(The beautiful being above is someone's suggestion for Trent- let me know your opinions and who you've been imagining as our hunk of a main character!!)

HELLO ANGEEEEELS.
I'm sorry for the delay in the upload, I've been packing and working all weekend and seeing people so I didn't get a chance to write but here I am!
I'm currently on a train to my aunts and then I'm flying to Canada tomorrow (eeeek) for two weeks so I apologise for any spelling and grammar errors because this was written on my very broken phone.
Uploads might also be sparse because I'm on holiday for two weeks however I do have a 9 hours plane journey on either side of the trip so depending on whether I can charge my phone on the plane you may or may not get uploads.
Either way I'll try to upload at least twice while I'm away, however you'll have to forgive the bad editing.
I just wanted to say I love you all so much- 5K votes and 65K reads is insane and I am so in love with all of you.
Make sure to leave lots of comments and let me know what you think! I love seeing all your reactions.
Love to you all!
Xxx

.

"Look there he is! He's home! Cam! Cam! Cameron!"

I follow Kristie's gaze and rise up on my tiptoes, attempting to see the boy that she was pointing out with an eager grin.

It was now Monday morning and after having spent the entirety of yesterday closed off in my house cleaning and avoiding my father, I was almost excited to come to school. I knew that Cameron was due back today and the fact that Matt wouldn't return until this evening made it all that much sweeter- it meant I could actually spend time with Cam without suffering the consequences.

"I don't see him!" I whine, frowning at the groups of people pushing past us as I stumble about, "Does he see us?" 

Kristie nods excitedly before grabbing my hand and then she starts to drag me through the crowd, barging past bystanders on the way who seem to be invisible to her.

"Out of the way! Best friends reuniting here!"

Maybe they weren't so invisible then.

Cameron Reid was the third wheel to our tricycle. Having met him when I was only six we had grown up together and he knew basically everything about me; the stuff with my grandmother, my mother, my dad, even some of the things to do with Matt although I never told him outrightly that he sometimes scares me, but I think Cam had figured that out for himself.
He was like a guardian angel put down on earth to make sure that I never got into too much bother and when I introduced him to Kristie a few years ago they'd slowly grown on each other, although they did start out pretty much hating one another.

Although Kristie is certain that that was because Cam was jealous of me having a new bestie and I suppose I kind of understood it.
I was just glad we all now loved and appreciated each other so much.

After a few seconds of being caught in the net that was a line of freshman girls with their arms linked, Kristie and I finally make it out of the rush of people and we sprint directly for the person standing watching us, their mouth open in laughter.

"Cam!" I squeal, launching myself at him and I feel Kristie follow suite, her body landing on top of mine. 

Cam stumbles for a few steps before steadying himself and he wraps an arm around each of us, squishing us together in front of him and we scream in happiness.

"Well there's my two favourite girls," his familiar voice chuckles while his hands rough up our hair, "how are my angels doing today?"

I roll my eyes at his comment and yank myself away, attempting to flatten my hair out.

"You know Tom is the only one who embraces that nickname Charlie," I giggle as Kristie pulls away from the hug, "no one else here is your fan girl."

Cam smirks and opens his arms again to me, motioning for me to hug him and I only have to think about it for a split second before I fall back into his embrace. My hands dig into his back and I inhale the scent of his aftershave, the comforting feeling washing over me as I do and he wraps his arms around me in return, his chin resting on my head.

"I missed you," I murmur into him and his arms tighten slightly as he places a kiss on my hair.
"Careful, don't want your boyfriend to kill me," he jokes but I know he means it a little seriously, he always was looking out for me to make sure nothing happened for Matt to get annoyed at.

"He's not back until tonight," I tell him, pulling away a little to look up at his grin, "I'm free for the day."

Cameron smiles at me but his eyes are soft with sympathy and it makes a pit form in my stomach. 

"Well then, I am taking this advantage and walking you to class."

"Oh yeah, I'm just a stranger," Kristie grumbles beside me and Cam laughs, throwing an arm around her shoulders.

"You meet Tom on a Monday morning, you jealous nugget."

Kristie huffs and crosses her arms across her body, a nonchalant shrug following, "whatever, it's not like I enjoy either of your company. Toodles."

