It was going on three months and slowly I felt my life creeping back together. Sure, I saw plenty of Liam through interviews and pining over him on Tumblr, but for the most part I did well with going back to school and avoiding crazy fangirls. The second part wasn’t so successful. If people didn’t know before that I was related to James Everett, they instead knew that I had coffee with Liam Hawthorne and I couldn’t decide which one was worse. I went through the routine of completing college applications and homework, my attempts to make solid friends were about as successful as being friends with Rowan, and my social life was non-existent. Believe me when I say, I tried not to care.

December rolled around and Los Angeles looked like the least Christmas-y place on the planet. There was just something about Christmas lights on palm trees that didn’t fit right. It was a week before Christmas when my parents called me downstairs. I thought it had to be about my dirty dishes left on the counter or maybe my winter break homework that was still laying untouched on the kitchen counter.

When I found them in the kitchen, I concluded it was about my homework and didn’t even bother asking them “what’s up?” I just headed straight over to where my AP Chemistry homework sat.

“What are you doing?” I heard Mom say and I looked at her, confused.

“Grabbing my homework? Isn’t that why you called me down here?”

“Actually, no, although you really should have kept it all in your room,” Dad said and I shrugged. I didn’t like doing homework in my room. It was too far away from getting coffee and snacks.

“So what’s up?”

“We decided that this Christmas, we’re not going to spend it in LA. All our friends and family aren’t here and I think before you move out and start your own family, it’s important we have one last Christmas all together.”

“But James isn’t coming…”

“He might be able to make it for a day or two, we’ll see.”

“So we’re going home then?” I asked, hopeful.

“Yes, only for a few days. We fly out on Tuesday.”

“Honestly? We’re going.”

“Yeah!”

My entire face brightened. I thought they were kidding, for a second I thought it was a sick, sadistic trick. I hugged them both tightly, thank yous never ceasing from my lips.

“And then,” Dad began. “We’re going to London for New Years!”

I stopped hugging and backed away slowly.

“What.”

“James wants us all in London for New Years and we thought, why not? So a day or two after Christmas, we’re heading out to London!” I wasn’t sure how much Dad knew about the situation. Mom smiled at me, encouraging, as if this wasn’t the worst idea in the world.

“Right! Great, okay, well I’m going to start packing.”

As I departed from the kitchen, I heard a subtle smack and then my mom say, “You weren’t supposed to tell her about London until after Christmas.” Dad muttered a sorry and soon enough they were out of earshot.

Falling on my back onto my bed, I sighed heavily. It was one thing traveling for winter break and going to a foreign country. I mean, if we ended up going to Australia or Brazil for the remainder of winter break, I would have jumped up and down in excitement.

But being in London meant the possibility of seeing Liam and at the moment, I wasn’t too sure I could handle him. We had practically stopped talking when we arrived in Italy and that was three months ago. Every now and then we’d have a random, albeit short, conversation, but they never progressed farther. And then there was the topic of our kiss back in June, right before we moved on to France. Liam seemed to think that we could ignore it. And for the most part, I did. I pushed the memory, the feeling, aside and tried to simply enjoy my time. But no. Once we arrived in Italy, I just became fed up with him. I was through pretenses of being happy and a mere friend to him. I liked Liam. A lot. However, it became clear to me that he probably kissed me to get me out of his system and realized in that moment that he would much more prefer if I was merely his friend. There’s nothing quite like getting friend-zoned by a celebrity.

The airport smelled like Febreze when we landed in Portland, the green patterned carpet a welcoming sign. Shuffling downstairs to baggage claim, we eventually grabbed our suitcases and made our way out to grab a taxi to Grandma and Grandpa’s.

It was pouring rain all the way there, the waterfront blurred through water racing down the window as we crossed the bridge onto I-5. It was pitch black and the only light you could see as we made our way was the occasional house with Christmas lights. Half an hour later, we arrived at Gram and Gramp’s. Gramp’s looked like Santa Claus and it always made me happy to see him at Christmas time wearing his Santa hat. I was 99% positive my younger cousins thought he was Santa.

Grandma hugged me tightly, her bony arms digging into my flesh.

“I have a present for you,” she said, tapping my nose briskly, causing me to blink furiously in surprise.

“Gram, Christmas isn’t for another four days,” I teased, but I knew that Gram was the one person who would give me presents ahead of time. It was like holidays didn’t exist.

She grabbed my hand and dragged me along behind her. I firmly believed grandmas had a supernatural strength when it came to things they were excited about. “Oh I know, but I think you’ll like this one. Actually… it’s two.”

Coming around the corner, I saw the two people I have come to miss more than I care to admit.

“Oh thank the Lord,” I breathed out, walking towards Becca and Riley, grasping their shoulders and pulling them into a hug.

“Where have you been?” Becca demanded, still hugging tightly. Her black, curly hair was tickling my cheek.

“I kind of died, honestly.”

