I'm about to leave for Danny's apartment when I get an incoming call from Cameron. I stare at it and contemplate whether or not I should answer it. I figure he'll probably ask me why I'm not at the party with Mel and Gen. I'll just tell him I have other plans and that'll be the end of that conversation. I press the phone to my ear and greet him.

"Yes, Cameron?" I step into the bathroom and look at myself in the full length mirror. I tied my hair up into a bun and am wearing jeans and a t-shirt. I never dress up when I'm going over to Rex or Danny's. There's no point; the clothes come off fast anyway.

"Are you busy?" he asks in a rather desperate tone, which puts me on edge.

"Uh, no, why?" Well this conversation isn't going as planned.

"Can I come over? I think I'm having a panic attack," he rambles, which makes my stomach clench a bit.

"Yeah, of course." I approach the front door and unlock it. "Is everything okay?"

"I don't know." His tone tells me that it's not. I start down the steps. He remains on the phone with me as he walks and I wait for him in my spot propped up against the gate. My eyes land on him and I tilt my head in slight confusion. His hood is up and tied tightly around his face, leaving only his eyes visible. When he reaches me, I wordlessly usher him inside.

"What's wrong?" Once we reach my apartment, I lock the door behind him.

"I don't know. I just feel off. I don't know what's wrong with me. I didn't take anything. I'm freaking out," he explains in a slightly muffled voice. He falls into a tangent about nothing and I inch closer to him and start untying the knot in his hoodie. I stare in pure confusion once I manage to pull his hood down and reveal his face.

"Are you high?" I interrogate him as soon as I assess his bloodshot, puffy eyes.

"What? No!" He scoffs at me in disbelief for asking such a thing. "I don't smoke, Flizzy."

"When did you start feeling this way?" I assess his features, trying to think of what it may be. He starts pacing in circles around the living room and I step further into the space, feeling stumped.

"Like an hour ago. I was fine and then I just...wasn't." He licks his lips nervously and I continue to hypothesize.

"What were you doing two hours ago?" I watch as he he rubs the sides of his head.

"Homework."

"What'd you eat?" I continue to question, trying to figure out what the hell is wrong with him. Is this some kind of weird allergic reaction?

"I had steak for dinner. It was good." He stares off into the distance. "I'm so hungry."

"Well did you eat anything after that?" I urge him to speak and he squints in thought.

"A brownie..." My eyebrows shoot up on my forehead.

"Did that taste good?" I take another step closer to him.

"Not really, but I ate it anyway. But I could go for a good brownie. Can you bake?"

"Where'd you get the brownie, Cam?" I continue to question as he rubs his stomach.

"I like it when you call me Cam," he mumbles with a sly grin. He approaches me slowly and I hold my hand out and lightly touch his chest, making sure to keep a good distance between us. I repress the urge to snap in his face to regain his attention.

"Cam- the brownie." He takes in my features like he's never seen them before. "Where did you get it?

"Hezekiah made them." He absentmindedly plays with the waistband of his sweatpants. "And he gave some to Ash, who left them on the table. So I took one."

"I think they were edibles, Cam." I scrutinize his face one more time. I can barely tell if he's looking at me because his eyes are so squinted. However, his face reads one of confusion so I know he heard me. "You know...edibles. Food made with weed."

"So I'm high right now?" he asks in slight surprise.

"I think so." Judging by the look on his face, he doesn't like it.

"People do this all the time?" He gasps loudly. "I literally thought I was dying an hour ago. Time feels like it's going by so slow. I thought my heart stopped for a good ten minutes. I was lying on the living room floor too scared to blink because I thought I was going to die."

"I mean, you ate a lot. People typically don't eat that much all at once," I explain as he drags his hands down his face. He immediately looks at them, flips them over a few times, then turns his gaze back to me.

"Am I tripping? Is that what this is?" He lets out a long breath and I know I should calm him down.

"You're so high that it feels that way." I take another step closer to him. "But you can calm down. You're fine. You're going to be okay. It'll go away at some point."

"When?" He paces anxiously around the room. "Are we talking about an hour? Or two?"

