~~~ Camden's POV~~~
"Hahahahahahahahaha! Oh sweet baby Jesus, this is amazing. I can't believe that idiot fainted! I'm crying!" Derek said, doubling over in laughter.
"T-That's mean, Derek." I said, Kai's head resting in my lap. I had to get Derek to help me carry him out of there after he fainted. The butcher guy was actually really nice, and apologized a bunch even though we told him it wasn't it his fault. Well, I told him that. Derek high fived him.
Derek and I had lugged him to an area of abandoned houses down the street and laid him down. I put his head on my lap so the dead grass didn't get in his hair...and maybe for some other reasons. Possibly. I don't know. Geh.
I looked down at Kai's unconscious face. He's so handsome...even when he's screaming like a mandrake in a poorly assembled haunted house. I brushed his hair out of his face with my hand, marvelling at how soft it was. I couldn't resist running my fingers through the silky strands a couple times.
"Ahem there, my little pervert friend. I'm still here ya know?" Derek said suddenly, making me jump in mortification and surprise. I totally forgot where I was!
"I-I was just moving his hair out of his eyes! It's not l-like that!" I said hurriedly, my face heating to maximum temperatures. He smirked, looking way too amused.
"Relax. Kai is sharper than he looks, but I bet he has no clue you like him, and I won't tell him."
"W-What do you mean? I d-don't...I don't like Kai!" I exclaimed, but it sounded unsure.
"Oh really? Cause the way you were looking at his pretty face just now says you're love-struck." He said easily, looking at Kai. "I don't know what you all see in him. He's such a dumbass." He said with a sigh, sounding like a tired father.
"Y-You all...?" I questioned, looking up at Derek.
"By that I mean you and all his exes. He's got quite a record, you know." Derek said, watching my expression carefully.
I gulped. A record? So he's dated a lot of people, then. There's no way he'd go for someone like me after so much experience. I sighed dejectedly without realizing it.
"Aw, don't make that face. Kai is an impulsive idiot, but he's not a player."
"I-I know that...." I mumbled. He looked at me with furrowed eyebrows.
"You really like him, don't you?" He asked seriously. I blushed, opening my mouth ready to deny it again, but I shut it. I looked down at Kai again, watching his chest rise and fall with his even breaths. His face looked peaceful, despite the way he became like this.
"Y-Yeah, I do. And I don't know what to do about it." I said, my eyes stinging. I'd never met anyone like Kai before. Do I even stand a chance?
Derek sighed, coming over to kneel beside me. I looked over at him and he grinned at me. "Well, it's nothing to get all depressed over, but i'm not gonna tell you what do about it either. That's yours and Kai's business, not mine. But can I offer a bit of advice?" He asked, reaching over and brushing Kai's hair away from his forehead himself this time.
I nodded, a little surprised.
"Two things," he said. "Firstly, if he asks you out at any point, reject the bastard. No one's ever said no to him before and it pisses me off." I blushed, about to protest that he would never ask me out but he held up a hand.
"Second...just, don't hurt him. He's more...sensitive to this kind of stuff than he looks. He may have dated a lot, but in a sense he's still new to it. Kai goes into every relationship feet first, whole-hearted. And he always ends up with the short straw at the end. It would kill him-and me-if that sort of thing happened between you guys. Okay?" He said, rubbing the back of his neck a bit shyly.
I nodded, not really sure what to say. It was beyond my wildest fantasies to think that Kai would ever ask me out, much less would we ever start dating. I already knew that if that day ever came, I would never take Kai for granted. It's only been a month since i've known him, and yet I can tell how amazing of a person he is. It would kill me to hurt him, too.
"Nngh," Kai groaned, and we both looked down at him. He pursed his lips, opening one eye and looking up at me. He looks so cute...agh.
"Camden?" Kai mumbled groggily. "Am I in heaven? There's an angel comforting me..."
"W-What?! Heaven?" I remembered my wings and blushed. Kai sat up, rubbing his head. He caught sight of Derek.
"....." Derek said nothing and stared back.
"....Nope, this definitely isn't heaven. Hello, Derek."
"Bastard." Derek thwacked Kai over the head, earning an irritated scowl.
"Don't abuse my head!"
"P-Plus, he did just faint, Derek." I added, and Kai's face morphed into one of shock.
"I fainted? Oh yeah, I fainted! Don't hit a guy who's just fainted, Derek! Wait, why did I faint again?" Kai asked, rubbing his head. I couldn't hold it in anymore and started laughing, covering my mouth.
Derek started laughing too, and Kai looked confused. "Why are you guys laughing? Don't laugh at such a time! I could have amnesia!"
"No, unfortunately you're just an idiot." Derek snickered.
"HEY!"