“Okay, we need a recap,” Riley insisted, releasing us. “Mrs. Everett, is it okay if we go upstairs? Or do you need help with anything?”

“You girls go ahead,” Grams nodded. “I need to go find Phil before he settles downstairs watching the game.”

Becs and Riley didn’t waste a second. Grams might have let me go, but my mom was one to make sure we stayed and helped. They turned at a breakneck speed and bolted up the stairs to my room for the next few days.

We stayed in there until almost midnight, minus an hour interlude to go eat and socialize. They talked about their senior struggles – especially attending one of the most boring high schools in the Pacific Northwest – and I talked about my struggles with avoiding fangirls. We mentioned stupid stories and funny stories and it was just refreshing to be around people who actually know what I’m like.

“And Liam?” Riley asked as we got ready for bed. Grams told them they could just spend the night and go home in the morning. It was, after all, the Christmas season, and they needed to spend time with their family. “He’s just been a butt ever since?”

“He’s been weird. Well. A few days after you guys left I ran into him at the beach. We were talking for awhile and there were just so many moments where he could have told me how he felt or I could have confronted him… but neither of us did a thing. Except,” I reached down into my suitcase, digging around for my jewelry case. “Okay, you guys, this is ridiculous.”

“What?” Becca asked, coming over with her face lathered in soap.

“Liam got me a birthday present.”

“Ooh! Lemme see.” Riley and Becca peered over my shoulder to see me pulling out the necklace.

“Oh my…” Becca began.

“What?” Riley’s blue eyes were wide with awe and confusion.

“Seriously?”

“It’s from Tiffany’s,” I added.

“WHAT?”

“I know.”

Becca studied it carefully.

“Cam, he has got to be in love with you.” I nearly choked on my spit.

“Yeah, friends don’t get friends Tiffany’s,” Riley confirmed.

“That’s what I thought, but he’s also obviously not in love with me.”

“He got you the most romantic gift known to mankind. The only one that beats it is a diamond ring,” Becca stated.

“Have you listened to nothing I said? He has done nothing. He bought me a gift and kissed me, I’ll give you that. But that boy sucks on communication skills.”

They both shrugged, muttering, “Yeah, that’s true.”

“What’s worse is that I leave for London in four days.”

“It’s obviously fate.”

“Shut up, Becca.” She snickered.

“Cam, if you don’t want anything to happen when you go, then don’t. He may be bad at communicating, but I think he’ll respect you saying ‘no’.”

“Easier said than done because no matter how long I spend trying to convince myself he’s not worth it and he’s dumb, I still think about how much I want to be with him and how we could just talk and hang out and ARG,” I groaned and placed my face in my pillow.

“We got her worked up again,” Riley whispered to Becca.

“You don’t say, Sherlock?”

“That’s not the saying,” I muttered from my place.

“It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you are here now and we’re going to pretend that Liam doesn’t exist for a couple days, okay?” I got up from my place and made a disgruntled noise. “Okay?” Riley asked again.

“Fine.”

“Good! Now who’s up for a Home Alone marathon?”

Five days later we landed in London. Oregon was perfect and rainy and the best Christmas I had had in what felt like years. James made it at the nick of time on Christmas Eve which Grams scolded him for cutting it so close. He didn’t care though, he was just happy he made it at all. After stuffing our faces with enough food to last us the winter and storing all our Christmas presents in our suitcases, we kissed the family and friends goodbye and boarded the flight.

James was the most excited out of all of us. He couldn’t sit still the majority of the flight and rambled incessantly about how great London is and how he’s never living in America again. I gave it another year. He liked American snacks too much to just abandon it. Eventually the plane jerked to the ground and I looked out the window. London was just as foggy and rainy as Oregon and I wasn’t sure if I should have felt relieved or depressed.

“Cammie, you need to see the apartment I got. It’s not as big as the condo, but it’s so cool. I can see Buckingham Palace from my house.”

“Really?”

“No, but it’s still got a great view.” I punched his shoulder.

“Don’t tease me about that. I would ditch America and live with you for the rest of my life.”

He giggled like a little kid, not even pretending to be hurt. “I thought you liked Paris better?”

“Paris was really great. Notre Dame though! My goodness.”

James looped his arm around my neck and kissed my head as we made our way out back doors to a waiting SUV. Didn’t want more paparazzi attacks and this time there were no bodyguards to save my life.

Arriving at James’ apartment was probably the best part of the day. I wanted nothing more than to eat and go sleep. His apartment was the perfect size for a rich, popular actor in London, AKA it was huge. I was expecting to be put on the couch and James on the floor, while Mom and Dad got James’ room out of respect. But no. He managed to snag a penthouse, meaning giant, not to mention an upstairs. Who did he think he was, Blair Waldorf?

“Cammie, this is your room. It’s kinda small, but I think you’ll like it.” He opened the door and my breath hitched in my throat.