I don't want to break the news to him that it'll take much longer than that. Especially not since he feels like time is going slow enough as it is. In the state he's in, an hour feels like a year. If I tell him he won't feel better until tomorrow, it'd be like sentencing him to 25 years in jail. "Yeah," I confirm as I grab his shoulders, sit him on the couch, and prop myself up on the arm of it. "Maybe a little longer."

"Longer?" He attempts to widen his eyes. "My eyelids are so heavy. Why are they so heavy?"

Before I can attempt to calm him down, his phone starts to ring in his pocket. He struggles to get it out before staring at the screen. His gaze looks fearful and I glance at the screen to see that Pa is calling him. "What is it?" I search his face and look back down at his phone.

"I texted him and told him I thought I was dying," he mutters. "I thought I was having a heart attack, not that I was high off of drugs."

"Well, you have to answer it," I insist as he lets the phone continue to ring. "He's going to send the paramedics to your apartment if you don't."

"I can't talk to him! I can barely focus on one thing for two seconds. He'll know something's wrong." He shoves his phone towards me. "You answer it!"

"Me?" I stare at his phone, which has stopped ringing only to start again. "Do you want me to tell the truth or–?" He wastes no time, accepts the call, and puts the phone in my hand. I swear inaudibly before bringing it up to my face.

"Cam? Cam?" A man's voice sounds through the phone and I think about what to say. Hey, it's Cam's friend, Felicity; your son is currently higher than the Empire State right now.

"Hello." My greeting is awkward and forced. There's a short pause and I can tell that he's probably checking to make sure he dialed the right number.

"Who is this?" I struggle to answer. I hear another voice in the background asking about Cam and I figure that both of his fathers are listening in.

"It's Cam's friend," I answer quickly.

"Is he alright? Where is he?" I stare at Cam, who watches me with a slightly lost look on his face.

"He's fine. He just...accidentally ingested cannabis," I admit slowly.

"What? Like, a weed brownie?" the man wonders and I make a noise confirming his suspicions. A sigh mixed with relief and disappointment follows. "Oh, Cam...It's not funny, Peter!" I hear muffled laughter and I hold back a chuckle of my own.

"The kids a fool, Joe," Peter, I'm assuming, comments as if explaining his reasoning for laughing, "how do you accidentally eat a weed brownie?"

"He doesn't feel good, Peter!" Joe bites back and Peter chuckles.

"He'll be fine. He just has to wait it out. How's he doing, sweetie?" Peter asks me and I look at Cam, who has since inched closer to me and is resting his head on my knee.

"He's okay. He's just a little panicky. I'm watching him, though. I'm going to make him some food and keep him hydrated and occupied." I pet his head, which seems to entertain him. "Anything else I should do?"

"Just keep a close eye on him," Joe insists. "Thank you for looking out for him."

"It's no problem," I reply as Cam rubs against my hand like a cat when I stop brushing my fingers through his soft curls.

"What'd you say your name was again?" Peter asks as an afterthought.

"Felicity," I inform him before clarifying, "but if he's ever mentioned me, he's probably called me Flizzy."

"You're the girl he hangs out with all the time," Peter acknowledges in an entertained voice.

In an attempt to potentially save his son from the embarrassment of having had that little factoid confessed, his other father cuts in. "I'm Joe, one of his dad's."

"Yeah, you're Pa, the overprotective one, right?" He chuckles heartily.

"Yes, that's me," he confirms. "I'm living up to my name. Can you do me a favor and tell him I love him, that he's an idiot, and to call me when he's feeling better? And if anything happens, just give me or Peter a call."

"Sure thing." He thanks me one more time before hanging up. I nudge Cam's head with his phone and he looks up at me and pokes out his lower lip.

"Is he mad at me?" I rest my hand in his curls as I stare back at him.

"No," I lie. I actually don't know but saying yes would probably cause him to fall into another panic. "He just wants me to take care of you."

"Are you going to?" He stares up at me with wide eyes.

"Of course, you can hang out with me until it goes away."  I drop into the spot beside him. "We can have a slumber party."

