In the semi finals of the tournament the Vikings dominated through the whole game. Cameron claimed it to be 'just luck' because the best player of the opposite team was injured. However, his friends were very determined to make him believe that it was due to their team effort. Especially Ally, she never forgot to remind him that he was being too hard on himself. Those long hours of practising were finally paying off but he didn't want to acknowledge it.
Cameron didn't throw any victory party which saddened the team. He said they should save all their energy for the next game. The Finals.
But he did sponser a small get together at his home later that night to which only his close friends were invited.
Ally took the ride to his home directly from the school where her friends were yet to arrive. She was alone with Cameron in the game room helping him set up the food and drinks.
"What are we up to?" She asked settling down three large bowls each filled different snacks.
"Movies and maybe just talk you know." He casually answered lazily falling on the couch behind him. She took a chair beside him.
"You like to talk... a lot." He chuckled when she referred to their routine night conversations.
"Seriously though... you're the most talkitive guy I've ever met."
"I would like to take that as a compliment." He looked down at the floor placing a hand on his chest.
"Sure you would... You've been keeping me up all night." She said but instantly regretted it. That sounded very clean in her head.
"Oh shit... That came out wrong." She laughed looking at Cameron who was literally rolling on the couch with laughter.
"Juicy. That's why you've been sleeping through your classes." Ryan entered with Becky who didn't fail in misunderstanding Ally.
"No. No. That's not what I meant."
"Ooh. I get it, Al. You've doing some Cam for a few days." Becky said in an overly seductive voice. Ally knew she would be the new topic for jokes in her group of friends. A lifetime of embarrassment was guranteed.
"Great. Now we have two couples in this group." Haley said entering with Luke.
"No." Ally and Cameron simultaneously shouted getting up from their seats. Cameron gave her an odd look before settling down once again.
"Guys we're just friends... Now let's just do what we're here for." He added. Their friends controlled their laughter and took seats around the television. They decided upon a comedy flick and watched it till they got bored of the overused plot.
"I'm out of soda." Haley said bouncing off to the kitchen. Obviously Luke followed her. Ally guessed they had ran to the bathroom to secretly make out.
"Are we seriously still watching this?" Becky said stretching out her limbs. She had dozed off halfway into the movie. She took the remote and switched it off which welcomed protests from the boys.
"Let me check if a game is on." She said flipping through the channels. She settled on a repeat telecast of a basketball game between Los Angeles Clippers and Miami heat.
"Yes! I have never seen this one." Ally commented with a new energy pumping in her veins.
"Me too!" Ryan too joined the game watching team leaving only Cameron.
"I have seen this one." Cameron demanded to switch back to the movie. But he was shushed by Ally. He looked at her jumping up everytime Miami scored a basket. This was a new side of Ally he had never expected to see. Suddenly she was a bossy fan yelling at a screen just like him. Eventually he joined in the party and enthusiastically watched the game. He realized he had seen it a long time ago and was confused on which team had won.
It was clear that the girls were rooting for Miami and the boys for LA. Meanwhile, Haley and Luke had sneaked off to an unplanned date. "You're team's going down." Ally remarked with her eyes glued to the screen.
When the final buzzer went off Ally launched up from the couch and with a scream attacked the closest person into a hug. Fortunately or unfortunately it was Cameron who was the bearer of the surprise.
Stunned, he froze for a moment but recovered soon enveloping his arms around her. She was too excited to analyze the person she was holding too tightly and for the very first time. When she did realize it was Becky she was supposed to hug she awkwardly withdrew her arms.
"Sorry, wrong person." She felt embarrased. When she looked up he seemed to be in a daze.
"Uh... Oh it's okay." He finally came back to earth. His eyes were glistening with a smile pasted on his cheeks. But she dare not look at him again after their awkward moment.
Becky was the next to hug Ally while she yelled 'We won' making Ally to almost go deaf. They hung out for a little while before the phone call from Becky's parents came. Becky took Ryan too drop her home against his wish.
Seeing all their friends gone Ally chose to walk to home. Cameron insisted to drop her off but she declined. She didn't want him to think she was the kind of girl who took advantage of boys. But when she went outside and saw the black Corvette adorning his driveway she was rethinking her principles.
