to go,” I noted, realizing the time.

Cam cocked his head. “You’re chasing me out?”

I grinned. “No, you have patrol duty tonight. You’re taking over Lane’s shift, remember?”

Cam groaned. “I forgot…” he said, standing up and stretching. “I really don’t want to patrol tonight,” he grumbled, picking up his backpack and swinging it over his shoulders.

“It’s your duty,” I said almost dryly. He cast a bemused glance in my direction. “And I’m pretty sure you being here in my room right now is forbidden.”

Cam was already halfway out the window. “That’s what makes all of this more fun,” he replied, smiling at me devilishly.