CAMERON WAS WALKING TO A NA MEETING, STARING DOWN AT STEVE'S PHONE NUMBER ON THE FAMILY'S FLIP PHONE,

She wanted to know if he really liked her, or just saw her as a charity case that will give out a few fucks for some food stamps.

As a hasty decision, she pressed the call button,

"Hello." Steve greeted,

"If that wasn't bullshit, what was I wearing?" Cameron asked, crossing the street at the crosswalk,

"Huh?"

"First time you saw me, if that wasn't a lie." She urged,

Steve paused for a moment, "Black halter top, black skinny jeans. Tall, thin heels. Big, curly hair. Large, gold hoops that made me smile. And you were dancing next to your sister and a red-haired girl in a green dress."

She remembered that night. Jenna and the girls went out partying, they were bar hopping, trying to get free drinks from men. It was their challenge of the night.

Cam nodded, "Yeah, yeah, Jenna. It was Jenna's birthday. So you were... you were watching her, who's a lot better looking than me."

"You think so? Really?" Steve questioned,

"Yeah, so how come you're not stalking Jenna?" Cam asked, coming to a stop when she spotted Sean outside the community centre, smoking while he was waiting for her,

"Because you... you think like that and Jenna doesn't. Jenna dances for an audience. You dance like there's no one else in the room. Your life's not simple, Cameron, and you can't stop it from showing because you're no fake. You're not lost, you don't need finding. This whole city belongs to the Jennas, but I'm sick of them. I swear, Cam, you're nothing like anyone I've ever met. You make me want to enjoy my life again." He stopped speaking and Cam stood there, silent, "Are you there? Cam?"

Tears filled her eyes. No one had ever said anything like that about her before. Not any of her past boyfriends or pursuers. But she didn't know if she could trust it.

"Meet me at Adams station at 3:30 pm." She told him before hanging up and walking towards Sean,

After her lunch shift at the diner, Cameron took the L towards 200th Street and got off at Adams/Wabash. It was 3:29.

She stood at the station, looking around for him. Trains flew by, and the clock ticked by.

What if he didn't show? What if he had changed his mind?

Another train drove past, whipping her hair around her. Once it was gone, she glanced across the tracks and met a pair of familiar blue eyes,

He was on the other side.

Steve smiled at her and she gave a small one back. She nodded towards the stairs and they both exited the platform.

They met at the bottom of the stairs and Steve was quick to pull her close, cupping her jaw in his hands,

"Hi." She whispered before he pressed his lips gently against hers,

Steve grabbed her hand and led her down the street, and into an expensive restaurant. Cameron's cheeks turned red as she noticed all the dressed up people, while she was wearing a t-shirt with 'Patsy's Pies' written on her upper chest and a pair of jeans,

He ordered them a bottle of wine, and she got a fancy chocolate mousse that they decided to share,

"Whoa, whoa, whoa , whoa, whoa, wait. What have I ever done to anybody, never mind you, that made me look unreliable?" Steve asked as she put a spoonful of the chocolate into her mouth,

"People like you are just way too used to getting your own way." She responded before licking the spoon clean,

"And by 'people like me' you mean people like what?" He questioned but she didn't answer as she focused on the dessert, "Okay, wait, all right. Yes, no. All you got to do is agree or disagree." Steve cleared his throat, "He thinks the sun shines out of his own ass. Agree or disagree?"

"Agree." She responded with a smile,

"He's overly generous and that bugs me." 

Cameron hummed and set down the spoon, "Agree."

"Because I'm not used to get..."

"Actually very agree." She interrupted, having time to think about it,

"...Because I'm not used to getting spoiled." Steve finished, keeping eye contact with her,

Cameron nodded, "Agree."

"Okay, so I lose respect for guys like Steve because people unlike Steve or people diametrically opposite to Steve have always let me down." He continued and Cameron lowered her eyes, not liking where it was going, "So deciding that he's overeducated and has more money than sense is somehow more socially acceptable than asking myself, for instance, 'why do the men I always date treat me like shit'?"

She glared at him, "Fuck you."

"It's a question." He replied, unfazed. 

"Fuck you." Cameron reached for her jacket and began to tug it on,

Steve shrugged, "Either-or."

Cameron stared at him for a moment, "Agree."

"He's had an easy life." Steve continued,

"Definitely."

"And you prefer a guy who's been around the block a few times."

She pursed her lips, "What if I do?"

"Say, D block of a maximum security prison?"

Cameron leaned forward and placed her hands on the table, "If he knew how to have fun, yeah, sure."

"Cam, I can't help my upbringing." He told her,

"So how come it's me again having to apologize for mine?" She asked,

"Who's asking you to?" Steve shot back,

The waitress came over to the table, "We finished here, guys?"

"We're working on it." Steve answered and she began to clear their glasses, "You want to wait outside while I pay the bill?"

Cameron nodded and stood, zipping up her jacket before heading outside. She dug through her pockets and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it before blowing out smoke.

Perhaps Steve had a point. Growing up on the South Side, she didn't have many options in the dating pool. Very rarely did she get a good guy, on the outside and in.

He deserved a chance. And who knows, maybe what she needs is a good guy. 

A Porche pulled up in front of her and the owner stepped out. A jacket was laid over Cameron's arm and she looked over to see Steve in a valet jacket, approaching the Porche.

She watched in confusion as Steve got into the car and drove off.

