Homeward Bound

Part 1: Closer now

"Thanks Cam", Shannon hugged Cammie hard, eyes tight shut, as they stepped out of her room. "Totally, cool. Anytime you want to be roasted...come to me", Cammie said with a mischievous smirk. They both laughed, but the laugh was followed by a heavy pause where they stood, eyes locked, staring intensely at each other. Cammie quickly followed up with "Kidding, love and respectchya!". It had become something they said to each other out of what they assumed was a mutual fondness and a shared romantic past. This fondness seemed to be growing. Amy and Joanna, who had both just arrived and had caught the tail end of this exchange, waved Shannon goodbye as she exited the house. They turned around, looking surprised and curious.

"What was that Cammie?", Amy asked in a tone that was teasing yet suspicious. Cammie rolled her eyes and desperately tried to shrug off the onset of a blush. "Jo, please tell me you caught that too?" Joanna, with her crossed arms and one arched eyebrow said "Yeah Aims, I felt a weird energy in here, those ShaCam vibes maybe?". "Shush guys! Please don't make this weird". Cammie pleaded. "Shan and I have just begun to reach a place where we can legitimately be friends. I don't want anything to get in the way of that." "Uhuh, I'm sure you don't" said Joanna sarcastically. "Seriously". Cammie said a little annoyed, but also to her surprise, a little sad. "You guys already know we don't work as anything more." Why did she have to even explain this to her best friends. Hadn't she been convincingly done with her past with ShaCam, Canon or whatever their ship name was. Hadn't she been heart broken enough over the end of her and Kara? She'd actually thought that Kara was the person she'd settle down with. They seemed in sync. They had fought much less than she and Shannon ever had. Kara had been so kind and sweet with her. All of a sudden though, both their careers had accelerated and the plane rides, the time zones, the tiredness and schedules all crept in. It wasn't a bad break-up but it left her feeling adrift, age 28 and thinking about how hard it would be to pour herself into one more relationship, only to have in fizzle out.

Shannon Beveridge, not entirely out of ear-shot when the teasing had begun, smiled but also felt a pang of pain. Her days of hoping Cammie and she would find their way back to each other were long gone. These thoughts had been gradually erased by the presence of a certain Cari Fletcher. A presence that had most unfortunately begun to turn into an absence. It was also the reason she had come over to talk to Cammie in the first place. She was not ready to let go easily of one more long term relationship and ironically, the only person she thought could give her honest insider advice and help save her relationship with Cari, was Cammie, her ex.

Shannon got into her car. LA was exhausting, but she loved it. It had become her home. It had built her up. She was proud of who she was here, the support system and network she had nurtured helped her find people and resources to do the projects she always envisioned. Sure, she had to travel on tours but her base camp, her stronghold was here. Fletcher, on the other hand was a travelling soul. She went wherever she needed to be, wherever her music took her. How had Shannon gone from having one relationship where the problem was no space, to one that had way too much space? She closed her eyes before turning the ignition on and in that split second, she saw the olive green eyes and wide smile of Camden Mary Elise Scott. She had to find a way back to Cammie.... Cari! She corrected herself. She had to before she fooled herself into thinking silly unrealistic thoughts and in the process, losing what was real and good.  

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"What did she talk to you about Cammie?" Amy inquired. She was not giving up. 'Ordman! Please. This is the third day in a row and you have not shut up about this!'. "Cammie, take pity on the girl who spent her whole weekend doing laundry and eating Doritos with the sole company of her Laundromat security guard." "Your Laundromat has a security guard? Why?!... Amy if you're going to paint your life as the saddest ever, leave that guy out of the picture"