Something Ends, Another Begins

Ali's P.O.V.

It was around five o' clock Thursday evening when I started getting ready to go to Cameron's house so we could study for a Physics test the next day. So typical of teachers to give students a major exam the day before Winter Break starts. I was just glad that I would be studying with Cameron so that way, it wouldn't be so boring. Speaking of Cameron, I began to notice how weird he has been acting ever since Saturday, the day after the whole party disaster. Ever since then, he has just been distant and quiet, as if something is bothering or distracting him. He even seemed to hesitate a little before agreeing when I asked him if I could come over to his place so we could study together. Plus, he seems to be acting this way only towards me. Whenever he's around anyone else, he's just fine but whenever I'm around, he tenses up and doesn't say much. I planned to confront him about all of this when I go to see him. I hoped that I didn't do anything wrong to make him mad at me or something.

"Mom!" I called out as I made my way into her room, where she was getting ready for some business meeting.

"Yes?" Mom answered when I entered her bathroom, where she was busy applying her mascara.

"I'm going to be heading off to Cameron's to study for a Physics test tomorrow. Is that okay?"

"Oh, of course. That's fine."

I paused and took a moment to analyze my mom's outfit for the supposed "business meeting". She was wearing a really nice pair of jeans that I have never seen her wear before as well as a very form-fitting black blouse with a gorgeous pair of red pumps. Her hair was also curled and her makeup was very nicely and neatly done. "Wow, you really go all out for these business meetings, huh?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mom scoffed. "What are you talking about?"

"I've just never seen someone so nicely dressed up for some boring meeting before." Mom bit her lower lip, which (after seventeen years of experience) I knew was a sign that she was hiding something. I crossed my arms over my chest and slowly walked towards her. "Is there something you're not telling me?" My voice was low as I tried to jokingly imitate my mother whenever she tried to get me to talk about something.

Mom sighed and she turned to me with an anxious facial expression. "Okay, fine," she said. "I have a date."

I smiled widely and replied, "I knew it. You know, you're not that discreet when it comes to keeping secrets. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because," she began putting her makeup away, "I didn't know how you were going to react. I was going to tell you once I knew I really felt about the guy. I also thought about how you reacted when you're father told you about his wedding."

"Mom," I began, "you know you're allowed to go on a date. I'm not going to act like some brat because you want to be happy. Believe it or not, Dad and Ruby helped me realize a thing or two when I was in New Jersey."

Mom smiled and said, "Thank you, honey. You don't know how much that means to me."

"So," I said slowly, "who's the lucky guy?"

Suddenly, Mom's cheeks became a bright pink and her smile was really wide. "Oh, just this guy from work who's also divorced. I've known him for a while and we just decided to go out and see what could happen with us. However, we're going to take things really slow."

"Will I get the chance to meet the guy who has suddenly won over my mother's heart?" That's when Mom's cell phone randomly interrupted the conversation.

Mom jumped, seemingly excited that she was getting a call. When she looked at the screen, she actually squealed (I'm not kidding) and her cheeks got even more red. "Hello? Hi, Daniel." She honestly looked and sounded like a girl my age whenever she got a call from a guy she likes.

So, his name is Daniel. Considering all of the Daniels I have met in my lifetime (which were two, maybe three), Mom's Daniel must be cute for a guy in his late-thirties. Also, because he works with my mom in a business company, he must also be smart. Before I could make any more assumptions of this guy, Mom hung up the phone and said, "Oh my gosh, he's here and I still have to finish getting ready." It was pretty hilarious how much she was panicking.

"Mom, don't worry. I will go downstairs and stall your date while you finish getting ready."

Mom hesitated and gave me a look before she said, "Are you sure? You're not going to interrogate him, are you? Aliana, please try not to make him uncomfortable!"

I rolled my eyes and pretended to look hurt by dramatically gasping and putting a hand to my chest. "Mother! Please give me some credit. You really need to calm down and let your daughter take care of things once in a while." Without waiting for any response, I left Mom's room and headed downstairs just as I heard the doorbell ring.

When I opened the door, I saw a man who seemed to be about a foot taller than me (which is not extremely tall considering I'm only about five foot, two inches) with short light brown hair, light eyes (I couldn't exactly tell if they were blue or green), and a slim build. He smiled when he saw me so I noticed that he had straight, pearly white teeth.