"Really?" He offers me a wide grin. "I can sleep here?"

"Yeah, we can listen to music...talk...hang out," I list as I remove my hand from his curls and stand up. "You said you were hungry, right?"

"Yes." His hands fall to his stomach as he's suddenly reminded of his raging hunger.

"What do you want?" I expect him to already have an answer but he takes a few seconds to think.

"Everything, anything."

"Does pizza sound good?" Judging by the excited look on his face, I know good and well I won't be able to cook enough to satiate his hunger.

"So good," he has an idea, "can we get bacon on it?"

"We can." I take out my phone and search up the nearest pizza place. I get two larges in case he eats more than I'm expecting. I figure if there's leftovers, they'll get eaten either way. "It'll be here in a half hour."

"That's so long," cue an exaggerated and stressed sigh, "I'll die of starvation by then."

"No you won't." What can distract him? "You said you wanted brownies, right?"

"Mmhmm." His tongue traces his lips in thought. I venture off to the kitchen and rummage around in the cabinets. "Where'd you go?"

"I'm in the kitchen," I call back. I manage to find Gen's box of brownies, which she always attempts to hide and then forgets where they are. Either way, she'll understand why I took some; it's clearly an emergency. I grab a couple before jumping off the counter and returning to the living room. His eyes light up when he sees them and he wastes no time unwrapping and biting into one.

"You're too good to me, Flizzy." Following his delighted sigh, he assess my outfit as I take a seat beside him. "Did you have plans?"

I glance down at my clothes and suddenly remember Danny, who has probably blown up my phone to see if I'm still coming. "No."

"Okay." He slowly nodes through a mouthful of chocolate. "This tastes so good. Why does it taste so good?"

"I have another one," I say as I hold up the second brownie. I hand it to him and he unwraps that one, too. He takes turns biting each one and sighing contentedly.

Soon enough, except not for him, I get a call from the pizza guy. "Where are you going?" he asks desperately when I stand up from the couch.

"To get the pizza;" He nods urgently so I decide to give him a task. "Can you do me a favor and get the water out of the fridge?"

"Yes," he confirms as he reaches into his pocket. He comes up short and frowns at me with wide eyes. "I left my wallet at home."

"I got it." I hold up my cash and before he can argue, I head downstairs and retrieve the food. I'm not even under the influence yet it smells delicious. I enter the apartment and find him sitting at the kitchen table staring at the bowl of fruit.

"Did you get the drinks?" I ask when I look around the room. I put the pizza down on the table and he shakes his head.

"I forgot." He moves to grab them but I wave a dismissive hand.

"I got it, just eat." I get out water pitcher and grab two cups. I turn back around and find him shoving a slice of pizza down his throat. How attractive. I pour into his glass after chuckling at the sight and he offers me a muffled thanks.

"So...is this a date?" He teases from across the table and I laugh once again.

"No, it's not Cam." The grin that falls onto his lips causes the corners of mine to perk up.

"I like it when you call me Cam," he informs me for the second time tonight.

"I'm sure you do." I take my own slice of pizza and get started on it. He continues to eat and I watch in amazement as he devours eight slices. He takes one slice from the second box before sitting back in his seat.

"I'm full," he announces and I blow out a breath as I stare at him. Just watching him eat that much filled me up. He pours himself more water and accidentally spills some onto the table. I get a napkin and turn back to find him moving to lick it up.

"Cam!" He jumps back a bit in surprise. "I have a paper towel."

"My way would've been quicker," he mumbles as I wipe up the mess. I put away the pizza and water before pointing at him.

"I'm going to change," I inform him. "Then you can come hang out in my room with me."

"I can always help you change." He tilts back in his chair with his legs thrown out before him. A slow smirk spreads across his face and tempts me more than it should. I hate myself for immediately thinking 'sure thing, let's go.' I simply roll my eyes and head to my room. Once I'm done, I call for him to join me and he does.

"Take off your hoodie." He sits down on my bed after struggling to remove his shoes.