It was against her pride to beg for just a five minute drive of a car. Screw it. It was her dream car. She could be a little selfish for once. Excitedly she rang his doorbell again. He opened quickly but was taken aback to see Ally again.
"Hey..."
"You didn't go?"
"No." She maintained a straight face.
"Is everything alright, Parker?" He dropped his hands off the door looking at her with genuine concern.
She took a deep breath and asked,"I saw the Corvette in the driveway. Can I please just take a test drive? Please?"
"Oh thank god. You scared me." He eased out for a bit but the tense expression was back on his face. "I don't know about the car... My dad loves it and if it got even a tiny scratch he's gonna throw me out of the house."
"I swear I would not let anything touch it." She tried again this time with a touch of pleading.
"Uh... Okay. Fine." She nearly jumped with happiness. "I'll get the keys... Hate it when you make that puppy face." He muttered the last line while going inside to fetch the keys to her dream car.
She couldn't believe her eyes when she was sitting in the driver's seat grazing her hands on the coveted steering wheel. "Wow. This feels awesome." She was in a daze trying to absorb every second of being inside this beauty.
She heard the passenger door shut. Cameron was sitting beside her. "Hey. I wanna do this alone."
"Oh no. You can't." He sternly said.
"Don't you trust me? Not even for five minutes." She emphasized on the word five.
"I-I do. But if something happens to do this car I'm so dead."
She turned to him with the single most serious look she could manage. "Trust me."
He gazed at her trying to convince himself. Giving up he sighed,"Alright. Please, be careful."
A smile lit up her face as she saw him open the door. "I will. Thank you so much."
Ally revved up the engine feeling the power inside the car. Slowly she pressed the gas and it moved forward smoothly. Her excitement was on the roof when she changed the gear and turned towards an isolated road to really use the full potential of the car. She sped on the one way road enjoying the wind. There were hardly any cars other cars on the road between the dry land surrounding her.
With the radio playing in full volume she grooved to the music exploiting every second of the drive. It felt like freedom. Like she had nothing to care about. Nothing to worry. No school, no boys, no family.
She noticed a white car moving ahead of her. Something came over her; she wanted to show off to others the powerhouse she was driving. Changing the gear and pressing on the gas she drove beside the car. She looked over to see two teenage boys eye balling her car. A smirk decorated her features and she pressed hard on the gas moving ahead of them with lightening speed.
She slowed down but had to speed up again seeing them move closer. They were driving at a dangerous speed. To avoid any collision she slowed down the car. She watched as they crawled beside her moving at the same speed wearing the same smug look.
She ignored their smirks and decided to focus on the road. Minutes passed but they were neither over taking nor allowing her to move ahead. She gave them an angry look but they simply turned their steering wheel in her direction as if trying to push the car off road.
"Oh fuck."A scream escaped her throat as she twisted the steering wheel in other direction to avoid any collision. The car was running on a speed of hundred miles an hour before deviating off the road into the desert. Her heart was going crazy as the car went out of her control going towards a dried tree.
Immediately she pressed on the breaks but the car didn't slow down. Instead it hit the thick dried trunk of a tree with a thud. Her body jerked forward and hit the wheel in a painful motion. It was derailed so fast she couldn't do anything.
When she lifted her head from the collision with the tree it felt as if everything was spinning around her. Tears were forming in her eyes when she realized the blunder she had done. Her breathing wasn't proper and she was still in shock from the accident.
She tried to start the engine but it didn't work. She was scared of Cameron's reaction. He had warned her a million times that the car can get out of control. But she didn't listen. And now he was going to suffer the wrath of his father.
She mustered the courage to call him because there was no way this car was going to start. Her heart was beating fast and her breaths were shallow. He was going to be so mad at her. After three rings he picked up and she could feel the hurry in his voice.
Tears welled up in her eyes and her voice broke as she said, "I'm so... sorry Cameron..."
"What are you talking about? What happened?" His voice was a mixture of shock and urgency.
"It was... an accident." She managed to say.
