My breathing wasn’t leveling out as I opened Skype and waited. We hadn’t talked for a few weeks and I failed to realize how much could happen in a few weeks. They didn’t know anything about recent events and my stomach was churning that I would have to tell them. There was no way avoiding it. They had the right to know.

Incoming Call from Becca popped up and I took a final deep breath before hitting Answer.

“Hey Cammie!” Becca said, her ‘fro for hair bouncing wildly as she hopped over beside Riley.

“Hey guys!” I tried putting on my best smile, just chill and simple. “What’s up?”

“Eh, nothing much. Just enjoying summer. We were planning on going to the beach today with Chris, Matty, and Laurie, but they all bailed because they work today.”

“Oh, lame.”

“Yeah, but my mom saved the day by saying we’re going to go drive out to my aunt’s house because it’s near one of the college’s that I’m debating. We’re doing college visits all summer,” Riley groaned, sticking her tongue out.

“I’m sorry,” I said, not really sorry. I was almost jealous. I’d almost rather be doing college visits than dealing with Liam.

“No you aren’t! You’re in, what, Paris now, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I am.”

“How is it? We haven’t talked since June.”

“It’s only July, you know this right?”

“So? How is Paris? Has Liam kissed you yet?” Riley asked, making faces, pretending the whole idea was so completely absurd.

“Well, that’s actually kind of what I want to talk to you about…” I began, tracing my fingers along the design of the hotel duvet cover. Don’t look at them, I don’t want to see their faces.

“Hold the frick up. Cam, look at us.” I didn’t.

“Camille Alexandra Everett. Look at us right now.” I peeked up at the computer screen to see both their faces studying my own.

“No way. No way. He kissed you! He actually kissed you!” Riley squealed, grabbing a pillow and smashing it against her face.

“So wait, are you guys dating now?”

“When did this happen?”

“How did this happened?”

“More importantly, how was it?”

“Guys!” I yelled, feeling frantic. They didn’t know what happened. They didn’t know what it’s been like.

Both their heads snapped towards me with expectant looks. With hopeful looks. As if their little fairytale was coming true.

“I need to start from the beginning. Do you think you can pretend that you aren’t excited for like, five minutes?” 

“But it’s so romantic! I mean, you guys kissed. That’s only every fangirl’s dream,” Becca reasoned and I shook my head.

“No, no it’s not as romantic as you guys think it was.” They both looked a little skeptical, which I understood. If one of them told me they met a celebrity, they became friend, they had a crush on each other, and then they kissed, I probably wouldn’t think anything bad came of it. It would be perfect and romantic and ideal. But they didn’t know the full story and I needed to change that.

“Okay, then, what happened?”

“So it happened about… three weeks ago, I think. The day after the last day of school.”

“That long ago?” Riley screeched incredulously.

“I didn’t exactly know how to bring this up!” They both huffed as I continued on with the story, just like how I did with Ava. The only difference was these two like interrupting.

“You had to play Gemma?” I rolled my eyes and continued.

“Wait, you almost kissed then?”

“Yes, let me finish.” That didn’t happen either.

“He was the only one to come over?” I didn’t even bother responding as I continued with my story.

“You snuggled?” Becca exclaimed and I told her to keep it down.

And then I reached the kiss part where, even in my frustrated state, I couldn’t hide the smile. Becca and Riley were hysterical until I continued to the point where he got up and left and has since then been acting like nothing happened.

“That… that… bad word!” Riley said, clenching her fists and I almost wanted to laugh at how ridiculous she looked when she was angry.

“So why don’t you just talk to him about it?” Becca asked.

“Because I don’t want to seem clingy. He probably makes out with girls all the time and leaves it at that,” I justified and my stomach clenched at the thought.

“Do you really believe that?” Riley asked.

“It’s my only consolidation right now.” I heard a key insert into the door and I looked back to the computer. “Hey, James is back from filming, I should get going.”

The door opened and James pushed through, swiping his hair out of his face. He was drenched and miserable looking as he marched straight into the bathroom.

“Remember to Skype us if anything goes wrong. But just remember,” Becca leaned in a little closer and had a mischievous smirk on her face, “if anyone tries to get you down, you’re the one that ended up making out with the Liam Hawthorne.”

“Becs!” Becca and Riley burst out laughing and I buried my face into my hands. “Un-freaking-believable.”

“Anyway, talk to you later! Bye Cammie!” Riley said and I just waved them off while hitting the red button and shutting down my laptop. Maybe James would be up for a movie. I waited until he came out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but his sweats, shaking a towel through his hair.

“How was work today?”

“I felt like killing something, but you know, good,” he said and I could sense the bitterness in each word.

“What happened?”

“The shots just aren’t turning out and everyone is tired. We’re all getting annoyed with each other, which is awful because we still have three more months of filming. They’re giving us tomorrow off though. There’s no point in shooting if we’re all going to be miserable.”

