Something Ends, Another Begins

I heard a crack of thunder outside just as Cameron groaned, "How do you understand any of this?" I giggled and shook my head. He turned to me, his face serious. "It's not funny. Not all of us are geniuses in Physics." He took a bite of the sandwich he was eating.

I thought about how I've been at Cameron's house for about two hours and I've only gotten him to finish three problems on the Physics assignment. Not exactly how I thought I would spend my Saturday. Then again, if I wasn't helping out Cameron with homework, I would just be at home watching TV anyway.

"It's really not that difficult, Cameron. You're just making yourself think it is," I said to him.

"Then you finish this assignment for me." He leaned back in his, taking another bite of the sandwich.

I scoffed. "No cheating, remember?"

He rolled his eyes and groaned again. "You're such a goody goody." He sighed and looked at his paper again. "Fine, at least walk me through it." I walked him through the problem and he, eventually, understood what he was doing. "Yeah, it's easy when you do the problem," he mumbled and shook his head.

About an hour and a half later, we finally finished the assignment. "Finally," I sighed, putting the paper inside my bag.

"Thank God," Cameron said under his breath as he stood up. "You want some more water?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm good."

As Cameron started walking, another crack of thunder was heard. Cameron looked out the window. "Wow," he said, "It's really pouring out there."

"Really?" I quickly walked over to where he was and looked outside. He was right, lots of rain was pouring down. "Great, how am I supposed to get home?" I asked, more to myself.

"I'm sure it will pass in about a half hour. No worries," Cameron said, going into his fridge.

After I sat back down in the living room, the front door opened. "Oh my goodness, it is crazy weather outside," Liz said, walking inside. She closed the umbrella she was holding and set it down on the table. "It is windy, rainy, and getting a little cold."

"Hey, Liz," Cameron said.

"Hey," Liz said, kissing his cheek.

"Hi," I finally said.

"Oh, hello, Ali," Liz said, smiling as she walked over to me and gave me a hug. "How's the school work going?"

"It's finished, thankfully," Cameron answered.

"Ali, are you sure you'll be okay driving home in this weather?" Liz asked.

I shrugged. "Well, hopefully, the storm will pass soon."

"I'm not sure it will. I mean, I don't want to be a pessimist but it was said that the storm could continue all night and there was even a flood warning. I don't like the idea of you driving through a storm, especially at night. I mean, I'm not your mom or anything, but," she paused before saying, "Hey, why don't you stay over tonight?"

"What?" Cameron and I asked in unison, both of us surprised by Liz's suggestion.

"Why not? That way, you don't have to drive in this horrible weather at night. What do you say? It's no trouble at all."

I glanced over at Cameron, who looked utterly confused. When he looked at me, he just shrugged. "Um," I said, "I suppose it wouldn't be a problem."

"Great," Liz replied and smiled. "Do you think your parents would mind?"

"Well, my mom's at work right now. My dad's in New Jersey."

"Oh, uh, would you mind if I called your mother and talked to her about this?"

"Sure," I said before giving Liz my mom's cell number.

After about fifteen minutes, Liz walked back inside the living room and said, "Your mom said it was alright for you to stay over." I nodded and grinned. "You can sleep in the guest bedroom right over there." She pointed to a closed door that was near the living room. "I'll just get you some blankets, a pillow, and I'm pretty sure I have a shirt and pants you could wear to sleep in. I'll be right back."

As Liz started walking up the stairs, I saw Cameron quickly get up from his seat and follow her upstairs.

***
Cameron's P.O.V.

I caught up with Liz at the top of the stairs. "What are you doing?" I asked her.

"What do you mean?" She opened the linen closet.

"Inviting Ali to sleep over like we're six years old."

"Oh, Cam, you're being ridiculous. There's no way I'm letting that girl drive outside in that weather. Do you know how many accidents have been reported? I'd much rather have her safe here, and ever her mother agrees." She pulled out two blankets. "I don't even know why you're being like this, anyway. It's not like I'm making you two sleep in the same bed."

"Okay, stop," I said quickly. "Fine, she could stay here."

Liz looked at me. "Well, not that I needed your permission, thank you for agreeing with me." She walked passed me and walked downstairs to where Ali was.