Oh, dear.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We spent the rest of the night getting as much candy as we could, Derek cracking jokes about Kai's fainting spell the entire time. I had a feeling the jokes would stick around for awhile.
When I finally got home, I shut the door and leaned against it with a sigh. I blushed thinking about my conversation with Derek earlier. Not to mention Kai making things worse with the way he said goodbye tonight.
He wrapped his long arms around me and hugged me. Which wasn't so unusual, but Derek looked away and started whistling conspicuously, stuffing his hands in his pockets then casting me a knowing smirk. I blushed so hard I thought I might die.
Then, the icing on the cake, Kai leaned back and snapped a picture with his phone. I yelped and tried to grab it to delete it, but the simple matter of our height difference ensured that I wouldn't get my hands on it as he held it high in the air. Kai pinched my cheek and told me he simply had to get a picture of the cutest angel he'd ever seen.
"Urgh..." I groaned, covering my face with my hands. "I really do like Kai..." I said to myself.
"Camden? Is that you?" I jumped, looking in the direction of the voice to see my mother coming around the corner, fully dressed in her work attire.
"Y-Y-Yeah, hi Mother." I stiffened, greeting her. She gave me a once over, her face expressionless.
"Did you have fun with your friends?" She asked me calmly. I swallowed as she went over to the mirror by the bookshelf and fixed her earrings.
"Y-Yes, I did, t-thank you." I responded politely. She turned around, facing me again.
"Good. I suggest the next time you arrive home this late, you be a little more considerate and enter quietly, yes?" She said, her voice stern and emotionless. At times I was astonished at how well her appearance suited her personality. A stiff gray pencil skirt and blazer over a button up shirt, with her hair tightly packed into a bun or ponytail.
"Yes, M-Mother. I'm sorry." She nodded, her heels clacking across the tiles on the floor as she went to grab her purse.
"Good boy. I'm heading to the office for a bit, i've got some emergency work to do. I don't know when your father will be home tonight," She said as she opened the front door. She paused, turning her head slightly so I could see just the side of her face.
"And fix that stuttering. It's unpleasant and annoying." With that, she shut the door behind her. Moments later, I heard the car start, and then she was gone.
I sighed in relief. Being around that woman stresses me out beyond belief. I think i'm getting an ulcer. I hoisted my bag of candy to my other arm and trudged upstairs to my room. I went in and shut the door, then flopped down on my bed. I felt my fake wings against my back, and smiled slightly as I recalled Kai asking if he was in heaven after waking up and seeing me after fainting.
Several images of Kai smiling, laughing, pouting, any and all emotions that I remember seeing him express flashed through my mind.
"You really like him, don't you?"
I groaned again at the memory of Derek's question. Why am I so hopeless? If Derek thinks that Kai falls too hard and too easily...oh, man. He's in for it now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"It's No Shave November!" Kai said proudly, rubbing the stubble on his jaw and chin. Derek rolled his eyes, tsk'ing. I, however, could not take my eyes off of Kai's face.
The stubble made him look older and a little rugged, and without his usual cheerful expression could even be considered a little bad-ass and dangerous. Kai happened to be pretty tall and fit, so needless to say I was practically drooling over the new look.
Before I knew what I was doing my hand was on Kai's face, touching and stroking the coarse hair there as I silently marvelled at it. Thank god for November...he looks so sexy...
"Camden? Not that I mind, but what are you doing to my face?" Kai asked, grinning down at me cheerfully, looking unabashed.
"EH?! I-I'm so sorry, I don't know w-w-what I was doing!" I exclaimed, extremely embarrassed. Derek was holding his stomach with one hand and smacking a desk with the other, laughing uncontrollably. He didn't even stop me!
"That's okay!" Kai said, smiling. He was leaning back on his hands on the desk, while I stood next to him, my lower back pressed against the edge. He smiled down at me, his eyes bright. Oh man.
"You can touch it if you want to. It's pretty weird, right? Go ahead." I felt my cheeks heat up as he said this, but I couldn't resist. It was offered to me! That wouldn't be weird, right?
I lifted my hand, the desire to touch his face filling me up, but then I caught sight of Derek standing right near us, covering his mouth with both hands and chortling like mad. He then mimicked two people making out-with tongue-behind Kai's back, and pointed at me, waggling his eyebrows.
I tried to ignore him, but then he started to pelvic thrust and I lost it.
"Y-You idiot! Shut up already!" I lunged and started kicking at Derek's shins as he laughed hysterically.
"Ow! I didn't say anything! I'm sorry, ow, ow!" He said, but he was still laughing as he rubbed his shins. I huffed, crossing my arms and refusing to look at either Derek or the now confused Kai.
"Er, what is going on? Not that I mind the abuse to Derek." Kai interjected.