"You want me to get on your bed and strip?" His comment doesn't stop him from unzipping his sweater. He drops it carelessly onto my floor and stares at me. "Want my pants to come off, too?"

"I'd say yes if I didn't feel like I was taking advantage of you." I walk towards the lamp and feel his eyes trace my legs, which are revealed thanks to my shorts. He averts his gaze to the ceiling and sighs before laying down. "Are you tired?"

"No," he answers bluntly. I flip on my fairy lights and switch off the main one. He watches me as I crawl onto the bed beside him before resting his head back onto my blanket with a sigh. He isn't even on a pillow; in fact, he's about two feet below my pillows.

"Are you okay?" I hover above him for a brief second to check in. I scrutinize his features to ensure that he's not going to vomit from all the food he just consumed. He stares up at me and lets his eyes scan my face.

"I am a-okay," he assures me as he licks his lips. I continue to shimmy up the bed until my head is resting on a pillow. Once I get comfortable, he startles me by placing his head on my stomach. He drapes his arm loosely over my hips and stares at the wall thoughtfully. "This is embarrassing."

"What is?" I try not to seem too phased by his small act of affection.

"Being babysat by you." As he speaks, his words vibrate against my rib-cage.

"Trust me, one time Mel got so drunk that she puked all over herself and I had to strip her down and bathe her," I assure him. "You're good."

"So if I puke on myself, you'll bathe me?" He perks up and looks at me with raised brows.

"Not what I meant, Cam." He's being oddly sexual tonight. "Try to go to sleep." I rest my fingers in his hair, lightly massaging his scalp as he shifts so that he's staring at me. I feel his gaze on me for the next minute and I eventually look at him, wondering what he wants. "Yes?"

"You're so pretty," he compliments me bluntly, which halts my brushing fingers for just a second. "Have I told you that before?"

"Not outright." I feel a blush coming on. Why am I blushing?

"Well you are," he takes in my features once more, "so pretty."

"Thank you, Cameron." I don't even have to look him over to return the compliment. "You're pretty, too."

"Okay, so if you think I'm pretty and I think you're pretty, why won't you let me take you on a date?" I roll my eyes and press my head back against the pillow.

"Because, Cam..." I trail after letting out a small groan.

"Do you not like me?" he asks quickly. "You can tell me, you know.

"If I didn't like you, I wouldn't be babysitting you." Please don't ask for more details on that.

"I mean, are you not attracted to me in the way that I'm attracted to you?" he clarifies and I groan again but this time, noisily.

"Go to sleep, Cameron." I keep my eyes focused on the ceiling.

"Will you just let me take you on a date?" he rebuts surprisingly fast. I stare at him, wondering how he's behaving so naturally while he's under the influence.

"I told you, I don't date," I reiterate for what seems to be the fiftieth time.

"Why not? And not the bullshit excuse that you're too busy. Everyone's busy. This is college. Give me a reason that doesn't have to do with school."

"I don't want to get my heart broken," I excuse again.

"We already talked about this," he retorts and I stare at him for a few more seconds. "You seriously think I'd break your heart?"

"Yes," I answer as if it's already obvious.

"Why? Why would you think that?" He stares at me in legitimate confusion.

"Why wouldn't I?" I shake my head again as I glance back up at the ceiling.

"Well, what do I have to do to show you that I won't break your heart?" His voice is quieter now, as if concerned he'd done something wrong.

"Why does it matter so much? I can list a whole bunch of pretty girls that are just as cool, if not cooler, than me. Chase one of them." I know I wouldn't want that. But it isn't fair to him for me to flirt back if I don't know if I'll ever be able to date him.

"Because I like you," he responds as he peers up at me with wide eyes.

"That's a bad decision." My reply gets a noisy huff in response.

"If anyone should be scared that they're going to get their heart broken, it should be me," he mutters. "Sometimes, I feel like you're just stringing me along to sleep with me and then once I do, you're going to just stop talking to me."

My chest caves in a bit at his intoxicated revelation. Does he seriously think I'd do that? I swallow my nerves as I shake my head quickly. "I would never, ever do that," I inform him. "Never, ever, ever." I thought I disproved his concern when he made dinner for me.