"She would have been believable if she hadn't started grinning about half way through that," Cam jokes and I nod in agreement, knowing that Kristie wasn't being serious.

Cam nudges me in the side and I look to see him holding out his elbow to me, his hand pretending to tip a fake hat. 

"Shall we, m'lady?" he asks and I can't help but giggle as I curtsy in return.

"Indeed we shall."

With that, we link arms and begin to head for the main doors of the school. Cam tells me about his holiday and although the Caribbean seems like an exciting place, he doesn't have much to say about it and I have to laugh. It was like typically Cam to just keep everything basic and not know how to describe one of the most gorgeous places on the planet.

As we walk I look at him and notice how much he's changed over the month he had been away. His usual brown eyes look the same but his skin is a much deeper tanned colour and his ginger hair looks a lot lighter than it had when he had left. His body also looks a lot bulkier and although I'm not checking out my best friend, I had to admit that he had definitely been hitting the gym.

Even his bone structure seemed to be stronger and more defined.

We arrive at my classroom and I can't stop the laughter bubbling from my lips as he finishes telling me a story about him and his mother and a bottle of tequila on holiday. 

"I've always said your mom is more fun than you," I tease with a giggle and Cam swings his arm around me, his fingers tickling my sides and I scream in response, trying to push him off me.

"What was that, Williams?" He smirks, "do you want to take that back?"

"Yes!" I gasp, wriggling in the confinement of his arms, "I admit defeat!"

He stops the attack immediately and I take a few deep breaths, trying to calm down my racing heart as he leans on the wall beside me, eyes lit up with laughter.

"I really missed you, Elle," Cam mumbles and my heart warms at his words, "you have no idea how much."

I smile softly and rise up on my tiptoes, giving him a kiss on the cheek as I do before wrapping my arms around his body again.

"I'm so glad you're back," I sigh as he returns the hug. It was true- Cam being away hurt my heart, he'd always been there and whenever he disappeared on these holidays I'd feel like a part of myself was missing. It was hard to talk to him when Matt hated it and I had to sneak texts to him and talk to him in passing throughout school, but it was even harder when he was away.

As I pull back from Cam I notice his body has gone slightly stiff and when I'm far enough back to see his face I can see his jaw is clenched and his eyes are glaring straight over my shoulder.

"Cam who are you-"

My words are cut off as I turn and see exactly who he is looking at and my heart stops in my chest at the sight of him.

The last time I had seen him I'd left him on the front porch of Mrs Grenway's garden, my parting words like knives being thrown. He'd stood outside for all of ten seconds after I'd shut the door before he took off and when I went to look out the window he had disappeared.

That night I'd cried myself to sleep, which wasn't unusual for me to do. But for once it wasn't because of Matt or my family, it was because of him and how much it broke my heart when he said those words to me. 

I still couldn't get them out my head, even after trying to force them out.

'I just wanted to get the golden girl of North Valley Woods'

As his hard glare swings from Cameron to me, I quickly look away, knowing that one look in his eyes would crush any strength I had in me not to cry.

Trent would not make me cry at school.

I focus my eyes on Cam's torso and grip his shirt in my hands which brings his attention to me and his brows furrow when he sees the pained expression that I'm sure is plastered across my face.

"Elle are you alright? Do you know that guy?"

I nod hesitantly, resisting the urge to peek over my shoulder at him and see if he's still watching.

Of course he was, I could still feel the hairs on the back of my neck standing upright. 

"That's Trent Night," I mumble, trying to not raise my voice above a whisper, "he's from EVW."

At his name Cameron's eyes widen as if in shock and his body goes rigid, his back straightening as he pulls me into him more, his fingers gripping my shoulders tightly.

"Has he done something to you?" Cameron asks, his voice basically a growl and I hesitate on what to say. 

I'd never kept anything from Cameron apart from some of the fights Matt and I had, but for some reason, I didn't want to tell him the truth.

Maybe I was just embarrassed that I'd been used and rejected.

Or maybe you don't want to admit it.

"No," I answer shakily, "he's just spoken to me a few times."

Cameron's gaze shoots down to me and I have to hold back a gasp at the ferocity of his stare, the seriousness making my blood run cold.