"Nothing, man, don't even worry about it. You do you." Derek chuckled, patting his shoulder and giving me a sly look.
I'm doomed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You guys should participate in No Shave November!" Kai said as we walked out of the cafeteria to eat our lunches outside. It's cold, I thought to myself and rubbed my arms.
"No Shave November my chocolate ass-cheeks. More like you were too lazy to shave after a sugar hangover." Derek said dryly as we sat in the grass.
"What?! Well, I never..." Kai said, but I could tell he was caught red handed, and I smiled a little.
"Guys? Um, why is it that w-we're sitting outside? It's getting c-colder now." I asked, opening my lunch.
"Yeah, why is it, Kai?" Derek said, shooting him an annoyed glance like he already knew damn well why.
"Ehehehe, well, who would want to sit in there? It smells like sadness!" Kai said, laughing nervously.
"You are so full of shit today. Cam, it's because he has too many exes in there and the awkward eye contact everywhere he looks is too much for him." Derek grumbled, taking a bite of his burrito.
I blinked, looking over at Kai to confirm. He looked down, appearing a bit dejected.
"It's not my fault. It's way too awkward!" Kai said, covering his face. Derek rolled his eyes and stuffed his face. I frowned. Does Kai really have that many exes? Just how many am I dealing with here?
"But that's beside the point!" Kai said cheerfully, changing the subject.
"What point?" Derek asked around a mouthful of burrito.
"First of all, you're disgusting you caveman. Eat shit." Kai said, gving Derek a grossed out look. Derek glared back. "Secondly, I have a favor to ask!"
I looked at him curiously. "A f-favor?" I asked.
He nodded excitedly. "Yes. The pet store I work part-time at has too many people that called in sick. My boss asked me if I knew anyone who could help out."
"Y-You work part-time?" I said in surprise. I didn't know that.
"Mhmm! At a pet store. I said that already. My bad." Kai laughed.
"Is he gonna pay us? Cause I ain't free, y'know." Derek said, patting his stomach.
"Um duh, he's gonna pay you. You lazy slut. It's not like you're worth much anyway. I bet you wouldn't even clear a thousand bucks on the black market, but I wonder how much I would go for..." Kai said, rubbing his chin.
"Quit thinking about selling yourself on the black market. And don't call me a slut. If anyone here is a slut, that's you." Derek said.
"Me!? You know nothing about Camden's secret life. He could be nastiest manwhore and we would never know it." Kai said, pointing at me. I hadn't been paying much attention because I was nibbling on a cookie in my lunch, and looked up when I heard my name called.
"W-Wha-? Huh? D-Did I miss something?" I asked. They both looked at me with blank stares, scrutinizing. I blinked, not knowing how to act under their gazes and fidgeted self-consciously.
Kai huffed. "Fine, i'm the slut here."
Derek laughed. "Just accept it."
I tilted my head in confusion. "What are you guys talking about?"
"Oh, nevermind that my little chinchilla. Say, Camden...how many people have you dated?" Kai asked suddenly, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees, peering up at me.
I blushed at the sudden question, looking down at my hands. "U-Uhm, why do you a-ask?"
Kai pouted. "Cause i'm curious, s'why! C'mon, we won't judge you. We can't." He said with a cheesy grin.
Oh geez! How am I supposed to tell someone as experienced as Kai that I have no experience whatsoever? Why would a ten want to date a one? No, a zero! Urgh! Just as I was about to explode and say something utterly embarrassing, there was a loud CLACK!
We all jumped a bit and looked up. There stood a girl with two of the cafeteria's plastic trays in hand. She had slapped them together to make that noise, seemingly to get our attention as she glared at us.
"So this is where you were hiding, you assjockey!" The girl snapped, training her fiery eyes on Kai. He gulped under her stare.
"A-Assjockey?!" I hissed to Derek in confusion, and he shrugged. She glared at me now, and I covered my mouth with my hands. She's going to eat me!
Luckily though I was quickly dismissed, and her glare returned to Kai. "Well, uh...long time no see, Imogen. How've ya been?" Kai said lamely, laughing a bit awkwardly.
"How have I been!?" The girl, who i'm guessing is called Imogen, screeched in anger. "Of all the rotten-I can't believe you! All I asked was that you give me another chance-and then you go and end up dumped by another guy! Can't you see that 'gay' just doesn't suit you? Why won't you come back to me? I can't live without you!" She cried, a severe mood change taking place. She went from seven shades of pissed to clingy and desperate.
She knelt beside Kai and grasped the sleeve of his cardigan. "I know I can make you happy again! You said you broke up with me because you realized you were gay, but I don't buy tha-"
"Imogen!" Kai said, cutting her off. She jumped, staring at him incredulously. He sighed, gently prying her off of his arm. "I really am gay. It's not something that can be changed by any girl. I did like you, but not in the way I thought I did. Okay?"