"What?! Oh my god... Are you alright?" He yelled on on the phone.
"I'm sorry. I know this car means so much to your dad..." She continued,"I'm just... so sorry for doing this."
She wasn't staggered to hear him curse loudly but the worry in his voice blew her away. "Fuck it, Ally... Are you alright? Just tell me." He demanded.
"I am. But your car isn't." She said getting a hold over her dangling voice.
"Where are you?"
"Some lonely road... Marconi Street."
"There's GPS in the car I'll track you." He added, "Please... Be safe. Okay?"
"Okay. Come soon." She hung up and waited for him to arrive. She went outside to take a better look at the car. One of the headlights broken and a few dents were enough to qualify for a premium scolding from Cameron's father. She strolled around the car thinking of ways to explain to him.
Cameron wouldn't probably ever trust her again. But she didn't want this to jeopradize the special bond between them. She thought of ways she could possibly make up for this mistake.
Another car stopped a few meters ahead of her and she instantly recognized it. Cameron immediately opened the door and sprinted while she braced herself for his reaction.
He rushed towards her and cupped her face. He was panicking; his heavy breathing gave it away. "Oh my god, You're okay." He said it as if he was having a hard time believing it himself.
"But you're hurt." He stroked her forehead cautiously. She didn't know it was bruised until now. She nodded. "I am sorry."
She looked down at his feet. He removed a few stray hair away from her eyes and forced her chin up. "I'm just glad you're okay. You scared the shit out of me." He whispered with a sad smile on his face. She stared at him with wide eyes. Who was this guy? He wasn't worried about his father's million dollar car but about her. It was baffling.
He hugged her constantly stroking her back while she whispered,"Why aren't you mad at me?"
"I am. But I'm... so damn glad that I don't care about anything else." His words filled her heart with joy. Just when she thought no one cared about her, there he was holding her so tightly but yet so delicately.
Ally heard someone clearing their throat. She looked up to see Tom with his hands crossed over his chest. His angry stance made her to retrieve from the hug. Cameron noticed this and immediately turned around to see the reason for her withdrawl.
She swallowed. "I'm sorry, Tom. This is not his fault. I forced him to let me drive." She took a step forward towards Tom.
He glanced back and forth between Cameron and her but he finally settled on Cameron. "You know your dad loves this car. Then how can you be so careless?"
"It's my-" Ally tried to explain but was cut off by Tom raising his hand.
"Enough. I'll get this fixed and deal with you later..." Tom went on glaring at Cameron."You take this and drive her home right now." He handed the keys to Cameron.
As soon as she was back on the road she explained everything to Cameron apologizing several times. "If it helps I'll talk to your dad."
"No. It would be better if I tell him myself." He focused his eyes on the road but his tension was visible from the multiple lines on his forehead.
"Ah... God I'm so sorry, Cameron. I didn't mean to get you into trouble."
"It's okay. Everybody makes mistakes. And it's not your fault those two guys were crazy." He assured with a smile. "Do you know that's the second time you've called me by my first name?''
"Yeah, I know. Why are you so happy about that?" She shrugged.
"Maybe because I like it when you say my name..." He trailed off with a smile.
She shook her head. "Are you seriously flirting with me right now? You're gonna get your ass kicked by your dad.''
He laughed making the end of her lips tug up too. She noticed she smiles too often in his company. "It would be worth it though. I got to hear you say my name for the first time."
"You called me Ally today for the first time too."
"Yes. It was only cause I was scared and worried." He tried to justify. "Today I realized how much I care about you."
She listened contemplating his words. Unable to react appropriately she said,"You're an idiot, Miller." She reached out and smacked his head playfully. He too smacked her arm in response. The fact that their friendship had reached a point where they could easily hit or mock each other was groundbreaking for Ally. She never had a friend with whom she had been this comfortable and secure.
Trusting people was a ginormous challenge for her but slowly a part of her was developing trust on Cameron while the other was still unsure of the consequences.
---
A/N: Hey guys! New things being discovered in this chapter huh? What did you think? Let me know. Thanks for reading. Have a great day! Do point out any mistakes.