Should Have Known (Camren)

Chapter 8

"I think that we should talk about what happened in the kitchen," I said seriously. "Not now. I just...we need to clear things up."

"There's nothing to clear up. You said it yourself, we got into an argument and we both zoned out in the heat of the moment. Nothing happened so there's nothing to clear up," she assured me. "You're with Keaton and I'm hopelessly in love with someone who will never love me back. That's the way it is, that's the way it stays."

"You never told me who exactly you're in love with," I reminded her.

"It doesn't matter. It's hopeless. It was probably just a crush anyway," she dismissed, turning on her heels and walking to the shuttle.

I sighed to myself and followed behind her. She was right. I was with Keaton because I liked him. Whatever happened in the kitchen was just a misunderstanding. Neither of us could recall what exactly had happened. Or maybe we just didn't want to.

...

We all fell back into our normal routines once we arrived back at the hotel. A week passed and everything went as usual; we woke up, rehearsed for our first live show, then ate dinner and went back to our rooms for a good night's sleep. Keaton and I saw each other on a daily basis but nothing progressed between us. We liked each other, no doubt, I just worried that things were going a little slower than necessary. Neither Camila or myself brought up the kitchen incident again but anytime I wasn't with Keaton, I was with her, watching movies or staying up entirely too late to talk about nothing and everything all at the same time. We had a beautiful friendship, and it felt right. Everything was pretty much back to the way it was before the judges' house.

On the day of the first live show my alarm woke me up at precisely 10 A.M. We didn't have a scheduled rehearsal, but the girls and I had all planned to gather in Ally's room for one final sound check before we had to get ready for the show. I threw on a pair of baggy sweatpants and a t-shirt, not really worrying too much about impressing the other girls at that point. I walked sluggishly down the hall, my bare feet scraping the carpet as I failed to pick them up off the ground. I stopped in front of Ally's room and knocked quietly on the door. She let me inside only a few seconds later.

"Congratulations, you're the first to arrive. Want some coffee?" she offered.

"Sure," I mumbled, her cheery attitude proving to be too much for my tired brain.

She brought me a cup full of the bitter liquid and I took a sip, closing my eyes as I felt the warmth slide down the back of my throat.

"You seem tired," Ally observed.

"I just woke up," I shrugged.

"No," she corrected, sitting her coffee on the table in front of her and crossing her legs, "I mean you look tired. Like something is eating away at the back of your mind and it's exhausting you."

"Bingo," I chuckled, taking another sip of my coffee.

"Do you want to talk about it? It's safe with me, whatever it is," she promised.

"It's just...I don't know," I started, shifting my weight so I was facing her. "I have this friend..."

"Oh boy," she laughed. "Tell me about this 'friend' of yours."

"I have this friend," I repeated. "This friend has a boyfriend. He's really cute and sweet and exactly her type, but she was more attracted to him before they got together and now she doesn't know what to do."

"Why isn't she attracted to him anymore?" she asked, playing along with my game.

"She doesn't know. It's like all the life in him has been sucked out and put in someone else. All of the things that she loves about him don't matter because there's someone else out there who has so much more to offer, but she can't find that other person," I explained.