She sat still for a moment, then suddenly slapped Kai's arms away from her and stood, looking furious again as tears wetted her cheeks. "Okay? No! It's not okay!" She shrieked, and we had now gathered a small crowd of onlookers. I bit my lip, and Derek and I looked at each other nervously.
"Do you know what people say about me now?! They say I turn guys gay, that I make them play for the other team! All because of you!"
"Imogen, i'm sorry!" Kai said exasperatedley, standing up as well and looking down at her with hurt in his eyes. My heart twinged at the expression. I could tell that he really did not want to see her cry or hurt because of him.
"You're sorry?! Oh, he's sorry everybody, did you hear that?! Ha!" She cried, wiping angrily at her tears. "You're sorry all right. A sorry excuse for a human. Just another faggot! You ruined everything for me, and for what? You're useless, and stupid, and I don't know what I ever saw in you!" She snapped cruelly.
My eyes grew wide, and Derek's face was grim with an emotion I hadn't seen in him before. Kai's face was downcast and unreadable as the people around us whispered and gossiped. I grit my teeth, feeling something burn in my stomach I'd never felt.
It was like a ball of fire filled my gut at the sight of Kai's expression. He looked unresponsive, but his fists were clenched and shaking by his sides. That was it; I snapped.
I calmy stood, taking Derek's unopened Coke bottle in my hand. I unscrewed the lid, and went up to the girl. All eyes were on me as I stood between her and Kai.
"Cam...?" I heard Kai mutter, but I was too angry to be stopped now. I casually positoned the bottle over her head, and tilted it upside down. The soda splashed onto her head, and she gasped in shock, as did everyone else. I just stood there, letting it spill out onto her until it was completely empty.
I let the bottle bounce off of her head and onto the ground. The crowd was silent. Imogen, now sticky and drenched in Coke, stood there with an incredulous expression.
"You-You-" She stammered, too shocked to even sort out if she was angry or embarrassed.
"Don't ever talk about Kai that w-way again. I may not have known him for long, but he is none of the things you called him. I'm sorry you were hurt, but you're an awful person to say those things to someone you said you l-loved. If you loved him, you would have let him be h-happy, and you would have been proud that he wasn't afraid to accept who he r-really is. Love isn't m-manipulation and guilt trips-love is acceptance, and perservance, and even sometimes p-painful because love is also letting someone go when that's what is best." I said, my hands shaking. That was the most I've ever said to anyone, and in front of so many people...oh geez. And my eyes are stinging as well. Have I been crying this whole time?
I started to blush, my bravado wearing off in the face of what i'd just done. Imogen was crying harder now, covering her eyes with her arm.
"W-What do you know!? I h-hate you both! Stupid fags!" She cried, turning and running off in the direction of the cafeteria.
Slowly, the crowd began to disperse, sensing that the drama was over now. Some still lingered though, and turned towards Kai with a red face. I kept my eyes to the ground out of embarrassment.
"K-Kai, I-whoa!" I began to speak but he suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me along behind him. I stumbled a bit as his legs were much longer than mine and it was hard to keep up with his pace. "Kai, w-w-wait, where are we going?" I asked.
Finally we stopped just outside the gym, when Kai finally turned to look at me. I was about to speak, but the expression on his face was serious; something I wasn't used to seeing.
"Kai...?" I said in concern. He isn't still upset over what that girl said, is he? He was staring at me, so intensley it made me blush for some unknown reason.
I looked down, unable to hold his gaze any longer. My heart was racing too much. "I s-said some really embarrassing things just now, didn't I? S-Sorry..." I said, finally working up the courage to use my voice.
"Camden, I...." Kai finally spoke, and I looked up at him. His grey eyes were swimming with emotion, and suddenly I was wrapped in his embrace. This was different from all the hugs he had given me before; this time, his arms encased my whole torso, and his face was pressed into the crook of my shoulder as he bent to hug me more tightly.
A warm feeling spread through me, and I felt like I could explode. He smells so good, so comforting...like home, somehow.
"Thank you, Camden. What you said meant a lot to me. More than you can imagine." Kai said, his words just slightly muffled as he held me. Ah, my head feels light. Oh man. Am I dreaming?
"N-N-No problem. I meant it." I said, embarrassed but happy. It was the happiest I ever remembered feeling. I gripped the back of Kai's cardigan, hugging him back. His arms tightened in response, and I felt so content. It was like nothing could ever go wrong again.
No wonder there are a billion songs about love, if this is what it's like.
----------*Tay Zonday voice* Oh my----------