ꜰᴏʀɢᴇᴛ ᴍᴇ ᴛᴏᴏ ❘ 𝑪𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒏 𝑲𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒓

𝐓𝐞𝐧

"So, are  you actually into this whole prom king thing?" I asked Cameron at his house after school

"Well not really but I hate Jordan Vaan Draanen, guys like him crap all over everyone and still manage to come out on top" he confided

"Not this time, this year he's not going to win," I said 

"That sounded confident" he smirked 

"It was, I will help you beat him because there is no way he deserves to win that crown plus we have some traction because you won the fight at the party," I told him "the thing is, you're going to have to let people see the real Cameron Kweller" 

"Well speaking of the real me" he took my hand "right this way" he pulled me towards a very regular looking door but when the door opened I was amazed 

"Wow, this is your darkroom, it's amazing" I gasped looking around at all the photos hanging up everywhere 

"It was my 14th birthday present" he grinned, welp I missed that even too "it used to be more of a hobby but now I don't know, I feel liked I could spend my whole life in this room" I walked over to the pictures that were hanging and looked at how beautiful they all were 

"Cameron, this is truly awesome, you could make money out of this" he grinned as I took in every single picture on display in the room "why are you letting me see this now?" 

"Well you wouldn't stop asking" he retorted, I giggled as I went to look through a pile of photos on the desk "I figured this was the only way to get you to stop" 

"Shit" I sighed as a bunch of photos slipped out of my fingers and fell to the ground "I'm so sorry" I bent down to help Cameron pick them up 

"It's ok" he assured me "I'm serious Case, it's no big deal" is this guy a mind reader or something, how did he know that I felt horrible about dropping pictured 

"If you say so" I mumbled still unsure "why do you keep your talent locked away Cam? who are you hiding from?" 

"You know, I could ask you the same question" he smirked 

"What are you talking about?" I asked quietly, the mood had just shifted quickly and I was feeling something different 

"Well" he came closer to me "I'm talking about this" he gently pushed my hair back behind my ears "and this" he took a small towel and wiped my lip gloss off "and these" 

"Nope" I pushed his hands back as he went to pull my eyelashes off "that would hurt, really bad," I told him with a small laugh. 

His right hand rested on my cheek caressing it softly as he stared into my eyes, at that moment everything changed, I wanted him more than ever before, I didn't care if I screwed things up later all I knew was that I needed him. I pressed my lips to his lips softly, he returned the kiss and I smiled into it wrapping my arms around his neck. The kiss was full of passion and a bit of lust but I think we had been hiding the feelings for so long and now that we had kissed, everything was so much better. 

That was until I remembered that he started out as a bet, I pulled away and looked at him as he kept his hand on my chin "Cam, I need to tell you something"

"And I need to tell you something" he replied, "you asked me why I invited you here and I don't even let my own grandma in here which is probably why she thinks I'm running a meth lab" we both laughed at that

"So why am I here?" I asked feeling a churning sensation in my stomach, I wasn't sure what it was. 

"Because I trust you," he said kissing the tip of my nose with a small smile, my smile however faded and I started to freak out. I jumped up willing myself not to throw up or cry, I'd been crying a lot lately and I wasn't loving it 

"I uh-"

"Are you ok?" he asked as I fidgeted madly with my hands while inching towards the door 

"Oh yeah, totally, but I have to go uh I've wasted enough of your time anyway" I gave a nervous laugh as I got even closer to the door 

"Well I wouldn't put it that way," he said furrowing his eyebrows 

"That's not what I mean" I added quickly "I just have to be somewhere, call you later?" I didn't wait for an answer as I bolted out of the room holding my hand over my mouth trying to stifle my sobs. 

Why had I agreed to a bet, I hadn't known that I would actually fall head over heels for my best friend. 

💋

"Hey!" Alden walked over "still no word from Cameron?" she asked 

"No, he must think I'm insane I literally ran out of that house" I sighed "he had the nomination so why'd I have to screw it up by kissing him"

"Probably because you like him, Casey," Alden said softly 

Padgett scoffed and walked over "you realize who he is right? the school reject, if you date him, everything you've worked for will be lost"

"Maybe I don't care" I snapped "I see what really matters now and for me, he's what matters"

"Whatever, have fun being a loser" she rolled her eyes and walked away

"Hey Case, something tells me you didn't screw up as much as you think you did," Alden said with a grin

"What do you mean?" I asked, she spun me around, and there stood Cameron with a prom sign and a bouquet of flowers, I put my hands over my mouth in surprise and joy 

"I know this isn't usually my style" he chuckled "but what do you think?" he  handed me the flowers 

"I think yes!" I told him breathlessly 

"Sorry" Padgett interrupted "Casey, don't you think there's something you should tell Cameron first" my stomach dropped, how could she do this 

"What are you doing?" I grumbled 

"Leave her along Padgett" Alden defended "this is none of your business" 

"Shut up Alden"

"What's going on?" Cameron asked as his smile faded 

"Casey, do you want to tell him, or should I?" Padgett asked 

"What is she talking about?" he furrowed his eyebrows, how do you tell your best friend that he was a bet and that you only hung out with him for your own benefit at the beginning 

"It's what I was trying to tell you yesterday" I blurted out "it's actually kind of funny, um after Jordan and Padgett broke up I made a bet with Alden that I could take some person and give them a makeover to make them even better than Jordan" 

"Some person?" he frowned "what kind of person?"  

"Cameron please"

"No, what kind of person Casey?" 

"The biggest loser we could find so that we could turn him into prom king" Padgett exposed 

"But that was before-" I tried to say 

"Wait so I was a bet? No, I was a fucking bet" I nodded and the look of hurt on his face was one I'd remember forever, it was worse than four years ago when I kicked him out "you can all go to hell"

"Cameron, wait, please" I called after him 

"No, you know what the worst part about this is Casey?" he turned around "no matter what you say or do, I can't seem to stop loving you" and just like that, he was gone, just as quick as it had happened.