"Do you promise?" he asks in a slightly muffled voice. I feel his mouth moving against my stomach as he talks to me.

"I promise." Five minutes pass and I glance down at him. "Are you sleeping?"

"No." A second of silence. "I'm thinking."

"What about?" I figure that if he's awake, I may as well make conversation.

"You don't kiss people, right?" he blurts, throwing me off once again.

"Not usually, no." He gives me a nod and I decide to push for more. "Why?"

"I was just wondering," he replies vaguely.

"You want to kiss me?" I tease with a small smirk and he looks up at me once again. I prop myself up a bit to stare at him. His eyes narrow as he takes in my playful facial expression.

"Shut up." Now it's my turn to giggle.

"You want to kiss me?" I repeat with a wide grin on my face. I feel slight surprise that he actually wants to. This is a big thing for him. "Last week you hugged me, now you want to kiss me."

"Forget I said anything." He heaves a loud sigh as he shifts back to his original position on my stomach. He stares at the wall, leaving me to look at his curls.

"I'm sorry. I'm not teasing you. I'm just asking you a question," I reply casually. "Do you want to kiss me?"

"If I say yes, will you kiss me?" The sassiness in his tone makes my stomach do a flip. I've been thinking about that question for a little while now and I hate the fact that I actually want to kiss him. In fact, I actually find myself thinking about what it'd be like to kiss him. I decide to answer honestly, figuring he probably won't remember it.

"If you weren't high, I'd consider it." He twists around yet again and hoists himself up a bit to stare at me. I watch him with an entertained look on my face.

"I'm sober literally every day," he practically hisses. "And you say that now? When I'm not? And it's not even my fault." 

"I'll hug you now if that makes up for it." I keep the smug look on my face.

"Can it be a long hug...while we lay in bed...preparing to go to sleep?" My eyebrows rise slightly as I interpret his words.

"Are you asking me to cuddle?" I question with a tilted head.

"Yes."

I stare at him with a slightly confused look on my face. I've never cuddled with anyone before, especially not during sleep. Hell, I've never even had anyone sleep in my bed with me. "Sure." I watch as he moves higher up on the bed and lays behind me. He wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me up against him. He makes sure to leave enough room so that I'm not touching his chest, but if I move back an inch, I will be. I feel the warmth from his body on mine and I slowly scoot backwards. He doesn't say anything and just holds me tighter, which makes my heart pound hard. I hope he can't feel it.

+++

I wake up the following morning to someone shuffling around in my bed. In my slightly disoriented state, I open my eyes and find Cameron staring at his phone. "What the fuck?" I sit up a bit to further assess the situation. The memories of last night come back to me and I rest my head back on my pillow. "What time is it?"

"8:30," his voice is smooth yet rough. I'm surprised he was able to make out the cloudy words I uttered in my groggy morning voice.

"Do you have to work?" I feel a slight panic for him.

"At 10." I feel his eyes on me as I stretch out across my bed, knocking into his leg as I do. He probably thinks I look gross. My hair is definitely a mess and my skin probably looks dry and gross.

"Do you want breakfast?" I ask and watch a hopeful smile fall onto his face and I give a slow nod as I finish stretching.

"Yes, please." I slowly pull myself into a sitting position and fight the urge to go back to sleep. I wipe my eyes and fix my hair as I slide out of bed. He joins me and I silently think about how weird it is to wake up with someone. Weird, but oddly calming. As I exit the room, I half expect Mel to be bouncing around, as she usually is at this time. I come up short, though, and have to turn on the lights as I pass through the dark apartment.

Not in the mood to use the stove, I open the cereal cabinet and motion for him to take his pick. I pour my usual bowl and get started on it, practically dozing off at the table. He seems more than awake though as he takes his time preparing his meal. "How are you feeling?" I ask once I eat half of my breakfast.

"Better," he answers. "Not all here but definitely not as bad as last night. Thanks for watching out for me."

I laugh quietly as I eye him. "It was entertaining." I take another spoonful of cereal as I recall our conversations.

