Let Love In

That night, I couldn’t fall asleep. Not only did the glimpse of Jonathan’s face haunt me, but what happened between Cameron and I was permanently in my brain. I didn’t understand why it wouldn’t leave my brain. I mean, I guess it did stick because last time I checked, a friend doesn’t kiss you unless they might have feelings for you. I was slightly confused with where Cameron and I stood. Were we friends (which was something I was hoping for) or does he want us to be, dare I say it…more than friends? I took my pillow beneath my head and covered my face, muffling my scream. Why was everything so confusing and complicated? Oh wait, that’s the way life, is.

“Emma?” I heard Cameron whisper.

I lifted the pillow off my face and sat up straight. It was the first time Cameron was talking to me after the incident. I was unable to see his face, the room being nearly pitch black. I sat there, fiddling with my pillow on my lap as I waited for him to continue.

“Can I talk to you?” We asked in unison. We waited for one to start talking, but neither of us said anything so I spoke first.

“About yesterday, can we just forget about it? This awkward silence is killing me,” I confessed.

Cameron rested his hand on his heart. “Oh, thank goodness. I couldn’t take the awkward silence either. You know how hard it is not being able to talk to your best friend?”

“Believe me, I know the feeling,” I nodded my head.

The atmosphere in the room was no longer awkward, but quiet. The only light was the moon shining from the balcony door. I could hear the floor creak as I saw the figure of Cameron move towards the door.

“Come on, let’s go out for a while.”

“You do realize its 2:00 in the morning, right?”

“It’s better than staying here,” he pointed out.

I removed the bed sheets and let my feet sink into my shoes. I got up from the bed and followed Cameron as we headed towards the elevator and out into the foyer of the hotel. The summer air hit against my face as I stepped foot outside. The

“Where are we going?” I folded my arms trying to keep up with him.

“You’ll see. Now come on, you’re so slow.” He grabbed onto my hand and dragged me along as we sprinted for a good 15 minutes. We arrived at what I assumed was a restaurant. As we crossed the street and walked closer and closer, I could finally make out what the sign said: Denny’s.

We stepped into Denny’s that was filled with at least 5 night owls and slid into a booth by the window. I could hear the slight murmurs of the night owls as they sipped their coffee, hoping to stay awake.

“What’s with you and these late night getaways?” I questioned.

He looked up from his hands, beaming at me. “Why do you always have so many questions?”

“I asked you first.” I fired back. His smile was plastered on his face, refusing to remove itself. I wondered how a boy could smile so much without complaining about his cheeks hurting. All I knew was that his smile lit up the world, my world to be exact.

“When I can’t sleep, I like to go out. You know, to clear my mind since it’s crowded with thoughts.”

I smirked at him once he finished his sentence. “What kind of thoughts, Mr. Quiseng?”

He rolled his eyes playfully at me. “Who would’ve thought this innocent, quiet girl would end up having a mind of a 12-year-old?”

“I think it has to do with the lack of sleep,” I shrugged. “But seriously, what runs through your mind?” I asked with curiosity.

“A lot of things,” he said vaguely. “The future, feelings, people…you know,” he listed.

A woman walked up to our table, a pen and paper in hand. She was obviously wide awake, but most definitely not full of pep. Her cotton shirt had coffee stains and God knows what other things and her hair was a complete mess. She stared us down, waiting to take our order.

“Can I take your order?” The woman asked in a monotone voice, too lazy to introduce herself.

Cameron quickly grabbed the menu scanned it. “I’ll take the biscuit and gravy with hash browns.”

“I’ll have the same thing,” I added.

“And what would you like to drink?” Her eyes glued to the pad of paper as she wrote down our orders.

“Lemonade,” we said in unison. We watched as the woman walked away unhappily, dragging her feet across the floor.

“Copycat,” I coughed. He ignored my comment, taking out a pen and held my hand. He began to retrace the heart on my ring finger that had faded a little. The shape was perfect and clear. He put the pen back in his pocket and examined his creation. He looked up, his lips forming a smile. He didn’t need to say anything; his emotions said it all. He was still holding my hand, yet somehow it didn’t bother me. I knew that I had to pull it away. Things were getting too far and if I didn’t back down now, I knew I would fall into the trap sooner or later but I just couldn’t. It was beginning of something; something I knew would end up hurting me.



I’ll be honest, I was hoping to be woken up by the sounds of Cameron’s voice or him fiddling with the guitar, but that wasn’t the case. Instead, I was woken up by multiple knocks on the door. Cameron and I returned to our room at around 3:30 so you could only imagine how tired we were. I curled up into a ball, hugging my sheets tighter as I heard Cameron grumble and get out of bed to open the door.

“Hi!” I heard a voice shriek. I closed my eyes tighter; wishing whoever was here would disappear so I could sleep.

“Jenna, what are you doing here?” Cameron replied.

“Did you think I was really going to miss opening night?” Her voice boomed around the room. I shifted in my bed, hoping she’d get the message. “Oh, were you two still sleeping? I’m so sorry, I would’ve waited until you guys were awake but I wanted to know if you wanted to go out and eat breakfast.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll be out in 15 minutes. Meet me in the lobby.”

And just like that, they said their farewells and kissed each other. I tossed and turned, hoping I’d be able to fall back to sleep but it was no use. I opened my eyes and read the time on my phone: 9:45 am. I sighed and sat up on my bed. Cameron stepped out of the bathroom, his hair still visibly wet.

“Could you tell the guys I’ll meet them at the venue as soon as I can?” He asked me.

I nodded my head. “Yeah,” I mumbled.

“Thanks, Emma,” he thanked me as he tossed the towel on his bed and ran out the door. So much for asking if he wanted to eat breakfast with me.



The lights began to dim as the boys prepared to end the opening night of their tour. Screams began to fill the room, the adrenaline pumping through everyone’s bodies. From the merch table, it definitely looked like a sold out show. Plenty of people stopped by and bought shirts, sweaters and bracelets. It was my first time watching the guys perform and let me tell you, they really do know how to put on a phenomenal show. The music started with a bang as everyone in the crowd began to jump along to the beat and sing along to every lyric. I bobbed my along with the music, watching the guys dance around the stage, taking in every second they had left. At some point of the song, Cameron had caught me dancing along. He flashed his white teeth at me and sent me a wink. I gapped at him, watching him chuckle at me and walked off to the other side of the stage so the crowd could get a piece of him. I shut my mouth before anything could catch me. I was worried. Cameron didn’t even look at Jenna for more than a split second.

As soon as the song the ended, the crowd screamed louder than when they came on. The applause continued and “I love you’s” were shouted as they stepped off stage. At that moment, my shift for selling merch was over and I was able to head into the green room and congratulate the guys on their success of opening night.

Once I entered, it was evident that their adrenaline was still pumping through their bodies and the excitement had never died. Everyone was full of energy, especially Cameron.

“Amazing show, guys!” I cheered.

“Thanks, Emma,” Nathan swung his arms around me.

“No. No hugs until you guys take a shower. You’re all sweaty.” I squirmed out of Nathan’s grip and shook of the smell of sweat.

“You’re no fun,” Zach booed.

“Hey guys,” Cameron clapped his hands to get our attention. “Guess who’s joining us for part of the tour?”

“Me!” Jenna popped up behind Cameron.

“What?” I whispered. While the others were celebrating, I for one had mixed feelings about this. I mean it’s great that she has the opportunity to travel the country with us, but this meant Cameron had to sacrifice our time together to spend it with her. I could already picture it all. Things weren’t going to turn out well.