"This is ridiculous, Cam."

I watched Jacob moving toward his car in quick, swift movements. He looked as if he were in a hurry to get somewhere.

"Just go!" Cam hissed in my ear before shoving me so I nearly stumbled off the last step up to my porch. The sound of my shoes scraping against the ground caught Jake's attention and he turned around to face me, cracking a smile.

"Blake." He greeted, digging in his pockets for his keys. I fixed my backpack strap on my shoulder and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear.

"I was wondering if you could possibly give me a ride." I cleared my throat once I realized how hoarse my voice was, "Shay and Wes bailed on me last second and Cam's already at school." I waited for Jake to come up with some excuse to why he couldn't drive me on his way to the community college a little further down the street than the high school, but he smiled and nodded instead.

"Sure." He walked around the car and opened the passenger side door, gesturing for me to get in.

"Thanks," I ducked my head and got in, "you're a life saver, Jake." He nodded, shutting the door gently before walking back around to get into the driver's seat.

He chuckled quietly as he started the car, revving the engine, almost as if he were showing off how great the motor in the Beamer was.

"Why's Cam at school so early? I was starting to believe that he didn't even show up." I knew he was attempting to joke, but something about the way his eyes darkened made me want to think that he was partially serious.

"I don't know. He said something about a morning detention." I shrugged. Jake stayed quiet for a while, keeping his eyes on the road ahead with a small smile etched into his face.

"Cameron was telling me that you're helping with some sort of Winter dance thing." I glanced up, feeling my lips starting to part in surprise.

"Yeah. Shay and I are." I replied, reaching over to turn the radio up a little so the silence in the car wasn't so uncomfortable.

"Are you going to attend it?" He went on, his eyebrow arching.

Stop being so dense, Blake. He's trying to ask you to the dance!

"I was thinking about it, but no one asked me." I mumbled. He stayed quiet so long that I was sure he wasn't going to respond.

"I mean, I'm free most of the time. If you need a date, I'd be happy to take you." I felt my lips curling into a smile before I could stop them.

"That would be great, if you want to, I mean." Great job, Blake. You probably just talked him out of it.

"Of course, Blake. You know I'd do anything for you." I felt my stomach flutter at his words, knowing very well that I was taking them the wrong way.

I snuck a few looks at him the rest of the way there, the giddy feeling in my chest making me feel like I was thirteen again, spying on Jake swimming in the pool with Shay.

"Looks like we're here, My Lady." Jake put the car in park, turning toward me with a grin.

"I wish you still went here." I said.

"So do I." He reached over and brushed a strand of my hair off of my warm cheek, his eyebrows raised slightly in amusement.

"Thanks for the ride, Jake." He nodded, pulling his hand back toward him, his face falling into an emotionless mask.

"Sure. See you around, Blake." He didn't look at me again as I climbed out of the sports car and clenched my jacket against my chest, waiting until the Beamer had drove off to let myself smile and shake my head in disbelief.

***

"Cam." I repeated. He looked away from the girl he was flirting with, irritation clear in his eyes.

"What, Blake?" He responded.

"I need to talk to you." The girl mumbled something, then spun around on her heels and stalked off. I dragged Cam toward my locker, seeing that he was still glaring at me.

"What?" I questioned.

"I could have gotten laid tonight."

"Well, I'm sorry that I ruined your chances of getting lucky. Maybe if you go after her now then she'll forgive you." I huffed out, shaking my head as I started to walk away.

"No," He caught my arm, "Tell me."

"Jake asked me to the dance next week." I said, feeling irritated myself when I realized that Cam's eyes were on some girl walking behind me.

"Are you serious?" I snapped.

"What?"

"Can you listen to me for a second, Cameron? I'm trying to talk to you and you're busy staring at girls asses." I shook my head, walking away again.

"I'm sorry if I don't want to hear about my brother asking you out, Blake. Do you not realize how weird this is on my side?" He sighed, his hands limp at his sides.

"It's not just right now, Cam. I can never hold a conversation with you anymore. It's always about using all these poor girls, then tossing them aside like they're nothing. It's when you get all those people into trouble, yourself into trouble. Do you even think about what the hell you're doing?" His eyes darkened, flickering with defensiveness.

"You think my life is bad? Why don't you look at yourself, Nerd. You bury yourself in all these books because you can't accept reality. You can't accept that Daddy's never coming back. You suck up to the teacher's so they'll give you good grades and Mommy will be happy." He snapped back. I let out a cold, sarcastic laugh.

"You're talking about me having Daddy issues, Cam? Have you looked at yourself lately? Did you ever think that you act out the way you do because you want your mom's attention? The attention she always gives to Jacob." Cam's hands clenched into fists, his eyes were lit with anger.

"When you actually get a life, come find me."

**

"I'm going to tie him up by his feet and hang him from the branch to your treehouse." Shay hissed, pacing the room as she ranted off different ways she was going to hurt Cam.

I dug my hand deeper into the bag of Cheetos between Wes and me, watching her with wide eyes.

"Maybe he was right." I whispered.

"What?" Wes snorted beside me, "Of course he isn't right, Blake. He was being defensive because he knew you were right and said the first thing that came to mind."

I smiled sadly at Wes, nodding slowly.

"Let's talk about Jake." Shay sat down in the recliner a few feet away, "What happened?"

"He told me Cam told him about the Winter Wonderland dance and he said he'd be more than happy to take me if I didn't have a date." Shay squealed, clapping her hands. Wes rolled over on the couch beside me and started flipping through the channels on the TV.

"See! Something wonderful happened today. I hope you said yes!" She squeaked.

"Of course I said yes." I replied, laughing. She opened her mouth, ready to go on when the door bell rang. Shay jogged toward the door, pulling it open with a small smile. The greeting look faltered when she opened the door to reveal Cam standing outside.

He was holding a family sized bag of Skittles in one hand and a small plate of cheesecake in the other.

"Peace offering?" He was looking past Shay and at me.

"Go home, Cam." I muttered, shaking my head.

"No." He moved passed Shay and into my house, setting the things in his hands on the table and turning his eyes back on me.

"Blake, we need to talk." 

***AN***

Hope you guys enjoyed! 

Let me know what you thought!

~ChasingMadness24