Status: Currently writing, yo.

Our Five Hundred Thirty-Nine Days

Day Five: November Nineteenth

Campbell nervously stood in front of Amber's house. It really was not like him to be nervous. Or at least it wasn't like the new him to be nervous. He walked up the steps and knocked on the door. Maybe he should have gone with the flowers instead of the teddy bear. Alli told him that all girls liked flowers. Did all girls like teddy bears? He bit his lip, unsure of how the girl would react. She had insisted that it wasn't a date, but Cam persisted. It wasn't like him to persist as much as he did with her, but well, they were studying French after all. The boy nervously rocked back and forth on his feet. He knew he had only knocked on the door a few seconds ago, but it felt like hours. He took a deep breath, hoping his anxiety wouldn't get the best of him. At last, the door was open and the petite girl appeared in jeans and a t-shirt. Her hair was messily put into a bun, and he smiled at her. He held out the teddy bear to Amber and watched her smile at it.

"I-Is it a date now?" he asked, unintentionally stuttering.

"Cute, but no," she said as she looked up at him and motioned for him to come in. "Kind of glad you didn't bring flowers."

"You don't like flowers?" he asked as he stepped inside the house and close the door behind him.

She shook her head. "Bad memories."

Campbell followed her into the house. Her parents didn't seem to be around, and he supposed it was just the two of them. For some reason, that made him slightly nervous. Usually, he wasn't so bashful around girls. He thought he was used to being around them, but she made him slightly more apprehensive. He supposed it was the fear of messing up in front of Amber. The fear that she wouldn't like him if he were to go back to the old him. Most girls weren't exactly drawn to who he used to be. The old awkward and gawky guy who had accidentally walked into the girls bathroom once. And through time, he had changed. And the new Cam got more girls than old Cam could ever dream of getting. Eventually, the two ended up in Amber's room and Campbell managed a laugh.

"First date and we're already in your bedroom? Interesting," he said as he took over his Ice Hounds jacket.

"Keep you clothes on, Chicken Noodle Soup," she said with a small laugh. "We're in here because I have my books and food in here."

"Not my fault my parents named me after a soup brand."

"I like your name. Soup is awesome."

Cam looked at her and smiled. Her cheeks were tinted pink. He was beginning to wonder if he cheeks were naturally like that, or if he had that effect on her. Her room was cute, much like her. A bed with beige pillows was pushed up next to a wall. Most of the room, including her bed frame, was decorated with Christmas lights. Stacks of CD's, movies, and books lined the walls. On one side of the wall sat a guitar and ukulele. He looked at her as she was searching through a mini fridge next to her television. The room was interesting, like her. On a wooden board was snow globes from places like San Francisco, London, and Paris. Candles were placed on her nightstand. Compared to his room, the room was actually quite big. The boy sat on her bed and took his French book out from his backpack.

Amber handed him a soda as she sat down on the bed, attempting to distance herself from him so nothing would happen. She opened up her French book and looked at Cam for instruction. Truthfully, he wasn't so great at French either, but he was going to try his best to tutor her. The only reason Madame Jean-Aux had probably even chosen him to be her tutor was because he had called Amber beautiful. Otherwise, why, out of all the people in that class, would she choose a tenth grader taking ninth grade French to tutor a niner? Looking up at the girl, their eyes met and he watched as a flicker of a smile danced across her lips. She flipped around the French book, obviously waiting for instruction from Cam. Remembering that he was actually supposed to be teaching her, he bit his lip and tried to think of a less boring way to teach her French.

"How about we play a game? I ask you a question in French, you translate it and answer it in French. Then I'll translate that. And then you can do the same to me. We can get to know each other and French," he said with a smile.

"Okay," she replied simply.

"Quelle est votre chanson préférée?" he asked.

"What's my favorite song? Donc, vous allez commencer par une question difficile? Ma chanson préférée est m'embrasser par Ed Sheeran."

"I see you've been studying. You said it was a difficult question. And the song is Kiss Me by Ed Sheeran."

"Pourquoi aimez-vous tant de hockey?"

"Why do I like hockey so much? Je n'aime pas le hockey. La seule raison pour laquelle je continue à jouer parce que c'est la seule raison pour laquelle des gens comme moi."