Inside the jacket he laid on her arm, a phone went off. She dug around for it and answered it,

"I don't buy and sell cars. I just sell them. But the cars I sell are mainly, uh, not mine." Steve told her over the phone before she saw him reverse back, looking up at her from inside the car, "Still looking for fun, Cam?"

She laughed as he revved the engine. Cameron jogged down the steps and got into the car, "Go." Cameron gasped as he sped off, recklessly drifting into traffic,

With Steve's driving, it didn't take them long to reach the Gallagher house on the South Side. She pulled him through the back door, all the lights were off,

"I think they're all asleep." Cam grinned, pulling him close to kiss him before the kitchen lights were turned on,

"Gotcha!" Frank sat on top of the new washing machine, "Who's been eating my porridge?"

Cam cleared her throat, "Hey, Dad. This is Steve." 

The man next to her waved at Frank, "Oh, no, no, no, we met before, but you weren't exactly..."

Frank patted the appliance before sliding off of it and approaching him, "How much do you weigh?"

Steve glanced at her, "Uh, I don't know."

Frank tugged at Steve's expensive jacket, "That would fit me."

"You can just ignore him." Cam moved to push her dad aside, "And you? Move." She went into the kitchen and tugged off her jacket,

"You know what? I better let you get to bed." Steve cleared his throat, "Um, but thanks. It was nice."

Frank laughed and blocked the door, "Oh... no. Nah." He flashed Steve the keys he swiped from him before motioning to the washing machine, "Who paid for this? Hmm?"

Her father galloped into the living room, still swinging the car keys. Cameron went into the fridge to grab Steve a beer, "What the hell's he on?"

"Uh, he thinks he bought Ecstasy, but the only dealer he gets credit from is a schizophrenic." Cam smiled and Steve laughed,

They moved the party into the living room, sitting around the coffee table. Cameron brought beers while Frank rolled joints, "It's not a case of whether or not I agree. It's a fact. If I were a single parent, we'd be on... Aren't you a single parent?"

"Yeah, but if I had tits..." Cameron continued for him, hearing the story loads before,

"Yeah, but if I had tits, Steve, they would double the money. If you're a guy, they don't want to fucking hear it." Frank finished, moving to get a shot of liquor,

"I-I get it, Frank, so it's, 'Prove you're looking for work'." Steve replied,

Cameron shook her head, "Oh, he's on disability."

Steve raised an eyebrow, "Yeah? For what?"

Cameron laughed as Frank poured her a shot, "A tragedy really. I gave my life to that company."

"You worked there a week." The brunette argued,

"What happened?" Steve asked,

"Uh, slaughterhouse, poultry. Dangerous work. Doing my job, unsuspecting, when out of nowhere I am slammed in the ribs by a headless flying chicken. I was lucky... it almost missed me. And what do I get for my pain and suffering?" The three of them clinked shot glasses before downing it, "Followed around by a video camera! Where's the trust, Steve? The sacred bond between employer and employee? Gone, Steve. It's gone."

Fiona walked down the stairs, wearing her pyjamas, "What's going on down here?"

"You missed Frank's disability story." Cameron told her as her older sister moved to sit next to her and grabbed a beer,

"How's a guy supposed to work, hurt, with kids this age?" Steve encouraged and Cameron rolled her eyes with a smile,

"Hello? Thank you! Yeah. Exactly. Excellent! Excellent. And her mother, God rest her soul-"

Cam placed a joint between her lips and lit it before she smacked Frank's knee, "Dad, stop it!" She groaned before turning on the stereo,

"'Cause she better be dead, that bitch. Four... four-month-old baby. Fourteen-year-old girl just had her appendix out," Frank stood to continue his rant and Cameron handed Steve her joint so he could get a hit, "Twelve-year-old Cameron, eleven-year-old Lip, ten-year-old Ian, a seven-year-old, a five-year-old. And, oh, and a Dodge Astro van!"

Steve handed her the joint back and she passed it to Frank, "No. Calypso... Yes. Calypso blue." He sat next to Steve on the couch, "What's the one thing that we needed? One word? One thing?"

"Sterilization?" Steve offered,

Cameron laughed, "Continuity." Frank repeated, "Continuity. Con-tin-uity. I... I... what could I...?" A song began to play over the radio and Frank stood, distracted, "Oh, my God, I love this part."

Frank began to sing along before pausing, "What could I do, Steve? I-I..."

"Disappear for three weeks?" Cameron offered,

"I had a breakdown." He defended,

"You went on a bender!"

 "I-I had... fuck off... nervous breakdown." Frank slurred,

There was harsh knocking on the back door and Fiona stood up to answer, "Dad, come on. Keys!" Fiona grumbled,

Frank tossed her the keys before sitting back down on the couch,

Fiona opened the door and Kevin walked in, "You got any idea what time it is?" Kevin exclaimed as he walked into the living room, followed by V, "Yo. Frank, what did I tell you?!"

"Neighbors of Satan." Frank greeted as he took a hit,

"The day you start paying rent around here, Frank, like the rest of us, you can play whatever shit you want. But if you're gonna pump up this time of night, you're gonna pump out the stuff that we like, okay?" Kevin changed the station to rap and Cameron grinned as he danced behind her,

Veronica brought glasses and began pouring shots for them. Steve pulled her up and the group began to dance and drink until the sun went up.