"Hi," I said, returning his smile. "You must be Daniel. I'm Ali, Charlotte's daughter."

"Oh, hello, Ali," Daniel replied with his deep voice. "It's nice to meet you." He held his hand out.

"You too," I said as we shook hands. "Please come in." I stepped to the side to make room for him to walk inside. I noticed how he was tightly clutching the bouquet of pink roses (Mom's favorite) in his hands in an anxious manner. It was at that moment I felt like a mother witnessing a couple of nervous teenagers on their first date. "My mom will be down here in a second," I said to Daniel, who just smiled and nodded in response. "So, Daniel," I began, "my mother tells me you two work together."

"Yeah, we've worked in the same department for a couple of years now."

"Interesting." I pressed my back against the wall next to the front door. I figured I shouldn't waste any more time to say what I really wanted to say to Daniel. "Alright, Daniel. I know that this is only the first date, but I'm just curious, what exactly are your feelings towards my mother?"

Daniel seemed to be taken by surprise by the way his eyebrows rose and his mouth opened a bit with no words coming out. Only a couple of seconds passed by before he said, "Listen, Ali, I really like your mother. I've liked her for a long time. I think she's beautiful, smart, kind hearted, and just all around amazing. She told me about her divorce with your father and I just want to let you know that I have no intentions of hurting or disrespecting her in any way."

Smiling, I replied, "Very well, Daniel. You have my approval." I seriously meant the last comment but I think Daniel just thought I was being funny. Of course, just because Daniel told me everything I wanted to hear, that doesn't mean I was going to trust him one hundred percent. Not yet, anyway. After all, I had just met the guy five minutes ago and it is his and Mom's first date. I guess time will tell whether this guy is right for my mom.

"Hello, Daniel," I heard from the top of the stairs. I suddenly saw Mom descend from the stairs, her eyes only on Daniel. His eyes seemed to light up at the sight of my mother.

Even though it was weird seeing my mom going out with some other guy who wasn't my dad, I had to admit Mom and Daniel were pretty sweet.

***

Cameron and I have been studying our Physics textbook for about an hour and half before we decided to take a break and order pizza. After the pizza was delivered, I decided to tell Cameron about my mother's sudden romance as we sat on his living room floor with the box of pizza in between us.

"So now your mom is going out with someone?" Cameron asked before he took a bite of his pepperoni pizza slice.

"Yup." I then took a bite of my own slice of pizza.

"And you're okay with that?"

"Yeah, I guess so. I mean, if I'm okay with my dad marrying and having a kid with someone else, I'm okay with my mom going on a date with someone she's known for a while."

Cameron didn't respond. Once again, he seemed to be distracted and deep in thought about something. This is the third time tonight his mind seemed to be in a whole other place (and probably the hundredth time this past week). Also, to add to that, he didn't seem all that happy to see me when I knocked on his door an hour and a half ago.

"Cameron." I gently nudged his shoulder, which startled him by the way he jumped a little. "Is there something wrong?"

"Huh? No." I could tell he was lying by the way he started fidgeting and wouldn't look at me.

"Yes, there is. There's been something wrong this whole week, I could tell."

Cameron sighed and shook his head. "There's nothing wrong, really. I just...I've been thinking about some stuff, that's all."

"Does it have anything to do with me? It's just you've been avoiding me the past few days and you've been acting weird whenever I'm around."

"No, it has nothing to do with you." I couldn't exactly tell if he was telling the truth or not.

"Well, whatever it is, it seems to be stressing you out. Can you please just tell me what's bothering you? Maybe I could help."

"Ali, trust me, you're the last person that could help me with this."

"Um, ouch," I replied, confused and a tiny bit hurt. "If I were to guess what's bothering you, would you let me help?"

Cameron finally looked at me with a blank facial expression. "You're not going to let this go, are you?" I shook my head and shrugged. Cameron rolled his eyes as he said, "Fine."

I smiled with triumph. "Okay. Does it have anything to do with school?"

"No."

"College applications?"

"No."

"Finding a job?"

"No."

I hesitated before lowering my voice and saying, "Josh?"

Cameron looked down and I could tell his facial expression turned into one with sadness. "A little. But he's not the only person I'm thinking about."