Amber searched through the book to translate the words, and Cam instantly regretted saying it. He shouldn't have been telling her so much, especially about hockey. Sure, she was nice and he was sure they were in a way friends. But he wasn't exactly sure if he should be opening up to her yet. But it was too late, cause he already did without thinking it through. Sighing softly, he hoped she wouldn't figure it out. But of course, she did. Looking at him, she blinked a few times before brushing the hair out of her eyes.

"Hockey isn't the only reason people like you," Amber said as she hugged her teddy bear. "I know how you act around people. I've seen you around everyone else, and I don't get it. It's like you're so different. I like you as the guy who showed up at my house with a teddy bear and stuttered as he asked if it was a date. Not the guy who laughs and make fun of people and flirts with a bunch of girls just to stand them up."

"I didn't stand you up," he replied.

She shrugged. "I'm trying to understand that."

"Here's a question in English: How come you don't care about what people think of you?"

"I do," she answered as she looked away. "I just pretend like I care and try not to react as much to it. I used to be really worse than I am now."

Cam looked at her. Her thoughts had suddenly drifted off, and she shook her head and smiled at him to show that she was back on task. She blew a strand of hair out of her eyes before flipping through her French book one more. He had began to notice that whenever she was probably unsure of what to do, she would do something to keep her hands occupied. She would brushed the hair out of her eyes, flip through the book, or just touch her hair. Her bangs constantly fell into her face, and for some time, she would just leave them there to cover up her face.

"Why do you do that?" he asked without thinking the question through.

"Do what?" she asked, her attention from the book suddenly broken.

"Let your bangs cover up your face all the time. I like your face, but you hide it."

"Needless to say, I don't like my face," she said before pausing for a moment. "You're weird, Cam." Another pause. "I like weird and sweet. It's less boring."

That was something the fifteen year old didn't hear very often. Girls didn't like him for his weirdness. They liked him because he was a popular hockey player. Sometimes it was simply because he wasn't exactly terrible looking. But he didn't think any girl would really tell him that she liked him for his weirdness. He gave her a slightly funny look before the two resumed to play their French game. He actually liked being around her. The game had only covered the basics on her. She liked One Direction and Ed Sheeran, her mother was in the Philippines, her parents were divorced, and she was an only child. She had began to learn more about him too. He had two brothers and two sisters, he was taking grade nine French because he missed French credits due to hockey, and he came from Kapuskasing.

"Are you hungry?" Amber asked as she noticed that it was getting dark outside.

"Kind of," Cam replied. "Are you cooking?"

"I can't cook, but I can try if you help me."

And with that, Cam threw the petite girl over his shoulder with her kicking and screaming. She was as light as a girl barely five foot two could get. She seemed so light and fragile that he was slightly scared of breaking her. He carried her down her stairs, and yet she was still pounding on his back with her fists. Her hits were so gentle and soft. He couldn't even help but laugh because there was no pain at all. Once the two were nearing the kitchen, she gave up and let him carry her over his shoulder. She wasn't sure what it was about being carried that upset her. She just didn't like it. Perhaps it was feeling like she didn't have any control. One thing she hated was unpredictability. Sadly enough, her life was full of it.

At last, Campbell set Amber down. She sat on top of a counter as he rummaged through her fridge and drawers, trying to find something they could use to make dinner. He pulled out items at random. Flour, pizza crust, a tray with six cupcake molds, slices of pepperoni, cheese, tomato sauce, and a bunch of other items. She examined the items he pulled out and gave him a strange look. Most of the items would make sense if they were making pizza, but some of them just didn't make sense. Sighing softly, she looked at Cam to ask him to explain. All he did was grin at her as he motioned towards the ingredients he had set on the counter.

"What's your name?" Campbell asked.

The girl gave him a funny look. "Did you just get a sudden case of amnesia? I'm Amber."

"Full name."

"Amber Lisabeth Carter."

"Amber Lisabeth Carter, be prepared to have the absolute best feast you have ever had. And we're going to make it. This is going to be the best night of your life, especially when it comes to eating. And you need to eat, you were so light I was afraid of breaking you when I carried you."

Amber crinkled her nose. "Thanks, I guess? So, Campbell Saunders, mind telling me what we're making?"

