I got to school early the next day, so I picked my seat, propped my feet up on the seat in front of me, and looked up at the ceiling.

When I woke up in Aiden's arms yesterday, I felt a lot better. We spent the rest of the day in his room together, watching movies and snacking on everything we could find. It was comforting. Yet I couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. What could it possibly be?

I felt a presence in the room, and I tore my eyes away from the ceiling. It was Cameron, easing himself into the seat next to me.

"That was some party, wasn't it?" he started, turning to look at me. "I hope that was one of the best birthdays you've ever had, because I worked hard to make it fun." He had a sheepish smile on his face, and I couldn't help but smile back.

"I think it's safe to say that was the best birthday I've ever had. So thank you," I said, still smiling. 

Cameron let out a puff of air and held his chest in mock relief. "I thought you were going to hurt my feelings for a minute."

"I would never-" I stopped in the middle of my sentence, and he gave me a confused look. Feeling the same urge for information I felt with Aiden yesterday, I said "Hey Cam?"

"Yeah?" he responded, still looking a little bit confused.

"Why'd you start acting all weird and stalker-like back when I told you we should stop talking?"

Cameron visibly tensed up just as people started to fill into the room. He cleared his throat. "Uh, can we talk about this another time?" he said nervously.

I shrugged. "Sure. After school?"

He turned to face the front of the classroom and answered without looking at me. "Sounds good."

I huffed to myself. Aiden tensed up too when I asked him about his parents yesterday. Is it a crime to ask questions nowadays? I pulled out my books and waited for class to start.

-

The rest of the school day passed by, pretty uneventful. That could be just because I was really looking forward to talking to Cameron after school, but whatever.

I walked through the front door of the school, scanning the crowd for my green eyed friend. I spotted him sitting down on one of the benches, playing with his fingers nervously. I walked briskly towards him and tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. He jumped a little and gave a small smile when he saw it was me.

"Ready?" I asked with an excited smile on my face.

He sighed. "As I'll ever be. Let's go." He got up and started walking towards his car.

I headed off towards my car and got inside. I waited until I saw Cameron's midnight blue Camry pull out of the parking lot, and I trailed behind him. I followed him until he pulled into the parking lot of the infamous family diner. I found a parking space and picked a booth while I waited for him to come inside.

When he finally did come inside, he walked slowly and he looked extremely nervous. You would think I was an ICE agent that just discovered he's in this country illegally. I wish he would just relax for a moment, I'm not going to hurt him!

He sat down just as a redhead that seemed to be in her 30s walked over to our table.

"What can I get for you guys today?" she asked in her rehearsed cheery voice.

"Can I get a coffee with milk and sugar, and a cheeseburger?"

She nodded and wrote my order down. "And for you?" she gestured to Cameron.

"Uh... just a grilled cheese," he said quietly.

She wrote his order down and said she'd be back soon with our food. There was a long awkward silence where Cameron just looked down at his hands and I stared at him curiously. Finally, he cleared his throat and spoke.

"So what did you want to talk about?" he asked, even though we both knew exactly why we were here. The way he's been acting ever since I asked him is a tell-tale sign that he's been thinking about it all day.

But I played along. "I asked why you started acting all crazy when I tried to our friendship a while ago," I said simply.

"Right." He sat there silently, and I waited for him to say something else. The waitress came back with my coffee and promised that our food would be out shortly. I thanked her and took a sip of the coffee, letting it warm my insides.

After what seemed like forever, Cameron finally looked at me. "Can I tell you something about me?"

My face softened, and I put my hand over his. "You can tell me anything you feel comfortable telling me. I'm not going to judge you," I reassured him.

He took a deep breath. "I have... abandonment issues."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"My mother left when I was little. Ever since then, it feels like everyone I've ever cared about me has left me," he said with a pained expression on his face. My eyes widened in surprise, but I stayed silent as I waited for him to continue his story.

"After she left, my father became a shell of a man. He stopped paying attention to me and just wallowed in his emotions. He started drinking, stopped talking, and just stopped caring about everything overall. My mom leaving hurt me, but it's nothing compared to what it did to him. He really loved her, and she just abandoned us. The only reason we moved here a couple of months ago is because he finally couldn't handle being in that house with all of her memories anymore." He paused for a moment and looked at me. I nodded at him to continue.

"I don't think my dad ever considered how I felt, though. He was so concerned with his own pain that he didn't even notice I was in pain too. I ended up raising myself.

I never knew how to deal with the pain I was feeling. I started losing friends, because who wants to be friends with the depressed kid who doesn't know how to share his feelings? I could never keep a girlfriend either. None of them could handle me once I started to trust them to help me with my problems. They all left." He paused again.

"I guess that's why I got a little crazy when you rejected me. In my head all I could think was 'I can't let this happen again'. I couldn't help but remember all the people that gave up on me and I really liked you. I didn't want to lose you. I admit that I wasn't acting like myself. I just... I don't know."

I squeezed Cameron's hand. "It's totally okay. If I had known what you've been through I would've never tried to end our friendship. I really do enjoy your company, and the only reason I did it was because David was insanely jealous. I'm sorry."

He shook his head and gave me a small smile. "Don't apologize. There's no way that you could've known."

I gave him a smile back. Wow. I had no idea that Cameron was going through so much. Sometimes I can forget that everyone has their own struggles and I get so wrapped up into myself. I'm glad that Cameron trusted me with something so personal. I can tell that this is something he's been carrying with him for a long time, and he's been dying to tell someone, anyone that would listen. I silently vowed to myself right there that I would always try to listen to and help other people with my problems. I need to stop being so self absorbed.

Our food came, and I smiled at Cameron. "Come on, let's eat!"

He gave me a big goofy smile and picked up his sandwich.

"Let's eat," he said, taking a big bite.

__________________

Woo! Don't you love when I update fast?

But what did you think of this chapter?

How do you feel about Cameron's past? Are you glad that he opened up to Tracey?

Yes, the chapter title does say part one, and yes there is a part two coming soon so stay tuned!

Until next time!

Theaa :)

Oh! and p.s. ICE. stands for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement just in case you were wondering. Happy Reading!

*Song for this chapter: Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment- Questions. It's a super chill song that you can relax to, and it's called questions lol