“What are your plans for tomorrow then?”

“Sleeping. Getting a massage. Eating.”

“So you wouldn’t be up for touring Paris with me?” I asked, hoping he would be okay with just going to the surrounding areas at least.

“Not happening. I’m not leaving this hotel.”

“Guessed as much. Do you want to watch a movie or something tonight?”

“Honestly, Cam, I just want to sleep. But hey, we’re going to L’Arc de Triomphe on Wednesday. You should come. Maybe you’ll liven up the spirits.”

“By L’arc de Triomphe do you also mean the Champs Elysées?” 

“I’m sure you could go down the Champs Elysées while we’re filming.” 

“Yes.”

“I take it you’re going to come?”

“Duh. I’m going to run around like a mad woman. I’ll frolic in the Tuileries Gardens and dance around la Place de la Concorde and –”

“Okay, stop saying Parisian places. I don’t know these places.”

“That’s what you get for not finishing school.”

“I didn’t take French. I didn’t have a unit on Paris.”

“Your loss.”

“So Wednesday?” James confirmed, making his way to his bed and snuggling in.

“Yeah, Wednesday.”

“Night, Cammie.” I shut off the light and got into bed myself.

“G’night James.”

I was acting like a child when Wednesday came up. The sun was out, the sky was a perfect shade of blue, and James wasn’t moody. In fact, nobody was moody. They all seem reenergized and ready to get some actual filming done. Who knew that two days off would get the group back together? We arrived at the edge of the Champs Elysées and I was deeply confused. Why couldn’t we just go straight to the Arc of Triumph? I looked around for a crosswalk so we could go over, but was finding it impossible. How did people get to that giant thing in the middle of a traffic circle?

“Cam?” I turned to see Liam with a raised eyebrow. “Where are you going?”

“To the Arc… where you are filming today…”

“And how exactly do you plan on getting over there?” He knew something I didn’t and I didn’t like it.

“There’s a crosswalk, isn’t there?” I asked him and he smiled pityingly.

“Come on, it’s over here.” So there was a crosswalk! I followed him over to where I saw a tunnel and I looked at him, quite confused.

“You have to go under the road,” he explained and it all clicked. That was definitely more reasonable than trying to cross a twelve lane roundabout.

“Right, makes sense. Let’s go.” Liam laughed behind me as we descended underneath the heavy traffic with the crew lugging their heavy equipment and the actors already wearing their costumes. I hadn’t even realized they were already ready. The tunnel was lined in stone and I couldn’t believe the multitudes of people. Okay, I could believe it. It was summer in Paris, this was tourist season. We eventually reached the ramp to the surface where I saw the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier underneath.

“Do you think I can run off now?” I asked Liam.

“Probably not yet. Because once you’re out of the filming, they won’t let you come back.”

“Everyone knows me in the crew, they should just expect me to wander and sporadically come back to filming.”

“Come on, just stick around for an hour or so and then you can be set free, my little bird.” He slung his arm over my shoulders and normally, I wouldn’t have freaked out so much. But the second his arm was around me, I could feel my heart quicken. Stop Cam, it’s nothing new. Don’t even worry about it.

“Okay, question for you,” I began, looking up at him.

“What’s that?”

“What does ‘bird’ mean? And not like an actual bird, but like in a slang way. They used it on the magazine article a few months ago.” He knew what I was talking about and he almost looked uncomfortable.

“It’s Brit slang. The magazine saying that you were my bird meant that you were my girlfriend. It’s like in America, they say chick and stuff.”

“They don’t usually call a girlfriend a chick in America, but sure.”

“You really couldn’t figure that one out?” He asked.

“Well, how was I supposed to know if it was a ruder term? It could have meant prostitute for all I know!”

“Oh okay, no, it definitely does not mean that,” he said, removing his arm from my shoulders and I wished he would put it back.

“See? It’s good to know so I wouldn’t go around being like, ‘That girl is such a bird!’ and everyone just looks at me all confused.” Liam raised an amused brow before shaking his head.

“Liam, Cam, let’s go!” I looked over to see James waving us over before getting in line.

“So, we have to mount these stairs,” he said, uncertain.

“How many stairs?” Liam asked, looking up at the tall Arc.

“Two hundred and eighty-four,” I answered for him and both of them looked at me funny. “I took French. We did a Paris unit. I was fascinated. I’m sorry I paid attention in school.” Carson jogged up beside us, looking maniacal. 

“I’m so ready for this. Feel these calves, Cammie, and try telling me I am going to be tired when I reach the top. Because I won’t.” Carson was bubbling, jogging in place and overall acting like a madman. 

“You will be tired when you reach the top, Carson.”

“Fat chance. I’m a rock. I’m a machine.”

“You’re also insane. And you won’t be able to run up the stairs because you’ll be behind me who is not going faster than necessary.”

