The Exchange Student // Camila Cabello

Chapter Eighteen

Noah's POV
We ended our night with a movie. Dinah had a massive theater room with a projector as the TV, which the girls apparently spend a lot of their time in.

We watched A Walk to Remember—a movie notorious for making people cry. The room was filled with sniffles and tears as the credits rolled.

"You okay?" Troy whispered to Ally who was wiping her eyes with a tissue.

She blew her nose and nodded. "Yeah, it's just really sad."

"It's just the movie right?" he asked, glancing at the credits. "That's the reason for the tears?"

Ally rolled her eyes. "Yes. I'm emotionally stable." She turned her head and looked at me. "Besides, I'm not the only one crying."

I felt everyone's heads turn to me as she said this. I wiped my eyes and shook my head. "I'm sorry, what? I'm allergic, okay? And there's so much pollen in here right now, it's ridiculous."

"It's okay," Ally said, touching my arm like she was caring for a distraught child.

I sniffled and looked at Camila who was wiping the tears from her eyes too. "Hey, tomorrow we're watching football, okay?"

She laughed. "Football season is a month away."

"ESPN classics, then. We'll watch old games."

Troy scratched the back of his neck. "Maybe, uh, next time we should do a comedy."

Normani shook her head. "What? No, we love sad movies."

He nodded, though I could see in his eyes how much he didn't want to watch another sad movie ever again. "Great," he said with a small thumbs-up.

Camila sniffled and pulled out her phone. She wiped her nose and took a deep breath. "We better get going. It's almost curfew."

I nodded and stood up, making sure to blink to help clear any leftover tears. We said our goodbyes and went back outside to Sinuhe's car.

Just like before, I sat in the passenger seat while Camila took the wheel. She started driving back to her house. It was silent for the most part, except for Ed Sheeran playing softly on the radio. Beams from streetlights flickered through the window every few seconds.

I still couldn't get over the ending of A Walk to Remember. It was so sad yet so sweet. My mom used to watch movies like that all the time when I was younger. I remember when I was finally old enough to appreciate the movies and she let me join her. She would make hot chocolate and we would cuddle under a blanket as we watched the movie. She always cried too, even if it wasn't a sad one. She would joke that she's a sympathetic crier but I knew it was just because she cared. That was something my mom taught me. Not to be ashamed when you care about something or someone.

"Thanks for coming with me tonight," Camila said and I stopped looking out the window.

"Thanks for inviting me." I grinned and she smiled at me. I repositioned myself so I was facing her a little better. I thought about Ally and her boyfriend. "Is Troy always so . . . ?"

"Indifferent? Aloof? Boring?" She threw out several possible endings to my question and I laughed. "Yes. He's been with Ally for two years and he's very nice to her, but he's never really connected with any of us." She shrugged. "So on nights like tonight when he comes along, it's usually kind of awkward."

I nodded and glanced back out the window. "Does he go to school with us?"

"He graduated, actually. Last year. Now he goes to the University of Miami."

"Huh. I never pegged Ally for a college boyfriend kind of girl," I said. But now that I think about it, Ally does give off those vibes. She's the oldest and most mature out of her friends. It actually makes sense why she would date a college guy. I quirked an eyebrow. "What's the deal with Lauren and Brad?"

Camila tensed in her seat. I worried I struck a nerve or simply just asked about something that wasn't my business, but she sighed. "They dated for a couple months freshman year and Lauren lost her virginity to him, but after that he stopped talking to her. Word spread around that Lauren was an 'easy lay' and pretty much every guy in school started saying they slept with her too. Obviously she was heartbroken. Her first boyfriend betrayed her in one of the worst ways possible. Over the years she's managed to feel a lot better and overcome the situation, but Brad still thinks it's funny to remind her whenever he sees her."

I was shocked. Brad was way worse than I thought he was. To do that to anyone was cruel, but to do that to Lauren was despicable. I didn't even realize I was clenching my fist until it started to ache. I released my grip and nodded. "Which was what he was doing the night of the party?"

"Yes," she said. She glanced my way with a raised eyebrow. "No ones ever stood up to Brad before. Not in the way you did at least." She smiled. "It's like you have a hero complex."

I furrowed my brow. "I do not have a hero complex."

Her angelic laugh filled the car. "Are you sure? Cause you've rescued Lauren, Shawn, and me . . . twice!"

"Those were completely out of character. I really don't enjoy fighting people, or being the center of attention for that matter." I shook my head.

"I think it just shows that you care about people," she said with a sweet smile.

I felt my cheeks blush as she pulled into her driveway and parked. We snuck into the house quietly because Sofi was already asleep and, from the looks of it, so were her parents.

I went to the basement door and glanced at Camila as she hung the car keys on a hook in the laundry room. She caught my eye and smiled at me.

"Good night, Noah," she said in a whisper and I grinned.

"Good night, Camila."