"You stay away from him, Elle," he orders, his voice hard, "Promise me you won't talk to him, or go anywhere with him."

I frown at his words, an uneasy laugh making its way from my mouth, "Cam, why would I go-"

"Promise me."

His tone of voice stops me from continuing to question him and he bends down slightly to get closer to my face as I nod slowly, realising how serious he is.

"I promise."

He lets out a sigh and raises his hand slowly, softly placing it on my cheek and his other one copies it on the other side, forcing me to look straight into his eyes.

"Thank you."
I decide not to ask why he's asked me to do this, or question whether he actually knows Trent or not. Instead, I decide to just trust my best friend and his instincts and go with what he says, Trent had already proved that I meant nothing to him, and maybe if Cameron had been here this whole time I never would have gotten my hopes up about him. 

"I love you," Cam sighs, pulling my forehead to his lips and I smile at the feeling, loving how safe he makes me feel.

Although I could still feel a heated gaze on my back.

"I love you too," I reply honestly and his face loses the serious expression it had before as his one dimpled smile spreads across his lips.

"Now get to class," he jokingly commands, pointing to the door and I roll my eyes at him but salute in response, yanking my bag over my shoulder.

"Yes, Sir."

"I told you only to call me that in the bedroom," Cam replies, his eyebrows wiggling and I let out a whine, making puking noises as I pretend to be disgusted. 

Well I mean I was a little disgusted, it was extremely weird to think of him in any way other than my best friend.

"Now go!" 

I laugh at him as I duck under his arm and head through the classroom door, my shoulders still shaking with chuckles.

I enter the classroom right as his voice stops me.

"Oh and I'll see you at lunch!" 

I turn to look at him as he stands outside the door and I nod eagerly, already excited at the prospect of being able to sit with my actual friends for lunch.

.

After filling Kristie in on what happened with Trent and I and what he had said to me, it was safe to say that she was no longer his biggest fan.

"What a self centred, manipulative asshole! Do you just attract them?"

I laugh at her words but there's still a sting at the truth of them and I have to push down the rising feeling to vomit as we walk to the lunch hall.

"I don't know, I have you as a best friend so maybe I do!"

She gasps in fake hurt at my words and knocks her hip with mine, her glare not at all serious.

"You're lucky I love you," she grumbles and I giggle, swinging my arms through hers.

"Yes, yes I am."

We arrive at the cafeteria laughing but when we enter Kristie stops.

"Speak of the devil," she grumbles, "why the fuck is he talking to Cam."

My eyes immediately snap to the two large figures over in a corner of the room basically pressed against each other, their chests puffed out and fists clenched. Behind one person there are two other boys and they all have the same threatening expression on their faces.

"Oh hell no," I mutter and immediately drop Kristie's arm and make my way over, my feet pounding on the ground as I propel through the room, anger rising in my chest.

Hurting me was one thing, but hurting my friends was another.

I arrive at the two males and I can't help but notice how Trent still manages to tower over Cameron even though Cam was considered tall. 

The boy had giant genes for sure.

As I stop in front of them neither of them even look at me but Trent takes a step into Cameron as if to make a threat and I quickly push myself in between them, shoving Trent away as I do.

He obviously didn't expect that because he stumbles back a few times, his eyes blazing with anger as they snap down to me.

"Who the fuck-" he freezes when he realises that it's me and his eyes go wide, his angry expression slipping into a shocked one, "Elle." 

His voice is like a whisper and my skin still shivers as I hear it but instead of caving I fold my arms and stand my ground, my teeth gritting together.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing, Trent?" I hiss, venom dripping from my words and he flinches back in surprise.

I had to admit that even I was shocked at how angry the words came out. His golden eyes watch me and he takes a step forward, his hand stretched out to me.

"Look, I need to talk to you, I'm-"

"Save it." I state, interrupting him and surprisingly he doesn't say anything, "I don't want to hear it, you said enough to me the other night."

My icy tone seems to make him cringe and his hand slowly retreats back into himself, his pleading expression changing to a guilty one.