"Embarrassingly so." He forces his spoon into his mouth and shakes his head.

"You want to kiss me," I tease him and he tilts his head at me. He doesn't even need to open his mouth for me to know that I shouldn't have brought it up.

"You said you'd consider it." I let a small scowl fall onto my face.

"Don't you have a job to go to?" I scoff as I bow my head once more. He chuckles as he finishes up his cereal and brings it to the sink. I hear the faucet so I quickly wave him off. "I'll do it."

"Are you sure?" I give him a quick nod as I carry my bowl over as well. He offers me a goofy smile and ruffles my already messy hair.

"Call your dads," I encourage him and he gives me a boyish beam.

"I will. See you later, Flizzy," he calls as he lets himself out. I stare into the sink and hate myself for being as attached as I am.

+++

When the clock strikes noon and Mel still hasn't come around, I start to get a bit worried. It doesn't last long though because she saunters in fifteen minutes past with a concoction of emotions on her face. Gen and I exchange a look as she joins us on the couch. We wait for her to speak but she doesn't; she only looks between us hesitantly.

"And where the hell were you?" Gen blurts after a minute us just exchanging glances.

"I slept at Ashton's apartment," she confesses quickly, "and we had sex."

My jaw drops.

Gen's jaw drops.

Mel's face goes bright red.

"What-well-how-you?" I stumble over my words as I try to formulate a response. What do you say when your friend tells you they lost their virginity but gives you no other context?

"How was it?" Gen manages to choke out a sentence and Mel shrugs.

"It hurt a little," she admits before giving a strong nod, "but it was okay. He was very...understanding."

"How'd it happen?" I feel relief that I don't have to beat Ashton's ass. "You weren't drunk, right?"

"No," she quickly answers with a shake of her head. "Gen and I got back from the party and I got ready for bed. I was laying down when he called me. At first, we were just talking and he asked if I was tired and I said no. He asked if I wanted to hang out and I said sure, so he walked over here and we went back to his apartment. It was innocent, you know? We just sat on the couch and watched TV. Then one thing led to another and we kissed...and then we did more."

"Are you...okay?" Gen squints at Mel as if she's going to break down at any second.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Cue a short shrug. "We talked about it over breakfast."

"And?" I prompt as I raise both of my brows. Please don't tell me he said that they should be just friends.

"We're dating exclusively," she explains with a small smile. "It all happened so fast but I don't know. I like him a lot."

"As long as you're safe and happy," Gen nods at Mel. "Everything happens for everyone at different paces. For example, by the looks of things, Felicity will never sleep with Cameron."

Mel laughs loudly at the turn of events and I roll my eyes. "Actually, he slept here last night and-," I attempt to explain but Gen groans.

"So everyone here got laid last night except for me?" she cries out in slight frustration.

"No," now I feel stupid for the words I'm about to say, "he said he wants to kiss me."

Mel and Gen look at me with furrowed brows. "Kiss you?" Gen trails curiously. "Does he know you don't like that?"

"Yeah," I purse my lips, "I may or may not have told him that I'd consider it."

"You better not be doing all this just to sleep with this boy and leave him," Mel chides, which gets a sigh out of me. Why does everyone think so poorly of me? It must say a lot about my character if they all have such low expectations for me.

"I'm not!" I defend myself. "I won't sleep with him if I don't get myself together. I genuinely don't know what I'm doing right now but I'm trying my hardest not to hurt him."

"You need to figure it out," Gen scolds me. I let out a groan as I lay back on the couch. "Are you ready for a committed relationship?"

Another long groan falls from my lips as I eye my friends. "Guys, I don't know anymore. I used to think I wasn't but now I don't know. I just...ugh."

"Wait, you said Cameron slept here?" Mel asks and I give her a slow nod, which gets a loud sigh of relief from her. "Oh thank god!"

"What?" Gen asks and Mel places a hand on her chest.

"I thought he heard us last night. I didn't want to have to face him after that," she explains with a shake of her head. Gen and I look at each other before falling into fits of laughter.