“I’m not going behind you if I can help it.” The line reached inside and I saw the twirling staircase and I gulped. I was going to be dead by the time I reached the top. At least I was smart and didn’t bring my laptop. Just my Monster slung around my neck. James was at the front, followed by Liam, then Carson who was bouncing, and then me. As we mounted the metal stairs, I just looked at each next step, not bothering to look up. I didn’t want to know how far I had to go, I just had to keep going. A few minutes later and I was already getting tired, I realized the girls were nowhere to be found.

“Uh, where’s Gem and Ava?” I asked the boys who weren’t dying yet. Dang their physical fitness.

“They opted to take the elevator with the camera crew. Didn’t want to get sweaty,” James explained, still climbing at a steady pace.

“There’s an elevator?” I demanded.

“Well, yeah, of course there is. Did you think they would carry all that equipment to the top? What about handicapped people?” Carson asked, mocking me.

“Kill me,” I complained as I continued up the stairs.

“I’ll give you a piggy-back ride!” Carson said.

“I don’t feel like being dropped down nearly 300 stairs, so… thanks but no thanks.”

Carson pouted before ascending the stairs and I watched with jealousy as all the boys looked barely out of breath as I was dying. I really should try working out more. I used to do cross-country, but that was at least a year or two ago. I hadn’t worked out the entire duration of us being in Europe. I’d just been lazy.

What felt like hours later, we reached the top and I couldn’t even enjoy the view. I just sat on a ledge (the entire perimeter was gated off) and panted.

“Here.” I looked up to see Ava handing me a bottle of water as she looked flawless.

“How dare you not take the stairs?” I managed between deep breaths.

“I have to conserve my energy. And you can just sit and watch, you know that right?”

“But I wanted to go adventuring today and now I don’t want to even think about moving.” Ava laughed as she perched on the ledge beside me. I guzzled the water in seconds and wiped the dribbled bits away.

“So. How was coming up with all the boys?” Ava asked and I knew she was just trying to avoid the topic of a certain boy.

“Fine. He’s still pretending nothing happened, but I’m getting better at acting the same.”

“That’s not something to be proud of.”

“I know. It’s not my fault he doesn’t want to man-up and just discuss it.”

“Camille, Liam kissed you. If he doesn’t talk about it soon, you’ll need to be the bigger person and address him about it. This is getting ridiculous!”

“Hold up a second,” Ava’s eyes widened, mirroring my own when we heard the voice. “Liam kissed you?” I looked up from Ava’s face and saw Carson standing there, a half smile on his face as if this was the best news he’s heard all day.

“Carson, it’s not –”

“A big deal? What it looks like? You’re right, it’s so much better. Is this why you slapped yourself on the plane?”

“Carson. Drop it.”

“Not a chance, mate,” he said between chuckles.

“I will kill you,” I assured him, my heart beating rapidly.

“What? It’s not like I can really tell anyone about it. Liam obviously knows, Ava knows, I’m going to assume that James knows, and, okay, maybe you wouldn’t have told Gemma. But this news is too good to pass up.”

“Liam may have kissed me, but that means nothing if he didn’t do anything after,” I muttered bitterly. Carson’s eyebrows raised in realization.

“Oh. Oh this just got so much better. Cam, do tell me everything that’s happening.” He sat next to me and I pushed him away.

“Not a chance, Carson. Go work.”

“But Cammie –”

“Carson. Go bug someone else,” Ava threatened and Carson just smirked and said, “Sure, I can do that,” as he began sauntering towards Liam.

“Carson, I swear –” I began.

“Don’t worry, babe. You’re secret’s safe with me.” He winked and changed direction to their hair and makeup artist. As soon as he was far enough away and distracted enough, I groaned and flung my head backwards.

“As if this couldn’t get more complicated and dumb,” I mumbled.

“It’ll be okay,” Ava reassured. “I promise. But for now, I have to get going. Hang in there, Cam. It’ll be sorted before you know it.” She brushed her pants off from sitting on the ledge and headed over to where the rest of the actors were and I just wanted to shrink back and disappear.

Maybe I should have just gone shopping today.

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Hey my lovelies! Two weeks isn't bad right? I'm on schedule, yeah?

So! EVERYONE IS FIGURING IT OUT. AND IT'S STRESSING POOR CAM OUT. Oh the drama!

Remember to vote/comment/share if you enjoyed it and let me know if and why you didn't. I'm dreadfully curious (and yeah, I know, curiosity killed the cat).

I've been working on some upcoming projects so keep a weather eye out for new stuff by yours truly. Also, I'm doing the 30 Day Writing Challenge (lolz failing at the 30 day part. I started this in January and I'm on Day... 5 I believe?) and you should go check out those writings. It's just a bunch of one-shots.

Thanks for reading and stay classy!

-Kate