Accidentally In Love (Peter Hale Fanfiction) ON HOLD

Chapter Eleven: I'd Come For You

                     A few days passed without me hearing from Peter, and in that time, my investigation had gone nowhere. After snooping around with Scott and Stiles, trying to figure out who had killed the bus driver’s daughter, we still had nothing. And I was still searching for some reason for the murderer to not be one of the Hales. So, that Monday after work, I went to the high school to pick up Cora and go out to dinner, but when I got there, Scott told me she’d already left.

“Well do you know where she went? We arranged this dinner ages ago,” I argued, squinting up at the dark-haired teenager with slight exasperation and thinly veiled fury. Where could she have possibly gone? The girl doesn’t drive! Scott shrugged and opened his mouth to tell me he had no idea, when a voice behind me drew my attention without warning.

“I took her home so that we could go out to eat instead.” My heart began to race as I spun around, expecting Peter Hale to be on the steps below me. Instead, I was eye-to-eye with Camden Lahey, the guy who I’d met at Chop’d, and I tried to mask the surprise in my expression with a faint smile.

“Oh! Well, um, actually I’m feeling a bit tired, not really in the mood to go out tonight. Sorry.” I tried to move past him, but Camden’s hand came down on my arm, and I spun around once again. 

“Well we can do dinner at your place instead, if you’d like. I’ll cook,” he said persistently, turning on the charisma and offering me a very persuasive smile. He seemed nice enough, if a little too insistent, but I agreed and allowed him to follow me all the way back to my apartment. Stepping into the elevator, we made pleasant small-talk until we got up to the sixth floor, and then I let him wait in the living area while I quickly changed into some more appropriate clothes than the ones I’d worn to work. In reality, I was just dying to get out of my heels, and putting on jeans was like a blessing. Stepping back into the main room, my eyebrows flew skyward when I saw Camden already in the kitchen, apparently searching for a pot or something to put the chopped vegetables in. I didn’t even know I had that many vegetables in the house. It was only after a few minutes that I realized Camden had no idea what he was doing, and with a laugh, I helped him dump the quart of olive oil out of the saucepan and down the drain, taking some thin slices of onion with it.

“That’s okay; you don’t have to cook. Um, how bout we just order in? Is Chinese okay with you?” I offered, grabbing my cell phone and hitting the number for the Chinese delivery place in my contact list. As luck would have it, Camden and I both liked crispy beef, chicken and broccoli, and fried rice, so ordering was quick and efficient. After that, I got the two of us each a beer and we sat on the couch, talking and getting to know each other. I found out Camden (who preferred to be called Cam), lived with his father and his younger brother nearby. Grew up here, just graduated from the local high school a couples years ago, and Cam had just enlisted in the army.

“I’ve taken every test but my physical, so in about two weeks I have to do that. And if I pass, a month later I depart for Basic Training,” he finished, also polishing off his beer and fixing me with a serious look. My mind was in a jarble, since I liked Cam enough, but didn’t quite know what the appropriate reaction to his news should be. Do I hug him? Shake his hand and congratulate him? Laugh?

“You don’t have to say anything. I know it’s a little bit heavy to talk about on a first date,” he chuckled, taking my empty beer bottle off the coffee table and dropping them both in the trashcan in the kitchen. 

“You want another one?” he called to me, and I shouted back that I did, all the while trying to tame the blush that was ravaging my cheeks. What an idiot I must seem to him. He tells me he’s joining the army and I don’t even have the balls to respond.