Chapter 15- Better than nothing- The Friendzone
The mall was not jam packed with people given it was only Thursday. Only few shoppers and teenagers were scattered in the food court. Cameron and his friends were sitting in the farthest corner of the place from where they could see everything. They had just gotten away from basketball practice and they decided to fulfill their hunger with cheeseburgers. Six of them including Ryan and Luke were enjoying their meals when a pretty thing caught Ryan's eyes.
"Hot girl twelve o'clock." He said loud enough for everyone on the table to hear. Derek, their basketball buddy was sitting on his left and Cameron on his right. On their opposite seats Luke, Kyle and Matt were seated. Both of the boys on his side instantly lifted their head in the front direction. Kyle and Matt too turned their heads behind them and glanced at the girl he referred to
"Oh damn look at those legs." Cameron said and everyone on the table roared silently. The brunette who wore a skirt and a tight blouse was lazily eating ice cream leaning on the railing.
"Now I want ice cream too." Kyle said causing laughter erupt from the table. They were all still staring at her.
"Okay guys that's getting creepy. Everybody doesn't look at once." Ryan whispered. All of them ducked their heads and momentarily focused their attention on their meals.
"Luke you didn't see the hot girl. What is wrong with you? Dude turn around she's still there." Cameron said. He had noticed that only Luke among all of the boys hadn't checked her out.
"I don't want to. I have a date with Haley on Saturday. We're going to the movies." He said smirking and lifting his spoon as if it was sign of triumph.
"Oh thank god. Finally you had the balls to ask her out." Ryan said mocking him. "Which brings us to... what about Ally?" he asked looking suspiciously at Cameron whose mouth was filled with pieces of pickle and sauce.
"Great. We can double date then." Luke added straightening up to see Cameron's reaction. All ten eyes were on him scrutinizing his silence.
"What? Don't look at me like that. We're just friends." he said looking back at all of them casually. There was no chance he was going to ask her out. They had just become friends and he didn't want to ruin it.
"We thought you liked her." Matt said out of nowhere taking him by surprise. But the rest of the table was eerily quiet awaiting his response like they were waiting for his Grammy acceptance speech.
"What?... Pfft.... Oh please... I didn't like her like that... Okay I did." The last words came out in a rush from his mouth when he realized they weren't going to buy his defense. He sighed loudly and his friends listened to him attentively.
"But I don't like her now. It's pretty clear she doesn't like me at all. I'm not going to waste my time. We're good as friends only." He explained. Although it upset him when he realized what he said, he didn't want to think about her anymore. He was going to get over her eventually. If she didn't like him he didn't want to like her either. Besides he had basketball to obsess over right now. He had to concentrate on winning this tournament for his school. They had to win it at any cost. And there were many fishes in the sea flapping their fins at him. He could have anybody he wanted except her.
As much as he didn't want to think about her, he still did. She had invaded his mind once again and he didn't realize he had zoned out until Ryan nudged him a little. Ryan looked at him with empathy. "Hey don't give me that look."
"You're still thinking about her." He couldn't say anything to that. His best friend understood him completely. "I'm sorry, man." Ryan whispered again. Cameron nodded his head and smiled at his friend for his genuine concern.
"Is that Rebecca?" Derek called out skeptically gaining everyone's attention. "And why she's stomping towards us?"
"Okay which one of you did to her?" Matt asked to no one in particular. But all glares were on Cameron again.
"Will y'all stop looking at me like that? I swear we just made out like... five or six times." He said panicking. Angry blondes never did any good to anyone. She was coming right at him. Her hair bounced in every direction as she took angry steps towards him. Her blue skater dress flew with every step giving away enough to gain the attention of the other people.She was looking pretty, without a doubt.
Her walk slowed down as she neared their table. "Hi guys. Can I just steal Cameron from you for a second?" She asked politely.
"Sure."
"Yeah take him."
As soon as he got up from his chair she took his hand and dragged him to an isolated corner. She moved closer to him and looked dangerously into his eyes. "You haven't called me in a week. And when I call you never pick up and you even ignore me at school. Why Cameron?" she asked. And he could see that the anger had disappeared and in its place was sadness.
"But we agreed it was just for a week. You know like friends with benefits."
"I know. But I thought we connected." He took a step back completely shocked. It was always just sexual attraction for him. He didn't feel any special connection with her.
"Look I thought you were trying to get over a bad break up and I was just trying to make a girl jealous. But she wasn't... so yeah... I don't think... I felt anything." He said as sweetly as he possibly could. It didn't seem to work though because she was already in tears.
"I'm sorry." He whispered to her placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Who's she?"
"Well... it's none of your business and I don't like her anymore." He said and instantly regretted it since Rebecca's head snapped up looking at him with hope.
"But I'm not ready for any kind of relationship." He clearly stated. Her face fell and she sniffed wiping away her tears.
"We can be friends... but only friends."
She thought for a while and smiled sadly. "Better than nothing." She said in a quiet tone. They hugged and parted ways.
**
Meanwhile Ally was going through Facebook on her laptop when something she saw made her scream internally.
Jake Lerman is online.
"Holy shit." The words escaped her mouth and she found herself in a state of panic like she always is when he's online. Earlier when they didn't talk in school she never dared to start a conversation with him. But right now, situation was different. They were friends both on facebook and in real life.
She was debating whether or not to say 'Hi' first. Would that be creepy? But what if went offline? She would never get to talk to him. Damn he's profile picture is so hot. This was harder than math.
"Fuck you hormones." She half whispered and yelled. She found herself typing the dreadful words 'Hey!' She waited for him to see the message and her panic grew with every passing second.
Jake is typing...
The message appeared on her screen. It was simple 'Hi!' but it evoked different emotions in her.
Ally: What's up?
Him: Nothing just bored.
Ally: Me too.
She waited and waited but his reply never came. He had seen her message but never replied back. What would he even reply to the stupid message she sent him? She was being ridiculous. She decided to change the topic. She the next words nervously.
Ally: What are you doing this weekend?
Him: I think watching a movie.
Ally: Sounds fun. :-)
Him: But my friends are not coming.
Him: Hey wait you should come!
She gazed at the words in front of her computer screen. Her mouth and eyes wide open but not a word escaped from her mouth. Did she read it correctly or did he just ask her out? Was it a date? Questions danced on her mind and she realized she hadn't even reply. What's there to reply the answer was always yes. But before she could type another message from him popped on the screen.
Him: It's not a date. We'll just go out as friends. :-)
Another sentence that instantly whirled her emotions to a completely different extreme. She shook her head and thought it was better than nothing. If they go out alone maybe he would also like her back. She was never going to miss a golden opportunity like this.
Ally: Okay great.
Him: I'll see you at school then.
She couldn't contain her excitement. The smile on her face spread from ear to ear. She felt giddy something she hadn't for a very long time. What if really liked her too? The possibility was still on full wings.
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A/N: HELLO PEOPLE! What up? So both girls just got friend zoned right? Hence the name of the chapter. This was first Cameron's POV and then Ally's. I know what you must be telling poor Cameron. On the other hand this is exactly how I panic when I see my crush online. It's so ridiculous I have to slap myself sometimes. Kind of short I know but I just got stuck on Cameron's POV. So I hope you forgive me if I did something wrong and please point out the mistakes. I personally think this is not well written but whatever I just wanted to get the story in action.
Hit up the vote button and comment what do you think is going to happen? Because heat is going to turn on now.
Thank you so much if you still read my story. I can't tell you how happy I am even if I get single vote or comment. It just feels ecstatic. So thanks again and see you later guys!