It wasn’t small. It wasn’t big either. The size honestly didn’t even matter. Because the windows were nearly floor to ceiling and they overlooked the entire city.

“I’m never leaving this room,” I told him.

“What ever you want. Now, I’m going to make sure Mom and Dad are settled. I’m glad you’re here, Cam.”

“Me too, James.” He smiled and headed out of the room, calling after our parents.

I dumped everything on the floor, searching for my Monster and began snapping photos of the view. The city lights peered through the fog and it made such a whimsical effect. Eventually I swapped out for my sketchbook and charcoal started tracing the lines of the city. I knew it hadn’t been long since I’d drawn something, but it felt long since I’d drawn something that wasn’t assigned. And I loved it.

An hour or so later, my art was spread out before me as I lay on my stomach continuing on my merry way. I heard the doorbell ring, but didn’t budge. James or Mom or Dad had to be roaming around the house right?

“Cam!” Mom yelled from downstairs. You have got to be kidding me.

“What?” I called back. No response. “Wha-hut?” I over-exaggerated the words. Looked like Mom was either deaf or she just wanted to know if I was alive. Groaning, I rolled over and contemplated whether it was worth it getting up. Jet lag sucks. A lot.

“Knock knock.” The voice was girly. And British. Sitting up I saw her. Mile long legs, golden blonde hair, the perfect tan, ocean blue eyes.

“Gemma?” I asked, rather stupidly. But then again, I don’t know how badly jet lag can affect a person.

“Hey Cammie. How are you?” She asked, sitting on the edge of my still-made bed.

“I’ve been alright, how are you?”

“I’m well. Excited for Saturday, you know?” My eyebrows crinkled in confusion. She said it like I knew what was happening on Saturday, but I totally had no idea.

“What’s happening Saturday?” Her eyes widened in surprise.

“The holiday party, silly! Didn’t James tell you?” Oh no. Please tell me this isn’t some celebrity get-together that I would be ever so fortunate to attend.

“No. No, he didn’t mention a holiday party.”

“Well, it’s a giant party that Mary Allen, you know, that British talk show host, puts on every year. Everyone dresses up and everyone wants to be invited. James called me the other day that he received the invitation. Oh my, he was so excited about that.” Of course Gem would want to tell me about this exclusive party. She had a habit of making me wish I was somewhere else but where I was.

“I’m sure you’ll have a lot of fun. Eat a lot of fondue for me.” I mentioned it even if she wouldn’t do it.

“Wait, aren’t you coming?” Gemma asked, genuinely surprised.

I raised an eyebrow. “No. Why would I? It’s a party for celebrities, isn’t it?”

“Well, sort of. But you could be James’ plus one!”

“Be my brother’s date? That sounds like some prom horror story.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You come with James, and then you go party on your own.” Gemma sighed dramatically. “Where is your brother? I need to talk to him.”

“His room, probably.” Gemma nodded and then left me with my thoughts. If I ended up going to that party, my chances of running into Liam grew higher. My whole plan while I was here was to not run into him at all costs. I just... I’m pretty sure that if we ended up talking with each other, word vomit may formulate and I would probably drown him with everything I had been wanting to say to him for the past couple months.

“Hey Cam?” Gemma peered into my room a few minutes later.

“Yeah?”

“We’re going shopping.” My face reflected my confusion. “You need a dress for Saturday!”

“But I’m not going, Gemma. People wouldn’t like a peasant at their fancy party.”

“You aren’t a peasant! People like you Cam. Come on. My treat.” How could I turn down Gemma being nice? Those mid-months of filming, she was just such a diva to everyone. I was enjoying this side of her.

“Alright, fine. When are we going?” I was praying that she wouldn’t say tonight. I felt like I was about to die.

“Tomorrow. I’ll pick you up at ten, okay?” I nodded in agreement. “Great and then on Friday we’ll go out for breakfast and a spa day. I’ll get you home in time to finish getting ready and go to the party with James.” She smiled at me so sweetly and I was so surprised at her kind gesture.

“Thank you.” I managed to say.

“I don’t have any sisters. I’ve always wanted one though.”

I nodded in agreement. “Me too.”

“So then, girls day out. I’ll text you when I’m on my way.” I forgot that Gemma even had my number, but she needed it when my phone became her only line of impersonal communication with James after he dropped his phone in the toilet and couldn’t get it replaced for a week. Idiot.

“Thanks again, Gemma.”

“See you tomorrow!” Gemma bounced out of my room, hair bouncing even more.

Maybe Becca was onto something about that whole fate thing.

----------------------

Oh my gosh, so this is probably the quickest I have ever updated in months (possibly a year? BUT IT'S FINALLY UP AND I'M EXCITED AND WE'RE NEARING THE END WHICH MAKES ME SAD.

But yeah. Cam's back in England. So *cue dramatic music*

I have the Liam POV written and you'll have to all wait to see which part it is (although I'm sure you can guess.)

Love you all and please check out 'The Intern'!

Stay classy,