"Elle, I thought you said he hadn't done anything to?" I look up at Cam to see his eyes blazing with fury as he tries to move past me and take a step forward, "what the fuck did you do to her you purebred-"

"Cam!" I scold, turning to face him so I can hold him back, my hands splayed out on his chest. "Cam, please don't. He's not worth it."

My breath is shaking as well as my hands but I don't quite know if it's me that's shaking or if it's Cam.

He looks down at me and after a second his shoulders drop a little and he nods carefully, his hand curling around mine and I hold onto it as I turn back around to face Trent and his friends.

Instead of him looking guilty like before he now as an expression of rage coating his features and his eyes are trained on my hand in Cam's.

"Ironic that we get called scum when you slum it with him." 

My mouth pops open in shock at his words and I can't grasp why on Earth he is saying those kind of things, unless he knew about Cameron's past.

It had gotten around the school about four years ago because Tracey found out the secret and decided to tell everyone, all because Cam said no to a date with her. It had been the first and last time that I had almost gotten in a physical fight and it was hard to see her most days and not want to punch her in the face.

She's hurt both of my best friends.

Cam presses into my back and I feel Kristie come up on the other side of him and hold him back, his fingers digging into my hand.

"How dare you," I whisper, my voice hoarse with fury and Trent almost looks a little scared of me. So do the two boys behind him who I now realise are Robbie and Lyle. "How dare you ever think you're above him," I snarl, taking a step forward and I feel Cam try to stop me but I ignore it, my rage almost blinding me to the people around us.

All I can see are Trent's burning eyes and the way they are watching my lips.

"If you think for one second that he is anything less than amazing then you're wrong, and you will never be like him. Good looks can only cover up so much of a bad personality, eventually, your disgusting nature shines through." 

I don't realise how close I have gotten to Trent until I stop to breathe and I can suddenly smell his familiar scent pouring over me, like an ice-cold glass of water and it makes me realise the silence around us.

Glancing past his shoulder, I notice that the tables around us are all watching with their mouths wide open, EVW and NVW alike. They all seem to be watching me in half amazement and half shock and it makes my stomach churn. 

I clear my throat and look back at Trent who seems to be trying to still process everything that I've said and the confused expression on his face gives nothing away. For a moment I hesitate. It was almost intoxicating being this close to him and I could have sworn that I saw a softness in his eyes when he looked at me but it's gone in a blink.

"I suggest you stay away from me and my friends."

With that I turn back to Cam and nod at Kristie, who jumps into action and begins to pull him away, his body resisting at first but eventually following. Although his feet move his eyes never leave my face and when we eventually manage to cross the silent room and sit down at a table, he still hasn't stopped staring.

As the murmurs begin to grow and people start to talk again, I watch as Trent storms out of the cafeteria and out the main doors, the force of his push slamming them against the walls outside and I jump a little in my seat.

I take a deep breath and try to calm my shaking hands as everyone stays quiet and I eventually look up at Cam who is sitting across from me, his brown eyes unblinking.

"Elle... that was..." he trails off, his forehead creasing in frustration as he tries to think of a word and after a moment he seems to give up and reaches out, taking my hands in his, "thank you."

I smile a little at him and I feel a light blush coat my cheeks as Kristie leans into me with exasperated laughter oozing out of her.

"It was amazing! You were so strong I've never seen you like that! Tom, did you see that?" 

Suddenly the conversation starts up again and everyone starts talking about how it was to watch what just unfolded, Kristie doing the most talking.

During her re-enactment, I turn to look at Cameron who has remained quiet beside me and his eyes are already trained on me, quizzically watching me as if trying to decipher a crossword puzzle.

"What?" I ask self consciously, not knowing what I had done or if he was annoyed at me for stepping in. He seems to hesitate before replying.

"How well do you know him?" 

My throat feels dry as soon as he asks the question and I immediately know who he is talking about. I should have known that Cam would ask questions, especially with how angry I was but I really didn't want to answer.

I didn't want to say that I thought I knew him and he made me the happiest I've been in a while for a short period of time. 

And I didn't want to admit that in the moments that it was just the two of us I felt as though I was more myself than I'd ever been before.

Because even though I thought that I knew him, it turned out that I was wrong and it was all fake.

And so I answer him honestly:

"I don't know him at all."