An idea suddenly popped into my mind. "Are you stressing out about a girl?"

Cameron stayed quiet and just kept looking down, not responding to me whatsoever. That's what gave me my answer. I heard myself gasp softly, "You're crushing on a girl, aren't you."

He didn't say anything for what seemed like minutes before he turned to me. "I think...I think it's more than just a crush."

"Are you serious? Cameron Reeves has fallen for a girl? I never thought I would see the day."

"What do you mean?"

"It's just I've never seen you this serious about a girl before. You have to tell me who she is."

"No, I can't."

"Why not? I want to know the girl who's suddenly become Cameron Reeve's object of affection." Cameron kept his mouth shut. "Do I know her, at least?"

I barely heard it, but Cameron quietly said, "Yeah, you do."

I was excitedly bouncing up and down in my seat. "Oh, really? Please tell me her name. I could be a good wingwoman for you. If I could just have one conversation with her about you, she will be all over you, I promise."

Cameron wasn't smiling like I was. He looked dead serious and not in a joking mood. "You can't do that."

"Okay, I won't." I stopped smiling, getting the feeling that he wasn't exactly comfortable with this conversation. However, curiosity got the best of me and I found myself asking, "What's she like? Can you at least tell me that much?"

I figured Cameron would flip out, irritated, and tell me to stop bothering him about it. Instead, he took a deep breath and said, "She's amazing. I never thought I could like a girl as much as I like her. She's the only person I can really talk to about serious stuff. She's nice, funny, and smart. She's also the most beautiful girl I've ever met and way out of my league. This girl would never go for me."

I have never heard Cameron talk about a girl like this before. I was stunned that he was capable of feelings that were more than just physical. "Why do you think she would never go for you?" I asked. No girl has ever rejected Cameron.

"She's in love with this other guy, who happens to be a really good friend of mine. I know that she would never look at me the way I look at her."

That sounded strangely familiar. "How long have you known her?"

Cameron looked at me and didn't say anything for a while. I could tell he looked nervous and his eyes expressed what seemed like worry. "We met when we were thirteen years old," he said. Oh my God. "We didn't exactly get along until several months ago." Oh. My. God. "I think she used to hate me and thought I hated her, too. But, the truth is, I never hated her." I felt like I was going to pass out. Cameron just sat across from me, staring at me for the longest time, probably waiting for some kind of response from me. I was frozen in my seat. That's when everything suddenly made sense. How he was avoiding only me, how distant he was, saying how I know who the girl is but can't say anything to her. Cameron completely cleared everything up for me when he said in the softest voice, "Her name is Ali."

My hands started to shake, my palms started to get sweaty, my heart started beating really fast, and I was letting out shaky breaths. I had no idea what to say or do. I just sat there and watched Cameron as he slowly moved closer to me. He tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear and didn't say anything else. I noticed him look up and down at my eyes and lips. He moved his face closer to mine then paused and looked at me with a little concern. When he realized I wasn't pushing him away and wasn't moving at all, he continued moving closer and closer. The closer he got, the more I noticed his shaky breaths. Our faces were only centimeters apart when I heard him whisper, "Kiss me."

Right after he said that, it's like my mind erased every single one of my thoughts. Without hesitation, I closed my eyes and pressed my lips against his. His lips were so incredibly soft that I didn't want to pull away. One of Cameron's hands cupped the side of my face as his other hand rested on my hip. When we finally pulled away to breathe, neither of us said anything. We just stared at each other before leaning in and kissing again with more confidence.

I don't know when exactly, but while Cameron and I were kissing, reality suddenly hit me. Hard. I was kissing Cameron Reeves. I was kissing Josh's best friend. Josh's best friend was kissing his girlfriend. Josh is gone and his best friend and girlfriend are kissing. My eyes shot open and I roughly pushed Cameron away. I put a hand on my mouth, my eyes growing wide.

"What's wrong?" Cameron asked, looking extremely worried.

What's wrong? Did he not realize what just happened? I looked at him with disbelief. "We can't do this. This was a big mistake." I quickly stood up and grabbed my jacket from the couch, practically running towards the front door.

"Ali!" Cameron shouted from the living room just as I was opening the front door and running outside to my car.

Only one phrase was going through my mind the entire ride home: What the hell did I just do?