"For our main entree, Amber Lisabeth, we're having pizza cupcakes. Shaped like cupcakes, but they have tomato sauce, cheese, and pepperoni in the middle. And for our appetizers, we're going to be dining on the best cheese fries and nachos, obviously because they're made by me. And for dessert, we're going to have a cookie cake and ice cream. Is it a date yet?"

"Fantastic. But it's not a date."

Amber had no idea how to cook. She had burned almost everything she touched from toast to instant noodles to even eggs. Cam wasn't exactly the best cook either, but he decided he would try for her. He wasn't sure what it was about her that made him want to try cooking. The two began to roll the pizza crust out and cover it in flour. She really didn't have much of an idea what she was doing. She was decent at baking; She could make cake pops and cookies easily. But pizza cupcakes? She wasn't even sure where to begin. Cam was reading the instructions off of his phone as she played around with the flour. Looking at the fifteen year old boy, she smiled as she took a handful of the white ingredient out of the bag and threw it at him.

"I'm going to get you for that," he said as he blew the powdery substance off of his face.

The half blonde stuck her tongue out at Campbell before swiveling around and running to the other side of the counter. She knew he was more athletic than her; She didn't even play sports. She took another handful of flour at him. Cam, being as fast as he was, ran towards her and picked her up. He held her in his arms as he caked her in flour. Her hair, her clothes, her face. She tickled him, causing him to let go before she began dumping the flour on him. He couldn't help but laugh at the girl, looking whiter than a snowflake. She giggled and shook her head as she wiped her flour coated hands all over Cam's hair.

"You look like a powdered doughnut," she said with a small laugh.

"I could say the same to you, Snow Princess."

After the two cleaned themselves up, they put the pizza cupcakes in the oven before readying the cookie cake. The ice cream was in the freeze, seeing as the two of them didn't want it to completely melt. Cam did most of the cooking. Neither one of them trusted Amber much to do anything except burn the house down if she was allowed to cook. She just helped prepare the food, and he would be the one to actually deal with the oven. Both of them were getting pretty hungry, but all they had to do before eating was wait and pour cheese on their fries and chips. The appetizers were simple, but who didn't like cheese fries and nachos? Hopefully, she liked them. He just wanted to make her happy. Something about that smile was all it took to make him happy, and he wanted to know what would make her happy.

After putting everything in the ovens and such, Amber laid out two plates, napkins, and forks on opposite ends of the small square table they had. Campbell placed a candle in the middle and lit it before grabbing them both cups and pouring them both glasses of juice. He set the plate of nachos and cheese fries in the middle of their table and pulled out her chair. Amber smiled slightly before sitting down. She waited for Cam to sit down in his chair before they both began to make their plates.

"What do flowers remind you of?" he asked before putting a cheese fry into his mouth.

"What?" she said, the question catching her off guard.

"You said you don't like flowers cause they give you bad memories. What memories?"

"Hospitals," she blurted out with thinking it through. "They remind me of hospitals. And funerals. And those aren't very happy things. Why do you hate hockey?"

Cam took a minute to think about that. He didn't have much of a real reason to why he didn't like hockey. He looked at Amber as she ate her cheese fries and nachos. Normally, those would be two messy dishes to eat. But despite that, she had attempted to make it clean. She neatly ate it, only ever getting slightly messy when she laughed while seeing him look at her. His face felt warm, and it was visibly a bit red. It wasn't like new Cam to get so bashful. Then again, new Cam barely ever had any real feelings for a girl. Sure, he pretended and played along with feelings. But he couldn't force himself to feel anything. Something about the feelings he had then felt more real than anything he had tried to have with other girls.

"I don't know. Hockey made things complicated in my life, and then I just didn't want to play anymore. But I still am. What's your favorite movie?"

"Promise you won't laugh?"

"Promise."

"Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, or (500) Days of Summer."

"Disney movies are cute."

"This still isn't a date."

"Okay."

"Okay."

So the two teens spend the rest of the night finishing off their feast and asking the most random questions possible. Favorite shows, favorite bands, favorite colors, favorite animals. Anything their minds could come to think of it. They shared smiles and laughs, and he felt like he wasn’t pretending anymore. He felt comfortable and more like himself than he had in a while. It wasn't until the day after their not-really-date did Campbell realized that the entire time he was with Amber, he hadn't thought of Maya.
♠ ♠ ♠
wee, camber date. the next chapter won't be taking place until a month later, though, so yeah.